January 24, 2011

love/don't love

Miscellany Monday @ lowercase letters

Hi everyone! I linked up with Carissa for Miscellany Monday once before and I don't know why I never did again, but let's see if I can start making these a bit more regular! Ironically, a lot of the things I posted about in my last Miscellany Monday (in June!) are repeats of what's going on with me now.

[1] My blog was named one of the Best Running Blogs of 2011 by Jake from Broken Hearted Runner! I'm so excited and honored about this! Love. Love. Love. 
[2] I moved into my new apartment yesterday and am settled in for the most part. The move went fairly easy since I moved into a furnished apartment and I just have a few more things that I need to bring from home. I also have to put some pictures and things on the walls and set up some utilities and then I'll be all set! Love.
[3] It was 6 degrees this morning and I have a 15 minute walk from my new place to the train station. This makes me hate not being in Florida so much more. Don't love.


[4] Classes start tomorrow! I'm so excited for the classes I'm taking this semester and can't wait to see all my friends again! Love.
[5] I skipped my 8 mile long run this weekend :/. Saturday I was feeling under the weather all day and Sunday I was moving and watching the Jets game. Don't Love. 
[6] So that I don't continue to skip my runs, I'm joining a local running club in my new 'hood. They meet tonight for a 4 mile run. I'm excited because it'll be a way for me to meet some new people as well as to be able to keep running when it's dark and cold out. I'm hoping they'll guilt me into frequently coming back. Love. 
[7] I started reading "The Sound and the Fury" from The Book List. So far, I hate it. I have no idea what is going on, who the characters are, etc. I don't understand how this is in the Top 10 of the list. What's worse is that there are 2 other William Faulkner books on the list. Has anyone read anything by Faulkner? What did you think? Don't love.
[8] Before I left Florida, The Pilot and I went to see Country Strong. This movie was incredible and brought me to tears. I can't wait to buy the soundtrack! It was the best movie I've seen in a really long time. If you like country music, go see this movie. Love.

[9]I finished reading Pride & Prejudice and absolutely adored it. I can't believe I never read that book until now. I can't wait to watch the movie(s). Love.


That's what's going on with me! What's going on with you? 
Anyone have anything exciting going on this week? 
  
   

January 21, 2011

From Beach to Blizzard

I can't believe I missed Three Things Thursday! I had so much to write about too that I was worried I wouldn't be able to fit it all into three things...my excuse? I was getting on a plane and leaving this:



for this:
 


Yea, I'm not happy either kids. On top of it all, I left The Pilot and I'm really sad about it. I'm not quite sure when we're going to see each other again which makes this that much harder, so I'm basically a big box of no fun and will mope around until I get over it. (Not really though, but maybe a little bit)

So, I'm moving on Sunday...again. This will be like my 3rd move in 7 months...I won't get into details about it but I absolutely had to get of my last apartment. It was a nightmarish roommate situation. Hopefully this next apartment will be better. I think it will though. I'm cautiously optimistic and I'll fill you all in about it once I'm all settled.

School starts up again on Tuesday...this semester should be easier than last semester but we'll see. I'm really excited about the classes I'm taking and I'll post about those next week! I also have to go back to work on Monday (blah!) and my internship on Tuesday (yay!). So I'm going from a relaxing Florida vacation to a full throttle New York City lifestyle all over again. Brace yourselves!

Training is going spectacularly! I haven't missed a workout and I've been feeling great! I've been incorporating strength and cross-training, speed workouts and nice easy runs and I'm really enjoying my training. I will break 2:00 at the NYC Half on March 20. I mean, really...if I could come in at 2:00:53 with 2 potty breaks at Diva's, I can definitely break 2 in NY!

I bought an Amazon Kindle! So far, I love it! I was SO against these things for the longest time.  I mean, who wants to read a classic like Pride & Prejudice on an electronic device? And what's wrong with carrying a book around? And what do you do on the plane when you can't have your e-devices on? Trust me, every reason against it, I was arguing it. But then I got my book list for this semester and I realized that Kindle books are up to 50% cheaper than actual text books. Then I thought about traveling all over the city carrying around 5-8 books to class along with my lunch and my gym clothes and everything else and it just made sense. So I did it. I think it's a fantastic item for students. Maybe I will end up occasionally reading a novel for pleasure on it but I will still be a faithful visitor to the library. Best part about it? For selling all my text books back to Amazon, I had a credit to my Amazon account and ended up only paying $14 for it. How awesome is that?

That's all for now! I don't want to leave you with too long of a post on a a Friday! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! My weekend plans consist of:
  • Catching up with Mom
  • Kindle-ing for the first week of classes
  • 8 mile long run on Saturday
  • Moving into the new apartment on Sunday
  • Watching the Jets win their way to the Super Bowl on Sunday!
Have a great weekend everyone!

January 15, 2011

Take Stock in Children 5k Race Report

I ran my first 5k this morning! A little late right? Usually one starts with a 5k and then moves up to 10ks, Half-Marathons and Marathons, but I skipped right over this distance and went straight for a 10k.

Anyway, as you all know, I'm in Sunshiny Florida visiting my beloved and I decided to run a local 5k! This was a teeny tiny race with less than 100 people in a housing development that was beautiful! It was very well organized. The race started just on the side of this beautiful little lake (pond?) in the development. Since it was my first small race, I was a little bit confused as to where to line up since there were no corrals, so I just lined up close to the finish line but not too close.

As soon as I started, I felt like I was going out too fast based on how quickly the guys in front of me went out so I slowed up a bit to a comfortable pace. I hit Mile 1 at 8:10 and Mile 2 at 16:30. When I rounded Mile 3, I started to feel the effects of running so fast but I didn't want to lose my pace so I kept up with it. Since every race I've run has been a longer distance, I've maintained a slower than normal pace throughout and sprinted out the finish but I knew I was definitely giving it my all when I saw the Finish Line and had almost nothing left to give. I picked it up as much as I could and ran through the Finish in 25:38!

When I got home and checked the results, I found out that I placed 1st in my Age Group! Awesome start to the 2011 Race Season!

Sadly, I don't have any pictures because I forgot to give my camera to The Pilot but nonetheless, it was a great race!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

January 13, 2011

three things thursday

1. Training and Tempo Runs - I started training for the NYC Half-Marathon this past Monday and so far so good. I'm really trying to incorporate strength and cross training into this training cycle and it's been much easier being here in Florida with nothing to do so we'll see how that goes once the semester kicks into gear again. I did a 5 mile tempo run today on the treadmill and it was awesome. I just had a great run and I'm pretty excited about it. I think The Pilot are going to go celebrate at Sonic in a bit. I saw a sign for a Red Velvet Cheesecake Blast and I think I have to have it. (Side note: I never eat fast food...unless it's Sonic...which they don't have in New York...so it's ok).

2. First Race of 2011 - I'm running my first ever 5k this weekend! Woohoo! I joined up with Lesley's Run for the Bling of It Challenge so I needed a race for the month of January and decided a local 5k here in Florida would be perfect! It may slightly defeat the purpose because I don't think many 5ks give out race bling but maybe I'll get lucky!

3. Dinner Recipes - I need everyone's help for dinner recipes! Starting in about 2 weeks my work day will end at 5 or 5:30 (depending on where I'm working that day) and class starts at 6:30 so I have an hour or an hour and a half given the day to get to class AND eat dinner. I spent a lot of money on quickie dinners which weren't exactly healthy or high in protein this past semester and I'm looking for some dinner recipes that I can carry to work with me and that either don't need to be heated up or that I can heat up before I leave work. So, share some websites, recipes, ideas, WHATEVER! It will be MUCH appreciated!

Happy Thursday!

January 12, 2011

Whip It Up Wednesday!

Dear Friends,


I hope you're all enjoying the snow! I heard this morning on Today that it is snowing in 49 states plus D.C.! Everywhere except Florida! Don't get too jealous though...it's pretty cold here today and I sadly have to leave the Sunshine State for the Winter Wonderland Hellstorm that is New York next week.

But on to other things, I haven't done a Whip It Up Wednesday post in awhile and since I was busy in the kitchen with 2 other recipes this weekend I thought I'd share! Both of these recipes are from Real Girls Eat and they were both delicious! First up:

Tamari Glazed Chicken.


 
Served with Brown Rice and Chickpeas sauteed in Tamari Glaze.

[Ingredients]
1 cup Tamari
1/3-1 tsp chili powder (depending on your taste)
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/3 cup mirin (rice wine vinegar)
2 tbsp sugar
1 clove garlic
6 chicken breasts
3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 bunch green oions

[Directions]
-Preheat oven to 400.
-Clean and prepare chicken by rinsing and patting dry with paper towels.
-Cut in half along the backbone and then into quarters.
-Lay out in a roasting dish wiped with olive oil.
-Mix together Tamari, chili powder, sesame oil, mirin, sugar until combined.
-Crush or slice the garlic finely and add to marinade.
-Pour marinade over chicken and set aside 1 hour turning over a couple of times.
-Roast in the oven uncovered for 45-50 minutes turning and basting ever 15 minutes.
-Lay out, spoon sauce and garnish with sesame seeds and sliced green onions.
-Serve with steamed rice.

[Notes]
-The recipe calls for chicken with the bone and skin on but I used boneless, skinless chicken and it worked just fine. 
-The sesame seeds are expensive so I didn't buy any...they're really just for garnish so you can eliminate them if you choose. 
-My chicken cooked in 20 minutes so be mindful of the time while you're baking it! 

Vanilla Ice Cream with Berry Swirl Topping


For this recipe, you take strawberries, blackberries and rasberries (I used frozen and then thawed them out) and boil them down individually with 1/3 cup of sugar and about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice until the berries have broken down. When they have broken down, take 1 gallon of vanilla ice cream and mix the individual sauces into the ice cream swirling them. Stick it in the freezer over night and you've got a delicious dessert the next day!

Enjoy!



January 10, 2011

Might be my favorite Monday...

I never thought the words *favorite* and *Monday* could ever go together but I'm just loving today! I woke up this morning around 11...which is about the earliest I've woken up since I've been in Florida...stayed in bed and read my daily chapters from the Bible and then read Pride and Prejudice for another hour.

 

I'm ashamed to say I'm reading this book for the first time, thanks to The Book List...but I just can't put it down. I've long wondered about the inscrutable Mr. Darcy and just what his love affair entails and now I'm happily learning all about it.

When I finally got out of bed, I made breakfast and sat outside on the porch eating my delicious protein-packed breakfast in the 77 degree beautiful weather that I'm living in at the moment. *Sigh*

On that note, my protein-packed breakfast was the beginning of Half-Marathon training which starts today for the NYC Half. I'll be hitting the gym with my man this afternoon for strength and cross-training and continuing training tomorrow with an easy 4-mile run...in the 80 degree weather.

This weekend was perfect. Friday night, The Pilot and I headed up to Orlando for my first ever NBA game! We had an amazing Cajun dinner at a bar nearby the stadium and got to celebrate Stuff the Magic Dragon's (the Magic's Mascot) birthday which was hilarious! If you know anything about me, it's that I love Mascots. I think they're amazing and they crack me up!

"Stuff" and his friends break dancing on the court.

Saturday we spent the day out and about doing some shopping and then came home and I made us dinner and then we headed to a bar to watch the J-E-T-S come in a heart attack-inducing victory over the Colts with 3 seconds to spare in the game! I can't wait to do it again this Sunday and watch the Jets take on New England!

Rockin' our green and white for the Jets game!

Sunday, we lounged around all day being lazy bums and then went to church. After dinner, we stayed up way too late playing Yahtzee! It was the perfect end to a perfect weekend!

I can't say enough how much I love being in Florida! Being in a long-distance relationship isn't always easy but I'm so blessed to have the time to take a long trip down here to be with my honey! My only problem is that...I don't think I ever want to leave! It's 80 degrees here and there's a blizzard in New York! 
Anyway, I'm off to see what else this perfect Monday has in store...and to start training...

Happy Monday!



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