Eating Healthy: Veggie Pizza

I made this pizza the other night and I can't wait to make it again - yum! Very simply, I bought pre-made crust (some off-brand because I was too tight to pay for Boboli). I began with a thin layer of reduced fat, pre-made pesto. Added a layer of artichokes, red onions, and banana peppers. Sprinkled some fresh ground pepper and garlic. Topped the pizza with a little mozzarella (by a little, I mean I dumped half the bag!). Popped it in the oven for 10-12 minutes and presto - magic to the mouth!

I'd love to hear if you have a meatless dish that's your go-to recipe!

Today's guilty pleasure: olive. I was going to add olives to my pizza, but I ate them all before they could make it to the layering!

April RAINN Run April 30

I am registered for the April RAINN 4.5 mile trail run sponsored by Grunt Girl Racing. If you have a spare $25 and an open Saturday morning, you should consider doing the same. See you on the trails!

Today's guilty pleasure: almond butter. I had been slathering my nutri-grain eggo waffles with this yummy goodness for the past month. It helped stave off those hunger pains that everyone gets around 10am. But now my jar is empty and I'm really missing my morning indulgence.

What breakfast item is your go-to to help keep you from eating your arm by 10am?

I'm Dreaming of Spring Colors

I'm getting tired of winter colors - black and gray are my standard fare. Whether it's my work clothes or running clothes, both are just feeling bland and uninspiring. Through my nightly time wasters (web browsing), I've come across some cool Spring finds. Indulge me :)


I saw these hot pink boots while watching DC Cupcakes on TLC. I was channel surfing and came across a cupcake show on TLC. How these ladies make money is beyond me, but I'm drawn to dysfunction...and this show fulfilled that for me. And I came across great boots that I'm jonesing for. Time waster AND great boots. Win-win, if you ask me.


This Summer Shade Tee is so versatile. I can use it as a bathing suit cover-up, add it to a pair of shorts for all day shopping or a big day of doing nothing. Best of all, the color is Jazzy Jam. What a happy sounding color.


Since I'm not training for a marathon, all my toenails are present. Which means these sandals would look fab with a nice pedicure. Of course, that means no snow...so maybe by July, I could actually wear something like this!

So are you jonesing for Spring, too? Do you dream in colors?

Today's guilty pleasure: Target. I can't get enough of this place. I actually consider this place as a "destination"...you know, someplace you go to enjoy yourself. I even walk through the picture frame aisle for no reason (who does that?!) and I never leave with purchases under $100. Damn you, Target, for being so appealing to me!

We Must Part Ways, Mr. Winter

As much as I've enjoyed our relationship, Mr. Winter, I think we both need a break. No, it doesn't mean our relationship is over. It's just time for both of us to move on. I have found Mr. Spring. I saw him last week - briefly. But that brief encounter just made me realize that I like him better...for now. But don't worry. Come holiday season, I'm going to want to spend time with you again. And maybe, just maybe, we can rebuild our relationship. But for now, I want sunshine and rainbows.

I enjoyed another good trail run. Karen and I tackled Salt Run and Lake Trail. It was a decent effort, running most of the time and just walking the hills. But it was freaking cold and I'm really getting tired of always having to wear running gloves, two layers of shirts, vest, and a toboggan. I look forward to running without ear covering! Winter in Cleveland this year was just unkind. Of course, looking at this week's temps, we still have two days calling for snow. Damn you, March. But April is greeting us with 45 degrees. Wait...isn't that April fool's? Could that be a cruel joke?

Today's guilty pleasure: Starburst. Each of us have a favorite flavor. As the mom, I'm at the bottom of the pecking order in selecting which color I get. Bridget gets pink. Meg gets yellow. I just don't care for red so that leave me with orange.

What's your favorite Starburst flavor or do you have a candy that you eat only by color?

Whew, Did That Weekend Fly By or What

Quite a diverse and multitasking weekend. I managed to sew curtains and pillows and make a Disney-size princess happy on Saturday. Spent a little time at Anthropologie with the older one and all of us enjoyed a ridiculously good burger at the B-Spot. Sunday, was my morning Om time. I joined a friend and a rowdy bunch of girls for a trail run clinic and 3.5 mile romp through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. What a great group of girls. Even better was the post-run trip of a private shopping experience for all the runners who attended this Grunt Girl-sponsored clinic/run at Vertical Runner. I scored a half-price Patagonia lightweight long-sleeve running shirt (may even become my "going out shirt" - you know you have a dressy running shirt...come on), a pair of running socks and a new flavor of CLifBar.

The weekend flew by, but in a good way.

Best of all, I'm back in double digits for running. With no pain. I managed to eek out a 3 miler on Wednesday, a 4 miler on Friday afternoon, and 3.5 miles today. By my simple math, I chocked up 10.5 miles. Considering I logged in a whopping 11.2 miles during the entire month of February, if all goes well I should double that number in March and be back to normal business in April. I think what I'm looking forward to most is completing a simple 10-mile run on a Saturday morning and meeting my daughter for coffee afterwards. That's my normal.

Today's guilty pleasure: Hands down, red velvet cupcakes at Main Street Cupcakes. And to shower the wonder of Main Street Cupcakes on my family, I brought everyone home a Reece cupcake made with little reece's inside. Mmmmm....

Did your weekend go quickly, too?

Put on Your Blue Suede Shoes

We are booked! Greg and I are going to run the Strip at night! We are registered for the Las Vegas Rock n Roll Half Marathon in December. Best of all, costumes are encouraged for running. Looks like he might be Elvis and I might be making some feather purchases to become a showgirl for a day. Not THAT showgirl, THIS showgirl!

Best of all, Kim will be joining us!

Today's guilty pleasure: Singing Elvis tunes. What else would you expect with this post?!

Going Local

Northeastern Ohio has an amazing running community with loads of wonderful race opportunities. Since the United/Continental merger hasn't exactly been beneficial to Cleveland frequent fliers, I have a new-found opportunity to run local races. So after a little time on the Hermes Cleveland website as well as Summit Athletic Running Club, here's my preliminary line-up (subject to change if airfares actually reach reasonable rates!):

RAINN Trail Run - April 30. This will be my first event with Grunt Girl Racing!
Cleveland Rite-Aid 10k - May 15. I ran the half last year and loved this event.
Lula 5k - June 5 to benefit Girls with Sole
Winking Lizard Shot in the Dark - July 16. I've always wanted to run this race, but as luck would have it, we've always been out of town on that date.
Buckeye Half Marathon - last weekend in August. I've run over 40 races and I have never gotten a hooded sweatshirt as race schwag!

Do you have any interesting local races lined up this year?

Today's guilty pleasure: Hershey's kisses in dark chocolate. Meg's boyfriend gave her a ridiculous amount of these for valentine's day and I've been eating 3 of them EVERY night as my "dessert" and I love them. So thank you, Danny!

Today's Laugh

No kidding, this is a real card. But seriously, unless the card comes with a beer or a big-ass hamburger, I don't think I'd be dazzled receiving this card after I've just completed 13.1 miles. Am I wrong?

My Life in Lots of Poses

Earlier this week, I finished reading Poser: My Life in Twenty-Three Yoga Poses by Claire Dederer. The book is 332 pages in length and since I'm a mom, wife, full-time worker and part-time runner, it took me nearly a week and a half to knock out. Glad I hung in there because I really enjoyed the book. She's very witty and I loved how she could tell a story about a certain point in her life and relate it to a single yoga pose. I'm not a fan of yoga how-to books, but after reading her book all I could think about was attending a yoga class...and stat!

Throughout the book she discusses her teachers - what she likes and dislikes, their style of yoga taught, music, chanting, meditation. It got me thinking about what I enjoy about yoga. For me, it's the music first. I simply do not enjoy that new agey (sp?) kind of music. If I wanted to listen to Enya, I'd download songs on iTunes (who am I kidding, I'd go to the library where it's free!). I enjoy more modern songs because I like getting lost in the music...and isn't that partially what yoga's about...getting lost in your practice? There's a teacher at my yoga studio, Kristen, who mixes in Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, and Radiohead. She's my favorite. She's also a runner and teaches a more athletic class that focuses on the legs, which let's face it, runners are weak on leg strength. But her music brings me back every time.

Last night, my daughter Meg and I attended a class with Jen. I had taken one of her classes before and I consider her music selection top notch, too. After the basic warm-up of Om, we moved into poses. Her first song was Just Breathe by Pearl Jam...the acoustic version.

So today's guilty pleasure will be beautifully done acoustic songs - and I'll leave you with this one:

The March of the Penguins

That's what I will feel like as I tackle my run tomorrow in the tundra - yep, 10-12 inches forecasted for Friday. Did the groundhog make a mistake or did Mother Nature change her mind? Shiver me timbers, these frigid temps and constant white ground covering needs to end! We have spring races to train for...seriously!

Today's guilty pleasure: a nonfat latte from Erie Island Coffee with the most amazing foam... Great blend of that wonderful bitter coffee taste and the lightness of pure milky foam...mmmm!

Can I Seriously Be Tired?

Running is becoming more regular again. You would think this would be good news, but I have turned into THAT runner who is training for their very first 5k. You know the runner - the one who thinks a long run is the race distance. The runner who has tight quads from a 3-miler. The runner who returns to the house wanting a rubdown like an underperforming boxer! Jeez, can this have happened to me? I have a 4-miler on tap this weekend - let the whining begin! Now where did I put my icy hot?!

Today's guilty pleasure: Pitbull. Great music for running. Best of all, the librarian asked me, "Is Pitbull one word or two?" Yes, I get my music from the library. I'm THAT runner, too.

My Darling Turns 4

It's hard to believe, but turning 4 years old kind of makes you a big girl. I love you, Doodlebug!


Meg and Bridget 2007 - My 8 pounds 10 ounce buddle of joy!


Turning one-year-old! And I'm sure this was the only time you sat still in your high chair!


Turning two - You would cry whenever you heard the Happy Birthday song!


Turning 3 with your first bike! When I taught you to say "Go Lance!"


4 years old - what a big girl!

Getting Back My Mojo

At the risk of sounding very Austin Powers-ish (yeah, Baby), I am getting my mojo back...my running mojo, that is. I have now run (or is it ran) three times and everything just feels right. I've been following the schedule outlined by my physical therapist, which requires only 24 minutes of running for the first two weeks on alternating days using a run/walk formula, which changes with each run. I started out walking 4 minutes, running 2 minutes 4 times. I'm now at 2 minutes walking, 4 minutes running and should be hitting one minute walking with 10 minutes running by the weekend. I find that I'm running comfortably, with no knee pain. My legs feel more engaged so I'm guessing that means less stress on the knees. Love love love getting back to what I know and enjoy!

So, really, Boston Athletic Association? You have to break my spirit by making the qualifying times THAT MUCH HARDER. And, even if the sun shines just right and the rainbows come out with their pot of gold, and I actually qualify...I will be one of the slower finishers. Based upon the graduated scale, I don't have a shot in hell of acceptance. But that's ok. I'll knock off the State of Massachusetts by running the Cape Cod Dunkin Donuts marathon. I'm sure the post-race food will be amazing!