A Walk on the Wild Side

I crossed over to the wild side and I'm still a little uncertain about the move.  

I am a runner.  That's my thing.   I may not be the fastest and I may not be able to run the furthest, but I run.  I like it and I feel good doing it.  A friend of mine encouraged me to cross train and join a spin class. I'm so glad I did, because I think it's given me the break my IT band really needs.  I still run at least 3 times a week, but the other 2 days I ride a bike.  

While riding the spin bike I wear what I always wear running...a t shirt and shorts or a t shirt and sweats.  I am not at the gym for social hour.  I am not at the gym to be able to say I went.  I am one of those annoying people that go to the gym for results.  I don't wear makeup, I don't do my hair, and I definitely don't buy clothes to wear to the gym.  I am just not that girl....until now...

I just couldn't do it anymore.  I couldn't keep riding the bike in sweats, they were getting in the way and making me too hot.  I was concerned that with my running shorts I was maybe not getting the coverage I needed on the bike....not that the instructor was looking, but still, no one wants to see that.  I decided I had to get a pair of biking shorts.  

I didn't want to do it because they are so form fitting.  I know how women look in form fitted outfits, and I hear all the men commenting on said outfits.  I don't have a distorted view on my size, but I don't go to the gym to impress anyone...okay maybe my husband... and I don't go to the gym in order to embarrass myself, I'm there for me.  

So, I very reluctantly decided to go ahead and walk into a specialty store and try on bike shorts.  It's funny because something that I was so dreading actually turned out to be fun and ego boosting.  The sales women were so excited to "dress me up".  They brought me way more than I even wanted to try on, but it was hard not to get into the whole workout shopping experience when they kept saying how great I looked.  I know that I'm not a big girl, but to look good in all the extra small outfits and to have these women telling me that I looked fantastic in the them was more than I could take.  

So I spent $150 on these adorable outfits.  I walked away with bags full of stuff.  But not just stuff, MATCHING WORKOUT CLOTHES!  Once I got home and opened the bag, I decided that the sales women had made their money that day.  They may have boosted my ego into outer space and while it was there, it dropped my mind off too.  HELLO...I do not wear matching workout gear.  I do not go to the gym to look trendy.  What was I thinking?  I could barely look at myself in the mirror.  When I "modeled" the outfits for Scott, he looked at me and said, "That's not really your style, is it?"  And I had to agree.  

I am not the girl who looks good at the gym.  And I don't want to be the girl who looks good at the gym.   What was I thinking???

I have to admit, out of all the clothes I bought, I decided to keep a pair of form fitted running shorts (which my husband loves) and I did keep one pair of biking shorts, which was the whole reason I went into the store in the first place...for one pair of biking shorts.  I did not keep the matching tops that went perfectly with said shorts though.  The rest is going back to the store...where someone else, who is way more in touch with her sense of style can purchase them and happily wear them to the gym.  

Pots and Pans

Love my Le Creuset and love it even more when I can get a fabulous deal on items I really need!  I have slowly but surely been collecting my Le Creuset pots, pans and baking dishes for years.  Two of my smaller pots (not Le Creuset), which I've had for 10 years, are starting to fall apart and so I very happily went to replace them.  And I couldn't have found a better deal, not only did I find the perfect pot, but it came with a frying pan that sits on top of it and I received not only 35% off my whole purchase but also a free baking dish.  Cooking on quality cookware really does make a huge difference.  The first time I tried it out my new piece, I made homemade mustard, since I had 3 BBQ's to go to and that's always a great "thank you for inviting me" gift.  I had to laugh when my mom told me that she had just made homemade mustard in her new pot and it worked great (we both purchased the same one).  Great minds real do think alike.

One of the best parts of having fabulous cookware is that you don't have to worry about chemicals leaking into your food and you get to use very little butter/oil when you don't want items to stick.  Everything in moderation, and when you realize that what you eat makes a lot more of difference on your healthy, your weight and your overall well being than anything else you do, you really don't want to be adding things like butter to your dishes if you don't have to.

Light and Funny Reading

Love Tina Fey, and was so excited to read the new book that she put out.  I was definitely not disappointed in it.  She is so funny and really does act more like a real person than a movie star.  As a comedian, she seems so relaxed and calm, and it was funny to see all that goes into making her appear that way.  Fey is down to earth and talks about things like motherhood/coworkers/men in a way that you can completely relate to and also laugh out loud at.  I'm one who works hard at taking a difficult situation and finding a way to make it better, and I love it when a comedian takes that same situation and embraces it for what it is and turns it into something funny.  I admire women, even if it's just a book and possibly all made up, that turn things around by laughing at themselves and what happened.  Life is so complicated and busy, it's great to read a funny book about someone else's complicated and busy life.  Very fast, fun read and I really enjoyed it.

Read these two backwards (in the wrong order) but I still liked them.  Emily Giffin puts out some great books.  She is very light, but she writes in a way that's easy to get sucked into.  I know I've read one of her earlier books...something about When Harry Met Sally was mentioned right away in the book, and whatever context it was written in, I really enjoyed.  Anyway, the order of these two should be Something Borrowed and then Something Blue (which of course makes senses later) but they were very good stories about two very different friends and how life really did not seem to be going so well for either one, and then really worked out in the end.  I am going to put her next couple of books on my list for reading when I need a break from the heavier reading.
I seem to be very good at getting into a "rut" with books and then having to dig myself back out.  I've been reading heavy novels and then I read a comedy and two very light books.  I really need to work on my balance of reading...ideally, first something dark and mysterious, something funny, something deep and then something light.  I've read these last few books so fast that I felt the need to jump right back into my heavy reading, so I didn't lose my mind in simple, uncomplicated, very little thought involved novels.  Not that I don't enjoy it occasionally, and need it when I've read a big, thick (how would I know anymore if a book is literally thick, since I read everything on my iPad), complicated novel, but I worry that I'll lose my status as the nerdy, smart chick if I read too much of them.

Sprinkle Cake Pancakes

I found this recipe online and figured it would be a great way to celebrate the official start of summer this year.

Sprinkle Cake Batter Pancakes

1  1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2/3 cup white cake mix

1 Tbl sugar

3/4 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 to 2 cups of vanilla soy milk

sprinkles

Combine flour, cake mix, baking powder and salt.

Add egg, vanilla extract and 1 cup of milk.

Stir until smooth.

Add more milk until it is the consistency of pancake batter.

Pour batter in 1/4 cup measurements on a preheated skillet.

Cook for 2-3 minutes, until bubbles form on top.

Flip and cook 1 more minute.

Serve topped with warm syrup, powdered sugar and sprinkles.

Puff Puff Pancakes

I adore Puff Puff Pancakes, and was so excited to try this version made with apples.

I'm not much of a breakfast eater, but when we have guests, I always love to make something special in the morning.  These turned out fabulous, just eggie enough to satisfy me and sweet enough to satisfy everyone else.

Apple Puff Puff Pancakes

2 Tbl. Butter

2 Eggs

1/4 cup + 2 Tbls flour ( I used wheat pastry flour)

1/4 cup + 2 Tbls milk (I used soy milk)

1/4 tsp. salt

1 apple, peeled and thinly sliced

1 1/2 Tbl. pure maple syrup

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat over to 400.

Melt butter in 9" pie plate, in oven.

Mix eggs, flour, milk and salt for 1 minute at medium speed.

Pour egg mixture in pie plate.

Mix cinnamon and maple syrup together then stir in apples.

Arrange apples on top of the mixture.

Bake until puffed up, 20 minutes.

Pour warm syrup over top and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Serve immediately, while still puffy.

Running Partners

My most favorite running partner  is my husband.  Lately we've only been able to run together when there are 2 treadmills open that are next to each other.  In fact, last week we ran 5 miles right next to each other, on the treadmill at the gym, but we both had headphones on and didn't talk until we were done.  That was so crazy, because usually we have some great conversations while running.  I don't like to listen to music when I'm running outside, Scott does but only when he runs alone.

When we first started running together, 16 years ago, I was by far the better runner.  Scott actually said it annoyed him because I'd keep running ahead of him or would keep the pace too fast for him to actually talk and run.  He had to be able to run a mile and a half in 12 minutes, which I still think is way too slow for men, but in order to train, I told him we needed to run 3 miles at 8 minute pace, so he knew he could do it no matter what.  Ever since then, I don't think Scott has ever run less than 3 miles.

Yesterday we had no children with us, and Scott thought we should go for a hill run outside.  It was fabulous, and the 5 miles just flew by.  I really miss being able to run outside together...and since my mother in law loves having the kids in them mornings, it looks like we will be able to do that a lot more this summer!  In fact,  even when we have the kids, we decided we will take them with us...we just can't do hill workouts with one child in a jogger and one on a bike.

Having my husband as a running partner has been one of the greatest gifts.  

Can Peanut Butter Cups be Healthy?

My mom passed along a recipe she cut out advertising a new recipe book by Alicia Silverstone (she purchased the book  so didn't need the cutout).  Silverstone has conquered her weight issues and eats not only healthy, but vegan.  I have no idea if you can actually call these Peanut Butter Cups "healthy" or not, but I will say that they do not have anything too bad in them (adding sugar to anything usually means your crossing the line from healthy to not-so-much in my book...but who am I to talk?).  Despite the fact that I had two little helpers, stirring, scooping and sprinkling, this was a very, very easy dessert to make.

Peanut Butter Cups

1/2 cup Smart Balance

3/4 cup crunchy organic peanut butter (no salt or sugar added)

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup semi sweet organic chocolate chips

1/4 cup soy milk

1/4 cup walnuts (chopped)

Melt butter in small saucepan.

Stir in peanut butter, graham crackers, sugar.

Remove from heat.

Divide evenly in Demarle mini muffin tray.

Melt chocolate chips and soy milk together.

Spoon over peanut mixture.

Top with walnuts.

Refrigerate for 2 hours.

As much as I love my mom, I'm a little bit hating her right now...because my stomach hurts from eating 4 of these things in a row!  Can peanut butter cups be healthy?  How about just no calories??  Yeah...didn't think so.