Tag Archives: apple

Reindeer Run 5k

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Forgive me physical therapy gods for I have sinned – I ran a 5k when I was told to speed walk.  But I didn’t run the whole time!  I’ll go back to the beginning….

This was the morning of the Reindeer Run 5k.  We signed up a  month ago, before my tendonitis diagnosis, so that I could have some race experience before my Half in March.  After my pt told me not to run we decided we would walk the course, so I could have the general experience and since we had already paid for our entries.  Adam was even super-husband and agreed to walk with me.  There was a little snow, but not much, so the setting was perfect.

The race was slightly themed, I saw several elves and one group went as Santa and all his reindeer.  We don’t have a lot of cold weather running gear, but I borrowed an old sweatshirt of Adam’s and did my best.

We picked up our chips a little late and ended up running to the start line from the pick up point.  And I just could not stop.  I love running so much.  I’m not very good and I’m not very fast, but it seriously fills me with joy.

We ended up doing some jog/walk intervals, and I always started walking whenever my leg hurt.  In the end we ran about half of each mile.  I don’t feel like I pushed too hard or set my recovery back too far and we had such a good time!  Here’s an action shot the husband snapped –

Our final time was 33:25.  I know most running bloggers are speed demons, and I’d love to keep up, but for jog/walking it and coming off a 1month hiatus that is pretty damn good!  And I’m feeling much more comfortable with the idea of my half now.

Afterwards we hit up the post race party.  They had hot dogs and pizza and cake.  Here’s Adam’s plate –

That just did not appeal to me.  My post-run breakfast was a little more my style –

But I’m not an angel, I did snag a beer!

All in all in my first race was a great experience.  I’m proud of my self for running, and I’m proud of my self for not running the whole time.  Everyone was super friendly and happy and the setting was perfect.  I had so much fun!

There was even more excitement on the drive home.  As we drove home from the Reindeer run 5k we saw a deer!

It was in a partially fenced in park.  Adam pulled over and I got out to take some pictures.  It go so close to me!

I’m not gonna lie, I was basically swooning, so fun!

Now I’ve got to hustle again so I can shower before Adam’s parents get here.  They are coming up to do a mass birthday/Christmas/anniversary celebration since we can’t connect with them later in December.  I can’t wait!

Have you run any races?  Which was the most fun and why?

Kitchen Warfare

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I didn’t get enough any studying done before class, but not because I was making an amazing dinner. 

I started  making an amazing dinner.  I even cut my own *onions!  *The husband has no sense of smell so he doesn’t cry when he cuts onions, therefore it is always his job.  Sadly, once my beautifully cut onions were sauteing the red pepper flakes killed their container to bring some guerilla warfare to onionville.

It rained fire and brimstone on the tear-makers and my kitchen filled up with smoke that could rival any tear gas.  My lungs felt like they were on fire and dinner was unsalvagable.

Once I was able to go in the kitchen again I knew it was time for a drink.  Bring on the stout! …….Kerrygold Dubliner Cheese with Irish Stout that is.

I tried some Kerrygold products at Foodbuzz and I am so glad to have the opportunity to try more, yum.

One ounce of the cheese,

with turkey pepperoni,

and a granny smith apple

made a tasty tasting plate.

Now I can head to class.  I am going to the gym after Chemistry so I’m sure there will be more food pics to post by the end of the day.  I have pt at 7:30am tomorrow (which means I have to wake up before 6:30) so feel free to post and tell me to get my butt to bed on time!

When was the last time you went through war in your kitchen?

Feeling Thankful

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Again, I’ll try to keep this quick, but it’s been a great Turkey Day.  I’m thankful for family, good food, and my wonderful husband.

We slept in until 10:30 this morning (I’m feeling sick again, boo!) and then woke up to the world’s tastiest breakfast.

My grandma is so cool, she had Greek Gods’ Honey Greek Yogurt waiting in the fridge for me!  I had a small bowl of fruit,

and honey Greek yogurt with berries and a sliver of homemade coffee cake.

Mmmmmmn!  I was in love with this breakfast!  If it wasn’t Thanksgiving I would have gone back for another bowl!  I think I’ve got my aunt hooked on Greek yogurt now too 🙂

We went to a family friend’s house for Thanksgiving at 1, so we headed out around noon to socialize.  Look how cute my grandparents are!

I’ve gone to Thanksgiving with this family ever year I’ve been with my grandparents and it’s always so much fun.  They have the best decorations, I wish I could have gotten more pictures.

I made a small appetizer plate with pretzels, honey raspberry dip, and crackers with dirty martini dip.

And I had a light beer to drink.

As I mentioned before, I am actually not much of a Turkey Day food fan!  I didn’t even eat any turkey meat!  I tried to just take a small bit of everything.

Clockwise from the top – stuffing and mashed potatoes with gravy, corn casserole, sweet potato casserole, roll, jello mold salad, cranberries.  I finished everything on my plate (except for the roll which I gave away).  I didn’t actually eat very much, but I didn’t do seconds because I knew dessert was coming.

I actually gave away that mini cake in favor of a second cookie!

It was great getting to catch up with people and Adam was definitely stuffed!  He took a fat nap before we even headed home, and hit the couch asap.  My grandmother and I wanted to take a nice walk but unfortunately it was raining.  The other disappointment was that there was nowhere for me to volunteer.  I really wanted to put in some time at a food bank or soup kitchen today but everywhere my grandma called had too many volunteers.

We ate dinner around 7, and I was actually hungry again.

Leftover sweet potato casserole,

and a yumtastic sandwich – turkey, cranberries, cream cheese.

Plus apple and celery salad on the side.

I was still a bit hungry so I went back for more salad.

We played cards after dinner.

I had a coffee with 2% and an amaretto stick,

a mini 7-up,

and a small handful of caramel corn.

We kept my grandparents up past midnight playing cards, I’d say it’s time for bed!

How was your turkey day?

French Toasty

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You’re not going to believe it, but we missed another movie this morning!  We were a combination of a little tired, a little hangover, and a lot cranky.  The plan was to see our movie at 10:30, but we were definitely still in bed at that time.  When we did finally get up we decided to go this afternoon and get started on breakfast!

I made my best french toast yet!

The toast was regular style – 2 slices of bread dipped in a splash of milk and an egg, cooked in a skillet with a bit of butter substitute.  The topping is what made it though.  Fruit topping, serves 1

  • 1/4 T butter substitute
  • 1/4 t sugar
  • dash of salt
  • apple, chopped
  • splash oj
  • 1/2 cup blackberries (I used frozen)
  1. Heat the first four ingredients over medium high heat until the apples are browned. 
  2. Add the juice and berries and cook another 5minutes.

I topped my toast with the fruit and a little bit of real maple syrup.

Delicious!

I have some errands to run and we are planning on (actually) seeing our movie at 4:20.  I’ll be back for dinner!

What is your favorite type of french toast?  I had amaretto and pecan at a restaurant that was great, and I want to try cream cheese and banana stuffed next!

Loco

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Thank you (once again) for the encouraging comments on the last post.  Today has been good.

I spent an hour in the library this morning attempting to figure out my class schedule for next semester, but ultimately the computer glitches made it impossible.  My registration window is tomorrow morning, so I’m going to make sure I know exactly what the plan is before I go to bed tonight.  I ate a Cashew Almond Prana Bar while I worked.

I caught up on Chemistry reading until 12, and then I met up with my friend Katie for a trip to Starbucks.  I let my sweet tooth talk me into the cheapest option –

🙂 mint brownie, $1.95.  On the side I had some cheap healthy ice water.

Challenge Balance – $63.10.  I had a great time catching up with Katie and getting in some serious blog gossip.  Katie recently became a full-fledged RD so she’s kind of a rock star to me!  During our chatting a barista offered us a sample of the newest drink – Creme Brule Latte.

I was expecting to love it, but neither of us were that impressed.  It was too sweet, without acting tasting like Creme Brule.

By the way, those of who met me at the Foodbuzz Festival and thought I was underdressed, check out my ‘it’s 41* in Buffalo’ duds.

Katie said my sandals in November made me a bad-ass, oh yeah!

I headed home around 2:30 and I ate some peanut butter.  And a teeny apple.

PB Loco rocks my socks.  And if you skim to the bottom of this post, I tell you some ways they can rock your socks.

Adam and I have to run some errands and then the rest of the day will be all about business.  I have more Chemistry work I’d like to do and it’s possible my clothing just will get up and walk away as my laundry is so embarrassed about living in the living room for the last weekend!  I’ll see you with dinner.

Ways to get your fabulous pb fix on –

1.  If you sign up for “free stuff” at pbloco.com you will receive coupons to use at the online store.

2. Spend $30 or more at Pbloco.com and receive a FREE jar of P.B.Loco Dreamy Creamy Peanut Butter.  To redeem this coupon, place $30 or more of merchandise in your shopping cart at Pbloco.com.  Enter coupon code BLOG1209 when you checkout.  A free jar will be added to your order.  Offer expires December 25, 2009.

Seriously, Make It

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What a day, what a day!  Early in the week headaches have officially been canceled out, today bumped my weekly productivity up to 100%!  Things actually started off a little rocky; we were awake so late we slept through the alarms!  I panicked for a moment but I realized that my legs were hurting pretty badly so it wasn’t the world to cancel my gym session anyway.

I finished my post-lab work at home and then headed to The Spot to study.  I was dreaming of a Mike’s Sandwich but I didn’t actually get there until after 11 and they were no longer serving breakfast.  Buffalo parking is a bummer.  The barista totally empathized with my craving though and hooked me up with an everything bagel with sliced turkey and colby cheese (+ diet coke).

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Craving decimated!

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A few hours later I also got a tall Americano with skim milk.

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My focus today was out of control, I only got distracted twice!  Once when I was reading about the visible light spectrum and started thinking about how my rings act like a prism in the sun…

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and again when I got this…

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I drove to school around 3:30 and continued the study frenzy before my 6:30 class.  In total today I completed reading an entire chapter (with 11pages of notes!!), pre and post work for this week’s labs, and a class session.  Plus I put away 4 loads of laundry when I got home.  And I made a grocery list for tomorrow.  I’m going to do a little baking before my trip 🙂  Tomorrow is still going to be a bit crazy but I made a definite dent.

For dinner I finally got the try my Moussaka.

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Yums!  You broiled it for a bit so the cheese got all nice and brown and I loved the combo of veggies.

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I had an Orange Zevia to drink.

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Dessert was fall personified – chopped up Cortland apple, sprinkled with cinnamon and 2T cinnamon caramel apple dip, heated in the microwave, topped with a crumbled Maple Pecan Boomi Bar.

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Seriously?  Seriously?  This might be the best thing I’ve ever eaten.  The caramel thinned out when it melted so it coated every single piece of apple; the apples got nice and soft; and maple pecan boomi bars are freaking better than cookies.  Make this.  You will not be sorry.

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Thursday is looking to be pretty rushed, so it will probably be another full day recap post.  See you Thursday night after lab!

Don’t forget about my Zevia giveaway.

Also; watch this.  Seriously, it’s the funniest thing ever.

Dreams of Root Vegetables

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Whew, Tuesday is almost over!  My meeting went well, I still have no idea which career path I’ll choose but it is exciting to learn about the options.  After my meeting I swung by the house to pick up the husband, who graciously offered to go along on my printing/mailing resume errands.

True Story – while we were driving he got annoyed that I don’t know what I want to do and said – “You’ll never know what you want to do.  Next thing I’ll know you’ll want to be a turnip!  Do you need to go back to school to be a turnip!?!”  And now he has called me Turnip for the rest of the day.  Holy cow I love my funny husband!

On our way home – resumes successfully mailed, hopefully I will be substituting at some point – we stopped in The Spot for coffee.

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I got a small  Chaider; steamed apple cider and chai tea.  Mmn, fall!  I actually think I’m going to head back to the Spot to work tomorrow, I haven’t been getting much done at home 😦

I was feeling sick with hunger when we got home so I got a snack while I worked on my lab (which I can not do without help, boo!).

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A bumped log,

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with Granny Smith slices with cinnamon caramel apple dip.

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I had a coupon for the dip and you know I’m a sucker for all foods fall.

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After struggling with Chemistry for forever I moved on to making dinner.  On the meal plan was a recipe from the November “Everyday with Rachael Ray” ‘lightened up’ moussaka.

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I can’t share the recipe but if you bought the magazine and are planning to try it here are the changes I made:

  • used 99% lean ground turkey instead of beef
  • skipped the food processor and used low fat whipped cottage cheese
  • used half graffiti eggplants
  • add 1/2 pint mushrooms

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We actually got busy and didn’t even eat dinner so I’ll have to review the recipe tomorrow!  I have a busy day planned tomorrow – no room for headaches! – so don’t be surprised if I don’t post until dinner.  Night!

Don’t forget to enter my Zevia giveaway!

Curried Chicken and Cider Soup

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I totally lied when I said I was going right to class.  That was the plan, but I was so cold (inside my house, with the heat on) that I just couldn’t bring myself to go outside yet!  I sat on the couch and read my book.

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Heat seems like it is going to rock my socks, it’s a memoir about, among other things, training as a prep chef for Mario Batali.  I am all about memoirs and food, so it seems like the perfect fit.

Once I did get off the couch and get dressed I realized I was wearing an outfit from my teaching days and the whole thing felt sort of surreal.

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I don’t know if anyone read my job identity search post this morning, but the one thing I do know is that do not want to teach!  I swear I sort of have PTSD from my experience!

Also, I was super hungry so I packed myself a snack for the road –

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1 oz buffalo wing pretzels with some turkey pepperoni (don’t worry mom, I only ate at lights!).

That totally did not cut it though.  After I finished printing at the library I set off in search of food.  I ended up with an everything bagel with veggie cream cheese.

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Class went well, we are studying electron orbitals which I love – it’s like a puzzle!  When I got home at 9 I got right to work on dinner.  We made Curried Chicken and Cider Soup from “Everyday with Rachael Ray” (click on the name for the recipe link).

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I skipped the cumin, and substituted 1C of water with 1C extra cider, but otherwise I followed the recipe.  I topped my bowl with buffalo wing pretzel nuggets for a crouton-like effect.

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I don’t think I would have liked it without the added spice, it was pretty sweet, but with the addition it was perfect.

Afterwards I had this fun drink I bought a while back.

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It’s not really Sangria, more like strawberry soda.  It’s from Japan and was totally cool; you had to pop the top to release a marble.

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I was supposed to paint my nails tonight but it is almost 11 so it looks like I’ll be heading straight to bed.  Tomorrow I have a gym trip planned, plus tons and tons of schoolwork, and hopefully some job searching.  Sweet dreams!

Do you like buffalo wings?  I’m not a huge wings fan but I love buffalo sauce!