Book Review : Run Don't Walk.

Recently I read a great book that I found sort of randomly at the library. I usually go to the library several times per week and love to spend time just browsing. This book was in the "new non-fiction section," and I picked it out not knowing what it was really about. Ended up loving it!

Run Don't Walk is the only memoir that I've ever read by a physical therapist, and I found it extremely interesting. The story chronicles a few years in the life of Adele, certified physical therapist at the original Walter Reed Memorial Hospital in Washington DC - which has since closed, but was the oldest military hospital in our country. 

Personally, I was immediately connected to the story in several ways. The story is about Adele's work with severely wounded (and typically amputee) veterans during some of our country's bloodiest years in Iraq. One summer a few years ago, I worked in the local Veterans' Hospital as a volunteer. Obviously Adele's experience was much more personal and deep in general, but some of her  experiences and interactions in that environment  sounded familiar or relatable to me. Also I felt I understood the patience she must have had as a physical therapist... at one point I had to rehab my IT-band for about 10 weeks... that is definitely NOTHING like being an amputee but I did get very familiar with the PT office and I did see several amputees come in and out of the office during my time there. I've always been interested in physical therapy and hearing the details of Adele's work really intrigued me.

I think a lot of us have read about the effects of other wars, particularly the World Wars, on our soldiers. However, since the war in the Middle East is only just winding down, I personally didn't feel that exposed to its aftermath on American soldiers. Adele's book gently exposes us to this, matter-of-factly explaining the hurdles they must overcome back at home. This really helped me to gain perspective and appreciation for the men that have served for us. Two of the main figures that she wrote about were under 22 years old and had already served and came home as double amputees. I had never put much thought into it, but I can't imagine going through that at my age... or ever. 

This may seem surprising considering the topic, but the entire book is filled with comic relief and Adele's personal funny stories and blunders. I never felt "depressed" or downtrodden by reading the book, though it did open my eyes to the difficulty of returning from the Middle East. In the end, Adele positively concludes that she is pleased with the difference that she is able to make, one soldier at a time. I think this is a book that anyone can enjoy and take something away from - highly recommend :) 

Long Run : Check!

Random, but I babysat for a family the other night with the most adorable dog. The family was very Irish, and the dog's name was "Guinness." He was very sweet and kept me company all night! Reminded me of our Sammy!

This amazingness was on sale...

Today I completed my first long run for my training plan. It was just 8 miles which doesn't feel too challenging right now... but I know it's going to get tough. The most difficult part of today was just the heat... it was about 87*F when I did the 8 miles! Ick!

Stretched and hydrated quite a lot after the run... just a smidge of Gatorade and mostly water did the trick. 

This week's mileage : 22.

Refueled afterwards with an omelette and these delicious strawberries... I'm very picky about my strawberries so that's saying something!

Spending the night RESTING from that run!

Tea.

Phew! Got 5 more miles in the early hours this morning, plus trying strides for the first time. I did 2x20 seconds. I'm not sure I'm doing them totally right... will have to investigate!

For now, I'm trying to stay on track with my training schedule and stick to their suggested workouts during the week, because it seems very manageable for the time being. I'm sure this will change though, and it will quickly get pretty tough. Alex's wise advice is that it's really the long runs that matter - that's what gets you to marathon completion. Since I'm not trying to set any records with this first marathon and my main goal is to get through it uninjured, I think that towards the middle/end of the training cycle I will sort of trickle off the exact training plan workouts and do my own thing. I'd like to stick with the exact training plan while I can, and listen to my body to know when it's time to listen and scale back.

I've also been chipping through these videos of advice on marathon nutrition! That will be so critical to even being able to complete the marathon; I definitely want as much info on nutrition as possible!
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Every morning, I have one cup of coffee with almond milk but it takes me several hours to finish the cup...I'm a slow coffee drinker. After the first cup (about 10AM) I move on to black peppermint tea, which I typically drink chilled (since it's hot and summertime!). I've never been the hugest fan of tea but I'm trying to expand my horizons because it's so good for you. I used to drink a huge cup of green tea every day! I'm trying to bring those habits back.

I also try to drink one full cup of water after my morning workouts to start getting my hydration back. It's been so humid lately that I probably lose many pounds of sweat after my workouts...which, needless to say is NOT good! I'm trying to really be disciplined about hydration these days. For the first 2 months in Europe, my hydration was at an all time low... I was never thirsty and often would go all day without drinking water (especially when traveling, to minimize potty breaks since public (free) restrooms could often be hard to come by) ...only to realize it at the end of the day, when I would force myself to have at least a few sips. As a result, I didn't feel my best, and I also noticed my skin to be dryer than ever (which isn't really a surprise, considering!). I want my body to be healthy and nourished, and especially I want my skin to be young and fresh for as long as possible.

Party time.

You know it's time to party when you wake up before it's light out and see these laid out for you :

That's right, it was time to ERG. (I always lay my clothes out the night before if I'm doing a morning workout.) I am going to be using the rowing machine (the erg) as a form of cross-training a lot this summer. It's extra convenient because it's situated right in our basement. It'll do a lot to strengthen my legs for running (this is the best way for me to do it since I don't have access to a weight room in the summertime). Plus, it'll prep me for fall season sculling.

I did 25 minutes on the rowing machine (which is a pretty long time...in the last 6 years of my life, time has NEVER passed more slowly than when I'm on the rowing machine). You know it's a good workout when you finish dripping in sweat! You can consider me disgusting but I love that feeling. Nothing other than rowing does that to me. After my 25 minutes, I skittered upstairs and did 8-minute arms, which I'm still finding really challenging with my 5-lb weights!

I was recently reading THIS article on why rowing is so good for you. Check it out.

Can't beat a workout that uses "virtually every major muscle group"! No wonder I get so sweaty from it!

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For my parents' 25th wedding anniversary, I whipped up some baked chocolate donut holes. They are really easy to make and so cute! I used THIS recipe and modified it a bit (I used European style yogurt instead of Greek and used 1%milk instead of heavy cream for the glaze). 25 years is such a milestone and I definitely think it's something to be recognized and celebrated. 

First Day of Marathon Training.

Well today I started my 16-week marathon training countdown bright and early... did 5 miles before 8AM, plus 8-minute abs and stretching.

My schedule when I run in the mornings :
Wake up at 6:30. Eat a small granola bar to tide me over until breakfast. Drink a few sips of coffee. Out the door by 6:53.
Depending on length of run, I get home between 7:35 and 8:00. Breakfast (overnight oats which I pop in the microwave), finish coffee, stretch and shower. Grab my lunch (pre packed the night before) and out the door by 8:35!
Somedays all I have to do for work in the morning is make calls and emails which I can typically do from home, and then I head into the field later in the afternoon. Those days are nicer because I don't have to rush through my stretching and shower!

I think mostly during the week, my runs will stay the same as always (4-6 miles 3-4 times during the work week). Weekend long-runs are what will really count and will prep me to have the endurance to finish the marathon. Alex gave me "The Ultimate Marathon Guide" by Runners Connect, which has tips on nutrition, rest and recovery, and has suggestions on how to pace your long runs. I also found The Ultimate Chicago Marathon Race Guide which has specific tips about the course. This might seem a little intense/ambitious for a first-time marathoner but for me, knowledge is power, and if that's all it takes for me to sleep at night, I'll read as much as possible about marathons and Chicago :)

I am trying to implement a few lifestyle differences to help me stay healthy and injury-free during this training cycle. I'm so excited/nervous for the marathon that I know I could easily get too caught up in things and work too hard, causing illness or injury. These are already fairly likely to occur to anyone in training, and I think I am injury-prone so I want to be extremely careful by :

• Eating right. This is a big one for me. I've upped my protein intake since it was pretty shabby during my time in Europe. I've also made efforts to get more vitamins and nutrients into my diet. I.e. M&ms aren't lunch, but a plate of kale, faro, and a sweet potato slider are! Am I hungry for a snack? Instead of a handful of chocolate chips, it's time to try a hard-boiled egg or a fistful of almonds. I'm thinking of good ways to get in gluten-free carbs (like rice and faro) particularly leading up to long runs. I need to eat the appropriate foods that will help my body recover from workouts/long runs and keep me healthy. Plus, the refined sugars that we all know and love are highly inflammatory, which is obviously not good if I'm putting in a lot of miles and wearing down my muscles. To make sure I'm taking in enough "useful" calories to replenish my body, I'm going to stick with my recent plan of saving the sweets-eating for weekends. 
• Keeping up the core work. Having a strong core is so important for runners! I will try to keep doing 8-minute abs 4-5 times per week.
• Getting enough sleep. This makes such a difference in recovery, and how I feel during the day! I already go to bed pretty early, but I also like to wake up REALLY early so if that means going to bed even earlier, that's what I've got to do in order to stay healthy. This will probably be pretty easy for the remainder of the summer, but I also have 8 weeks of training during the beginning fall semester when I'm really busy. Sticking to a good sleep schedule will be key.
• Stretching. Of course, this is something I severely lack at doing right now. I need to get disciplined about stretching (and listening to my body).
• Taking rest days. I definitely take days off when I'm training for something like a half-marathon, but when I'm not really training I have a bad tendency to skip rest days and get really worn down. I'm sure in a few weeks, my rest days will be golden for me :) My current marathon training plan suggests several rest/cross-training days per week. Depending on how I feel, I will likely do 2+ days of cross-training per week (cycling or rowing or maybe even a combo) but will ALWAYS take 1 complete day off per week.
• Having fun. This is the whole point. Running is not my job. It's something I do because it makes me feel strong, accomplished, and confident about myself. More than that, running each day is a way I unwind and lose my thoughts. Sometimes it's the one time per day that I can clear my thoughts. I am lucky to be able to run. 

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Tangent : Have you heard of the The Skimm? This is a free email subscription to an abbreviated version of the news. If you don't have time/interest in watching the news or reading the paper, this is a great way to get filled in on all the national and international news for the day. They send it to you bright and early every morning (except weekends) and you can read it while you drink your coffee, eat your breakfast, get ready, etc. I've been receiving it for a week and love it!

Happy 25th wedding anniversary, Mom and Dad!

Book Review : White Jacket Required.

One of my inspirations in looking for a cooking class was having just finished White Jacket Required by Jenna Weber.  This wonderful memoir illustrates Jenna's recent experience of choosing to go through culinary school after she realized that jobs were too hard to find with her background in English. The book truly gives you an inside peak at life in cooking school, and it's easy to fall in love with passionate, funny Jenna as she writes about the hilarity (and sometimes heartbreak) of her experiences during that time.

Jenna goes into detail about her daily routine at the culinary academy, from brutal wake ups to brutal instructors. She writes about the switch from be enrolled in "cooking" school to her real passion "p&b" (pastries and baking). She often refers to her semester spent in Paris, where she fell in love with food in a whole new way, and learned a new, more European appreciation of it. The book ends with Jenna finding a dream job with her new set of skills. Wonderful recipes are sprinkled throughout the book, each having a special connection to the chapter that precedes it.

Jenna's love of cooking goes all the way back to childhood, and she recounts stories of baking in the kitchen as a young girl that remind me of some of my own experiences :)

Since the beginning of her cooking school experience, Jenna has kept a blog called Eat Live Run, which has now reached national fame. She used to post stories and updates about culinary school, but as her life as changed, the subject matter has, too. Now you can find her amazing recipes and sweet updates about family life (she just had a little boy a month ago). When looking through Jenna's recipes on her blog, you can see that wholesomeness and freshness are hugely important to her. You won't find a lot of "junky" recipes and though her blog is no longer themed around "healthy living," it is clear that she is of the school that if you put good stuff into your body, you get good results out of it too! Eat well to feel well.

I don't think I'll be enrolling in cooking school anytime soon but this book definitely encouraged me to find time for one of my deepest passions, which is to be hard at work making up my own recipes or new tastes. Definitely a must-read, especially if you find yourself to be culinarily inclined!

Race Recap : A Most Excellent Race :)

I am very happy with how today went! I wasn't sure if this would just be a "fun 5k" or a "5k where I tried hard to get a new PR" and after I got going, it turned out to be the latter.  I woke up in a competitive mood and put on my special outfit which I'd laid out the night before, true to form :)

I ate breakfast at 7 (pb and banana on toast w/ coffee of course) and at 0800h headed over to the race (about ~7-minute walk from my house) so I could register and stretch and then warm-up. My mom met me about 20 minutes before the start and I did a 0.5 mile warm-up.

My short-shorts help me runs extra speedy :)

I pretty much held my place throughout the race. I finished two miles with an official time of 13:15 and the last mile headed uphill, which didn't help my dying energy. I still finished with a Garmin time of 21:25  :) Yay for sub-7 minute mile-pace! I was the first girl in my age group and 3rd or 4th woman overall... we are waiting for official results.

I think I owe this PR to taking it easy the last few days, lots of stretching, and being sure to HYDRATE yesterday. That's always important. 

After the race I did a 1.5-mile cool down, which put me at a running total of about 5 miles today. At home I stretched for awhile and relaxed, and then went on an easy 7-mile bike ride with my dad. We just want to keep getting me used to the road bike. I only had one bad thing happen, when I fell in a pothole (and knocked off my chain... these bikes are very delicate!). Riding a road bike is really fun though; it makes you feel powerful and speedy like you are flying along. Kind of like rowing!

Later activities today included : eating ice cream, lying around reading, and lots of hydrating.

I did something pretty cool...

Late last night on somewhat of a whim, I signed up for one of Sur La Table's cooking courses. The original $70 value for the class was marked down to less than $34.00... and I found myself thinking, "why not?" I signed up and went by myself, which proved to be a lot less daunting than I would have expected. The subject : French macarons.

The class was this morning and lasted for about 3.5 hours. We were instructed by a professional chef, who was absolutely amazing. She gave us a lot of information on French macarons and the different ways of preparing them. We even received little "cookbooks" with the recipes we used.

Our class had 16 people and we divided into groups, each focusing on a different flavor macaron. My group worked on lemon macarons with blueberry/lemon buttercream filling, another group worked on raspberry with white chocolate/rosewater filling, and there was also a group making cocoa macarons with a chocolate/mint ganache filling. 

After making the batter for the outer cookie, we piped it very carefully onto cookie sheets, which had templates on them (we got lots of templates to take home). Often times, the piping would form a "nipple" on top of the cookie - a problem easily resolved by getting a dab of water on your finger and patting it down.

While the shells were in the oven, we worked on the buttercream. Filling is always my favorite part.

The mixer we used was an amazing Breville. Very high-tech and almost silent, even when on the highest speed. During a break, I wandered out and located it in the store. $300.00? No problem! (Just kidding :)

Since macarons are pretty temperamental, our chef instructor did most of the handling with the ovens. 

You have to wait for them to cool completely so that they pop right off the cookie sheets - otherwise they tear and collapse!

Truly one of the prettiest baked goods I know of!

I got lots to take home!

I was very proud to have created these little goodies.

In the end, I loved the class and would definitely take more (if they go on sale and are in my affordability range again :).

I guess the class put me on a cooking kick, because once I got home I whipped up some carrot cake granola to last us for the week, and for dinner I had sweet potato veggie burgers using THIS recipe. It was my first time making these and they were a big hit with my family (who had made non-veggie burgers for their own dinner)! I made them slider size so they can be incorporated into my lunches this week during work.

At the end of it all I hopped on the spin bike, took a nice relaxing bath (my first bath in about a year!) and spent about 20 minutes stretching... 5k tomorrow! Heading to bed early tonight... haven't been able to catch up on sleep in the longest time!

I think they want to see me again.

Today I started and finished a run before 8AM... the only time it's cool enough to be outside these days! I took Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday completely off of running. I could tell my body is tired - maybe residual tiredness from Europe, maybe the change in weather and climate, maybe I started doing too many miles too fast. And I'm definitely not getting enough sleep (what else is new?). 

Anyways, the plan is to do another small run tomorrow, cross-train on Saturday, and then RACE on Sunday! I've done The Most Excellent Race twice in the last four years. One year I did it with my mom, one year I did it with friends, and last year I had to skip it because I had just done a half-marathon. Since marathon training doesn't start until Tuesday (and is very light for the first week) I take that as my cue to do the 5k.

Plus they keep sending me mail... So I think they'd like to see me (or my donation...) again.

In other news, it's been forecasted to STORM all week but we've had great weather. On Tuesday night, went to see Maleficent. Not a huge Angelina fan but I love Disney fairytales and thought the plot line was pretty clever. Yesterday, the lack of storminess allowed us to get Food Truck Lunch, which I love! 

And after lunch I had a bunch of phone calls to make. There wasn't enough space/quiet for everyone to do this in our office so I headed to a Starbucks where I sat outside and made the calls. It's not easy for me to "work from home," I get too distracted! So I splurged on a coffee (light Cinnamon frappucino was good :) and was majorly productive. 

Afterwards I had a short break and then headed off to do some nannying, which is becoming the new norm for my evenings! I love it - kids keep me busy!

Otherwise I have been doing a lot of recipe-searching (so excited for my new apartment and KITCHEN this fall :) and a whole lot of Regatta Chair stuff. Hoping to help make this fall season excellent for the team! Europe prepared me well for logistical detail-planning such as hotel booking,  putting in race bids (on time!),  and figuring out travel plans for the team. So, lots going on!

Overtraining : It's Not Just About Exercise, and a Travel Tangent.

I found this article extremely interesting to read... there have been points where I feel overtrained and don't necessarily think I'm doing too much. Sometimes I feel overworked when I'm hardly exercising at all! However, this article explains that it's not always to do with running or exercise...but stress on your body and lack of recuperation : 

Reading this makes me even MORE glad I'm taking a break for a few days this week. I do not think I am overtrained right now, but I think that some good, solid rest before the big training kick can't hurt.

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This is a complete tangent but...

Now that I've been home from Europe for just over a month, I find myself aching to travel again. For the first few weeks home, I desperately needed those days to recover and heal my body from what had been a challenging (and at the same time, amazing) semester. Despite the fact that all of that constant travel and go-go-go mentality was a bit taxing on me, I miss being able to pick up and travel every week, seeing wonders of the world at the drop of a hat, and being able to discover new things. I feel that there is so much left for me to discover and I find myself wondering how and when that can fit into my life next. I've found myself trying to think about if I can afford another, smaller Study Abroad to France next summer, and wondering if it's financially feasible to do another tour of Europe in a few years. I find myself thinking of the other places I'm now interested in going to; the Amazon, Asia, and even the Middle East. Heck, I'd like to see more the US! I'd be thrilled to get to California or to do an East Coast tour.

I find myself looking back through all of my old photographs and missing things that were once simple in daily life. I miss even riding the bus, I miss the nice trains, I miss reusable grocery bags (which I actually did bring several of back home). I miss understanding Luxembourg in a way that you can only understand a place you live. I miss the checkout guy at "Cactus," who - no matter what day or what time I showed up - was always there to ring me up. I miss the pharmacist in Differdange who flattered me after hearing me speak French. While I was there, I missed how "modern" things are over here, and now that I am home, I miss the old-fashioned aspects of life in Europe. My heart now aches for these things.

I longed so much for home while I was there, and now I wish I could be back over there! Maybe I'm a chronically miserable person... I just always have to wish for what I don't have (not that I really am miserable; that is a gross exaggeration!).

Ultimately, I am so grateful that I had this experience and exposure. I will be back to Europe... I'm not sure how or when, but I will be working hard so that I can afford to return :)

Warning - Contains Controversy : Book Review for Eating Animals.

I know I've mentioned before about reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. I was plowing through it full steam ahead while we were traveling in Europe but have been reading library books for the last month that I've been home. I picked it back up again to finish it and I have to say, it's pretty groundbreaking. 

When I first started reading the, I didn't expect my feelings on meat to change. I'm just not very interested in meat, which is why I don't eat it - I think it's a waste of the life of an animal if I don't really care for it. Plus, my mother has abstained from red meat for over 30 years, and I've always been vaguely aware that certain meats contain things in them that you might not necessarily want to put into your body. I never knew specifics. My big argument has always been "Well, how often do you think primitive humans were able to catch and eat meat?" I've been interested in eating pure, natural foods that our bodies were designed to process (plus sometimes donuts :). There's no way around it - cave men and women were NOT eating meat every day. At the same time, I don't want to discourage my family or friends from eating meat if they want to; I don't have a problem with animals dying for us to eat - it's the circle of life and I do agree that it's very natural.

~ If you don't want to hear about the meat-processing industry,  I won't be offended if you skip the rest of this post ~

Towards the second half of Eating Animals, I started to learn things about factory farming that I hadn't already known. I knew about the conditions for chickens - I think that's more common knowledge for everyone. I knew that they lived sad, abused lives in horribly crowded and brutal conditions. When I started reading about the pigs, though, is when I got upset. Pigs are smart and good-natured animals, and the conditions that they are expected to live in are even worse than those of the chickens. When they are brought together to be slaughtered, some are so frightened and distraught by the conditions and circumstances that they have heart attacks on the spot. Weak or deformed piglets (about 9-10% of the piglets that are born) are "thumped" as a brutal form of euthanasia - they are picked up by their hindquarters and bashed against the ground. Sculls cracked, eyeballs hanging loose, they are left there to die. Mercilessly. Is this kind of suffering necessary? Foer explained how the excrement and disease that these animals live in are "overlooked" and packaged and processed into the very meats that are available at our supermarkets, sometimes making us sick.

At first I wanted to quote graphic excerpts from the book on here, but then I decided I didn't want to change my readers' minds on meat or be the one to "scare" them away from it. I still think that there's nothing wrong with eating meat occasionally, especially if you know where it comes from. If/when I have children, I fully plan to serve them meat as they grow up (of course, it will be extremely carefully selected by me...and probably expensive!). Anyways, I highly, highly suggest that everyone read this book and do yourself the service of being educated... not even necessarily for the health or well-being of the animals, but for yourselves and for our nation. I'm not trying to suggest that anyone stops eating meat or change your diet, I'm just suggesting that it can't hurt to look into where you meat comes from. And if you don't want to look into it - that's fine too :)

I didn't mean for this post to be graphic or upsetting, but it's something I feel really strongly about and as much as I try to keep this blog neutral, I felt really compelled to share this information. I think that people deserve to be educated :)

Cream puffs and Father's Day.

Today - my first Saturday off - has been filled with lots of fun, relaxing things. Started of with a nice  easy run in cool temps. Saw my grandparents in their garden and stopped to say hello! Came home and whipped up some cream puffs for my dad for Father's Day weekend... this was my first time making them in several years and I'm so pleased with how they came out! There are many steps and it's definitely a time commitment but they are NOT hard to make and I recommend it. You'll impress all your friends! I followed THIS recipe.

The first thing I did was make the custard. It has to chill for quite awhile so I wanted to get that part out of the way. It's extremely thick and even has flour in it!

Next is the slightly tricky part... the actual pastry dough. As long as you follow directions properly, you won't have any issues. The dough is very particular and needs constant attention but once it's done, it's done! There's something very satisfying about liquid forming into dough right in front of you as you stir it.

Then, you scoop it out and spread some egg wash on top! Be VERY careful not to let the egg wash drip onto the cookie sheet... it will stick and stop the pastry from rising. 

Once you pull these babies out of the oven, make sure to slit the sides immediately with a pairing knife... if they don't ventilate they might collapse!

Then the fun part! Whip some cream into the custard and fill the pastries!

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Got to have some healthy food in here too... I've resorted back to my favorites from my kitchen in Luxembourg... sweet potatoes and broccoli. Except here, the sweet potatoes are GIANT! Classic America...

Baked is best :)

Random, but I love babysitting for rowing families because it means I get to read their US Rowing magazines...

For Father's Day we headed over to the grandparents for our typical family dinner. My grandpa, who used to be an avid runner and marathoner - gave me some hand-me-downs from 1988... I guess he's excited for me to do my first marathon :)

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Today I did 6 miles in some gorgeous weather. I think I'm going to take most of the week off of running (and maybe from exercise all together). I can tell my body will want a nice rest before my intense 16 weeks of training starts up (a week from tomorrow).

I've been getting a little overwhelmed by all of my extracurricular commitments and things I want to do... between my exec position for the rowing team, my current job, training for the bike race, the marathon, and the upcoming rowing season (I have 2+ races in a double and have to make it to at least a few practices with my partner!), the magazine I write for, and all of my research and courses, I feel like I have a lot on my plate. I recently had to quit a good job that I got for during the school year because I realized I was way, way too over-scheduled. I'm interested in everything and have trouble quitting anything. 

A lot of this is pre-anxiety for the stuff I have coming up - how will I be able to manage it all!? While I was worrying I found myself in the kitchen prepping my lunch and breakfast for tomorrow... I have found that cooking and preparing food is so therapeutic for me! I love getting my lunches and breakfasts ready and look for new ways to make them exciting (today I put strawberries in my overnight oats for some extra color.... usually it's just blueberries and bananas!). 

I try to remind myself that everything I'm doing is stuff I get to do and that is fun for me. I think I'll feel better once I get the bike race behind me but to be honest, marathon training is hugely daunting for me.

Sorry for all the rants/tangents in this post! Just had a lot on my mind lately. See you tomorrow :)

Recap on this busy week!

This week flew by before I could make any posts! I worked four long days and attended the sister's high school graduation last night... Now I'm enjoying a nice 3-day weekend after 3 very intense weeks of work. 

I've been waking up at 6AM to get going for work, running when I come home, eating dinner, showering, and getting promptly in bed. The cycle just repeats and repeats! 

Let's fill each other in on our weeks...

Earlier this week I headed to Whole Foods with my mom, where I made my own Almond Butter. This was my first time tasting the stuff, and I really enjoy it! But I say if you are going to eat organic, non-processed nut-butter, stick with the (much, much) cheaper peanut butter. 

Loved the flowers that were out at Whole Foods...

Last night when we were downtown for graduation, I had the first opportunity to checkout the World's Largest (or second largest? I'm not sure now...) outdoor chandelier. It looked nice when it got dark out, but I'm still not sure why this happened... and I also think it's location is kind of random even though it's in front of the Playhouse...

Can't believe we are both done with high school now...

We went to one of my personal favorite restaurants for dinner with our whole family (and the grandparents and one of our aunts). The restaurant is called Cowell & Hubbard and the owner is Zach Bruell, who graduated from Shaker Heights High School as well! We went there after my graduation and my mom spotted him cooking in the kitchen! He signed my Commencement program and I gushed over him - he is very active on the Food Network and has several other great restaurants in this area. It was great to return to that restaurant 2 years later!

Desert was amazing... flourless chocolate cake and truffles...

When I got home I saw that my new sweater that I bought on sale from J. Crew Factory had arrived... nice and light and summery. 

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I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my day off... Running in the Metro Parks and Trader Joe's (of course). I headed out and did 6 miles without music, just listening to the sounds in nature (bull frog, lots of birds, etc). The soft dirt felt great on my joints after a few weeks of running on the unforgiving pavement!

Then, the fun place. 

Got lots of baking coming up for Father's Day weekend... keep an eye out for the recipes! I'll put them up soon!

Hip hip hooray - a day off :)

Today is SUNDAY! My day off :) I've been working Tuesday through Saturday for the last few weeks, and this coming week we're switching to a normal Monday-Friday schedule so this weekend, I  have just Sunday off. Man, I needed a break after this crazy week!

I really stuck to my plan of "no sweets during the week" for the past few days... and it really did make me feel better! Helped me feel a little more energized and getting sustenance from healthy snacks definitely made a bigger difference in how I felt. Don't get me wrong - I was still glad when it was time to eat desert again on the weekend!

Couldn't ignore National Donut Day, of course!

Friday was a good 5-mile run after work - skipped the 8-minute abs and 8-minute arms though because I was EXHAUSTED and getting up early again on Saturday. It was more important to get some sleep. 

Right after work on Friday, I drove straight to babysitting. I was there until 11PM (past my bedtime!). I had to keep an eye on 4 kiddos but they are pretty independent so mostly I just hung out with their dog.

Nibbled on some of my chocolate that I brought back from Luxembourg (yes it's really from there - not sure why the label is in English!). 

Later found the dog like this...

Went straight to bed when I got home yesterday, and got up early today to go to church for my sister's Senior Recognition. Can't believe she'll be joining me at Miami in the fall... time flies!

Did another 5-mile run today and spotted THIS snapping turtle! I actually saw three snapping turtles on my run... it was crazy!

Did 8-minute abs and 8-minute arms (the usual!) and had the best ice cream sandwich ever from Trader Joe's afterwards...

Of course I still have to eat some stuff with nutritional value so I cooked this up really quickly too - lettuce, frozen mixed veggies and an egg (normally I would have more than one egg but I had eggs for breakfast too so one was enough for me!). 

Headed to bed soon so I can get up early again tomorrow and tackle the day!!!