Blog and Oiselle Team Anniversary (Plus a Code for 10% Off and Free Shipping at Oiselle!)

Wow.  Two years.  Yet another year has flown by on my little corner of the internet.  I think that my post from one year ago still pretty much sums up my feelings about blogging.  I still enjoy it immensely.  I've delved a bit more into my other interests like cooking, reading, and talking about motherhood.  But the connections I make (with runners, or home cooks, or bookworms, or moms) remain the same.  And the blogiversary always coincides with my Oiselle anniversary: it was just two years ago that I got the email from Kristin inviting me to join the team.  And I am grateful, so grateful, for another wonderful year.  I don't have many more words, so I'll just take a look back with a few pictures...

Getting to know Lauren Fleshman the week of her baby shower!

Ahhh, huge Euge!

RAGNAR was so amazing. Can't wait to do it again!

Blogging (and Hot Chocolate) pretty much made this Chicago trip and team meetup a reality.  Amazing.

As well as making it possible to cap off the year running in, and visiting my dearest friends in, the city of my heart.

OK, if you've made it this far, thank you for indulging me in this little walk down memory lane.  And now for the GOODS: this year, in honor of the blog and Oiselle team anniversary, I've got a special discount code to share with y'all for 10% off AND free shipping (no minimum order) at Oiselle.com!  Just enter ANNIVERSARY at checkout.  This code is good Friday, March 21st through midnight PST on Sunday, March 23rd. I myself am eyeballing the new vertical drop tank or the very popular cross top mesh tank; maybe I'll just buy myself a little anniversary present.  Really, the possibilities are endless...

Happy shopping!

This Weeks Eats 4.16.14 and an Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Even though my husband and I both are of Irish descent, we really don't do much to celebrate the holiday.  But, we do have a soft spot for Irish Soda bread.  My husband's grandmother used to make it and I've experimented with a few recipes over the years.  Mostly trying to find ones that don't require a boatload of butter to taste great.  I adapted this Ina Garten recipe with half whole wheat flour yielding pretty tasty results - I also added a little dusting of sugar over the top before baking.

I forgot to report back from Mountain Mama Cook's Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Tacos - these were REALLY good.  Especially with the blue cheese slaw!  In fact, I think I need an excuse to make the slaw this week...

• Monday - Pizza
• Tuesday - Satay Chicken and Roasted Broccoli
• Wednesday - Gnocchi Soup with Spinach, Roasted Red Pepper and Turkey Sausage (love this soup I found via Pinterest last year)
• Thursday - Buffalo Chicken Burgers with Blue Cheese Slaw
• Friday - Fish Tacos with Cilantro Lime Cream (an old favorite from Cooking Light)
• Saturday - Slow Cooked Ragu (trying this new to us Cooking Light recipe)
• Sunday - Tortilla Pie (from Dinner, A Love Story)

As always, I'm linking up with Org Junkie, Mommy Run Fast and Jill Conyers - be sure to check out all the great weekly menus!

March Forth 5K Race Recap

I was rather bummed that scheduling conflicts kept me from running my beloved local Hot Chocolate race.  I hope everyone who ran it had a great time and enjoyed the post race fondue.  Mmmm...  I digress.  Even though I wasn't free on that Sunday morning, I still wanted to do a race, and I decided to join a couple of teammates for a local 5K on Saturday instead: the March Forth Fun Run.  For me, this was the shortest amount of time between signing up for a race and then running it; I registered less than a week beforehand.  It was rather liberating not bringing weeks of anticipation and expectations to the start line.  Plus, I was very much on board with the charity supported by March Forth: all proceeds from the run go to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  This year they raised over $10,000!  

It's a Green Lake race, so you pretty much run a loop around the lake.  I love these races, though, because they're never at some crazy early hour, probably because street closures aren't necessary.  This race started at 9:30AM.  I also like Green Lake because it's pretty easy to park anywhere around the lake.  You're never more than a mile or two from the start and those miles can be used as a warmup or cooldown.  I met up with my teammate Lauren and we drove over, parked about three blocks from the start and joined our other teammate Portia for a nice and easy warmup mile.  

Lauren, Portia and me (FREE race photos FTW!)

The weather held up perfectly; it was a bit on the chilly side in the low 40s, but after our warmup, I felt great in knickers and my lux long sleeve under my singlet.  As we waited to start, we were treated to the musical stylings of the Sounders FC Marching Band.  I love marching bands.  They make me feel nostalgic for high school and college football games and automatically put me in a pumped up mood.  

As advertised, they started right on time and we were off at 9:30 on the dot.  There wasn't anything set up to corral the runners as the start, as the timing mats were on a little grassy hill and not a path or road.  People kept filing in from the sides and it was a bit crazy for the first half mile or so.  According to Lauren, who was actually running behind me (because she's coming back from an injury), I was a dodging peeps like a pro.  Apparently this is true because, as usual, my first mile was my fastest at 8:30.  Aaaand, as per my usual, I felt sort of like death warmed over in mile two - as evidenced by my 9 minute mile pace.  I even slowed to grab a Nuun at the one water stop because, hey Nuun!!  YES.  I got a nice side five from teammate Jen who was in town visiting and that gave me a bit of a boost.  And since I am a rather predictable person, I perked up a bit in the last mile, especially when yet another teammate appeared on the course.  Sarah ran up alongside me and all I could do at two and a half miles into a 5K was give a little wave, a big smile and kinda shake my head "no" as in "no, I cannot talk to you right now!"  She ran ahead and I was thinking, is she trying to pace me?  Urgh, maybe I should try and chase her a little.  As it turns out, she was running ahead to turn and take a picture of me, but I think I caught up to that speedy girl a bit!  Either way, I can thank her for bringing me back under a 9 minute pace with my final mile clocking in at just about 8:45.  

heading toward the finish - more free race photos!

Final time was 26:44 and I didn't meet my sort of last minute goal of beating my Mustache Dache time.  I'm blaming that on giving in to the temptation of that tasty Nuun on course.  But, I felt really good about my effort and the fact that I didn't have any hamstring pain this time around.  Yay!  

Lauren, Jen, Portia, Sarah and Me

In addition to bottled water, there was plenty of goodies at the finish (bagels, chips, chocolate milk, bananas, etc.) and Walgreens was handing out little first aid kits, which I love getting at races to stash in my purse.  Kids go through a lot of band-aids, yo.  And the race shirts are soooooo cozy. 

 Apparently they are tech fabric, 100% poly, but they feel like buttah.  The shirts didn't make it to Seattle in time for packet pickup, or race day, because of snow in Chicago (yes, my family and friends back home are REALLY done with winter).  So they sent out an email a few days after the race when shirts were ready for pickup and even sent some over to Everyday Athlete in Kirkland for those of us on the Eastside to get our shirts.  That was really appreciated.  (As are FREE PHOTOS!)  

I just love these smaller races and hope that I can run this one next year, depending upon what the 2015 Hot Chocolate season brings and where it might fit in with the Lake Sammamish Half.  I really would love to do that one again and it's usually in early March...  Anyway, if you have the opportunity to, definitely sign up for this race!  

My Favorite Freezer Meals and This Weeks Eats 3.9.14

I whipped up these Chocolate Chip Cookie Energy Bars this week and they were so easy and SO tasty.  I am automatically drawn to any recipe that includes the directive to throw 'em in the freezer and pop 'em out whenever you want.  I try to do this with as many meals as possible, especially those that are kind of a pain to make.  

Makin' the Mac and Cheese requires at least two burners going and the Cuisinart, which is always a pain to clean...

Some favorite recipes to freeze:

Pioneer Woman's 'Fancy' Mac and Cheese (This recipe yields a LOT, so I just pour half into a container to freeze and the rest into a pan to bake.)

Baked Ziti (The same goes for this recipe - it yields a lot, but you can always double it and freeze half.)

Any enchilada recipe: Avocado Enchiladas, Turkey and Black Bean Enchiladas, etc. (I'll usually double the recipe and just freeze the rolled up tortilla portion and either freeze the sauce separately, or buy sauce - the Frontera sauces are fantastic.)

Most soups and stews: Italian Beef Stew, Chipotle Chicken Chowder and definitely Minestrone - just thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.

Meatballs: The recipe for Greek Meatball Salad makes so many meatballs, I always freeze half after I bake them.  Same goes for Thai Meatballs, or straight up Italian Meatballs for spaghetti.

Sauces and marinades: whenever I make pesto, I double and freeze half, as well as my favorite satay marinade.

And pretty much any baked goods: My Whole Wheat Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Muffins and Hummingbird Muffins almost always go directly into the freezer; I just pop 'em out and throw 'em in the microwave for about 20 seconds.  Same goes for pre-sliced banana bread, Banana Walnut Pancakes, and Cranberry Orange Bread.

This weeks eats definitely includes some freezer meal action:

• Monday - Pizza
• Tuesday - Thai Crunch Salad
• Wednesday - Pioneer Woman's Fancy Mac and Cheese (yep, just pulling this out of the freezer!)
• Thursday - Turkey and Black Bean Enchiladas (which I will double and freeze!)
• Friday - Chicken with Artichokes, Tomatoes and Mozzarella 
• Saturday - Penne with Vodka Sauce and Turkey Sausage
• Sunday - Caution Flag Chili (a very old Rachael Ray recipe)

As always, I'm linking up with Org Junkie, Mommy Run Fast and Jill Conyers - be sure to check out all the great weekly menus!

Books I Read in February 2014

The Last Letter from your Lover by Jojo Moyes

This novel isn't on the same level as Me Before You - nevertheless, it's a fast and enjoyable read. A sort of a formulaic amnesia romance storyline is mashed up with a Titanic vibe. I kept waiting for the romantic male lead to yell: They've got you trapped Rose! Even though her name is Jennifer and the bulk of the story is set in the 1960s, rather than 1912. But hey, who doesn't love Titanic? Especially since this one has a happier ending.




Longbourn by Jo Baker

It took me a little while to get into this book. I'm admittedly not an Austen fanatic, so that could have something to do with it; I had to really think to remember the details of Pride and Prejudice to get the most from this book, as the main characters are the servants of the Bennett family. Once it took off for me, though, I couldn't put it down. It's just a lovely romance, with lots of great soap opera-like twists and turns, while being written with subtlety and grace.




Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

It's been awhile since I've read a coming of age novel and I wanted to catch up on some Printz award winners.  Where Things Come Back is a gritty, hypnotic read with two seemingly unrelated narratives that come together in a rather shocking way.  I was sucked in, and really loved that the book is told from each character's perspective; my favorite being the central character Cullen Witter, who uses the term 'ass-hat' in such an endearing way almost every other sentence.



The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

This book was just delightful!  I loved how it read like a romantic comedy.  Funny enough, after reading the Q&A at the end with Graeme Simsion, this story started out as a screenplay.  Although, the most captivating aspect of it is listening to the inner dialogue of our protagonist with aspergers and I can't imagine how that would translate to the screen...  Don, our unlikely hero, is trying to find a wife in a very organized, pragmatic fashion and ends up falling in love with someone that defies all of his logic.  It's hilarious, endearing and enlightening.

Linking up with The Modern Mrs. Darcy's awesome 'Twitterature' book posts roundup!

March Goals and February Check In

February Check In:

Start following a 13.1 plan to start increasing mileage/get ready for the Hot Chocolate 15K.  

Alas, I had some scheduling conflicts come up and wasn't able to run Hot Chocolate this year.  But I really wanted to race, so I did a 5K on Saturday instead (will recap soon!) and this actually fit better into the plan!  So, operation mileage increase is going along nicely.  Now I should maybe pick a half to run in the Spring...

Get things for the kids Valentines in a timely manner (no scrambling at the last minute this year!!) and work on them a little bit each day.  

Yay, I'm so glad this goal is over and done with.  We did the valentines on a Saturday and the party wasn't until Wednesday, so I'd say this was done in a very timely manner.  Plus I got to volunteer at my son's school for the party, which was awesome.

Drink more water; at least 72oz a day.  

So, yeah, this one's a do-over.  I need to work on this again!  I get through 48oz easily by mid afternoon and then I pretty much stop drinking fluid altogether.  Maybe because my thirst from morning exercise is gone?  
  
Get up early on Thursdays to do an extra cross training workout.  

Well, I did the one extra workout per week; but with mid-winter break at school, all the vet appointments with the dog, sick kids, etc. I only got up early once to fit it in, and mostly did them on the weekend, or while my littlest was at school.  But I'm still counting that goal met and will continue to get it in early when I can.
Schedule time with the tax man. 

Scheduled and done!  Always a nice time of year; in related news, we got a new mattress and I never want to get out of bed.  Never, ever.

Goals for March 

• Drink that 72oz of water a day!
• Start going to yoga.  I got another Groupon, but I will not let it languish like I did the last time I bought one.  I have a buddy that goes to this studio so I have an incentive!
• Figure out Spotify.  Pandora is starting to annoy me a bit and I hear Spotify is all the rage - I shall report back...
• Get back to monthly photo posts.  I was about to do a February one and realized that I never did January!  These are posts/collages I really enjoy having and organizing them helps me keep our photos organized in general.
• Pick a half marathon to work towards, eeeep!

This Weeks Eats 3.2.14 and My Perspective on Food

Thanks so much for all the supportive messages, tweets, comments, etc. last week.  We're all doing much better around here, it's good to be able to move on and not see our little pup suffering.  However it's very obvious how much of the dog routines are ingrained into the minutiae of our lives.  I started to say 'bye, Peeps, be a good boy' as I left the house the other day and I constantly look outside to check on him when he's clearly not in the backyard.  I've had a great weekend of simple pleasures/distractions with a great race on Saturday, followed by brunch with running buddies; which is pretty much the best thing to do on a weekend morning.  And, of course, the best thing to do on a Saturday night is have a nice dinner with my husband and watch a new movie - especially one with Chris Hemsworth in it.  Mmmmm, hmmm. 

Speaking of simple pleasures, I think it's pretty obvious that I find food and cooking one of life's greatest.  Everyone should go and check out my teammate Danielle's recent post on Keepin' It Real, as it got me thinking about addressing the way I do my thing in this little corner of the internet, especially with my recipes and This Weeks Eats.  I am obviously not a skinny person, never plan to be, and don't really care as long as I feel good, fit into my favorite clothes and my doctor is happy.  I love to eat and don't think cutting out any one thing exclusively will ever be for me.  Yes, I even eat at McDonald's on occasion!  Mmmmm, yummmy chemicals!  Hopefully it won't kill me dead eating there, oh, three or four times a year.  My menus are most likely considered utterly gluttonous to many in the healthy-living, running, etc. community, of which I am a small part.  To me, cooking alongside my husband (things involving lots of cheese! or kale, which I actually like! but also carbs and gluten! yes, sometimes brown rice, too! but, then, more cheese! basically, all the things!) is what makes life worth living, and is not mutually exclusive with running.  

Mmmm, last Saturday's dinner of Baked Ziti, full of enemy #1 and #2! Gluten! Dairy!

So, I apologize if I occasionally have a recipe that includes a can of Campbells cream of mushroom soup, not made from scratch - eeep!  Or, I promise to include them, in moderation, depending upon your point of view.  OK, moving on...

• Monday - Pizza
• Tuesday - Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Blue Cheese Slaw (Taco Tuesday!  I moved this recipe from Mountain Mama Cooks back, as we decided to go out for fish n' chips last week!)
• Wednesday - Thai Turkey Meatball Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing
• Thursday - Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken (trying this recipe from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice)
• Friday - Farfalle with Zucchini (a long time favorite from the Pioneer Woman)
• Saturday - Top Sirloin Steaks from Omaha Steaks with Roasted Asparagus and Baked Potatoes
• Sunday - Spicy Avocado Enchiladas (love this recipe - we use about half the chicken and add in black beans)

As always, I'm linking up with Org Junkie, Mommy Run Fast and Jill Conyers - be sure to check out all the great weekly menus!