A Taste of Spain.

Ok, first of all, I know I should be posting about the half marathon before posting about the most recent wine dinner, but…its my blog, and I promise that I will be writing the race recap soon…maybe even tonight.  There is just a lot to say and I am still processing all the excitement!

But, before I get into the details of running, let’s talk about the details of my dinner at Lure Bistro on Monday night.  I would like to first say that after the half marathon, I had decided to treat myself to whatever I wanted to eat that night…I got home, showered, microwaved a Lean Pocket to eat, and fell asleep about 15 minutes later.  Therefore, I saved my fancy, calorie-laden dinner for Monday.  Still seems fair, right?

Getting onto the dinner:  This month’s theme was “Spain” and while there have been other Spanish themed dinners, the menu is always filled with new, amazing courses.  This was no exception.

Sadly, I do not have a picture of the first course (and really, I forgot about pictures until the 4th(!) course, but Jaret (owner and exec. chef) was nice enough to re-make the other 3 for the sake of posterity.  He is wonderful.  THANKS JARET!!)

1. Vine Ripened Tomato Gazpacho, Finished with Cilantro Shrimp Salsa

I really wish that I had a picture, but just imagine a fresh red and yellow chilled tomato soup with a big shrimp sitting in the middle.   This was a perfect start to a great meal.  We were eating outside and the weather was still really warm, so the cold soup was just right.  The gazpacho was a tiny bit sweet, but mostly had a really good acidity. I also really loved the addition of the shrimp, because when you are having just a little bit of a soup, its so great when there is a little something of substance that really stands out in the dish.  That’s how I felt about the shrimp.

2. Spanish Pisto; Roasted Eggplant, Squash, Onions, Peppers and Herb Infused Olive Oil

Oh, this was SO good.  The vegetables were all roasted and so they had almost a light smokey flavor…no, that wasn’t it.  Like, fired?  I guess “roasted”.  Anyway, the herbs in the olive oil really stood out and gave this a great flavor, but left it feeling really light.  I thought that the eggplant was the star of this dish.  It was a perfect texture and really held the flavor of the oil.  Since the sun was still in the sky for this course, this was another great dish for a warm evening.

3. Serrano Manchengo; Prosciutto, Roasted Garlic, Piquillo Peppers, Shaved Manchengo Cheese, on Toasted Bread with a touch of Olive Oil

OMG, this course.  Ok, so, at first I wasn’t sure about eating the prosciutto because I usually just stick with chicken and fish, but this was SERIOUSLY incredible. (Full disclosure: This photo was the additional version Jaret made for the picture…and I totally ate it.  And didn’t feel an ounce of guilt.)  I cannot say enough good things about this amazing little open faced sandwich of deliciousness.  The cheese was a really distinct flavor that was strong enough to stand up to the prosciutto and the red pepper were a great texture with the toasted bread.  When I ate my second helping, I had to do it near the kitchen because I knew everyone around me at the table would have been insanely jealous.  (Or at least I like to think so…)

 

4. Seafood Paella, Saffron Rice, Spicy Chorizo Sausage, Roasted Peppers with Mussels, Shrimp, and Scallops

It was a good thing the sun went down, because this dish was served warm and it was pretty spicy too.  The seafood was really good and the rice was perfectly cooked.  I really liked the saffron flavor and thought it worked well with the spiciness of the sausage.  I just had a little bit of the chorizo because it was pretty hot, but luckily there was a lot of seafood in my dish, so every bite was “a good bite”!  I even ate the mussels.

House Made Churros Fried Pastry Dough, Cinnamon Sugar and Chocolate Fudge Sauce

I mean, can you really go wrong with a Churro?  I don’t think so, but some are obviously better than others!  These came out still a little bit warm and were the perfect end to our culinary tour of Spain.  Inside, the dough was soft and tasted like warm vanilla, and the outside had just a little bit of crunch under the sugary coating.  I usually don’t like whipped cream, but I found myself dipping my Churros into the dollop and  making sure to enjoy every bit of that chocolate drizzle.  (I’m thinking I should have taken a picture of the plate after I finished.)

So, yet another awesome dinner at Lure Bistro!  As always, I will rank the dishes in order from my most favorite to …also really good.  I would have to say 3, 3, 2, 4, 5, 1.

Next months theme is “Health Nut” which I am pretty excited about.  No matter what they make, it is always something new and often flavors that I would never think to make on my own.  I suspect that Health Nut will be no different. The options are limitless with that, and there are so many ingredients that could be used!  I cannot wait to see the menu and eventually get to write about it!  OH!  And, more exciting that June’s dinner…is July’s!

Why you might wonder?  Well, for the past 2 years, during the time around my birthday, I have gotten to be part of the planning process for a dinner theme.  This year, we talked about doing an “Around the World” party and I think the menu is already being thought out.  Without giving any specific details on the courses, here are the countries I think will be represented:  Italy, England, Greece, Japan, and France.

Everyone is invited, so as soon as I know exactly which Monday in July it will be, I will send out “Save the Dates”…or at least post it on here for anyone who wants to come!

Really, It’s Been Too Long.

For heaven’s sake…it’s been almost a month! My bad.

Here is the thing.  You know when you have a really good friend that you used to talk to all the time…and then, somehow, a little bit of time passes and you realize that you have SO much to get caught up on.  So then you think: well, I want to wait until I have some real amount of time to get to sit down and really talk.  But, then you just never seem to get make that time…or you don’t have that time at the same time they do.  Then, more time has passed and it seems like the time you would need to really cover everything that been going on would be a REALLY long time.  Which is daunting.  That’s how I feel about this.

Because now, its been almost a month since I posted and there is quite a bit to discuss.

And that is why it’s taken me so very long to post.  Because I keep having all these things I want to write about, and then I don’t make the time, and now, I feel like I have so much to talk about that I don’t know where to start!

First, I should “announce” that I just started a new job and so far, I am loving it.  I am working at an advertising agency in Akron as a Strategic Planner.  Nestle is the client that I am doing most of my work for, and you would be amazed at how many brands they own.

Seriously, it’s NUTS.

Just to name a few…

I spent most of my first week training in Chicago, and felt like I had found my dream job.  Days passed quickly as wew had meetings about branding, consumer behavior, and target markets for new car models.    Life in the Akron office is great too.  I am learning a lot about shopper marketing (which, I am quickly realizing, is very different from consumer marketing).  The hour commute each way is a little frustrating, but a slew of audiobooks are helping me feel like its not necessarily “time wasted”.

While it is taking some serious getting used to this 6 AM wake-up call, I love what I am doing so far (fingers crossed).  I was so enthusiastic about my position that I called my mom from Chicago and asked her to remind me how happy I was in that moment when I started to feel overwhelmed by work.  I am sure it’s going to start happening soon; things are starting to get a little hectic.  BUT, I am going back to Chicago this Thursday for a Story Telling Workshop that should be really helpful with understanding my role a bit more.

Hello Chicago. Looks like we’re going to be seeing more of each other.

Also, working at this job is beginning to feel akin to living with the witch from Hansel and Gretel.  It seems like everyday there is something so delicious to eat, I swear it is a covert mission to test my dieting will-power.  Maybe not everyday, BUT, let’s talk about this week, for example.

Wednesday: All company meeting followed by a massive pizza party in the main conference room.  (Salad served too.)

Thursday: Arrive at work to discover that it is “omelet day” in the office.  Fresh, made to order, AND they had egg whites and olive oil spray for the pan.  Egg white omelet with tomato, red and green peppers, spinach and feta?  Don’t mind if I do!

Friday: This took the cake!  And the cookies and pie!     FIRST, the morning started off with a little birthday party for Amanda.  Juice, doughnuts, muffins, fruit, and…a pinata.  THEN, it was the company-wide Cinco de Mayo party!  Complete with a VERY full bar, everything you could want for a burrito/taco/enchilada fiesta, and TONS of chips and salsas, and at least 8 Mexican themed desserts.  I tried not to over indulge, but did make an awesome salad using the vegan taco filling made with lentils.  AND THEN, at about 4:00, I was invited to a party celebrating the Kentucky Derby.  Complete with mint juleps and a chocolate bourbon pie. See what I mean?  It’s like an environment of self-sabotage.

This was at 10:00 AM…so much more was contributed by noon. And it was all gone by 2:30.

So, despite this crazy menu of lunches and gatherings, I am still making time for running and working out.  Although, I still cannot bring myself to run in the mornings.  Sleep always seems to take priority at 5:45 AM… My friend Ashley said that she started morning running by doing a tiny bit each day at first.  Like, even if she just went for 10 minutes, that was a start.  I really need to try that.  I have a race that I am training for, and it is SO close that I cannot afford to take too many days off.  I thought about running during my lunch break, but I don’t want to be that weird girl who is always changing the bathroom stall.

Anyway, speaking of races!

I ran the Cleveland 10 Miler!

And here is the medal to prove it!

For some reason, I didn’t really get nervous about this race.  I had only run 10 miles once before, but I told myself that I could rest at Mile 6 if I needed to stretch, and I was in no hurry.  I figured, it I am not planning on coming in 1^st (or 2^nd, or 3^rd), then worrying too much about speed would just distract me.  I would just consider it another long run on a Saturday.

The night before the race, weather was predicted to be in the high 40s, with rain all morning.  I planned my outfit accordingly, but because its Cleveland, I had two extra shirt options in case the weather decided to turn in either direction.  My dad asked me to text him a picture of my outfit so he knew what to look for at the finish line.

Can you find me?

The race ended up being awesome.  It was a cool morning, but actually great for running.  I started off at a pretty slow pace, but mostly because I was in this GIANT crowd of people.  It was totally fine though.  I was in a really good mood. Seriously, the positive, friendly energy of races (at least when you’re not vying for 1^st), is exhilarating.  Everyone is smiling like they’ve seen each other before; there is this little bond among all these people who don’t really know anything about one another.  I just love it.

The race was mostly an out and back route, so when I saw the first guy backtracking, I started to get so excited for the really fast runners! Soon after that guy, I saw my friend from yoga zoom by.  She is REALLY fast, and I still am not sure if she placed.  I bet she did!

An Official Race Photo

When I reached the point where we turned back, I started to speed up a little, but tried to keep a pace that I could maintain for a few miles.  When I hit the 6th mile, I felt great and didn’t worry about stopping…or eating the Peanut Butter GU I had brought along.  I had made a playlist for the run, and as I listened to a song from the Tarzan soundtrack, I wondered what all the people around me we listening to.  That became a fun game for a few miles.

In case you’re wondering…Don’t judge though.

When I got to the last mile, I decided to push myself and run as fast as I could.  I had no idea what time it was, but I liked the idea of picking people to pass, and trying to make that happen.  I finished the race with Train’s Drive By playing and saw my dad just before the finish line.

Seconds before the finish line! I’m SO happy.

I finished the race in 1 hour, 27 minutes, 51 seconds. Which is roughly 8:48/mile…which is probably the fastest I have ever run.  EVER! (I placed 61/178 in my age group)  I’m telling you, it’s the energy and excitement of everyone around.

I was SO happy with my time that it inspired me to set an official time goal for the Cleveland Half.  (I hope I don’t regret doing that later!)  Sub-2.  I really think that if I keep up my training and pace myself, I will be able to finish 13.1 miles in under 2 hours.

Mantra.

And if I don’t…well, I will still have finished my first half marathon.  There will always be next time.

I have so much more to write about, and I probably will later today…or tonight.  Or tomorrow…

I’ll be more on top of things, I swear!

Thanks for reading!  And being patient with my procrastinating!

Achin’ for Bacon

As a giant contrast to my post about running, I thought I would write about eating.  And not just any meal.  The monthly wine dinner that I go to with my mom!

As I excitedly mentioned when I posted about the Cheese themed wine dinner last month, April’s dinner at Lure was titled “It’s All About the Bacon”, and not only did it totally live up to its name, it did not disappoint!

But really, who doesn’t love Bacon?  Except vegetarians, and I bet even they like tofu bacon.

Let’s get right down to it, shall we?

Before we get to the food (which is really the important part), I should note that each course is paired with a glass of wine.  I am not going to write about the wines because, despite being told week after week about them, I still consider myself a complete neophyte.  But, here are the wines, in order that they were served.

And now for the food!

1. P.L.T.: Pancetta, Lettuce, Herb & Garlic Roasted 5-Hour Tomatoes, with Baconnaise, on a fresh challah roll.

Ok, so it was a toss-up between this course and the last for my favorite, but this was seriously incredible.  I was planning on leaving parts behind in an effort to save some calories, but I couldn’t put this little slider down!  Really, I think the bread might have pulled the sandwich together; it was light, buttery, and SO fresh.  But, it totally held up to the thick slices of pancetta and the delicious tomatoes.  Actually, the tomatoes were really exquisite.  They had such an unique flavor, and were almost a little sweet which was a great contrast to the “baconnaise”.

Everyone at the dinner was practically silent while we ate these, and when Adam (the sommelier/host) came in to ask our thoughts, we all agreed this should be a permanent fixture on the Happy Hour menu!

2. Bacon Cheddar Vichyssoise: Rich Blend of Applewood Smoked Bacon, Idaho Potatoes, Tillamook Sharp Cheddar, topped with Sour Cream and Crispy Bacon

I am not always a fan of cheese soups, but this soup was REALLY good.  I think I would have liked it served with a slice or two of whole grain bread.   You could really taste the sharp cheddar in the soup and the bits of bacon and sour cream made it like a gourmet baked potato soup.  At other wine dinners, we have had other potato soups, but I think this one has been my favorite.

3. Pork & Beans: BBQ Braised Pork Belly, Slow Cooked French Style Bean Cassoulet, topped with Crispy Fried Shallots

I was hesitant about this course because I am sometimes wary of foods that I consider “too close to the source”.  I don’t really eat chicken or fish with bones, and when it comes to “peel-and-eat shrimp”, COUNT ME OUT.  So, when I read pork “belly”, I was a little unsure.  BUT, I dove in fork-first and was pleasantly surprised!

Admittedly, my piece of meat had a substantial layer of fat that I cut off, but the pork itself was tender and the BBQ sauce was delicious.  I especially loved the fried shallots and, even though I am not sure what a Cassoulet is, the beans paired well with the pork.  My mom really liked the cassoulet too and I found out Tim, one of the chefs, had 3 servings! 

4. Chicken Fried Bacon: Extra Thick Cut Bacon, Dredged in Peppered Flour, Deep-Fried, Served with Homemade Andoule Sausage Gravy

This course is a staple at the bacon dinners, and it seems to be a hit with most of the crowd.  I can see the appeal, because I mean, really…fried bacon, right?  Sadly, the last time I ate this course, it gave me a stomachache so I just tried a little bite this time around.  The peppered flour is really good and the gravy was the perfect amount of spicy, but this is a really heavy course to have a lot of.  I felt bad not finishing this course, but I also wanted to save room for the last course…which I was anxiously anticipating from the first time I read the menu over a month ago!

5. 6AM Special: Cinnamon Spiced Belgium Waffle, House Made Candied Bacon Ice Cream and Maple Caramel Syrup

This was SO worth the wait.  In terms of the savory dishes, the PLT was by far my favorite, but this dessert was in a league all its own!  Honestly, I would have eaten 23 2-3 of these if they would have served them to me.  The cinnamon in the waffle was strong, but in a GREAT way.  Personally, I love cinnamon, so it was wonderful that you could taste it with the ice cream.  And speaking of the ice cream, Oh my God.  Adam said he was trying to convince Jaret (the executive chef and owner of Lure Bistro) to mass produce this and sell it.  If this happened, I would probably hoard pints in my freezer.  The bacon in the maple flavored ice cream was sort of like pecans, only 15x better and the ice cream itself was not too creamy.  I know that sounds weird, but I don’t like when ice cream is too much like custard; it doesn’t seem cold enough.  This course was also served with a sparkling wine that was a little bit dry, but it paired well and made this seem dessert even more special.

Here is my ranking of the courses, favorite first:  1/5, 3, 2, 4

I was so glad that my mom was able to come to this dinner, because everything was SO good and it would have been too sad to just try and describe it!  I just wish that Wendy didn’t live so far away!  I know she would have enjoyed every single bite!

 

Double Digits

This past Saturday, my training plan suggested that I run 8 miles, but I decided to push myself a little more and go for 10 since Kirsten was running in the Metroparks and I have learned to love running with friends! (I am still getting used to the no music thing, but as long as there is conversation, I do alright.  I just don’t think I could run 5+ miles with just my thoughts spinning in my head.) Anyway, 10 miles seemed a little daunting since my longest run before this was 7.2 miles, but it ended up being AMAZING.

Just look how happy! And this was AFTER the run!

The weather was pretty beautiful; sunny with a constant breeze.  Kristen wore a tank-top and shorts, which I am pretty sure I would have been FREEZING in. (Note my long-sleeves!)  There were a lot of other people out running Saturday, so it was nice to get to say hello as we crossed paths with them.  We even ran into a friend who works at Harmony Yoga Studios!

We only stopped a few times to check the map, eat some GU, and walk up a GIANT hill.  Otherwise, we kept a nice pace and chatted for the entire run.  I have to say, I was really glad that I brought along my new handheld water bottle, because even just a few little sips every few miles totally revived me.  (I need to remember to bring an extra bottle of water in the car though, because I was SO thirsty at the end and the drinking fountains had not been turned on yet!)

The time went by pretty quickly, and I am not actually sure how long we ran, but I know it was less that 2 hours.  Kirsten has a Garmin watch that beeps at each mile, so she would shout out THREE, FOUR, FIVE, etc, as we hit each mark.  When she yelled “NINE”, I started to realize how tired I was getting, but I just kept running and never felt so happy at the end of a run.  Happy, not because it was over, but because I DID IT!!!

My first double-digit run!  Half-marathon, here I come!!

After the run, we drove back to my apartment and went to check out the insane staircase in the woods near my apartment.  I swear, running up them, it seems like there are 1000 steps, although, in reality, its probably like 200.  We only went down one level (for some snazzy FB profile pictures!), and hiking up them after the run proved to be a bit of a challenge.

Still SUPER happy!

My goal is to run up the entire staircase without stopping one day.  I will also try to get a picture that does justice to the stairs, so you can see why it would be quite an accomplishment.

After having such an awesome workout, I had to rush home and get cleaned up for a wedding downtown.  It was for a family friend and it was held at the Cleveland Courthouse, which was absolutely beautiful.   To give a quick overview, the ceremony was short, but very sweet, and the food was great!  The family owns a Japanese hibachi/sushi restaurant, so there was PLENTY of sushi options and I was not shy about trying just about everything.  After all, I had just run 10 miles.

Brad, Laura, and Me...dancing the night away!

Sunday, I slept in, went to a yoga class where I couldn’t clear my head, and didn’t run AT ALL.

Because, did I mention?  I ran 10 miles the day before! 

—

This is my last week of freedom before I start my new job at an ad agency (which I will write about sometime soon), so I am trying to get in as much yoga and running as I can.  Seriously, I think that I have something like 13 classes and 30 miles scheduled for this week.  I know that it seems a little crazy, but I know that when I start working, I will not have the opportunity to go to classes during the day, and I will likely be exhausted and not really in the mood to “run for fun”.

But, I am going to try and be flexible and just relish in the times when I can make it to a class, and really, seriously, try to get myself up in the mornings to run.  I honestly doubt that will happen, but I also never (EVER) thought I would be training for a half-marathon, and just look where I am now.

100 Miles?

Once again, I have found myself very behind on my blogging.  BUT, alas, here I am with a new post.  And, in terms of working out, its going to be a good one.

So, during February and March, I continued to run pretty often, and I was doing a good job in increasing my mileage and keeping up with my yoga classes.  However, I didn’t reach my goal of 100 miles for either month.  At first I was sort of angry with myself because I had done so well in January, but then I remembered: LET GO.

In a lot of a yoga classes, the instructors remind us to let go of things that are either beyond our control, or that “don’t serve us”…  (Side note: I really love the idea of “what doesn’t serve you” and try to think about it all the time.  When I have something that doesn’t bring something positive into my life, I do my best to just let it go.  It’s really helped change my perspective on a lot of things. Including stressing about not running 100 miles EVERY month of the year.)

Not that I've been doing it wrong, per se...

That said, I decided that instead of worrying so much about past month’s “failures”, I would instead be proud of what I had done in February and March, and just keep running.  After all, the reason that I set the 100 mile/month goal was just to make sure I didn’t slack off in reaching 1000 miles in 2012.  So, really, I think it will all work out just fine.

As we speak, I am getting nervous excited because I am meeting my friend Kirsten to go on a 10-mile run in the North Chagrin Reservation.  Since I officially signed up for the Cleveland Half Marathon (OMG!!) and the Cleveland 10 Miler, I decided that not only did I need to really commit to my run, but I also should start following some type of training plan.

Most daunting "Continue" click EVER.

The plan that I am following actually doesn’t seem all that intimidating.  There are a lot of 4-5 mile runs during the week, and then usually one long run on Sundays.  Although, I will probably end up adjusting the days because Saturdays are easier for me to take the time for a longer run.   I have been trying to be smarter about my running too.  I have been eating more protein and drinking a lot of water and I definitely notice a difference.  Also, I decided it was time to try out this GU everyone keeps talking about.

My latest haul from the running store.

Kirsten always writes about the Peanut Butter flavor, so today is the day!  I am going to try it and see if it really is all that it’s cracked up to be.  (I also got Vanilla and Chocolate to try, just in case.)  And then there are the trusted Sport Beans recommended by Amanda, and she is totally right – Watermelon is probably the best flavor!  Finally, take note of my fancy new handheld water bottle.  Really, I am not thrilled about this because I like running with as little as possible, but considering I have 10 miles ahead of me, I am sure I will want to hydrate at some point.  And while the Chagrin River is nice to look at, I am not sure I want to get in touch with nature and kneel to sip from a stream.  Ew.

Pretty though, right?

Anyway, today is going to be a day with a lot of small firsts.  First time running with a water bottle, first time trying GU, and the big one, first time running 10 miles (although, if I go 8, I will be thrilled).  My schedule calls for 8, but Kirsten has 10 to run, so I am going to try to do it too!  We’ll see how it goes.

In the meantime, feel free to “ooo and ahhh” at my awesome dinner I made the other night.  It was delicious and I was SO excited to have made salmon for myself…at home.  That was a first too.

Baked Salmon with dill, roasted kale, and a mixture of brown rice, quinoa, and white kidney beans. All this goodness for only 10 WW points! Awesome.

Well, Kirsten just texted that she was on her way.  Here goes nothing!

Film Festival Recap

I am posting about my day just because I am really proud of myself!

I had a great workout day: Lisa’s Power Vinyasa Class, a 6.15 mile run, and then Natalie’s Power Class in the evening.

I know that might seem like a lot, but I literally did NOTHING physically active all weekend.  Unless you count walking between movie theaters during the film festival…but, I doubt that even burned off 10% of the dinner I had at Barley House.  I will say though, that despite seeing 5 movies at the film festival, I did not indulge in ONE piece of popcorn.

Who was the smart crazy gal who filled her purse with Ziploc baggies of strawberries, cheerios, pretzels, and apple slices (and maybe a handful of Nips!)?  ME!!

(Not so) guilty pleasure.

So, this was my first adventure to the Cleveland International Film Festival, and it could not have been any better.  I went to 5 movies in one day, and they were all absolutely wonderful.  The VERY quick overview of what I saw (with my “grade”:

The Hollywood Complex: Insightful and hilarious documentary following families of children trying to make it big in Hollywood. (B+)

SuperThief: Documentary about Paul Christopher; a legendary burglar from Cleveland involved in one of the biggest bank heists in history. (B)

Jamie and Jessie are Not Together: Romantic comedy/unexpected musical about the unrequited love triangle involving two roommates. (B-)

Come As You Are: Absolutely wonderful story about 3 male friends with disabilities on a quest to lose their virginity, where they end up learning more about life than they expected. (A++)

10% Shorts: A series of six short films dealing with gay rights and transgender issues.  Some were better than others, but it was a good mix of funny, thought-provoking, insightful, and touching. (B+)

Anyway, I want to give a very special thanks to my friend Mark, who works at CIFF and got my tickets, and to Jim, who joined me for the afternoon and evening movies…and treated me to dinner.

Thanks Jim and Mark!!

Now, back to my workout!  I was SO excited for Lisa’s class this morning, and it was the perfect start to the day since I spent LITERALLY all of yesterday sitting down.  It felt so good to stretch and get my body moving!  After class I went with my friend Patti for Starbucks and then decided that since I took the weekend off, I needed to get out for a run! After I came home, made lunch, and rested for a bit.

I ran for 60 minutes and took myself on a totally new route!  Just like in yoga classes, it was really great to go OFF auto-pilot and take in some new scenery.  To be honest, parts of my run were placed I’ve gone before, BUT, I ran those parts “backwards”…does that make sense?  Hope so.

After my run, Laura came over and we went to another yoga class and my housemate Jessie came too!  It was Jessie’s first time doing yoga, and she was a rockstar!  It was Natalie’s power class, so the room was heated and there was a lot of movement, but she was great!  Jessie is a dancer and has done a lot of Pilates and other workouts, but still…first yoga class is always exciting!  And she is coming with me to class on Wednesday too!

After class, the three of us came home and I made a new recipe for dinner that turned out to be a hit!  Whole wheat pasta, roasted kale, grilled chicken and sauteed cherry tomatoes!  It was delicious AND very WW friendly!

Check out my grown-up cooking skills!

Plus, I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow! Speaking of tomorrow, here is my plan:

John’s Power Class, Afternoon (Shorter) Run, Molly’s Yoga Sculpt!  Hope I do everything I plan!  I’ll let “you” know! 

Feeling Crafty

So, I finally joined the world of Pinterest recently and while my “boards” are still pretty bare, I am determined to use the site to try new things.  Recipes, organization plans, beauty tips, and crafts.

First, I decided to embark on a very mature, totally classy nail polish adventure.

PANDAS!!!

Super cute, right?  They took sort of awhile to finish, but I think it was totally worth it.  Also, getting the detail on my left hand was MUCH more challenging than the right (I’m left handed…) but with a few tries, I got them all to look relatively normal. (In case you want to replicate these, here’s the how-to.)

Next on the list was this amazing melted crayon artwork that I saw.

The "Professional" Example

There are a bunch of tutorials on YouTube that show you how to make these, but it really was fairly easy.  Having patience was the most challenging part.

I worked on this project with my friend/past-tutee/almost-brother Andrew, and while I tried to follow the example pretty precisely, Andrew tried his own color pattern and they both turned out AWESOME…at least in my opinion.

I remembered to take this picture AFTER I finished the gluing part.

First, you hot glue the crayons to the top of a canvas in the pattern you want them. Our canvases were 24″x20″, so I used about 4 crayons of each color to make sure it covered the entire length of the canvas.

Not one crayon out of place. Even the labels were all facing the right direction. The perfectionist in me was VERY happy.

Note Andrew's NEON color scheme! Wait until you see the final results!

After you get the crayons glued in the order that you want, you just have to use a blow dryer to melt the crayons and allow them to drip down the canvas.  Don’t forget to put down newspapers and to wear clothes that you don’t mind getting a little wax on…just in case. Surprisingly, this wasn’t nearly as messy as I’d expected, but there were still a few stray wax splatters than made their way onto the garage floor.  (None got on my clothes though – thank goodness!!)

Let the blow-drying begin!

The melting part took a lot longer than I expected.  Plus, it didn’t help that we kept blowing a fuse.  Andrew had to run down to the basement about 5 12 times to flip the switch in the fuse box, but that didn’t deter us!

Trying to get the right angle...

I think Andrew's blow-dryer was hotter than mine...or perhaps he just has more patience than I do.

Overall, I think from start to finish (including the fuse box issues…) the project took about 2 1/2 hours.  We both were really happy with how our pieces turned out and I am really excited to hang mine up in my apartment.  Andrew and I kept rotating our canvases to figure out which way they would look best and we decided that not hanging them in the way we made them would actually look cooler.

I wish that I would have gotten a close-up of Andrew’s too, but hopefully you can get the idea of his from the above shot.  The coolest part of his was that a bunch of his crayons were totally hollowed out!  There were just waxy wrappers sort of floating on the canvas.

Picture Perfect!

So, mine might not be quite as melty or swirly as the example that I found online, but I really like how it came out.  What is even cooler is that if I really wanted, I could keep working on it, and remelt more parts of it, but I think I will leave it as is.  I suspect that if I messed around too much, I would end up doing something to ruin it and then feeling frustrated.

Instead, I think that I will just try making more of these…get ready family and friends; you might be getting some homemade presents for the next gift-giving occasions.  GET EXCITED!! 

If I am feeling adventurous, and after I get a little better aiming the direction of the drips, I want to try to make something like this:

AMAZING, right?!

Overall, I am pretty happy with Pinterest right now!  I plan on continuing to get fun ideas from the site and I will try to post the ones that turn out to be successful.  Although, as I finish this post, I realize that I have sort of lost sight of writing about my workouts and my weight loss goals.

To be clear, I have been pretty diligent about going running at least 4-5 times a week, and earlier this week I had my furthest run at 7.3 miles! OH!  And did I mention yet that I finally reached the Nike+ Green Level?  I was really excited about this; although, now I have like 400 miles before I get to Blue.

Green > Yellow

Also, I have still been going to a power yoga class almost every day.  Sadly, I haven’t been as good about keeping track of my eating, but I am promising myself to get back on track with that tomorrow.  Or Monday.

Tomorrow I am going to spend the ENTIRE day (9:00AM-11:30PM) at the Cleveland Film Festival.  I am seeing 4 independent movies, and a series of 6 short films.  Every year I say I am going to go, but this is actually my first time going!!   I cannot wait! Plus, I am going with my friend Jim, whose partner works for the film festival, so it will be nice to go with someone who knows the ropes!

Anyway, back to workout/food posts soon!  Promise.

Whine and Cheese

Ok, so I know that I keep apologizing for being a terrible blogger, and I promise (myself) that I am going to get back on track soon.  Things have been a little crazy in my life lately, and I didn’t want to post anything about the madness until I had some concrete things to say.  For now, I will just continue to mention that there is a new job on the horizon, and when all the papers are signed, I will give every detail I can think of!

In the meantime, I went to another one of my wine dinners and thought I would indulge my readers in a little food fun!

The theme for this tasting was Wine and Cheese, and it did not disappoint!  My mom and I almost always go together, but this week she was out of town for work.  My friend Catherine from work came with me, and we had a great time!  I was really glad that she could come because we don’t get to hang out as often as I would like.

Anyway, everything was amazing, which I am sure you will be able to tell from my overly enthusiastic descriptions of all things cheese!

ONE: Grilled Halloumi Cheese with Sauteed Vegetable Ratatouille, 5 Hour Roasted Tomato, and Paprika Oil

This cheese was INCREDIBLE.  The sommelier, Adam, described the cheese as being “squeeky”, and I didn’t know what to expect until I took a bit.  It was, as he said, “squeeky”, but in the best way possible.  First of all, the cheese itself was grilled, but it was served room temperature, so it wasn’t super melted or stringy.  Instead, it was a really great texture that actually sort of squeeked in your mouth as you chewed.  The vegetables on top were also really good; they had a smoky flavor that paired really well with the cheese and despite being a decent sized piece of cheese, the course was fairly light.

TWO: Puff Pastry Wrapped Triple Cream Brie, Topped with Roasted Pecan Caramel Sauce; Served with Granny Smith Apples.

This course was probably my ABSOLUTE favorite.  The topping was a little bit sweet, and I thought it would have been better as the dessert, but it has my vote to be added to Lure’s permanent menu.  The cheese was some of the best brie I have ever had, and the pastry was super light and buttery!  (Certainly not Weight Watchers friendly, but I try not to think about points at wine dinners…)

THREE: Fresh Herb Chevre with Vine Ripened Red and Yellow Tomato Concasse tossed in Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

So, that little green ball is actually herb crusted goat’s cheese…and the little cup it is served in is totally edible.  I actually only had a little bite of it, but the goat cheese was really good and the herbs added a great flavor.  It almost tasted…clean?  The meal initially started off with this great grainy bread, and I wished that I would have saved a few pieces to have with the goat cheese.  Not that the little pieces of toast weren’t great, but I always prefer a more hearty bread.  Always.

FOUR: Smoked Mozzarella Ravioli; 6 Hour Chianti Braised Shortrib, Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce, Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

You might be wondering where the braised shortrib is in this picture.  I don’t eat red meat, and so the amazing chefs at Lure always make a special course for me when there is beef as part of one of the dishes.  From what I hear, the sauce was really good; some people said it was their favorite course, but I didn’t miss it at all.  The ravioli were really good, and I actually think a heavy topping might have taken away from the smoked mozzarella.  You could really taste the red pepper in the pasta though, and that went really well with the smokiness of the cheese.

FIVE: Marscarpone Cheesecake Topped with Fresh Berry Compote and Vanilla Bean Creme Anglais

This cheesecake was SO good.  I don’t even like cheesecake and I was literally scraping my plate clean with my fork.  First of all, I don’t even know what “Anglais” is, but it was DELICIOUS and I actually asked them to bring me a little extra to pour all over my piece (post-photo).  They brought enough that everyone at our table was able to drown their slice with the heavenly topping!  The cake itself was not too sweet, and the texture was so light and creamy that it really didn’t taste anything like a traditional cheesecake.  Plus, the berries were just tart enough that they were a perfect compliment to the dessert.

Here is how I would rank the courses: 2, 1, 5, 4, 3 (All of them were great though, so even the “last place” isn’t really a bad spot to be in…)

Overall, this might have been one of my favorite themes of a wine dinner. (But really, can you ever go wrong with cheese?  I dont think so.)   Nothing will beat the “Breakfast for Dinner” that was one of the first I’d ever attended, but this one ranks pretty near the top.  The next dinner is centered around BACON, which they have done before, but with different dishes and different wines.  Everyone loves bacon, so I am sure it will end up being a full house.  That dinner is planned for the Monday after Easter, so I will be sure to post pictures of the fancy ways Chef Jaret interprets a bacon themed dinner!

Shamrock Run!

So, as I mentioned, I am a little behind in my posting , BUT, I do have a fairly good excuse.  For the past two weeks I had been having some issues with my kidneys, and when I FINALLY took myself to the ER, I found out that I have had a stone blocking my left kidney for some time now.  Luckily, it isn’t anything too serious, but I have to take a lot of medicine in an effort to dissolve the stone…otherwise, I might have to have it surgically removed.

Honestly, I am not worried about having the surgery, but it does seem like a MAJOR inconvenience.  I already had to take a week off from running, and to have surgery would probably really mess up my schedule.  Total bummer.  Especially because I am not actually even in*that* much pain.  I’m just hoping the medicine does the trick!

Anyway, enough about that; I want to write about the Shamrock Run that I did last weekend!  I mentioned signing up for it a few weeks ago, and it came much more quickly than I anticipated!  Apparently, I had the kidney stone throughout the run, but I was so excited that I didn’t let it get in my way!!  I am like Wonder Woman!

Heather, Margaret, and Me: Ready to RUN!!!

I was really nervous going into it, but the run ended up being INCREDIBLE!  Some friends assured me that once the race started, my nerves would disappear and the excitement of being in a crowd of runners would give me all the energy I needed.

They weren’t kidding!

Despite the fact that it was freezing out, and the winds were recorded at 30-40 mph (with 60-70 mph gusts!), I finished the race in 39 minutes and 55 seconds!  It was supposed to be an 8K (4.97 miles), but because a telephone pole blew over, they course was cut short to 4.5 miles.  Still though…pretty fast time!

Post Race Smiles!

So, just to give some more highlights of the run, I am going to do this “photo essay” style!

My first shoe chip! That little white disc tracked my time when I crossed the finish line!

The finish line that had to be held down by groups of men because the wind was blowing SO hard!!

Even without cell phones, our group managed to find each other when we finished!! Bundled up and SO excited!

Overall, I give the race a 10/10!  Although, I dont really have anything to compare it to.  But, for a first race, things couldn’t have gone better.  Actually, that is a lie.  I could have done without the high winds and bouts of horizontal flying snow!  But, whatever.  It was awesome.  I finished a little before Margaret, but backtracked on the course until I saw her.  When I did, I ran back and we held hands and ran the last stretch of the race together!  It was wonderful and I am so glad we did it together.   Margaret also ran a great race, AND!,  she is going to sign up for the Cleveland Half Marathon with me!

Who would have ever thought we would be able to call ourselves "RUNNERS"!? I am SO proud of how far we have come!

P.S.  See those sweet jackets we are wearing?  Fleece lined AND/OR reversible.  Those were our gift for signing up for the Shamrock Run.  Pretty awesome gift if you ask me…usually it seems like people get t-shirts.  They weren’t kidding with those jackets.  And I was SO happy Margaret’s husband Brian brought mine for me after the race because my running apparel was NOT enough to keep me warm.

Anyway, a few other things about the race worth mentioning.  Near the start of the course, there was a giant bridge that we needed to cross over, and as I saw the mass of people ahead of me, and then glanced behind me to see even more runners, I got a little bit emotional.  I mean, I wasn’t full-on sobbing or anything, but I just felt this amazing sense of accomplishment for both myself and Margaret, and it was cool getting to be part of something so big.  Even though we couldn’t find ourselves in any of the major group shot.

 

Also, throughout the course, there were placed where volunteers were passing out cups of water (and little tiny cans of Coors Light).  I wasnt actually that thirsty, but I grabbed a cup, took a little sip, and threw my cup to the side of the road like the people in front of me had done.  I must say, I felt pretty bad-ass doing that!  Silly, I know.  But, whatever.

So yeah, that is my race re-cap!  Awesome time with awesome friends.  We already decided to do it again next year…where we are totally going to go all out with the green attire.

Not like this guy though...he was just crazy.

 

Top Chef

Ok, so, I am realizing that I am the worst blogger ever.  I have all these things that I know I need to write about, and then I forget to, and then the thought of posting about EVERYTHING just seems overwhelming.  So, I am going to post several posts tonight.  I wanted to write a few shorter posts instead of one giant one, because I have a lot of topics to cover and it seemed easier to categorize them.  The first will be about my adventures in new recipes.

A few weekends ago Laura came over while I was on duty and we decided to try making Kale Chips.  Fair warning: I have become addicted to these and have made them about 6 times since our initial effort.  The process is incredibly simple, but I will outline in with photos.

Tear Kale into bite sized pieces and rinse.

Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder before laying it out on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes; check to make sure they're crunchy. (Add a few minutes if necessary.)

 

ENJOY this delicious and healthy snack!

Seriously, it was amazing and even the boys in the dorm loved it.  I think that I am going to try making it using some other seasonings in the future, but honestly, you cannot go wrong with a little salt and pepper.

My other cooking adventure was a twist on something my mom was telling me about.  I really like those little cinnamon red hot candies, AND I love apples.  So, I decided to make my own cinnamon apple concoction.  It was also very easy to make and quite delicious.  I am sure the candies aren’t super healthy per se, but they are with apples, so I think I get a pass.

So, I will confess that I forgot to take a picture of the final product, but I also will confess that it isnt really as pretty as it is tasty.  Basically, you just add the red hots a bowl of apple chunks and microwave for about 2-3 minutes.  Let them cool and enjoy!  Really good, and really simple.  (I also tried making a batch where I didnt peel the apple first…its worth taking the time to do so.  Hot apple peels have a weird texture.  Just saying.)

Finally,  I didn’t make this, but I went out to dinner the other week with my friend Max to a Thai restaurant that I love, and I finally got to try the appetizer sampler.  I mostly liked the Chicken Satay, but it was really fun to try all the things I had read about but wouldn’t have ordered independently.

I was sold at "assorted dipping sauces". Fancy condiments make a meal 100x better.

Plus, Max was a great dinner partner, because he liked all the things I was sort of ambivalent about…and he let me have the extra chicken satay.

What a guy!

Coming up next: My first race re-cap and my new job.  I am not sure which is more exciting!