OK, so today I channeled my inner-SR (if only I ran half as fast and didn’t have pasty white legs; girl lives in CA).  I really like her blog (and her style too)!

(Skinny Runner; obviously)

ME

Oh…and she doesn’t have to wear hideous compression sleeves 😉

Anyway, banged out 5 at the gym on the TM today.  Darn snow is definitely cramping my “outside running style.”   It is NOT cramping my loving a snow day yesterday style though.  So, yea, when I run on the TM I tend to run on average a 9:40 maybe?

I try no to overdo it on the treadmill, due to my shin issues (hence the compression sleeves).  I guess I slam my feet down too hard?  Hmmm…  Again, I would love an outdoor run.

(Enter daydream of Florida two weeks ago…visualization)

I STILL can't believe I was running outside in that outfit a mere two weeks ago in FL when I was sliding along the (unplowed, thanks City) icy streets this evening

OK, moving on…THE GREAT CEREAL DEBATE

So, here is what I’m wondering…WHEN IS YUMMY SUGARY “COMMERCIAL” CEREAL OK?!?! Cause I freakin’ love it.  Every morning I down a bowl of either Kashi-million-grams-of-protein or Fiber One-hundred-percent of your daily fiber.  I’m all fine with that…but sometimes I simply crave some good old sugary no-nutritional-value cereal…like this

(Source)

OR this…

Those are two of my faves right now. I like to “refuel” from a run with these kinds of yummy cereal.  I sorta stick to the “nutritional ones” for breakfast every morning.  So, what do you think?  When is it OK to have yummy sugary cereal?!?!

PS:  Yes, I’m aware the title is

OK, so I know that some people (like my girl Lisa Paige-sorry girl I have to disagree) are not huge fans of snow.  But me, a schoolteacher, I LOVE it.  Granted, I love sitting inside on my couch watching the snow drinking a K-cup…ANYWAY, a great benefit of the snow today was that I got out of work early, allowing me to do a long run which I was in great need of!  I was getting really nervous about my lack of training for the Disney Princess Half.  Now, I feel a bit better- I just wanna run it for fun and be able to complete it; I know it is a “winter race” for me (meaning I can’t do outside long runs-big bummer to a training plan) so I am not expecting huge speeds.  I truly just wanna run the whole thing without stopping, except for the water stations if needed.  I don’t care how slow I go, I wanna at least jog.  Think I can do it!??! Dunno!  I know I don’t have the mileage, but I’ve been doing speed work and feel cardio-vascularly in shape, ya know?  So I did 7 miles at “half marathon pace” (side note: I feel like I tend to actually run faster outside…do you?).

Here’s a crummy br gym pic…classy.

Whatevs.  Anyway, today we had a SNOW DAY which allowed me some qt time with the dogs (aka them following me around like hip attachments).

LOVE this pic

I kid.  It was uber fun and I was able to get stuff done around the house as well as grocery shop (considering the amount of parsnip fries I’ve eaten in the pas 72 hours…trust me, the grocery store was needed).  Good times.  And…cue the puppy pics.

How do you spend your days off?

Ooooooo cryptic title, eh?  I have to admit; I LOVE cheesy cool titles for blog posts. I always get a kick out of a good one- like this one MIA 4 O N A (Missing in Action for Oscar and Addie)!  Hehe.  I know.  Major dorkus.  Whatevs.  So, here are soome pics…cause words don’t do this cuteness justice 😉

Yup, I’m doing it again tonight- parsnip fries a la Oh She Glows.  They are currently cooking in the oven.  I can’t wait…YUMMMM!

ANYWAY, my training dilemma…SO.  I signed up for the Disney Princess Half Marathon on February 27th.  I had planned it months ago- booked the hotel room, the flight, etc.  BUT, in all honesty, I feel there is NO WAY I will be ready for it.  NO WAY.  The longest run I’ve done since my first half marathon in November was 8 miles in Florida.

My "Florida running outfit" It was crazy to be able to run outside without multiple layers, jacket, etc.!

Oh, and PS: I have been LOVING the new Nike Tempo shorts I got for a bargain on the Nike website.  I LOVED these shorts on SkinnyRunner and I love them for me!  Ordering more asap!!!!

Rocking the Neon Yellow (Green?) Tempo shorts with a guy's white v-neck. love it. classy.

That pic was from today’s four miler.  Right, so enough pictures of me and back to the subject:  I am seriously concerned that I will be undertrained for this half marathon.  Even if I can manage one long run (the longest I feel I need to do is ten probably) per week, I guess on the weekend, I still don’t really feel like it’s enough…here are the factors that are contributing to my lack of ability to train as much as I feel I needed to:

1.  Addie

Need I say more????

2.  Work work work.  Not to complain (although what I am about to say will certainly resemble that) but I have a full time job and a part time job which is two nights a week and more for preparation.  Needless to say, I am busy!

3.  Weather.

Not running outside stinks. And it definitely impedes my ability to do long runs.  I miss my loop!

Anyway, that’s my dilemma.  I think I am going to just do my best and enjoy the race!  It will be fun!  I don’t need to PR every race.  This race will be a blast no matter what…it is in Disney World, after all!

Have you ever had a similar “training dilemma?”

Husb and I are relaxing for the evening after a morning in Fort Lauderdale (breakfast at “The Club”- plan to post about soon), flight this morning, and re-situating with the puppies.  I just had to share some pics.  There were some REALLY adorable moments…

Now both of the puppies are lying on the floor while I watch the Bachelor.  Woot woot!  LOVE that show.  Don’t judge 😉

Last week I bought some parsnips with the hope of making some fries with them a la Caitlin or Tina, or another blogging genious 😉  In my attempts at googling what a parsnip actually looked like (don’t judge) I came across a recipe for parsnip fries that would “change your life,” courtesy of another blogger I am familiar with, Angela of Oh She Glows. The exact recipe can be found here.

Oh, PS: a parsnip looks like this:

(Source)

Cutting and pasting from Angela’s site…

Ingredients:

• 3 medium parsnips (or 2 medium sweet potatoes), peeled and cut into thin fry-like strips
• 1 Tbsp almond butter
• 2 Tbsp chunky peanut butter
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt

Directions: Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up. Peel and cut parsnips into fry-like strips. In a medium size bowl, mix together the nut butters, olive oil, and salt. Take parsnips and toss in bowl with your hands until fully coated. Line up on baking pan and cook at 400F for 30-50 minutes until crisp.

UH YEA…HOLY YUM!  Here are pictures of my first attempt at these “life changing” fries.  And yes, THAT they were!

Do you make parsnip fries?!?!  Do you have an interesting/yummy variation of them?!?  PLEASE DO SHARE!

Mama and Addie

Even though Addie has only been with us for a few days, she is already becoming an integral part of our family.  Actually, Husb and I are in Fort Lauderdale, FL for the long weekend visiting with my Grfandma and I already miss her (and of course Oscar too) dearly!  I have had some time to reflect on our lil’ peanut and as she is quickly coming out of her shell, she is certainly exhibiting some hilarious and adorable traits.  Let me share!

1.  LOVE BITES- Addie, try as she may, just does’t yet “get” the language of a kiss 😉  She tries so hard and ends of nibbling/biting at the air in her attempts to “give kisses.”  It is too funny and cute.

2.  HEAD ROLLS- When Addie wants to be petted, she puts the crown of her head (which is terribly cute and dome-like) in the palm of your hand and rolls it around in there until you “get the hint.”  Hil-arious.

3.  KNEES PLEASE- Addie has this crazy habit of greeting you (and everyone else in the world- she is QUITE a friendly little doggie) by placing her front paws on your knees and standing on her hind legs…for a while.  IT is really funny.  Sometimes she will just do it for no apparent reason, or maybe to say “hello?”

4.  IS THIS MY HOUSE?- So I am a little worried that Addie is SO friendly that she will literally go in ANYONE’S home..ESPECIALLY if there is a dog in residence.  Husb said she made it into the entrance-way of our neighbor’s house before he decided they should probably get going. LOL!

5.  ALL STRETCHED OUT–  Sometimes Addie likes to be carried I like to carry Addie and she has a tendency at times to completely stretch her body out while I’m holding her so that her feet dangle down.  It is so funny because her little face seems to be saying, “Whaaaa?  You’d do it too!”

6.  MUTLED MOUTH– Between Addie’s underbite, the fact that her lip is constantly getting stuck in her teeth and I SWEAR she smiles, it is sometimes difficult to look at Addie’s face without cracking up (in the nicest way of course).  I am going to try to catch her in all of her funny mouth-edness and do a separate post soon.  It is worth it.

OK, well that’s enough about Addie for now.  We miss both her and Oscar dearly!

Do you have a dog that has funny antics?!?!  Share!

PS:  Special shout-out and Thanks to Shiya and Scott the absolute best neighbors (and friends LOL) in the world for watching the fur babies.  If you want to take a good yoga class, go visit Shiya and Shanti Yoga Shala in Old City, Phila.  It is at 2nd and New and is THE BEST yoga experience hands-down.

I don’t often post recipes, but this is a really good and easy one!  It was actually given to me by Shiya.  So you will need:

1.  Black refried beans (I got a variety with jalepenos in it that Husband loved)

2.  Colbly Jack shredded cheese (or I guess another cheese? not mozz though)

3.  flour tortillas (you could use wheat if you wanted)

4.  few tablespoons of salsa

5.  taco seasoning (optional)

Mix the beans, salsa (I just pour it in and eyeball it), taco seasoning in a bowl.  Spread on tortilla.  Top with shredded cheese.  Add a top tortilla. Press together with palm.  Cook for about 15 min. on 350.

This is a great healthy filling easy yummy recipe!  Try it!

OK, so I FINALLY have a reasonable excuse for my MIA-ness on the blog!  We adopted a lil’ girl dog named ADDIE!  Husb picked the name- we like it and her!  We live on Addison street so that’s where the name came from!  OK, without further ado, here’s ADDIE!

So, here are the logistics on Addie. She is between 2 and 3 years old.  She was rescued from a Puppy Mill who was not treating her right and making her have a LOT of babies (and she’s just a baby!).  The agency who rescued her is called Oporation Ava.  From this site:

Oporation AVA is a non-profit organization. Our mission is to provide life saving rescue and medical assistance for dogs and cats and the families that care for them. Oporation AVA was founded by Ava Gutierrez, a caring 9-year old Philadelphia girl who has a passion for helping sick and homeless animals. In July 2009 Ava helped rescue Bella, an ill Chihuahua mix who had been the victim of prolonged abuse and helped her find a forever home. Bella opened Ava’s eyes to the growing reality of our economic times: pet owners are forced to forego veterinarian care or give up their pets.
Operation AVA has two goals; to help less less-fortunate families afford the necessary medical care for their sick pets and to offer cat and dog adoption services through our Save A Life program. Through these two programs more pets will stay in their loving homes or get the help they need to find a loving forever home like Bella.

So, Addie is mostly Pekingese  with some chiuaua in her.  She is ADORABLE, loving, sweet and thankful!  She LOVES climbing on my shoulders and did not cry ONCE last night in her crate!  So far so good!  I can’t wait to tell you more stories about Addie ‘n Oscar and their adventures in total cuteness!

Have you ever adopted a pet?

So, today I had scheduled a 6 mile run, but mother nature wasn’t having it (at least outside).

(Source)

So….I retreated to my gym.  Now, my plan was to do 3 miles on the track and 3 more on the treadmill- break it up.  BUT, that did not happen.  The track felt soooo squishy and bouncy as opposed the to treadmill that I had been running on lately due to the winter weather (not just brrrr but hazardous ice, snow, etc.- the last thing I want is an injury!).  SO I ended up doing all 6 on the track.  It was not bad at all.  I just zoned out and listened to my ipod.  OK, the only issue was counting the laps.  I wanted to run a 10K (6.2 miles).  The track was 12 laps to a mile.  So….I needed to run 74 laps.  WoW!  I didn’t realize the total until I calculated it now.  So what I did was I had 3 hairbands on my right wrist.  I then kept count only of each mile and switched a hairband to the other wrist.  Once the three were on my left I was half way done.  Then each mile moved them back to my right.  Clever, eh?  For each mile, sometimes I counted 1-12 but other times I counted 1-6 then back down 6-1.  I know…mind games.  A track is nuts..I felt like a hamster.  OH and, yeah, I may or may not have refueled with the following…

Don't judge.

Oh, and this too…

spaghetti squash with tomato vodka sauce and mozz

Anyway,  onto the spiffy workout gear part…I think it surely speaks for itself… 😉

Lately, I have been LOVING a plain white v-neck Hanes men's t-shirt. They are long and I really like 'em! Inexpensive too!

Oh, and another thing I am obsessed with lately (of COURSE an accessory to my K-cups)

YUMMM…pure heaven!  Anyway, I am currently watching “Craigslist Killer” on Lifetime.

How are you spending your weekend?