I did it!!!

Apologies for not posting in so long. Classes, work, training for the half marathon and being a Big Sister all caught up with me. Not to mention Joe and I are having a Halloween party so I've been planning for that as well. Regardless, here I am to share my most recent update. That is, I completed the BAA 11th Annual Half Marathon yesterday!

It was far from easy. Many of the aforementioned obligations kept me from training as much as I had wanted and the temperature skyrocketed to almost 80 degrees during the race. Keep in mind that means it was hotter during my October half marathon than it was during my August 8K. Mother Nature, why can't we just all get along?

The course was along Boston's Emerald Necklace an started in Franklin Park, just outside White Stadium. The beginning was mostly a gradual downhill, across the overpass near Forest Hills and then around Jamaica Pond and through Brookline (along Riverway). Once back across the overpass after the first loop, the course backed up on itself again and moved back up the first big hill and through Franklin Park Zoo after crossing back over the starting line. Once through the zoo, the course crossed the starting line one more time and then curved around and finally into White Stadium where the finish line was at the 30 yard line!

I certainly hit a few snags along the way. Starting around mile 2, I could feel the tape around my big toe rubbing up against my second toe and knew it spelled disaster. I decided to just run through the pain and deal with it later (note: later is now and there is no skin on the inside of that toe, oooowww). The course was a bit more hilly than I had anticipated and I started feeling it in my knees around mile 6 or 7. Then, at mile 7 my shoe came untied (grrr, why didn't I double knot them from the beginning?!). Finally, around mile 10 the heat started to take its toll along with my failing knee. I ended up walking for a few minutes every mile from then out, but finished with a good strong run so I'm still very proud of myself.

When the weather was first projected a few days ago, I altered my goal a bit from what I had originally hoped. That said, I beat my altered goal by 4 minutes and was only 10 minutes slower than my original goal. I think that's not all that bad given all the snags I hit! I finished the half marathon (13.1 miles) and that's the most important thing to me. Now, as I sit looking at the medal I got at the finish, I think I can definitely do another one in the future.

Then I look over at my left knee, which is currently in a brace and propped up on the coffee table. Granted, there's no way I'm going to let this keep me from doing another half, but I'm definitely going to need to take some extra precautions with my knees next time (and maybe run my next half on a less hilly course).

Despite the setbacks and the pain, it was totally worth it for that moment of crossing the finish line. Joe did a great job of capturing my relief in the photo below:

There's nothing like knowing you set out with a goal that you couldn't have even imagined for yourself a few years (or months) before and that you accomplished it with the support of the people you love and with friends both old and new!

First day of grad school and beyond!

Yesterday was my first day as a full-time graduate student at Boston College. After the course I took over the summer, it was slightly anticlimactic. After all, I'm already fairly familiar with the campus, I've done the reading and work for a graduate level course at BC, what's to be nervous about? Still, I noticed that by the end of the day all of my nail polish had been chipped away.

From 1-3 yesterday we had academic orientation, which basically consisted of an overview of the department and faculty and when and how we will ultimately be assigned our advisors. We also heard from a few of the 2nd year students, which was much more helpful than I had anticipated.

After that I went to grab lunch in the graduate student lounge and met a few new people. I had class from 4:30-6 (it will normally be until 6:50 on Tuesdays, but we didn't have lab last night) and then walked home. Despite the cold rain yesterday, I really enjoyed my first day on campus with so many other people buzzing around.

Since yesterday I've been a busy bee. Everything from applying for Graduate Assistantships (not a real word, but unfortunately the one everyone uses now), to working on assignments, looking for required books, etc. It feels good to be doing something again. Having the month of August to do whatever I pleased was really quite wearisome. I like to be working toward something, to begin each day with a purpose. It's great to be back!

Admittedly yesterday was even more exhausting than it would have otherwise been because Joe and I spent the weekend in North Carolina and flew back early yesterday morning. We visited my parents for Labor Day weekend so he could see where I grew up and meet my family. We had a really fabulous time going out with my friends and then going hiking.
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Hiking on Whiteside Mountain

We plan to go back around Christmas, provided Joe can get the time off from work. What's great about the time frame for classes is that it looks like my winter break will start on or around December 12, so I'll have a bit of time off before we head to North Carolina for the holiday (which will probably actually be the day after Christmas so we can do Christmas day with his family). My friend Amie is getting married on the 27th, so that will allow us to be in town for her wedding as well.

There's a lot going on and a lot to think about, but I'm mostly just trying to get adjusted to my coursework, find a part-time job, and squeeze in my half marathon training and time with my Little Sister. I think it will definitely be doable, but it's going to require a lot of organization.

That said, it's time to work out, shower and head to class!

Happy Fall!

Whoopie Cake!

For those of you who don't know, I love celebrating. I'll celebrate almost anything because I just like an excuse to bake, host parties, decorate, etc. Imagine my dismay when I learned that Joe is pretty anti-birthday. To be fair, he isn't anti- other people's birthday, just his own. That said, I wasn't going to let him get away with not even getting a cake, so I set to work trying to figure out what he would most appreciate (since he wouldn't offer any suggestions).

One thing I knew he loves was Whoopie Pies (you know, the dessert made out of mini chocolate cakes with marshmallow fluff based filling). His grandmother had a recipe for them and he took over the task of making them this past Easter. It was so cute watching him bake and he positively scarfs the things down. I also knew that he really likes cheesecake (there was a time when we first started dating that we were always at the Cheesecake Factory). In a moment of sheer genius, I decided to combine the two.

While I figured I would be able to find a recipe online for whoopie pies, I wanted it to be his grandmother's recipe in particular. That said, I won't post it here. I'm sure it's not some super secret family recipe, but I still don't feel like it's mine to pass around. If you're interested in replicating this cake, I'm sure any whoopie pie recipe will do the trick.

Essentially I decided to turn the whoopie pie into a three layer cake with a lower layer of cheesecake filling and an upper layer of traditional whoopie pie filling! I did a test run the weekend before Joe's birthday to take to a friend's party and the cheesecake was a little hard, so the recipe below is the version I used the second time, which was much softer.

For the cheesecake, I just did a super simple crustless cheesecake. I took a round cake pan (because I didn't need the cheesecake to be pretty) and added a little bit of margarine so the cake wouldn't stick. Then, because I wanted it to be thin, I just did half of what I would normally do for a cheesecake. I used one package of cream cheese, one egg (the full recipe calls for three if anyone is looking to double this and make a full cheesecake), probably around 1/3 c. of sugar, and what likely amounts to around 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Super easy. The biggest thing is to make sure the cream cheese is out at room temperature for long enough to get soft so that you don't need to use a mixer. Using a mixer can cause over-mixing and make the cheesecake tough and less creamy. I like to be able to just mix mine together with a spoon and then put it into the pan. I baked it at around 325 degrees (lower than I would do most cheesecakes) for around 30 minutes. Then I put the whole pan, covered in plastic wrap, in the fridge for a day.

Then I took the cake portion of the whoopie pie recipe and used it to make three thin layers of cake.* They weren't all exactly even in thickness, so I used the thickest layer as the bottom and the thinnest layer for the top so that the fluff-based filling didn't get squished out everywhere.

*Side note: While I am not posting that recipe here, one suggestion I will share is to cook the cakes a little less than you would think to cook other cakes. The recipe I had was meant to be used for the smaller portions and therefore the big portion had a tendency to be a little dry in the test run. By baking them for a little less time and them wrapping them individually in plastic wrap while I kept them overnight, they stayed nice and moist.

To begin assembly I took the bottom layer and put a very thin layer of fluff filling, basically for use as cement to hold the cheesecake in place (something else I learned from my test run the weekend before), then I added the cheesecake. This time it turned out very creamy and actually split apart a couple of times. Because it was so creamy I was able to use a knife to smooth it out a bit and then put another very thin layer of fluff filling on top of it to hold it together.

I put the next layer of the cake on top of that and then slathered on the remaining fluff filling and the final layer of cake. I wrapped it all in plastic wrap and carried it to Joe's, where it stayed in the fridge for another few hours before the big reveal.

The final product after it was unwrapped at Joe's.

Held up pretty nicely this time. The cream colored layer on the
bottom is the cheesecake,while the upper layer is fluff-based filling

Joe loved it! It luckily held up very well and the refrigerator didn't dry out the cake too much. It was delicious a couple of days later too, so it keeps fairly well in the fridge if covered tightly with plastic wrap. His family loved it too, so I'll likely be making it again in the near future. I'm still trying to come up with a good name for it. Whoopie Cake is pretty encompassing, but there is no indication that a fully baked cheesecake is inside. Whoopie Cheesecake doesn't really give you a complete picture either because it sounds like some random version of a cheesecake. Whoopie Cheese Pie just sounds disgusting. Suggestions? In the meantime, I'll stick with Whoopie Cake.

Where did August go?

I'm pretty inconsistent with my blogging when I'm not procrastinating something else, it seems. Good thing I start school full-time in a couple of weeks...

That said, life has been pretty busy since I finished my research job.

Just a couple of days after I finished work, Joe and I went to a friend's wedding in New Hampshire. It was absolutely beautiful; both the ceremony and reception were on a boat on the Piscataqua River. Afterward several of the younger guests went out to the Press Room in Portsmouth for drinks to celebrate. Joe and I stayed overnight and spent the next morning hanging out in Portsmouth in all of the little shops.

After that I finished my summer class, which was the same workload as a semester long course, but accelerated. Needless to say, it wasn't easy to juggle with working full-time, but I'm glad I went ahead and got one class out of the way. Now I can focus on the other 19 I need to take over the next two years.

Joe and I took his nephew to a birthday party at Stone Zoo in Stoneham on the 6th. We all had a really great time. That night I hosted a housewarming barbecue, which was a success! It was great having people over and I'm hoping to do it a few more times in the fall and maybe some sort of holiday get-together as well. It's nice to have an apartment I feel at home in, even if I do spend most of my time at Joe's.

The following weekend Joe was away in Vegas for a bachelor party and I spent my time hanging out and catching up with friends. It was a friend's birthday so a group of us went to the beach in the early afternoon and then back to her place for drinks in the evening. I met a ton of really great people that day and look forward to hanging out with them again. I did a test run of Joe's birthday cake at that party (more on the cake later) and had an overall splendid time. One of the girls is in the Boston League of Women Wrestlers and I'm seriously considering trying to join. It seems like it would be a really fantastic way to fill my free time. Oh right, I don't have much of that right now.

I've also been doing what I can to keep up with my training. I broke my 5K record once again, so that was a great feeling. I'm trying to get in more of the distance runs and did a 6 mile run yesterday. Not sure what I'm going to be able to work in today, but I'm hoping for around 8 miles. I may end up doing the elliptical today instead for cross training and then do the 8 miles tomorrow. Still up in the air and will depend on how I'm feeling this afternoon.

I also made Joe a gift for his birthday. In addition to the books I got him (don't worry, his birthday has passed so there is no chance for ruining a surprise) I also made him some LP bookends. He's hard to shop for, so I decided to make him something that combined two things he really cares about--music and books.

I had bought my parents bowls made out of LPs for their birthdays, but realized that I could probably do the very same thing. A quick internet search confirmed my suspicions and I set to work on two Elvis Costello LPs (because we went to a show together and I wanted them to be meaningful), a Paul Simon LP (he went to a Paul Simon show with his dad and brother) and a Huey Lewis and the News LP. I boiled several pans of water and filled up our kitchen sink. When I put the LPs in the water, they almost immediately started melting down. It was a little difficult to get the hang out of reshaping them quickly enough once I took them out of the water (and the ends still bubbled up a bit), but at least the bookends will sit up on their own. Joe seemed to really appreciate them.

The photo quality isn't great, but you get the idea at least.

Then this past weekend, which was Joe's actual birthday (Happy 30th, love!) we went to a wedding in Plymouth. It was a lot of fun! There was plenty of dancing and revelry to go around. I even ended up breaking the strap off my dress because I was dancing so hard. Okay, so it was probably near the breaking point to start, but it was comical for it to break mid-dance. I ended up just stuffing both straps into the dress and pretending it was a strapless dress all along. I met a lot of really great people that night as well and look forward to hanging out with some of them again. 

I've also been spending a lot of time with my Little Sister. It's been so rewarding to be part of the Big Sister Association so far and I imagine that it will only become more so as time goes on. My Little and I have done things from going to the movies and having a picnic to playing Wii and going swimming. Last night I came over and we made homemade pizza and then baked a cake. I highly recommend the program to anyone who has the time and wants to get involved in a girl's life. 

There are a lot of more adventures to come in the next few weeks (Salem with Joe's parents this week and then a trip to NC for Labor Day weekend), but I'll save those details for a future post. The next post will include details and photos of Joe's birthday cake.

I made it!

After two years and two months at my research job in Mission Hill, yesterday was my last day. It was a bittersweet moment when I left because, while I'm certainly ready to move on to other things, I'll miss the people I've been working with.

To be honest, not everyone that I've worked with enjoyed their time at the job. For some, that would be an understatement. Still, I think it was the type of job where you get what you give. Maybe not always, but one of the RAs who had been around for a while when I started said to me, "This job really is what you make of it," and that is the advice I've given to everyone after me.

I had a lot of really great opportunities at the job, but part of that is because I tried to go into every situation with a good attitude (or at least productive one). I did things efficiently and well and that paid off in the end. I think people who had never been in the workforce before didn't know what to expect and were overwhelmed by responsibility, answer to others, etc. For me, it wasn't even close to the worst job I've ever had.

Whatever it was, I'll miss it (a little). I don't think it's actually hit me yet that I'm not going back. For instance, I keep checking my work email, just to make sure that no one needs something from me that they forgot while I was still there. It almost feels like I'm just taking a vacation or sick day today (particularly because I didn't do anything incredibly fun). I'm sure it will hit sometime next week, or the week after, when something happens that I'd like to tell an old coworker or boss. Something tells me I'm not going to be too terribly sad when the realization does hit.

Last night was also a big night because I got my first paper of graduate school handed back to me. Getting an A on that first paper is exactly what I needed to motivate me, I think. I feel much more ready for graduate school on the whole and very excited that, if I play my cards right, I'll be taking the licensing exam in two years. My next major goal (after the half marathon, of course) is getting an internship for next year to satisfy the licensing requirements. Fingers crossed!!!

Before and "So Far"

I haven't posted in almost a month, for a variety of reasons. There has been a lot going on and my overall level of free time has diminished. Some brief highlights:

• I registered for the Boston Half Marathon in October, so I've been trying to devote more time to training. This has been far from easy.
• My summer grad school class is taking up a ton of time. My first paper was due last Thursday and my next paper is due next Thursday. After that, I'll just have the final.
• My last day of work is on next Thursday as well. While this will mean a bit more free time, it also means that I'm crazy busy in the meantime, trying to wrap up loose ends, train the new people, etc. 
• I finally got my Little Sister through the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston. She's great! We had our first visit at the Big Sister Picnic on Long Island (one of the Boston Harbor Islands) last weekend. 
• I had my first trip to the Cape, which was amazing. Joe and I had a fabulous time and I'm basically addicted to boating now.

Whew! So being busy is part of the reason I haven't posted. The other part is that I've been struggling with motivation. I haven't been eating very well and haven't been able to train as much as I would like because of working late, reading for class, etc. To try to get back on track I brought raw veggies and rice cakes for lunch today. Before I got the veggies out of the fridge, I seriously considered ordering takeout. That's an absurd notion not only because of the calories, but because I'm flat broke! 

To that end, however, I have discovered the way to make raw veggies and rice cakes taste better. Behold, my Before and After:

"Before" photos

"So Far"

Nothing in this world makes raw vegetables and rice cakes taste better than looking at photos of yourself from when you were 70 pounds heavier! I still have a long way to go on this journey, so rather than before and after maybe I should refer to these as my Before and "So Far" photos.

On the days lately where I've felt fat and unattractive, I've wondered how I even functioned at my previous weight. Then, when I see people who are even heavier than I ever was, I wish I could find a way to motivate and inspire them. Even those who aren't heavier than I used to be, but who could use a bit of motivation, find their way into my heart. No, I can't always make it to the gym and it isn't always possible to eat super healthy, but I do much better than I did in the past. I am much more active than I have ever been and I watch what I eat much more closely now. It's all about the little steps you can take to move on to the big steps. 

This year is the first time I've felt comfortable in a swimsuit. Next summer's goal is a bikini. I have around 20-25 more pounds to lose before I do my true "After" shot, and I know it isn't going to be easy to get there with grad school and finding a part-time job, but I can't let that stop me. 

Boston Half Marathon, here I come!

Training update

It isn't easy to train for a half marathon while working full-time and going to class at night two nights a week, as I've learned this week. Whereas my routine used to consist of working 9-5 (roughly) then going to the gym before meeting up with Joe at 7, now on Tuesdays and Thursdays I have class until 9:45. After class I walk home and it's time for bed!

So far I haven't been able to get myself out of bed early enough to run in the morning (granted, today was the first day I tried to plan on it), but I'm hoping that's what I'll be able to start doing on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. In the meantime, at least I have the stairs at work and walking on my lunch break to get in a little bit of exercise. I'll also plan to do some yoga or strength training at home after class on those nights, but it depends on how exhausted I am after my 13 hour day.

Now for the exciting part! Yesterday at the gym I ran 5K (3.1 miles) in 30:26! It certainly isn't an Olympics qualifying time, but it's a far cry from the 34+ minutes it took me to run my 5K last September. It's so exciting to be able to say that I ran around a 9:48 mile!

I was pushing myself the whole time because I've never gone at that pace before. It certainly wasn't easy, but it was totally worth it.  Now I know that I can do it--and I can do more than that too! This will certainly help me in my training now and in the future.

I'm not making it to the gym tomorrow night either (Joe has a half day and we're going to move some stuff from my office to my apartment once I get off work since my last day is in less than a month), so fingers crossed I can get in a run tomorrow morning!

My roots

Boston is my home. I feel like I belong here in so many ways. I'll always have some Southern tendencies and I appreciate a lot about how I was raised and the experiences I had while growing up, but New England fits more with a lot of my values and beliefs. I also think that it provides me with better opportunities in terms of a future career (and my education). There are, of course, exceptions to this and there are many wonderful schools and career opportunities in the South, I just don't ever intend to move back.

In my first class in pursuit of my master's degree, we're discussing multicultural issues, including both ethnic minorities and the poor white. Perhaps this is why it hits so close to home right now, but using http://projects.propublica.org, which allows you to compare public schools across the country, I found that 39% of the students at my former high school get free or reduced price lunch. That's just the ones who take advantage of it, not everyone who qualifies for it. According to the site, "the percentage of children at a school who are eligible has often been used in education analysis as a proxy for poverty." This means that the percentage of students at my former high school who would be considered impoverished is, at the very minimum, 39% and likely higher.

I wasn't immune to this as a child. My parents struggled to make ends meet and sometimes the necessities (school supplies and clothes especially) were hard to come by. I can remember on more than one occasion going with my mother to pick up a box of food from the local church. At the time, my naive young mind thought we got food from the church because they had particularly good Angel Food cake (that was my favorite, at least). It wasn't until I was much older that I realized not everyone went to the church for cake.

The older I got, the more salient it became that my family didn't have money. When I turned 16, I got a 1993 Dodge Spirit that had been sitting in an old lady's driveway, unused, for years. It took forever to get all the leaves out of the engine and all of the mud and grime off the exterior. Some of my friends got brand new cars, or at least very nice hand-me-downs. When my friends would go out to the movies or to parties, I was working to pay for my own cell phone (my parents didn't even have cell phones at the time), my gas, my clothes, etc. While my friends went to the mall, I shopped at Walmart or Kmart. Other people were taking trips over school breaks; my first (and only) family vacation was after I started college and I paid most of that in an effort to convince my parents to go.

People often assume that, because I went to Harvard, there must have been some point where things changed. After all, Harvard isn't a cheap school. Harvard does, however, have an amazing Financial Aid Initiative. Harvard ended up being less expensive for me than a state school would have been because they based my tuition solely on my parents' income. I even qualified for extra money for books for a few years, which was incredibly helpful. Even still, I had to take out loans to cover the cost of a new laptop when mine died, my gown rental for graduation, etc. All the while I was working 2-3 part-time jobs in college to be able to go out with my friends on occasion and pay my own bills.

So while it doesn't surprise me that so many of the kids at my former high school are impoverished, it does make me sad. It also makes me feel a little guilty. We have been talking in this class about what one author called "first generation middle-classdom" and the "survivor's guilt" associated with managing to escape poverty and moving into middle class. While I still make less money than practically everyone with whom I graduated college (I would qualify for Section 8 housing), I'm doing better than a lot of people back in my hometown (even after the cost of living adjustment). That's hard for me to swallow when I'm always counting to my next paycheck, wondering if I'll be able to make my loan, rent, and bill payments. But I always do. I always manage to find a way. I make sacrifices sometimes to be able to occasionally splurge. Some weeks I just eat Cup o' Noodles because the week before I went out for drinks with friends. It isn't glamorous, but I'm making it.

My obstacles weren't as hard to overcome as some of those I've read about and seen in person, but they were challenges nonetheless and overcoming them shouldn't fill me with "survivor's guilt" when I read about the disadvantages in my hometown.While I may have packed up my roots and moved to a new place where I can grow more than I could have ever grown living in North Carolina, bringing those roots with me taught me a lot. I'm proud of my roots, but I'm equally proud of the person I've become and the accomplishments and strides I've made in the past six years I've lived in Boston.

This is home and this is who I am.

Big steps

As expected with all the fun events I had planned, this weekend was amazing. Not everything was as stellar and perfect as I had hoped, but it happens. Let's chalk that up to the cosmos re-aligning for giving me such a great time for the most part and not worry about it again.

While at the Phantom Gourmet BBQ Beach Party, I did manage to meet the Andelman brothers! The picture I took with Dan turned out better than the picture with Dave (which was later in the night and incredibly blurry), but it was a blast to meet them! The pictures were taken with Joe's phone, so not as clear or high resolution as mine, but he was a sweetie for taking them at all.

On Sunday I picked up the girls from the airport and had lunch with them at Panda Express before ushering them off to the Explo crew. It was incredible to see how much they've changed in just a few short years. It was also amazing to listen to them talk about their interests and realize they've formed into very unique girls with somewhat diverging interests.

After that I went downtown and just gave myself a day full of "me" time. Joe was with Sean and their friend Dom and I didn't want to just go home and veg. I didn't get a run in, but I did do several hours worth of walking around downtown, which was nice. I just wanted to relax knowing I won't be able to relax much the rest of this week. It's a big step for me to identify when I need personal time, as I've never been one to acknowledge needing it. I still prefer to spend time with others and rarely want time to myself, but Sunday taught me that it doesn't always have to be a bad thing.

Speaking of big steps, tonight is my first night of grad school! I have one summer class, Multicultural Issues, that I'll be taking Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-9:45pm. This will mean a very long day twice a week (I'm still working full-time), but it will be totally worth it. I'll still have August to myself (the last night of classes is August 2nd) and this will likely make these last few days of working at my current job speed along as well. It's time to move toward what I actually want to spend the rest of my life doing and I couldn't be more excited and nervous!

Weekend excitement!

After the stress of this morning (see my last post), I can't wait for this weekend! There are so many exciting things happening that I can't help but be excited.

The fun plans started last night, even if they were a bit low-key. The pizza Joe and I had last night turned out fabulously! As I mentioned I might suggest, we ended up watching The Departed in the spirit of Whitey Bulger's arrest. Granted, it's not based strictly on him and his activities, but it was fun nonetheless. As a recap, I used whole wheat pizza dough and tomato basil sauce from Trader Joe's, with yellow and red bell peppers, broccoli, and Daiya mozzarella-flavored vegan cheese.

The missing piece is where I tried the dough to test if it was done.
Of course that's why I ate it!

I just love it when I can find a way to make a healthy version of something generally reserved as an indulgence. Following that theme, Joe and I are going to b.good for dinner tonight and I'm very excited! I loved b.good in college, but haven't really been since because of the proximity (or lack thereof). Tonight I'm staying late at work to make up for the time I missed this morning with my doctor's appointment (did the stairs twice at work today to make up partially for missing the gym), going to Ace Tickets to pick up our tickets for tomorrow (more on that in a second) and then meeting Joe at b.good for dinner before we go shopping! I'm so excited that I've already refreshed my memory on the menu and know exactly what I'll be ordering. After b.good we're taking the T to Sullivan and then walking to KMart at the Assembly Square Mall. I need new sports bras and Joe needs new underwear and socks. I may look at dresses while I'm there to see if there is anything appropriate for the weddings Joe and I will be attending this summer. After that we're going home to catch the end of WWE Smackdown! I can't believe I'm back into wrestling.

Tomorrow we're going to the Phantom Gourmet BBQ Beach Party at City Hall Plaza. I bought us two tickets, but then Joe revealed that he got a voucher for two free tickets while he was at the bachelor party. Oops. Janice is going to buy my tickets though, so that helps. I've never been to this event before, but it looks like it will be a blast (provided the weather holds). There's a Ferris wheel, BBQ restaurant owners from all over the world, two beer gardens, and live music. I can't wait! 

Sunday Joe is spending the day with Sean and I'm going to the airport to pick up/accompany two girls I used to babysit in college. They're going to summer camp around Boston and their parents are out of the country, so they're flying as unaccompanied minors and need someone to meet them at the gate and then get them to the pickup location. I can't wait for this either! These girls are a lot of fun to be around and always a hoot. It should be a really fun time. After that I'll either go shopping with Janice (she also needs dresses for summer weddings) or lay low at home. 

Whew! Looking like a good weekend!

Medical (in)competence

I had my doctor's appointment this morning, but to say that nothing is resolved would be an understatement. I went from being mildly (okay, also an understatement) concerned about my health to being infuriated by the dismissive nature of my (now former) doctor.

The last time I went to this particular doctor, she wasn't great. As a matter of fact, I was slightly taken aback by her tone in my last visit. I tried to brush it off, but found out that she was rude to a friend of mine who also uses her as a PCP. That's why, before this visit, I actually tried to see someone different within the medical group. Because of the way my insurance works, I couldn't see anyone out of group without a referral. Unfortunately the receptionist insisted that I see my PCP, so I had my appointment today at 9am. 

Immediately upon entering the office, the doctor dismissed my issues, stating that I was really too young to be having the kinds of concerns I am having. So then why exactly am I having them? She suggested that it might be a hormonal issue, but then dismissed my inquiries into hormonal testing. She also refused the tests that would have determined if it was an issue other than hormones. She even had the gall to stop and ask me, "Are you under a lot of stress?"

My response was, "I'm under a lot of stress at this particular moment because I'm concerned about my health and you're refusing to give me any straight answers or peace of mind." She then told me that having any sort of test performed would be a "waste of time, money, and resources" because I was just "obsessing" over my health. 

Let me take this moment to disclose a bit about what has been happening by saying that, with all of the ads urging women who "notice any changes" to be screened, being refused screening by my doctor was disgusting. Just because I'm young doesn't mean that I don't have reason to be concerned. Even still, if cancer can be ruled out, give me some insight into what might be causing my issues and how to address them. At this point, I just couldn't hold back the tears I had been fighting. She then rolled her eyes at me and said, "Fine, it's a waste, but if you want the ultrasound, I'll order it." At this point she told me to get dressed and walked out of the office. 

What really upsets me about this situation is that she didn't even listen to any of my symptoms before dismissing my concerns. Then, when she suggested it might be hormonal, didn't take the time to ask me questions about whether anything had changed in my life to upset my hormones (nothing has). This is why I wanted testing, but it wasn't an ultrasound that I wanted. I trust her judgment that cancer shouldn't a concern (though frankly, I wonder if I should trust her at all), but not addressing what the underlying issue could be is the equivalent of refusing me medical care. Not only that, but she went on to accuse me of wanting attention and trying to get it by obsessing over my health. Is that going in my medical record, doctor? So you want to add defamation to the report I'm making against you? Fine.

I wouldn't even be thinking of lodging a complaint if it weren't for the fact that she was borderline verbally abusive to me in a way that left me sobbing as I exited the building. No one deserves to be treated in that way, particularly by a medical professional. After calling Joe in tears, and after he repeatedly asked me for the doctor's name so we could look into making a complaint, I think he's right. Even if nothing happens, which I'm sure with all the red tape nothing will, it's important to have that out there. That way, if someone else reports her in the future, there's a pre-existing one to add weight to the claim.

Needless to say, I will not be going back to see this doctor. In order to address the issues I'm (still) having, I'm going to see the registered nurse who does my annual physical. She's an APRN (Advance Practice Registered Nurse) specializing in women's issues and hormones, so I think she may be my best bet anyway. I have an appointment with her next Friday, July 1, so hopefully I can get some answers. Every time I've seen her she's been reassuring, attentive, and willing to help. In short, she's a competent medical professional. 

Message me directly if you're thinking of getting a doctor in Brighton and want to be sure to avoid the one I used as my PCP until today.

You won't rain on my parade (err...workout)!

It's another rainy, disgusting day in Boston (I thought we were past this kind of fighting at this stage in our relationship, Boston!), so I'm not walking on my lunch break yet again. Unfortunately I also didn't do the stairs at work yesterday because a task was thrust upon me at the last minute and I was scrambling to get it finished.

After work I went to the gym and tried out the lower level for the first time. Random fact as a side note: I didn't know until yesterday that there was a lower level. This is partly my fault and partly the fault of the Planet Fitness staff, as I signed up for the gym online and was never offered a tour. I had no idea that there was a level full of strength training machines and free weights; I thought the only weight machines were part of the 30 minute circuit training upstairs. Huge surprise! I also feel like my $10 a month goes even further now. That said, when I got to the gym and walked downstairs after changing, I was pretty intimidated. So this is where they hide the big and scary muscle men. I almost turned around and walked back upstairs, but reminded myself that I pay the same amount they do to use the equipment and have every right to be there because, whether they like it or not, I'm an athlete in training.

I decided to focus on my legs since I didn't do any walking or running. For the most part, I have very strong legs and am very familiar with the various machines that focus on them. I did, however, use the hip adduction/abduction machine for the first time. I could certainly tell that I was lacking in some strength here, particularly with the adduction. Admittedly, this doesn't seem like the best workout for my legs (and several forums I've found since seem to agree), but it was a great way to point out where I'm lacking some strength and conditioning and lead me to research how to improve that. Overall it was a really great workout.

Today I'm taking a slightly different approach, particularly because I had a big dinner last night before going to see Green Lantern with Joe (don't waste your money) and want to get in more movement today than yesterday. So while I couldn't go for a walk on my lunch break, what I did was work in some chair dips using my office chair. It's a rolling chair, so I stabilized it against the wall of the office and did 5 sets of about 8-9 reps each. I'll probably do a few more later in the day, in addition to the stairs at 3pm.

Then, provided the rain holds/slacks off, I'm planning to walk home after work. The difference this time is that I won't be doing the 3.5 mile route, I'll be doing a 4 mile route that takes me by Trader Joe's, where I'm getting pizza dough, veggies, and sauce so Joe and I can make a pizza tonight! The extra weight of groceries should add a nice layer to my workout.

Joe and I love making pizza together. I guess I shouldn't speak for him, but he seems to like it quite a bit and I certainly love it. Our signature pizza is bell peppers and broccoli on a Trader Joe's crust with Trader Joe's marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. The first time I made it for him, we drank wine and watched The Town on DVD. Tonight we're going to stick with that theme, but instead of regular mozzarella cheese, we're going to be using Daiya vegan mozzarella cheese, which is what we had on the pizza from Peace o' Pie the other day. I'm super excited to try using it in my own cooking for the first time. Combined with our whole wheat crust and veggie-only toppings, it should be a pretty delicious and fairly healthy meal! We'll also be drinking seltzer water, rather than wine. Which reminds me, I need to get seltzer at TJ's too. This is turning into one heck of an arm workout given I'll also be carrying my purse and gym bag! Maybe now that they've caught Whitey Bulger we should watch The Departed tonight.

Requesting good vibes

Yesterday's proposed workout schedule got an extra boost! After I did the stairs at work (4th floor down to the basement, across the basement to the opposite stairwell, up to the 4th floor, down to the 1st, up to the 4th floor, down to the 2nd, up to the 4th floor, down to the 3rd, up to the 4th floor, down to the 1st, across to the opposite stairwell and up to the 4th), I was feeling pretty great. Once I left work (and saw my bus speed away into the distance) I decided to walk to my new apartment.

This was the first time I had walked from work in Mission Hill to my apartment in Brighton. In total it was 3.5 miles. Tacked onto my lunchtime walk around Leverett Pond and I had completed 5 miles of walking and the stair work at that point. I made myself some dinner, relaxed and digested with some TV, and then decided around 8 to go out for a run. It was my first time exploring the neighborhood in that way, so I ended up going both directions from my apartment (first heading off toward the pike, then back down past my apartment and toward Lake St and Rogers Park). I ended up having a pretty decent 2.5 mile run. I stretched out pretty well afterward, but my legs are still a bit sore this morning. Unfortunately it's raining today, so likely no lunchtime walk, but we'll see how things look around noon or so.

While I take this training pretty seriously, there is something of a more serious note I'd like to briefly mention. I have had some medical issues the past few weeks (nothing extreme, but still getting progressively more frightening) so I have a doctor's appointment set up for Friday. I got pretty worked up last night, mostly because I was left to my thoughts without much to do while Joe was out with Sean. Once he got home and called me, I calmed down enough to go to sleep, but woke up still pretty frightened. I don't want to go into detail right now about exactly what's happening because I'm hoping the doctor chalks it up to nothing (or mostly nothing). I'll update on Friday with whatever news I get from the doctor. In the meantime, send good vibes my way.

Summer!

While I've been celebrating the spirit of summer for quite some time (see my two "Summer 2011" facebook albums for proof), today marks the Summer Solstice. What I like about this official start to summer is accountability in my workout and diet routine.

There have certainly been days where I've found myself in shorts and a tank top, and plenty of days worthy of running outside, but now the 4th of July is less than two weeks away and a swimsuit is bound to crop up soon. What really makes me excited is that the swimsuit I bought last summer, which was already the smallest one I had owned to date, is too large! I can still wear it a couple more times when water and/or lots of movement aren't involved, but I'm going to have to buy a new one for a proper fit.

There's also the impending trip to North Carolina that gives me pause. Each time I've visited since I graduated from college, I have been the smallest my parents have ever seen me, progressively losing more weight. They know I've been running a lot and training for races, but I really want to wow them on Labor Day. To that end, I have a goal to lose 10 more pounds before Joe and I fly to NC for the first weekend of September. It frankly shouldn't be that difficult given how much time I spend running, so let's just hope that summer offers the accountability to stick to my healthy habits and not give my body too many carbs (or too much celebratory alcohol).

As tempting as it is to cap off a hot day with an ice cold beer, alcohol is limited to one time a week or less. Beer is strictly limited to the light varieties and other alcohol is mixed with diet coke or seltzer (in the case of wine). I'm also switching to vegan cheese as much as possible (more on this fabulous discovery in another post). This isn't strictly for weight loss reasons--though there are fewer calories in it than what other cheeses offer based on what little research I've done--with my lactose intolerance, it's so nice to be able to have cheesy foods without popping a lactaid every few minutes. It's also time to move back toward fresh fruits and vegetables (especially now that I live so close to a produce stand).

Of course, exercise is going to be the biggest key to all this. Yesterday after work I opted to go for a run outside, rather than going to the gym. This was partly because I wanted to enjoy the nice weather and partly because I just didn't want to sit on the T before starting my exercise. It was a stressful day at work and I wanted to get out my frustrations. I went on a 3-mile run from work to Jamaica Pond and back and it was gorgeous. The next time I go that route, I'll go around Jamaica Pond, rather than skirting in front of it, but it was very humid yesterday and I didn't bring my inhaler on the run.

On my lunch break today I went for a walk around Leverett Pond (which is the smaller pond between where I work and Jamaica Pond) and did two laps. Nothing strenuous, but movement nonetheless. I'm hoping to make that a staple of my routine for the next few weeks that I'm at this job (along with walking the stairs of the building several times around 3pm, which I did yesterday and plan to do today). Tonight after work I'm skipping the gym once again in favor of going for a run outside, though this time I'm going to wait until it cools off a bit and go for a run around my new neighborhood.

As a planner by nature, it feels so great to have all this sorted out and written down. This summer has so many exciting things to offer, continuing to whittle down the number I see on the scale (and my pants size) is another one to add to the list.

Happy Summer!

NKOTBSB at Fenway

As I mentioned in my last post, the night before my big 8K race was the New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys (marketed NKOTBSB) show at Fenway Park. I thought about not going, but I'm so glad I did!

I am a rare bird in my love for New Kids on the Block. I'm considered too young to have enjoyed their older music, but my Aunt Melissa is 8 years older than me and was at a perfect age to be obsessed with them (which led to obsession in my 3 year old self as well). I had t-shirts, dolls, a sleeping bag, etc. and they're the indirect reason I moved to Boston. That said, I developed a love for Backstreet Boys in 5th grade and they were my first concert. When it was announced they would be touring together, it was like the gates of heaven had opened up just for me. Okay, slight exaggeration.

Regardless, it was a fantastic show. Having a love for both bands made it absolutely unforgettable. I had a seat on the field, so when I got there I went straight in and down to my seat. There was no line at the beer table, so I grabbed a beverage and started with the pics. It was fantastic to be right at the Green Monster and be able to stand in the outfield.

I limited myself to two beers (an adequate amount to get the experience, little enough that I could still claim I was carbo-loading for my race) and sat down to wait for the start of the show. Jordin Sparks was the opening act and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing her. I'm a fan of her music, but never would have paid for a concert of hers alone.

When her set appeared to be nearing its end, I went to the restroom to get it out of the way. In line I encountered a woman with a VIP sticker, initialed by "JK" at the bottom. She told the girl behind me that she knows Jordan (her husband grew up with him and he's the god father of her kids!), but that it unfortunately didn't get her out of bathroom lines. I guess for some things it doesn't matter who you know. Luckily I avoided most of the line by not waiting until Jordin Sparks finished. As I was leaving the bathroom people were swarming that way. 

After what felt like an eternity of waiting (and checking Twitter incessantly), Donnie tweeted "it's time" and, sure enough, out came Mayor Menino. The man couldn't get through a single sentence without looking at his notes. The surprising piece was that he didn't introduce NKOTBSB. He introduced the person who would introduce them: Mark Wahlberg!

Oh hey, Marky Mark!

Once Mark had finished introduction, the guys were officially announced Red Sox lineup style! Once all 9 guys took the stage (Kevin has distanced himself from BSB), it was surreal.

From that point on, the guys did some individual songs, some collaborations, and just overall rocked the house. Between BSB doing their characteristic "bring a girl onstage" for I'll Never Break Your Heart, to Donnie being Donnie (see below), I was in heaven. There was a series of fireworks (full fledged because we were outdoors) that made it even more spectacular.

Even when it started raining (read: pouring), people stuck it out by pulling out ponchos and mini umbrellas. I had a plastic bag that I chose to use to cover my purse, rather than myself. I had a hood though, so it's not like it was terrible. Okay, I was pretty drenched. 

The guys were sliding and diving across the stage, having a fabulous time. I finally managed to capture the NKOTB sign in its entirety, despite a little rain-induced blurriness.

Two encores later (one in Bruins jerseys, one in Celtics jerseys atop the Green Monster [BSB in Orlando Magic jerseys]), my dream come true came to an end. Totally worth the price, totally worth standing in the pouring rain on the field at Fenway, totally worth the cab ride to Joe's and the slight exhaustion the day of my race.

Totally worth it.

My first 8K!

Well, I did it! After a lot of preparation (as well as some procrastination and slips in training), I finished my 8K this past Sunday, June 12! It took me a while to post because, frankly, I wanted to add pictures and didn't download them from my camera until last night.

Brief aside: The night before the race was the New Kids on the Block / Backstreet Boys (marketed as NKOTBSB) show at Fenway Park. I bought my ticket back in February, long before I decided to do an 8K. I had waffled back and forth with whether I should still go, but am very happy I made the decision to stick it out. Joe went out with Sean while I relived every age between 3-24. More on this later.

It poured during the concert, so I took a cab to Joe's. It was far too cold, and the line was far too long, for me to wait for the Green Line or walk to the Orange Line. I was also too tired to worry much about my race; that hit the next morning.

I woke up bright and early because I have a very difficult time running in the morning. I wanted to make sure that my body felt like it had been awake for an adequate number of hours before I started forcing it up hills and on a 5-mile race.

I ate a bagel I grabbed from work a few days before and drank some vitamin water that Joe had bought me because he knew I would have a few beers at the show the night before. I also did a LOT of stretching. At this point, I was overwhelmed by nerves. I told Joe several times that "maybe I shouldn't run" at all. He was incredibly supportive and assured me that it would be over before I knew it and that I'd be great. I'm so lucky.

We walked down early so I could pick up my race bib and free t-shirt for pre-registering. We also watched his sister-in-law, DeAnna, start the 2K race a few minutes before my 8K started. Her race started at this banner, which is where mine ended:

When it was time to line up for my race, Joe and I walked over to the starting line and he stayed with me until just before the start of the race. He also let me use his iPod for the race. Did I mention I'm lucky?

The first part wasn't all that bad. We went straight down Chelsea St. and over to Warren and Main St., hitting the 1 mile mark along the way. A right turn onto Bunker Hill St. led me up the first hill, which was killer. People around me started walking, and I thought about doing the same, but decided that if I started walking it would be harder to start back. As I approached the top of the hill, Joe was waiting for me with water (and with camera in hand). 

Even though there were water stations, I was so grateful for the water he was providing as well. What I didn't realize is that one of the girls in front of me was having the happiest moment of her life, to date.

While the couple in front of me celebrated their engagement, I ran by wondering what was happening, but focusing more on the fact that I was about to get to run down hill, rather than up. Joe took the time to get a photo before heading down to the finish line to meet me. At this point I ran down and back onto Main St., somewhere along the way passing the 2 and 3 mile marks. 

Unfortunately, getting back to Main St. required another hill. This one wasn't nearly as daunting, but still tough. After the second trip on Main St., I continued onto Medford St. The first "hydration" station on Medford St. was a guy handing out beer rather than water. I thought about grabbing some, but was afraid I would regret it later. 

On Medford St. some man started talking to me. "How are you feeling?" he asked after he tapped me to get my attention. I think I probably just stared at him and mumbled, "Umm, I'm feeling okay." He proceeded to tell me that he keeps pace by talking to people because you're supposed to be able to carry on a conversation comfortably to know you're at a good pace. That's all fine and well, but to be honest, he started slowing me down. The next station offered a choice between water and orange slices, so I took an orange slice. This kept me from talking and the guy started talking to a passerby about her dog and I was off the hook. Somewhere on Medford St. there was a 4 mile marker.

Finishing up Medford St. led me into the Navy Yard and I knew I was getting close. I managed to take the time to smile (or make some semblance of a smile) as Joe took my picture after crossing the finish line.

It was a fantastic feeling! Joe was waiting with Gatorade and I stretched out to try to limit my level of soreness the next day. We piled into DeAnna's car after that and went back up to Joe's so I could most of another bagel, shower, and get ready for the Bunker Hill Day Parade and cooking out with his family. I made pasta salad like the one I took to Joel's housewarming, but once again forgot to get a picture. Oh well, it was delicious; everything was.

All in all a fantastic race and day! I've decided now to start training for a half marathon. Whether I'll be ready for this year's Boston Half in October is unclear, but I'm definitely running one at some point. It's amazing how far that is from wondering if I should even run at all the morning of my race. Runner's high makes all the difference in the world.

Weekend foods!

After all of the unfortunate drama that consumed my life on Friday, the weekend was spent indulgently cooking and eating!

On Saturday I decided to use the overripe bananas at Joe's to make a very simple banana bread. It was my first time making banana bread, but was easy and is delicious! I didn't even need to use the mixer or very many ingredients at all.

I took three ripe bananas and mashed them up with 1/3 c. butter. To that I added 1 c. sugar, 1 egg (which I whisked up with a fork), and some vanilla that I just eyeballed (I'd say somewhere between 1-2 tsp). I mixed all that together and then added a (large) pinch of salt and about a teaspoon of baking soda (again, I eyeballed it and used the palm of my hand as the only measurement tool. Once I mixed all that together, I added in about 1 1/2 c. of all purpose flour and mixed it all together. I went ahead and used butter to grease the pan because why not? There wasn't a bread pan at Joe's so I used a small glass baking pan and cooked the bread for an hour at 350 degrees.

I have to say that it turned out pretty well! It's super moist and not too sweet. On Sunday I had it alongside a tomato and broccoli omelet (which I neglected to photograph) for a really fabulous brunch at home. Joe, of course, had peanut butter toast. 

In addition to the banana bread, I also made a pasta salad on Saturday for Joel's housewarming in Davis (which I also neglected to photograph--I'm still adjusting to the nature of blogging). I used red wine vinegar rather than balsamic for the first time, and used whole wheat rotini rather than tri-colored, but it turned out really great. It was a bit more tart than with balsamic, but I added more salt, some garlic powder, and a mixture of Parmesan and Romano cheese. It was loaded with sliced cherry tomatoes, broccoli, green bell pepper, and carrots. 

Sunday Joe and I went to Carol's for what ended up being a couples' dinner. Joe and I brought caprese skewers for our dish. For that I used some of the leftover cherry tomatoes from the day before and bought a chunk of fresh mozzarella and a pack of basil. I cubed the mozzarella and Joe assembled the skewers by putting a piece of mozzarella between two of the tomatoes on each toothpick while I did a chiffonade of the basil to sprinkle on top, then drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

The other dishes were fantastic! Carol made her famous meat calzone and also tried a new sun dried tomato, spinach, and roasted garlic calzone, which is quite possibly my new favorite food. Janice and Matt brought a delicious selection of cheeses from Wisconsin (my favorite being the cheddar and blue cheese mixture). Patti brought skewered chicken in two varieties (curry and teriyaki) and made a peanut sauce. Jamal made some fabulous mashed potatoes (with a whole tub of butter, I'm told), and Tim and Erica made green beans with blue cheese and dried cherries.

It was quite the fantastic spread! After gorging ourselves on all this food, cookies started to circulate as well. Honestly, I ate about three times what I should have (and had about four too many drinks), but it was an amazing time. I look forward to the next opportunity to make food for people, which happens this Thursday at our work potluck.

Stay tuned!

I am not a fan of this day.

Today has been a very hard day for me. I can't pinpoint everything, but it just hasn't been going my way for the past few hours.

It wasn't like that when I woke up. I felt great, got a lot accomplished before work (laundry, dishes, taking out the trash, feeding my boss's cat, etc.) and was looking forward to the weekend. Now I'm feeling discouraged, upset and on the verge of tears. I'm trying so hard not to let today get me down, but it's one of those instances where something builds and builds then just finally gets sent over the edge with one remark. That one remark is the only thing I can pinpoint, but I'm shocked it has me this upset.

I've tried to distract myself with work, but now I'm running out of things to do and still have almost 5 hours before I get to see Joe. That's what I really need right now--to see Joe. He always makes me feel so much better and I just need to feel that right now. I'm feeling insecure and like I'm playing second fiddle. I just need him to remind me that he loves me and that I'm not second best.

Five hours is a long time for me to continue to feel this way and I'm sure it won't go away immediately even when I first talk to Joe. I wish I hadn't let this build for so long, but I honestly wasn't sure how to approach the situation. Now it has been thrust to the forefront and I have no choice but to deal with it. Isn't that always the way when you try to sweep something under the rug?

Today sucks. Thinking back, this morning was one of the few times this week hasn't sucked. I was so ready for the weekend so that I could get started with a brand new week. Let's hope this incident didn't just ruin my weekend.

Garlic and Lemon Peppercorn Chicken with Pasta

As I sit here at my desk, sweating, I can't help but wonder if I went overboard on this pasta. Granted, it's not exactly chilly out, so maybe my sweating can be partly attributed to the weather, but the peppercorn pieces in this pasta are huge!

Last night for dinner I used some of Joe's pre-packaged marinade and tried to get creative. Basically I needed to use up the chicken and had the garlic peppercorn marinade packet on hand, but didn't want to just have chicken and rice. I decided to use half of the marinade as directed and to use the other half as a pasta dressing. The directions called for 1/4 c. oil, 1/4 c. water, and 2 Tbsp. of red wine vinegar. I had the Tbsp, but am staying at my boss's place and couldn't immediately locate the measuring cups, so I eyeballed it. In hindsight, I didn't use enough water and oil for the marinade. To the second half I reserved for the pasta, I added lemon juice, lemon zest, and some Parmesan cheese.

After letting the chicken marinate in the fridge for 20 minutes, I put it in a pan with a little more olive oil and cooked it while my pasta boiled. Not using enough water and oil meant that the marinade kind of stuck to the chicken. I tossed the pasta with the leftover marinade, lemon juice and zest, and Parmesan cheese then added the chicken. What I can say is that the pasta is great! The chicken is a bit overwhelming. Don't get me wrong, the flavors are fantastic, it's just really spicy (and this is coming from someone who loves spicy food). There's just something a little "off" about it. I'll definitely try it again, probably with quite a bit more water so as to just marinate the chicken rather than basically using it as a spice rub. I'll also add lemon juice to the marinade and not just the pasta dressing, because it tastes fabulous with the garlic and peppercorn.

Despite the heat, it was good last night and even better today for lunch. This means I'll probably also let the pasta sit in the dressing for a bit longer next time to soak up some of the flavors, especially the lemon.

Overall not a complete failure, but definitely needs some tweaks!

8K Training

Strangely, I still can't log in to my blog via chrome, so I had to resort to Firefox. I'm sorry, the google blogging service isn't working with the google browser? Fine.

After over a week of not going to the gym because of severe allergies and then a respiratory infection, yesterday was my first day back for what was meant to be more 8K training. One mile into my run, my still inflamed lungs were less than thrilled. Granted, I was doing my first day of training on an incline, which probably wasn't the best idea after having been sick and still coughing all day, but I was surprised I needed to stop so soon. I walked at a brisk pace on an incline for a few more minutes and then moved over to do some strength training. As a side note, I really enjoy the strength training machines at my gym and I like doing the circuit training they have laid out. It's interesting to see which of my muscle groups are significantly stronger than others.

I felt pretty okay while I was showering and changing, but once I got on the train I couldn't stop coughing. By the time I got to Harvard Square, I was scrambling for my inhaler, but couldn't even stop coughing long enough to get any good inhales. At that point my body was convulsing and I thought I was going to vomit. That said, I'm taking a break from the gym today. Instead I'm going to Allston after work to do some vacuuming and to get my Red Sox hat for the game on Monday. Depending how I feel after dinner tonight, I may hop on the elliptical at Joe's. At least that way I won't be dealing with public transportation if I start trying to cough up a lung.

Hopefully on Saturday morning I can go for a run around Charlestown (and do part of the race route), but that all depends what time Joe and I get up. We're planning to go to his brother and sister-in-law's place on Saturday, and maybe also moving the rest of my stuff to the new apartment, so I may be crunched for time. I have 17 days until the race, so I need to use whatever time I have for training. Eek!

Kudos

This was originally going to be a post about serving jury duty yesterday, but I woke up to a reminder that life is too short to spend it complaining about trivial matters.

The first thing I do after I leave the house every morning and get on the bus is look at my news feed on facebook. It's sad, but it's a pretty quick way for me to get updates on what's happened overnight, both in Boston and in my hometown. Sometimes that's the only way I find out someone is getting married or having a baby. Sadly, it can also be the way I find out about someone's heartache and loss.

A friend of mine from North Carolina lost her sister in a car accident last night. While learning about it was heartbreaking, what I saw on my news feed was an outpouring of support and condolences from people in my hometown, many of whom didn't even know the girl. That's the thing about a small town; in between all of the people who can't find anything better to do than spread rumors and those who couldn't care less about anyone else are those who come together for someone, or many people, in need. Sometimes these types of situations bring together people from all of those groups. People you wouldn't expect to care, or offer help, come through.

Death, especially so unexpectedly and in someone so young, seems impossible to deal with it when you're right in the thick of it. I can't even begin to imagine what this family is going through or how it is they'll manage to move forward, but I know they will. At the end of the day, no matter what you believe happens to people once they pass, the living have to move forward. That's much easier accomplished with the support of family, friends, and the community.

Kudos to those in the community who are coming together to help this family through what promises to be a very difficult time. You're all in my thoughts.

Peanut Butter Success!

I woke up Saturday morning ready to make the Peanut Butter Mocha muffins for Joe. I had all my ingredients and couldn't wait to get started.

Then I realized the problem with cooking, or rather baking, for a man in his apartment; there were no measuring spoons and only a couple of measuring cups. I had known in advance to bring a muffin pan, but I hadn't imagined there wouldn't be measuring devices. I used my experience in the bakery of Western Sizzlin' to eyeball most things and crossed my fingers. To measure my liquids I used a shot glass. Oh to cook in a bachelor pad.

Regardless, the muffins came out pretty okay. They weren't as moist as I had hoped, but I'll add a bit more applesauce next time. I also thought they could have used a bit more coffee, but Joe said they had a nice amount of mocha flavor, so I may not mess with that part of the recipe. All in all, not bad.

Welp, I think I'll Yelp

I promise I'm not always this corny. That's a lie.

In line with trying to be consistent in my endeavors (this blog, my wishlist), I'm determined to also become more consistent with my Yelp reviews. As someone who always checks Yelp before going to any new restaurant or business (it's also one of my most-used Droid apps), I'm a little ashamed that before today I had only written one review.

I am proud to update that I now have 11 reviews and anticipate that number will grow before the day's end. This can be partly attributed to all of the places Joe and I have been eating out, but I'm also reviewing places I visited on my own in the past. This is especially true of those places that have stood out for one reason or another. I also finally took the time to fill out my Yelp profile and get a direct page link. If you're interested, you can check out my profile and reviews here.

Add me as a friend if you're also a frequent (or not so frequent) Yelper.

Wishing

With all of the people I know who are getting married in the next few months, I've done my share of perusing through registries lately. The registries belonging to people with whom I'm fairly close, or with whom I have similar interests, leave me wanting to buy one of everything for myself as well. Add to that my impending move to a new apartment and all I want to do is shop!


This is weird for me. Generally speaking I've never been one to enjoy shopping. I guess that has always pertained more to clothes than anything and even that has changed with losing over 60 pounds. Shopping sucks a lot less when clothes fit and look good. Imagine that. 


Regardless, I've found all sorts of things on various websites that I'd like for my apartment, ranging from decor to cookware and appliances. The other day I decided to add some things to my Amazon wishlist to make shopping for me easier (and to at least feel like there might be a shot at me getting a Keurig someday). I was pretty excited to see an extension released by Amazon that allows me to add products from any site to my wishlist. Think about that for a second. I can be on any website that sells things and click a button on my browser to add it to one big wishlist. The first time I tried it (adding some random piece of decor from Urban Outfitters), I was sold. Now my wishlist has things from several sites (and I'm sure that will keep on growing). I've also set it up so that people can buy things from my wishlist and they will ship directly to me. This just gets better and better. So I've also added things I need (or would really like to have) for running. I've added books and DVDs I'd like to own. My wishlist is all encompassing!


So if anyone is interested, my wishlist can be viewed here.


In the meantime, I'll just keep wishing. 

Mocha Peanut Butter Muffins!

Joe doesn't like eggs. It's quite a bummer for me given that I'd consider eggs one of my favorite foods. I love them fried, poached, deviled, scrambled, you name it. I am, however, learning to deal with it. I say that totally lovingly. He would be absolutely fine if I made myself eggs while he had toast and peanut butter (his morning staple), but I feel bad not eating what he eats. I'll get over that eventually and just start making myself eggs, but in the meantime I'm getting creative.

This Saturday he's spending the day with his friend Sean, which includes taking the train to Lawrence, MA. I think it's great that he has these "guy days" with Sean (they've been friends since they were kids), but it definitely bums me out to not be around him. This is also something I'm getting used to (I have all SORTS of solo weekend plans for the summer and am also hoping for more girl days with the ladies). That said, I want to make him breakfast before he leaves this Saturday, partly because I want to do something sweet for him and partly because I want him to think of me all day. Sneaky, I know.

He eats a lot of peanut butter, as I've alluded, and he loves coffee. The other day when I was asking him about foods (he also doesn't like strawberries [or most other berries], seafood, had never had fajitas until I made them, etc.) and he asked if I could make mocha muffins like they have at the grocery store. Now I've never made mocha muffins, but I figured I'd try searching the internet and see if I could find a good recipe. The one I found is perfect for him: Mocha Peanut Butter muffins!

I'll go ahead and post the recipe now, but I'll definitely update with a review afterward:

2 cups all purpose flour (can use some whole wheat too)
1/2 stick butter, room temperature

4 Tbsp. applesauce
1/2 cup peanut butter, divided
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup brewed coffee, room temp
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.

In a medium bowl mix the butter, applesauce, 1/4 cup peanut butter and sugar with a hand or stand mixer. Add the eggs, vanilla and room temperature coffee. In a separate bowl mix the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the dry mix to the wet mix. Stir only until incorporated. Add about 1/3 cup mix to each muffin tin, filling almost all the way to the top. Top with about 1 tsp of peanut butter.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a fork inserted comes out clean. Cool for about 5 minutes in the pan then finish cooling on a wire wrack.

I'm super excited to make them and report back about how they turn out! Fingers crossed!!

Gonna Keep on Runnin'

In helping my boyfriend, Joe, create a facebook I became more attuned to what was actually contained within my own profile. One of the things I noticed was that this blog is linked as one of my websites. That makes my lack of updating pretty unfortunate.

I start out almost every single post on this blog talking about how it's been so long since my last, I have so much on which to update, and how I hope to blog more frequently in the future.

Let's skip straight to the good stuff. If anyone is out there reading and actually cares about all of the update stuff (and can't follow based on what I am going to include), feel free to message me for a more complete version.

I'm currently training for an 8K in June to take place the day of the Battle of Bunker Hill Day Parade in Charlestown. I ran my first 5K back in September (which was my first ever race period) so an 8K shouldn't be that big of a jump. Unfortunately, I didn't actually continue to train between September and March (I think I maybe ran three times during that period), so training has been kind of slow going.

The good thing is that I'm doing better than I anticipated. When I ran the 5K, it was all I could do to get to the 3 mile mark. I was huffing and puffing and generally just pretty exhausted. Yesterday at the gym I ran just over 4 miles, followed by walking an additional mile. The 8K is 4.97 miles, so having done 5 miles at the gym yesterday (even if I walked one of them) tells me that I'll be fine in the 8K as long as I keep up my training. The difference is that the race takes place at Bunker Hill so that's a bit unfortunate. Most of my training has been flat, but I'm planning to integrate incline next week. I figure that adrenaline will probably carry me through a lot of it. The day of my 5K race was my best time so I'm pretty confident that even if I'm not 100% up to snuff in my training, I'll be able to finish the 8K (even if I am really slow at it).

After the 8K, my plan is to not stop training this time. Either this October or next October (depending how all of my training progresses) I'm going to run the Boston Half Marathon. It will certainly be a challenge, but I'm up for it. I'll use running to keep myself low stress during grad school, if nothing else.

My first class toward my master's degree begins in late June. I'm only doing one summer course for both the sake of my sanity (I'll still be working at JBCC) and for financial reasons. It will be good to have a course under my belt before I start full-time in the fall.

In the meantime I have plenty on my plate to keep me occupied. Between obligations (jury duty, my civic responsibility--yay...), necessary evils (I'm moving to Brighton in a couple of weeks), and all of the fun stuff I have planned (bowling this weekend, Love in Stockholm show on the 27th, Red Sox game on the 30th and Nigel-sitting May 29-June 3), I have a full schedule. That's just how I like it. Granted, most of what fills my plate is the packing that precedes the moving (and that's not exactly fun), but I have a lot to look forward to, and about which I can be genuinely excited.

Just gotta keep on runnin'!