Moving Day!

That was quick! I managed to make the move over to a Wordpress blog in no time! Please come visit me there!

Happy (Running) Thoughts

All the same fun will be had I am just a lot happier with the layout over there! Please come and join me at my new home! 

Same blog name, almost same blog address (channel)!

Happy Running!

Changing Things Up

Hello all!

I know I haven't been around in the blog world all that long but I wanted to let you know that I am currently changing things up and moving my writing and thoughts to another host. When everything is switched over and I am happy with it all I will fill you guys in. 

I love writing on this blog and I just want to make it perfect! This change won't take long you will know where to go to find me soon enough. Until then here is one of my favourite songs with a little help from the movie Shall We Dance!

Happy Running!

One Sweet Love

This morning I was looking through all the recipes that I have saved and I came across the Oh Canada Sweet Potato Stack from Zesty Cook. Since I am a proud Canadian I thought I would have some sweet potato yumminess with my lunch today! 

An Oh Canada Sweet Potato Stack - by Zesty Cook

- 2 large sweet potatoes (I could only find 1 so that was good enough for little ol' me!)

- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil (I used 1.5 tsp because that is what I normally use for sweet potato fries)

- Salt and Pepper 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sweet with parchment paper 

2. Toss sweet potatoes in olive oil

3. Add salt and pepper (how much is really up to you)

4. Bake for 20-30 minutes, then turn the potatoes over and cook for another 10 minutes.

5. Move the sweet potatoes to the top rack and turn down heat to 250 and let the sweet potatoes dry a little bit   and become even crispier.

6. Enjoy! 

Yummy!!

Here is how my Sweet Potato Stack making experience went...

Here is the yummy sweet potato after I cut it up.

After I added the olive oil and salt and pepper.

Ready for baking now.

In the middle when I took them out to flip them.

Out of the oven and ready to eat! I was sooo excited to eat these that I couldn't find the patience to stack them.Now I am enjoying a delicious lunch of the yummy sweet potato (un)stacks and butternut squash soup, yummy!! 

I am getting so close to being done my first semester of this college program, and I am very excited. Of course I go right back to school for second semester on May 3. I must say I am enjoying this down time I have between having all my in class work done and doing the final tests. YAY! My writing teacher actually told us not to come to class anymore, SO that means I get to stay home Monday morning and watch the Boston Marathon!

Other than school I have been enjoying the weather this week and have started running outside more than running on the treadmill, of course those mornings when it is 5:30am and it is pitch black and raining I am thankful I do have the treadmill.

I am off to read and relax and do some Whittle My Middle II and push-ups. I hope you all have an amazing weekend and maybe you will have some yummy sweet potatoes!

Happy Running!

Feelings Show

Good Evening!!! 

I must say that I am a master when it comes to recognizing a bad, down in the dumps, no good mood...and then getting past it so I can finish my day happy! Of course I am not able to do this all the time, but today was one of those days where I could do it.

This morning I spent my time editing my final report for my writing class, it was more so a reflection of the past term, your goals and your plans for the rest of the course and so on. Not a big deal, I just had to edit it. In the end I got it done and handed in a day early, YAY for being ahead! Sadly while I was waiting to get into the class I started to feel like this...

Nothing felt right and I just felt very blah. This feeling continued on during my walk home, I even listened to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, which I must say did result in some giggles, but then when does it not. (If you don't listen to this show you really should, especially if you enjoy your news with a little humour on the side).

When I got home the feeling wasn't lifting, I didn't get it, I am eating very well, drinking lots of water, exercising regularly....It was lunch time but I just wasn't hungry, GAH! What to do?!? I made myself a smoothie jam packed with fruits and Amazing Meal and the feeling kind of started to lift. To continue to fight the feeling I went for a walk downtown and found a nice pair of dress pants for $22 (total), SCORE! 

On my walk home everything finally started to lift and I had a little bounce back in my step. When I got home I knew what I wanted to do...RUN! I cranked the tunes and headed down by the water (of course) and any blah feeling that I had had was gone gone gone! When I got home my new Runner's World was there waiting for me.

Now I am feeling like my old self and am going to head down to the university campus to watch a group of swing dancers perform and then I am going to read my magazine! 

Question: What do you do when you all of a sudden find yourself in a down right horrible mood? Like I mentioned above I generally go for a walk or a run (this time the walk needed to come first because I wasn't in a running mood). If it is sunny out then that always helps! 


Of course some quality time with my boyfriend always makes things better! I think tonight's plan is to be together and read, he has some reading to do from a really large textbook for nursing and I have a novel to entertain my brain.

Happy Running!

The Famous Banana Muffins

By famous I mean that I love them and that I almost always have a batch around the house. I mention these banana muffins in my about me section on Twitter and on here. This recipe is from Rick Gallop's GI Diet book, I have only been able to find the recipe in this specific publication, and I should mention that they muffins are originally called Over The Top Muffins With Pear.

Here is the recipe, I will also add in my modifications...

1 cup All Bran or 100% bran cereal (I have only ever used All Bran Buds, I can't explain why)

1 cup wheat bran

1 1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt (sometimes I use vanilla yogurt if I don't have any plain yogurt)

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup brown sugar substitute (regular brown sugar works well too)

1 tbsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda 

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup skim milk

1/4 cup canola oil (more often than not I just use unsweetened applesauce)

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 pears, cored and diced (I, of course, use 1-2 mashed bananas instead)

*additions - I put in a few tsp of cinnamon into the the dry mixture because I love cinnamon and today I decided that I wanted to have chocolate chips in my muffins!

1. Combine the cereal and wheat bran in a bowl. Stir in the yogurt and let stand for 10 minutes.

2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar substitute, baking powder, baking soda, and salt (and cinnamon if you want it).

3. Add the skim milk, oil (or applesauce), egg, and vanilla to the bran mixture and stir to combine. Pour over the flour mixture and stir in until just combined. Stir in pear (or banana and chocolate chips if your heart so desires).

4. Preheat the oven to 375F. Divide the batter among 12 greased or paper-lined muffin cups. Bake until the tops are golden and firm to the touch, about 25 minutes. Let cool on a rack for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan and let cool completely.   

Here are the famous muffins right out of the oven! I always find it SO hard to not eat one the minute they come out of the oven. Sometimes I have to take them out of the oven and then go read a book because I know I want one, but at the same time I know they are too hot...I would know I have eaten one straight out of the oven before, *ouch*.

All cooled and ready to eat, YUM!!! I have experimented with a lot of muffin recipes and this is the one I always come back to. The others have been yummy, don't get me wrong, but I just love these ones the most. If you give them a try let me know what you think!


Running Stuff - I just wanted to let you guys know that I added a Daily Mile widget on the left so you can see how my running and other such exercising has been going if I do not post about it. I don't always mention how far I ran or how I felt because it just doesn't come up, SO now you can see for yourself if you are interested.


I am off to edit my final report for writing class and then I am done with that class until the second installment starts in June! YAY!! My schooling is kind of different because I started in January, so I won't be done until the end of the first week of July, but then I still get to graduate in April of 2011 so I cannot complain! 


Time to put on my editing cap! Have a great day and enjoy the sun!


Happy Running!

Run to the Water

Well Easter weekend is over for me, I think I thought that since I was in school I would get Monday off, turns out that doesn't apply to College or University students. Oh well, at least I'm not just realizing this this morning, that would be even worse.

This weekend was full of soaking up the sun, running (alone and with the boyfriend), finally finishing our travel book from our trip to London and Paris (which was in July and August 2009), and visiting family. This weekend did not involve any school work at all, even though it kind of should have seeing as I have a presentation tomorrow.

The Running  

I went running alone on Friday afternoon and boy was it ever warm out. Of course anything above 0C (freezing) is warm to me right now so when it got to above 20C I was in heaven. Normally I am the one to melt in warm weather, but Friday was just perfect. I set out along the waterfront and ran past a ton of university students soaking up the sun. I stayed along the water the whole time because my run was an out and back, it was wonderful! 

On Saturday the boyfriend and I set out around the same time (3:30pm, I love running in the morning, but at the same time I will run when I can!) but this time we set out in the opposite direction that I went the day before. It took us down to the harbour and along the waterfront, then we had to cut across a park to get back to the street to run home. It was a little cooler on Saturday and I finally wore shorts....I am a little self conscious when it comes to my legs (I don't know why, I just am) so wearing shorts for the first time this year at first had me thinking, "maybe I should go and put my crops back on"...but then I started thinking differently after some kind words from someone wise (the boyfriend), "it is warm out, I want to wear shorts, and no one else cares"! Take that negative thoughts, BAM!

Of course what naturally happens after a run? That's right I went skulking around my parents' backyard to look for pretty flowers and such. 

Turns out there is only one kind of flower out around the whole neighbourhood, I thought that was kind of funny. My parents also have some nice decorations around the backyard....turns out they like suns. I must agree they are very pretty!

This sun was found on the little shed in the backyard, I think I need to find a better place for it because it is really pretty and is kind of hiding where it currently is.

This sun is from my grandparents' backyard but had to be moved to my parents' when they decided to move into an apartment building. I think it is a nice addition to the collection of decorations in the backyard. 

I must say I had a wonderful Easter weekend full of yummy food, and of course candy, yum! This morning I got up at 6:30am to go for a run and was greeted with the sun almost up, it is nice to not be waking up in the dark again. Of course come Wednesday when I wake up at 5:30am it will be pitch black again, but then that just gives me something to look forward to later! 

My run was a speedy 5 miles along my favourite route, I just went a little further along the water than I did on Friday's run. It was so beautiful out and I cannot wait to get back out there for my walk to school! 

I hope you all had happy and healthy Easter weekends!

Happy Running!

An Irish Blessing

Happy Wednesday!! The only thing keeping me from my long weekend is the accounting test that I have this afternoon and a full day of classes tomorrow, but I bet I'll get out of my Office Procedures class early (it's the one that goes until 3:30pm).


I wanted to share this quote with you. I have read it many times, and it sits on my desk so I can read it when I'm doing school work. 

My 8:30am class was cancelled this morning, YAY!! I got to sleep in a little bit and with the time I was given I ran an amazing and blissful 5 miles rather than the 3 miles I normally run on Wednesday mornings because I'm short on time. When I look at the difference between the distance I normally run and the distance I ran this morning it isn't too much, BUT to me being able to add those miles to my day makes me feel more alive. Maybe I'm crazy, but I just love running!


I also wanted to let you guys know what I thought of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. Well I have to say that I loved it, I just love love loved it!! My boyfriend and I woke up on Saturday morning made yummy banana and peanut butter oats and sat down ready to watch Food Revolution. Well I must say we were inspired by everything that Jamie has been doing, but at the same time we couldn't help but look at each other with these shocked faces when Jamie made those "chicken nuggets" and the kids still wanted to eat them. I must say we are already looking forward to Friday night's show.


Question: Have you been watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution? What do you guys think of it? Are you looking forward to Friday's episode?


I hope that you all have a great day and that you are having beautiful sunny weather so you can go outside and soak up the sun! 


Go to Healthy Ashley's blog to enter a contest to win a Bondi Band! They come in wicked colours, cool patterns and awesome sayings! They are so cute! I always need to wear a headband of sorts to keep my hair off my face, I am always finicky about making sure my hair is not in my face while I'm running. These look like the perfect product!


Happy Running!

What Have I Been Reading?

Here are some links to blog posts and a video that I have been loving this week! From this I think you can figure out that I want to do some more core exercises and stretching after running.

- A different hamstring stretch from FitSugar, I know I need to do this more than I do often so I am not unintentionally shortening my stride due to tight hamstrings

-Jill wrote a great post last week, Get Stronger Run Better, about the importance of strength training in addition to running, she uses body weight exercises: push-ups, squats, lunges, alternating Ts, and planks (repeat 2-3 times). I love push-ups and planks, but reading this post reminded me that I need to do a little more

-Caitlin addressed the idea of how trying to be perfect is an addiction and the guilt we feel when we cannot achieve said perfection in this post. I know I took a lot away from this post, I think it really sank in when a teacher asked me if I am a perfectionist and I immediately answered "Yes!"...I think I need to re-read the post

-Crunchless Ab Exercises count me in! I love the FitSugar and have been reading their stuff for many years now

- I love these post run stretches! Thanks Flexible Warrior!

Happy Running!

(Food) Revolution

Happy Friday to all!! 


Tonight is the night I have been waiting for because Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution is on! (I know it was on on Sunday but 10pm was too late for me, haha!) We will be watching the repeat of the premier and the new episode, I am very interested in this show and am excited to see it!

[Source]


I remember when this cookbook came into the bookstore, and I have to say that Jamie Oliver has to be one of the most popular chefs and has great cookbooks (I read cookbooks for fun!).


Running and thinking...


So this past week I have been thinking a lot during my runs. You know how it goes, sometimes on a run you zone out and sometimes all you can do is think about things. I had a very busy week at school: a presentation, tests, lots of homework...and so on.


Of course I made it out alive, but sometimes I have to remind myself that I am the one who wanted to go back to school and that I am doing so so that I can better my skills and build a kick ass life for myself!


The funny thing is is that I always used to think that the best runs I had were the ones where I completely zoned out and was listening to my body and everything around me. Thursday's run showed me something different. I went out for a quick 3 mile run at 6am before my 8:30am class. All I could think about was the presentation I had to give later that day, I kept repeating what I going to say, sounds boring...and I must say it kind of was. On the other hand it powered me through my run and I felt amazing! When time came to turn around and go home I was surprised how fast everything was going. I finished happy, strong, and ready to present.


In the end the presentation went very well and I felt very confident in what I was saying because I had spent my run going over my content. Oh the interesting things that happen when you run!


I am happy it's the weekend and I am looking forward to next week's runs when I will be going over accounting in my head. I'll be thinking about adjusting entries and closing accounts, ok that doesn't sound anywhere near as cool as my presentation. 


I hope that you all have a great Friday night!!


Happy Running!

Sharing the Love!

I found this card in my Dad's study:

He got it from my Mum for Valentine's Day this year. I think it is just the cutest card I have ever seen, and it totally sounds like my family. My parents are one of the reasons I am so healthy. My Dad started doing Triathlons and Half Marathons in his mid 40s and my Mum jumped on the healthy bandwagon at that point too. 

When I got a little too lazy after my first year of university my Mum asked me, in a nice way that made it sound cool, if I wanted to go see her personal trainer with her. At that point a love for cardio and weights was born. I remember coming home after my second year of university and asking my Dad to go for a run with me, he was so happy that I was taking up something he loved. 

After I completed my first half marathon I remember my Dad being convinced his half time was faster than mine....turns out I was faster. The thing is he couldn't have been more proud of me.

My parents have always been so positive and have dared me to try new things like lifting lifting weights, running further than I thought I could, trying new foods and being positive when I thought I couldn't. 


Question: What are you doing to challenge yourself? 


I am trying to get all my school work done ahead of time, set up a placement for May-July (only on Fridays), run and be happy while doing so 5 days a week, eat balanced meals on a daily basis, try new things (new foods, new mantras while running), and add in some kind of strength training 2-3 times a week.


Happy Running!

Finally Slowing Down

This week has been crazy! There was so much school work to do, two tests and on top of that, and there was outside stress. I am happy to say that in four days I managed to get everything done and in on time, study for my tests (I have one more today at 12:30pm) and get a good chunk of work done that is due next week. Phew!

I feel so relieved to have everything (almost) done this week, and I only have a couple things left to do for next week. I got an e-mail from my boyfriend this morning saying that he wanted to take most of the weekend off from studying and working, this was music to my ears! We both need this weekend off to just relax, go for a run, and enjoy the weather.

I cannot wait to finish my test today because I am going to relax and read a book I bought last week, Fear the Worst by Linwood Barclay. I think that my reading is going to have to happen in the chair that looks out onto the backyard, it has just be so beautiful out. 

[Source]

I found that when I worked as a manager in a bookstore I didn't read as much as I would have liked to. SO I am catching up on books that I bought while I was working. I must say there are a lot of them, I wanted to own all the good books that I knew I wanted to read, but was never able to get through all of them.

After an afternoon of walking to and from school, writing a test, coming home and eating some lunch and reading, I am thinking that I will head out for a run before dinner. It is just too beautiful to pass up a run down by the lake!

I hope that all of you are having an amazing week and enjoying the beautiful weather! 

Happy Running!

Flashback: Running Around Vancouver

Back in the fall of 2007 my Dad and I took my brother, Chris, to school in Nanaimo BC. While we were out there I took every opportunity I had to run, I found it much more pleasant running in BC than in Ontario in September. I took a lot of pictures and I wanted to share a few with you!

This is what I saw when I was just getting onto the Loins Gate Bridge. It was a very busy place to run but at the same time it was so beautiful that I barely noticed the cars. Just in case you were wondering...yes I did stay on my side, but at the same time I don't remember any bikers so I was good!

On the bridge they have little look out points and that is where I took this picture from. It was unbelievably breathtaking and I know I want to go back out west some day soon!

Of course I tried to take some pictures of myself, but of course any picture I take when I'm out running is never all that flattering, but at least there are beautiful backgrounds.

The one thing I loved about my runs out west was that wherever I ran it was always green and rarely felt like I was running in a big city.

I just wanted to share some pictures of other places I have run! Once it starts looking remotely nice here (which it is starting to do) I will go for a run with my camera and show you guys what it is like where I live.

I have (re)discovered that I am not a fan of Day Light Savings time, I would have to say the springing ahead is the one I do not like (I'm all for falling back!). I had a hard time falling asleep, I think that it was stress mixed with trying to get to bed so I could get up early today. Regardless of the restless sleep I feel rested and had an awesome, short, run this morning. I've got the 5k running group at Lululemon this evening so I wasn't going to do anything crazy, I just ended up splitting today's normal distance up.

I have found a way to not stress about school, just schedule homework in every open moment you have: 

I love how you can't see any/all of my scheduled running and yoga because it has to be so early in the morning (5:30-6:30am) so I can have time to do homework after school.

Question:

Do you love iCal or Google calender as much as I do? Clearly I love iCal the most, I have been using it the longest so I just stick with it. I feel like if I plan my homework then I have to do it in that time. Of course I foresee a lot of that homework spilling into the night I just thought that if I only scheduled it until 6:30pm then I could have a break for dinner, haha!! 

Happy Running! 

That Was One Crazy Week!

I'm glad the week is almost over! There was a lot of good, but then there was also some bad that in the moment out weighed the good because, to me at the time, it seemed really bad.

Of course I always have to remind myself that nothing is really all that bad and that everything will work out in the end.

It was the first week back from reading week so that is always hard, but nothing I couldn't handle. For some reason I felt very overwhelmed all week and could not shake the feeling. There were times when it went away, like during the 5k running group on Monday night, during a crazy fitness class on Wednesday night (both at lululemon Kingston). 


The bad feelings finally went away after school on Thursday after a lecture on stress management in my Office Procedures class. It was funny to think that all I needed was someone to mention that nothing is as bad as you think and that you should always use positive affirmations to snap yourself out of a funk, and then I took a walk! Everything was looking up!


I spent my week having delicious Green Monster with some Maca added to it for a little extra kick....mmmmm!!

Maca is described as the following: Maca root has been used in indigenous Andean societies as a source of nourishment and healing for thousands of years, and continues to be one of the most appreciated superfoods today. Used to increase stamina...and combat fatigue, maca root has long been regarded as a highly adaptogenic food. Navitas Naturals Raw Maca Powder is the raw and natural form of this special root – gently dried and ground to preserve it’s vitality and nutritional structure. With an earthy taste that is slightly nutty with a hint of butterscotch, maca is easily blended into superfood smoothies, various milks, chocolates, or mixed into flour for dessert recipes. [Source]

So what do I think of Maca? Well it gave my smoothie a different taste, but it wasn't a bad different, just different. Either way I liked it and it did make me feel like I had a lot more energy, which I felt like I needed this week!

Come the weekend I was ready for a break from working and thinking, but then on Saturday morning I went to get some files off of my USB key and it wasn't reading on any computer (or any computer in the house). I was trying really hard not to freak out but it wasn’t working. I had settled on the fact that I had lost all my files from the last two weeks (at least everything from before the last two weeks was backed up, but I still had done a lot this week). Here is what I posted on Twitter yesterday:

Then I posted this once I realized what I was trying wasn't working:

Then this morning I looked at the key and thought “I bet if I plug it in everything will be fine”, but then at the same time I didn’t want to plug it in for fear that it wouldn’t work. Guess who got lucky? ME! I plugged it in and it worked, I must be one lucky girl because I wasn’t really expecting that to happen.  

So what’s moral of the story? Don’t freak out too soon, and don’t feel as though all is lost or that you cannot overcome small set backs, AND always back up everything you keep on a USB key!

As of now I am feeling much more calm and ready to face this week with a better attitude and ready to rock all my school work, my 5k running group on Monday evening, fitness class on Wednesday night, and all my runs and cross training plans in between! 

For now I am going to finish watching Post Grad for some mindless entertainment while I work on making Power Point presentations, then I am going to go and visit a baby with my Mum (her friend recently became a Grandma) because babies always make me happy, and then I will have some homemade pizza with the boyfriend for dinner. Mmmm, this is a happy day!!

Calm Down and Happy Running!