My Favorite Place for a Saturday Morning

Ever since I moved to Cleveland, I tell everyone I meet that the two things I love the most about my hometown are the Metroparks and the Westside Market.  There is no better way, in my opinion, to spend a Saturday morning, than to grab a cup of coffee from Urban Coffee Roasters, an apple fritter for Meg, wander around the stalls, grab a cupcake for B, some fresh bread for Greg, and pork from Dionne's.  Love our Saturdays!

Good Morning

Good Morning! Wake up! You have 24 hours to do amazing things this Saturday.  What will you do?

Weekend Fun in the CLE

I've said it here loads of times, but there is so much to do in the Cleveland area. Love this town. Saturday, we enjoyed the Farmer's Market in Shaker Heights. Made a little trip into Little Italy for those wonderful cinnamon stars from Presti's Bakery. Then checked out the RIPE! Festival at the Botanical Gardens. Here's my two darlings having fun - and it's root beer. Although Hubs and I were enjoying a nice brew.


After squeezing in a long run Sunday morning, the girls and I checked out a new playground. Bridget is always on the lookout for the next, best, most awesome-est playground out there. We hit the jackpot. As an added bonus, there was a huge hill for rolling down. This was Bridget's first time to enjoy this rackous good time and I had so much fun showing her how. That is...until she asked to do it again! Ahhh, yes...it was the second time rolling down that hill that I thought I was going to hurl. I tried standing up, but could only muster the cow pose on my hands and knees...then I toppled over like a sorority girl who needed to be taken home at the end of the evening. Phew, that second "roll" took a couple hours of recovery time, but it's all good now!


No matter how old I get, I never progress past the age of 12!

Hope your weekend was just as fun!

Our New Routine

Saturday mornings have become "girl time" at our house as Meg, Bridget and I either go for a run or bike ride through the metropark. The only enticement to get Bridget to come along is to let her tackle each of the exercise stations. She loves hanging from the chin-up bars, doing sit-ups, toe reaches, jumping jacks and anything else I will let her stop for. Meg has even joined in. Love our new Saturday morning routine!




Do you have a weekend routine where others can join in?

First (Real) Long Run of the Year

Just knocked out an 8 miler bright and early. I smiled the entire run, said hello to strangers and even took a picture of ducks as if it was the first time I saw wildlife. I was happy to be out there running. There was no speed and even though I walked one minute after each mile (to reduce strain to the knee), I still managed to hit 12:00 minute miles. Plenty of room for improvement, but if I'm going to build mileage for the upcoming June half marathon, then I also have to be smart about it. Beautiful day today and I ended the week logging in 20 miles!

Favorite running music today - the Foo Fighters latest!

Oh, the best reward to a long run: sampling Willoughby Brewing's Peanut Butter Coffee Porter on tap at Happy Dog tonight!

Riding Around Northern Ohio

On a recent library trip, I checked out Pedaling to Lunch: Bike Rides and Bites in Northeast Ohio by Stan Purdum. In his book, Purdum outlines 20 different rides for all levels of cyclists as well as lunch recommendations. No chain restaurants, just places with local flavor. I was surprised to learn that Greg and I have already tackled a couple of his recommended routes and I'm looking forward to a couple more. 

Three of the rides I'd like to tackle this summer include:

• Ride 1: Fairport Harbor to Geneva-on-the-Lake. The recommended route is 54 miles long and is “relatively flat” (right….). Purdam recommends the Sunrise Café, but I think I might want to try the Flying Burrito Cantina. Uhmm, on second thought, burritos coupled with a long ride might not be a good combination!

• Ride 2 (but his Ride 18): Strasburg to Baltic Loop in Tuscarawas and Holmes Counties. The route is 39 miles and categorized as “relatively flat to hilly.” I liked the points of interest Purdum included – Breitenbach Wine Cellars, Ragersville Cheese Factory and Broad Run Cheese House. This is a shorter ride with great Ohio scenery.

• Ride 3 (his Ride 11): Clinton to Sterling Loop covering Summit and Wayne Counties. The route is 34 miles and flat to hilly. The major point of interest is Rogues’ Hollow. According to Purdum, the Famous Seven of Rogues’ Hollow are Walsh’s Saloon, Mrs. Ducey’s Saloon, The Liebert Saloon, The Hole-in-the-Wall Saloon (also known as Devil’s Den), Murray Saloon, The Jenkins Saloon, and Smith Saloon. Best of all, this area in the 1860s and 1870s was “known and feared as a hangout for rascals and scoundrels.” The eating joint recommended is Bradley’s for the Bradley Burger and Burger Fries.

Pedaling to Lunch includes great little tidbits of Northeastern Ohio history found in the columns called "Changing Gears", historical pictures, course maps and course descriptions (turn-by-turn) as well as plenty of food offerings for even the pickiest of eaters.

So do you have a favorite route you like to ride? Do you stop off at a neat place - like an old ice cream shop or a little burger joint?

Race Report - Yes, A Race Report!

I can't believe it, but I spontaneously committed to a 5k race. At the request of a coworker, I registered Thursday night and then ran the Run to the Beach 5k at Portage Lakes this morning. What a fun race and great way to knock out 3.1 miles on a Saturday morning. The race was a nice split between road and trail, both single track and a bridle trail size. I wasn't sure how I would fare or what to expect since I haven't tackled a race since rehabbing the knee, but I was happy with this morning's results! I finished in 30:42 (a 9:54 pace) with no knee pain!

The course was outstanding with wonderful views of the lake. Finish line was amazingly well stocked with goodies. The race shirt is the brightest "highlighter yellow" shade I've ever known, but cool nonetheless. Temps were a bit chilly, with rainy drizzle all morning, but I'll take that over snow and extreme heat. Overall, great morning and a nice way to kick off racing season!

Today's guilty pleasure: Coming home to see Bridget playing with her Barbies and Ken. All of five of them were either in plank position or downward dog. Hysterical! She told me that even boys do yoga. Hear that, Nitmos? That's my little yogi.

Even though I consider the Cleveland Metroparks simply wonderful, I have to say I enjoyed Portage Lakes. Do you have a favorite park that you enjoy running - trails or multipurpose path?

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?

Here We Go Brownies!

Today was another fun Satuday in the CLE. We started with B's dance class, then headed down to Browns stadium to pick our seats. We had the option of full season ticket packages (which included the ridiculously over-priced license fee) or a 3-pack. We opted for the 3-pack and added a 4th game. The price was reasonable and got me excited about spending 4 Sunday afternoons having a beer and hotdog while watching the Browns. I love football weather!

We also hit up the Gordon Arts district for a trip to Room Service and Made in the 216. Picked up some cool one-of-a-kind items before heading back for a naptime! Perfect day!