I’m officially stocked up on things to blog about!

First things first! On Sunday I took my camera along with me on an overcast and very-mild-for-January morning run.

I took a punk along with me too.

Who wants to come along on a 5 mile run through my new neighborhood? Well, you don’t have a choice. Get your sneakers on. It’s time to go.

Our first landmark would be what is currently my most favorite thing to run over in the whole wide world. A pedestrian bridge that crosses the river that divides the city in half.

Why I take so much pleasure from running over a pedestrian bridge I’ll never know – but I love it, I do!

(Pictures are more fun with people in them so expect to see my running friend Shawn a lot during this post.)

Over the river.

To the river path that also happens to run along a college campus.

A glimpse of downtown from the path.

Getting closer…

I should let you in on a secret goal I have in life: to be able to do a cartwheel even when I’m 100 years old.

30 years and going strong! 70 years to go.

After the river path, it’s time to break into the cemetery though a broken spot in the wrought iron fence.

Dude, you ran right by it!

The only problem with taking my camera with me on this run was that Shawn would run up ahead while I stopped for my mid-run photo shoots, and then I would have to bust ass to catch up with him. Ah well, probably a good thing really, especially given I haven’t done speed work in ages.

Spooky!

Don’t just lay there, get up and run with us!

Through the cemetery. (And figuring out to just take pictures while I’m running.)

Back across the river.

To stop and admire some graffiti.

Why does this come as no surprise that this very cryptic message was spray painted on by men? I certainly can’t imagine a group of women spray painting “BALLS” under a bridge. “KITTENS”? Probably not. “DIAMONDS”? Maybe. “CHOCOLATE”? Getting closer now.

There! 5 miles! Done! That wasn’t so bad now was it? We were only gone about 45 minutes, and it seemed to go by like the scroll of a mouse wheel, didn’t it?

Next on today’s bloggy agenda would the awesome care package that arrived via United States Postal Service from my boyfriend Brendan Brazier yesterday!

OK, maybe not from BB himself, but a girl can still dream.

I need to give a big shout out and thank you to my girl Kelly at Sequel Naturals for offering to hook me up with Brendan’s latest book, Thrive Fitness. I’m so excited to read and review this book!

In case you missed it, I happened to love Brendan’s book Thrive. The changes I made in my diet thanks to everything I learned in his first book have made such a difference in my life. Thrive gave me the information I needed to make adjustments in my approach to eating which in turn has given me more energy in general, has allowed me to sleep better, and made my runs and workouts feel positively amazing – I can’t wait to see what Brendan’s training program and book dedicated to fitness has to offer!

This happens to the perfect segue into Blog Worthy Item #3:

I realized this weekend that the half marathon I plan to run in April is now less than 12 weeks away! Considering the training program I used last time is 12 weeks long, I guess that means it’s time to start thinking about training? Ugh. I’m not ready yet. The Sunday long runs don’t start getting longer for another 5 weeks, but still. If I hope to beat my previous half marathon time of 1:47, I’ve got to get back to doing long runs and speed work too. Speed work is so much easier in the summer! Or at the very least, on a treadmill.

Well, it’s not anywhere near summer and I don’t have a treadmill or even a gym membership, so I’m going to have to figure something out. I’m probably going to have suck it up and run fast outside. In the cold. Joy to the world.

Runners! Do you do speed work outside in the winter? (And if you live in a warm climate, your comment doesn’t count!) Does it suck as much as I imagine it’s going to? Maybe I’ll be surprised and sucking in cold, frozen air fast and hard will be petting a kitten? Putting on a diamond necklace? Eating chocolate? No?

• Half Marathon Race Recap
• Turn It Up
• Secret Goals

If I could sum up in one word what I’ve learned over the course of the last couple of weeks here, that word would be:

Balance.

Now of course this concept of “balance” is not a foreign to me or to you or to anyone who is at least somewhat committed to living a healthier life. Balance is something I like to believe I’ve always aimed for, but it’s a lot harder to find that sweet spot when you’ve got a ton of stuff heaped on the scale. And if you don’t stop piling stuff on? The scale is going to eventually buckle and come crashing down. The next thing you know you’re wiping tears from your eyes and resisting the urge to throw yourself into a heap on the floor while singing the lyrics to Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da wondering if the Beatles wrote that song knowing that one day a 5 year old girl in upstate New York would drive her mother crazy by requesting that song be put on repeat every time she gets in the car from May through December.

What’s one of the things that’s kept me sane during these scale crashy times? Running! If you know me or have read this blog for a while this probably comes as no surprise. But it’s true. Without my nice healthy endorphin rush from exercise I would be left trying to figure out a way to get my hands on some powerful mood altering drugs. Instead of adding “buy drugs” to my to-do list and figuring this new expense in to our budget, I’ll just go for a run instead. It’s just the easiest option really, not to mention the option that is least likely to get me into any sort of serious trouble, with the law or otherwise.

I ran this morning in fact, with my neighborhood running group in the cold, dark but at least dry streets. I’m still running regularly but not working out nearly as much as I have over the course of the last year. I’ve come to discover that I don’t need to work out 5 or 6 days a week to maintain my weight and my desired level of fitness. 3 or 4 days a week is perfect, and has come with a load of unexpected benefits. I have more time, I’m not as hungry, and I feel like I’m letting my body have a little break from the rigors of training. It’s felt great to run for maintenance and mental well being instead of focusing how to run faster, longer and stronger.

On the food front, huge salads have been my saving grace, both in a sense of ease and the wonder that is chlorophyll. I can’t say I haven’t taken advantage of the mood altering effects afforded to me by dark chocolate either though. Thank you 70% Green & Black for doing your part in keeping me from flinging myself off a bridge.

Did I ever tell you that melodramatic is my middle name?

In summary, that’s where I’ve been.  I think I might even turn my camera on today or tomorrow. For now, know that  I’m here – running, eating salads and chocolate and taking advantage of the power of loud music too. Chris Brown, I don’t care what you did – turning this one up always makes me feel better.

• When the Garmin Strikes Midnight
• Turn It Up
• Say What You Mean To Say

So for the most part, I have been thoroughly enjoying my 6 AM runs with my new running group. It feels great to get my run in so early and have exercise checked off my list first thing. I enjoy the company and conversation as well as the easy pace of the group.

I do have to be honest about one thing though, and that is that these runs in the dark are starting to wear on me a little. I miss the sun! I miraculously managed to get a run in by myself during the daylight hours on Wednesday. Even though it was an overcast day, it was still nice to be out when the sun was on our side of the earth for a little while. Stingy southern hemisphere.

This morning I realized that if I can’t have the sun, I can at the very least have the essence of the sun in its plant based form. Hi Chlorophyll, you’ll do for now – I’ll take what I can get.

New house, I’d like you meet my good friend Breville. I’m sorry I haven’t properly introduced you to each other sooner!

If you look carefully, you’ll notice something missing out of one of those apples. Oops. It just looked too good to not sink my teeth into while I gathered up all the produce from my farmer’s market of a fridge. Somethings are just irresistible I tell ya! I’ll try and control myself next time. No promises though.

Today’s juicy concoction would be a giant head of green leaf lettuce, a partial head of red leaf, a couple of carrots, a few inches of ginger, two apples (minus one innocent bite) and two lemons. I’ve recently stopped peeling the lemons and putting them straight in the juicer as is. I’ve noticed that it gives the juice a lot more zing, and I’m assuming that’s from the rind? Maybe instead of saying it gives the juice more zing I should say more zest!

Two glasses of green vegetable juice this morning, one for me and one for him.

Thanks to the red leaf lettuce and carrots, this morning’s green goodness in a glass looks like we’re about to drink the water the girls rinsed their water color paint brushes in. Cucumbers make a much more photo friendly glass of vegetable juice, but carrots or cucumbers – they both taste amazing!

Speaking of introductions, our indoor-outdoor cats (who, until just recently, were temporarily demoted to indoor-only status until we were sure that they knew this is where their food dish is) are starting to get thrown outside again to get back to their indoor-outdoor status. Cats need daylight too after all!

Their new kitty outdoor adventures have allowed them to meet some of the other cats in the neighborhood. Maybe they’ll go running together or something.

Today our male cat Andy (on the right) got to meet this other black and white cat that keeps showing up on our doorstep.

Don’t they look happy to see each other? I know I always lay my ears flat like that when I’m in a good mood and happy to see someone. As a matter of fact, I’m totally laying my ears flat looking at all the clouds in the sky as I type.

• Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
• Orange You Glad It’s Sunday?
• Birthday Beet Juice

One of the nicest perks of our new house would be the regular running group that came built right in to our neighborhood. They run Monday, Thursday and Saturday mornings and as luck would have it, today is Monday!

I found out about the group from a friend who lives in this neighborhood. He’s been running with them for a while and invited me to join them on a Saturday morning run back in October. I accepted the invite and by the end of the run I was already contemplating what it might take to get our closing date bumped up to that very afternoon.

I emailed my neighborly friend last night to confirm the days and times were still the same and that they were still meeting over the holiday week. When I got the thumbs up that running this morning would be a go, I got my running stuff all set out and ready. The group meets at 6 AM and while I am no stranger to getting up in the 5 o’clock hour – getting OUT before the clock strikes 6 is a whole new ball game.

Yesterday’s journey through my neighborhood streets, to the campus of a large university, through the cemetery and back over the river to make my way home again was great. It was sunny, not too cold and almost all the snow was gone. But when I peeled myself out of bed at 5:40 this morning, I found 6 inches of the white stuff on the ground. The street in front of my house was not plowed and there was one set of tire tracks through the road that showed me just how deep the snow was.

Ankle deep. And it’s still snowing.

So now what? Are they still going to run this morning in this crazy mess? If I was at at the old house, today would definitely be a treadmill day. Do I change out of my toasty purple socks and sexy sweat pants and get in to cold running tights and an adorable pink hat that I knit myself only to find that I’m the only fool that came out this morning? If that were the case, the next step would be to turn around and go home because I’m not running alone in the dark through city streets. Even though the roads are well lit, I don’t know the area well enough to head off by myself when the sky is still black. Well, orange-ish yellowy is more accurate than black really. We’re in the city now after all.

But I digress.

OK, fine. It’s worth the risk. I suited up and off I went, into the orange-ish yellowy snow filled sky, down a tire carved path on the otherwise empty and silent street to make the trek to the meeting location two blocks over. Sure enough, I was greeted by three smiling faces and we were joined by three more folks shortly there after.

Wait. A group of happy, smiling people wearing sneakers and face masks at 6 AM on a cold and snowy Monday morning? Really? Is this a drug run?

I don’t know what it is about running with a group of people, especially considering I barely know anyone besides my friend – but this morning’s cold, wet, orange, snowy and blowy run that was filled with conversation and laughs made today’s run just as good as any sunny and dry Monday morning solo run through my suburban streets or a random treadmill run at an old decrepit gym.

I kept coming back to the fact that if I hadn’t had plans to meet with this group today, I never would have run this morning. I’ve no longer got a gym membership to speak of, so without these plans I surely would have been home this morning wondering what I could do to avoid unpacking or putting away more stuff. There’s no doubt that making plans with a work out buddy can be a powerful tool to keep you on track and motivated and will get your butt out the door when you would otherwise eschew your pink hat in lieu of sweat pants with a large hole in the crotch. (I told you they were sexy.)

Our run took about 45 minutes and when all was said and done I was gone about an hour. Given our somewhat leisurely pace through the ankle deep snow I’m guessing we went about 4 and a half or 5 miles this morning.

My post run breakfast would be an old favorite, fruit cereal.

1 diced banana and 1 diced gala apple tossed and coated in ground flax seed and unsweetened cocoa powder, topped with sliced almonds and chocolate unsweetened almond milk. Who needs grains when there’s fruit to eat?

I enjoyed my fruit cereal while Maxine and her toys enjoyed our generously sized forced air ducts and the big blast of hot air from it this morning.

Looks like I’m not the only one who has found some fun perks that came with our new house.

• Scary Spoon
• A Day of Calorie Counting
• When the Garmin Strikes Midnight

This post is a figment of your imagination. Or is it?

I didn’t expect to have a chance to run or post this morning. But here I am, having unexpectedly run and now unexpectedly posting. How unexpected.

When an opportunity to run this morning presented itself, I jumped at it. Zak worked from home, the kids slept late, so off I went for a healthy dose of endorphins and some fresh air and sunshine. The real reason I went was to wax nostalgic because unless I get to sneak out tomorrow morning (Merry Christmas to me?) this will be my last run through these neighborhood streets as well as my last chance to avoid running into Mr. Miyagi.

And now here I am, 33 minutes later, covered in sweat, smelling like the outside and managed to miss any and all encounters with overly friendly Asian men. I’m even feeling slightly less stressed and dare I say it, normal.

And that, my friends, is how we got to this blog post today that I didn’t expect to write.

My last post at this house! I got in one last run here, I’m going to get one last post in here too. Thank goodness running makes me happy because being happy makes me do ridiculous things and doing ridiculous things makes me write ridiculous posts.

Like I said, normal.

Today’s ridiculousness would be trying to give my kids spinach for breakfast.

Thank you Mama Pea for the idea to make them chocolate green smoothies and serve them in opaque cups!

I hope you are taking this opportunity to wax nostalgic over my red counter tops – I know you love them. This is the last time! Unless of course you dig through the archives, in which case never mind.

So where was I? Oh yes. Chocolate unsweetened almond milk, unsweetened cocoa powder, a banana and a couple big handfuls of spinach – pureed and poured into fun cups with fun straws and fun lids.

Quick, hide the spinach! Cue sing-songy Disney princess voice!

ACTION!

Oh Guuurlllss! Who wants chocolate for breakfast?

Try it! You’ll like it!

Fail.

Maxine: Mom! It’s GREEN!

Crap. How did she know?? Am I even going to be able to pull off this Santa stunt tonight?

Ava: It’s not that bad.

Nice.

Ava drank hers, I drank Maxine’s. Good thing mom likes drinking chocolate green smoothies out of a yellow butterfly cup with a straw. In fact, I liked it so much I made one for myself. (Don’t look at me like that – yes I drank Maxine’s but that butterfly cup might as well have been a shot glass!)

I’m even brave enough to use a clear glass, I don’t care that it looks like pond scum. Did you say chocolate? Hand it over. That’s what eyelids are for.

OK blog friends – I’m out of here! Catch ya on the flip side! Have a great holiday and I’ll be coming at you live from the new house sometime over the weekend.

Peace!

• When the Garmin Strikes Midnight
• Life Goes On
• Chocolate Smoothies Built for Two

It feels like a week has gone by in the span of about 48 hours. The last couple of days have been filled the disassembly of our current household to be packed and driven to our the new house about 20 minutes away. It’s felt a lot like putting together a puzzle that’s missing all sorts of pieces, including crucial corner and edge pieces like couches, beds, tables, dressers and bookcases.

We have made countless (ok, maybe 5) trips to the new house in the last two days. Anything non-essential (read: anything that is not mine) is subject to being packed up and shipped off to the new Weeds Family Urban Compound.

We’re making progress though! And taking pictures along the way too.

Like photos of the very first food item in my new cupboards (old pizza left behind notwithstanding) dropped off by a friend.

Pics of giant salads consumed between house runs, eaten right out of the storage bowl like a heathen.

Snap shots of cookies made by little girls who are fortunately being kept busy by generous family members.

Pictures of our new intercom/laundry chute to summon children downstairs

only to find something stuck in the chute and yet another item left behind by the previous owners.

That would be a black bra hooked into a giant pair of mesh shorts. 36 C anyone?

After our third car load of the day yesterday I made a quick trip to pick up food to feed the masses – the family as well as all the people who stopped by last night to help out.

Apparently take out pizza makes both Zak and Maxine’s mouths hang open. Who knew?

And I figure if I’m going to buy chips to appease the crowd I might as well buy them from the health food section. These Baked BBQ Popchips were great and even the self proclaimed health food skeptics agreed that they were good.

Given I had to buy pizza for children (cheese only) and picky meat eaters (pepperoni only), I used it as an excuse to get my favorite veggie sub from Wegmans.

And my favorite raw drink too.

Take out pizza? $13
Veggie sub? $5
Kombucha? $3.49

Our first meal in the new house followed by the realization that for the next couple of weeks I have TWO kitchens to keep clean? Priceless.

I woke up this morning in the mood for the most normal morning possible. That meant a run and oatmeal first thing while the fam snoozed and I pretended both of my kitchens are clean.

A slow, icy, snowy and slippery 8 miles followed up by a chocolate breakfast cookie with a twist.

1/2 smashed banana
1/3 c rolled oats
2 Tbsp ground flax seed
1/4 c hemp seeds (therein lies the twist)
1 Tbsp almond butter
1 tsp cocoa powder
splash of chocolate almond milk

Combined and flattened onto a plate with a fork and then into the fridge for a few hours. A normal Sunday morning post-run breakfast.

Not only have I been neglecting my blog duties, but I’ve also been neglecting cooking, emails, friends, personal hygiene and laundry as well. With one of those items now crossed off the list, I’m off to see what else I can get caught up on today! I’ve got a new pair of mesh shorts and black bra that need to be washed after all.

• Two Lefts Don't Make a Right
• Say What You Mean To Say
• Run for Breakfast

Last night I got to thinking about how much I enjoyed my treadmill run earlier that morning. It was actually really nice and I got a great run in without freezing my face off in the bitter cold wind and snow. This is slightly amusingly to me because I use to detest the dreadmill and felt like it was more of a torture device than a piece of workout equipment.

I think it might be possible that the treadmill is starting to grow on me.

Given our gym membership is about to expire at the end of the year, and we won’t be renewing because of the move, I’ve been trying to figure out what we’re going to do in terms of access to a fitness center after the first of the year. I don’t really need a gym in spring, summer and fall, but I do like having a place to go when I don’t feel like battling the elements and running in the dark.

One idea I’ve been toying with is becoming a hardcore yogi through February, running on the weekends and squeezing in weekday runs when I can. Another idea is buying a treadmill. We’ll have room for one in the new house and I’m sure that I would I use it. The problem is how much they cost and justifying spending that much money on something I’d really only use a couple days a week during the harshest winter months. Would we skip a YMCA membership if we bought a treadmill? Could investing in a treadmill actually save us money in health club costs down the road?

I’m not sure yet, but in the mean time I can still look to see how much a treadmill would cost and what we might be looking to spend.

As the wife of a penny pincher, I know I have a much better chance of convincing said penny pincher to buy the item of my desire if I buy it second hand. I’ve become accustomed to this and for most things have come to realize that you can find quality second hand items and save a lot of dough if you look around long enough. Especially on an item like a treadmill, where people buy them with high hopes and then only use it to hang clothes on.

With visions of used treadmills dancing through my head, I ventured to Craigslist before I went to bed.

I poked around and found a wide range of treadmills.

From the fancy:

MUST GO…First person takes it…price firm. Purchased two years ago and used only a few hours. Original price was $5995…selling for $1850. GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFT!!!

To the less than fancy:

Treadmill that runs on human energy? Yeah, I think I have one of those already. It’s called The Road.

To the ones where I have to squint my eyes and cock my head to the right and then the left to figure out what I would be getting for my $250 bucks:

Professional grade treadmill in excellent condition for sale. Core Fitness Systems brand. 10 variable speed and incline. Digial readout. Heart rate monitor. Aerobic arm pulls for full-body training. It’s a beauty. Solid construction. Folds up for storage. It’s a steal!

Digial readout? Wow that sounds really intriguing.

(Look at me, queen of spelling errors and typos throwing stones in this glass house that I built way up high here in my pedestal! Tick! Tick! Tick! CRASH!)

Well, at least now I know what we’re talking about here in terms of spending. Guess I’ll head to bed now… but wait? What’s this?

Gigs? What kind of “gigs” might we be talking about here? Did you catch that “adult” portion of the gigs section like I did? I’m a buy-(a treadmill)-curious female, let’s just see what we’ve got here.

Wow, a Guy Looking to Help Out Young Struggling Female? What a generous person this guy sounds like!

Are you 18 or 19 Years Old???
30 year old attractive guy looking for a very attractive girl 18-19 years old who would like to make some easy money. Looking to meet weekly. Must be open minded, attractive,
Please send your pic, age, area you live and description. Serious replies only.

Open Minded? I’d say. Easy money? I have my doubts on that one.

Oh no. Oh no no no.

Filthy Female Feet ??

I am going to be blunt..I am looking for a female dancer or stripper or any woman who could get there feet truly filthy. If you can do that then I am willing to worship your feet until they are clean. You can’t stick your feet in poop or anything. I am talking about a pair of feet that have danced all night at a wedding or club…or been barefoot on hardwood floors all day. When the arrangements are made…You will get a number to call anytime day or night and when you have sufficiently prepared your feet we will meet. If you are up to the filthy female foot challenge please drop me a note. Please attach a picture of you and your feet if possible. Would prefer the feet to be size 8 or less and attached to an attractive female.

At least he’s blunt – I mean let’s not monkey around here. I like someone who cuts right to the chase.

“Been barefoot on hardwood floors all day?” Well, the new house is full of hard wood floors… I’ll guess I have to see if this ad is still up next month. I typically prefer to wear sneakers around the house though, that might be a deal breaker.

And I did not sub in the word “poop” there either, FYI. I copied that ad in it’s entirety, copyright infringements be damned!

Accomodating Roommate Wanted

I am looking for an attractive, easy going, fun “accomodating” female roomate. I am single and live alone. My house has more room then I use. I have a large, unused bedroom in a seprate part of my home with its own bathroom and lots of storage space. I am in a nice, safe, suburban like area. Less then 10 minuted drive to downtown, on bus lines. You would live rent and utility free in what is essentially a one bedroom appartment in my home (shared kitchen). Two car driveway and garage.
I would expect help with household chores and personal accomodations.
If serious send pics and info about yourself. Feel free to ask questions.
No kids. Small pets will be considered. No drugs or alcohol in house.

Feel free to ask questions? Ummm yeah, I’ve got some questions alright. Like – what would your mother have to say about your new “roommate”?

House Keeper Needed

Looking for a regular housekeeper to clean my home on a regular basis. Prefer women willing to clean in sexy lingere or preferably topless. No experience necessary. Keep the job as long as you want…1 month or 1 year whatever works. Please send pic and contact information.

Zak, reading over my shoulder, agreed that he would like this too. I suggested he create an ad and put it on Craigslist.

Needless to say, I visited the treadmill at the gym this morning. I can’t say though that I didn’t fantasize about what it might be like to live in a rent free house with lots of storage space that is close to bus lines, slipping my worshiped size 8 feet into my Black Friday running sneaks after dancing all night in a club and then spent a little time cleaning topless – to finally take a break and de-stress for 40 minutes on my very own human powered machine.

Until then though, I guess I’ll just use the treadmill at the gym and will worry about finding a used one later.

• Scary Spoon
• Chocolate Smoothies Built for Two
• Birthday Beet Juice

Today felt like an overnight oats kind of morning. Except I didn’t make overnight oats last night. Good thing “Overnight Oats” is just a trick of a name and it could more accurately be called “Just a Few Hours Oats”.

Into a bowl at 6 AM: 1/2 a mashed banana, 1/2 c of rolled oats, 1 Tbsp of almond butter, 1 Tbsp ground flax, a tsp of unsweetened cocoa powder and 1/2 c of chocolate almond milk.

And a single chocolate chip because I’m rowdy like that.

I knocked the chocolate chips out of the cupboard when I was reaching for the cocoa powder and got the bright idea that it would be fun to discover a chocolate chip in the middle of breakfast.

Don’t ask me, it was 6 o’clock in the morning. I can’t tell you what Alison of Breakfast Past was thinking.

But oh no, the fun didn’t stop with my breakfast. I let a single chocolate chip frolic among the raisins of Zak’s Just a Few Hours oats.

The Man got a heaping 1/2 c of rolled oats, a tbsp or so of agave nectar, ground flax seed, cinnamon, raisins and 1 chocolate chip.

“Where’s Waldo”, chocolate chip style.

OK! Breakfast underway, it’s now time to move on to the exercise portion of the day. (And apparently the rhyming portion of the day too.) We got a few inches of snow last night and the roads are totally filled with snow and ice. Running outside in the dark and snow? No dice.

But do I really want to change into running gear and leave the warmth of my home to just to schlep myself out into this cold and dark morning to be a rat on the wheel for a half hour?

Wouldn’t it be nice to stay home in a quiet, dark living room cozily lit by the lights on the tree and do yoga in my pajamas instead?

Mmmm, holiday lights pajama yoga. That sounds so nice.

I eventually decided to brave the cold and make my way to the gym. Considering I didn’t get good and sweaty yesterday I reasoned I should tie my sneakers on today. I knew I wouldn’t come home wishing I hadn’t gone.

So off I schlepped, into the darkness and snow and cold to pound out 5 miles in 40 minutes on the treadmill with my buddies Jason DeRulo and Chris Brown. Hmmm, maybe I shouldn’t be calling Chris Brown my buddy. But if that’s the worst thing I say today then I guess I’m going to let it slide.

My Just a Few Hours Oats were ready and waiting for Alison of Breakfast Present with open (stick) arms!

Topped with the other half of the banana.

Just as I predicted, my oats had softened up perfectly by about 9 AM. You can’t fool me, overnight oats! I found my chocolate chip toward the end of my bowl. Unfortunately I have to admit that this was not nearly as exciting nor fun as I had predicted it would be at 6 AM. Maybe Alison of Breakfast Future will come up with something a little more exciting for next time.

• Chocolate Smoothies Built for Two
• When the Garmin Strikes Midnight
• Scary Spoon

I was scheduled to work at the fundraiser today and my shift at our homeschooling table began at 9:30 AM. I was off on my run as soon as it was light out because I didn’t have much time to spare.

I was back about 45 minutes later with what I believed would be enough time to shower and have a quick breakfast.

Except when I say “quick breakfast”, I apparently mean throw in my bag and eat there because I am fairly consistent at underestimating how long it takes me to do something.

And by “do something”, I mean get myself ready and out the door.

I worked 2 hours manning our table, selling homemade items and baked goods.

Play silks and paper lanterns painted and folded by kids from our group.

I left with (and when I say “left with”, I do mean paid for) two sweet little felted acorn ornaments for our tree.

The rest of the day has been dedicated to getting ready for our move to the new house in just three short weeks! Today has been declared Garage Organization Day, therefore we (and when I say “we”, I mean Zak) are working mostly in the garage.

Some items of interest have been unearthed. And by “unearthed” I of course mean ready to be hauled out to the side of the road in hopes that some sucker will pick it up.

Ava asked me to write “3 Pennies” on a sign for her and explained she was trying to earn money for Maxine’s birthday present.

By “birthday” I’m guessing she means Christmas. Although Maxine’s birthday is in September and at 3 cents, maybe birthday is exactly what she meant.

Unfortunately, I wrongly assumed Ava wanted to get rid of this drum like I did and sell it for some cold, hard cash.

Cold hard cash, yes. But by my little entrepreneur went a step further and turned “get rid of” into bilk multiple people for 3 cents each.

Crap. Zak’s already in his seat. Does that mean he’s the more dedicated parent? And by “more dedicated parent” I totally mean bigger brown nose.

All in the name of one less birthday present I have to pay for next year.

We listened to the sweet melody of music inspired both by Disney and PBS – raw and uncensored.

And by “sweet melody”, I do indeed mean sweet melody.

After the first act I excused myself to get lunch ready for us. Except by “us” I mean me because nobody else was hungry. A peaceful lunch by myself it is! And by “myself” I mean with my favorite magazines.

I made a quick stop at the natural food store on my way home today to grab some hemp seeds. Hemp seeds are a natural, vegan, non-soy based way to boost the protein content of a giant lunch salad.

1 Tablespoon sprinkled on my salad = 57 calories and 4 grams of protein.

Although pricey, hemp seeds are not only a source of protein, but also a great source of Omega 3 and Omega 6.

Except by “pricey”, I mean it’s time to start advertising those drum podium performances.

And when I said “some sucker” above what I really meant to say was some wonderful, generous person looking to fund plant based protein needs and take a great drum off our hands at the same time.

• Two Lefts Don't Make a Right
• There’s Always a Silver Lining
• One Armed Carrot Jokes

What’s one of the first things I do when I wake up in the morning? Put in my contact lenses.

And what’s the first thing I saw today? Toys on the bathroom counter. But do you see what I see?

If I look in the mirror I see a lady with a dirty mind.

At least now I know why he smiles like that.

Soft porn toy pics make me hungry! I was in the mood for cereal and planned to do yoga at home, so I figured I’d pop some homemade cereal in the oven before I got my downward dog on.

Pre-heat the oven to 250

1 diced gala apple
1 c rolled oats
1/2 c ground flax seed
1/2 c pumpkin seeds
1/2 c sesame seeds
1/4 c sunflower seeds
1/4 c agave nectar
1/4 c coconut oil (I’ve used canola in the past and it works fine)

Combine all ingredients and spread them on a cookie sheet to be baked for 1 hour.

With breakfast underway, it’s time to change into some yoga clothes and hope I don’t see anything too racy as I walk past the toy box.

Uh oh. Look at that thermometer.

52 degrees outside?? It was 38 when I ran yesterday morning! I’m totally running today, yoga can wait til the next cold, windy, rain day – which will probably be tomorrow.

Except ugh, look at the time. 7:39? Zak wants to leave for work around 8. OK, I’ll be fast! I’ll run the exact same route I ran yesterday, but this time with no iPod and keeping speed in mind. All my talk about running fast yesterday, it’s time to walk to the walk. Or more accurately, run the run.

Knowing yesterday’s run took 34:04, I told Zak I’d be less than a half hour today. Ummm, you’re pretty cocky lady. Nice try but not quite.

I was totally tired.

Breathing hard.

And faking a smile.

Until that last pic I was thinking Prince Charming and I had a lot in common this morning. Especially with that cocky lady part. That smile did look sort of fake though, but he’s a man after all, so I doubt it.

Baked cereal was ready shortly after I got back. Lifted from the cookie sheet and into a large measuring cup for calorie tabulations to come.

Well over the 4 cup line, let’s call this 5 cups.

A sliced banana topped with just a 1/2 cup of cereal because I foresee that this will be pretty calorie dense.

Topped with a half cup of almond milk.

Time for totals!

Today’s run was the exact same as yesterday’s, but today I did it in 31:33 instead of 34:04.

7:31! I’ll take it.

Now time for calorie calculations.

1 diced gala apple – 75 cals
1 c rolled oats – 300
1/2 c ground flax seed – 240
1/2 c pumpkin seeds – 400
1/2 c sesame seeds – 190
1/4 c sunflower seeds – 415
1/4 c agave nectar – 240
1/4 c coconut oil – 480

Grand total – 2340

5 cups = 10, 1/2 cup servings.

234 calories per half cup. With a banana (100 calories) and a half cup of unsweetened almond milk (30 calories), breakfast tallies up to 364 calories. Yesterday’s breakfast was 380. The scale today? Let’s just say 2 out of 3 ain’t bad.

• Run for Breakfast
• Over Run Oats
• June One