Strawberry Banana Bars

We had a bunch of bananas that were entirely too ripe to eat. What do you do with a bunch of bananas? And some strawberries that froze in the refrigerator because it was too cold.

Strawberry Banana Bars! 

1 1/2 Cup pecans

1 1/2 Cup coconut flakes

3 ripe bananas

1 tea. vanilla

1/2 tea salt

Strawberry Jam (feel free to use some out of a jar)

2 Cups strawberries

2 tea. honey

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Blend the pecans in the food processor to make small pieces. Mix with 1 C with 1 C of the coconut flakes, mashed bananas, vanilla and salt. 

2. Transfer mixture to a square pan. Bake 25 minutes. 

3. Heat the strawberries and honey in a saucepan until the strawberries break down.

4. Remove the pan and pour the strawberries over top, then top with the remaining 1/2 C pecans and coconut flakes. Bake another 10 minutes until topping is golden brown. 

The original recipe recommends serving cold, but Steve liked it warm, with sherbet. 

We also had sloppy joes and sweet potatoes last night. It was really good, but we didn't have much leftovers! I'm not sure if I doubled the recipe last time - I definitely will next time. It eliminates the leftover "half" peppers, too! 

I ran 9 miles today, so I'm going to award myself with a slice of pizza for lunch. 

Run While You Still Can!

First of all, unlike your mother, I apparently DO run a restaurant out of my kitchen. Steve had Peru chicken for dinner last night and I made myself shrimp with Greek seasoning and a baked potato. It was heavenly - just as good as a restaurant!

After dinner, Steve made a Paleo date shake. Yes, I was VERY skeptical.


1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup ice
1 frozen banana
1/4 cup pecans (or walnuts)
2-4 dates, depending on sweetness

Blend in the blender until smooth.

The dates make it SO sweet and the nuts give it a good texture. It's ah-maze-ing! Palm Springs really got something right! (Well, we haven't tried their version, but I'm sure it's good too!)

I ran 12 miles yesterday, training for the half marathon in less than two weeks. I ran 3 miles today (slowly) just to loosen up my legs, and had TWO different older (white haired) women tell me that running is bad for the knees. Well, sitting on the couch is bad for your ass!! But I just said, "Thank you" or "I know" or *grunt* and kept going. It's hard to say. I had headphones on.
 
I have one more long run (10 miles on Saturday) and I've already planned out my Bill's pizza slice afterward, so I have to get it done! I hope I have some more supportive cheerleaders!

Rainy Days and Mondays

No complaints here. At least we aren't getting FEET of snow! Still, it's kind of a drizzly day, which is perfect for VEGGIE LASAGNA! 

Before you get too excited, I made it with ground turkey, so it's VEGGIE MEAT LASAGNA! Now, go crazy!

Instead of noodles, I just used zucchini. You can slice them thin or use a mandolin, but I just cut them into medallions (circles) because it's easier. I layered at follows:

tomato-basil sauce
zucchini rounds
spinach
most of one container of ricotta cheese
1 pound cooked ground turkey seasoned with oregano, salt and pepper
zucchini
sauce (used almost all of a small jar)
mozarella cheese (1/2 a small bag)

I used a square pan, so it only took two zucchini. It's in the oven for an hour at 350, but I'll probably check on it at 45 minutes, since I'm hungry! 

An update on the honey mustard chicken: it was AWESOME as advertised, and warmed up great the next day. We used thighs just like the recipe said, but I want to try it on boneless skinless breasts, because every bite would be SO SAUCY! Make it tonight (or as soon as you have chicken). You won't be disappointed.

Today I made a playlist in Youtube of all the Zumba songs we use at the gym so I could Zumba in my room-ba. It's not quite the same, but I'm happy that I know the routines well enough to get a good workout in on my own. Tomorrow I'm running 12 miles (that's the plan). Out and back three, then out and back another three = 6 + 6 = 12. I'm hoping if I look at it that way, it won't seem so hard. 

Climb a Mountain, Make a Friend, Eat a Street Taco

So I went for a three-mile run this morning and then decided to hike up a mountain. Which I thought I was doing pretty well, till some dude passed me at a trot, shirtless. I was following footprints in the dirt to make sure I was on the trail! He let me know there are white markings on the rocks, and then I saw them. Then I realized going down is harder than up and I better turn around before my legs were too tired, or I'd be sliding down on my butt. I think hiking shoes might be better than running shoes in this terrain.... And this was an easy to moderate trail! 

I ran into another hiker on the way down, who gave me some good tips and her contact info. Yay, new friend! She said her husband won't even do this trail with her so I feel accomplished.

Then I rewarded myself with a turkey, ham, bacon sandwich from The Sandwich Shop. (It was the special so I ordered it as they had it on the board. Reminded myself that I don't like pickles or jack cheese. Next time I'll stick with my standby - turkey and provolone.)

Tonight was the Thursday night Open Air Market, so we had tacos from a book. Well, I had a taquito and a quesadilla and Steve had three pork tacos and my rice and beans. They were all good. There was a guy wearing a knight's helm playing cello, but he took a break so I couldn't get a good picture.  

Fun times in the desert. Tomorrow I want to run 10 miles and make a second attempt at honey mustard chicken. We'll see what happens!

My Go-To: Spaghetti Squash???

So I had this GREAT PLAN to make some honey mustard chicken (1/2 C mustard, 1/4 C honey, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar - chicken breasts - 40 minutes on 375 or until cooked through). What could be yummier? 

I forgot we grilled the chicken on Monday. D'oh!!!! How did I FORGET what we've been eating ALL WEEK?! And by the time I run out to the store and get chicken, it will be time for breakfast and I'll have died of starvation. Yes, I'm hangry. And grumpy because when I make a plan, I want the plan to work!!!!

So I'm making what we have. Spaghetti squash casserole. Can I tell you that I love the versatility of the stupid spaghetti squash, but I hate it a little too. I hate touching the guts and I hate burning my fingers because I want to get touching the guts over with, and I kind of hate the fact that it's not chewy gluten-y pasta, even though I'm happy we have an alternative to chewy gluten-y pasta. 

So....spaghetti squash and roasted cauliflower. 

And I got the blue screen of death today.

And my foot hurt so I only ran 6.2 miles (10k instead of 10 miles)

BUT, I ate a delicious bagel for breakfast. And I finished the book I get yesterday and it was AWESOME. And at least we have this multi-colored substitute for dinner. OH, and we got frozen yogurt! (Steve gets so much that his qualifies for the $5 fill-your-cup special. Mine was less than that :( so I just paid per ounce.)

Travel Part Two

You would think we would have learned from our first excursion, but four stores, three hours, and $300+ later, we have what we need for the next week/six weeks. We didn't get a vegetable peeler in this kitchen, although there's a passable set of steak knives. 

We DO have a grill--propane, too! so we were able to grill chicken and sweet potatoes. It's just like being at home! Steve made cereal and acorn squash "oatmeal." (It's basically cooked squash - in the microwave - heated on the stove with coconut milk, cinnamon, coconut flakes, and maybe some honey. He says it tastes like oatmeal, but it looks like squash to me!)

Tonight I'm making chicken legs (half with cinnamon and sage and half with Greek seasoning), zucchini with olive oil and Greek seasoning, carrot-raisin salad, and leftover sweet potatoes. 

I'm pretending it's a fun challenge to cook in a different kitchen, when it's kind of just a pain. I have the PERFECT knife....at home. And the right sized bowl....at home. And enough Tupperware...you get the idea. Still, it's cheaper and healthier than eating out every night! 

I ran 8 miles today (wasn't sure about the route, and didn't want to keep going to make 10 when I wasn't sure where to turn around, and oh look, there's our hotel!). I'm going to try 10 on Wednesday and then I'm going to Sherman's deli and bakery and rewarding myself with something from the case there. It doesn't matter what. It ALL looked delicious.

Also, I'm sooooo bummed that Selfie was cancelled. Let's all take a moment of silence. BUT I didn't realize there were additional episodes on Hulu (yes, I live under a rock). I watched the first one today and squealed with delight. Why doesn't Hollywood ask MY opinion of what should be on?????

Another side note: we saw a Chihuahua wearing sunglasses today. No, I didn't get a picture. Yes, it was the coolest thing I've ever seen.

Steve Made Dinner

So I finally made the shrimp and potato that I've been wanting. I used Greek seasoning on the shrimp, and it was so good! The first night I ate it with a baked potato with butter and sour cream, and it was heaven! Then I used the leftover shrimp and ate it with a sweet potato, like I saw on Civilized Caveman....it was ok. The baked potato was far superior, though! (Although butter and sour cream aren't very "caveman.") Still, once you defrost the shrimp (which I did the lazy way, by running warm water over them in a colander), they cook up SO fast, and they're SO good! (And they impress guests! Really!)

Steve had some leftover chicken, but I ate his sweet potato (See above. Oops), so he used the Vegetti (spiral slicer) to make sweet potato "noodles." He said it wasn't too hard to spiral the potato, except for the last inch or two. I was afraid it would take a lot of strength, since I've only done zucchini so far and they're soft. He had a recipe that called for figs and prosciutto and goat cheese (I think) but he skipped the cheese and meat and just added the figs. He said you couldn't really taste them. Here are the noodles: 

The "recipe" with the slicer says to heat them in a pan with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and cinnamon for 5-7 minutes until soft. Steve said it took closer to 15-20 (which seems about right to me. Sweet potatoes always seem to take FOREVER, although I think it would have been faster if he covered the pan). I think they'd be really good with a brown butter sauce, or maybe some cinnamon and brown sugar! We'll have to try it again sometime. I'm not sure about regular marinara sauce, although that could be good, but I think enchilada sauce might good, like the Mexican casserole we make. It's a good way to sneak veggies in.

Peruvian Chicken and Crafts

Steve looked up a recipe for Peruvian chicken before Christmas, and we finally made it last night. It turned out pretty good, and wasn't horrible to make, because the veggies only need to be chopped into large pieces (sometimes it feels like all I do is chop vegetables!)

Peruvian Chicken

Spice Rub:
1 tea. olive oil
1 1/2 T paprika
1 T cumin
2 tea fresh lemon juice
1 tea sea salt
1/2 tea pepper
1/2 tea oregano
2 cloves garlic
2 T white vinegar (I used white balsamic)

4 pounds chicken, cut into parts (I used a pack of boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, diced (I used two medium sized ones)
2 onions, quartered (I only had one, and it was a sweet onion)
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 clove garlic
3 tea olive oil
1/2 tea salt
1/2 tea pepper


Preheat the oven to 425. Make the rub and put it on the chicken. Slice the onions, pepper, and sweet potatoes into bite-size pieces. Place them in a 9 X 12 baking dish and sprinkle with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Arrange the chicken on top of the veggies. 

Bake 20 minutes, stir the veggies, and bake another 25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. 

It's got a good blend of spices in it, but it's not spicy. It would also go well with rice or cauliflower rice. 

And just as a bonus, we were talking about being "fishers of men" in Sunday school, so we made these bracelets out of fishing swivels:

You can find similar bracelets online for $40, but they're super easy to do yourself, and it would be pretty easy to add a clasp or a charm. (The swivels open like a safety pin.) You can a pack (they come in different sizes and colors) for around $1.50. The kids were more interested in making fishing poles out of pretzel rods and Twizzlers, with a gummi worm, but I thought the bracelets were cool! 

Enchilada Soup

Steve wanted some soup for lunch, and something spicy to counteract the cold, so this is in the crock pot right now:

Chicken Enchilada Soup

I think I actually mostly followed the recipe this time! 

1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno, diced (ok, I left out the jalapeno!)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Add the chicken to the bottom of the slow cooker. Add the onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, and garlic on top of the chicken. Pour the diced tomatoes and chicken stock over the top. Sprinkle with chili powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours. Use a fork to shred the chicken before serving. 

Then you can top with cheese and sour cream and tortilla strips (not Paleo, not even a little bit) or avocado (approved!). 

We had sweet potatoes for dinner and some pulled pork that Steve got at Righteous Pig BBQ. They have an apple butter BBQ sauce that's really good - it's kind of thick, like apple butter, but sweet without being overpowering (of course, I like Kansas City sauce, so the sweeter the better!) 

I now have a new phone and a new battery for my car, and I won't be spending any money on fun stuff for a while (you know, like apps and music for the phone! And a new case! and a car charger!)! My car wouldn't start and when we popped the hood, the battery was visibly corroded! I've pretty much replaced everything I could (tires, brakes, rotors, windshield wipers, battery) so now I will be driving into the ground!! I'm thinking maybe regressing, moving back in with my parents, getting an allowance, and a part-time job to keep me in spending money sounds pretty heavenly. This grown-up stuff is for ... well, grown-ups! 

Tomorrow I have to (get to?) run 9 miles, and since they're calling for an icy mix, it will be on the  treadmill. Hoping to find a good movie to watch to make the time go faster! Today I went to Piyo and Zumba. I haven't been in a few weeks, and Piyo felt a little rough! In Zumba they didn't a song I haven't learned yet, and it's like being new. Yeah, I'll just shake it over here, while you all kick together, spin, turn, shake it shake it, wait! What am I supposed to be doing? You're turning toward the back wall! NO!!!

Shepherd's Pie

It's cold. The internet was down last night. My car is notorious for not starting if the wind chill gets too low. I'm starting to go stir crazy and itching for a run outside! How many more months of winter?!?!?! At least the sun is shining, so it doesn't look as bad as it is through my front window (not that I'm going to test it by going outside if I can help it! So much for my to-do list!) And the gym is great, but it's not the same thing as fresh air! 

Last night, I made a comfort-food shepherd's pie based on a Civilized Caveman recipe to warm us up. I liked it much better than the previous version I made (because it was sweeter, and I don't think sweet potatoes go with savory) although I think Steve liked the mushrooms in the second one. Also, we didn't have an onion, or mushrooms, or or peas! 

So, I baked three sweet potatoes (easier than peeling them to boil!), and then mashed them with 1/4 C coconut milk (vanilla flavor, because that's what we have - it worked fine!) and 1 teaspoon cinnamon (I don't like nutmeg. I think its overpowering)

Then I browned 1 pound of ground turkey, and cut up the rest of a bag of carrots (maybe 5 small ones). Steve says onion would have been good with the recipe, but he only bought one, which we used for the soup the other day! I added the carrots to the ground beef to soften them, then added the rest of the container of white balsamic vinegar (about 2 Tablespoons) and 2 Tablespoons honey, plus 2 Tablespoons cinnamon. Then I mixed in 1/2 C dried cranberries, and put the whole thing in a small 2 quart baking dish (it wouldn't fill up the 9 X 13 pan). 

Then I smoothed the potato mixture over top, and we baked for 20 minutes, added 1/2 C pecans and baked another 15 minutes. It was so good! And easy! And we have leftovers for tonight! It almost tastes like Thanksgiving in a casserole (I think the onions would help with that, to give it a little "stuffing" flavor). the tang of the vinegar goes well with the sweetness of the honey and the cranberries. I wish I could figure out what other veggies might  go well with it. 

I took a brilliant picture to tantalize your taste buds! I swear, itt looked good on my phone! I was like, ooh, look at those delicious cranberries! And the pecans! Trust me, it's good! 

January at the Gym

I really didn't think there would be that many new faces at the gym. I mean, sure New Year's resolutions and all, but how much of that is really real... 

Turns out, I was wrong. We actually had to share bags in kickboxing last night, and Zumba looked pretty full.

I say Zumba "looked" full because it's TOO COLD OUTSIDE for my car to start!!!! (The battery freezes up when it gets to be, oh, you know NEGATIVE WIND CHILLS!) So I sent Steve off to the store and said, "I'll see you at 7," then called him 15 minutes later to say, "No go!" He was at the farmers market, buying sweet potatoes, and I told him to finish shopping first, so I missed the whole hour of Zumba. I was so excited to get to work out ... and then so bummed when I didn't get to go!!! At least I got to kickbox. Sigh. I'll have to try again tonight, but again, my car is just sitting in the driveway, like a really expensive lawn ornament that's almost as ugly as a gnome.

You have to check out Civilized Caveman for an easy shrimp recipe today. It looks yummy, and it's seriously the type of recipe that I could come up with! Saute shrimp. Put them over sweet potatoes that you mash up and add yummy things to. Done! 

We made this soup last night. Actually, Steve made it, and I just helped brown the meat! We subbed ground turkey and turkey broth and added some tomato sauce for flavor. 

Revised Recipe:

2 pounds ground turkey
1 large onion
2 celery stalks
3 cloves garlic (or 1 1/2 tea. minced garlic)
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
4 C (or 1 carton) chicken or veggie broth
3 bell peppers, diced
4 carrots, sliced
3 T tomato paste
1 C tomato sauce
1/2 tea oregano
1 tea chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Brown the meat with the onions, garlic and celery
2. Combine all ingredients in a large soup pot and stir to combine
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer until the sweet potatoes are soft.

The original recipe said to do everything in a large saucepan, but we browned the meat in a frying pan and then transferred it to our soup pot (which also allowed us to skim off the grease). The original recipe also said simmer 15-20 minutes, but I think it took closer to 30 or 45 for the sweet potatoes and other veggies to be soft. It just depends how big you make the pieces and if you want more of a soup or a stew. I need to go bake some sweet potatoes to mash up as part of dinner tonight! 

Tips for Travel with Food

You would think that two people going out of town for two weeks to Florida, where the clothes they require would be less bulky than in the Midwest, could fit everything into a Hyundai Santa Fe. 

It's a good thing we don't have kids. We'd have to strap them to the roof.

As it was, Chico wanted to ride next to me the whole way, which means that I was perched at an angle on the seats that are supposed to mold comfortably to your butt (or the other way around), making my arm fall asleep and my neck stiff! 

We brought a TON of stuff with the best intentions of cooking, but then we were both sick and then the second hotel/extended stay didn't actually have dishes, so we were very limited. 

1. Plan ahead! Make a menu plan that's flexible but that you can follow. What will you need to buy at the store once you get there? What can you bring from home easily? What utensils and pans do you need? Will you have a sharp/big enough knife??? (WE DIDN'T!!! Major pain trying to hack through a squash with a paring knife!) Think about SPICES. You only need a pinch, but if you have to buy a whole container, it can be $8!! 

2. Think about staples you know you'll enjoy and splurges/special occasion foods you can throw in. For the most part, if you eat eggs in the morning, plan to eat eggs in the morning. You know how your body will react and having your routine will help you stick to it. But you're also on vacation. So if you'll be tempted to go out for a big breakfast, maybe bring some pancake fixin's so you can control how big they are and what you put on them.

3. Do your homework. It's fine to eat out if you have a favorite place you don't want to miss, there's a restaurant your favorite Food Network Star owns, or you just want one night out. Just go in prepared. If you have food allergies, call ahead and verify the dish you want to order is available and truly safe. If you want to control your portions, know what you're going to order and maybe request a to-go container for half right off the bat. It's the worst when you splurge on dinner out and it makes you sick. You have to decide if it's worth it! 

4. Live and learn. It did NOT work out like I thought this time! We had a menu list and brought a ton of stuff with us, but we didn't bring enough (if that's possible!) or enough of the right stuff. The easiest meals worked the best - scrambled eggs and sausage, spaghetti squash and meat sauce (leftovers!). 

Things that were helpful to pack or that we wished we'd taken with us:

• Tupperware containers
• Silverware, including a fork, spoon, knife, and steak knife for each person, a paring knife, and a chopping knife
• Plastic plates
• Frying pans and pots (the first condo had these - the extended stay hotel did not, so check before you go!)
• baking sheet
• rubber spatula for eggs, flat spatula for flipping pancakes
• Cinnamon and grill spice
• Our Ninja blender (we used the blender. We also brought a small 2-cup food processor that we didn't use, but I think if we had cooked as we planned we would have)
• a coffee machine - This depends how much room you have in the car. ALL the places we stayed had smaller coffee machines, so if you're a big coffee drinker, you might want to get the full 10-cups (Steve makes a full pot for iced coffee and puts it in the fridge). Depending how long you're staying, these aren't too expensive and would easily make up for the price by not splurging on two Starbucks drinks (but if you start doing this with everything, you'll double your kitchen appliances fast!)
• Portable, healthy snacks like raisins

Tips:

We bought a carton of Publix sherbet for $4 (it is awesome). We didn't finish it, so we wasted some :( but $4 is less than we could have gotten ice cream ONCE from the ice cream shoppe.

We brought cooked chicken and sweet potatoes (staples) with us. If we had been feeling well, we would have only needed to heat them up for easy meals. 

Steve went to Publix and ordered sandwiches from the deli on top of lettuce instead of on the bun for quick, healthy, delicious lunches. Check out the grocery store's options before turning to fast food if possible.

When we do go out, we try to choose BBQ restaurants or seafood - they can be healthier if you order meats and veggies, and often things are made from scratch on the premises, so they know what's in them. 

I'm sure there's more, but I'm just happy we were able to unload everything! (Oh, that's another thing: we have a TON of those reusable canvas bags. They make packing everything easy!)

Belly up to the Buffet

Day 3 of the January challenge! 11 pushups, 40 squats, and 30 second plank. I'm ripped like a body builder now! haha. I can see the muscles popping out! 

I started out the day SO WELL! Well....I ran 4 miles out of the 8 I kind of wanted to do. Mentally I just wasn't there. It was hot and humid, and after I did one 4-mile loop, I did NOT want to do another, so I figured I was good. I will try again tomorrow! (Maybe a little better rested...) I had leftover barbeque with some cheese and crackers and lunch, and it was delish, but I was seriously craving a salad. 

There is NOTHING around here with a decent salad bar...so when I googled "salad bar" Golden Corral came up! (I also googled "healthy restaurant" and Denny's came up!)

So we went with the best choice. I had a plate of salad with cottage cheese and applesauce (my favorite) and some chips and salsa... and then I went a little crazy on the desserts! I didn't have ANY holiday parties this year, so I guess that was my splurge. I was ok until I tried this little brownie bite thing that had peanut butter fudge sauce at the bottom and whipped cream on top. And then I was ready to pop! I specifically didn't get the mashed potatoes and gravy or meat loaf, because I didn't want to leave feeling sick. So...almost a success. 

Things I overheard:

"I told you to get a table at the front! Where have you been??" (empty plates piled in front of her"
"There wasn't a damn table at the front! Why didn't you look for me???"

I mean, I know it's confusing in there, with the chocolate fountain and all, but she lost her friend because she couldn't see past her pile of food!!!

"I'm just saying. It's at capacity in here. You need to turn the air on!"

Steve and I were freezing! Again, overcome by visions of the chocolate fountain???

"OMG, Steve! They have meatloaf! And carrot cake! What are you eating? What's under the chicken? Is it good? Where'd you get the nachos? LOOK, THEY GAVE US SIX ROLLS TO TAKE HOME!!! I LOVE IT HERE!!!"

OK, that was me. We don't ever eat at Golden Corral at home because it's expensive, and we don't eat enough to make up the price at the buffet. We're driving home tomorrow, and I will be eating all six of the rolls in the car :)  Our guy Emil was awesome, and I thought he was just giving out rolls because he's the bomb, but it turns out it's a promotional thing. I don't care. Shout out to Emil! You rock!

2015: Day Two

I remembered to do all my challenge exercises. Eight push ups! 35 squats. 30 second plank. It doesn't seem like much, but I'm sticking to the schedule and hoping I'll be able to keep up by the end of the month! 

Last night we had paella for dinner at this authentic Cuban restaurant. I really want to try this at home (maybe with cauliflower rice), but there are so many different components that all need to be put in at different times so it's finished together! It came in this cute little pot, which I also want! And those are plantain rounds on the side - I'd love to know how they peel the green plantain! I always have problems! We had these really good plantain chips to start, but they put minced garlic right on top, and I ate one that probably had 1/2 teaspoon of garlic on it - that's way too much! I brushed my teeth 5 times, and was still tasting it all night!!! So maybe without so much garlic next time! 

I wasn't going to run today, but ended up running 3 miles. The first mile, I would have sworn I was running fast, like under 10 min/mile. It was windy and I had a big lunch, but still, I felt fast! But it ended up being closer to 11 minutes. Bummer! And I saw scary swear-y guy again! I quick crossed to the other side of the road. I don't really want to be on his radar! 

Here's a picture of the sun, in case you forgot what it looks like!  

Happy New Year!

Started out the new year right with gluten-free blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs, and cinnamon apples! I cheated a little on the pancakes and used GF Bisquik mix. As with all things gluten-free, I think they taste a little more "cake-y" than regular, but they were good. I also used coconut milk and olive oil (because that's what we had), added blueberries, and guessed on some of the measurements. Nothing like fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants cooking! We also didn't have jam or syrup, so I thought the cinnamon apples would work as a topping - they did! Plus some strawberries that were left over and needed to be eaten. It sounds like a feast, but the dog begged through the whole meal, so we obviously didn't make enough food for him! 

And lunch was leftovers from last night. Which could be good for any number of resolutions. Pack your lunch to save money, pack your lunch to lose weight, reduce consumption, or actually eat your leftovers! 

We have a half marathon coming up on February 8, so even though we were sick last week and I feel like my training has been off, I have about 5 long runs to get myself in shape for it! It works out just about perfectly, assuming I get those long runs in! I ran 7.25 to kick off the new year right. I self-diagnosed myself with metatarsalgia (meaning my second toe hurts after I run). It's common in people who's second toe is longer than their big toe (royalty feet, I like to say!) and it sounds about right. The cure is rest (hahahaha) and new shoes with a roomier toe box. Guess which I'm going to start with! Runners never give up, never surrender! [Galaxy Quest]

I was following a (kind of crazy, possibly homeless) guy for a few blocks, and he kept doing twitchy things like adjusting his pants (which were rolled up) and appearing to address signs, but God knows I dance to my music and punch the air and do (2, 3, 4) finger gestures whenever a song counts down... who am I to judge? So as I came up behind him, he turns around and yells, "F*CK!!" which scared the crap out of me, and thank goodness he continued across the street (even though he did NOT have a walk signal) and I turned the corner. I think I would've turned the corner anyway. Hey, buddy. Chill!!! I'm usually not concerned with my surroundings when I run, since it's a familiar route and it's safe, but I can see why some people might carry pepper spray! (I would just spray myself in the face, and they'd say "thank you for the iPhone. Wait, this is a 4G, here you can keep it!")

Just realized I have to do my 30-day challenge exercises!! Maybe I need to plan to do those after I run/first thing in the morning! I would have to flake on Day 1!!! I think it's 5 pushups and 30 squats and a 20-second plank. Staring out easy!