LLRB 365: 2011 Week 37

Monday

9-12-11

Warm day today, so I treated myself to an iced coffee.

Tuesday

9-13-11

Squirt's "I didn't do it" face.

Wednesday

9-14-11

I love my new necklace from Megan!

Thursday

9-15-11

My sick dude.  I think he's getting a bit big for the exam tables at the pediatrician's office.

Friday

9-16-11

The kids' first time marching at a game as members of Grandville's Varsity Marching Band.

Saturday

9-17-11

Went to packet pick-up and got my goodies for tomorrow's race.  I LOVE the shirt!

Sunday

9-18-11

Absolutely beautiful morning for the runGR 2011 Bridge Run

Who just PR'd?  Bari and Pete did!

You can read my race report here!

I hope everyone else had a fabulous week.  I'm off to a birthday party - at Chuck E Cheese - do you know if they serve beer? I think I'm gonna need it :)

What did you do this weekend?

Cinema Saturday:What are your top 5?

I'm completely ripping this blog post idea from Megan over at Running Toward The Prize. This morning she posted her top 5 favorite movies, and, I have to say, the girl has great taste in movies!

This looked like fun and I might just spend the day watching my 5. (As a side note, it was very hard to narrow the list to 5. I could have easily listed 10.) So, in no particular order...

Serenity

(source)

Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau, Adam Baldwin, Nathan Fillion, need I say more? I'm a sci-fi fan and Nathan Fillion's space cowboy rocks my socks.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

(source)

"Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?" "It's just a flesh wound." Best movie ever for spewing random quotes on twitter. Plus, it's freaking hilarious.

The Princess Bride

(source)

"As you wish." The world's greatest love story. And Cary Elwes is easy on the eyes.  This movie also now ranks as one of my kids' favorites as well.  My job as a parent is done.

Mallrats

(source)

Really any movie by director Kevin Smith could have made my list, but Mallrats is my go-to movie if I need a laugh. All I need to watch is the "Fly, fat @$$, fly" scene and all is right in my world.

Say Anything

(source)

The movie in which I fell in love with John Cusack.  (Now, just about an Cusack movie would make my list.)  If you want to win my heart, just point out some glass on the sidewalk for me to walk around and then stand outside my window with an old-school boom box and play me some Peter Gabriel.

So, there you have it.  5 of my all-time favorite movies.

Honorable mentions: 
Ferris Beuller's Day Off - "Life moves pretty fast.  If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."  Sage advice, my friends.
Dazed and Confused - Young Ben Affleck and Matthew McConaughey.  Rocking soundtrack. I rest my case.
Grosse Pointe Blank - One of my favorite Cusack movies.
The Fast and the Furious - Vin Diesel (yum) and Paul Walker (yum) and really fast, hot cars (yeah!).
Pirates of the Caribbean - Any of them, it really doesn't matter.  Johnny Depp is the most perfect pirate. "Why is the rum gone?"

So, what are your 5 favorite movies?  Leave a comment - or better yet, write your own post and link it in the comments!

Fitness Friday: I'm Racing, Are You?

This Sunday I'm running my first official race since the Soldier Field 10 back in May, the 10 mile Grand Rapids Bridge Run.  I'm surprisingly calm and relaxed about it.  I know a ton of people also running either the 5k or the 10 miler and my plan is to just go out and have fun.  My last two 5 mile tempo runs have been phenomenal but I'm trying not to get over confident. If I can maintain the pace I've been running for 10 miles, I could be looking at a huge PR.  But, if that doesn't happen, I'm totally fine with it.  I ran a great race in Chicago last May (since I was so motivated to beat my husband - which I did!), so beating that time is going to be tough.

I know a lot of other friends have races this weekend, too.  I need to give a special shout-out to my girl, Kirsten, who is running the Tough Mudder NorCal on Saturday.  She'll be running 10 or 11 miles, but running through a crap-load of freaky hard obstacles in the process.  I am so proud of how hard she has been training for this and I cannot wait to read her race report.

Are you racing this weekend?

Thankful Thursday: Fall?

Today I'm giving thanks for some cooler running temperatures (although this morning was a bit too cold for my taste).  This was the temp last night:

While I didn't get to run last night, it definitely shows the mercury headed in the right direction.  We won't talk about how I had the heat on in the car though, cuz that would just be silly.

In addition, I'm thankful for some pretty awesome friends that have also been generous enough to sponsor me in my marathon!

Megan, from Running Toward The Prize, is becoming an awesome runner herself.  She ran her first 10k this year (in 1:03!!!) and is planning to run the Princess Half Marathon at Disney World in February.  I'm hoping she decides to run the Grand Rapids Half too, because then we'd get to run the first 8 miles or so together (although, I'd probably have a tough time keeping up - this chick is pretty speedy!).  I was also lucky to win the necklace Megan just gave away on her blog last week!  Megan just rocks and I'm proud to call her a friend.  You can find her on twitter here and if you ever want any help planning a Disney vacation, she's your girl!

Isn't it perfect :-)

My dear friend, Mendie, from Little Ladybug that Could also took some time out from her busy schedule snuggling her 3 month old beauty to send me some sponsor love as well.  Mendie is one of the first girls I connected with when I started tweeting and blogging.  I love this girl with all my heart and cannot wait to get back to visit her again so I can give her a hug and snuggle her beautiful little girl.

Thank you so much Megan and Mendie!  MWAH!

Would you like to join my sponsors Ben, Erin, Andrea, Lisa, Ann, the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans, Melissa, Kirsten, Mel, MyRaceRagz, Roo, Megan and Mendie in supporting me as I train to finish my first full marathon, the Grand Rapids Marathon? I have set up a sponsorship page in which you can help me reach my goal of crossing the finish line (sponsorship will help pay for race fees, nutrition/hydration, shoes, etc). You can click HERE, or click on the tab above. I would love and appreciate any support you can give me. Bloggy and linky love will follow, as well as the ability to sponsor individual miles and run "with" me on October 16th. I cherish all the love and support my readers have given me this year. I wouldn't be attempting this race without you. 

Wednesday Ramblings

Uber quick cuz I'm running late for work.

First off, thank you to everyone who commented on yesterday's post. I'm still undecided exactly how I will run Sunday's race, but I definitely have a better idea.  A lot will depend on how I feel Sunday morning. (I never look at my blog stats either, but WOW did a lot of people open that post yesterday, which leads me to the question...why didn't the other 150 people comment?  That's ok, but I really do appreciate the comment luv.)

Secondly, I'm holding steady weight-wise and have really cut back on the obsessive scale hopping.  I'm not thrilled with the number right now (I'm up a whopping pound from last week and 3 from what I'd like my "ideal" to be, not a big deal) but I'm going to need to keep an eye on it.  It's still below the major danger zone.

Third, all this running has made me so freaking HUNGRY.  I think this would be why my weight isn't where I'd like it to be.  I try to reach for healthier snacks, but dammit, sometimes I just want pretzel m&m's.

Random blog question:  What's for dinner tonight?

I've gotten 2 new sponsors that you'll get to meet tomorrow!  Would you like to join my sponsors Ben, Erin, Andrea, Lisa, Ann, the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans, Melissa, Kirsten, Mel, MyRaceRagz, Roo, and my 2 newest sponsors in supporting me as I train to finish my first full marathon, the Grand Rapids Marathon? I have set up a sponsorship page in which you can help me reach my goal of crossing the finish line (sponsorship will help pay for race fees, nutrition/hydration, shoes, etc). You can click HERE, or click on the tab above. I would love and appreciate any support you can give me. Bloggy and linky love will follow, as well as the ability to sponsor individual miles and run "with" me on October 16th. I cherish all the love and support my readers have given me this year. I wouldn't be attempting this race without you. 

True Confessions: #runchat advice!

Hi all,
Today is Tuesday, which is typically "true confessions" day.  You know, the day where you admit to eating an entire (not small) bag of pretzel M&M's or about NOT eating enough after your first 20 mile run so you crashed and felt like crap most of the rest of the day.  Yah, that day.

But, I'm not going to do that today.  Today, I'm going to confess that I'm VERY confused about how to run my 10 mile race next weekend.  Yah.  I have a race before the marathon.  A little "tune-up" 10 miler here in town.  It should be really fun and scenic, but it doesn't exactly fit into my training schedule.

I'm supposed to run 15 miles on Sunday.  Then, I have my 2nd 20 miler on Saturday.

I need some advice.

Here are my thoughts for Sunday's 10 Mile Bridge Run:

1. Just run the 10 as hard as I can - shooting for a PR.
2. Run an easy 2-3 mile warm-up on the treadmill at the gym right before the race and then run the 10 at my marathon goal pace. (Which, in all honesty, I'm also very conflicted about.  You see, I've had a couple REALLY good long 18 & 20 mile training runs, so some of my friends have put a finishing time in my head that wasn't even in the ballpark of what I was thinking.  This is another dilemma altogether.)
3. Run an easy 2-3 mile warm-up at the gym and then run the 10 miler easy.  I do have a 20 miler just 6 days later.

There you have it.  Please comment.  Take a vote.  Whatever.  I.NEED.HELP!

Also, make sure to go visit my newest 26.2 sponsor, Roo!  She didn't want a bunch of shout-outs, so I'm just linking to her twitter because she's so freaking hilarious and I love her to pieces.  Roo is also one of the Social Sisters over at the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans, so if you are around on Tuesday Nights at 8 Central, stop on by.

Menu Monday: Crock Pot Salsa Chicken

A couple weeks ago I published a recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Bread & asked what other types of recipes you'd like to see. Melissa requested an easy crock-pop recipe, so here's the easiest one I have! I believe I received a version of this recipe from Brooke but I've tweaked it a little.

Crock-Pot Salsa Chicken

A couple, good-sized chicken breasts (frozen are totally fine, in fact, frozen is best)
1 16oz jar salsa
1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
Frozen corn (or a can of corn)
1/4-1/2 cup rice

Put the chicken in the crock-pot.
Dump everything else on top.
Cook on low 6-8 hrs or until the chicken is done & shreds with a fork.
Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, whatever you like. You can even wrap it in a tortilla if your little heart desires. Add a salad & you have an uber-easy weeknight meal with essentially no prep time.

Enjoy!


PS - It's Monday and I'm being "Miss Elaine-ous" over at The Miss Elaine-ous Life! You should go visit :-)