Rants, Recipes, and Running

Due to a lack of creativity.....I figured I'd do a "Currently" post - as these are fun to look back at and see how I change over the months! So here's what's currently "me" Current Book: The Art of Hearing Heartbeats - it's about a young woman's treck to Burma to find her father. I'm only so far into it...so that's how much I know. It's part of my "Virtual Family Book Club" we've just started. I'm loving it so far! So excited for our 1st meeting. Current Excitement : I get to see Ryan tomorrow, and he's supposed to have a short day of classes - so should get on the road early and be home in time for us to cook together! Love that our 1st week separated was such a quick one! Current Fashion: I'm digging the straight legged dress pants I bought this weekend. They are comfortably - and are versatile for winter & spring. My new job forced me to get practically a new wardrobe....as I've transiti...

I've got a little over 1 week until race day! Going to be honest and say I'm ready for it to be over with. Also very excited for the race....however... I'm not feeling so confident! Most marathon runners hit this point in their training, and feel confident. They take a sigh of relief during taper! They've trained hard, they've done their strenuous (and arduous long runs), and now they rest. This is the time where they feel utterly exhausted, hungry, sleepy, and ready to race. I feel none of this. I was behind about 3-4 weeks on getting my training started due to a foot injury. Then when I finally resumed my training, I was extra-cautious! I was so afraid of re-injuring that foot. Most weeks I only got 3 runs in per week. Some weeks I only ran twice. My other days were spent cross training in the gym. Long runs were ran kind of slow (which is okay, per most experts). Then I started having breathing problems. Foot was better, but couldn't take a deep breat...

This is coming out a little late, I'm a tad "out of style", here. But, it's been a crazy few weeks! So I need to play catch-up. I cannot believe we are already into the new year. 2013 went so fast. When I look back, it doesn't feel like I'm reviewing a year - but recent events that were just experienced "the other day ", as we often say. At the same time, however, so much has happened this year that at times I feel like a completely different person. I thought about doing a "Top 10" list...but I'm not sure if I can quantify levels of joy. There were so many big events in 2013, some that were big game-changers for me that deserve to make this list. So here is a list of a  few of my favorite things in 2013 . Being separated from my husband for 6 weeks, and not being able to communicate via text/phone/email.... "What?!?! Is she crazy?!", some may say. That 1st experience was so good for us. For the 1st time in our rel...

As the Christmas holiday & winter season approaches, it brings back memories of Christmases past. And as I look back, it dawns on me how "weak" we've become. 1) About 7 years ago, I remember going for a run with my friend Marissa one night in December. It was -15 degrees out. We bundled up, and went running without question regarding the weather. Last weekend I went for a run in 31 degrees (granted, it was an 2 1/2 hr 18 mile run)....but it wiped me out so cold that my entire afternoon was spent wrapped up in blankets with a fever! 2) Growing up, it was a yearly tradition to assist my Mom and Dad in hanging the Christmas lights. (one of my favorite traditions, in fact) We'd bundle up in snowmobile suits, warm hats and gloves, hefty water-proof boots...and hang lights all day sometimes in sub-zero temps ! Last weekend, Ryan & I opted to wait a few days to hang the lights. It was just too cold. It was 50 degrees F out . The next day, Ryan had taken a...

I haven't done any recipe posts lately. Well, I haven't done much posting lately...period. I thought I'd share a few of the things that have been created in our kitchen lately! I've definitely been changing things up lately. #1 Whole Chickens..... I am temporarily boycotting buying chicken breasts! $2.99/lb is assinine for chicken, in my opinion. Especially since Ryan and I eat so much chicken . (Probably 4 nights a week). One Saturday night to impress Ryan, I roasted a chicken...and realized it's not that intimidating! Now we buy whole chickens, butcher them up during the weekend, wrap them in plastic bags, and cook them. Does it take more work? Yes . But $0.99/lb compared to $2.99/lb? Makes a difference. I'll take a little dark meat for that price comparison! #2 I've been NUTs for butterNUT Squash! I've been making tons of butternut squash soup. So hearty and good for you! Apples, onions, squash, cider, and broth all pureed together is quite th...

It's been quite a week for me, as many changes have taken place in my life! I have kept very quiet about this, due to nerves and a little skepticism. But I made a huge career change this week! I've been applying, interviewing, re-interviewing, and shadowing since, well, July. I started it when I was in San Antonio, when one evening my husband finally got square with me and said, "I think it's time you look into a career change....." He was right. Every evening, I would spend about 30 minutes venting about my day. I wanted to like being an ER nurse so much, but it just wasn't for me. In the bloody, traumatic codes that rolled through the door, I would scurry into the corner, "I'll do the documentation!! No really! This is my favorite part!" That's not normal for your standard "ER Nurse". A true ER person, loves chaos and thrives off of it. After doing lots of research about where I could go with my career, (which I'm very...

I am a few weeks late, but to be honest, I'm not really sure what happened to those few weeks that passed! I really didn't want this trip to go missed on this blog. It was probably one of my favorite vacations we've taken! It was kind of funny how it developed.... Ryan was supposed to be moving out to Riverside, California for his last 5 month school. We decided I would accompany him on the trip out there (he wasn't going to need a car). But Riverside, CA isn't exactly the romance/travel capital of the world ;) So we were going to make a detour and spend a few days in San Diego (probably one of our favorite cities ever) Instead.....we discovered Big Bear. It's a mountain town located in the San Bernadino Forest, about 7000 ft above LA, and 30 degrees cooler. We found a cabin to rent on turnkey.com, and the plans were in the making! Well, Ryan's CA school got moved. So we adjusted with the plans -- and it worked out perfectly! Instead of a "goodbye...