Ice cream & cats

Posted on October 23, 2012 by HHRunner

Because obviously, they’re related.

I was going to post yesterday but then I spent from lunch until the very last minute I was at work editing a 30 page project and the thought of staring at the computer for even just one minute after that made me want to hurl my laptop out the window. So instead I opted to go home and do some therapeutic cleaning, drink a glass of wine, and curl up on the couch and watch a movie with the boy instead. Within five seconds of walking through the door I had managed to change into workout capris and a t-shirt and was utterly useless for the remainder of the evening. I didn’t work out and honestly didn’t even think about it. I had homemade nachos for dinner and maybe closer to two servings of ice cream than one. It probably wasn’t the healthiest way to spend the night and I probably don’t care.

On a side note, does anyone really eat only one serving of ice cream? Half a cup is more like a few bites and not a serving, so I’m convinced all the ice cream makers of the world made a mistake when they labeled one serving as half a cup. I’m certain they meant half a serving was one cup and they just got confused.

Also, while I was at HEB the other night I found this:

picture via

WTF!!!! Where has this been all my life?! It tastes like cinnamon toast crunch, which is easily one of my favorite cereals (tied with fruity pebbles. seriously, that stuff is the jam.) Actually, I probably need to never buy this stuff again because I can’t stop eating it. So freaking good. Also, I’ve convinced myself that because it’s “light” I can eat more of it. I’m pretty sure that thinking is flawed.

But I ran 5 miles this morning, so that pretty much negates the extra ice cream, right? Except my coworker and I went to a self-serve frozen yogurt place during lunch, which I think cancels out the 5 miles. We actually had a lengthy conversation over sandwiches about how we needed to stop getting ice cream after lunch every time we go out (we go to lunch once a week) and then as soon as we were finished we promptly drove over to a frozen yogurt place. #fail. At least it was delicious. I’m pretty confident that I’ll never regret making the choice to get frozen yogurt.

The 5 miles I ran this morning were blissfully good. They weren’t necessarily fast or spectacular, but I felt good. I actually had planned on doing a hill workout on the treadmill but then decided I wanted to run outside. I was only going to run 3, but then I felt good so I opted to tack on 2 more. That hasn’t happened in a long time. My right calf has been super tender lately (and still is) but during my run everything felt like it was functioning properly. After a pretty miserable 15 mile run on Sunday, I was in desperate need of a good run, so I’m glad today delivered.

What else has been going on…

Tara, Heidi and I went and had frozen yogurt this weekend. That’s a runner/blogger thing to do, right? Never mind that neither of them have been blogging *ahem* or that, in a very un-blogger move, we didn’t take any pictures. I guess that means we all fail as bloggers. Instead, I drew you this picture to simulate the experience:

We all pretty much just sat around and smiled at each other, just like the picture suggests. That’s not weird at all. Heidi’s husband Scott was there part of the time too, but I couldn’t figure out how to draw four people with my mediocre paint skills, so you just get one of the three of us. And Tara, I know your hair isn’t red, but I had limited color options. I also know you’re all probably amazed at how awesome my artistic skills are, so I’m just going to throw it out there – if you need a freelance Paint artist, I’m your girl.

Oh and since I feel like Louie gets a lot of face time on the blog, Twitter and Instagram (he really just does a lot of cute things), I feel obligated to give Leo a little bit more love.

Sean was fishing all weekend and when he got back on Sunday he was pretty wiped out. Leo LOVES to snuggle on the couches with people, and he tried SO HARD to find a position where he was able to lay on the couch and sleep with Sean, but he’s a big cat so he kept sliding off the couch. I was doing that awkward, silent laughing the whole time where you try to be really quiet but it never really works… (my coworker, Heather, and I have this problem at work a lot). He did finally manage to position himself in a way that kept him from slipping off the couch though, which is when I snapped this:

Seriously. I can’t handle this picture and how cute it is. And see how Leo’s little leg is starting to slide off? Picture his whole body doing that. Hilarious.

Then, later on in the night Leo managed to bat one of their toys underneath my dresser. I happened to be in the room when he did so I went to go get it for him and then discovered a whole slew of toys that the cats had lost underneath there. I got them all out and Leo freaked out and was trying his hardest to hoard all of them. He wouldn’t let Louie take any of them.

You can’t tell, but he has three toys in his paws in this picture and he was trying to shove all of them in his mouth.

And that’s all I’ve got. A lot of stories about ice cream and cats with a little bit of running thrown in. Hope your Tuesday is going spectacularly!

Healthy Pre/Post Workout Snacks [Guest Post]

Posted on July 2, 2012 by HHRunner

Today I’m thrilled to have Kathleen Chu, who is a freelance writer for Everyday Health, guest posting about the importance of pre/post-workout snacks. Enjoy!

source

For many of us, hitting the gym means burning calories and achieving the perfect body; however, nutritionists and fitness experts all agree that the calories we consume right before and right after a workout are crucial in determining whether or not we reach our workout goals. Eat too much and you’ll be left feeling sluggish and uncomfortable during even the lightest cardio routine; eat too little and you’re unlikely to have the energy needed to go the extra mile. Pre-workout, you need to prep your body with a healthy snack no more than 150-200 calories. You want to provide yourself an appropriate energy boost to take on your work out session, without adding excessive calories. The reason why we steer away from junk food pre-work out, aside from the obvious reasons of wreaking havoc on your waistline and adding superfluous calories to your diet, is that these foods require a long time to digest and will make you uncomfortable during an extended exercise session.

Foods that are higher in protein and complex carbohydrates and low in sugar are ideal for snacking on before stepping into the gym. Here are just a few suggestions of great pre-workout snacks:

• Greek yogurt and a piece of fruit

• A whole-grain English muffin smeared with a little peanut butter

• An apple and a piece of low-fat cheese

• A handful of unsalted nuts, such as almonds or walnuts, and a piece of fruit

If you’re a protein-bar kind of person, be careful when reading the labels. Today, many protein bars are loaded with sugar and will hinder, not help, your work out. Be on the lookout for bars that have less than 7 grams of sugar and less than 10 grams of fat. Look for bars that have greater than 20 grams of carbohydrates, but make sure that protein makes up half of this figure.

Don’t forget that what you eat after a workout is just as important as what you eat before. It’s imperative not to cancel out a successful and intensive work out session by binging on unhealthy foods. Again, aim for a balance of carbs and protein. Try a small portion of whole-grain pasta with a side salad (light dressing on the side). Other healthy options to consider are grilled chicken breast and grilled salmon, with a side of brown rice and veggies. Grilled chicken is a lean meat that provides loads of protein. Salmon is not only a good source of vitamin D and antioxidants, but also of omega-3 fats, which have been proven to reduce inflammation and prevent a host of medical conditions, including diabetes and heart disease.

Apart from monitoring your nutrient intake, it is also necessary to drink a lot of water throughout the day to prevent dehydration. During your work out, take sips of water between each exercise interval. You want to stay hydrated as you sweat without making your stomach feel heavy. Proper hydration and nutrition are sure to maximize any of your work out efforts and give your body and lifestyle healthy, lasting results.

What kind of pre/post-workout snacks do you eat? I’ll be honest, since I work out early in the mornings I rarely eat beforehand unless it’s a weekend long run, and then I fall into the stereotypical toast-pb-banana category. As for post workout, I usually have a glass of milk.

Mexican Tortilla Lasagna

Posted on October 24, 2011 by HHRunner

Last week I was contacted by some folks in regards to trying out a lasagna recipe from the website www.mydish.co.uk. Um, I love trying new recipes and I can never turn down lasagna. Who can? (please don’t answer that if you can turn it down, we might not be able to be friends).

I am always looking for new recipes, so I was definitely intrigued. Though the whole “grams” instead of cups and ounces thing threw me off a bit. Nothing Google couldn’t fix though. Smile Before committing I trekked on over to the website to check out what they had and that’s when I stumbled upon a recipe for Mexican Tortilla Lasagna. Say what?! I had never even thought about putting a Mexican-flavored spin on lasagna before, so I decided to give it a go. Best.decision.ever.

When I was making out my grocery list on Friday evening (don’t judge at how wild my Friday night was) I saw that the recipe called for creamy lasagna sauce and I got a little worried at how that was going to fit into the meal… Creamy sauce in Mexican food? I don’t know… However Target really pulled through on that one when I found these:

Roasted Poblano Alfredo? Now that sounds like it’ll fit into a Mexican-themed lasagna to me! Coupled with Spicy Red Pepper tomato sauce? Classico, you and your flavors are awesome. Oh and in case you’re wondering, you definitely need a Shock Top Pumpkin Ale to keep you company while you’re cooking Winking smile

Since I can’t follow any recipe exactly as it is, I threw in these spices while I was browning ground turkey (I rarely use ground beef when I’m cooking). I use these with just about everything:

I seriously can’t live without any of those spices. Delicious. I also added fresh jalapeno and a Serrano pepper to the ingredients in place of the red or green chili that it called for and then I passed these over to Sean:

Sean is a master vegetable chopper. Seriously. I don’t know how he dices so well, I have little patience with that stuff. Which is good because he gets mad when I chop up things without telling him Smile

Once he finished chopping I added the veggies to the meat and got this pretty little picture:

Louie was not as impressed though:

Please ignore our messy counter and focus on his less than enthused facial expression Smile

And then came the kidney beans (which I am a HUGE fan of. I know that a lot of bloggers out there are really into chickpeas, and I like those too, but I like kidney beans more):

MMMMMM. I could eat it just like that.

After all that goodness was done I started layering and quickly realized that I had enough for not one but TWO pans of the lasagna… a good thing if the recipe turned out good, a bad thing if it turned out bad…

Oh and two other swaps I made: I used whole wheat tortillas and low fat sharp shredded cheddar.

While we waited for it to bake we headed outside to do what we do best:

Just kidding… I meant play washers. Though you can take note of how Fall-festive we are with our Pumpkin Ale and Oktoberfest beers Smile

The cats were excited because they got to come hang out outside too.

In hindsight, this was not the best idea because they spent the entire rest of the night meowing at the back door to be let out again.

I didn’t hear the timer go off (I was too distracted trying to beat Sean in washers. Fail.) so the cheese on top was a little brown.

BUT that didn’t stop it from being absolutely delicious. We added pickled jalapenos (definitely didn’t need them – it was plenty spicy without them… which is saying something because Sean and I add jalapenos to meals any chance we get!) and I added salsa. Holy amazing.

You HAVE to try this out. The creamy poblano sauce definitely gave it a lasagna-y taste but in the best way possible. And it was super easy to make too. Especially when you bribe a boy with beer to help you Winking smile

Have you ever gone into a recipe skeptical but then had it come out amazing? What about awful? I tried to make a chicken dish one time and completely missed an entire step. It was terrible. Thankfully, this one turned out MUCH better!

Reviews and previews

Posted on October 17, 2011 by HHRunner

How’s that for a snazzy title, eh?! OK not really, but it made me smile a bit

Last week was a pretty good week for workouts and resting – weird, huh? Let’s look:

Monday: 25 minute HIIT workout (um, why have I not been doing more of those?!) + 2 sets, 10 reps Runner’s Weights
Tuesday: 6 miles of glorious speedwork
Wednesday: 2 mile walk + 2 sets, 10 reps Runner’s Weights
Thursday: 5.5 mile not-so-glorious tempo run
Friday: I took the day off. I was going to try to go to yoga after work but I got stuck in traffic and it didn’t happen so I just took a (much needed) rest day
Satuday: 12 (total) miles. 1 warm-up mile @ 9:09 pace, PR 10k (that recap will be up tonight or tomorrow!), 5 painfully slow miles once I was home.
Sunday: unintentional rest day… I was going to go for a nice long walk before Sean raced but we had to leave earlier than I thought we did so I didn’t get to. We didn’t get home until 4 in the afternoon and I didn’t finish grocery shopping til 6:30 in the evening and by that point I was exhausted so I just chalked it up to being a rest day and am perfectly content with that. I finished my day by making freaking AWESOME clam chowder (more on that to come too!) and napping through all our favorite tv shows. ac-tive, try not to be jealous.

That being said, the big thing missing last week was yoga. It figures that I bought an unlimited pass and didn’t go once last week (oops!) so this week I’m trying to set it up like this:

Monday: speedwork + hot yoga while the boy is watching MNF
Tuesday: 25-30 min. HIIT + 2 sets, 10 reps Runner’s Weights
Wednesday: tempo run
Thursday: 35 min incline walking or hill run + 2 sets, 10 reps Runner’s Weights + yoga
Friday: long walk or rest day depending
Saturday: 10 mile run + (maybe) hot yoga
Sunday: 3 mile easy run or yoga

See? Lots of yoga. Unlimited pass means I need to go a lot (and cancel my gym membership, just not getting any use outta that thing right now!)

I’m also trying a new thing where I plan out all my meals for the week ahead of time in an effort to scale back on our grocery bill and to cook more at home. I’m trying to give myself a few interchangeable options for breakfast/lunch everyday and plan 3 solid meals to make during the week looks something like this:

Sunday: make meal
Monday: leftovers from Sunday (I like my Monday’s as easy as possible)
Tuesday: make meal
Wednesday: free meal (leftovers)
Thursday: free meal (on my own, Sean’s at softball)
Friday: make meal
Saturday: go out or leftovers (interchangeable with Wednesday)

I’m pretty list-driven, if this whole post hasn’t already shown you that.

Do you make lists for everything too?! Um, guilty type A personality RIGHT HERE.

Do you plan your workouts each week or just do what you feel like doing? I plan them with the knowledge that I can switch anything on any given day depending on how I’m feeling and I can eliminate any non-speedwork/tempo run/long run workout as needed. Those 3 HAVE to happen though at some point.

Hungry Eating or Bored Eating?

Posted on September 27, 2011 by HHRunner

Today’s workout: 20 min Pilates before work; 5 miles speedwork after work

First: my arms are TIRED from yesterday’s drum class.

Second: this post is rather wordy, so I’m supplementing it with pictures of my cats.

One thing that I’ve really been struggling with over the past couple months is eating when I’m hungry vs. eating when I’m bored. There’s (obviously) a significant difference in the two, but I think it’s sometimes easy to confuse them.

I first noticed this phenomenon when I was working at my old job because I ate all the time. At first, I didn’t think much of it because hello I’m knee deep in marathon training, but as time goes on I’ve realized more and more that eating (when I’m not actually hungry) has become a habit. And not just eating, but eating way more than I need to… eating to the point of being stuffed, not just full and satisfied.

So what?

I’ve mentioned a couple times that I’ve been unhappy with my eating habits and my current weight. I claimed to hop back on the “healthy” bandwagon and then conveniently left those revelations here in blogland, forgoing implementing them into my life. Til now. Quite honestly, I’m just sick of stepping on the scale and seeing numbers I’m not happy with and then soothing them with – you guessed it – food.

Clearly regular “I’m just going to cut back on this” tactics weren’t working for me because I never did. So I did something drastic. I decided I’d do South Beach Phase 1 for a week where you basically cut out a whole lot of foods and focus on vegetables and proteins. I wanted to see if I could maintain Phase 1 for a week and then shift into Phase 2 because (when I’m actually paying attention to what I’m eating), Phase 2 closely resembles my normal life.

I’m three days in and while I was sitting at my desk this morning when I usually would be having my first morning snack (yes, I had two) I had this revelation - I’m not hungry. Huh. That’s weird, but I always eat two morning snacks. So maybe I don’t need two. Maybe I just need one. But I got into such a habit at my old job of eating two snacks… essentially to break up my morning before I left for lunch. Essentially because I was unhappy. Not because I was hungry.

On BistroMD they give the following scenario: “How many times have you wandered idly over to the refrigerator, pulled it open and stood gazing vaguely into the bright interior, waiting for some moment of inspiration? That’s boredom eating. If you were actually experiencing hunger, your physical need would bring you to a quick decision.”

Well I do that all the time.

I’m not really sure right now if I’m actually going to keep up South Beach Phase 1 all week. But I think the first couple days pinpointed what I’ve been missing this whole time. I think eating became such a mindless activity over the past few months that I needed something to snap me out of it and realize how important it is to identify when you’re actually hungry or when you’re using food to take up time and space.

WikiHow has some great tips for distinguishing when you’re actually hungry or not. A few of them really stuck out to me when I was reading over them:

#3 – are you hungry or thirsty? I drink a lot of water as it is, but I drink the bulk of it in the morning for whatever weird reason. Keeping a water bottle with me in the afternoons is probably a good idea too…

#4 – are you hungry or bored? duh, that’s what this whole ridiculous post is about

#5 – are you hungry or tired? um, I’m pretty sure I’m always tired. I don’t even remember the last time I wasn’t vaguely tired. I have been trying to get to bed earlier, but it’s always a work in progress with that.

Do you mistake boredom with actual hunger?

Random question: what’s your favorite color? That has nothing to do with this post, I’ve just recently shifted favorite colors from green to teal

Dealing with the inevitable

Posted on September 21, 2011 by HHRunner

If you’re a guy, you probably have no interest in this post. Just sayin’.

This is probably going to be a touchy post for some, and I’m sorry if that’s the case. I also am not looking for any sympathy or trying to get any compliments. I just want to talk about how I’ve personally been feeling.

I’ve woken up for ohhh about a week now feeling fat. Lucky for me Lauren just wrote a great post on fat days. I happened to read it as I was wallowing on the couch in undeserved self pity eating my second heaping bowl of soup and contemplating what I was going to eat after it (cinnamon raisin bagelthin, by the way, followed by a Sprite and then gummy bears and then goldfish, and then… you get the point).

So as I was chomping away and reading her post, I got to thinking… why am I having fat days? No… really and truly, why am I having fat days? I asked myself the same things Lauren asked – am I just bloated or have I been too liberal with what I’m eating?

Well, realistically, it’s because I’ve gained about 5lbs. Before ANYONE jumps down my throat about me saying that I gained 5lbs let me go ahead and put it out there that I know I’m not overweight and I know a lot of people gain weight during marathon training, I know.

Because the honest truth is, I am not comfortable for me. I haven’t been eating the things that make my body feel its best, and my training and my weight are suffering because of it.

Do I need dessert every night? Nope.

Do we need to be eating out as much as we have been? Nope.

Do I need to treat every dining out experience as though it were my last? Nope.

Do I need four servings of soft pillowy bread followed by fried artichokes followed by pizza followed by frozen yogurt? No… well, maybe.

And it’s been affecting me wholly. I’ve been irritated, I haven’t been sleeping well, my runs have felt off, I’ve been reluctant to go exercise (<— which, can someone explain that one to me? why is it that when we’re feeling good we want to continue to work out and eat well, but as soon as we fall off the bandwagon we don’t want to work out or eat right?) and all around I’ve just been feeling sorry for myself but I’ve been unwilling to change anything about it.

As Lauren said, “Obviously, if I determine that the issue at hand is me, then I need to evaluate what I’m doing. Have I fallen off the path? Have I allowed myself to overeat or eat high calories, high sugar, high fat items? I totally believe in moderation and be able to enjoy things like Mexican food, cake, pizza. But I believe that if I have it every single day and have too much of it, I’m going to gain weight. Its just how my body is wired. Some people have a blessed metabolism and can do that, more power to you. Me, I need to watch my calorie intake and be aware of how much I’m eating and exactly what I’m eating. So if I’m having a Fat Day, I like to look back at my food journal and reflect on my consumption. It definitely has been the key to my success in losing weight and maintaining my weight loss.”

Yep.

The truth is, I’ve been stressed. Switching jobs is stressful, even if the switch is a good one. I’m still trying to find a good schedule to get into and I’m dealing with all of these goals that I want to accomplish but am unsure as to how. I’m also having a HUGE internal debate about some things that I’m not sure how to approach. And I’ve just been flat out lazy.

Time to change things up a bit and get back to moving a lot and eating well.

Luckily, even though I skipped my speed work yesterday morning I did drag my sorry self onto the treadmill as soon as I got home and knocked it out with 5 pretty gratifying miles. We also went out for mexican food after that with Sean’s family for his birthday and I managed to leave without feeling like I did too much damage (which rarely happens).

You have those kind of days, weeks, months too… right? I envy you if not.

Any tricks or tips for getting back on the bandwagon?

Trying New Things

Posted on August 22, 2011 by HHRunner

So, I was recomitting last week, if you remember.

Well, it was a little difficult. Lunch on Friday at Chuy’s put a big dent in the whole recommiting thing, especially because I can’t – no matter how hard I try – stop eating those stupid chips. There may or may not have been tres leches involved as well. I can’t really remember.

Saturday I slept in (I don’t know what my deal is on the weekends these past two weeks – I haven’t been up before 8 which is really out of character for me) and that’s when I tackled my dresser and got rid of half my clothes. The drawers are pretty empty now, which makes me breathe a little easier.

And this is only the beginning of all the clothes I’ve gotten rid of. Cleaning out is AWESOME.

We went over to Sean’s parents house to watch the Texans/Saints game. I took zero pictures because I suck. Suffice it to say – I ate the entire time we were there. So I re-started over yesterday (nevermind that I didn’t work out yesterday - I did eat pretty well all day).

Who watches True Blood? Am I alone, or is Eric super annoying now that he’s “nice”? Not a fan. I’m ready for Boardwalk Empire to start again.

Anyway, back to being back on track… I did hot Suntouch yoga this morning at some ungodly hour and it was AWESOME! I’ve decided that I’m going once a week (Mondays) to start off my week detoxing and starting “fresh”. Seriously amazing. Lovelovelove.

I also went to an hour long cycle/muscle blast class at the gym which I really wish I could always go to but don’t really see that being possible. I haven’t been to a cycling class in a while, so this class was perfect because it was 30 minutes of spin and then 30 minutes of weights. Which means I have already knocked out one of two strength sessions this week and it’s only Monday. Which also means this week has started off the right way

Oh and in case you randomly feel like doing an “easier” hills workout – this is a good one.

5 mile hill workout

1 mile: jog at an easier pace, incline 1%

3/4 mile: jog at an easier pace, incline 2%

1/2 mile: jog at an easier pace, incline 3%

1/2 mile: jog at an easier pace, incline 4%

1/2 mile: jog at an easier pace, incline 3%

3/4 mile: jog at an easier pace, incline 2%

1 mile: jog at an easier pace, incline 1%

I made it 6 miles by keeping it at 1% the last mile and upping the pace 1% every minute. It was a good 6 miles. And I don’t remember where I got that hill work from, but I will link to it when I find it.

Hills – love ‘em or hate ‘em? I actually don’t mind them. They’re hard for sure, but I am always really satisfied when they’re over. Same thing with sprints.

Recommitting.

Posted on August 17, 2011 by HHRunner

Over the past few weeks I’ve been in a slow downward spiral (side note: I find it funny that when you type in “downward spiral” on Google images halfway down there is a picture of Lindsay Lohan… well played, Google, well played) with my healthy living efforts.

via

It’s been rather disheartening. So Monday night, as I lay in a coma of unhappiness because I was so unbelievably full from going to the Melting Pot with my coworkers, I decided I needed to make a serious change. And when I woke up at the crack of dawn Tuesday morning in absolute pain because my stomach was still hurting, I reaffirmed my re-commitment.

via

I’m stating it here because I figure if I say it “out loud” I’ll be more accountable. But probably not because I don’t do the whole “food blogging” thing. Way too much work for me.

I’ve also been in a huge rut with marathon training. Don’t know why, just haven’t felt like doing it. That’s not to say I haven’t – I’ve done all my training runs, just without my usual gusto.

Suffice it to say, when I got home from work last night I tried to be a big baby and blow off my run because I was “tired” and my legs were “sore” (from all that 40 minutes of yoga I did on Monday, yeah…) but I finally did suck it up and hop on the treadmill for a 6 mile tempo run.

It was awesome.

Thank you legs, for helping me remember that training can be fun.

I really hate when blog posts end abruptly, but I don’t have much else to say today. My hands are dry and typing is becoming annoying. I’ll leave you with this, which clearly did not make the cut for my wedding dress:

I’m already embarrassed I just posted that. Oh well. How do you deal with jumping back on the bandwagon? I don’t even know if it’s fair to say I really “fell off”. I just need to re-prioritize.

I’m giving in… Hydration belt advice NEEDED

Posted on August 12, 2011 by HHRunner

Dear Blogging Friends,

BECAUSE I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH RUNNING-RELATED ITEMS… I need some help. After my 6 mile torture fest this morning in the sauna that is Houston before the sun rises (we’re talking 90% humidity here), I realized I need to cave in and buy a hydration belt.

I know nothing about hydration belts.

I don’t know what brand is a good one to have, I don’t know which one fits the best, I don’t know anything at all.

Heck, I can’t even run and drink water very well.

So I need your help.

What do you like? What do you hate? What should I buy?

Thanks!

P.S. I need one that I can also put in my shot bloks/gels/whatever.

NEXT

First: How cute is he?!

But really: I’ve also moved into the big debate of morning running vs. night running. The problem is, while it’s cooler in the morning, the humidity is much higher. So do I want lower temps and higher humidity or higher temps and lower humidity? Right now I’m thinking higher temps and lower humidity. Because I ran a 9:28 pace this morning and thought I was going to die versus the 9:13 Wednesday.

It’s a rough life, I tell ya.

IN OTHER NEWS

You should probably make this recipe. I made it last night and it rocked. Except I also added in 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, 1/2 a teaspoon of chili powder, a can of rotel because I didn’t have green salsa, and I just toasted corn tortillas into massive chips because I didn’t have flour tortillas.

Oh and I added jalapenos and instead of putting the black beans on the side I just added them to the top of the mixture once everything was cooked. So it’s exactly the same recipe, obviously.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

Don’t you wish you worked with me? Look what I brought everyone today…

I’m not all fancy like Melissa (you should REALLY want to work with her, she baked for her co-workers!), but I think Crave will do…

Favorite dessert? I’m a sucker for frozen yogurt, but I LOOOOOOVE Crave cupcakes too!!

If you’re a Crave Cupcake fan – favorite flavor?!?! If you’re not a Crave fan – WHY NOT!? Cinnamon is my FAVORITE. HANDS DOWN.