What to do...

When you are told by your doctor that you have one of the worst cases of strep throat he's ever seen? Mope at home and blog of course! I'm somewhat of a strep throat expert, I swear I've had it about 20 times in my life but this one is seriously a doozy. So I've been ordered home and put on some horse pill sized antibiotics for the next 10 days. Now all this wouldn't really bother me because I am very fortunate to have a job that I can work anywhere I have internet. The sucky part is my strep is so bad I've been ordered away from MB for 24 hours! I can't be anywhere near my baby girl on her first Halloween! *Insert sad face here* So she's off to spend Halloween with Kyle and Grandma and Grandpa at their house and I have to go to school (BOOOO! We have a test review) and then sequester myself in the extra bedroom until I'm not an incubus of bacterial plague. Sigh, I know it's only Halloween but she's my first born and I'm all about those milestones! Hopefully this sickness goes away soon so I'm not laid up for long! So no running or workout talks, not QOB's, just the sick ramblings of cranky, sick girl.

Stay healthy my friends!

Still Trucking along

Welcome to Fall my friends! Only in Michigan can it be 80 degrees on Thursday and then 45 degrees on Friday.

Back to the task at hand, yes I'm still working out, yes I'm still planning to run a half marathon in aprox. 483 days. :) I've just decided to refine my tactics. For the time being I'm focusing on overall fitness. After talking to a lot of running peeps I/We think it's better to get myself into some sort of physical conditioning before I balls out on marathon training. I'm on a great elliptical routine so far and looking to start adding other activities in on top of my weekly Pilates. I'm not not running, I'm just not beating myself up for taking it slow. My #1 concern is injury and as many of you know my last venture into running ended with a surgery to remove some seriously damaged tendons in my right ankle. So this time around we are going slow and steady. The great thing about this training program that I'm using is it's a 22 week training so even if I start a year out I've still got more than enough time to get it done with leeway to double up on some weeks.
The course is posted for this years race and I must say, it seems more daunting actually seeing the distance on a map but I am bound and determined to do this! And if wanting to get smaller jeans isn't motivation enough, I'll be running at freaking Walt Disney World and spending a couple days before and after there celebrating! So that helps with the motivation.

So I appreciate the concerned questions but I assure you there is no need to get your stick out Cindy! I'm not giving up EVER! This will get done, I will cross that finish line in a tutu, arms raised in triumph with a good possibility of tears flowing. :)

And I think I need to make these this weekend. It just about the most delicious looking thing I have seen in a long time. And if you are into food Smitten Kitchen is a must read blog! I stumbled upon it looking for a blueberry bar recipe and have been hooked ever since! Every recipe that I have tried has been great!

Questions of the blog (which will hence be known as QOB):
Moms- MB has hence decided that getting into her carseat is the most AWFUL THING EVER. She throws a huge fit everytime. Please tell me this doesn't last!
She also has the world's worst gag reflex and refuses to eat anything solid that isn't baby food and oatmeal. She actually makes herself gag and throws up. Even oatmeal that's to thick will gag her. Any suggestions??
Everyone else- What kind of other activities are you guys into? I'm all about Pilates and elliptical-ling but I like diversity too. Thoughts? 

And the journey continues!

YES!!

What's better than going to the store for new jeans and having to get two sizes smaller than the last time you bought jeans? And stepping on the scale and finally getting down to the next group of 10? NOTHING!!!!! Who knew that shopping for jeans which is normally such a point of stress has turned into huge motivation? Needless to say I'm excited a lot. Finally got some good running pants (That turned out to be maternity.... don't ask, long story) and I was all excited to actually you know start running and then it monsoon-ed all weekend so that was a no go. Still on a very regular elliptical-ling routine which is obviously doing some good and I'm sure screaming at the TV during the Tigers game last night burned a few calories along the way. So we are well on our way! I'm still looking for any interested ladies (and gentlemen!) who might be interested in going on this journey with me (hint, hint, nudge, nudge) And good luck to all you Grand Rapids Marathoners this weekend!

Coming to you from the Do-Gooder's category:
I don't normally advocate specific things but I think this is such a great charity. It's a syndicated morning radio show (Heard in GR on 95.7 ) That takes 50 families with terminally or chronically children  to Walt Disney World for an all expenses paid trip for 5 days. The really great thing about this is that they take the whole family so they can make memories together. For a lot of these kids this will be their only true vacation because medical expenses are so outrageous. As an adult I love going to Disney so I can't imagine the joy of a whole family getting to share this once in a  lifetime experience. Please take a second to check out their website and consider donating $10.00 to help these kids get a chance to be kids. I mean what feels better than helping someone out?? (Other than new, smaller jeans that is :) )
http://www.kiddskids.com/about/about-kidds-kids/

As Promised!

I’m all about trying to add super healthy ingredients and sweet potatoes are pretty up there in terms of vitamins and minerals. What’s that? You want me to put them in pancakes that taste and smell like donuts? Don’t mind if I do! I found this recipe on a preview for a new Disney cookbook and was immediately interested; I mean who doesn’t love pancakes!  Since pictures speak a thousand words, here was the process:

  

 Notes/Adjustments: Again, these were GREAT! So I just made a few adjustments. Since it was just the hubs and I, I only did half a stick of butter (but all the pecans and honey) for the topping. The honey was good but next time I might try brown sugar butter instead, I think it might match the flavor better. While no method for cooking the sweet potato is mentioned, I recommend the microwave. It was genius! Much faster than roasting or boiling. In our smallish microwave it took about 3ish minutes per side, flipping once. Just be sure to prodigiously perforate your potato to avoid a disaster and make sure your potato is very soft and cooked through. Also I did mine on a paper plate to contain the mess. We had to cook ours on pretty low heat for longer than the directions to keep the outside from burning and to get the inside cooked all the way. All in all, Delicious! I will for sure be making these fall delights again!

In other news, I'm having some serious motivation issues. I'm slowly widdling away my laundry list of excuses and I'm still having a tough time getting out there and doing it! The Michigan weather isn't helping at all either. Hopefully better news next time :/ Until then, Enjoy the pancakes!

From the Delicious Disney Holidays Cookbook which is in stores now (which I most definitely need):

Sweet Potato Pancakes With Honey-Pecan Butter
Serves 4 to 6

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato (from about 1 small sweet potato)
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup chopped toasted pecans

1. Preheat oven to 225°F.
2. Sift flour into a large bowl. Add baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, and whisk until
   combined.
3. Combine milk, brown sugar, sweet potato, eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract in a large bowl; whisk until well blended. Add milk mixture to flour mixture, and stir until just blended.
4. Heat a nonstick griddle or skillet over medium-low heat until a few drops of water sizzle on the surface. If using an electric skillet, preheat to 350°F.
5. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake onto skillet. Cook on first side until tops bubble and sides look dry; flip and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes more.
6. Place cooked pancakes on a baking sheet and place into preheated oven to keep warm. Repeat
   process with remaining batter.
7. Stir together butter, honey and pecans in a medium bowl.
8. Top pancakes with honey-pecan butter, and serve immediately.

I'm feeling good!

To quote Michael Buble’ , “And I’m feeling good!” The past week has been a good one! I finally broke down and bought me a brand new pair of running shoes from the locally wonderful Gazelle Sports… You know, after I swallowed the barf that came up my esophagus when I saw the price. Aren’t they pretty? 

Gazelle was really wonderful, they really took the time to get to know you, your goals, and your feet as gross and odd as that sounds. So after explaining my janky feet to “John” he picked out a few that he thought would work and after a couple we found a winner! I will agree with Cindy that having an expensive pair of shoes that don’t hurt my feet really does work for motivation.
Another reason why Gazelle Sports is great is this little gem! 

Yes I know, I spent a lot of money with them but they didn’t have to send anything out and the fact that it was personalized and John remembered what I was training for really touched me for some silly reason. Needless to say this is going on board on encouragement!

I also got the book I’ve been waiting for finally! Half-Marathon: A Complete Guide for Women by Jeff Galloway. He’s the runDisney training consultant and I’ve only read a little but I’m really loving it. He points out where women can go wrong and how to train correctly. AND his training method is specifically designed for couch to running (me).
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/half-marathon-jeff-galloway/1100351009?ean=9781841263663
Check it out if you are at all interested in joining me on this outrageous journey (Hint, hint, nudge, nudge)

Also I decided that a treadmill is going to be the best way to eliminate the last part of my many excuses. I can’t whine about not wanting to run outside in the cold/wind/winter/etc  if the running implement is in my basement. So that’s on the docket for next quarter’s bonus. I’ve been looking at a moderately priced ProForm, same brand as my elliptical. Any suggestions? For you runners out there, any problems with doing most of my training indoors in the winter and then moving outside in the spring? 

In other new I did in fact make those sweet potato pancakes and there amazing so I’ll definitely be putting up a post about those soon. Hey, sweet potatoes are super packed full of vitamins, don’t judge how I eat them :) And my latest musical obsession is Most Nights by Fun. This will most definitely be added to my workout iTunes selections.

And the journey continues!