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By Katy, March 9, 2010

(Side note: If, like me, you enjoy “The Biggest Loser,” and if, like me, you are a fan of all things Jillian Michaels — check out the Last Chance Workout on Exercise TV. It’s free on many cable packages, or you can access a lot of videos online for free or cheap. This workout is 30 Day Shred plus plus plus. And I love love love.)

Maybe it’s a girl thing, but when I find a picture of myself that I really like, I hang on to it. And this was a sneaky surprise favorite, courtesy of Ashley. She told me about a Web site run by a woman who encourages everyone — regardless of career, job status, etc. — to “look cute” every day. Since I was feeling pretty dang cute at the blogger meetup, I struck a pose:

How cute are those shoes?

After the meetup and a quick hair change, I took my cute self down to a very special fashion show — with guest judges Jesse LeNoir and Ben Chmura, from this season’s “Project Runway!” My friend Jackie and I wasted no time hunting them down and taking a picture, and we also got to meet Jesse’s lovely fiancee.

It was so interesting talking to them, because in the real world, Fashion Week is over, the winner has been named and these guys have (sort of) moved on with life. But in reality TV time, Jesse had just been kicked off (travesty — I mean Emilio got away with sending a near-naked model down the runway!) and Ben is still in the hunt. We tried to get them to dish, and while they were incredibly nice guys, they would only confess a few minor secrets.

We ALSO met another, err, celebrity (?) who helped guest judge. I couldn’t say BYE BYE BYE to the chance at a picture!

I asked Jackie how much she’d pay me to bust out the dance in front of him. I truly could have since I am one of the few who bought and used this:

Don’t even hate on Darrin or his dance moves. And am I embarrassed? Nope. I also admit to a love for Cardioke, Carmen Electra’s StripTease and more.

Anywho, the fashion show was OK. The company was great. The celebrity-sighting was stupendous. All in all, a great night.

Any “Biggest Loser” or “Project Runway” fans? Who do you want to win in both/either?

          

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By Katy, March 6, 2010

…You take an iPhone photo of your egg white puff at work because it came out so fluffy and delicious:

…You hang out with fellow food bloggers at an organic, fresh pizza place and talk about (what else?) food, running and photos:

…You don’t even think about ordering anything new because the last time you were at the restaurant, your pizza was so good you licked your plate clean:

And two of the sweetest bloggers in the group bring goody bags of vegan yummies to share!

…You schedule into your day at stop at the mecca — Whole Foods — and fill your cart with things most people can’t pronounce:

and actually squeal out loud at Crate & Barrel when you find spoons you KNOW will look adorable when taking pictures of your oatmeal because you’ve seen it before:

…When your husband loves his non-vegan, non-healthy, covered-in-bacon birthday cake so much he makes it himself to share with his buddies:

…When you find the treats you’ve been searching for for months and buy out the supply, then call your friends to ask them to track down some more:

…When you actually hesitate before making a cup of tea because these winter blends are like GOLD and you can’t get more until next fall:

…When you are secretly thrilled when your husband is away for dinner so you can make yourself something exotic from the stash you picked up at Whole Foods!

How do you know YOU are a food blogger?

P.S. Good luck to all the runners at tomorrow’s Walt Disney Princess half marathon!

          

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By Katy, March 4, 2010

I may not be the best cook in the world — but I know how to read a recipe.

So when I tell you to make this now…make.this.now.

As Kel said better than me, POM + Fish (I used tilapia) = Happy! The reduced pomegranate-mint sauce was delicious, but I have to say, I think it would be even better over ice cream. It got sweet and sticky and ohhhhh so good.

Also so good? My recipe for Chocolate Popcorn Brittle, kicked up with the addition of some Naturally Nutty Vanilla Cinnamon Sunflower butter. I’d show you a picture, but I didn’t wait to dig in!

It’s been a very busy, very stressful week…nothing too bad, just lots of busy work! So you KNOW this made my day:

My sweet husband texted me, saying my boys missed their mama!

This also cracked me up — this morning, I tweeted:

And got this video in return, from @NoMoreBacon:

I cracked up — one of those gut-busting, feel sick afterwards laughs. How funny is that?

And a less funny, but still important video…I implore you to follow this link for a clip from Jessica Simpson’s new show. Now, yes, I am a Jessica fan girl (confession: I even bought her clip-in hair extensions) BUT, I think her message is one that’s so important when it comes to media, women and body image. Men too!

OK, gotta end it on a positive note.

How’s about this — my other favorite video?

What do you do when you need a laugh?

          

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By Katy, February 28, 2010

Housekeeping: I’ve been updating the blog — there’s a new look to the Recipes page as well as my Videos page. Let me know what you think!

I don’t have a lot of fears — off the top of my head, I can only name:

• Birds
• Flying (more like a fear of turbulence)
• Losing loved ones (duh)
• People that look like animals

Shudder.

But back to my point — I don’t like birds. Especially small, screeching, sharp-clawed birds. I don’t like them near me and I CERTAINLY don’t like them on me. (Sidenote: is it just me or does the woman in the background of this photo look astonishingly similar to CatWoman above?)

But I found myself feeling brave when the man at Gatorland’s aviary asked me if I wanted to feed the birds. After Lucas stopped laughing, he grabbed the video camera and started shooting. Even I admit…it’s an instant classic.

I didn’t realize until I watched the video that I was repeating some mantra most of the time and closing my eyes for at least half of the experience. It was a lot of fun, and even though one pooped on my hat (must have been a Yankees fan), I was thrilled to have done it.

Gatorland is definitely a tourist trap, but it was a lot of fun:

And although it’s not that close to our house, it is close to the store where I get my wedding rings inspected. It turns out, they’re due for a dip, so I kissed them goodbye and am now ring-free for a couple of weeks! Sniff.

I was craving french fries for dinner, so we decided to go all college-like and made hot dogs and french fries. Except these hot dogs were organic and grass-fed:

And served with caramelized onions and crusty multi-grain bread.

And also unlike college, dessert was not a six-pack of beer — instead, I whipped up some Almond-Maple-Coconut Macaroons to satisfy our sweet tooth while watching Syracuse basketball WHOOP those dang Villanova Wildcats.

Exciting updates:

• I won the Simply Savor MaraNatha Nut Butter giveaway! I am super excited to get my goodies and start making some new yummies.
• I also won copies of Happy Herbivore’s e-cookbooks, which I’m currently poring through for meal ideas for the week.
• Next weekend, on March 6th at noon, I’m hanging out with lots of healthy bloggers at Orlando’s Pizza Fusion. Some of them are running Walt Disney World’s half marathon, and if you’d like to come hang out, email Lindsey from Sound Eats (Lindsey AT soundeats DOT com). You don’t have to be a blogger, and we’d LOVE to see you!
• Speaking of meetups, Lucas just co-hosted his first Tweetup, and it was a big success! It featured beer, beer lovers and some other cool stuff, so you can learn more here.

          

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By Katy, February 25, 2010

Whole lotta bacon cake fans in the house, huh? I can’t wait to hear how all of your versions turn out. The cake, btw, has left my building. 2 days and Lucas polished it off.

Speaking of Lucas, if you want to hang out with both of us AND drink free beer — check out this Beer Tweetup tonight (Thursday) at the Celebration Town Tavern in Celebration, Florida. I’m @kwidrick and he’s @nighthops.

Also speaking of Lucas — for his birthday, I bought him a new pocket video camera and I came home from work to find this video playing on the TV…so cute to see what they do all day!

The bacon cake was a big hit, but I prefer a more subtle, refined OH WHO AM I KIDDING I love chocolate!

So for a sweet treat this week, I made what I can only call Popped Heaven:

That’s chocolate popcorn brittle with a side of riesling. Want some of your own?

Chocolate Popcorn Brittle (adapted from Mark Bittman’s “How To Cook Everything Vegetarian”)

• 2T neutral oil
• 1/2C popcorn kernels
• 1/4C sugar (I used organic cane sugar)
• 1/8C cocoa powder (I used raw with maca)
• 1/3C water

1. Heat the oil in a deep, wide pot. I use a pasta pat or a big stockpot for this.
2. Place three popcorn kernels in the pot and cover.
3. Once the three kernels pop (should take about 4-5 minutes) put the rest of the kernels in, shake to coat in oil, and return the cover.
4. While you’re waiting for the kernels to pop, mix the sugar and the cocoa powder.
   1. I prefer to run this mix through a food processor so it’s super-fine, but this is optional.
5. Place the sugar and cocoa mix in a small pot and add 1/3C water. Stir to combine then put on low heat.
6. Let sugar and cocoa combine — don’t stir! — until it caramelizes and turns a nice dark, silky color.
7. When the kernels finish popping, place into a heatproof bowl. Pour the caramelized sugar-cocoa mix over the popcorn and toss gently to cover.
8. Pour the popcorn into a greased baking or cake pan and gently press down with your fingers, packing the popcorn together.
9. Let cool for at least 5 minutes then EAT!

A 1/2 C of popcorn makes a TON of finished popped product, so if you want to cut the recipe in half you may.

Random photo on my camera that I had to share — I found these on clearance and almost bought them! I am a Syracuse grad, you know. Go Orange!

And finally, I wanted to pass on a video to Jamie Oliver’s TED talk on childhood obesity. It really struck a chord with me, and it’s a really well presented argument. Check it out here and sign his petition here!

          

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By Katy, February 22, 2010

That’s right — vegans, beware. Because below, I am proving my awesome wife status with pictures of the Bacon Birthday Cake that made Lucas drool.

But first, an NKOTB throwback video for my baby on his 30th birthday:

Don’t even hate on my for the NKOTB love (which, BTW, I have professed before). I still think Joey looks slammin’.

Ever since we went to Portland and Seattle a few years ago, Lucas has been reminiscing about the Maple Bacon donut he had at Voodoo Doughnut:

So, when I brainstormed ideas for a unique birthday cake (he’s not really a buttercream frosting kind of guy), I turned to Google, which presented me with this gem: Bacon Gets Its Just Desserts.

I knew it could be a winner, and I was right.

I know, I know. I don’t eat a lot of meat, and the sight of this much bacon is a little off-putting for me, too. But you know what? The salty bacon with the sweet maple icing was incredible — and since this was more like a coffee cake than a cake cake, each bite was a mouthful of pecan-y, apple-y, bacon-y goodness.

But first, we had to eat a balanced meal, hand-picked by the birthday boy and right out of “Gordon Ramsay’s Healthy Appetite” cookbook. Burgers, beers and cucumber raita.

Good, but we’re a little biased because of the incredible meal we shared with friends over the weekend. I rocked the Bumpit and got my Snooki on.

We had an adorable eating partner.

And open minds — so when we saw these meats listed as taco fillings at the Mexican hole-in-the-wall restaurant our friends took us to, we said “one of each, please!”

So good — I even tried the head and the chicharonnes, although they were not my favorites. The food was super fresh and when we added grilled onions, cilantro relish and hot sauce…YUM!

And in case I haven’t scared all of you off with the meat-tastic post, I’ll leave you with this gem. Lucas loves to share his homebrew, but he asks his friends to return the bottles so he may reuse them. We got this package on our doorstep over the weekend — a lovely joke from one of his pals.

My 30th birthday is next month, and we’ll be celebrating it with a trip to Baltimore and Fitbloggin‘! Will you be there?

          

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By Katy, February 20, 2010

A while back, I found a big ugly green…thing.

If it didn’t have a sign telling me that this ugly thing was a “water coconut,” I never would have believed it. This is, after all, the same store that would post something like this:

Grammar. You failz it.

Anyway, the Internet confirmed that this was, in fact, a coconut. Now — how to open it? YouTube was a big help, but my honey of a house husband had his own ideas:

Like anything in life, we (he) had to work hard; cracking the hard outer shelf and gently pulling aside some unattractive but supportive layers:

And when we did, we gloried in the goodness:

We poured the lovely coconut water into a bowl and then scraped the white yumminess out with a spoon:

Victorious.

I’m still plotting what to do with the fresh coconut, but I had a taste for it and after a run to Whole Foods, I gave into the craving. Meet Coconut-Almond Macaroons a la Joggers Life.

I did make a few changes, substituting oat flour for the almond meal and halving the recipe. That was a mistake, since I’ve already eaten quite a few. I also made a second type of macaroon, from Everyday Raw.

They’re both amazing (and raw, since I stuck ‘em in the dehydrator — what do you think, Patti?) Ahhhhhh macaroon.

So y’all know I love my job, right? This week, I got to meet a man who blows me away with his bravery, his kindness and his SLAMMIN’ body! Would you believe this guy is about to turn 70?

Sandy Scott broke his neck during a horrific cycling time trial — he might have died, and probably should have stopped competing. But he didn’t, and he’s looking to set MORE records for his age group at several national events! I had an amazing day, field producing a video with him, and that will be posted on our site soon.

I’ll leave you with a picture of Travers — aka “Best Cat.” He loves wearing my medal from the OUC Half Marathon and Lucas gave him the nickname.

Who inspires you? Leave me a comment!

          

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By Katy, February 13, 2010

I definitely want kids someday but moments like this:

make it easy to wait…because I have friends with babies who need spoiling! That’s miss Elizabeth Ava, less than a day old. Fast forward two years and she’s an amazing little PERSON — who walks, talks and visits us at work!

What a great Valentine:

And a perfect gift during a week that looked like this:

Luckily, it ended with some less weighty reading material — which I found in the car with my sexy chauffeur!

For those who don’t know my story, I am married to Lucas. Lucas is a registered, LEED-certified architect who decided he didn’t like where his career was headed. So, he took a HUGE leap of faith and quit his job to focus more time on his true love — brewing, drinking and writing about beer.

As part of a project with Celebration Town Tavern — a very cool Boston-themed seafood restaurant and bar — Lucas is helping review the beers that are included in the Tavern’s 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall Club.

Since he’ll have to review them all eventually, I got to help pick his beers last night — the random number selection ended in Mickey’s, a malt liquor that came with a puzzle in the cap!

I still don’t know what the answer is. (Sorry for the photos — I took many of these with my iPhone for easier tweeting!) And, since I was driving, I decided to pound a few hot drinks of my own:

Woke up this morning to do another P90X workout, although someone wanted us to quit early:

We pushed through, then decided to follow the animals’ leads:

And snuggle up with blankets, quinoa and oatmeal and frothy lattes:

Now we’re on the couch, watching the Olympics and reading. Love lazy weekends!

Do you have kids? When do you plan on having them? How many? Have you picked out names?

          

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By Katy, February 9, 2010

C’mon…the song’s in your head now, right?

Well, put your Big Boi aside (THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID — I had to do it, and you’ll see why in a few moments), because in this case, the post title refers to the Social Fresh social media conference that I was lucky enough to dish out a lot of money for attend.

Yeah, I iPhoned it up. Sorry for the less-than-stellar pictures that follow. And this backwards Photobooth shot, which proves that I must have been excited, since I snapped this at 7:30am. In Tampa. I live in Orlando. 2 hours away. And I drove in.

Social Fresh, or #sofresh, as I live Tweeted, was a day-long event in which big brains got together to talk about social networking, blogging, new media and more. It really was a blast, and I’m hoping maybe I’ll get to speak at one of these some day (hear me, @jakrose?)

I hung out with some very cool people, did a lot of talking, a lot of listening, and a lot of networking, courtesy of THESE:

You may remember them from previous conferences, including the Healthy Living Summit. They’re sort of my good luck charm, and they paid off because after I tweeted this picture, people recognized me — or my feet — all day!

And since I kept them on for hours, I should have taken advantage of this offer in the lobby:

But sadly, I did not. I did enjoy a boxed lunch (sorry, social media types — I am a food blogger, so this is pretty much a requisite):

AND had a celebrity run-in! I was sitting in a panel discussion when Jaden from Steamy Kitchen sat next to me! Like a fangirl, I grabbed my phone and pretty much terrified her into this picture:

Before a more professional shot, taken by a guy (obvi, because no girl would let me have a big piece of hair hanging in my face!):

The conference was a lot of fun, in part because of a running dare I had going with some of the speakers and other attendees. I thought I had won the dare when I was the first person to use “That’s What She Said” during a question. But Chris, the social media guru for General Motors, was a panelist, and used this cheat sheet to ensure he would win:

OK. time to get serious for a brief moment. I learned a lot at #sofresh that is valuable in my work at Growing Bolder, and as a healthy living blogger:

• You get what you give. (Wow, Outkast and New Radicals in one post? What is it, 1999?) Work hard every day, be honest, be accountable and be a cool person? People will respond. Look at social media like a “job” and you’ll fail.
• Content is king — or, in my case, princess. Create, create, create. Get others to create for you. Defend your brand (and YOU are your brand) aggressively, and build rabid fans who will do the same.
• Know what people are saying about you. Analytics, alerts, comments and more — get them, do what you can to respond, and fix what you can.
• If you think you have a good idea, go with it. The worst thing that happens is it sucks and you stop doing it. Then you can tell others why it sucked and they will look at you as a genius.

And something I didn’t learn, per se, but I saw in action — step out of your comfort zone. I met so many great people — the type I wanted to share turkey sandwiches and oranges with. The kind I want to be like. The kind I want to emulate. The kind I want to tell others that I am cool. I wouldn’t have met them if I hadn’t approached, shaken hands, tweeted and more.

Did we meet at Social Fresh? Let me know in the comments! And be sure to follow me and friend me on Facebook.

          

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By Katy, February 7, 2010

P-p-p-p-perfect!

Let’s back up, so I can catch you up on the last few days. On Friday night, Lucas and I hit up a local bar known for its craft beers. A beer blogger’s gotta see what people are drinking, right?

It was a special release party for Brooklyn Brewery, which I normally love. But after a few sips of Luke’s beer:

I decided I was more interested in playing a few games:

And talking to a bunch of friends that showed up. It was a blast! We even managed to record a quick video, using my iPhone:

On Saturday, I worked up an appetite cleaning the inside of my stove. We had an, ahem, incident with some overflowing custard, and no amount of elbow grease was getting it clean. Then we found a natural cleaner recipe online — just a mix of baking soda, vinegar and dish soap and VOILA:

Just like the day we bought the stove! Ahh, happiness…

I celebrated with a POM martini, made with pomegranate-mango juice, Absolut Boston and triple sec, in a martini glass that I rimmed with organic cane sugar and lime juice. More happiness…

Gotta support Pom, since it’s a sponsor of Fitbloggin‘, and I’m going in March! Will you be there?

I’ve also had a weekend of awesome food. Saturday night, I made curried tilapia, broiled until crispy and served over the most amazing spinach and tomato paella:

And tonight, for the superbowl, I made (unpictured) chipotle beef and carmelized onion tacos, from Rick Bayless’ Everyday Mexican. Awesome!

It’s very possible that I’m the last to know this, but did you know that you can pop popcorn right on your stovetop, using kernels and a little bit of butter or oil?

It’s so much cheaper and easier (duh) than buying the microwave popcorn, and better for you. I’ve been topping mine with coconut-lime salt:

And eating by the faceful:

Off to watch the rest of the Superbowl. The commercials have been very disappointing — hello, sexist much? — but the Puppy Bowl made my night.

LOOK WHAT ONE OF THE DOGS WAS NAMED! Tater Tot!

Tater Tot the Puppy Bowl star

OK, off to get in PJs. I am going to a big social media conference in the morning, and I will be tweeting while I’m there. So be sure to follow me!

P.S. I updated my Google Reader with all the Fitbloggin’ bloggers — if you want to add it to your own reader, click here!

          

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By Katy, February 4, 2010

Life works in funny ways, huh? I’ve been slowly climbing the mountain upon which a social media crown sits — and, since we all know I’m a bit of a princess, I have been climbing that bad boy as quickly as I can!

I love social media. I’m on Twitter and Facebook all day long, but not always for personal updates — I run three business pages on Facebook, and two business Twitter accounts. I also moderate a weekly Twitter chat for work, and am trying to learn all the latest tricks and tools to use the Internet to get my job done.

So, today, I have a guest post up on Eating Bender, detailing the best ways to use social media.

Also today, I got burned in a big way.

Sad Tater Tot

I use a service called Posterous, which lets you post images, links, videos, etc., then “pings” then to your other social networks, including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. I shared a headline that read:

Yay, I Just Got Fired! True Passions, Here I Come! http://post.ly/KUiy

If you click the link, you’ll see that it’s a post by someone else, sharing the news of a job loss but welcoming it as a chance to pursue her true passions. I related to the post, because Lucas recently quit his job for the same reason AND I have the job of my dreams!

So, the headline gets posted and I QUICKLY realize that there will be some confusion. I knew that taking it down would make it worse, because some people would have already seen it. So, I added a comment to it on Facebook, saying I had learned the power of editing a headline, and did the same on Twitter.

I forgot LinkedIn.

Big mistake. Apparently, other people in my network saw the headline and contacted my BOSS who had to deal with the rumors — and assure people that I was not going anywhere!

Sure, it sounds funny, and in this case, it’s not that big a deal. But it’s a good lesson for us all when it comes to sharing content. Who clicks through every headline that’s posted on social networks? Who takes the time to read every work of a post? I’m certainly going to do a better job of proofreading my posts, to make sure I don’t get caught in confusion again.

Now give my that CROWN!

OK, since this is a healthy living and food blog, I’ll leave you with some pictures taken at a fabulous dinner at Luma on Park in Winter Park, FL, surrounded by strong drinks, good friends and nice staff. Enjoy!

Celery Root and Rutabaga Soup

Sweetbreads and Gnocchi

Truffled Popcorn

Salmon Carpaccio

Short Rib Ravioli W/Pomegranate Seeds

What’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to YOU with social media?

          

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By Katy, January 30, 2010

A while back, I declared a trip to M&M world, Pizza Fusion, Whole Foods, Fresh Market and Total Wine  to be “His ‘n’ Hers Dream Day.”

Well, folks — we took a very different, very successful crack at the title today. Of course, it didn’t hurt that my mood was brightened on Friday. Lucas had some buddies over for brews, so I decided to take an evening to myself, surrounded by what I love so much.

Makeup at Ulta:

I lurrrrrve playing with makeup. In the picture above, I had two different looks — one for each eye. I walked around like that all night! I ran around looking for a vegetable spiralizer (unsuccessfully, harumph) then headed home where I indulged in another favorite: a mudslide.

If such a thing could be called healthy, this was it — it was Kahlua and Absolut Boston mixed with crushed ice, unsweetened almond milk and raw cocoa. Yummm…

Don’t worry — Lucas and his friends had fun, too.

We had an early wakeup call, to get to Tampa in time for a very special event. In between multiple pit stops (WHAT?!?! I needed two cups of coffee!!), we dodged some potential road hazards:

And made it to our cousin Adam’s powerlifting competition.

Adam is a national superstar in powerlifting — today’s event was “raw” which means the athletes can’t wear special shirts or suits to help them lift. Adam weighed in at 130 pounds and set TWO records — the second time, he broke the one he’d set in a previous lift! — when he benched 363 pounds.

Un.freaking.believable. I was so proud!

He was so excited to get his medal, and the $300 prize. Congrats, Adam!

I made a new friend at the meet — this is Big Al.

He could have bench pressed me with one arm. Crazy.

After bidding Adam and his lovely fiancee goodbye, we headed to Cigar City Brewing, just down the road.

Lucas, of course, was thrilled.

We decided to do a sampler of all the beers on tap, and I really liked them — especially the Winter Warmer (at 9% alcohol, this was more like hard liquor than beer) and the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie.

Lucas liked chatting with the guy pouring the beer. After 90 minutes, I was not only getting antsy — I was getting hungry.

So I used the Yelp! iPhone app to find a restaurant that would please me as much as the brewery pleased my man.

It was great! Lucas and I sipped on a raw Bachelor smoothie while we waited:

Bachelor          Raw
Nut milk, raw hemp protein with E3Live and Maca root, banana, flax seed,
plantago fiber, agave nectar and a sprinkle of bee pollen

And I borrowed a book from the shelf:

Then our food arrived.

Sunshine Burger Vegan
A blend of sunflower seeds, brown rice, and vegetables baked and served with lettuce,
tomato, finely diced onion, ketchup and vegan mayo on a sprouted toasted  bun

Raw Burrito Raw & Living
Our delicious “Rawfried Beans” made with sprouted sunflower seeds and the finest mexican
seasonings.  We top it with fresh avocado, diced tomatoes and Zesty Raw Parmesan Sheeze,
served on a crisp romaine lettuce leaf.    Roll it and enjoy!

We both really enjoyed our meals — and I appreciated Luke being such a good sport.

Finally, we pointed the car home. We made two stops — both fruitful. Ha!

We stopped to get a flat of strawberries in Plant City, which is known for the amazing berries. I’ll get more in a month or so when they’re really ripe, but the flat let me freeze several bags for smoothies, and throw them in this bad johnnie.

At the same farm, I found 3-pound bags of organic bananas for $1 a bag, so I stocked up and put some in the dehydrator for banana chips, and the others are awaiting their banana soft serve and smoothie future in the freezer!

Not a bad day, huh? What does your perfect day involved? Weightlifting championships and raw food, or something else?

          

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By Katy, January 29, 2010

Confession time.

I completed the Walt Disney World Half Marathon on January 9th.

I came home, took off my sneakers, and put them in the closet.

And that’s where they have stayed. After two years of running and working out at least four times a week, I have temporarily quit.

I have good reasons:

• Physical fatigue and injury (I have a serious foot injury and a less serious groin injury)
• Mental fatigue (I haven’t enjoyed running for the last few months)
• A hatred of seeing my clock start with a “4″ — as in 4am
• Some big projects that are taking more of my time than previously

But it’s hard to keep a fitness and healthy living blog when the closest thing you’re doing to working out is the walk from car to office and back.

I had a HUGE 2009, fitness-wise. I completed several triathlons (including an Olympic distance), a half marathons (two if you count Disney), did two major workout programs (P90X and Making the Cut) and got in the best shape of my life. I’m hoping that this month-long break will get me back in the game, so to speak.

Lucas and I are planning on doing round 2 of P90X (see my original recap here) starting next week, which should be the kickstart I need.

In other news — I am doing my best to take regular, outdoor lunch breaks…total stress relief.

Much needed when your brain is filled with this:

And I’m laughing whenever possible. That’s easy when you receive something like this from POM Wonderful:

And when gracious, giving, heartwarming people get into a bidding war over your baked goods! Thanks to everyone who donated to Diana’s #Bake4Haiti bake sale. It was amazing.

What’s the longest break you’ve taken from fitness or regular workouts?

          

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By Katy, January 27, 2010

It’s a pretty easy — not to mention delicious — proposition.

Bid on one of the dozen items up for auction on Diana’s Bake Sale for Haiti, get yummy treats and help the people who have been so devastated by the Haitian earthquake.

Here’s what I am offering: Mark Bittman’s Whole Wheat Molasses Bread.

Trust me on this…this bread is gooood. I use it to mop up soup and chili, make sammies and even croutons for salad. It’s moist, dense and chewy, and is more savory than sweet.

It’s also a flexible recipe, so if you are vegan or have other dietary concerns, I’m happy to tweak the recipe.

Take a look, and please bid big and bid often. I’ll leave you with one more picture that sums up this whole venture:

          

Comments

By Katy, January 25, 2010

Not going there…not going there…not going there…

Can’t watch the embedded video? Click here.

Phew, that was close. But I’m honoring Mama Pea’s TWSS ban. I didn’t say it, so it doesn’t count.

When I walked in the door this evening, Lucas told me I had two packages waiting — it’s Christmas in January!

The first was a box I ordered back in December, from Scan Cafe. Scan Cafe is a really cool service that takes your photos and scans them to DVD (or any other format you choose). For those of us who were born in the Polaroid craze and went to college in the pre-Facebook days (gasp!), Scan Cafe is a great option to preserve those photos of kegs and eggs parties, beer pong victories, crimped hair graduations, family and more.

Don’t believe me on the crimped hair?

Whatevs. I was rocking the claddagh ring, too. It was a must-have in 1990. Who would want to lose pictures like this?

I also got a fun package from the “I Wear Your Shirt” Guys. They had one of those ideas that makes you KICK yourself for not thinking of it first. They wear a shirt of your choosing, take pictures, video and more and share it with their HUGE networks on Facebook and Twitter. The first day of the year costs $1. The second day costs 2, and so on.

Look, guys — I’m wearing YOUR shirt!

I’ve been away from the blog for a few days, so here’s a quick game of catch up. It includes beer flights and happy husbands:

Followed by Pita Pit and happy, hummus-filled me:

Homemade and healthy fried rice, courtesy of Mark Bittman:

And a new batch of homebrew, waiting for my assessment:

Wow, my life is pretty good, huh?

I need your help! I’m working on a collection of my favorite Twitter links, because — I’m obsessed. Do you follow me? I’m looking for the tools that make it easier to get started, find people, take part in chats, etc. I actually made a little video to talk about using hashtags (I moderate a live chat every week) and I’m hoping to create a special page of resources for anyone who wants to learn more.

There are some audio issues, so go in with low expectations.

What do you like/dislike about Twitter? What do you use to make it easier?

          

Comments

By Katy, January 18, 2010

Like most of us, my journey to healthy living was paved with obstacles — from injury to special events to lack of sleep to chocolate-covered temptations.

For me, it’s a journey that continues to this day…even as a Lifetime member of Weight Watchers and an athlete, I still rely on the tips, tricks and tools that helped me go from this:

to this:

(I make upside down look HAWT! hahaha) Of course, you could have learned all that from my About Me page. So why am I taking you down this path?

To tell you about SparkPeople.com, which remains one of my favorite resources when it comes to nutrition, fitness inspiration and support. When I was counting calories — and we’re talking years here — I tracked everything I ate, drank and worked off through exercise, on my SparkPeople page. I also joined lots of groups, from fans of “The Biggest Loser” to people like me who were trying to maintain a weight loss.

When I saw that Chris Downie, the founder of SparkPeople.com was also the author of the new book “The Spark,” I asked if I could interview him.

What happened next was a look inside the life of a CEO who is also a really cool guy. Enjoy!

Katy: You sound like you’re having fun!

Chris: I am having fun! I always try to gather and harness the energy from all the SparkPeople members and see if I can share that with the world.

Me: Is that right? Do you really feel like all of your members are with you?

Chris: Yeah, it really is that way. Just last night, I had a member send me an email and tell me you have to go and read this blog because it’s incredible. It really is just a family of thousands and thousands of people who are helping each other, and they all really want SparkPeople to succeed, because they’ve gotten such great results and they want to share it with their friends and spread the spark.

Katy: Chris, I have to say – as CEO, I’m surprised to hear that you’re reading emails, you’re leaving personal messages for people – you’re really reaching out to people. What’s the incentive to continuing that one-on-one interaction with your members?

Chris: That’s part of the magic of SparkPeople – we’re not really like a normal company! I’ve made over 10,000 message board posts to really, truly help people reach their goals, and to really make the site better. So we like staying on the front lines and helping people reach their goals. And our members feel that authenticity, and that’s one of the reasons they spread it around so much.

Katy: Looking back in your history, and I’ve read a little bit about what it was like for you growing up, tell me why healthy living and fitness and diet is so important to you personally.

Chris: As a kid, I had shyness and anxiety and I wanted to figure out a way to overcome that, so I put together this program that combines areas that help your body, like nutrition and fitness, with areas that help your mind like goal setting and stress management and leadership; smashed all of these together and it really help me reach my goals. But I almost by accident helped motivate this woman and she lost 50 pounds and told me I changed her life, and then she had gone on to motivate these other women in a walking group, and all of them said, “Pat, if you can do it, we can do it.” So when I realized all this, I realized that your daily actions and words impact more people that you ever realize, and I also said, “someday this is going to be a company.”

Katy: Knowing personally that one phrase or one action can make a difference, have you had setbacks in that journey?

Chris: Oh, sure. Part of our whole program is setbacks – and we found that the key thing is not having a setback, because everybody’s going to have setbacks, no matter what; they key is what you do when you have that setback. So we talk about the common phrase “two steps forward, one step back,” so the one step back is your setback. But in your mind you have to be mentally ready to take those two steps forward again so that you don’t completely fall off.

Katy: Let’s talk about your book because you call “The Spark” a 28-day breakthrough plan, and it’s for losing weight, getting fit and transforming your life. The 28 days have to be the beginning of a complete lifestyle change, is that right?

Chris: That’s true, the 28-day plan in “The Spark” is all about helping you change from a diet mentality to a healthy lifestyle change so that you’re starting to reach these goals, you’re building momentum, and you’re building hope – and you may feel in control of your destiny for the first time in a long time. And those 28 days are going to put you on the path to losing the 100 pounds or whatever else your big goal is.

Katy: What’s your advice for somebody who’s on that path or hits a boulder, or falls off the path, or hits that chocolate cake obstacle?

Chris: Our advice is if you do have that setback, just immediately set another goal or make another positive choice at your next meal because if you get right back on it, and start reaching those small goals again, you’re going to build your hope back up. And what you’ll find is the more you do this, the more you practice reaching these small goals, the easier it gets to recover from a setback, and you actually start having fun and it starts feeling like a game to add one healthy habit or keep reaching one more goal and it starts to become fun, which is a lot different than most weight loss programs, and that’s what we’ve tried to present in “The Spark” and on SparkPeople.com.

Katy: When I was really struggling, one of the things I used to do was go to people’s personal pages, and look at their weight loss journey through pictures and blogs, and I was really glad to see that that’s in your book as well. Was there something you had to leave on the cutting room floor for this book that you wish could have made the cut.

Chris: Yes, I can tell you that we call this the “power of positive people.” So in the community you’re just surrounded by so many positive people, and the hardest thing for us to get cut out of the book is the stories – we just have thousands and thousands of these stories that we would like to include, but there were just too many stories, so we had to cut some of the stories out, and we’ll be using them in other ways.

Katy: What’s next for “The Spark” – can we expect to see a Chris Downie line of fitness DVDs?

Chris: One thing I always say is it’s not about Chris Downie, it’s about “The Spark” and SparkPeople – I joke that it’s not called “ChrisPeople.com” for a reason! This is about a growing movement of regular people around the world who can reach their goals. But looking forward, we’re really excited looking into magazines and potentially a TV show, so we have a lot of plans to go forward from “The Spark” and the Web site.

Katy: What is a day in the life like for you? What do you eat every day?

Chris: I do eat pretty healthy myself, and this is where my wife and I are a good team. I motivate her to stay consistent with her fitness, and she helps motivate me to stay consistent with my nutrition. So we make up a really good team, and we do a lot of our cooking at home together with our two boys, and we eat just what we talk about on our site. It can be healthy food like quinoa and whole grains, but every now and then well have the chocolate and anything else. SparkPeople tries to be really flexible about what you can eat.

Katy: I’ll let you off the hook with this one…If someone is reading this interview and is motivated to go get your book or go join SparkPeople.com, what is the one message you hope they take away from your program?

Chris: I’d say the one message is that everyone wants to be healthy and happy, and we’ve found that 90% of the people who go through our program report being happier. So if you combine the book “The Spark” with the Web site SparkPeople.com we can help you reach those goals.

If you are interested in the book, you can order it online — click here for details. Chris actually sent me a review copy of the book (**disclosure**), and it’s next in line on my reading list. If you decide to check it out, let me know what you think!

          

Comments

By Katy, January 16, 2010

Well, ya’ll have certainly given my friend some new healthy food resources, and turned me on to some new ones, as well! Here were the most popular suggestions from my last post:

• Blogs and Web sites:
  • KathEats.com
  • OhSheGlows.com
  • StephChows.blogspot.com
  • CarrotsNCake.com
  • CookinCanuck.blogspot.com
  • KsGoodEats.wordpress.com
  • Fitnessista.com
  • NataliesKillerCuisine.com
  • FoodNetwork.com
  • AllRecipes.com
  • AimeesAdventures.com
• Cookbooks:
  • Rick Bayless “Everyday Mexican”
  • “Vegan With a Vengeance”
  • “Cupcakes Take Over the World”
  • “Bluephies American Cooking”
  • “Laurel’s Kitchen”
  • “Fix and Leave it Light”
  • “Joy of Cooking”
  • “Pretty Darn Quick”
• Magazines:
  • Real Simple
  • Eating Well

And, for all your hard work and great suggestions, it’s time to announce the winner of a Bondi Band…

Congratulations, emueller! You were selected as my random winner, and you also really touched my heart with this comment:

I am super proud of you for finishing and for enjoying the process and the results…Having just finished my own half marathon, it is tough…I was proud of myself for finishing but then everyone wanted to know how fast I ran, which was a snail’s pace comparatively to how you ran, but still – I had to remember I had the courage to start and finish and ran the whole thing..even if it wasn’t a fast run….Love your Bondi Band BTW….thanks for being so honest in your thoughts/feelings…helps to know i’m not the only one HUGS

I will contact you to get your address and send your new headband out!

Speaking of things that are touching my heart — the situation in Haiti. I have been watching the heartbreaking photos and video around the clock, and feeling so many emotions. Empathy and sadness for the victims; desperation for those who have survived but are still in danger, hungry and dehydrated. Compassion and thanks for the tens of thousands of people mobilizing around the world to help. Frustration that the resources just can’t get there quickly enough, or are blocked by bad roads, clogged airports, chaos and confusion.

Like many others, I have donated to relief efforts, and wished I could do more. I know that as a global community, we will come together and do whatever we can — whatever it takes — to bring a bit of stability and hope to Haiti.

Wow, Debbie Downer much? I’ll leave you with something a little happier. This time a week ago, it was sleeting, freezing cold and I was just thankful to be done with 13.1 miles.

Today, it’s 70 degrees outside. Life is good.

          

Comments

By Katy, January 12, 2010

This post is inspired by a dear college friend who made my day with an email and a plea — to point her to places that inspire me in my healthy eating journey.

More on that in a moment, but first…

I finally uploaded my Stella stats from the half marathon this weekend! And, I have to say — I’m done beating up on myself. No, I’m not the fastest runner out there…I never thought I was! No, I didn’t reach my 10:00/mile average…but I did maintain that for much of the race, in unexpectedly freezing conditions!

And, thanks to all of your lovely comments on my recap post, I’ve decided it’s time to embrace the awesome. And realize that just by starting the race, I was a winner.

Dork alert…

So, back to the email. My friend (who will remain anonymous unless she wants to peek out in comments, hint hint) wrote this:

I’m wondering if you have a spot where you get your recipes.  Your blog has inspired me to start thinking more naturally, and I’m trying to come up with recipes that are healthy for my husband and I that don’t use a lot of processed ingredients.

Swoon. You had me at inspired.

I know I’m luckier than many — I grew up eating “health food,” although I just knew it as food.

(Reminds me of the magnet my friends Jackie and Jim got me for Christmas)

So for me, giving up junk food, processed food and most crap, mostly meant going back to what Mom and Dad fed me in the first place!

Having said that, I rely on three sources, in this order:

• Cookbooks
  • My favorites are Veganomicon, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian (thanks, Andy!), the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook and good ol’ Joy of Cooking.
• Online Recipe Databases
  • I like Recipezaar, A Veggie Venture, VegWeb, Cooking Light and FoodNetwork.com, in particular.
• Other Blogs
  • I subscribe to more than 100 blogs (bless you, Google Reader!) so I bookmark posts that include recipes I’d like to try. I also use Google Blog search if I’m looking for something specific (i.e. tomato soup, lasagna, bread, etc.)

Now, are you ready for my three-part plan for successful healthy cooking and eating?

1. A stocked pantry. I am almost never without staples like:

**Brown Rice, Quinoa, Millet, Bulgur, Rolled Oats: I buy these in bulk and use them in almost every meal. I typically don’t eat many potatoes or other simple starches, although I don’t make a lot of rules (because they’re too easy to break!)

**Stock: I normally keep chicken and vegetable stock in the pantry, and use it to cook grains, meats, etc. It’s also very easy to use if I want to make a kitchen sink soup, which is basically stock heated up with any vegetables I have on hand!

**Vegetables: I am a veggie freak, so I buy whatever looks good at the store, and work it into my meals through the week. I also stock up on organic frozen green beans, broccoli and more, which I buy in bulk at Costco.

2. Meal Planning. I take an hour or so on Friday night, after work, and plan our menus for the week. I used to plan lunches and dinner, but that got to be too time consuming, so now I just make extras of dinner, and bring that or a big salad for lunch. I typically serve a lean protein (meat, beans, etc.), a vegetable, and a grain. If I am serving beans, I double up on the veggies and ditch the grain. The hour that I spend doing this gets me more than that back during the week, because I come home and get started right away, rather than poring through books, Web sites, etc., trying to figure out what to make.

3. Substitutions, substitutions, substitutions. I am very lucky to have a husband who will eat just about anything I put in front of him.

I have made changes to recipes that have resulted in culinary disaster. I’ve also made some pretty impressive dishes. Through trial and error, I have learned when to replace oil with applesauce, and when to stick with the oil; when to use whole wheat flour and when all-purpose is the only choice. I’ve tried foods I couldn’t pronounce, and remade old favorites.

I’m not sure if this helps you, old friend, but I know my readers will have even better ideas for you…

So, leave me a comment and let me know where you find your healthy recipes! I’ll make it worth your while:

• Anyone who leaves a comment will be entered into a chance to win a Bondi Band, the rockin’ hairband that’s sweeping the nation (right, Ashley?)
  
• You can leave as many comments as you want, and get up to three chances to win.
  
• Giveaway ends Friday, January 15th at 5pmET.

They’re wicked cool — in fact, here’s a picture of me enjoying a Bondi at a 5K last year. Enter now!

          

Comments

By Katy, January 9, 2010

A year ago, when I signed for the Walt Disney World half marathon, I did not officially consider myself a runner. I’d never competed in a race (triathlons, yes, but running events, no), I had only run about 8 miles as my PDR, and I was in awe of people that could actually complete a race of that distance.

So today, even though I had some disappointments along the way, I am proud to say that I not only did the half marathon at Disney, I gave it my all.

Originally, I had hoped to set a new PR — basing my goals on my performance at the OUC Half Marathon in December, I was shooting for under 2:10:00 and even possibly under 2:05:00. But when I woke up to this:

I knew that just finishing the race would be a success. Yeah, that’s sleet. In Florida.

But I had a wonderful message waiting for me as I got dressed:

and to brave the weather, I piled on the layers:

• Ski leggings
• Running pants
• Balega socks
• Ski turtleneck
• Wicking, long-sleeved shirt
• Track jacket
• Sweatshirt
• Two pair of gloves
• Neck warmer
• Hat

I took a moment to tweet a picture of my rockin’ orange hair extensions:

Then headed out to Epcot to run! I did not stay on property, so I had a 2am wakeup call. Before you feel too bad for me, you should know that Lucas — who was not running — was facing the same wakeup call and weather. He came to support me. What a man, huh?

My friend Carolyn flew down from Buffalo to run the half marathon — I hadn’t seen her in a year, so it was great to catch up with her before the start of the race and for most of the course.

We had a long walk down from the parking lot to the corrals, then had to wait there for about a half hour. It was c-c-c-c-c-cold! We caught up on news and gossip, listened to the national anthem, stomped our feet and FINALLY — time to go!

The run started off pretty well — after battling through the group start, we found some clear running room, and settled into a decent pace. At this point, I thought I would be able to PR. The start of the race was a long, cold, dark straightaway — Carolyn and I could feel the sleet bouncing off our foreheads, and see what sure looked like snow in the lights! And in a moment that was both cool and defeating, as we ended the second mile of our run, we could see the leaders on their way back to Epcot. The winning man finished in 1:07!

The rest of the race went like this:

• Miles 1-3: Feeling good! We bounced between paces but stayed steadily under 10:00. Since we’d never run together before, this was a good chance for us to settle in with each other, get to a comfortable pace, and find some room to run. We moved up some spots, weaving in and out a bit, but getting into a groove.
• Miles 4-6: Feeling great! We kept our nice, steady pace, continuing to move up. Somewhere in here, I ditched the sweatshirt and took off my gloves. The air was still cold, but I had definitely heated up at this point. I still felt very comfortable here — my legs felt fresh, I wasn’t breathing hard and I was really enjoying the time through the parks.
• Miles 7-9: Struggling a little, but still feeling strong. We continued to maintain a sub-10:00 pace and I thought I’d still have gas in the tank for a final kick. We lost quite a bit of time behind some very slow runners and walkers, and also really slowed down through the parks because so many people were stopping to take pictures, etc.
• Mile 10: The race-killer. Carolyn had warned me that there were a few hills toward the end, and I thought I was ready. I was not. The hill — really, an on-ramp — was a looooong, steady climb. I felt my resolve whoosh away from me about halfway up. My pace had dropped, my legs hurt, I was mentally tired of running, and I just didn’t have anything left to give. I felt the cold, I felt every injury I’ve ever had, and I gave up a little. Carolyn was still rocking it, so I told her to go ahead at her own pace.
• Miles 11: After the hill, I got back into the race, mentally. I knew that I only had 2.1 miles to go, and I tried everything I could to get my legs back up to speed. But when I saw a second hill approaching, and the rain was still coming down, I went into survival mode. As long as my legs were moving, I considered it a success. I knew my pace was over 10:00 and I just told myself, “give it what you have and that will be good enough.”
• Miles 12-13.1: Slow and mentally painful. The kick I was counting on just never came. I felt empty as I passed the 12-mile mark, and the same when I hit 12.5. The sprint to the finish line never came and I crossed with a final time of 2:12:17. (My PR for this distance is 2:11:01)

The best moment: Hearing bugles and trumpets herald me as I ran through Cinderella’s Castle at Magic Kingdom. That is a moment I wish I could have frozen in time.

The worst moment: The hill at mile 10.5. Not just the hill, the realization that my mind was giving up faster than my body.

Overall? I will have great memories of this race. I ran with a friend, in an event that attracts people from all over the world, in Florida sleet and I still had a time that doesn’t embarrass me.

Did I have fun? For 10 miles, I sure did. But when I crossed the finish line, for the first time, my mind was not on the race, or the glory…it was on the pain and emptiness I felt at the end.

Don’t get me wrong — this is not a negative, depressing post. I think it’s a sign that I need to take some time off and let my body rest. I’ve ignored some pretty serious overuse injuries for the last few months, and I paid for it today. I love running, and I love fitness, and I will never stop pursuing either. But I do want to get back to having fun at these events, so I need to figure out how.

After the race, Carolyn and I took a quick picture:

Then we all headed to breakfast, and (thank goodness) coffee! Lucas, the rockstar husband, indulged in a bagel platter, while I had an egg white omelet.

My appetite is still off (the norm for long races) so while this was delicious, it was a bit of a chore to force down. After breakfast, I hugged Carolyn goodbye and stuck around at the restaurant for the big blogger lunch/meetup that Ashley planned! I’ll recap that later…for now…

ZZZZZZzzzzzz….

P.S. If you want to learn more about my race history, I keep all the recaps and reviews here!

P.P.S. I am so proud of all the men and women running the full marathon at Walt Disney World tomorrow…I can’t wait to see how they all do and hear/read about their experiences!

          

Comments

By Katy, January 6, 2010

Ahhhh, I crack myself up.

But here’s why the title was so appropriate. Cue the yum:

And the oh, yeah…

Add a dash of deeeelish:

And you get my dinner. Maybe not the most picture-worthy, but pretty freaking awesome. The brown balls (that’s what she…oh, no, I won’t) are a mashup of two recipes; chickpea cutlets from Veganomicon (thanks, Rose!) and a recipe from Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.” I’m calling them falawesome falafel.

I’m getting pretty excited for this weekend’s half marathon at Walt Disney World for the following reasons:

• It’s the culmination of a goal I set a year ago — when I signed up and told myself “you can do this.” After completing one half marathon already, I know I can do it.
• Seeing good friends. My buddy Carolyn is going to run with me (she’s down from Buffalo!) and I’m meeting with lots of great bloggers for lunch!
• Because of the frigid weather that has descended on Florida, I am borrowing clothes to stay warm. I also purchased this beauty from the thrift shop (50% off!):

It will not only help me channel my inner Sue Sylvester,

It’s HAWT and something that I can wear on the long, cold walk from the parking lot to the starting line before ditching. Ashley gave me this tip — wear clothes that you don’t mind going to charity (in this case, back to charity), because crews pick up discarded clothes and donate them after the race.

It’s funny — I actually covered this same race two years ago, for GrowingBolder.com. Here’s a picture my boss took of me that day:

And the video I produced/reported that day. Not to toot my own horn, but I think it’s a pretty good example of why this event is so popular, and what drew me to it! (If you can’t watch it below, here’s the link)

I am keeping my expectations low for this race. If I want to stop and take a picture with Mickey, I will! If I need to rest a little or stop for water, I will! But I promise to give it my all and smile the whole 13.1 miles.

Other things that make me smile? Blogging buddies:

And Ivy Leaguers.

Oh, and my husband. I really like him. Despite the fact that I didn’t pick up any Glee-inspired gear for him, he will be going to the half marathon this weekend — a 4:30am arrival — and may even tweet about it! Check his blog out here and follow him on Twitter here. Follow me here.

          

Comments

By Katy, January 3, 2010

Brrrr….it is SO COLD here in Florida right now. I am wearing three layers and two pair of socks and my teeth are still chattering!

Luckily, I have found ways to keep warm.

Let’s catch up, shall we? When last we met, I was exposing myself and kissing off 2009. 2010 (pronounced twenty-ten, of course) has been good so far!

I rang in the new year with good friends, good drinks and hair bling.

Yes, that’s Lucas in heaven. Dog in lap; beer in hand; Wii controller in other hand. I’m surprised he ever left this couch.

We are an old couple don’t stay up late much any more, so this was a rough recovery for us both on New Year’s Day. But we rallied, tackling some overdue house cleaning and shopping. I hate to start the new year in a mess.

On Friday, we met some good friends who were visiting from New York state and staying at Disney. We had sushi and fun by a big Christmas tree.

You can tell when he takes the photos because we’re not all scrunched up and too close.

Plans fell through on Saturday, so we decided to party like it’s 1999 we were 10 years old and hit up the arcade. I kicked a little butt in the driving and tennis games; Lucas wiped the floor with me in pretty much everything else. It turns out I am married to an air hockey master.

We worked up an appetite and decided to check out the new fish place in Winter Park. It was delish.

And today, Ashley and her hottie David came over with their doggies for a very loud doggie date. But I never got my camera out! I was too busy playing worried mom. My boys can be rough.

We were supposed to go watch football but at the last minute, that changed…so now we’re home in comfy clothes with tired dogs at our feet! Time to get some work done. Toodles!

          

Comments

By Katy, December 31, 2009

2009 was a year of highs and lows — all documented on the blog! It’s so much fun to look back at what I did, especially because from a fitness perspective, this was one of the most successful years of my life.

Overall, I’m very proud to have continued to succeed at a job I love, moved my blog to its own domain, marked three years of marriage with my lovey, helped him launch a blog, visited friends and family, traveled and continued my healthy lifestyle.

Indulge me, would you, in a look back? I’m highlighting the fitness achievements in red. Because they make me especially proud and happy.

January:

• Found a frog in my toilet AND discovered the mung bean
• Watched a friend run the Disney half marathon and (GULP!) signed up for the 2010 event!
• Made pink chicken and visited a now-favorite Vietnamese grocery
• Supported Lucas on his quest to begin homebrewing
• Completed my first 90-minute run
• Defended Brussels sprouts (they truly are one of my favorite foods)

February:

• Announced my would-be beauty pageant platform
• Wished for a Snuggie (keep reading!) and had fun with Google Images
• Ran 10 miles for the first time EVER!
• Got a sweet Valentine’s Day present from the dogs
• Revealed my “before” weight-loss picture and chopped my hair

March:

• Reviewed Making the Cut and shared my love of all things Jillian Michaels
• Completed my second sprint triathlon (this time, not getting lost) and gave up caffeine
• Had a very happy 29th birthday (posted a few days late!)
• Went on a beautiful date and proved that cleaning burns calories
• Watched an amazing movie about ethical eating

April:

• Had a life-changing trip to Chicago

May-July

• Took a break from blogging…Flickr reveals that I:
  • chopped my hair and did a triathlon at Walt Disney World, organized my pantry, hosted a visit from Mom, celebrated a friend’s birthday, took an amazing ride

August:

• Returned to blogging (in a big way — I posted almost every day that month!)
• Saw “Julie and Julia“
• Had a His ‘n’ Hers dream date and found a new candy treasure
• Learned that when you ralk, you’ve wun
• Shared my take on counting calories
• Attended the Healthy Living Summit in Boston with posts here here here and here.
• Reviewed P90X
• Shared my technique for making perfect tofu
• Survived a flat tire and showed off my tips for getting enough water
• Cried and shared an emotional post on why I love triathlon
• Made homemade bread for the first time
• Learned about sustainable food
• Had an AMAZING swim/run brick
• Ate around the nation in high heels with Caitlin and her adorable husband

September:

• Celebrated the season with my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of ‘09!
• Found that grocery stores are like New Kids on the Block
• Vowed to never order takeout pizza again
• Failed at running 10 miles but succeeded at fun with friends
• Attended a very sweet Twitter event
• Finished my first 5K with lots of great bloggers
• Marked my 100-post anniversary
• Got my trampoline on
• Did my first double-digit run in six months
• Went indoor rock climbing
• Remember what it’s like to run in the Northeast and went to a “gorge”ous wedding

October:

• Traveled to Maine to spend time with family and posted here and here
• Fell in love…with chocolate tofu
• Shared my technique for cooking delicious yuca
• Found another frog and discovered the way NOT to diaper a toddler
• Got in a fight with my blender
• Ran with the blogging posse and showered at Starbucks
• Found out first-hand what dragon boat racing is all about
• Started feeling pain in my, um, area — a problem that would plague me for months
• Looked back at the wedding dress of my dreams
• Completed my first Olympic distance triathlon
• Volunteered at a beer festival
• Announced plans for a No Nonsense November

November:

• Posted my recipe for Pumpkin Bulgur Beer Bread (now known as Vulgar Bread)
• Tried kombucha for the first time
• Wrote an emotional love note to running, in light of my injury
• Announced Vegan Week, a partnership with the lovely Eating Journey
• Went on a hike with the husband and got ready for Vegan Week
• Sat back and watched as Vegan Week became an Internet sensation (click the link for ALL posts)

December:

• Got Stella, my Garmin Forerunner 305
• Made lemonade from lemons as I prepared for my first half marathon
• Completed my first half marathon!
• Found the best BBQ joint in Central Florida
• Shared my tips for meal planning
• Had a phenomenal day with the husband, all planned by him in secret
• Celebrated the holidays with some blogging buddies
• Changed up the blog look and fell into a cookie coma
• Cursed technology but celebrated an outstanding Christmas
• Exposed myself in a movement that’s sweeping the globe

I really enjoyed reading back through the last 12 months — it made me look forward to 2010 even more!

What are the highlights of 2009 in your own life?

          

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By Katy, December 30, 2009

I found some fun stuff on my iPhone and digital camera this morning…

So here is my version of (Almost) Wordless Wednesday.

Sleeping Beauty

Cool Running

Tasty Turnips

Silly Car Ride

Homemade Necklace

Homemade Apron for Toddler

A.Freaking.Mazing.

Back tomorrow with a look back at the hits of ‘09!

          

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By Katy, December 25, 2009

Doesn’t technology blow? Ugh…I was working on my laptop yesterday, getting some work done so I could relax on Christmas Day when POOF! The MacBook stopped working!

Now, after several stressful hours, I have booked an appointment with the Apple Genius Bar. I’m crossing my fingers — but had to laugh when I checked the warranty on the computer and it expired on December 7th.

Today has been fantastic. We started new holiday traditions, by making and eating copious amounts of this bad Johnny:

Which I earned by proving I am a dedicated runner.

When I set out for my run, it was a nice light drizzle. “Ahhh,” I thought. “This will be good training in case the half marathon next month is in the rain.” Two miles in, the drizzle had turned into a steady, heavy rain.

As soon as I walked in, Lucas snapped the picture then asked, “Did you know we’re under a tornado watch?” No. I did not.

I warmed up with the monkey bread (pictured above) and a steamy cup of goodness.

I also put on the gift my boss gave me — this is a picture from Wednesday, when my co-worker Jackie and I tried them on and posed.

Sad. That picture reminds me of happier times, when the Mac was still my friend.

And then, because the kids could not wait any longer,

I gave the go-ahead for opening gifts. Like our tree?

The dogs got some great presents:

Which they used immediately:

Can you spot the Snuggie?

Luke and I got some much-appreciated presents from friends and family all over the country!

We also got some delicious treats, including food from Lucas’s homeland: cheese curd, Croghan bologna, chocolates, wine and more.

After opening gifts, we watched some of the National’s Lampoon’s christmas movie, then Lucas got to work on another new tradition.

Lunchtime lasagna. He made his with buffalo, homemade sauce, three cheeses, spinach, squash, carmelized onions and more.

I ate one big serving and am thrilled that the leftovers will last several days!

I hope you all had a very special holiday, and now it’s time to look ahead to 2010! (Gulp…I’ll be turning 30.)

I’ll leave you with a video that I thought was pretty stinking cute…it’s Junior, unwrapping one of his presents. Enjoy!

          

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By Katy, December 22, 2009

Some of you already noticed the change to the blog — thanks for your kind comments! And for those of you checking this in a reader, why not mosey on over to http://SillyTaterTot.com and check out the new look? It’s still under construction, and that header just about exhausted my Photoshop and HTML skills.

Good thing my brother is well on his way to being the next big THANG in Web design!

I can sum up the last few days in two words.

COOKIE. COMA.

As regular readers know, 355 days out of the year, I avoid white sugar, dairy, white flour and other processed foods, and I stick with organic, whole-grain and clean foods.

The three times that I throw the rules out and enjoy every tasty, buttery bite are:

• Christmas and the six days that lead up
• My birthday
• Easter

Not-so-coincidentally, those are the same times of year that my dear grandmother-in-law (Luke’s grandma) sends us her homemade cookies. Tins and tins of cookies.

To give you an idea of how good they are — she pays the extra charge for insurance when shipping the goodies to us. And I promise, if those cookies went missing, I’d claim every penny of the settlement.

I mean, let’s take a moment and break down the delicious details:

There were peanut butter cookies with chocolate kisses, macadamia nut cookies with white chocolate, buckeyes (peanut butter rolled with krispies and chocolate), fudgy cookies, chocolate covered peanuts and more.

Here’s my theory on treats: If I can only get them at limited times of the year, or if a place is known for that treat, or if it’s a homemade goodie … it’s worth the splurge. If I can get the goodie any time I want, or if it’s not something special (grocery store cookies, chips, etc.), I’ll pass.

Following the idea that eating MORE to get rid of the cookies FASTER, (thereby ending the temptation) Lucas and I have been eating cookies every time we pass by the fridge.

That has led to this:

Crappy picture, but PhotoBooth was the only way to sneak up on them. Passed out puppy and very sleepy husband.

And if you follow me on Twitter, you already saw the cause of my “bah humbug” moment today. I was doing some last-minute shopping, on the way home from a very busy day at work, and just wanted to get in and get out. Which was tough when I came out of the store to find this:

Ugh, seriously? I had to get in through the passenger seat and just squeaked out of my spot without scratching his or her car.

What treats do you indulge in during the holidays?

          

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By Katy, December 20, 2009

It has been a very busy stretch at work — I normally count on my camera to remind me of what I’ve been doing, but after taking 150 or so pictures during the Secret Saturday adventure, I only took three during the week! And two are from this morning, when I made deeeeeeelish Apricot Date scones:

They were definitely picture-worthy.

I am so excited that my pantry is stocked to the point that I can make almost anything out of my cookbook — with just a few substitutions — so I can wake up and make what I’m craving. In this case, baked goods.

I also found this picture on my cell phone, which pretty sums up my life at work:

Last night, Lucas went out to football night at the bar with the boys…I’m always invited, but last night I decided to make it a lazy night with chick flicks and sleepy dogs.

I am the last NetFlix holdout, but we do have a million of those $1/rental boxes near us, so I stopped and grabbed two movies that I’ve been dying to see:

I can give two very enthusiastic (“Clueless,” how I love thee) thumbs up to BOTH movies — Revolutionary Road really struck a nerve with me because it’s about a man who’s unhappy in his job, and decides to take a leap of faith and quit his job to figure out what he truly wants to do. That’s what Lucas is doing. Of course, I hope it works out better for him than for ol’ Leo!

Time to get some more work done — luckily, I have the same sleepy dogs who joined me last night at my feet now, which makes working from the couch a much more pleasant experience.

Oh, P.S. — I figured out how to do splits on the Garmin! Here’s my run from yesterday. I ran 8 miles total — taking a .2 walking break at the beginning of the 4th mile and a .8 walking break later in the run. I walked the last lap.

          

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By Katy, December 14, 2009

Thanks for all your kind comments on my surprise trip to manatee land…I think Lucas is very proud of the day that he planned.

And the weekend fun continued on Sunday! First, I woke up for a bike ride — my first since my Olympic triathlon. WOW! I missed ol’ Sugar. Yes, I name my bike.

I also got to test out the multisport capabilities on Stella, my Garmin Forerunner 305. Yes, I name my GPS device.

Not bad! I have a cyclometer on my bike, but it only works half the time. If I hit even a small bump, the little measuring thing gets knocked sideways on my spoke, and I stop getting any data. No such problem with Stella!

I like to go at least 30 miles on the weekend, but I needed to get back to make a special dish for a blogger “linner.” I can’t post the recipe, because I’m submitting it to a contest, but I can post pictures of the process. If you want to see s’more (hint, hint), I’ll post details when I can:

Lucas was a patient tester — did you know that marshmallows essentially evaporate when cooked? He ate his way through at least eight variations before I was happy enough to make a batch for the bloggers.

The sweet treats were a hit at the party, planned by Meghann and hosted by Sarah.

I managed to look silly in every photo snapped by Meghann:

And while I did have my camera — I was a little intimidated by the awesome cameras that Katy and Ryan had! So I didn’t take too many pictures, although I did get some shots of all the amazing food!

I had good company, too — sitting with Meghann, Kelly and Meghann’s man Derek.

There were lots of dogs — which meant lots of noise and activity! I didn’t bring my boys, but I could have…they would have had plenty of friends!

I was very happy to see that my Secret Santa gift was the one everyone wanted… Ashley ended up getting the apron, Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea and Bondi Band that I brought, so that was exciting!

And I snagged this present with an eye for Lucas:

Beer and chili…the perfect pair.

I braved the Wal-Mart superstore to find Mason jars (three other stores didn’t have them in stock!!) which was a mistake — I was not feeling jolly after fighting the crowds. But I was very happy to come home to a secret cooking project of Luke’s own (I can’t post details or Santa will have his surprise spoiled!) and two very curious doggies.

What’s your favorite dessert or sweet treat?

          

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By Katy, December 12, 2009

Take it from me — when your husband says:

I’m planning a secret Saturday fun day. We need to leave at 7:30am. Wear sneakers and jeans and eat some breakfast before we go.

Just nod your head and agree. I know, I know…fellow A Type personalities, it’s against my nature, too! But if you don’t let go and just have faith every once in a while, you miss some of the most amazing adventures.

We hit the road this morning, coffees in hand, and only one of us knew where we were headed.

Stop #1: Blue Springs State Park in Volusia County, Florida, which has been on my “must see” list for years.

Blue Springs is where manatees come during the winter months — and you can get THISCLOSE to them!

Don’t believe me? Watch this (if for nothing else than to see Lucas’s interpretation of manatee noises):

I took 172 pictures and three videos today, so feel lucky that I am showing restraint.

We spent about 90 minutes at the park, looking at the manatees and embracing our inner children:

One of our favorite things to do is meander…so instead of taking the highway home, we pointed our car in a random direction and decided to stop at whatever struck our fancy.

Stop #2: Random Flea Market.

Goodies galore.

We got

• fresh chick peas (in their pods)
• hot peppers (lots and lots and lots, for hot sauce and salsa)
• prickly pear
• limes (local)
• sweet potatoes
• garlic
• dried hot peppers
• chayote squash (in its prickly skin)

and were tempted by (but did not buy) sugar cane, tomatillos, tamarind, cactus, coconut candy, pineapple, dried fruits and much, much more.

Lucas is a sucker for street food of any kind, so when we saw this sign:

We knew he needed to stop for a snack. A homemade, fresh and amazing snack. I’ll let him tell you. Keep watching for more details on this random market.

The rambling trip home continued, and with nothing more than an iPhone and a healthy sense of adventure, we stumbled upon

Stop #3: Downtown DeLand, Florida

Where I spent a ridiculous amount of time poking in and out of shops. I think I spent an hour in an antique shop that had these amazing old magazine and newspaper ads — I bought a few…merry Christmas to me! Again!

But, the tacos didn’t hold Lucas and I was STARVING, so it was time for

Stop #4: Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Cafe

Beer, sausage, sauerkraut, more beer and two happy people.

Don’t be fooled by that massive plate of food. We couldn’t decide between all the authentic and homemade German food, so we got a sampler plate, and I took a bite of everything, Lucas ate a huge plate and has enough in a doggie bag to eat for dinner tonight! It was good, but not great. I think it would be more fun during one of their sing-along nights, so we will be going back!

We walked down the street for

Stop #5: Farmers’ Market

We didn’t buy anything, but I did meet a couple of horses dogs:

Gentle giants.

And as we headed home, we decided to make one more stop. For years, I’ve been saying that we need to visit the world’s largest Cypress tree. It’s in a state park near our house, and we’ve never taken the time to visit.

Until Stop #6:

I love you, Senator.

And all that before 3pm! Now we’re settled on the couch with some Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea and a mind full of memories.

Big props to Lucas for planning an amazing day.

          

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By Katy, December 10, 2009

I learned many lessons during Vegan Week — and the most important one had nothing to do with food. Or, let me clarify — it had nothing to do with eating food.

In order to shop, cook and ensure that all my meals were animal product-free, I planned my meals for the week. I went through cookbooks, online recipes, blogs and more to come up with ideas, crafted a shopping list, and followed the plan to the T.

And I was the happiest I’ve been in a long time.

So, even though I’m back to eating animal products, I’m still planning meals. Here’s how this week looked:

• Sunday: Yuca Empanadas with Plantain-Black Been Filling, Sauteed Squash

• Monday: Beef Stew

• Tuesday: Split Pea Daal, Roti, Roasted Cauliflower (no picture, sniff sniff)
• Wednesday: Sweet and Spicy Pork Chops, Oat Groat Pilaf, Steamed Bok Choy

• Thursday: Pepin Potatoes, Braised Carrots and Fennel
• Friday: General Tao’s Tofu, Steamed Veggies

It’s more work up front, but a LOT less stress through the week. And, unfortunately, I’m not one of those people that can just throw things in a pot and make it come out delicious. I live with one of those people. But I’m a recipe girl.

On the exercise front…um, yeah. I have set my alarm for 5am every day since Monday. And I have woken up, turned the alarm off and gone back to sleep. Every day since Monday.

A girl needs her post-half marathon rest, right? I don’t feel too bad. I have another race in January, so I’m going to get back to normal training on Saturday.

What’s your best source for healthy recipes? The Web? Cookbooks? Family recipes?

          

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By Katy, December 7, 2009

I was pretty much a waste of space after the half marathon on Saturday — I tried to nap but couldn’t keep my eyes closed, so I curled up in a blankie and watched college football all afternoon. I kept waiting for my appetite to flare up, but it just never happened.

Runners, is this normal?

I forced down a tortilla with some jelly and a bowl of applesauce, but it sat like a rock in my stomach all day. I was bummed, because leading up to the race, I kept telling myself “every mile equals a piece of cake/pizza/insert junk food in here.”

Luckily, I started to get grumbly around dinnertime and decided on some nice sloppy barbecue to celebrate my hard work. That made someone a very happy boy.

We decided to try out 4 Rivers Smokehouse, which recently opened, promising the best BBQ in Central Florida. As big Dinosaur BBQ fans (it cracked us up that so many of you recognized Luke’s shirt here!) The line was out the door, which is always a good sign. And the menu boasted pulled pork, brisket, cornbread and much more. Another good sign.

I guess I should apologize now for anyone who found this blog by searching for Vegan Week. I may not eat a lot of meat, but when I do, I DO.IT.UP. It took us a while to read the menu and make out choices, especially because we were distracted by the fun of taking pictures in an enclosed, small space.

While we waited, one of the owners offered us a taste of brisket, which sealed the deal.

Lucas got a brisket sandwich with sides of mac and cheese and corn, and I got a pulled pork sandwich, on a baguette with mustard, with fried pickles and collards on the size. Luckily, we both like to share.

I think we both regret not getting those bacon-wrapped jalapenos. There will be a next time. Also, because neither of us went for dessert, and I think that might have been an oversight.

What a time to lose my appetite! The sandwiches were great, especially because the meat was smoked and came with some great, spicy sauces.

I came home, finished off my jelly bellies and passed out on the couch.

On Sunday, the ol’ appetite was still M.I.A., so I had some unpictured oatmeal with a side of housecleaning for breakfast. Got a box of baked goodness out to a special bidder, who helped raise money for Healthy Ashley’s bake sale:

And had a Hugh Jass for lunch. Mmm.

Wait, something’s missing.

That’s better! After lunch, the husband took over the kitchen, although he had a sidekick.

And once the boys were done, I got to work, making a recipe that became an INSTANT favorite: Yuca Empanadas, stuffed with Plaintain Black Bean Mess and served with some sauteed yellow squash.

So good, and it made a ton! I nom nom nommmed one for lunch today. Mmmmm…

What’s the best BBQ you’ve ever had? My family has a dream to start a barbecue, honky-tonk music dive bar, and I’m curious to know what you think makes for good nomming!

          

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By Katy, December 5, 2009

What a day! My full race recap is below, but I wanted to say a BIG thanks to everyone who supported me today on Facebook and Twitter, as well as in real life.

The husband supplied me with a sweet I’ve been craving for weeks:

And my Vegan Week partner in crime, Michelle, sent me the SWEETEST flowers and a note wishing me luck!

I have to tell you, thinking about all the people who were wishing me luck really powered me through the day!

It was pretty dreary when we woke up and headed to Downtown Orlando for today’s OUC Half Marathon, so I dressed in layers.

But as the morning went on, the rain let up and I decided to ditch the rain jacket, passing it off to the unofficial photographer.

Seriously, what a guy, right? We met up with Caitlin and Megan for some pre-race hugs and advice (Caitlin’s tip to hug the corners really paid off!)

And before I knew it — the race director was counting down…5 minutes. 4 minutes. 3 minutes. I put my headphones in, got my Garmin ready and took off!

I wasn’t sure how I’d be feeling, or how fast to go out, so I lined up at the back of the 9:00/mile starters, and it was perfect. My goal for the race was to try and maintain a 10:00/mile average, and I was THRILLED to see that I got it! (click the image for a bigger view)

My official finishing time, according to the chip, was 2:11:01. Not too bad!

Confession: I don’t know how to get my mile splits off the Garmin yet. I hit the lap button halfway through the run, and I wonder if that screwed things up?

Lucas sat by the finish line to get shots of everyone coming in. He found my friend Jamie by accident — look at her go!

Speedy gonzalez…she is amazing. Then Megan came in, followed by Caitlin, and finally I turned the corner to see them cheering! Lucas tried to take a picture but hit the video button instead (you can hear him say “oh come on!”), which turned out to be even better — he caught me giving Megan a high five!

And after I hit the finish line, I was thrilled to see their smiling faces giving me hugs and high-fives for finishing my VERY FIRST HALF MARATHON!

We all headed to the beer garden where I posed with my medal:

And Lucas got his payment for a job well done — nice cold beer.

Here are my overall thoughts on the race:

• A beautiful course! I got to run through some great neighborhoods, and could see several lakes along the way. People were sitting on their front steps and lawns cheering us on and it made a huge difference.
• It really does pay off to hug the corners. My Garmin says I ran 13.19 miles — not bad, because both Caitlin and Megan ended up running longer than that.
• I took a Pineapple Rocktane about halfway through the race. This is the best flavor I’ve tried!
• Because no matter what happened, I’d be setting a PR today (and a Personal Distance Record), I tried to set small goals along the way.
  • Miles 1-3: Get settled into a groove…find a clear space for running and set a decent pace. I ran at about 9:30/mile for those first miles.
  • Miles 3-6: Keep it under 10:00/mile, keep my shoulders down, try not to stop unless I had to.
  • Miles 6-9: Keep it under 10:00/mile but have short bursts of speed every once in a while. Find a rabbit and try not to let him/her out of my sight.
  • Miles 9-10: Keep it under 10:00/mile, take a walking break if needed (it wasn’t).
  • Miles 10-12: Since each mile after number 10 was a personal distance record, I just wanted to do my best. Nebulous, but it helped.
  • Mile 13: Leave it all on the course. Run as fast as I could and smile for the cameras!

I am very proud to say that I accomplished all those goals — and I never walked, even for one step! Having that 10:00/mile reminder, and a Garmin to let me know how I was doing, really helped. I did hit a bit of a wall at about 11.5 miles in, when I just wanted to start walking. But I knew that if I could get to the 12-mile mark, the last mile would just be a race to the finish line, so I kept running! I also didn’t take any water or bathroom breaks. I know that’s kind of against running philosophy, but I really don’t like running with anything in my stomach, so I didn’t want to risk it. I did chug two big bottles of water once I was done!

My mom is so cute — I called to tell her about the race and she asked how my “girly bits” held up (I have a groin injury). They held up just fine.

All in all, a great day — I am so proud of myself and truly can’t believe that just a short time ago, I couldn’t run a mile. Now I have run a 5K, several sprint triathlons, an Olympic triathlon and now a half marathon. Go me!

And Carolyn — I am PSYCHED for the Disney half in a month…it’s ON, girl!

Time for a nap…Lucas and the dogs have a head start…

          

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By Katy, December 4, 2009

First, let’s show off some goodies. Like the Amazing Grass that wasn’t — I took one sip and had to dump it. Shudder.

Then, my better half:

Who was very happy with his breakfast this morning. We met a friend before work (or in his case, before house husbanding) and he got a plate full of goodness.

I got the carrot cake pancake, which I will be attempting on my own.

I passed up the pumpkin pancake, but luckily my friend shared.

All pictures courtesy my iPhone.

So, tomorrow is my first half marathon, and I’m facing a few challenges. But I’m choosing to spin them, so they’re positives. Examples:

Lemon:

• I’m undertrained for this distance, and have only done one “long” run — 10 miles — in the last month. I’m battling a groin injury and have seen my training pace drop way off.

Lemonade:

• I would be doing a long run tomorrow anyway — why not do it with 3,500 other runners? I’m always faster during competitions, and even if I don’t feel great, I’m sure I’ll be inpsired by someone along the way.

Lemon:

Lemonade:

• An excuse to buy a new running hat so the torrential rain doesn’t drip into my eyes! Junior chewed mine up a while back, so I’ve been hatless. The hat will also cover up my sweaty, stanky self and allow me to truly smile from within when it’s time to cross the finish line.

Lemon:

• I’m feeling the effects of two years of training. My groin hurts, my back hurts, my shins hurt…everything hurts.

Lemonade:

• As a reward, Lucas has told me I can not only pick ANY place for dinner after the race, I can also get a massage and ice cream! Triple awesome!

Lemon:

• Well, there isn’t one, I just wanted a chance to share…

Lemonade:

• Carbing up. The afore-mentioned carrot cake was an indulgence, since I normally go with an egg white omelette. Then at lunch, I got my carbs in another way (below) and we’re having black bean pasta for dinner. Nom nom nom.

Lemon:

• Out of all the people I know competing in tomorrow’s event, I am by far the slowest. If they wanted, they could finish their half marathons, go home and shower, get massages and come back to high-five me at the finish line.

Lemonade:

• I’ve already arranged to see some of my friends before the race starts, so we can hug and high-five for luck. Plus, I keep telling myself that by 10am, I’ll have done more than more people will do all month.

And, if I may be so bold as to volunteer a lemon/lemonade scenario for Lucas…

Lemon:

• Wife’s crazy running addiction once again has me up way before the sun, fighting traffic and bad weather.

Lemonade:

• Beer garden for participants after the race. Wife won’t drink her beer. Score.

Wish me luck!

          

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By Katy, December 2, 2009

Mmm…ketchup is so good. I used to be a ketchup-only girl. No mustard. No relish. No onions. No no no.

Now, I use all those condiments and more. Have your tastes changed as you’ve gotten older?

In this case, ketchup really means catch-up, because it’s been a week since I posted! Here’s what you missed in my life:

• An amazing Thanksgiving with friends who feel like family. I wish I could have been with my mom, dad and brother, or my amazing in-laws, but I got to see many of them this summer, and I am thankful for that.
• A lazy long weekend, involving a trip to IKEA, West Elm, DSW, Old Navy, Sports Authority and Best Buy. Amazingly, only one thing came home with me…but it’s a big one!

Introducing Stella:

Merry Christmas to ME!

Stella is a Garmin Forerunner 305, and she is my new running buddy. The Garmin has been on my wish-list for about 6 months, and I was going to ask Santa for it. But I decided to go ahead and get it now, so I can use it for both half marathons that I’m signed up for. One of which is this weekend…um, yeah.

On a related sidenote, I have to tell y’all how much you blow me away with your support and friendship. Many of us have never met, and never will. But when I whine about my injury, you jump in to make me feel better!

(For those who don’t know — I have what I assume is an overuse injury. About a week before my Olympic triathlon, I started feeling an intense, stabbing pain in my hamstring/groin area. After the tri, it got really bad. I took a few weeks off of running, and the pain is now bearable but I am still dealing with it on a daily basis.)

Katie: Argh injuries are so frustrating. I’m afraid to even read about them afraid it will curse me I freak at every twinge. The memory of 4 months off of running still sends shivers down my spine! Hope you feel better! I’ve been doing spinning twice a week at the gym and yoga twice a week and I’m sore all the time way more so then when I was running almost every day!

Tracy: Katy – what is your injury? I’m new to your blog (found it when Caitlin at HTP linked to you doing your triathlon) and saw that you had an injury which you described as being near your, uh female parts. But, I never saw you say what it is exactly. Groin area? I’m asking because I’ve got a pelvic stress fracture, which presented as a groin strain, and well – it’s been hell. I missed the halfs for which I was training and am sitting out 3 months

itallchanges: Sorry you are still in pain. Have you gotten it looked at? I found once I got my hip looked at I started PT and it was wonderful. My PT really pushed me since he knew I was an “athlete” so I got a great workout just from the exercises he was teaching me to strengthen my body.

Dori: Oh no. My best advice would be rest for a week and then try again. Hope you feel better!

chrystad72: injuries can be frustrating but its great that you are listening to your body and letting it rest when its needs to. Thats so important for a good recovery! Anyways sounds like you will be back in full force soon so no worries! Have a great day! I really hope you feel better!

Tiffanie: I feel your pain! For years I’ve trained for some type of running event that has always left me injured and frustrated! This time I am training for the Disney’s Princess half marathon in March 2010 and I am following my training schedule by the books! Even though I physically feel like I can handle more, I don’t even want to even remotely try to do more too soon. I so want to be able to actually train AND compete this time as injury free as possible!!!

I hope you get feeling better soon!!!

I decided to take Stella on a group run last weekend — which turned out to be a solo run. Only three of us showed up, and unfortunately, they were running at a slower pace than I wanted. So I took off on a gorgeous course (I noticed Caitlin and Megan did their 20-miler at the same spot!) The GPS was a great addition, althought it really just made it clear that my injury is really slowing me down. Before I got hurt, I trained at around 10:00/mile, and competed at 8:30 or 9:00/mile. Not fast by any means, but consistent.

But for the last month of running, that pace has dropped like a rock. I’m now at about 11:00/mile, and I feel like I’m giving it my all. (The last lap was walking back to my car.)

Split	Hours:Minutes:SecondsTime	MilesDistance	FeetElevation Gain	FeetElevation Loss	Minutes per MileAvg Speed	Minutes per MileMax Speed	Beats per MinuteAvg HR	Beats per MinuteMax HR	CaloriesCalories
Summary	01:56:04	10.28	205	170	11:17	08:58	164	173	1,242
1	00:25:59	2.50	49	41	10:23	09:04	164	172	300
2	00:26:45	2.50	60	58	10:42	09:34	170	173	304
3	00:27:54	2.51	41	39	11:06	08:58	167	172	308
4	00:28:13	2.52	28	32	11:12	09:41	164	169	307
5	00:07:11	0.25	27	0	28:42	11:33	129	165	23

But my mantra is: “Just Keep Pushing.”

I did a miserable 6 miles on Monday, and a decent 4.5 this morning. I am not going to run in between now and Saturday, to try and have fr