sweet heaven.

yep.

that's how i roll.

spending freeze. literally.

goodbye visa. at least for a little while.

and goodbye to your little friends too....even though i don't really

use you 3 too much. just taking extra precautions. :)

bag them up good. then rubberband all around.

container. h20.

into the h2o you go.

threw in a rock to hold them down, otherwise those

little suckers floated to the top.

into the freezer you go.

on ice.

see you soon guys.

mah lunch.

another foodie post! maybe this is my new thing. anyway, i really enjoyed my lunch today! i made a personal pizza, and it was so good!

pizza = half of a whole wheat pita, marinara sauce, mozzerella cheese, onions, and spinach. baked for maybe 5 minutes (it seemed really quick) at 415 degree oven. i just did it til the cheese was melty and it looked good to me.

it was so good! i should have made a whole one, but when making it, i wasn't real hungry and half looked fine. then i ate it and wanted more! next time i'll do the whole thing. i was going to add chicken to it, but then changed my mind. it's fun to build your own pizza with whatever toppings you want. i really enjoyed the spinach on it, the whole thing was flavorful. also enjoyed some grapes and broccoli alongside.

it was a good lunch. :) this may be a go to meal before a big run/race!

i cooked. then i ate.

i read a bunch of blogs about food! who doesn't love food?! anyway, a lot of these blogs post interesting recipe and meal ideas. some are from scratch and some are more "typical". and many of these blogs post photos. so tonight, i decided to post mine! not being much of a cook, but recently taking an interest (nothing too complicated though!) more in the last year, i decided to give it a try. i have always been a frozen food and heat it up kinda girl, and i still am, but also trying to mend my ways a little at a time. baby steps.

i am proud to show my first attempt at roasted brussel sprouts! they came out quite yummy, but next time i think i'd go a little less on the pepper, as i am a bit sensitive to it and the zing it gives! (brussel sprouts: peel off yellow/yucky leaves, trim stem, cut in half, mix with olive oil, sea salt and pepper, roast with some shakes here and there to keep browning even, at 400 oven, til crispy on outside, tender inside). along with my brussel sprouts (which i thought were really good), i had whole wheat pasta with marinara and a sprinkle of mozzerella cheese, and whole wheat toast. it was a good meal, and i really enjoyed it!

annie says hi!

and for dessert, banana soft serve!

recently, i found this idea for banana soft serve on another blog. i had to try it, with my love for frozen yogurt. and it is good, and healthy to boot!

you take a ripe banana or 2, and freeze it in a tupperware type container. then, you take the frozen banana, dump it in your food processor, blender, etc.

if you are feeling daring add something else...i added peanut butter this time. the ideas are endless, you could add chocolate, other fruit, etc. then blend it all together.

voila! healthy frozen soft serve! it's so good, especially on a hot summer day. i think this is a great snack after a hot run, esp. b/c bananas are a good post run/workout snack, replacing potassium you lost.

recipe via

so good! the possibilities are endless, enjoy it plain, or with something to give it more zing. you could drizzle it with a chocolate or peanut butter topping as well. or add chopped nuts. make a sundae!

i think this would be good on a brownie too, if you like the chocolate/banana mix.

you could even try this with other frozen fruits. strawberries, mangos, mixed berries.

frozen goodness!

here's the sad part. after all this food, i am still hungry. off to find something to curb this hunger! (i think this happened last year in training....couldn't get enough to eat!)

today i walked.

today i walked. i made it a part of my training plan this go round. i often forget about walking anymore. i used to do it all the time as my form of exercise.

in my training last year, all i did was run, with little cross training in there too, but mostly running. my thoughts in my head were half marathon = running and getting all that distance in....which is true, but you can't do it each day. i forgot about walking, it was all run run run. walking is a great way to get a workout in, 20 to 30 minutes a day is fine and it gets your heart pumping. which is a good thing! i didn't go fast, just took it at my speed that i felt comfortable with. when i got up today my legs were pretty stiff and achy, probably from all the hard running i did this week. i felt like not doing anything, but i remembered, walking is a good remedy to those aches. and it did help a lot! (which is also why it's good to walk rather than lay around after a big race)

now that i am back, my legs feel so much better! it's good to do at least 20 to 30 minutes a day of some form of continuous exercise, to get your blood flowing, and your heart pumping. and walking is a great way to go. it helps you clear your mind, sort out thoughts, plan your day (or review it, depending when you go), and if you go with a friend, a time to catch up and chat! i enjoyed my walk today, it was a crisp, fall like morning. i had on a sweatshirt, but by the end i was quite hot, so i know my walk did good!

i came home, did a little strengthening (to tone and build muscle). i just did some short ab work, and weights. nothing too hard, as i have a long run this weekend to gear up for.

today i walked. i am going to try to keep it up during my training, along with yoga, which i just started to do, and kinda enjoy! those 2 things will help keep me in tune for this next half and in shape in general.

all this will help me in my quest of my 2nd half marathon and in general to lead a healthier lifestyle (something i have really been trying to focus on the last 7 months).

today i walked and it was lovely! :)

here we go again.

i am back in training again! i am signed up for the myrtle beach mini marathon! 13.1 miles here i come again. i want to see how i do with less opportunities to stop along the way. (in disney there were photo ops that i couldn't pass up, as well as the insane weather, and the whole "this is my first time running this, i am taking it extra carefully" motto, and a small line for a real bathroom that all made my finish time a bit longer than i planned)..... i had no complaints about my first half finish time, but now i am out to improve! with that being my first half marathon, my goal was to finish under 3 hours and i did! so we will see how i do again this october, hoping to cut my time shorter by just a little at least!

over the summer i tried to keep up mileage, but it was hard. i did what i could when i could. hopefully, i'll be ok. last year the longest training run i did was a 12 miler. i hope to at least do that once or twice before this half, if the schedule and my body agrees!

i put together a training plan for september and october, and i hope it will be enough to get me through. i am pretty confident my finish time will improve, but there is always that small worry it won't. i think i am running faster than i was last year, even if just by a small bit. we will see!

after not having done a long run for a couple weeks, last sunday i did 8.5 miles, which were not my best ever 8.5 miles, but i got it done and that is what counts.

and it was hard. i attribue it to exhaustion overload both physically and mentally (life stresses, and poor grammy had a heart attack, but is better thank goodness!). also i don't believe i fueled enough before, and definitely not during the run as i should have. i knew better, but sometimes you just don't listen to yourself! those 8.5 miles felt like at least 14, and i never have run further than 13.1! it went ok though. by the end i felt like i did after my first 11 miler training run last fall, without the chilly cold weather. fuel was a key issue then, and it was this time too. lesson learned. long run = fuel mid mileage at least!

after 8.5 miles

here's hoping this next half goes smoothly and in a better finish time since my disney half! and here is also praying for good running weather, and no "flukes" like in disney!