Weekly Workouts – May 19-26

I totally kept forgetting to post last week’s workouts, so instead of Foodie Friday we are doing my Weekly Workouts.  Foodie Friday will return next week!

I’m back on the bandwagon folks!

I’ve sat on the sidelines and made excuses for way too long.  I’ve got some runs coming up that I want to be prepared for, and it’s not gonna happen sitting on the couch!

Monday – had a girls sushi night with a friend, so no workout

Tuesday – 2 mile run with Guinness
 

Wednesday – 30 minute arm workout followed by a 1 mile run with Guinness once I got home

Thursday – Rest

Friday – Arms and abs in the gym, followed by a 1 mile run when I got home

Saturday – 1 mile walk around the neighborhood with Guinness and hubby

Sunday – 2 mile run…trying out some new intervals

Monday – 2 mile run with my friend, Zoila!

I feel I had a good week of training and I’m ready to hit it again this week!

Until next time,

LiveJournal Tags: Weekly Workouts

29 Questions

So my friend Brooke over at Sweats and Sweets tagged me in this post, so I thought “what the hell…I need to blog more”, and it might tell you a little about me, too! :)

1. What are you wearing?

Braves shirt, gym shorts, flip flops

2. Ever been in love?

Yep!  I married him :)

3. Ever had a terrible breakup?

Yep, but good riddance

4. How tall are you?

5 feet, 9 inches.

5. How much do you weigh?

#*& pounds :P.

6. Any tattoos?

2 total.

7.  Any piercings?

The ears.

8. Favorite song?

Right now I am loving Pharrell’s “Happy”…but who doesn’t??

9. Qualities you’d look for in a partner?

Honesty and trust.

10.  Favorite quote?

My pace, my race

11. Favorite actor?

I don’t really have one…

12. Loud music or soft?

It all depends on my mood and what I’m doing

13. Where do you go when you’re sad?

For a run or cuddle with Guinness

14.  How long does it take for you to get ready in the morning?

30 minutes.

15. Every been in a physical fight?

Nope.

16. Turn on?

A soft touch.

17.  Turn off?

Arrogance.

18.  Fears?

Failure, death

19.  Last thing that made you cry?

The thought of having to turn a found dog over to animal control (I found his owners thank goodness!)

20. Last time you said you loved someone?

Today to hubby before leaving for a lunch date

21. Meaning behind your YouTube name?

i don’t even know what my YouTube name is!

22. The relationship between you and the person you last texted?

She’s a good friend

23. Favorite food?

Mexican and Chinese….and pasta….and pizza….

24.  Place you want to visit?

Italy

25.  Do you have a crush?

Just the hubby

26. Last time you kissed someone?

Hubby about 2 hours ago

27. Last time you were insulted?

Everyday :P

28.  Favorite piece of jewelry?

Wedding rings and my necklace

29. Who should answer these questions next?

Whoever wants to! :P

Until next time,

Foodie Friday – Strawberry Pretzel Salad

This is one of my absolute FAVORITE summer treats.  The term ‘salad’ is used pretty loosely, as I would call it more like a dessert casserole maybe?  At any rate, I get excited every time my mom makes it :)

When hubby and I were discussing on our menu for Mother’s Day, I suggested this dish.  It’s my first shot making it so I had to call my mom and verify a couple of things, but overall it wasn’t bad for my first go at it.  I have a feeling I’ll be making it more as the summer goes along :)

Ingredients
3/4 cup margarine or butter, melted
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 1/2 cups crushed pretzels (don’t crush too fine)
2 cups boiling water
1 large package strawberry jello (I used sugar free)
1 lb package frozen, slightly thawed strawberries
8 oz package cream cheese (I used 1/3 fat)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 small container Cool Whip (I used light)

Directions
1.  Combine margarine, brown sugar, and pretzels.  Mix well.  Pour into lightly buttered 9x13” dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Set aside and allow to cool completely.

2.  Dissolve Jell-o in water.  While hot, add chilled strawberries.  Cool in refrigerator until mixture begins to set (around 2 hours).  Stir occasionally.

3.  Cream the cream cheese with the sugar and fold in whipped cream.

4.  Spread cream cheese mixture over COOLED crust.

5.  When Jell-0 mixture begins to set, pour it over the top of the cream cheese mixture.
6.  Refrigerate until firm, preferably overnight.  It’s best if you eat it within a couple of days before the pretzels get too soggy on the bottom.

It was a big hit and not too shabby for my first try!  Definitely a crowd pleaser :)

I hope everyone has a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend!

What dessert do you look forward to enjoying during the summer?

Until next time,

LiveJournal Tags: Foodie Friday,strawberries,recipe,Mother's Day

Anniversary Trip

Hubby and I have been married 5 years now…my how the time flies by!

(photos by David and Jess Photography)
We got married on Pensacola Beach and have returned every year for the past 5 years to celebrate our anniversary.  This year was no different!
We started off our anniversary with breakfast at the Bodacious Brew, a new coffee shop and breakfast place I found that I wanted to try.  The Bodacious Grits were great, and ya gotta love latte art :)

After breakfast, we headed back to the hotel hubby had stayed in the night before (he did some business down in FL and I had flown in that morning).  We checked out and headed over to Jackson’s Steakhouse, where we met my friend, Kristin, for lunch.  Why did we choose this restaurant?  The first martini is on the house at lunch…that’s enough to rope us in!

After lunch we said goodbye to Kristin and headed to the beach for awhile.

We finally checked into our hotel, the Holiday Inn Express Pensacola Beach, at around 5 and got ready to head to our anniversary dinner at The Global Grill.  Hubby is always trying to get me to try new foods (I can be a little picky…) and he definitely succeeded at dinner.  We had sheepshead fish, Carpaccio, Brussels sprouts in a Gouda cheese sauce, and….
  
Rabbit livers.  Yes, I said rabbit livers.  I was VERY hesitant, but our waiter insisted it was one of the best things on the menu and explained to me how they were prepared, so I reluctantly agreed.  But…they were actually really good!  They soak them in buttermilk which helps to pull a lot of the gamey flavors out of it, breaded them in cornmeal and fried them, then put them on a thin crouton with an aioli sauce.  I think I even ate 3 of them.  And for dessert, carrot cake with pumpkin ice cream.

If you’re ever in the Pensacola area, I HIGHLY recommend this restaurant.  Just be sure you make reservations…it stays full every night.
Saturday we got up and headed out to the beach for the morning.  We had a late lunch at a new restaurant on Pensacola Beach, Red Fish Blue Fish
 
Then we headed to see the Pensacola Blue Wahoo's play the Mississippi Braves in some Double A minor league baseball!

We were the ONLY ones in the stadium cheering for the Braves, but they won!
 
Sunday morning we packed up and headed to lunch at hubby’s favorite restaurant, Peg Leg Pete’s.  He was still on the kick of making me try things, so he ordered a half dozen Buffalo Blue baked oysters.

They weren’t half bad :)  I had red beans and rice and he had a fish sandwich.  After lunch we headed home.  We lucked out and had gorgeous weather the entire time we were there and missed the heavy rains and flooding by 2 days!  I’m already looking forward to heading back next year.
Do you have an anniversary tradition with your significant other?
Until next time,
 

LiveJournal Tags: anniversary,Pensacola Beach,Mississippi Braves,Pensacola Blue Wahoos,Bodacious Brew,Jackson's Steakhouse,Holiday Inn Express,The Global Grill,Red Fish Blue Fish,Peg Leg Pete's,vacation,beach

2014 Georgia Publix Half Marathon recap

This race happened back in March…it’s probably about time I did a little recap, huh?

We had a fun night planned for the day before the race.  We all met at the expo where we did a little shopping and hanging out.

  

We met up with Matthew and Angela and continued to browse the expo and do a little shopping.  Brandi, Ramona, Katie and I had all decided to get a hotel room near the start/finish line so we could hang out more and be closer to the race.  Worth every penny!  After checking in and putting our bags down, we headed to meet everyone for some carb loading at Max’s Pizza!

 

Soooo tasty!  We had a great group and it was nice to chat over dinner.  We had some fun afterwards taking some group pictures :)  We all walked back to Matthew and Angela’s hotel, the Glenn, to hang out at their Sky Lounge. 

(I think we’ve all decided that next year we’re staying here)

After more drinks and conversation, we headed back to our hotel to get some shut eye…we did have a half marathon to run in the morning :)

The alarm went off and we slowly made our way out of bed, dressed, and headed to the start line.  We met up with Brandi’s parents and then headed to our corrals.  It was soooo nice to be able to sleep in and not have to worry about riding MARTA or anything!

While in the corral I was able to meet up with my friend, Elizabeth.  We met at the 26.2 with Donna weekend, but she’s a local and it was nice to see her again.  She ran as “Where’s Wilma?”

Of course I had to get a pic with my BRF Brandi :) (even if it is a little shadowy)

Finally, it was time to start!

 
This was a tough race for me as I hadn’t really been running like I should.  I didn’t take a ton of pictures since I was focusing more on running and making sure that I finished. 

I do like to stop and take a picture with this beautiful background, though :)

Soon after, it was time for me to take my favorite during-race fuel – Huma Gel

I was feeling pretty decent.  I then came up on the Old Fourth Ward…this neighborhood has one of the best cheering sections during the whole race.  I really enjoyed their energy last year and was looking forward to seeing them again this year.

I came to about the halfway mark, and one of the food stations was located here…Jelly Beans!

I made sure to stay to the left here!  I was NOT prepared to make a 13.1 mile mistake!

Soon after breaking off from the full marathon, we ran into Piedmont Park.  This is another one of my favorite parks of the race…great cheering section and some really nice views of the city.  We go back onto the streets of Atlanta -

Just a 5k to go!  Then I came into the Georgia Tech campus.  I’m a UGA girl so I had to show my dislike for the bees :P

However, they did have orange slice, and even though they were a little big, it was still a nice mid-race treat!

As I ran through the food station, I came across a woman who was running her first half.  I asked how she was doing and she said good, so I continued on.  We met up again with a little over a mile to go until we reached the finish line, and I told her we would finish together.  We chatted about her training and how, at 58, she decided to run her first half, and she was doing great!  Katie, who was volunteering near the finish, came and ran with us for a bit.  We made the left turn and down to the finish line we went!  The woman (whose name I have forgotten!! Ugh!!) was so excited!  She turned and hugged me and thanked me for helping her through the last mile.  We got our medals, water, heat blankets, and chocolate milk and parted ways.

Half marathon number 7 was done!  I ran into one of the ATLrunsDisney girls, Kim, and we chatted while she waited on her husband to find her.  Brandi and Ramona had already headed back to the hotel so I slowly made my way there to shower and get ready to meet up with everyone for brunch at Chick-A-Biddy’s!

 

Even with the hills, I do love this course…still undecided if I will run it again next year…maybe I’ll volunteer instead.  Who knows :) 

While I’m not crazy about the orange shirt, I do love the medal.  One side of the lanyard has all different Atlanta landmarks that we passed while on the course – Carter Center, Little 5 Points, Piedmont Park, Centennial Park, MLK Center…and I love the bronzed look of the peach.  Well done!

After finally getting home, it was time for Guinness and I to cuddle up for a well deserved nap!

 
I enjoy all my races, but they’re even better when I’m with my running family.  They make the pain worth it.

Until next time,

LiveJournal Tags: Georgia publix half marathon,Chick-A-Biddy,Glenn hotel,Max's Pizza,half marathon,expo,Huma Gel