Blizzard

Well folks, it has certainly been an interesting three days. Beginning with Friday, we drove out to Asheville around noon to run some errands (and I had a hair appointment). We thought nothing of it because the weather forecast said that it was supposed to start raining at 3pm and then by nightfall (6pm) the rain would turn into snow. Great, no problem. We had plenty of time. The only problem is that weather rolled in much quicker and heavier than the forecasters predicted.

As I was sitting in the stylist's chair with soaking wet hair, I looked over and saw that it had started snowing. Huh. That wasn't supposed to happen yet - what happened to the rain? So, I called the Irishman and said you better come get me, it's snowing. As we left the hair salon, he wanted to squeeze in one more errand (to pick up a special edition beer) and I started to get nervous. In typical male bravado, he boasted, "Don't worry about it. It's still 40 degrees outside. It won't stick yet."

I snapped this picture with my phone right as we were getting on the highway.



It was slow going, but decent driving conditions for the first half of the trip. But then things got ugly. About 20 miles from home, cars not equipped for the conditions started spinning out on the road in front of us. It was completely understandable considering that just one hour after we left Asheville, this is what we were driving through.



We were driving about 25 miles an hour. Thankfully, Parker had his DVD player so he was blissfully ignorant about how scary the drive actually was. Of course, it got worse. About 6 miles from home, we saw a handful of cars stopped up ahead. Crap. There was a man standing in the road holding up traffic. This is about when a full blown panic hit me. We were way further than walking distance from home. I didn't even have my heavy jacket with me (it was in the car I had driven earlier) and we didn't have any extra food in the car.

Actually, that isn't entirely true. I did have a stash of ketchup packets in the glove box that I kept for dire emergencies. In fact, the Irishman made fun of me on a regular basis for hoarding ketchup packets, but I swear to you, every story I had ever heard of someone falling in a ditch and being lost for days before discovery ended with, "I survived eating ketchup packets." It made an impression on me, so I started stashing them in the glove box. Of course, us stopped six miles from home with a small child and no idea of when we'd start moving again was probably not the best time for me to bring it up (which of course I did), but strangely enough, I felt comforted by the thought of a handful of packets.

The good news is that (1) we were only at a standstill for about 20 minutes or so. They had stopped us to allow emergency crews to clear up a wreck further up the road; (2) our new Subaru Outback handled amazingly well. The Irishman said that there wasn't a single moment when he felt unstable in it. He was more freaked out by the cars careening off of the road in front of us than by the actual driving itself.

I heaved a huge sigh of relief when we got off on our exit and an even bigger one when we hit the town proper since we could easily have walked home from there. Thankfully, our trusty new car took us all the way up to the house (on 3 inches of fresh snow). We started a fire, toasted to being safely in our home and swore that we would not do something so foolish as being 50 miles from our home within hours of a predicted storm system moving.

Here are some pictures I took as soon as we got home. All of this snow accumulated in a matter of 2 hours.







This below was the actual color of the sky.



This is looking out of one of the front windows of our house. Look at how blue everything was in comparison to the warm tones of our house. So surreal!



Oh and we finally figured out how to start and maintain a fire. Good thing since we promptly lost power for 15 hours.

Resistance Bands

Hi folks! I hope everyone is thus far having a great 2010 and sticking with their goals and resolutions. If you haven't quite gotten on track, that's okay. Regain your focus and don't waste another minute feeling guilty about it. Tomorrow is always another day. Perfection is not something to strive for. On the other hand, consistently giving your best effort is a worthy goal and that's all we can ask of ourselves.

I had a request to discuss vacations, specifically how to keep from getting derailed if you leave town or have a shift in routine. For me, I have to keep my head in the game. When I know that I'll be out of town for any period of time, I try to squeeze in a workout right before I leave. If I have access to a decent hotel gym, I'll take advantage of that and go first thing in the morning (making sure to scope it out the night before so I'm not intimidated by just walking in blind). If, however, I don't have access to a gym, I bring these along:



These are my Gold's Gym resistance bands that I picked up at WalMart for about $15 dollars. Conveniently, they come with 3 different tension levels as well as a DVD (that you can watch before you leave) and written instructions (with pictures that you can take with you).

The box looks like this.



I picked up the resistance bands for a number of reasons.

(1) They are incredibly light, weighing in at less than 1 lb. so they are easily transported.

(2) I used a much more primitive version of resistance bands as a competitive swimmer and I very clearly remember the burn. Don't make the mistake of thinking that you won't get a decent muscle workout with these. The more you increase the tension, the heavier the weight.

(3) I could do a large number of exercises that I would normally do with dumbbells or a weighted curl bar - bicep curls, tricep extensions, squats, lunges - you name it!

(4) They were inexpensive, so even if I only used them a handful of times a year, it was no biggie.

I will tell you that I usually use them about once a week (on the days that I probably should go to the gym to lift, but don't make it there). You all know that my motto is JUST DO IT so there are no excuses for not squeezing in some form of exercise three or four times a week.

If you also want to throw in a bit of cardio while you're traveling, I recommend buying a simple jump rope. You'll burn as many calories jumping rope for 10 minutes as you would running and you'll get a heck of a calf burn in the process! I have a weighted Gold's Gym jump rope (that I bought at the same time as the resistance bands) and on cold, rainy days, it gets me warm and helps burn some calories.

Also, don't be afraid to go ahead and bring your running/walking shoes with you on a work trip. I've gotten to explore a number of cities by running their streets in the mornings. Just make sure that you do either an out and back route or a simple loop so that you don't find yourself lost.

So remember, when leaving town (or even when you just get swamped), make sure to plan ahead and squeeze in 30 minutes for yourself. It will do wonders for your physical and mental well being.

Pineapple Zucchini Bread

This past weekend, I sat down and went through 13 Cooking Light magazines. I pulled out the recipes that I thought I would definitely try and I gave the leftover magazine to Parker to use for Arts and Crafts projects. He had a blast cutting out pictures and I found it interesting that he was drawn to cutting out pictures of people instead of objects. Well, he did cut out every cookie that he came across. Poor deprived child.

Anyway, the point of the above rambling is that I now have a stack of recipes to make. If it gets a "thumbs up" from the boys, I'm passing it along to you. Recipe #1 of the Cooking Light Recipe Testing Extravaganza was this pineapple zucchini bread. The Irishman has been lamenting that Parker isn't getting enough veggies in his diet (which I do have to agree with), so I thought I would try the sneaky route that seems to be all the rage these day. By adding crushed pineapple to the zucchini bread, it adds a lovely sweetness. The bonus here is that I can assert that it's "pineapple bread" without lying.

Here's the recipe for you and remember, this is coming to you directly from Cooking Light, which means that it is a modified, lighter version of the recipe without sacrificing taste. My mom got me a subscription about 5 years ago and has renewed it for me every year. One of the best magazines around (along with Men's Health which is both informative and has pictures of ridiculously built men). But, I digress.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 large egg
1 cup sugar
1 cup grated zucchini (1 medium zucchini)
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup egg substitute (like Egg Beaters)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 can crushed pineapple in juice, drained

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder and cinnamon in a bowl. Mix well and set aside. Beat egg in a mixer until foamy, then add in sugar, zucchini, oil, egg substitute and vanilla. Once well blended, add in flour mixture until just combined.

Next, fold in crushed pineapple and spoon batter into a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Shockingly, I don't own any loaf pans, so I just baked it in my trusty oval shaped ovenware. Bake for about an hour (until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean).

This was really a lovely bread. It was incredibly moist and flavorful. Next time, I'll double the recipe and freeze half of it. I'm particularly thrilled that Parker has been scarfing it down. When he first tried it, I was lurking in the corner like a cooking villain spying to see whether he ate it. After I heard his characteristic, "Mmmmmmmm, mmmmmmmm, mmmmmmm" that he keeps up for the duration of the meal when he's enjoying the food, I chuckled an evil little laugh and mentally plotted my next vegetable coup.

Firewood

When we were living in Florida, buying firewood was an occasional experience. It probably got cold enough to use it on a regular basis, but it was more for the novelty of the experience than for the heat it provided.

In our drafty old house in North Carolina, we quickly realized that unless we wanted a $400 monthly heating bill, we better get used to building and maintaining a fire in the fireplace when it dips below 20 degrees. There was one small problem. Where the heck do we get firewood from?

We checked out the usual places that we purchased wood in Florida (Lowe's and the grocery store) and as you would imagine, it was ridiculously overpriced. So, the Irishman decided to make friends with on of our neighbors who has a huge stack in front of his house to figure out where we can get a similar stack.

He came back with a phone number for a guy named Earl who drops off wood by the pick-up load. Perfect. I was relieved that we could arrange an economical way of having all of the firewood that we would need. So, the following day, Earl showed up driving his pick-up truck and the Irishman gets to work on unloading the wood.

So, now we have firewood. Turning it into a fire is another challenge in and of itself (we've never worked with wood that had not been pretreated), but we've been slowly and steadily figuring out how to get it going.

One thing that is clear to me is that I so would not survive in the wild by myself. It's almost laughable at how little I know about basic cold weather survival. Do you think the Boy Scouts would let me join their organization? This situation has to be remedied if we're going to do all of the camping that I'd like to do in the spring.

Roasted Acorn Squash

The Food Network has always been a source of culinary inspiration for me. When Parker was an infant and I was working from home, I needed something on the TV that was light, fun and didn't require a lot of attention on my part. As such, I alternated between Food Network, HGTV and The Golden Girls. Life was both simple and hectic at the same time back in those days.

Anyway, I found myself watching the Food Network last week as I was folding laundry and Sunny Anderson was roasting acorn squash. She had put a pad of butter and a tablespoon of brown sugar in the center and let it do it's thing. It was super easy and she seemed to enjoy it (although I'm sure they would roll their eyes ecstatically even if it tasted like cow manure), so I thought I would give it a try.

I can honestly say that prior to last week, I had never purchased acorn squash in my life. But, as instructed on the happy Food Network, I cut it in half lengthwise, scooped out the seeds and plopped a 1/2 tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of brown sugar in the middle of each half.

I put it in a 400 degree oven and I spooned the melting butter/sugar mixture over the edges of the squash about every 15 minutes or so. I let it cook for an hour. (It's done when your fork easily sinks into the flesh of the squash.)

And then I took it out. And I let it cool a little bit. And I took a bite. And my eyes rolled ecstatically into the back of my head. It was simple and simply delicious. And that is the story of how acorn squash and I met.

Of Mice And Men

So last week we had a mouse incident. Specifically, Payton the bionic cat dropped a dead mouse onto my foot. I screamed. And cursed. And scrubbed my skin raw. All of which are presumably normal reactions from a former Floridian who has no experience with such things.

As I was recounting the story to Patrick, we both agreed that Lulu Belle had probably been the one to chase down and kill the little mouse, but walked away from it when the slaughter was done leaving Payton to claim the kill. Quite frankly, Payton is a bit tubby and lazy to chase down live prey. Even if he was so inclined to give chase, only having one real eye definitely affects his depth perception. We had this conversation in front of Parker and he refused to believe it.

For Parker, Payton was the mouse killer. In his eyes, Payton is young and fit and gifted with two working eyes. He is the savior of small children and the destroyer of all rodent kind. His faith in Payton as a feline is really quite admirable. So, I did my best to keep a straight face when Parker solemnly requested that Payton be allowed to "keep guard" while he took a nap. You know, in case any rodents decided to make an appearance.

Payton accepted this challenge without hesitation (aided I'm sure by the promise of getting to lay on the chenile throw on Parker's bed). Here is Payton the Rodent Killer keeping guard of Parker.



Yup, he takes his assignments seriously. Especially when it involved eating and sleeping.

Kung Fu Fighter

So, we signed Parker up for Kung Fu a couple of weeks ago. It's his first extracurricular activity and he's ridiculously excited to go to his class. We like it because the focus is on discipline and physical activity. He likes it because he gets to run around like a maniac with 5 other 3-4 year olds. It's a win-win situation.

Here is the little Kung Fu fighter getting ready to go to class.



And here he is in class with the other little warriors in training.


Their Si Fu (leader) is telling them "Listen To Learn." It's the catch phrase for this age group because they sure do have a hard time listening.

Here are the little tykes stretching (or attempting to stretch).



Then, it's time to play, err, to learn. And all chaos breaks loose.



I have no idea what they were supposed to be doing here, but it was hysterical to watch. The Si Fu has the patience of a saint and lots to tricks to get their attention. Which is short lived before they start running around like maniacs again.

Here, they were learning how to do a side kick. All of the kids got the hang of it. Except for Parker who apparently thought they were supposed to be climbing like monkeys. Oh dear.



Since it was only his second class, I'm sure he'll pick it up. If not, at least I know that he's capable of climbing a tree in the event that someone is chasing him. He can side kick them from up there. I'm sure that was his plan. Yeah, that's it.

Running Gear

In the event that you decided to start a running routine, I wanted to share with you some of the gear that I've found most useful. Thankfully, running is one of the least expensive sports to get hooked on, but there are still some modifications that need to be made, particularly with regard to the weather. In the post below, light gray font indicates that I've included a hyperlink that will take you to the website of the particular gear that I'm describing. Just consider me your own personal product tester. Alright, let's get started.

1. Shoes. First and foremost, you really do need to get outfitted with shoes that work with your feet. The absolute best way to do this is to go to a running store and allow them to pick them for you. If you don't know of one in your area, shoot me an email and I'll be happy to find one for you. By the way, you don't need to purchase the shoes from that running store - simply make note of the make and model that they put you in and then find the best price on the Internet. And in case you are worried about them trying to put you in the most expensive shoes out there, I've been to three different specialty stores (in Ft. Lauderdale, in Tallahassee and in Asheville) and in my experience that has not been the case. I'm in the New Balance 859s and my brother is in a pair of Brooks, both of which retain for under $100. I usually find mine online for about $50 a pair.

One thing to note about running shoes is that they only last about 300-400 miles before the internal structure starts to breakdown. I thought that this was just something they said in order to sell more shoes, but whenever my ankle pain kicks in, I realize that I've maxed out the mileage on that pair and it's time for a new one. Also, you may need to purchase separate insoles for your shoes depending on your pronation. I won't go into over pronation and under pronation here, but they can detect it immediately when you stand before the specialist barefoot at the running store.

2. Socks. You need a sock that has cushioning on the toes and on the heel (trust me, your battered toes will thank you), but that are also made of wool so that they whisk the moisture away from your feet, thus preventing blisters. I have run for hundreds and hundreds of miles and the single time that I got blisters, it was due to running a half marathon in the rain. In other words, running-specific socks are all that they're cracked up to be. My brother and I both like these Thorlo socks. They're comfortable, functional and last forever. I bought 3 pairs a year ago when we began our marathon training and they're still good as new.

3. Sports Bra. Obviously, this is for the ladies here. As I'm sure that you're uber aware of already, it is imperative that you have good support. Regardless of your size, you can find a comfortable and supportive sports bra. I have three different ones that I use. This Champion Action Shape sports bra is by far my favorite and the one that I wear in every race. Make sure you order from a website that has easy returns and exchanges because it definitely took me a number of failures to find some that worked. If it's any help, all of mine are made by Champion.

4. Clothing. For this one, I want to break down the clothes that I wear on the basis of the outside temperature. If you aren't currently a runner, this list is going to make it look like I'm seriously under dressed, but trust me, you will get hot fast and in my opinion, it is better to be cold in the start than overheating for the next 5 miles.

60+ degrees: If it's at least 60 degrees outside, I almost always train in a cotton tank top and running shorts. I stock up on Target's long and lean tank tops and use them for everything - running, sleeping, running around town. The reason that tank tops are great for running is that they're fitted and leave your arms free to move. There is nothing worse than running in a t-shirt, which sticks to you in certain spots when you start to sweat and rubs your arms as you move. Yuck.

For shorts, I'm partial to low-rise shorts that sit on my hips. I don't like the feel of shorts on my belly. Quite frankly, I don't like to feel like I'm wearing shorts at all. These Sugoi's are great as are the Nike Tempo Track shorts. Your local running store is a good place to try them on. Some good features to look for are a key pocket (usually sewn into the front waistband) and if you're going to race in them, additional back pockets are great additions.

50-59 degrees: When it's in the 50s, I usually trade in my cotton tank for a fitted shirt with sleeves made out of a wicking material, like this one from Nike. While you'll still heat up fairly quickly, you want to make sure that your skin isn't getting wet and the wicking shirt definitely prevents that. If it's sunny out, I'll stick with my running shorts, but if I'm running in the dark, I usually opt for fitted capris like these Nike ones. (P.S. I am in no way affiliated with Nike - well, beyond using their slogan as my mantra - I just happen to find that their apparel fits me well).

40-49 degrees: When it dips into the 40s, I usually stick with my capris, but I trade my top in from a short-sleeved one to a long sleeved one made out of the same material. Usually, I'll add in ear warmers like these by Mountain Hardwear, which are just a fleece headband that wraps around your entire head. It is amazing what a difference these make! If it's closer to 40 degrees and it's dark, I'll also throw on a pair of glove liners.

30-39 degrees: Now we're getting to the chilly temps. If it's during the day time and sunny, I'll dress the same way that I did for 40 and dark above. (Am I confusing you yet?) If it's closer to 30 degrees and dark, I'm trading my glove liners for fleece-lined mittens and I'm throwing a light jacket over my long-sleeved wicking shirt. My favorite running jacket is actually one made by Champion that you can find at Target. Whatever jacket you choose, you want it to be snug to hold in body heat. I wore this one all the time on those cold Tallahassee mornings during the marathon training. Again, as long as your ears and your hands are warm, your body will heat up just fine.

Under 30 degrees: I made 3 awesome purchases for when it's in the 20s that have kept me amazingly warm during the cold, dark mornings. The first of which was this compression shirt by Under Armour. This shirt, which doesn't look like it should keep you warm, has overheated me on many a 30-degree morning. It is amazingly warm, particularly when I pair it with these Mountain Hardwear fleece running pants. In fact, I'm wearing them right now because it's chilly in my house and they're incredibly comfortable. Finally, I added a neck gaiter, which sits around your neck like a loose tube of fleece, but that you can pull up over your nose and mouth. Again, extremely effective.

Random stuff:

If it's drizzling, my only modification is adding a hat to keep the water out of my eyes.

On very sunny days, sunglasses are a must. I bought these Native Silencers right before the marathon and they are awesome! They are virtually weightless and as an added bonus, they sit on my head without moving in the event that I start running in the dark or clouds move it. Worth every penny.

I usually keep bottles of water at my car or I drop them off at 3-5 mile intervals around the loop that I plan to run. I promise, no one will touch a random bottle of water propped against a tree. The only other things that I ever have with me are tissues (which I either tuck up my sleeve or leave with the water) and packets of Gu energy gel (tucked into the back pocket of my shorts) I use Gu for runs that are upwards of 8 miles and I usually consume a packet every 5 miles or so. Gu is kind of like a concentrated Gatorade that provides you with sugar, sodium and caffeine (if you pick a flavor that includes it). When you feel your energy waning, it definitely gives you an extra little kick.

Well, that's it. All of my running gear knowledge. Best of luck in your endeavor and God speed.

Frozen Water

The winter storms that dropped buckets of snow on our neck of the woods have been gone now for several weeks. As you drive around town, you can tell the areas that get plenty of sunshine from those that don't based on whether remnants of snow remain on the ground.

As I drive into campus I pass through an area called Catamount Gap. It's a small stretch of road that has a sheer rock face on both sides. You can tell that they had to blast through the mountain in order to connect our town (Sylva) to the town where the university is (Cullowhee).

On one side of Catamount Gap, the side that doesn't get any sun, there's what looks like a beautiful frozen waterfall.



Since there's no waterfall there in actuality, I can only imagine that as the snow melted into water and poured down the cliff face, temperatures dipped below freezing and it remained that way. It's been like this now for weeks and it's just gorgeous. I can see water dripping from the icicles as I drive by it and I can also see chunks of ice on the ground from where large pieces have broken away from the mass, so there's definitely some movement towards displacement. But, since the temperatures dip into freezing every night, I'll probably get to look at this frozen water for a while yet.

It may be a bit on the chilly side here, but it sure is beautiful.

Martin Luther King Day

Good morning folks! In honor of Martin Luther King Day, I wanted to post a commentary that I wrote in 2007 after the extensive coverage received by the Duke rape case involving three white college kids as defendants. While I generally keep things light and fun here on The Daily Cynema, I woke up this morning at around 4am (courtesy of a Parker wake up call) and felt compelled to share this with you. I should also tell you that race, ethnicity and crime is my area of specialization, so not surprisingly, I feel rather strongly on issues of justice and injustice.

Colleagues and friends,

It is with increasing disgust that I continue to follow the Duke Lacrosse rape case. Having watched a press conference in which two of the players spoke out about their experiences, several key points have remained with me. Seligmann, one of the accused, shared several eloquent sound bites referencing the "dark cloud of injustice" that has surrounded the case and expounded on how this country has "lost sight of the presumption of innocence." Perhaps an individual like Seligmann can expect a presumption of innocence. Perhaps an upper-middle class white male with the resources to hire a legal team for representation has the luxury to talk about a presumption of innocence.

Seligmann, of course, is in the minority considering that the average individual that passes through the revolving doors of the criminal justice system is a member of a faceless horde of disenfranchised Americans; individuals who have neither the voice nor the slick representation to navigate the often convoluted maze of the system. For those individuals, this country has not lost the presumption of innocence because it never existed in the first place. Ask the individuals who lack the resources to make bail and must remain in pretrial detention about their presumption of innocence. Ask the individual whose face is featured as a suspect on the 6 o'clock news in countless of cities around the country about his presumption of innocence. I'm quite certain that you won't be surprised by the answers you receive.

Seligmann did drop in a sound bite about how his experience has "opened his eyes" to the injustice that is possible in the system. He goes on to say that if an individual such as himself can be arrested and prosecuted, imagine what can occur to people who cannot afford to defend themselves. The important point in his statement is the reference to his inalienable belief that a difference exists between him and the multitude of others accused of crimes. In fact, the difference between his situation and "theirs" is not limited to monetary resources or even to social capital. It is the belief supported by our hegemonic patriarchy that elite white males exist in a dimension of society shared only by their peers.

I also read that the District Attorney issued an apology to the players while North Carolina's Attorney General proclaimed their innocence. Considering my personal experience with criminal cases, this is not only laughable, but insulting. If you want to find someone deserving of an apology, you need look no further than Juan Melendez, who served 17 years on death row prior to his exoneration. There was no physical evidence in his case linking him to the crime. Perhaps he would like an apology? How about Rudolph Holton, who was released after 16 years on death row prior to his exoneration? I'm sure the family of Frank Lee Smith would also appreciate an apology since you can't apologize to him directly. He dies of cancer in prison more than a decade after he was convicted of the rape and murder of a child. He was exonerated by DNA posthumously.

So congratulations Seligmann. You can now close your eyes again since your own personal nightmare is over. I wish I could say the same for the "others" not as fortunate.

Learning To Love...The Treadmill?!?

Most runners refer to the treadmill as the "dreadmill" and often use it only as a last resort. And grudgingly at that. They'd prefer to run in the cold and in the rain (as long as it's not a downpour) before putting in any time on the track that leads to nowhere. Primarily, it's because people who run do so for the exhilaration of the pavement beneath their feet and the wind in their hair. Your mileage is generally marked by passing of familiar landmarks and most importantly (for me), you have no option of quitting because you have to get back to your house or your car and the quickest way to get their is to run.

But this winter, it has been cold. I don't mean 20 degrees cold. I mean 6 degrees cold (with a windchill of -5). And it has been wet. And icy. And dark. I think you get the point. So, I've been putting in more time than ever on the forsaken dreadmill. But now I'm getting scared because I am maybe, possibly, incomprehensibly starting to like it. Please don't judge me.

You see, the treadmill has a number of advantages that I hadn't considered before.

1. Your water is always available.
2. You don't need to watch for traffic.
3. You don't need to dress as if you're heading to the arctic.
4. You don't need to peel off each layer every 3 miles.
5. A restroom is always available.
6. You won't freeze your tushy off (literally) relieving your bladder.
7. If you happen to injure yourself, you can get off instead of hobbling back to your car.
8. You are safe from assailants (as long as you don't count the cocky 19 year old who has grossly mistaken you for a coed).

Now, in order to successfully STAY on the treadmill, I always cover up the display with a sweatshirt (as shown in the picture at the top of the page). The only think that I can see is the time I've been on it and the speed that I'm going. I know exactly how fast I'm going, so I can commit to staying on for a certain period of time. For whatever reason, seeing the mileage that I'm running in real time completely psychs me out. I only want to know the mileage when I'm done.

I also don't pick a treadmill that has a wall in front of it. I have to be able to see out of the window to at least pretend that I'm in nature. This is my view of the Alumni Tower. It's a pretty building and there are generally a number of people passing through it on their way to the dining facilities during the day.



Finally, I crank my music up as loud as I can stand. I need to feel the beat and to drowned out the voice in my head that says, "You can stop at anytime and no one will know." Well, you know what? I will know and I will be damned if I sell my self short for even a single workout.

Let me finish by saying that while you'll never catch me on the treadmill when it's gorgeous outside or when I just feel the need to move (I sometimes just need to run - I'm not sure if I'm running towards something or away from it, but by the end of the run, it no longer matters), I've learned to appreciate the treadmill on days when it's either too cold or too dark to set out on foot alone.

Beef Fajitas

(Pretend like there's a picture of ridiculously tasty fajitas here.)

Whenever we go out for Mexican food (which is more that I'd like to admit because I'm addicted to cheese enchiladas), the Irishman orders fajitas. When they come out in all of their sizzling and smoking goodness, he always comments on how great the meat is seasoned. As always, I made a mental note and waited until I was craving fajitas (well, a veggie version) until I decided to tackle the mystery behind the seasoning. Turns out, it's all in how you marinate the meat. And the best part is that you use an inexpensive cut of meat (flank or skirt steak) so it's budget-friendly as well as seriously tasty.

Here's the marinade for the flank steak:

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1.5 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs. Cumin
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Honestly, I usually just eyeball the amounts of everything listed above as I pour it into a gallon ziplock bag. Then I toss in the flank steak, give it a good massage. I toss it in the fridge and, (are you ready for this?) forget about for 24 hours. Trust me, you want to let it marinate for that long so that the flavors meld and infuse the meat.

Once the marinating is done, the fajitas come together in less than 10 minutes. Thinly slice one large onion and a couple of peppers. I usually just do green peppers, but if you want it to be pretty, you can mix the colors up. You want to make sure that the green peppers are very thinly sliced because they generally take longer than the onions to cook.

Remove your steak from the marinade, but keep the juices. We're going to use them to season the fajitas. Slice your meat against the grain into long slices about a 1/2 inch thick. Alright, now it's time to cook!

Go ahead and heat your large skillet on medium-high, add in some olive oil and throw your peppers into the pan. I usually give them a good 4 minute head start on the onions and the meat. After those 4 minutes are up, dump in the meat, onion slices and the reserved juices. Now, kick up that heat to high so that the juices will come up to a boil (and kill any bacteria hanging out in there). After about 60 seconds of boiling, bring that heat back to medium and cook until the meat is done to your liking and the onions and green peppers are nice and soft.

When the fajita filling is done, I usually throw a small skillet on the stove and set the heat to medium. I toss each individual tortilla on there for about 30-60 seconds on each side just to heat them up and soften them a bit.

Finally, pile on your fajita filling and add whatever extras you're into - sour cream, guacamole, diced tomatoes, cheese, taco sauce... So deliciously good and easy - perfect for weeknights!

On A Schedule

Well, it's been 5 months since we moved to North Carolina and thus far, we've all been acting as if we're on one long vacation. Since Parker was only in school 3 mornings a week, the rest of the time was pretty much just go with the flow. For those of you who have small children, you are probably already aware of the fact that "go with the flow" is not generally the best idea.

Kids loves predictability and stability and they tend to lose it if their plans change unexpectedly. So, we decided to sit down with Parker and hammer out a schedule, which was made much easier by the fact that he's now in school 5 mornings a week. This is what we came up with:

9-12p- School
12:15- Lunch and TV time
12:30- Board games with mommy or daddy
1:00- Quiet time in Parker's room
2:00- Go to Kung Fu class!
3:00- Snack time
3:15- Arts and Crafts
3:45- Outdoor play or TV time (depending on weather)
4:30- Quiet time in Parker's room
5:30- Dinner
6:00- Family time
7:30- Bath, books and bed

The picture above is Parker loving arts and crafts time on day 2 of his new schedule. He keeps running over to the clock and asking me and the Irishman what's next for the day.

You know what? Kids aren't the only ones who function better when they know what's coming up. I schedule most of my days so that I (1) stay on task, and (2) treat each commitment, including working out and leisure reading, like a doctor's appointment. There's a balance in carving out time for yourself. Schedule enough of it that you feel refreshed, but not so much of it that you start to take it for granted.

Macaroni and Cheese

Unlike most of the comfort food that I post on here, this recipe did not originate from my little Greek mother. That's because macaroni and cheese is an exceedingly American dish. The Irishman happens to love macaroni and cheese, but only the traditional way. You see, a handful of years ago, I spent 2 hours putting together a gourmet version with 3 different types of milk and 5 different types of cheeses. I carried it over to the table as if it were the Holy Grail. He took one bite and said, "How long did this take you?" I, being the narcissist that I am, thought that he was going to complement my skills and I humbly answered, "A seriously long time." At which point he said, "Why didn't you just make the stuff in the box??"

I shot daggers of lightning from my eyes and vowed never to cook for him ever again. I think it lasted 3 days. Regardless, the moral of the story is not to mess with the recipe if you're billing it as macaroni and cheese. Three years later, I gave it another try with a classic recipe and this time, it was given 2 thumbs up and proclaimed "awesome."

So, here's what you need:

1 box elbow macaroni (4 cups)
3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups milk (I use 1% organic)
1 lb. cheddar cheese (or whatever you're partial to)
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons Dry Mustard (you can find this in the spice isle)
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Black Pepper

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Cook your noodles until al dente (or about 5-6 minutes). We're going to bake the entire dish, so they can be a little undercooked.

Next, melt your butter over medium heat. Once it's melted, add in your flour and whisk. Keep whisking for 3 minutes or so. The butter and flour (called a roux) will form a paste that will turn golden in color. After about three minutes, whisk in your milk, dry mustard, salt and pepper. Whisk until it's completely combined (meaning no more clumps of roux) and a thick creamy consistency (about 5 minutes).

With your beaten egg in a bowl, ladle in one spoonful of the milk mixture into the bowl so that your egg warms up a bit. Once you've stirred it together for about 30 seconds, pour the contents of the bowl back into the main pot. Stir until it's combined.

Now it's time to add the cheese! Add in about a lb. or so of your cheese of choice (making sure to reserve a handful of cheese to sprinkle on top). Turn the heat off of the stove and whisk the cheese in until it's completely melted. At this point, add your cooked macaroni into the pot and get all of the little guys smothered in the cheesy goodness.

Finally, pour the mac and cheese mixture into a greased baking dish and pop it in the oven for 20 minutes. You want a nice cheesy crust on the top, but make sure that it doesn't brown or burn. Let it cool for about 5 minutes since it will be like molten lava. Then, serve it to your loved ones and allow their words of praise and adoration to warm your heart while the macaroni and cheese warms your stomach. Regardless, you'll feel warm.

Comedy Of (Driving) Errors

Suffice it to say that the Irishman and I have no clue what we’re doing when it comes to living in a cold, snowy climate. We’re like Jake Sully when he first tries out his new Avatar body and he’s stumbling around the woods. We’re like children. Like little stupid children who are handling a 2,000 lb. weapon of mass destruction (our new Subaru). It really does feel like we’ve moved to another planet. Snow? Ice? Plows and salt? Walking through campus, I felt like Luke Skywalker on Hoth, but there was no Tauntaun to keep me warm. Gross. Anyways, before last month, these were just things in pictures. Pretty Christmas pictures with hot chocolate and roasted marshmallows and Snuggies. And while winter is all of those things when you stay inside, eventually, you need to emerge for work and food and therein lies the problem. Driving.

There definitely needs to be a handbook for Floridians who move up north because thus far, it’s a comedy of errors. Thankfully they’ve been harmless errors, but still. If only you could have heard the ridiculousness of our conversation as we drove back up here and hit the inclement weather. It went something like this:

Me: “What’s that white residue on the road? Is it ice?"

Irishman: “Yeah, no clue.”

Me: “No, I don’t think its ice. Perhaps the salt leaves a residue?"

Irishman: “Cyn, I don’t know, but perhaps you should slow down.”

Parker: “Slow down mommy!! Slow down! Slow doooooown.”

Me to the husband: “Thanks a lot.”

Nona and Chewy: “Woof. Woof.”

Me: “Yes, I definitely think its salt residue.”

(Pause)

Irishman: “Maybe it is ice. You know, black ice.”

Me: “But I thought that you couldn’t see black ice. Or it’s black. Or whatever.”

Irishman: “Yup, no clue.”

Seriously, we’re clueless. I’m sure that through a process of really stupid maneuvers, we’ll promptly figure out what not to do, but in the meantime, I’m driving like Grandma Moses and treating each speck of “whatever” on the road as if it’s deadly.

Wait, did Grandma Moses even drive? I’m not even sure I even know who Grandma Moses is. Please excuse me while I Google “Grandma Moses” for clarification.

Skills

This is a picture of my adorable child. This is a picture of my adorable child wearing a sweater that was a gift from his great-grandmother. That was actually knitted by his great-grandmother.

For all of my education and experience, I have very few actual life skills (other than cooking) and you know what? I feel somewhat lacking in this regard. I'm sure that this is a spin off of "the grass is always greener" thing, but I've always craved a simpler life. I think that's primarily why we moved to a small town in North Carolina instead of to a major city. Things just move slower here.

I would love to learn how to can foods from the harvest and knit and sew my own clothes. I'm not sure if this is just a romanticization (is that even a word?) of what I think a simple life would be like, but regardless, I think it would be pretty cool (and fulfilling) to eat food that you've either grown or caught yourself.

The problem is that I currently don't have time to learn and I hate that. Perhaps when arthritis prevents me from running or when my child is grown I can pick up some of these arts, but for the next decade or two, my road has been set. Not that I'm complaining mind you, its just that life doesn't seem quite long enough to squeeze everything in. If only we didn't need sleep at all....

The Marathon: One Year Ago

In honor of my one year marathon-niversary, I've decided to re-post all of the gory details of that grueling day. With an entire year behind me, I think back to that race often and fondly and it is still one of my proudest accomplishments.

Take a trip down memory lane with me, won't you?


Well folks, we finally did it! Both my big brother and I successfully completed the 2009 Disney Marathon, but I have to say that it was neither very fun nor very pretty. Who knew that running 26.2 miles could hurt so bad?? Wait, YOU did? Well, why didn’t you say something! Just kidding, just kidding. Here’s a run down of the days events supplemented with photos from my friend’s camera phone.

So, our day started at 3:20am. We had to be down at the Epcot parking lot by 4am to get our bags checked in and to make our way down to the starting line, which was about a one mile walk from the parking lot. When we got there, my first impression was one of disbelief that so many people had signed up for this thing. It’s amazing what a swarm of 20,000 people looks like. People were sitting, standing and pacing everywhere you looked and they were dressed from the normal (like us) to the extreme (think Disney characters on crack). To accommodate all of the people, there were hundreds of port-o-pottys lined up every couple hundred feet. It was all very strange.

After we got to our assigned corral (you were put in one based on estimated completion time), we had about a one hour wait until the start time. So, we had a seat to rest our legs. The time went by pretty quickly and before we knew it, they were getting us ready for the start. The energy there was amazing. You could almost feel the buzz coming off of everyone. I know for my brother and I, this journey started last March and we couldn’t believe that it was finally race day.

Here we are waiting for the start of the race.



The official started the countdown and with a burst of fireworks, the race began. There was a huge surge forward from the crowd as everyone was ready to start running and then we were off. My brother took off ahead after about a half mile since his average speed is much faster than mine. The first couple of miles were a blur as we expended a bunch of energy maneuvering around slower people. It was such a contrast to my training runs where it was just me and the open road. This was like an obstacle course. By the end of the race, the GPS watch registered that we ran more than 27 miles and most of that excess was from all of the back and forth we did trying to get around people. I must say, the walkers that were in the middle of the road were very annoying. Running rules should follow road rules – slower traffic keep to the right.

My friend and training partner, Kasey, suggested that we hit up a port-o-potty around mile 2 before we entered Epcot. Remember, we had been sitting around for an hour and, at this point, we had been awake for 3 hours, so nature called pretty early into the run. This was my first source of frustration. We had to wait in line for 5+ minutes to use the bathroom. That adds up considering that we needed to relieve ourselves 4 times during the race (that’s 20 minutes just standing around!) Some women were not so patient and were literally peeing on the side of the road. While I’m not the most inhibited person in the world, squatting in the bushes in front of 22,000 strangers just didn’t seem like a viable option for me. Call me crazy.

After our bathroom break, we quickly rejoined the race and headed into Epcot. This part of the race, the part in the actual theme parks, was total mayhem. The running path narrowed down dramatically and there was just a backlog of people trying to navigate the twists and turns. Epcot was a complete blur to me. Also, it was really hard to hold back our pace. There was so much adrenaline and anticipation, that I think we went out faster than we should have. Before we knew it, we had exited Epcot and were out on the road that lead to the Magic Kingdom. We were on this stretch of highway for about 4 miles or so and then we were gearing up to enter the Magic Kingdom.







At this point (mile 10 or so) we felt great. It really felt like we were just out for a walk in the park. I was aware of my ankles, but they weren’t hurting yet. Running through Magic Kingdom was nice. There was a huge crowd of people on Main Street cheering us on and it seemed pretty surreal as we wound our way through the park and then through Cinderella’s castle.


(Courtesy of Kasey's husband)


(Still feeling good at mile 12)

Before we knew it, we were back out onto the highway and were headed to Animal Kingdom. As we passed the halfway point, we were still feeling okay, but the sun was coming up and it was getting pretty warm out there. We had completed most of our training during the pre-dawn hours and didn’t anticipate how overheated we would feel in 70 degree weather. As we neared Animal Kingdom (around mile 16), my ankles started to hurt and I got a little bit panicky. We still had 10 miles to go and I’d had enough experience to know that once the pain started, it only got worse…much worse. But, we were in it for the long haul, so I pushed the pain to the back of my mind and we kept on going at our steady pace.

Animal Kingdom was different from Magic Kingdom because there were far fewer spectators there. We still had the narrowing roads, but the runners had thinned out a bit by this point so there wasn’t as much frantic weaving going on. I also noticed an increasing number of people had switched from running to walking. This is where the going got tough for most of the runners, us included.

We headed out of the Animal Kingdom at mile 17 for the long, desolate stretch to Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM). This stretch of the run was about 5 miles long and was done entirely on black asphalt. It was nearing 80 degrees and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was dang hot. I switched from water to PowerAde as I saw runners falling out of the race left and right. They were laid out on the curb with medics on bikes tending to them. It was a small reality check of how grueling this distance really was. This was also the point where I started to lather myself with BioFreeze at the medical tents. (BioFreeze is a numbing agent that takes the edge off of the pain.)


(That's BioFreeze in the cup)

I have to admit, this is where it became a game of mind over matter. It was hot, my ankles were throbbing and I remember thinking, “why did I ever think this was a good idea?” The desire to just stop was pretty strong, but I kept picturing the finish line and my medal around my neck and having to answer to all of my supportive family and friends. Most of all, I kept thinking about Carol and the millions of others who had battled and lost their fight to cancer. Well, let’s just say that quitting wasn’t an option. My focus turned to trying to block out the pain and as weird as this sounds now, my mantra during that stretch was, “pain cannot kill you.” At this point, I was just desperate to get to the 20 mile marker and once we passed it, some of my concern faded away because even if I had crawled the last 6 miles, I still would have made it.

It’s funny how our goals change so quickly. During the first handful of miles, we were optimistically aiming for a 5-hour completion time. Kasey had even printed out a nice armband that showed what our splits needed to be to achieve that goal. I literally tore the armband off and threw it away at mile 15 once it became clear that we weren’t going to reach it. By mile 20, we just wanted to finish. That was it. Just finish the race. We were no longer competing against 22,000 other people, we were only competing against our aches and pains and we would be damned if they got the best of us.


(Tower of Terror)

By the time we entered Hollywood Studios, the pain was almost unbearable. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I was fighting tears. Each step sent a jolt of pain up my leg. It felt like someone was stabbing me with an ice pick. We started taking walk breaks every half mile or so, but pretty soon, walking hurt as badly as running did. This was not good. My brain was almost numb with the pain and my poor friend Kasey (who was battling her own aches) could tell how much each step was costing me. She was a great motivator and it was so nice to have someone there who had literally run hundreds of miles with me already. We were going to cross that finish line together no matter the cost.

For the final stretch, we left Hollywood Studios and ran through the Boardwalk hotel before re-entering Epcot. The last couple of miles are a blur to me, but I think that’s because my brain was trying to block everything out. It was all I could do to keep moving and this was pretty shocking. This hadn’t happened to me at all during my training runs, but I had never run the full 26 miles before. I had read a quote that said, “the first half of the race is the first 20 miles and the second half of the race is the last 6.” I could not have said it better myself. It’s amazing what a toll the last 6 miles takes on your body. I could tell that mine was very close to just shutting down. I had lost the blood flow to my hands and my temperature kept shifting from hot to cold. It was very disconcerting. The only thing I can relate it to was natural childbirth. Each step was like a bad contraction and while I knew the end was somewhere down the road, I couldn’t figure out how I was going to hold on long enough to get there.

By the time we got to Epcot, we had about 1.5 miles to go. I didn’t mention this before, but our race bibs had our names on them. It was quite the boost every time a spectator or Disney employee would call out, “Keep it up Cynthia! You’re doing great!” This personalization was really helpful during this last stretch. I’m sure that I had a grimace of pain on my face (Kasey kept looking over at me with concern) and it was nice of the folks in the final stretch to offer whatever encouragement they could.

We started a pattern where we running 100 yards and then walking 50 yards in an attempt to get to the finish line faster. In the beginning of the race, we were forcing ourselves to take walk breaks when we didn’t need them. At this point in the race, we were picking out landmarks that we could see. “Let’s run to the next bend in the road.” “Let’s start walking at the third light post.” We could no longer think of the next mile. The idea that we had more than one left was just overwhelming so we took it a handful of steps at a time. When we had a half mile to go, we just started running with everything we had left (which, sadly, wasn’t much). The desire to cross the finish line was overwhelming. By the time I saw it, I had tunnel vision. My brain computed that there were bleachers with cheering people, but I didn’t see them. All I saw was the huge “FINISH” sign…and then we crossed it.


(This was just after the finish line and I have no recollection of taking this picture)

As I stumbled to a stop, all I felt was overwhelming relief. My poor, ragged feet were screaming at me and I had a hard time following the instructions of the staff. “Please come over here so that we can remove your time chip.” “Please come this way to get your medal.” I literally shuffled from station to station just willing myself to continue moving forward.

Now that I’m one day out, I can say with absolute certainty that the hour immediately following the race was the most painful. It was all I could do to remain standing. It hasn’t really sunk in yet that we actually finished the race. I think I’m still too caught up in the emotional aftermath that follows a big event. This was a monumental feat for me. I mean, I started out not being able to run more than 2 miles before I was flat on my back with pain and exhaustion. By the way, my brother totally killed the marathon in a mind-blowing 4:03. To say that I’m proud of him would be a gross understatement.

This has been a crazy journey and at the present moment, I’m not sad that it’s over. It will be nice to run for the fun of it without worrying about staying free of injury or illness. That’s not to say that I plan on getting sick or hurt anytime soon, but I had an overwhelming fear that something would happen to prevent me from finishing the race and that I would let down the dozens of people who contributed more than $1600 to the Livestrong Foundation. It was a bittersweet finish that Carol did not make it to see the race, but I know she was watching and I didn't want to let her down. Thank you for all of your support and for sticking around to read about this crazy ride. While I wait for the last of the pain to wear off (so over the next decade or so) I’m sure I’ll find something else to focus on. My friend Karen is trying to get me to do the half Ironman and while it’s too soon for me to commit to anything, I’ll probably consider it.

Not Again

I thought that Parker's gang activity had ceased for good once we left Florida, but it appears that a visit back to his home state has caused a relapse in his behavior. Please see exhibit A.



The good news is that he doesn't seem to have switched gangs as evidenced by him still hiking up his left pant leg.



That's a relief. The last thing we need is a hoard of 3-year-olds on tricycles arriving at our house for vengeance. Yup, our trip back to North Carolina couldn't come soon enough. We love you Florida, but seriously, you're a bad influence.

Starting And Maintaining An Exercise Routine

Ok folks, we’ve finally arrived at day 3 of this little blogging series. We’ve made the decision to live a healthier life, we’re working on exorcising our demons, we’re getting our kitchens and our diets in shape, so naturally it’s time to do the same with our bodies.

If you only remember one thing from this post, it’s this: CONSISTENCY, CONSISTENCY, CONSISTENCY. I know people who work out like crazy for 2 weeks, take 3 weeks off and then (feeling panicky), hit the gym hard again for another 2 weeks. It is insanely hard to get results this way because they aren’t allowing their bodies to become accustomed to the ritual of exercise (i.e., the initial pain of starting a new routine).

Here are my tips for starting and sticking with an exercise routine.

1. I know that this is written on every piece of exercise equipment, but it’s true – before you get started, visit your doctor. Discuss a realistic target weight and get routine blood work done to test for sugar, thyroid and cholesterol issues.

2. Accept the fact that for the first 3 or 4 weeks, it will hurt. You will be sore. You will want to quit. You will wonder what the heck you’re doing at the gym at this God forsaken hour. Those first few weeks, Advil and ice will be your friend. Remind yourself that it will get better!

3. Commit to working out for 4 weeks without weighing yourself. If you’ve taken an extensive break from exercise, it may take that long for your body to kick into gear. Once you do start weighing yourself, don’t do it more frequently than once every week or every other week. To be honest with you, the only time I get weighed is when I go to the doctor because for me, working out is about feeling great and not about losing weight. Plus, once you start toning your muscles, your weight loss will plateau even though you’re still losing fat, so the number on the scale isn’t always the best indicator for progress.

4. Take it slow. The vast majority of people overdue it, get discouraged and then quit. In the beginning, go nice and easy. Always push yourself to working just outside of your comfort zone. There’s an easy way to measure this. Ask yourself, “Can I keep going at this pace all day?” If the answer is yes, push yourself harder. If the answer is “heck no, I’m barely staying on the machine!” Ease back a bit. When you’re working out, you should be slightly uncomfortable. As you get more fit, you’ll be able to go harder and faster while staying in the “slightly uncomfortable” zone.

5. Make a schedule AND stick to it. Decide what time of day works for you. Mornings are good because you don’t have a full day to talk yourself out of it, however, some people prefer an after work session. This is the part where it’s important to know you and to be honest with yourself. There are a bunch of sample workout plans that you can download online, but it’s also just as easy to write one up yourself. For example, cardio for 40 minutes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and light weights on Tuesdays and Thursdays (giving yourself a break on the weekends).

6. Have your gear ready. I always get my workout clothes, snacks and water bottle ready the night before. If I’m riding my bike at home, I have my outfit laid out on the bathroom vanity and my socks tucking into my shoes. If you’re workout out after work, pack your gym bag the night before and put it in the front seat of your car. Do everything imaginable to make it easy to work out.

7. Consider joining a gym. It may be intimidating at first and you may not know where everything is, but it is well worth the expense of getting a trainer for the first month just so that (1) someone is waiting for you to meet them; (2) you’re paying for it; (3) you have someone to show you how to use everything. Since it takes 4-6 weeks to establish a habit, you’ll have someone there with you for the first month to help you along. Don’t hesitate to shoot me an email if you want help on how to find a good trainer.

8. Find a workout buddy. My friend Kasey and I met on a random group run at 5:30 am. We found out that we were both training for the same race and we met religiously 3 times a week (rain or shine) for our morning runs (except when I had pneumonia). Even though we don’t talk daily or even weekly, I consider her a great friend. Knowing that there’s someone waiting for you is a great inducement to make it there. ***I’d certainly be more than happy to be your wake up call at 5:30am if you need the help!***

9. Sign up for a race. There’s nothing quite like having a firm deadline to get your rear in gear. It could be a 5K or a marathon, just make sure that you give yourself enough time to adequately train for it. When my brother and I signed up for the Disney Marathon in April of 2008 (the race was in January 2009), I could scarcely run 2 miles without stopping and the thought of making it to 26.2 seemed impossible.

10. NO EXCUSES!!!! This is the hardest part. Do not, I repeat, do not let yourself off of the hook. Yes, you’re tired. Yes, you slept like crap. Yes, you have a thousand other things that you could be doing. But taking care of you and your health must be your number one priority. Don’t think about it, just do it. Just get up and go. Imagine how good you’ll feel when you can do 30 straight minutes on the treadmill without stopping. Imagine how awesome it’s going to feel getting back into those clothes that have been hanging out in your closet unworn for months. You CAN do this!

Running:

I can’t tell you know many times I’ve heard people say, I can’t run. It’s my knees. It’s my feet. I’m too heavy. You know what? You CAN do it. If a 400 lb. person on The Biggest Loser can do it, so can you. Will it initially be seriously hard? Yes. Will it get easier? Yes. Might you learn to love it? Hell yes. Having been a competitive swimmer for over a decade, running never came easy to me, but it has sculpted me faster than anything I’ve ever done and it has also been the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done (probably because it was so dang hard!)

So, if you want to start running, here is a tried and true way to hit the pavement successfully.

Plan to stay out there for 30 minutes, 3 times a week. Start off running very slowly and walk when you need to walk. Once you've caught your breath, start running again. Stick with this schedule until you can run the entire 30 minutes. Even if this takes you 3 months to do, THAT'S OK!! The key is consistency. Just keep getting out there.

Once you've reached your goal, bump up your time to 40 minutes and start the same process over again. When you’ve conquered that, bump up to 50 minutes, etc...
Once you can run for one hour straight (and this could take 6 months or so to reach), you can start counting your miles and getting a more specific training plan in place.

This is the only way I know to successfully become a runner. This process is called building your base. It took me 4 months to get up to the 45 minute mark of running continuously and for me, the key is to keep it nice and slow.

Alright, that’s it! What I’ve shared over the last three days is the base to taking control of your life. I have tons of literature and websites bookmarked, so if you want specific information about anything, just let me know. Never doubt what you can accomplish. Don’t stand in your own way and above all else, be strong.

Overhaul Your Diet

Alright, now we’re on to the second step of making a lifelong change. This step involves nutrition and food. I can’t recall exactly where I read this statistic, but in the food/exercise equation, positive changes in your diet account for 70% of that equation. In other words, you can work out for 2 hours a day, but if you’re still eating crap, it won’t have nearly the impact that it should.

One of the first steps in accomplishing a permanent life change is to alter the way that you think about food. At the most basic level, food is fuel. It is the raw material that you need to keep your body functioning. Think of it this way, would you put trash in your car instead of premium fuel if you knew that it would (1) shorten the life of your car and (2) cause your car to drive poorly? Why do we treat our bodies so much worse than we do our material possessions? At its core, good nutrition is about helping your body run as smoothly as possible and for as long as possible.

If you’re an emotional eater, create some rituals that are soothing and can replace your need for comfort food. These can include having a group of candles or incense that you light, making a cup of hot tea, reading a book of devotionals, or sitting outside to clear your head. This might take some getting used to, but if you do it consistently for 4 weeks, you’re well on your way to forming and keeping a new habit.

There are a number of things that you need to do to get ready to overhaul your diet.

1. Clean out your fridge. Get rid of everything old, questionable and unhealthy. A fresh start all the way around is the way to go.

2.Clean out your pantry and food shelves – ditto the reasoning for #1.

3. Get organized and be prepared. Plan a weekly menu and grocery shop once or twice a week. Menu planning doesn’t have to be very complicated – just compile a list of 10 or so healthy options for each meal (and another dozen for snacks) so that you can quickly compile a menu for the week. I’ll give you an example of what my menu options look like below.

4. You’ve heard this a thousand times, but it’s true – go grocery shopping AFTER you’ve eaten and not when you’re hungry.

5. Bring just enough cash with you to the grocery store to buy the items that you need – don’t bring your debit or credit cards. This will help you stick to just what’s on the list.

6. Give yourself some wiggle room. I stick with the 80/20 rule – I eat almost perfectly on Sunday through Friday and I allow myself to splurge on Saturdays. That way, if I have a craving for cheese fries that just won’t go away, I know that Saturday is just around the corner. You’re both leaving room for error as well as teaching yourself delayed gratification. I promise that you won’t die if you skip the cheesecake/ice cream/chocolate on a daily basis, but you WILL feel better about yourself and your choices.

7. Have healthy snacks stashed everywhere. In your car, in your office and on the top shelf of your fridge. Fruit (both dried and natural), nuts and sliced veggies are great snacks. You can also buy healthy granola bars (watch the saturated fat and sugar content in these) and keep them in your purse. I usually have either almonds or sunflower seeds and dried raisins and cherries with me at all times.

8. Don’t let yourself get hungry. If you’re starving, you’re much more likely to eat junk. Being prepared, knowing your “danger times” and simply not buying crap should help you avoid starvation mode.

9. Have alternatives for when you get bored. I don’t know about you, but I find myself wandering to the kitchen for lack of something better to do. When I realize that it’s because I’m bored, I pour myself a large glass of water or iced tea and go clean the house. That’ll teach me to wander into the kitchen unbidden.

10. Be flexible. So, you indulged in a slice of cheesecake at a coworker’s birthday party. Do not beat yourself up and do not quit! Simply make an adjustment at the next meal. The key to making a lifelong change is to always get back on track.

11. Keep a list of available snack options on the fridge. Also, cut and wash your fruits and veggies as soon as you get to the store so that there’s no prep work involved in eating healthy options.

12. Make and freeze single servings of dishes to create your own frozen dinners. I always have lasagna, chili and lentil soup in the freezer for quick go-to meals in the event that I just don’t feel like cooking.

13. Stay away from boxed snacks. I don't care if the box says "Reduced Fat," snacks in boxes (crackers, Cheese-Its, rice cakes, baked chips, etc...) are wasted calories. If you need something to munch on, buy an air popcorn popper. A cup of air-popped popcorn only has 30 calories and a spritz of "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" spray gives it a satisfying taste.

Here are some options that I pull from to make my weekly menus.

Breakfast:

Yogurt with granola
2 egg (or egg white) veggie omelet
Oatmeal
Peanut butter banana smoothie
Breakfast burritos
Cottage cheese and fruit
Whole grain toast with peanut or almond butter and honey
Hard-boiled eggs and fruit
Whole grain cereal

Lunch:

Lean cold cut sandwich
Shrimp Lettuce and Tomato sandwich
Salads (with nuts or lean proteins)
Tuna salad
Egg salad sandwich
Meatball sub with whole grain bread and turkey meatballs
3 bean salad
Hummus and veggie pita wrap
Veggie burger

Snacks:

Sliced veggies (broccoli, green peppers, celery, carrots, etc…)
Fruit (apples, oranges, bananas)
Yogurt
Reduced fat string cheese
Handful of nuts (almonds, walnuts)
Trail mix
Hot or iced tea

(When I go grocery shopping, half of my cart is filled with fresh produce. I almost always go to fruit, veggies and a handful of nuts as my snack option.)

Dinner:

Lentil soup
Pasta fagioli
Chicken piccata
Tomato bisque soup and grilled cheese
Lemon chicken and potatoes
Greek meatball soup
Spaghetti with marinara
Parmesan tilapia
Lasagna
Black beans and rice

Here's an easy formula for creating a healthy dinner:

Always start with a salad with olive oil and vinegar,
add one lean protein (grilled chicken, lean sirloin, baked fish),
one steamed or grilled veggie (broccoli, asparagus, peas), and
one starch (optional) rice, potatoes

We usually eat our salads 10-20 minutes before dinner to give it a chance to hit our stomachs. I also drink a large glass of water (and take my vitamins) so that by the time dinner is ready, I'm not starving.

You can totally do this! Instead of cruising the Internet when I get bored at work, I create a menu and a grocery list. I usually go shopping first thing on Sunday morning and I get cooking on Sunday evening.

Tomorrow - starting and maintaining a fitness routine!

Want To Make A Change?

It's that time of year again. The time when people have great intentions to make changes in their lives. Yup, New Years Resolutions. Unfortunately, 95% of those individuals who start off on the right track will have failed in those resolutions by March. It's part of the reason why I never make resolutions. I think it's more poignant to try and live your best life every month of the year, forgiving yourself for your slip ups and rewarding yourself for your triumphs. But, since it is the beginning of January and since there really is NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT to get started, let's figure out how to succeed.

In my experience, there are a number of crucial components for success when you want to make a change. Not that I'm remotely an expert in these things, but I've done a ton of research on nutrition and fitness and have used myself as a guinea pig for a number of different methods, so naturally, I want to share this combined knowledge with you. I'm going to cover them in three parts over three days - Getting Your Head in the Game, Changing Your Relationship with Food and Starting (And Maintaining) a New Fitness Routine.

1. Get Your Head In The Game: Whatever your goal is (weight loss, getting out of debt, etc...), you must get your head in the game. That goal needs to be the most important thing in your life. In order for that to happen, you must get to the bottom of the self-destructive behavior. There's a reason why you're turning to junk food, shopping or gambling. It might be boredom, it might be for comfort, but whatever the reason, you have to know what it is in order to change the behavior. You also need to know what your triggers and weaknesses are. Is 4pm when you eat the most because you haven't consumed enough calories in the day or is it your after work drinking that loosens your inhibitions and resolve?

You may be able to figure these things out for yourself or you might need to turn to a professional for help. Try keeping a food and beverage journal to see where you're slipping up. Remember to be honest when you record your intake - if you're lying to yourself, you're setting yourself up for failure. If you aren't having any luck curbing your destructive behavior yourself - GET HELP. Often times, we are our own worst enemies and self-sabotage is the result.

***If you can't get your head in the game, you will fail***

It's not possible to just go through the motions and get long term results. If you don't figure out why you're self destructing, you'll eventually end up back where you are. You might fake it for one month or for six, but unless you're passionate and angry and resolved enough to make the change permanent, you're just wasting your time. I can't stress the importance of this enough. When I was trying to transform myself into a runner (after taking almost a decade off) during my marathon training, failure wasn't an option. There was plenty of room for set backs and slip ups, but no matter what, I had made the decision that even if I had to crawl, I was going to cross the finish line. Does that reasoning sound absurd? It should. Meeting your goals requires an irrational commitment to that success.

There are a number of tricks to help you get psyched up for change. Here are just a few:

1. Make a list of why you want to change. Make this as expansive as possible. Remember - be honest! Lying and hiding what's truly going on is just another way to self destruct.

2. Make note of when you have the greatest desire to either eat the wrong things or avoid going out for exercise. Changing these triggers will greatly help your chances of success.

3. Don't be afraid. Whether it's fear of failure or fear of success, confront those fears and don't let them control them. Your rational, logical mind is in control. Do NOT reach for those chips, do NOT give up if your muscles start to burn. Your mind controls your body, not the other way around. We'll get into this more over the next two days, but just prepare yourself for the "fear" factor because it will definitely crop up along the way.

4. Have a mantra. This sounds totally cheesy, but when the fear kicks in from above, it will help to have something comfortable and familiar to go back to. My mantra will not surprise you. It's "Just Do It" or some variation of that theme, like "Just Do It You Pansy!" Yours can definitely be something more gentle like "Slow and Steady," but whatever you decide on, repeat it to yourself often.

5. Just because it bears repeating, get help if you need it and more importantly, stop self medicating. There is always an underlying reason for why we do what we do and often times, people use alcohol, sleeping pills or other things to keep us from finding out where our hurts and our weaknesses come from. Finding a temporary fix to numb yourself is only masking the problem, it isn't fixing it. Don't be afraid, get help and trust that you can and will heal.

This is by far the hardest of the three steps, but believe in yourself and have faith that you can be whoever you want to be. The great news is that this step can be a work in progress as we're constantly evolving emotional and rational beings.

Are you excited about making a change? Are you ready to dive into your new and better life? Know this above all else - EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

A Wedding and Two Football Games

The New Year's Eve wedding that we went to in Asheville was for our friends, Nicole and Eric. It was a Scottish themed wedding (based on her heritage) complete with bagpipes and a blue-tinted wedding dress. It was a lovely ceremony complete with the pastor telling a Scottish fable in a fake Scottish brogue (although I must confess that the Irishman was stepping on my foot under the table because I was suppressing fits of laughter).

Here I am with the bride. Her dress was custom made to her specifications and all of the accent colors at the wedding were the same ice blue.



And here is my dapper husband. I picked his outfit, but he insisted on selecting his own tie.



We actually left on the heels of the bride and groom just before midnight and made it back to our hotel before the ball dropped. We had an early morning ahead of us and didn't want to get hung up at the wedding venue.

Fast forward to 4:30am - the Irishman failed to disable the hotel alarm clock and it screamed at us in the annoying buzzing sound. I shot straight upright in bed while the Irishman rolled over and went back to sleep. So, I got up, got ready to go and woke him up at 5:15 so we could hit the road. Naturally, I made him drive the entire 6 hour trip to compensate for my near heart attack resulting from his alarm clock negligence.

I was starting to get nervous on the way to the game because it was raining. A lot. So, I used my powers of persuasion to will the weather to clear up. No exaggeration, the second that we pulled into the parking spot, it stopped raining. I'm starting to think that my friend Mel is right and that I am in fact a witch. Don't worry, I'm a good witch, but it's seriously uncanny how I almost always get my way with the weather and with parking, but that's a story for another day.

So, we went to the Gator Bowl to support our Florida State Seminoles. We were fully prepared to get whipped in this one, but our boys showed up to play a great game in honor of their coach, Bobby Bowden.







Then, we wearily hopped back into our Subaru (which by the way now has 7000 miles in 3 months!), ate at Cracker Barrel and the crashed at Brother Dean's house in Orlando before continuing on to South Florida for football adventure #2.

The Irishman's entire clan was heading down to Miami for the Steelers vs. Dolphins game. I must confess that I would have much preferred to have watched from the comfort of my own couch with private bathroom facilities readily available, but alas, we headed down to the stadium at 10am to tailgate before the game.



The 6 cars you see along the left-hand side of this picture we packed with my husband's family and everyone you see in the frame was with our group. There was a lot of food and a lot of beer.

We headed down to the stadium and saw an incredible number of Steelers fans and all of them had the so called "Terrible Towels." I'll probably be ex-communicated from the clan for saying this, but those towels are ridiculously annoying. They're either hitting you in the head or obscuring your view.





Thankfully the Steelers pulled out a win (even though they were still eliminated from Playoff contention) and 10 hours after I left my house, I got to go home to see Parker again. The good news is that with the exception of our trip home, we're done with our adventures. While I'm going to make the most of our last three days here, I'm ridiculously excited to go back to my regular hermit schedule in North Carolina.