Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Holding Back My Martha....


I hate the feeling of being suspended in mid-air. I normally do almost everything by my own schedule and my own motivation and determination. I try very hard not to depend on anyone for what I do or how I go about my days. That way should something happen then at least my plans aren't interrupted. That said, my Dad, whom I haven't seen in a few years is paying a visit this Easter weekend. Problem is that I have no idea when he is coming nor what kind of plans he had made for our visit.

I would like to figure out the menus and activities for the weekend but find that I can't because I don't have the details. Gahhhh driving me nuts. Really it is. I know that the visit will be stellar I just have that anal retentive drive to have things, just so. Ok so that's a latent Martha trait, isn't it?

Got some housework done today though for the better part I've been sitting here stewing. I'm miserable because I'm on the tail end of a cold. I have no energy and my injury has flared up a little. I need to be careful how I step and running is out right now. I doubt I'll be able to run tomorrow. Now in my miserable veggie-like state I'm looking at my living room thinking it needs to be repainted. I'm putting that on the list of things to do this summer. I'm contemplating a mossy green colour and new drapes. I know the kitchen needs a new coat of paint too so that will get an update at the same time with a coordinated set of colours. Who knows perhaps I'll get the hallway leading upstairs painted too.
Breakfast: The day started with some Stoneyfarm plain yogurt, hemp hearts, a few blackberries, strawberries and blueberries and a nice big wedge of pineapple. I'm actually getting used to yogurt with out any sweetener. This one is nice and buttery (I ran out of my homemade yogurt). Lunch: Black Bean and brown rice & light cheese on a brown rice wrap. Pink grapefruit and some berries & pineapple. Super yum!Dinner: Chicken Parm on roasted potatoes/sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli. A glass of Perrier to wash it down.

I do have an update on the Diet Coke thing. As you know, I gave up my nasty 4 can a day habit in January. At first is was a definite struggle. I never thought I'd find something that took that craving away. I drank Perrier but it was a bitter substitution. Now I drink Perrier because I actually like it. I still like the fizzy. I've had two diet cokes since the end of February and each time I drank it I thought "I'm so over you..." I really am. I just need to find the little plastic bottled Perrier to bring to movie theaters. They don't offer much in the way of options.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Pffft!


Hell yah! What she said! So the neti pot is no longer working. Not that it was much fun by the way. Nothing like that stinging sensation a la "jumping into a pool and having water forced into your sinus cavity feeling".

It is most likely because of the salt I'm using. Large Himalayan salt crystals. You drop a few into a glass of water and they dissolve within the course of 24 hours. Nothing there to buffer the solution. I'm going out tomorrow to hunt for better stuff.

So yah, I'm stuffed up and getting more miserable by the hour. I'm going to whine a lot in the next week. If you like you can totally skip this blog for a while. That's to say if there is actually anyone out there reading it? Is there?

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Revelations and Salutations

Well today was a bit of a sad day. After an early start. Up at 7am for a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal down the hatch before my run with Sheree. The weather chilly and a bit windy, out the door I went. We got 5K in the the 12 and then my injury flared up. It got to the point where lifting my leg in order to take the next step was becoming difficult. We needed to walk nearly another 3K back to the coffee shop to get to our cars. During the long walk back we discussed scaling back and altering our running plans.

I figure it is no longer a good idea to push long distances with an undetermined injury. The earliest I can get in to have it looked at, is late April. I am, however, going to try a friend of the club's tomorrow to see if he can get me in any earlier. No matter because I'm sure that it will take some considerable weeks until I can get back to building distance and by that time I will have missed my training window. So my goal half marathon in late May is now toast. Though if I can get past the injury I'll finish my training and run a half later in the season.

Oddly, I'm actually ok with it. I didn't quit. It never occurred to me to quit. This is not by choice, not in the least. I have decided to change my expectations. I'd rather be able to run 5-10K than not at all. That if I keep pushing myself with the injury to feed my ego I could wind up really doing damage. The good thing about this decision is that because it never occurred to me to quit....I've won. I'm much stronger than I would have thought.

There were some serious times during the last 11 weeks that I wanted very much to keep my butt on the couch or in bed. Especially those days/nights when it was -25C with wind and snow and I went out on my own anyway. No one was watching, or would have known that I'd skipped my run but I went. My determination never wavered.

I will run that race but it will be a 10K not the 21.1K. I'm fine with it. I'm relieved too in a sense. Like I said I had come to a point in the training where it was no longer fun. That I was starting to lose a little of the love for the sport. Training is tough no doubt and I would have finished it but I'm happy that now I have to opportunity to heal and get back to just having fun.

This afternoon I headed over to the Yoga & Nutrition Workshop. A great afternoon. Great nibbles (seriously awesome flat bread made by Kyla!) and a gentle Hatha class. Unfortunately, I missed the Nutrition talk because hubby had to take E. over to the doctor because of his cough. I did win some tea lights! The bad part was that I drank a little too much coffee and have been buzzing ever since.

Starved when I got home. I whipped up some bean & brown rice burritos with some fresh guacamole. I cut up one of my lovely organic red grapefruits to round it out. Yummm and it totally hit the spot. Between the run and the yoga I had only eaten an eggroll. Um, not good nutrition at all.

I'm pooped. Going to put the guys to bed and then go stretch out and inspect the insides of my eyelids. Happy Sunday! No worries, truly I'm not all that upset.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

An Experiment

I have been considering this switch for a while. Not the organic switch but rather allowing someone else to pick out my produce. This is a big thing. As a retired chef giving up "choosing" control is a hard thing. One that I'm not certain I can really do but the prices at the grocery store have been off-putting and the selection is often dismal.

I had heard of them through a girlfriend of mine who said at the time they had just started up. She was less than thrilled with the service. That was some time ago, I understand. Then another girlfriend of mine checked it out and has been receiving deliveries for nearly a year (if I'm not mistaken...wow how time flies). When I asked her if she liked the service she said, indeed, she did.

I figure it couldn't hurt to try it. That's it. That's my post. I'll keep you updated as I am aiming to get my first delivery on Tuesday.

Oh and run club was fun today. I love newbies! They have such great energy. No wonder Sheree gets so much out of coaching them. I'm looking forward to the next 9 weeks with these great new and returning runners.

*edited: Durham Organics was a bad choice. Very unhappy with the service and product.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Kitchen God Smiles

Ok, so if I achieved anything today it was to make the most wonderful bread. Oh heck, I did very little work. All I did manage to do was to take a very, very long shower. Bake bread and put together a slap dash lunch and a much nicer dinner and occasionally entertain a child.

Husband stayed home sick again today. We were all still pretty miserable with the sniffles. My cold has not progressed beyond a itchy-scratchy throat and occasional unproductive cough. I got to work on my bread early because it had been soaking the flour and it was high time I did something with it.

Here are the pictures of my creations today. Beyond that...nothing. Nothing interesting in the slightest. Sorry I'm boring when I'm sick.
Didn't eat breakfast but had an early lunch 10:30-a very large cup of chicken rice soup.My lovelies..... Multigrain Bread fresh from the oven.Ok I did have a nice big slice with some honey on it while it was still warm. I'm sick not crazy.husband took some unflattering pictures of me with the loaves and I sort of gave him hell for not being a better photographer. So this was his answer to my deleting his pics. Those aren't mushrooms...they are my loaves of bread.I also discovered vegan ice-cream. Ok so it's topped with a tsp of almond butter and a sprinkle of dark chocolate chips. That part wasn't Misty approved but then I bet the bread wasn't either.Dinner was hoisin glazed pork roast on a bed of sushi rice and steamed carrots. Several cups of tea later I'm hanging up my freshly washed running gear to dry overnight and I'm calling it a day. Retreating to my bed to read a chapter before bedtime. Setting the alarm clock too because I've got run club pacing in the morning.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

It's that kind of day

We all have colds. We all feel miserable. Nothing much got done today. I would have stayed in bed if there were any way to make that happen (that wouldn't require CAS taking the kids for a minor vacation).

The day started around 7:30 when I realized that hubby was still in bed. I bet he decided to call in sick some where between 11 pm-5am. It wasn't a troubled night. I think we both slept well. Even L. who managed to roll out of bed and scare the bejebus out of himself around 11:30 pm.

I decided to make myself some breakfast right away. Some of the newest batch of homemade yogurt layered with granola and blueberries topped with salba and a few more berries and agave. With a nice tall cup of coffee. I had to make the coffee this morning because hubby was so sick he forgot. I don't fault him for that. He was looking rough.

Nothing much got accomplished today. I did manage a little work then got my ingredients to soak for my multigrain bread that I plan to make tomorrow. The kids were entertained with movies and playdough. I will really need to get them out tomorrow or they'll be jumping around my ears.

Lunch was a simple affair. Leftover chicken soup which was better today then yesterday. I had some pita toasts, hummus and carrots.

Naps were essential today. By 2:30 I could barely keep my eyes open. This not being a good sign considering that I haven't really been napping in the last few weeks and don't find it all that necessary to have one unless I'm feeling ill. I guess the cold is catching up with me.

I could only nap for an hour and got up and stood in a hot shower for a very long time. Nearly human again I set to work to figure out what dinner ought to be. No one had much of an appetite. Oddly I was hungry and to stave off the desire to jump into a bag of chips I ran to the freezer to see what it would yield.

Look-y what I found. Veggie chili! Problem was once I finally got it thawed and heated I didn't have all that much of an appetite any more. Strange. I ate about a third of the bowl and a couple of the chips. Downed two of the juice/Perrier drinks.

Several cups of tea later I'm pondering going back to bed. I've started "Late Nights on the Air" and would like to get it finished before Monday. I still have a few more books on my night stand to finish up.

I also need to sit down once my head isn't so foggy and start planning my next week out. My father has decided to come up for a visit. It's been a very long time since I've seen him last. Nearly two years. I wasn't planning on doing a whole lot for Easter but now I guess that's going to change.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Queen of Procrastination

The plan was that today would be housework day. I don't get too many days that I can set aside to really do the job. Not just piece-meal but from top to bottom. The beginning of the end started with a cup of coffee.

Then another cup of coffee and well...a late breakfast of fried egg on Ezekiel toast with half a broiled organic red grapefruit (one of my new favourite joys).
Really if you haven't broiled a grapefruit, you simply must! Then once I had my breakfast I was going to go and get my laundry and get that ball rolling but then I got stuck in a discussion that lasted at least 40 minutes. When I was done the conversation my guys were ready for lunch.

Once lunch was complete (mine was a small bowl of baked pasta, no picture). I thought now was the time I could get some things done. I quickly tidied up the kitchen and started in on making my yogurt. I quickly threw a double boiler together and got the milk heated and cooled. The starter mixed in and into the incubator (a crockpot insert lined with my heating pad set on high). The top picture in this montage is the double boiler and cooking the milk. Then the yogurt in the white bowl nestled in the heating pad inside the insert ready to incubate. I had place a towel and the crock pot lid over it to help trap in the heat then it sits for at least 6 hours at 108C and a picture of the organic milk I used.

Once it was put together I turned to the rest of my tasks. More kitchen cleaning. Washing the windows again due to wiener snouts. Vacuuming, dusting, laundry, changing the bed linens and scrubbing the floors. For the floors I had a little help. L. had gotten the idea to pick up the tiny scrub brush and help me make the floors wet. He was so cute. He really thought he was helping me. After about five minutes he got bored with helping and trooped off to make a bigger mess in another room.

Once the floors were done I put together my soup. Chicken Vegetable Rice. Once I got it all into the pot and on an even simmer (oh and a watched pot really doesn't boil! gahhh). I took a break. Had an orange and a cup of tea and surfed for a minute or two then got up and packed up some food for hubby to take to his parents. Both are very ill right now and we feared they wouldn't be up to making their own meals.

Dinner was a serving of the soup with some cheese, crackers, hummus and carrots. I shared much of my sides with L., who has had a very bad appetite what with the cold that both boys are sharing right now. I'm afraid they shared it with me too. I can feel it in my lungs right now. I'm munching on Vitamin C and D like there is no tomorrow.

I managed to get at least one load washed and dried. I did fold a couple of other loads that were just sitting in the dryer waiting for me. Grrrrrr! I didn't get the bathrooms or even a thorough job on the kids rooms. There is actually still a rather long list of all the stuff I didn't get to today. I guess I should keep the computer off on days when I've got stuff I really have to do.

I'm just about done the blog for the night which was my last thing to do. Now I think I'll soak in a tub and read my book until I'm sleepy enough to pass out. The nice thing is that although I felt a tweak of my injury last night on the 3K run it really didn't amount to much. No need to medicate, no twinges today. I've made an appointment to have it looked into but I don't see the Doc until late April

Sunday, March 21, 2010

The Long and Short of Sunday

Have you ever noticed that nothing in the world feels quite as good as using a Qtip to scratch an itch in your ear? Confession: I'm totally addicted to Q-tips. That and back scratchers. Something tells me it's too dry in my house but other than leaving out bowls of water there isn't too much that can be done.

Speaking of atmospheric conditions, some how during the night our furnace decided to quit. Yep, woke up at 8 am and it was freezing in the bedroom. Really warm and toasty under the down duvet but it was a scramble to put on a sweater and slippers in order to make it downstairs for coffee.

The fireplace was going and hubby and the kids were bundled up a bit. First thing that hit me was the information that we'd need to get a repair guy out. What a fun way to spend a Sunday. However there is something to be said for good Karma marks. During the fall I had given a girlfriend of mine who was pregnant with her third child a whole wack of baby stuff. It was a lot of stuff, it took two vans to cart it away. I felt guilty at the time because I was so relieved to have it gone-more space for me! No more tripping over stuff that I know I'd never get to use again. Plus the reminder that I'd never be using it again would be exercised from the house like a mischievous ghost.

When that girlfriend found out that our furnace had died she sent her husband over to fix it for us. Then lickety-split within fifteen minutes the furnace roared to life again. We are so grateful. It would have been a costly visit from the repair guy whom we lined up just an hour earlier. The earliest for that appt was 8 am Monday morning, meaning that we'd have to tough out the day and another chilly night before a repair man would even show up.
Now hubby is absolutely adamant that he is going to help Jamie get his deck built this year. He's been talking about little else since. See there really is something to be said about Karma. Sending good intention and good acts out into the world. Even if it seems a benign thing to do. It really does make the world a much warmer place to be.

We are toasty warm! Dear Universe, how may we serve thee?

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Happy First Day of Spring!

It is Spring. Sure it doesn't feel like it now after the week's worth of weather we've just had. But I'm not going to complain. It could be worse. Sure it snowed a little today and sure it's due to snow a little bit tomorrow but so long as there isn't 3ft of fluffy white snow sitting outside waiting for me, I'll be happy with what we have now.

The day started with me floating between coffee and work. Then scarfing down a quick breakfast and taking the gang grocery shopping. Treats were purchased. Easter Egg coloured sugar cookies and new movies. The boys each got a movie and I got my treat. "New Moon".

Came home and put on the Thomas movie for L. and put out some nibble food for the kids. I crammed all the food into its proper place and whipped up a little nibble plate for myself. Carrots and spicy hummus, light cheese wrapped in cooked turkey, watermelon, strawberries and a tiny banana.

No nap for me today. Some how the day escaped our grasp. We watched Astro Boy for a bit then I whipped up a fast dinner. Super Nachos. Ground Turkey, onion, red bell pepper, whole wheat chips, light cheddar, tomatoes, kalamata olives and salsa. With strawberries for dessert. Sorry no pictures of food today.

Now I sit here blogging and yawning. I don't think I'll be watching my movie tonight. I just feel like crawling into bed and finishing the last chapter of my book and turning out the light. Calling it a night. No run tomorrow. I'm feeling pretty cut up about it too. For this last week every time I've seen someone running, especially in all that gorgeous weather I just about wanted to cry. Stupid injury. Ok I'm going to bed (7:25 pm) to feel sorry for myself and read my book.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Relaxing

A pleasant day. Woke early. 6:30. Ok, so that is a lot earlier than I am used to. I just wanted to make sure today that I had plenty of time to make the boys lunches and gather their things and clothes before they got up. I got them fed and out the door and we were actually about five minutes early. While we waited for the Camp to open for the day we sat in the car and watched some chickadees hang out in a bush a few feet away from the Dojo door. You'd be surprised but this gave us so much to talk about. They really kept the boys entertained.

Once they were installed in the Dojo and their attention completely absorbed I returned home. Poured a cup of coffee and whizzed up an Oatmeal Protein Smoothie (yes, the recipe from Misty's page) and pretty much sat down and enjoyed the quiet. It was a good two hours before I realized just how quiet the house was. The dogs were sunning themselves on the deck. The neighbours were out in their drive way sunning themselves on their couch, that incidentally has been placed in their DRIVEWAY!!!! Whenever I look out the window I can hear "dueling banjos" playing in the background. Um so I think you can gather what my opinion of the couch in the drive way might be.

Around 11:30 I headed out to pick up some sushi. It was a nice drive down to my favourite sushi joint. I didn't really enjoy waiting around for my pick-up order given that they told me it would be 20 mins. I left the house at 25 mins past the phone call so that I wouldn't have to wait. I guess my expectations are too high again *snort*

Back at home with sushi in hand I put on a movie "He's just not that into you". I actually own that book. I bought it just after husband and I got married. Most of my friends at the time were still single and I had heard a good deal about the book. I bought it and a light bulb went on. I quickly circulated around my group and I have to say. The pity parties dried up a bit. I sure wish I had gotten my hands on a book like that when I was a teenager. It would have spared me a lot of grief.

The rest of the afternoon was spent quietly vegging until it was time to go and get the kids. The boys were not happy to come home today. They must have been told that it was the last day of Camp because they didn't seem eager to leave until I told them we had to quickly go home and clean up so that we could get daddy so that we could go out for dinner. That perked them up.

The dinner out was disappointing. The kids were great. I enjoyed hubby's company but the meal itself was sad. Though I didn't have much of an appetite because of the sushi but still the food was not good. On the way home L. feel asleep in the car and I carried him upstairs to bed well before 7 pm.

I will be heading up to bed in a few minutes myself. I'd like to finish my book. I'm about 75% through this book and I'd say its a good. A little predictable but then I've got an over active imagination. I'm not often "snuck" up on. The next book on the bedside table is a chicklit book. Swapping Lives by Jane Green. It's like the melon sorbet between courses. Just something to cleanse the palette of the mind. Too many heavy books makes Katie a little blue.

No real plans for the weekend except to take my pruning sheers with me on a family walk through the ravine. I need fresh pussy willow branches to construct this year's Easter Tree. Groceries must be purchased and menus planned. I am also hoping to get some spring cleaning under way by Sunday since there will be no long run. Yes, I am troubled by that but have to let it go. I cannot change what I cannot control.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Just one of those days

Have you ever had one of those days when your thoughts and feelings are not your own? I don't mean that someone has taken over my mind with radio signals, though that would be pretty cool. I wonder if that would hurt? I digress.

Today is one of those days for me. I woke up feeling just fine. I remembered that I had to get the boys up early and fed, dressed, lunches organized and out the door for Karate Camp. After all that was accomplished I just felt lost. A little bummed. Then after spending a little time at Chapters and the Library and coming home to an empty house. Wasting a few minutes on the computer I started feeling ever more bummed.

Then the crazy thoughts start to happen. Sheree calls these the chattering monkey thoughts. The kind that just create so much noise in your brain that it's hard to think of anything constructive. When I get like that and have those thoughts I start to wonder about my self-worth. Just what exactly am I contributing to my kids, husband and friends? Am I valued for what I do contribute or is it all noise? I then took a peak at my calender to see if there was something I was forgetting to do (which would have been expected given that I haven't been able to hold a solid train of thought all week). Yep, it's that week. PMS week.

I swear I think guys have it made. They don't have to deal with the circus of hormones. The invasion of our personalities and energy levels. The way our bodies bloat and cramp. They tread lightly and get barked at certainly but it's nothing compared to our hell.

Part of my weird mood might have been due to the fact that I didn't eat breakfast. I did have two large barista drinks. A decaf cappuccino at the library and a grande decaf non-fat latte from Starbucks. Why? I didn't get the chance to drink my morning coffee so I must have been feeling deprived.

Lunch was a gorgeous huge salad. A mix of organic Italian greens and organic baby spinach. Tomatoes, orange bell pepper, cucumber, Kalamata olives, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, salba and herbed goat cheese with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. I toasted half of a whole wheat pita and put it on the side. So good. Definitely made up for the lack of breakfast and craptacular food I've been eating during my last few days of pity party.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in solitude. Just me and a bit of a Anne Hathaway marathon. First up "Bride Wars" then while I munched on an organic orange and a cup of Sencha I caught most of "Becoming Jane". Hopped in the shower to feel a bit more human (sorta worked) then dashed out to pickup the boys.

I was so happy to see the boys. They never let me feel bad for long. They are just too freak'n cute. When I got to the dojo they were in the big grass lot on the other side of the parking lot. They had out a huge pile of outdoor toys. Hoops, tunnels, balls, frisbees, bubbles. Each child had a huge multicoloured Popsicle. My boys looked like they had been dipped like Easter Eggs. I swear the blue isn't going to come off E.'s face!

Husband decided against Karate tonight so dinner got to be served at a decent hour.

I was supposed to make the fish last night for dinner but my husband requested burgers. So the fish was put off until tonight. That said. I made a quinoa pilaf with onions, bell pepper, sun dried tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and vegetable stock. I dredged the sole fillets in spelt flour with some spices and pan fried it quickly. Made for a really nice dinner.

Sorry that my pictures all look sort of bluish. I was having trouble with the flash not going off and the dishes looking too dark then I realized too late that I had the camera on the program selection and there isn't an existing programmed setting there yet. So no flash and the saturation is the pits. Oh well. Tomorrow's pictures ought to look normal.

Not much planned for the night. I'm starting to wind down. I've had a little bit of a headache since around 2 pm so I think I'm going to make a cup of tea and go to bed and read once the kids are in their rooms. It's already past their bedtimes. I think I'm just eager to have done with this day. If it weren't for it being Spring Break I'd be happy to be done with this week. PMS is horrible. I wouldn't wish it on my enemies. Ok, so maybe I would *snort*

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

The Big Stretch!

OK, so today I can walk a bit more than I could Monday Night. I've been walking around with the hockey stick, whenever I actually had to get anywhere.

Hubby has been home for the last two days to take care of me and the kids. Poor man. Not fun. I'm so sure he's thinking that I'm as big a pain in the ass as the pain in my ass.

Sheree has me signed in for a gentle Hatha class tonight and I'm hoping that it helps my mobility. I'm hopefully optimistic. At least I'll be better able to describe what exactly went wrong. It is really hard to explain pain with words.

So it's confession time. Yes, I'm injured and feeling sorry for myself. Yes, I have indulged in some pity party food. But I'm back on track today. I made myself a citrus smoothie for breakfast and made myself a 1/2 a whole wheat pita with spicy hummus stuffed with spinach leaves, orange bell pepper and avocado slices. Paired that with half a pink grapefruit and for a snack I had a handful of unsalted pistachios and a cup of Sencha.

Dinner tonight will be pan fried sole with lemon sauce on quinoa pilaf. I think I'm not sure what veg I'll serve with it. I'll make that snap decision by hunting around in the fridge. It's such a pretty day. I wish that I could be sure that I could walk around a bit more. If I could I'd BBQ. Oh well. At least I'm not bedridden anymore.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Ouchie!

I'm not sure how I managed to do this but I've really hurt myself. I might have tweaked myself a little when I hopped off the sidewalk to avoid a lake or just plain over used that part of my body. I think its a groin pull. Hopefully, a first degree groin pull.

I have been in excruciating pain since I cooled down and stretched after my 16K which I finished without any degree of pain. I did have a weird feeling at the top of my inner thigh but nothing that hurt when I touched it or when I took a step. So I didn't think any thing of it. I was on my way back from my run and there wouldn't have been any cutting it short anyway.
I have been using hubby's hockey stick as a cane after spending the late afternoon in bed with my leg up on two pillows and dying in pain anytime I moved it. Of course by that point the Tylenol had worn off and I was 1,000 miles away from the pill bottle. I love my boys but I'd never send them on the errand to get the bottle and bring it to me. I had the horrible thought that one of them would think it was candy. My bottle is not child-proof.

So now I'm finishing this up and heading to bed. It is very early but I have a feeling I will not be getting much sleep tonight. Good thing that husband can work from home tomorrow after taking the boys to their camp. I couldn't walk from the car to the door of the Dojo without Sensi running out to help (practically carry) me in and get the kids ready and put into the car.

Farg. I don't even want to think of what this will mean for me training. I'm so miffed.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Rain Rain Go Away

Woke up not feeling all that well but not sick enough to skip on everything that I had committed too. Though I was really hoping that Sheree was going to cancel. The sound of the cold wind blowing the rain against the bedroom window made me shutter and it was all I needed to hear in order to be persuaded to rethink my day.

After finding out that Sheree was not better and wouldn't be running today my brain quickly started to recalculate. Gotta hand it to that brain and sense of training guilt because I had not even poured a cup of coffee yet and it was already working up some steam. During the first cup the plan was to go to the gym with the boys and try and run whatever mileage I could manage on the treadmill. (This is never a good plan. Treadmill running hurts my shins and feels like a prison sentence rather than anything remotely fun). Then after the first cup of coffee and the smoothie in the blender (The Brendan Brazier Chocolate Smoothie) my brain started toying with the idea of downing the smoothie and heading out for the 16K regardless. I mapped a run and sipped and then the rain started again. I was then positive it wasn't going to happen. 5K in the rain. No problem. 16 and I would be soaked to the bone and frozen. No dice.

Jo called and asked if I'd like to join her on a 10K but I had not finished breakfast and had not even looked for my gear. My heart half into the idea and only because finally it would give me chance to run with one of my friends who inspired me to start running. Sadly, I just couldn't make the leap today.

Then the sun peaked out from behind the clouds of my bleary mind. Tomorrow is the beginning of Spring Break! Tomorrow I could drop the kids off at Karate Camp and get my run in without any worries. Tomorrow it's supposed to be dry and warm! DAMN! I guess the coffee started to work! That was the plan to beat all plans! Sure I could do that. I could make that work. The guilt gone. I settled in to finish the smoothie and then no sooner than it was done then I started to feel horrible.

Achy joints and chills. I laid on the couch with my son while he played wii and rested. Got up only long enough to make a cup of tea and tidy the kitchen but then migrated back to my spot on the couch. Hubby got the boys ready and took them to the gym to swim and I popped in a movie and enjoyed the quiet.

Lunch was good but I only really nibbled at it. Some times repeats are good. This was great but I didn't really have enough appetite to really enjoy it. It was also the easiest most convenient thing in my fridge.

Venison burger with the mushroom/onions and goat cheese on half a ww pita. It even photographed nicely today.

The movie was another Austen Classic. Yes, I've memorized them and have seen them all and most of the versions at least a hundred times each. It's a staple for my mind.
Once the gang was home and fed a snack I headed up for my Sunday Coma. I actually have no idea what time I closed my eyes but waking up was hard. I was still feeling lousy. Wondered if I'd feel better if I just stayed in bed but then remembered that I had taken out a simmering steak for dinner and it needed to be whipped up into a dinner.

My choice tonight was hunters stew (simmering steak, onions, carrots, parsnips, bell pepper, green pepper, mushrooms, rosemary, beef broth and wine) slowly simmered for an hour or so. Paired with a gorgeous Côtes du Rhône. Pretty huh?






Ok so I've gotten the boy's lunches ready and their gear is waiting on the table. Breakfast bowls and spoons and cereal boxes and whatnot have been set out. Alarm clock is set and my gear is waiting for me. I'm off to read my latest book and plan to pick up a few more at the library tomorrow before I pick up the boys. Nite!








Saturday, March 13, 2010

Rainy Saturday

Whoa, today felt so long. The reason is likely that I didn't actually go to bed. I don't count the three hours at Jan's house as sleep since I don't think I ever slipped into a sound sleep. Yesterday, after a quick snack I drove in to Toronto to see a movie with some friends. I was to stay overnight at Jan's house since the drive home would be long and late.

I finally met one of the ladies that I had been conversing with in the cyber world for a little over six years. Karen. She's a hoot and we had so much fun teaming up on Jan about her wine. It was called "Robert's Rock" My friend Jan is beyond obsessed with Rob. In a good way, not in a crazy stalker chick way. It is one of the things I like best about her. Her wine had a very suggestive name and we were relentless in our bad jokes.

The movie was good though abrupt and even violent without showing gore. I was thrilled, laughed, saddened and upset all within the 115 minute duration. I'm happy that I didn't know anything about the story before I went in. I would see it again but I'm not sure I'd own it. It's too emotional for me to say I'd just pop it in on a Sunday Afternoon.

I got home at 10 am and was just dragging. Felt hungover but that tired hungover. I did have 4-5 coronas last night but they were over a course of many hours. I wasn't drunk but it was a little too much for my system. I haven't been much of a drinker for some time and it's starting to show. Since it was wet and cold out there wasn't much to do. We had to get the kids out though because they were bouncing around our ears. Bundled up and off to McD's playland for milk and cookies (tea for mom and dad).

Husband and I strategized about what to do about replacing E.'s one-of-a-kind fish. Yep, we found him floating at the top of his bowl this morning and needed to replace him before E. discovered. We came up with a plan and once we were home hubby headed back out with the old snoop in a baggie to find his fishy twin. Once one was purchased, though no chance it matched the old one, he was installed in the aquarium without E. even noticing.

I got a nice long nap and got up to make dinner. A simple burger affair. And oh what a torrent affair it was! Have I mentioned that I'm so happy I'm back to eating meat? Well I am and Bambi never tasted better *giggle* Sorry the picture is poor because my flash is too bright. I can't seem to fix the setting.Venison Burger on a whole wheat flat bread bun topped with sherried caramelized onions, mushrooms and yellow peppers with two thin slices of herbed goat cheese. The Kitchen God's are smiling. I also managed in my half hungover state to whip up the most gorgeous batch of chicken stock today. I had to use the carcass of that roasted chicken so I found my overfilled bag of stock-leavens (a zip lock filled with the odds and ends of leftover raw onions, carrot tops, bell pepper tops, kale that was a little past it's prime, parsnip tops, celery and thyme branches. There are a few other things in there but I can't remember what they are). All into a pot for 45 mins and now safely tucked into my freezer. I think I'll be making up some yummy soups this week.

I'm almost done that book. That means I can start in on one of the other novels sitting on my bedside table. I would really like something that is a little light hearted. I've also got a great stash of books on hold at the library that I really need to pick up tomorrow before the holds expire.

Don't forget that we lose an hour tonight. The nice thing is that in a few weeks it will still be bright out when 7 pm rolls around. No more running in the dark. I can't wait!

Friday, March 12, 2010

A Quickie

I've got a date with this guy. Ok well not exactly him but with a bunch of girlfriends. I'm heading into Toronto in a few minutes to see "Remember Me". A bit of an adventure.

It's been a busy day though I didn't really get off the couch much. Been doing a lot of work for Misty. Trying hard to crack the code of Kijiji and Craigslist. Stubborn sites I tell you. I got a new assignment this morning that kept me going too.

Of course I could have gotten it all done quickly if: 1) I was a seasoned vet. 2) my kids would have left me alone to have two seconds of lucid uninterrupted thought.

I started the day early too. Woke to a grey day. Definitely, feels like spring now that it's raining. We'll have three solid days of it too so that will make the long run wet indeed!
I had to try out this new recipe from Brendan Braizer. It's fabulous! 1 banana 1 scoop of the vega smoothie infusion 1tbps cocoa 2 tbsp almond butter 2 pitted dates 1 c of almond milk 1 tbsp ground flax seed

Totally yummy. Looking at the picture is just making me hungry again. More work and laundry. I was going to teach a lesson in community and relationships to the boys today but with being cooped up in the house without the opportunity to run around and burn off their excess energy that lesson would have been an act of futility. Really, how could I expect them to sit still for that!

I put in some movies and whipped out the play doh. Read some books and then got down to the business of making them a living room picnic lunch. As soon as, they were taken care of I whipped up another pita sandwich. It's the spicy hummus. It's got me addicted.
It's some of that leftover roasted chicken, spicy hummus, whole wheat pita (just half) yellow bell pepper and cucumber. I sliced up half a pink grapefruit to go with it. I had completely forgotten that I purchased the grapefruit. So good. Almost like finding a $20 bill in an old pair of jeans.

After som e more tinkering at the computer, another load of laundry. A movie switch up and some tidying my hunger was back. It's just a hungry kind of day I guess.


Pistachios. OMG where have you been all my life. Oh yes, I remember. Totally expensive and dyed some very strange shade of red. Also too salty and hazardous to my tongue. These are unsalted roasted natural. Lovely! More of my new addiction, spicy hummus and a large cup of sencha.

My house work is done but I have just realized that I have totally forgotten to make dinner or even to plan dinner for the guys. I messed up large. I sure hope hubby and invent something good for dinner. Maybe he can be persuaded to order a pizza. I need to go warm up some leftovers for my own dinner so that I don't go nuts on movie theater popcorn. Oh and I've decided that one diet coke will not kill me tonight. It's a pretty rare occasion when I get to see a movie in the theater. I still feel like I'm cheating though *giggle*

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Domestic Thursday

I thought I'd drop a quick note since I was just taking a bit of a breather. It's been a busy day so far. I got up with the kids vowing that today I'd stay on my feet and get what I had to done.

Breakfast in. OK, so I just had a huge cup of coffee and a Kashi bar. Misty you can stop shaking her head at me now. The kids fed and dressed. The grocery list in hand and out the door we went. Why does it take me nearly two hours to complete the grocery shopping? Seriously, why? The store was sparsely populated and I had no trouble finding things. The cart got over filled but almost all of it was from the produce aisle. I purchased an insane amount of produce.

Then skipped the meat aisle again (my freezer is still pretty full). I do my biggest damage in the "hippy" aisle. Of course, it doesn't help that everything is bulky and twice the cost of anything else in the store. The boys picked out each a new box of cereal from said aisle. I let them hold the boxes for the whole trip. The deal was that if they wanted it for lunch they were more then welcomed but that they needed to be good for me. Didn't really help matters much because I could be over heard several times saying that I was going to look for the wine aisle and then they could act up as much as they liked. CAS would handle the rest *snort* Too bad they are too young to really understand what Mommy means.

After the purse was emptied and the groceries in the car. The kids strapped in and still holding their Organic 7 grain flakes and granola (man I don't care...yeah its like $10 a box but it doesn't have a stupid multi-coloured toucan or tiger hawking their chemical enhanced crap)

They ate two bowls of the new cereal and the room was so quiet except for the very loud crunching of the granola. They didn't even ask for sugar to be sprinkled on top. Worth every damn penny!

So once the kids were fed I managed to jam all the groceries into their designated spots. I made myself some lunch though I still wasn't very hungry.

1/2 a whole wheat pita with spicy hummus smeared inside and yellow bell pepper, tomato, cucumber jammed inside. Some tiny oranges that pretty much looked good on the plate (not that I got a chance to eat them....L. the mooch strikes again). Finished up my cup of coffee and started in on the house work.

Kitchen cleaned, floors swept and washed. A couple loads of laundry in. Snacks made. By 3:30 I was famished. So I rolled up three thin slices of mozza cheese into three slices of honey ham. Half and apple and a handful of salt free roasted pistachios. A cup of Sencha chased it all back.
Once the break was over I oiled my cutting boards (zzzzzzz boring!) then organized the front hall. Washed the windows (again) and the closet glass. Through more laundry in the washer and searched high and low for L's Obi which apparently, he'd left at the dojo. Meaning I tore my house apart and got all grumpy for no reason *grrrrr*

Got the kids dressed and ready for Karate. Got myself dressed and made a smoothie with my new...you know I have no idea what this stuff really is? Is it "Greens"? Is it Protein? Gahhhh. Anyway I followed the simple recipe on the back omitting only the ice cubes since they make the smoothie too cold and thick to be wolfed back. The verdict....
Not bad at all.
1 banana
1/4 c frozen blueberries
1 c water
1/2 c orange juice
1 scoop of Smoothie Infusion
1/2 c ice (but I omitted that)
Whiz it up in the blender and it was really good. Nice and thin and I was able to drink it down quickly. I'm impressed.

The run was bad. I can tell that I spent a great deal of my energy on grocery shopping and house work because I felt tired and winded for the first 15 mins. Then I got to the top of the long climb at the top of Cochrane and Taunton and was able to recover going west on Taunton. By the time I got to the bottom of the hill I felt a lot better and the rest of the run was spent going at a faster clip than I'm used to.
I made it home with plenty of time for a shower and get dinner going. By the time the guys come home from Karate dinner was ready and we sat and enjoyed the meal.

I created a stir fry with leftover roasted chicken, broccoli, onion, carrot. Then tossed in some soba noodles. Made a sauce from the stock and rice starch.

Everyone enjoyed it. Unfortunately, the noodles have a colour that isn't the most appetizing shade. Normally I'd serve it in a ginger broth but I wanted something slightly more filling.

The kitchen is clean, the kids are tucked into their beds and I'm looking forward to crashing with the rest of a book of short stories written by Alice Munro. I've been interested in seeing the movie "Away From Her" but wanted the story first hand. It is a bleak short story told by the unrepentant philandering husband about his loss when his wife is admitted to a nursing home with a severe case of Alzheimer's disease. He swings from loneliness to jealousy as his wife falls in love with a fellow resident and doesn't even remember that she's married let alone that the man that visits twice a week and follows them about is actually her husband.

The rest of the book is comprised of more stories much in the same vein. All thought provoking but sadly, all in the same morbid flavour. I think I'll be happy when I'm done the book as I really hate to leave things unfinished. Don't get me wrong, they are fabulous stories just really depressing. I think I've let my brain get too fatty on chicklit.