Notice anything missing?

No posts about SAD for TWO MONTHS!

It was definitely a "white-knuckle" kinda winter. Even ONO had a hard time.

Here's a little somethin-somethin for him:

Happy Earth Day!

Today I savored the sugary smell of spring.

Didn't happen

I did NOT run the planned for race today.

I thought I was coming down with strep throat yesterday (Carter has it) and felt generally icky. A 90 minute trip to "Convenient" Care during which a 5 foot long Q-tip was rammed down my throat reveled that I was not positive for strep. However, I came out of there feeling ickier than when I went in....probably had something to do with managing the mini-muffins in a child-unfriendly environment.

And this morning turned up windy, rainy and cold.

Maybe I'm a wimp.
Maybe I'm not as committed to running as I thought.
Maybe I'm not as nutty about running as ONO worries I am (or will become).
Maybe it's ok to not run a planned-for race.....

There's always another race.

Just look at their eyes...

NPR is doing a week-long series on soaring food costs around the world. What I heard today was about the rising demand for meat and its toll on the environment.

(Listen to that report here.)

This isn't new information. It's one of the main reasons that ONO and I decided to be flexitarians (mostly vegetarian.) So listening to this report, and the results of a specific study, gave me one of those self-gratifying moments -- "Cool! Already doing that."

I know some of you are starting to glaze over and others have already clicked on to something WAY more interesting and sensational. But for the rest of you still reading, CHECK THIS OUT!

According to that study, reducing your meat consumption by 20% is like trading in your Camry for a Prius. Can you believe how easy that is?! That's SO easy!

Here's what reducing meat consumption translates into in practical, every day terms: If you eat two meals a day that include meat, that's 14 meaty meals. Reducing by 20% means dropping meat from roughly 3 meals a week. Not that hard. And, you have to admit that reducing meat consumption is a lot less expensive than buying a Prius. In fact, doing that will SAVE money -- maybe $10-$15 week by my rough estimate.

So if the soft, brown, innocent eyes don't get ya, maybe that "cha-ching!" of your bank account will.

For more info, check out this site.

I was tagged by GeekGirl Misty. Here are the rules:

1) Write your own six word memoir.

Knows when to shed her skin.

2) Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.



3) Link to the person that tagged you in your post, and to the original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere.


4) Tag at least five more blogs with links.

If you're reading this, consider yourself tagged. (That means YOU, Bobinnie!!)

5) Don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blog=

Less than a week out

In preparation for my first 10K next Saturday, I ran nine miles today -- nine long, painful, COLD miles.


The weather totally SUCKED today. Fortunately I decided to dress like I had dressed back in February....it was a good thing! Temps hovered around freezing and the winds were 15-20 mph. I chose today for the long run instead of yesterday because yesterday the winds were gusting up to 50 mph. I got rained on, snowed on, sleeted on, and blown on REAL good. And early on I strode (strided?) out too far and got that strained, pinched feeling in the back of my left knee.

I ate an excellent breakfast (another of ONO's magnificent omelettes) so I'd have plenty of slow releasing calories to feed me energy through the 9 miles. I worked hard at starting out slowly and checking my pace frequently so I'd last the whole time. Now I'm wondering what the run would have been like without all that careful planning and checking. I blame the blasted wind, against which I ran, UPHILL, for mile 5 and half of mile 6.




Before you get all impressed, remember that I live in Central Illinois, The Prairie State, and that there is only 64 feet difference in the lowest and highest elevations.

I almost gave up after mile 7 but MADE myself continue sludging along to the mile 9 marker. Then I jelly-legged it back home, quite slowly.

I've never had this happen before but while walking the 3/4 mile home, my lady parts felt like they were going to fall out. I have no explanation for this but am comforted to know that I'm not the only one. Geek Girl Misty who writes Athena Diaries has shared her trials and tribulations with this. It's a scary thought. I'm just waiting for all that stuff to realize it's not needed for baby-making anymore and peacefully retire to Florida.....maybe that's what it's doing....heading south, so to speak.

So I'll do one more run this week before Saturday's race. I'll work out twice on the elliptical and completely rest on Friday. Stay tuned for the race report.

Whew!

Aren't you glad that man pregnant with quadruplets is gone? Too, too scary.

Here's a pretty picture to reestablish order in your brain:



ONO and I got married here....not in THIS exact place, but in Santa Fe. We actually got married at Crystal Mesa Farm, just south of Santa Fe proper. The web site doesn't do it justice -- it's a STUNNING place. And we still think it's the most beautiful spot on earth.

What insomnia can uncover....

Stumbled on this pic while Net surfing at 1 am.



Just might be the scariest thing I've ever seen.

Maybe this baby's his relative?



WOW. That's a big crab.



Where can I get one of these??



Yes, that's a dress made out of balloons

What's Cookin' Wednesday

This recipe has quickly become one of our favorites. It is SO easy it's ridiculous. I decided to try it after getting a hankerin' for California Pizza Kitchen a few weeks ago. Oddly, CPK doesn't offer this pizza any more. It was what I ordered every time I went there.

Pear and Gorgonzola Pizza

1 refrigerated pizza dough (I used Pillsbury)
6-8 slices of Provolone cheese
2 pears, thinly sliced
6 oz of Gorgonzola cheese
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
Mixed salad greens

***********************************************************************************

Spread pizza dough out on lightly greased baking sheet
Lay Provolone on top of pizza dough
Top with sliced pears
Sprinkle walnuts and Gorgonzola cheese on top of pears

Bake for 8-10 minutes at 450 degrees. All cheese should be melted and bubbly and crust should be golden brown.

Top with mixed salad greens.

Enjoy!

Wii-ly Funny

Since he was a little kid, Carter has enjoyed playing computer games (what kid doesn't?) As he got older and the games he liked switched from problem solving (e.g., the Oregon Trail) to slash and burn (e.g., Call of Duty) I've expressed my concern for his exposure to and participation in violence, albeit cyber violence.

Shortly after we got the Wii, he sent me this article.

If you like that, check out more of the Onion. The political satire is some of the best.

Return of the Chub Rub

This morning after loading up on a 2 egg, onion, pepper and feta cheese omelette, and a cranberry-walnut bran muffin, I set off on this week's long run. It was a beautiful day -- the best kind of weather (in my opinion) for running -- a little breezy, full sunshine, and about 50 degrees. I decided to wear shorts, the first time this year.

This in and of itself was a wonderful thing -- there's nothing like the breeze and sun gently caressing your pale, dimply legs. But, I forgot about the extra layer of fat that I had laid down on my inner thighs for the winter. Actually, that extra layer of fat is an all-season layer. I hang on to it in the (unlikely) event that the planet is thrown into a surprise Ice Age. I'm a survivor!!

This run really came together for me. It helped restore my confidence after Friday's sucky tempo run. I had planned to run a timed 5K to see how I was doing with that goal. I guess I started out a little too fast,(1st split 8:40) because I got really slow on mile 2 and 3. And, I had miscalculated the distance so where I thought I was only at mile 2, I was actually at mile 3. When I checked my split, I got really discouraged and blew the rest of the trial. Oh well. Live and learn.

Anywho, only a few things marred this otherwise FABULOUS run:

1. a bug in my eye (at least it wasn't in my mouth)

2. a pair of very large, not chained, dogs who came bounding out of a yard headed straight for me. I was maybe 1/3 of a mile from my turn-around point and almost decided to chance it, but fear won and I turned around right there.

3. a group of insolent adolescents who, despite seeing me coming at least 100 yards away, continued to loiter on the side walk. I kept on going, prepared to plow trough the group if necessary but only slightly grazed one who had her back to me.

I kinda noticed the consequences of my chub rubbing together about the last mile. It was really bad after I got home and took a shower. OUCH!

I guess I'll be walking like a saddle-sore cowboy for a few days.

Help, anyone??

In the not-so-cold ground

So my experiment with the milk jugs didn't work. They kept blowing over in the windy-ness of March and they didn't stay moist and warm enough for the seeds to sprout. Next time I'll remember to weight the bottoms and make sure I have all the lids for each container.

I would have re-planted long before now except that for the last week the weather was entirely uncooperative. Thankfully, today Mother Nature gave us a nearly cloudless day with temps in the 60s. All I can say lady, is.....IT'S ABOUT TIME!

We got a bag of mushroom mulch from our fave nursery and I "worked the soil." As always, there was a lot of "help," mostly in the way of finding big, fat juicy worms and telling me where I should put them. No, not in that sense -- Brennan just has a strong sense of where things should go ("Back in the garden, Mommy! Not in the compost bin!") This one apple sure didn't fall far from the tree!

Here's what should be poking their cute little heads up above ground in 7 - 10 days:

Sugar Peas



Spinach



Red Russian Kale


Radishes (one of ONO's favorite)


chamomile (I had no idea it was such a pretty flower. Gravy!!)


basil


cilantro

[If you're not a gardener, these probably all look like the same green stuff. Sorry to bore you.]

I'm a little disappointed that things didn't work out as planned, but even with this "traditional" planting we should be feasting on our own tasty, organic produce by late May to early June. Delish!