Weekend Recap a little late...

Wow what a weekend!  There was great, good, bad and just blah!  First of all one of my really good running friends that moved away (boooo) came to visit (yay)!  We didn't stop talking the entire time she was here we were speed talkers it was hilarious!  We went to a Brewery Run with my local running group where she finished first female and I got lost but found my way back.  What was funny when I realized I was lost and there were no more chalk marks on the sidewalk I looked behind me and there was a about 5 people that had been following me, whoops!

Then we did some speed shopping, seriously I've never seen anyone that can buy shoes as fast as that girl and I'm fast!  On to grocery shopping to prep some delicious food for my girls night as a belated birthday celebration for myself.  Our second workout consisted of dancing with the Wii it was ridiculously fun!  Yes, I just turned 34 but I refuse to grow up :-)  Hey I just realized this is my last year in this age group for races, SCARY!!!

My doggie got to join in the fun!

Amazing cupcakes, I had to eat the one the dog had licked :-)

Chocolate Fondue yuuummmm!

Now to show you how horrible Awesome our dance moves are:


On Sunday I spent the day cleaning and taking pictures for my brother and his fiancee, they are so cute!  But the house was sooooo quiet after such an awesome night that it was a little sad...

Now for the not so pretty... Sunday I went with my friend to attempt to go skiing and everything that could go wrong went wrong here is a list:

1. We were supposed to go to Taos missed the turn off due to the horrible weather conditions covering the road signs with snow.
2. Decided to try Santa Fe since we were back in SF, well the road to the ski area was so bad that people were turning around, I decided to learn how to use my tire chains
3. By the time we mad it up there it was 11 and would be only 1/2 day but the winds were 40-50mph and zero visibility
4. Dropped my glove in the toilet and had to dry it with the hand dryer
5. My friend thought she lost her gloves and we ran around asking if they had been turned in, it turns out I was carrying them the whole time because they looked just like mine and I had stuffed mine inside my helmet.
6. I had my 1st wimp out day EVER in my ENTIRE life, I didn't ski!!  My friend lasted about 1 hour on the beginner lift.
7. On the way back someone slammed on the brakes while everyone was doing 75 and almost caused a chain reaction.

Happy Friday!

Today gets 2 Friday videos, you will see why in a second...

Video #1 Yes, this video does exist at first I thought it was an urban legend but it's out there.  From what I've heard of the story it's a rich girl who's parents couldn't say no and they paid someone to produce a music video with her in it.  Now apparently she has a record deal but mainly because the video went viral due to how bad it was.... What do you think?





Video #2 just for the heck of it and it really is Friday!
I'm super excited because one of my good friends is flying in tonight and we have some runs planned and some celebrating planned!!

On another not so happy note my dad had to go in for surgery yesterday to have his gallbladder removed.  This isn't a super invasive surgery and usually goes very smoothly.  They decided to keep him overnight and this morning he is quite cranky.  I don't blame him one bit.  Apparently there was a lot of scarring due to a past surgery when they had removed his appendix and it meant they had to dig around in there a lot longer and means he is in a lot of pain this morning.  They told him he can't run for about 4-6 weeks.  But with some rest and good nutrition he should be back on track for Ironman training soon!  He's not letting this hold him back.  You can do it dad!

To end on a happy note my brother is getting married.  He got engaged the night before New Year's Eve and they were so excited they decided to get married at the end of this month!  I am very happy for them and apparently quick, VERY small weddings, is now a family tradition, my parents, me, and now my brother!

Have a great weekend everyone!  Happy Running!

Nutritional Yeast

How many of you have heard of this cooking ingredient?  How many have used it in anything?  I had been vegetarian for over 5 years before I heard of it.  Anyway, so now I've used this ingredient in several recipes, mainly casseroles and gravies.  However, I still wasn't too sure about what the benefits were to it.  I know they recommended using it in these recipes because it made it seem creamier since I wasn't using cheese (I dabble in vegan recipes because of the health benefits and they are yummy!!!).  So I decided to do a little research.

This is what I found on Wikipedia which I know isn't always accurate so I would welcome anyone who has a better source of info to let me know:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast, usually Saccharomyces cerevisiae.^[1] Nutritional yeast is produced by culturing the yeast with a mixture of sugarcane and beet molasses for a period of 7 days and then harvesting, washing, drying and packaging it. This is commercially available in the form of flakes or as a yellow powder similar in texture to cornmeal, and can be found in the bulk aisle of most natural food stores. It is popular with vegans and vegetarians and may be used as an ingredient in recipes or as a condiment.^[2]

Nutritional yeast flakes

It is a source of protein and vitamins, especially the B-complex vitamins, and is a complete protein. It is also naturally low in fat and sodium and is free of sugar, dairy, and gluten. Some brands of nutritional yeast, though not all, are fortified with vitamin B12. When fortified, the vitamin B12 is produced separately (commonly Cyanocobalamin) and then added to the yeast because yeasts are fungi, whereas B12 is synthesized only by bacteria.^[3][4][5]
Nutritional yeast has a strong flavor that is described as nutty, cheesy, or creamy, which makes it popular as an ingredient in cheese substitutes. It is often used by vegans in place of parmesan cheese. Another popular use is as a topping for popcorn, typically paired with pickles. It can also be used in mashed and fried potatoes, as well as put into scrambled tofu or eggs. Some movie theaters offer it along with salt or cayenne pepper as a popcorn condiment.^[6]

What do you think?  I think I should try adding it to my menu more often after reading the benefits.

So I got my self new running shoes and even though they didn't have it in the color I wanted it was a killer deal and so far after breaking them in for 1 week I love them!!  I think these are stiffer in the front around the ball of the foot then my last ones and that is what the doctor recommended for the extra support I needed so that I wouldn't experience the pain on the top of my foot.  Extra bonus there was no child labor used to produce these shoes!  I spent most of last weekend indoors which meant less mileage but I was a little down and spent most of my time on the couch watching Netflix so I'm glad I still managed to make myself get to the gym!  This week already looks way more promising!  Happy Running!

It's My Birthday & ...

Happy Birthday to me!!!

It's my birthday and I can cry if I want to, but I won't!  I don't know why but I absolutely love my birthday I always have the best day and feel so loved and lucky to be alive another year, I don't fear getting older and it's probably the one day a year I become one of those annoyingly peppy people that I usually can't stand to be around!  First thing this morning my parents called and sang happy birthday which is always a great start then the first e-mail I opened was from a friend telling me I was the one who inspired her to start running!  That is just the beginning, I can't even start to mention all the wonderful wishes I've gotten on FB and my hubs texting me and I have a friend taking me out to dinner and salsa dancing tonight.  Can I be any luckier?!?!!!   I'm all about spoiling myself on my birthday too so after work today will be my day off from the gym (I switched it out with tomorrow) and I am going to buy myself some new running shoes to start the training season off right next month and maybe a new exercise outfit even though I don't need one (I can't go into Sports Authority and not buy more than 1 thing that's why I'm normally not allowed in there) and go use the Express gift card I had earned.
  

Billboard #1 song on the Day I was born: BeeGees How Deep is Your Love

Famous people born on this day the only one that caught my attention was Eddie Sutherland because it's really close to my maiden name Sutherlin so I wonder if there was any relation...  He was an actor in the Chaplin era.

The skiing teddy bear my husband gave me for my birthday 2 years ago shortly after we had just started dating, named Sam Adams :-)

So today in History JANUARY 5:

1477		Swiss troops defeat the forces under Charles the Bold of Burgundy at the Battle of Nancy.
1815		Federalists from all over New England, angered over the War of 1812, draw up the Hartford Convention, demanding several important changes in the U.S. Constitution.
1904		American Marines arrive in Seoul, Korea, to guard the U.S. legation there.
1914		Henry Ford astounds the world as he announces that he will pay a minimum wage of $5 a day and will share with employees $10 million in the previous year's profits.
1920		GOP women demand equal representation at the Republican National Convention in June.
1925		Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming is sworn in as the first woman governor in the United States.
1933		Golden Gate Bridge is Born
1969		President Richard M. Nixon appoints Henry Cabot Lodge as negotiator at the Paris Peace Talks.

Fresh Start?

It's a new year and the decorations have been packed, my husband is gone again, and I'm back at work!  For some reason I've never made a huge deal out of New Year's as it seems so many others like to.  It doesn't seem like a fresh start just because the number at the end of the year changes.  But maybe I'm just being miss frumpy pants because I actually can't wait for the majority of this year to be over or because I know the gym will be packed!!  I am actually a huge planner and set goals for myself throughout the year but hate new year's resolutions this means you are making them because of the time of year not because you feel you are ready.  I actually set monthly, 6 month and yearly goals but it is more on a rolling calendar year depending on when I feel ready.  I found this article about New Year's resolutions and it said:

The following shows how many of these resolutions are maintained as time goes on:
- past the first week: 75%
- past 2 weeks: 71%
- after one month: 64%
- after 6 months: 46%

I think it's important to set goals, I would feel lost without something to work towards but the timing sometimes is the most important.

How do you feel about New Year's resolutions?  What is your greatest success story with one?

I have signed up for my first race of the year and apparently just in time because it is already full, I'm doing the 1/2 marathon with a couple of friends to get my training started off right...

Anyone else going to be there?