Happy Anniversary to Us!

It's our Anniversary! One year has passed so quickly! I got DH the new Norah Jones CD and inside were two tickets to see her in my hometown!
:-) He's a big fan of hers.

This is us at church this morning: (I wore my "getaway" outfit, my wedding jewelry, and my wedding shoes)

Dweeb Husband with head tilted forward, but awesome of me.

Good of DearH and pretty good of me.

My Present! (He actually did go to Jared... Haha)

I've been REALLY slacking in the exercising dept. this week. At least I did a little bit last night and I can feel it big time. I need to get back out running, but it snowed a foot here on Fri/Sat, so the roads aren't super. I'll probably start back up Tuesday. :-)

Make a healthy version of a traditional Hanukkah recipe...

turned into this (ignore the dirty stove):

Latkes (Potato Pancakes)
http://healthycooking.suite101.com/article.cfm/latkes____potato_pancakes

•1-1/2 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled

•8 oz (about 2 large) carrots, peeled

•8 oz. (about 2 large) parsnips, peeled

•1/2 cup diced onion

•1 Tbsp. part-skim ricotta cheese

•1/2 cup egg substitute (such as Egg Beaters)

•2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
•Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray.
Grate potatoes, carrots and parsnips. Working in small batches, press tightly between paper towels to squeeze out excess moisture. Transfer to a large bowl. Combine with remaining ingredients. Scoop mixture into muffin tins, packing down firmly. Bake 45-55 minutes until golden brown.
Serves 12.

Review:

• Bland...
• Uninteresting...
• Went for Subway instead.

Tips:

• More potatoes and fewer carrots/parsnips
• More seasoning (not just S/P)
• Really press those suckers in the muffin tin

Oh well... I tried a new veggie (parsnips), I posted a recipe, and I made a "healthy" Hanukkah recipe! Points galore! ;-)

Sunday's blues look sunnier on Monday

It also happens to be sunny outside. Something I WISH had happened yesterday. Hmph.

I have to leave in about 30 minutes for Substitute Orientation. YAY! I finally have something to do! I finally get to make MONEY! WOOHOO! I'm steppin' it way up this week on my HFNHC. Ooh yeah. I'm making three traditional winter holiday dishes in new, healthy ways. I'm pretty excited about it! :-)

I was going to run today, but my legs and my hind parts are soooore. I guess the cold did a number on my muscles. I'm feeling a lot better about the race yesterday. Yeah, okay, I didn't do as well as I had hoped, but I still showed up, I still worked hard, and I still FINISHED. Now I know what to expect and what to be ready for when I run the NEXT race. :-)

Toys for Tots 5k

Just finished my first 5k. Before going in, I told myself that if I had to walk, I had to walk. I also set three goals.




I walked and I didn't meet even the easiest goal.



I finished in 36 minutes and 27 seconds.



Things I've learned:



1. Don't run a 5k in pouring rain. Rain=evil saturation of all that I wear, which in turn=slower.



2. Don't wear the Adidas pants that I wore. They absorbed ALL the water and slowed me down a LOT. I took them off around 2.5 miles and ditched them (got them back after the race) by a sign. Wish I had never worn them and just worn my tights. Things were much easier.



3. Push harder. I am very disappointed that I walked, even thought I told myself it'd be okay if I did. I feel like I should have at least gotten in under 35 and I didn't.



It was also 37 degrees... OK if dry. Miserable if wet.



DH was there to photograph the event.

He has been trying to cheer me up ever since. He's very proud of me. I know I should be too. Two and a half months ago, I couldn't run 1 mile, much less three. I can run three, I just couldn't do it today. I know I should be proud that I did this at all.

I just...

RAN A 9.30 MILE!!!!!!!!!! Fastest EVER!!!

My first 3 mile run EVER

It was supposed to be 3.1 miles in preparation for Sunday's 5k (just wanted to see if I could do it all running, which I think I can, based on today), but I missed a turn in my suburbian road labrynth that I call my running route, so it turned out being 3.03 miles, but I did have to run in place for at least 15 seconds while waiting for traffic, so I'm kinda telling myself I did the 5k anway. ;-) It took me 32 min 41 sec.

I feel very good about myself, though when I finished I thought I was going to die. I live in very hilly suburbia, but luckily the race is flat. Before c25k, I had hardly run a mile, and that was only in HS gym class... sooo... 7+ years ago? Now I can run THREE miles. :-)
I have some goals for Sunday.



Goal 1: Sub 35 min 5k (an easy goal I pretty much know I can achieve)



Goal 2: Sub 33 min 5k (something I'd have to work for, but achievable)



Goal 3: Sub 31 min 5k (I've never run a whole mile at a 6mph pace, so this is a stretcher)

I feel a little guilty because I never really "completed" the c25k program. I went through week 7, then skipped week 8, and now I am pretty much doing week 9 in preparation for Sunday's race... it's been a 2.5 month journey, but it's been worth it. I can't believe how far I've come. I NEVER thought I'd run 3 miles. Now, I can and I HAVE. I was thinking today about what comes next. I finish c25k. I can run 3 miles. Am I going to keep going? Am I really crazy enough to work up to 26.2? I just don't know if I've fallen in love with it yet, you know? We'll see what happens after Sunday. The race could change everything. Just pray for NO RAIN!

Fail

I have been failing a lot lately. Failing at keeping up with my blog, failing at keeping up with my challenge... I am SO not in the lead anymore. Ugh. Failing at keeping up with exercise... Speaking of, I need to go run, but I really don't want to. I hate the roads I run. I hate the hills. I hate my snail pace. Ugh. Saturday was tough. I ran 2 miles in the rain and freezing cold weather. It snowed later in the day. It was my first rain run. I was supposed to do 28 minutes/2.75 miles, but I just didn't have the heart to do it all, so I ran 1 mile, took a 2 minute walk break, then ran a little over another mile. Sigh. We'll see how today goes if I ever get out there and do it. I need to get a move on because I have to drive to my mother's today to take her stuff from our Disney vacation back to her and make fattigman cookies. I have to leave here by 3.15, which gives me a little more than an hour and a half to run for 38 minutes, shower, pack up the car, and pick up powdered sugar and cream. Oy vey! I better get moving!