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By kilax, November 26, 2009 10:20 am

You know it’s a good day for a 5K when you wake up and find SNOW on your car!

We didn’t let the snow/rain/cold temps (low 30s) deter us! I was super excited to be running our first Thanksgiving Day 5K – especially since the entry to this one was practically free! All you had to do was donate some food. And it looks like they got a lot of donations – I think there were at least 300 runners there.

For being an inexpensive race, I thought it was still well organized. They still had bibs, registration, the trail marked, and people helping along on the trail. There were no pace signs at the mile markers, or water stations, but that was fine with me.

The 5K was held in Lippold Park in Crystal Lake (about a 30 minute drive for us), on a crushed granite path. Crushed granite path + 3 days of rain + a little bit of snow + runners on crowded trails = SUPER SOAKED SHOES. A few times we stepped in puddles that went OVER our shoes and had the fun feeling of water squishing between our toes as we ran. No worries though, we brought extra socks and shoes (My idea of course. Even though I will probably never be a mom, I still think I have the mom instinct)!

Check out how muddy my pants got! I think my shoes are ruined. Wah.

And the close-up!!!

Our goal was to get in under 30 minutes. I wasn’t sure if we would be able to because we were focusing so hard on not stepping into ALL of the puddles, but our final time was about 28:40! We even had negative splits. I never really felt like I was struggling, but doubt I could have gone much faster at the end.

Even though the race was crowded, muddy and cold, it was still a lot of fun. I’m so happy to be getting back into the game, and being able to run with Steven. It might be a silly goal, but I would like to work on my speed, as well as endurance this winter. Do you have any winter running or exercise goals?

Distance: 3.09 | Time: 28:40 | 1: 9:49 | 2: 9:11 | 3: 8:52 | 4: 00:46

Data is happy it is Thanksgiving and is going to celebrate by resting his butt on my head. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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By kilax, November 24, 2009 5:00 am

If you don’t already read the Well blog on the New York Times, I highly recommend you do. The blog is focused on health and wellness topics and updates a few times a day. I always find the articles interesting.

Yesterday, the author linked to an interesting article called “Food, Kin and Tension at Thanksgiving.” I recommend reading it. You’ll either find it amusing, or that it hits too close to home and makes you dread the upcoming holiday meals.

The article is about all of the family drama that happens during holiday meal times – people commenting on you eating too little, people commenting on you eating too much, people sneaking stuff into your food*, people telling you to quit eating so fast, etc. The article gives specific examples, some of which I find ridiculous, like this story:

A Long Island woman, who like others interviewed for this column didn’t want to be named, said she and her family traveled 12 hours by train for a summer vacation gathering with her husband’s family. When her husband asked for seconds, the sister-in-law said there wasn’t any more food.

“There was all this food around, but she had cut us off,” the woman said. “We were just really shocked we were being told you can’t eat any more after coming all this way. We found out later she really controlled food in the household.”

Whoa! Kind of unbelievable, but then again, kind of NOT! People get weird about food, especially around the holidays! I know I felt territorial in my kitchen this past weekend (even though I love love LOVED that my grandma made breakfast).

Food is just so personal, but then again, it isn’t. Everyone pays attention to what other people are eating (makes me crazy) and a lot of people love to comment on it. That’s just the society we live in!

So, do you have any crazy family food drama like in the article?

I bet most of my family finds my vegan ways ridiculous! But, that is why we are hosting Thanksgiving and Christmas, suckas!** I have had people watch what I eat and tell me to eat more. Or eat meat. Or slow down. Or not to use margarine. Or hey, that is the wrong kind of baking powder! Don’t use that salt! What?! You eat SOY?!

Ha ha. The article has a pretty humorous solution at the very end. My solution? Grin and bear it then bitch to my husband later!

*Well, I added that one, but it’s happened to me!
**Just joking here.

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By kilax, November 20, 2009 5:12 am

What’s your morning routine? How long does it take you to get ready for work or a day at home?

I am guilty of being lazy and tired in the morning, and my routine time has cut down drastically. I shower at night. I wake up 30 minutes before I have to leave each morning (usually wake up between 4:30 – 5:30 am) – 10 minutes for makeup/hair, 10 minutes for clothes, 10 minutes for packing lunch. Yeah, I don’t always look so… polished. I don’t think I look sloppy, but I don’t look put together! I just DO NOT KNOW what to do with my hair. I know how to use a hair straightener and that’s about it!

I am actually more likely to spend more time getting ready on the weekends because I do not feel rushed and tired.

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By kilax, November 13, 2009 4:45 am

What’s your take on leftovers? Love them? Hate them? Won’t eat them?

Steven and I typically make a few big meals each week, then have the opportunity to enjoy the leftovers as part of lunch, or as dinner on a busy (running) night if we so choose. We eat them hot or cold and rarely throw anything out. Sometimes we (meaning Steven) get creative and the leftovers become an entirely new dish!

I ask this question because I know people who refuse to eat leftovers. And I’m curious. Is it because they get sick of eating the same thing more than once? Is it because they think the food isn’t fresh? Is it because they don’t know how to heat leftovers up to make them taste good (hint: it’s probably not in the microwave*)? Enlighten me.

Of course, leftovers from a restaurant are an entirely different story. Ha! I don’t always make it home with leftovers, i.e., I am a little piggy and eat my entire dish there. I am getting better at that though! And we usually eat those leftovers too. If it’s a restaurant I went to without Steven, I am more likely to just let him finish it, so he can try the dish as well.

*Fun fact – we don’t have a microwave. We never saw a need for one.

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By kilax, November 5, 2009 12:17 pm

Note to self: Using a napkin to cover your mouth so you can talk with your mouth full of food is NOT COOL. QUIT DOING THAT.

So, I’ve been eating a lot of salad lately, and for some reason, it takes me forever to chew, and I get anxious when I am eating with other people because I cannot respond as fast. So… yeah. The napkin thing.

That is just so gross.

Do you know anyone (besides now, me) who has gross food habits? Do you?

Steven and I once worked with this guy who always chewed with his mouth open at his desk, and smacked his food so loud… you wanted to smack him. He was always eating something, and would walk around the office smacking his food. Yuck. Oh yeah, and he was a vegetarian who any ate meat if it was free (?). And he cut all of the tops off of the cupcakes I brought into the office because he didn’t like frosting (he ate 6 or so cupcakes though).

Bitter much? Ha. I laugh about it. Now.

My other bad food habits are eating too fast and apparently, Steven says, I do a bit of smacking too. BUT NOTHING LIKE THAT GUY! I am working on it too!

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By kilax, October 28, 2009 7:11 am

The interesting thing about the vegan diet is that if you let it, it can be FULL of variety. I feel like I actually eat a larger variety of food now than I did when I was a vegetarian, or even a meat-eater. This happens because you begin to look to different sources for the nutrients you need. You begin to try new things, and it develops a curiosity about food that keeps you exploring.

I have to admit though, it didn’t start out like this. I did my research, and I started a vegan diet on June 15th, but it took awhile to figure it all out. I’m still figuring it all out. In the beginning, it was really Steven who was pushing me to eat cups of spinach a day (only a slight exaggeration) and multiple servings of beans, among other things. Damn, can’t I just eat oreos, swedish fish, and wafers (all vegan)?

Now, I am really starting to get into researching vegan recipes (I have my eye on The Kind Diet and The Conscious Cook). I am really enjoying trying new things.

But here’s the problem – I am afraid of cooking. I love to research the recipes, but bringing them to life? That’s something I usually expect Steven to do. Which is NOT FAIR (even though he usually loves to cook).

A few Sundays ago, I really wanted to try a recipe from the vegan cookbook that Gina got me for my birthday – Vegan Italiano. I read through all of the pasta recipes, and found one that sounded appetizing and didn’t call for any ingredients that we didn’t have. Then, I showed it to Steven, expecting him to be excited to cook it and… he wasn’t! He was in the middle of working on something when dinner time came around, and he was worn out.

So I tepidly made my way into the kitchen, read the recipe about 6,000 times, and put all of the ingredients out on the counter. Oh no! I told Steven the recipe called for 6-8 garlic cloves and we only had two. He politely informed me that we had two garlic bulbs, not cloves. Ha! That would have been one garlic-y dish and I would have used those two “cloves.”

I made the dish, with minimal supervision, and it turned out really good! I was so pleased with myself. It encouraged me to think that I might actually be able to cook things on my own some day! I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to put a dish together without a recipe, like Steven, but there’s hope…

I forget the name of the dish, but it was a garlic-broccoli sauce! Edited to add: the breaded stuff is Boca Chik’n! Yummy!

I think that as a vegan, it is important for me to learn how to cook, so that I can take care of myself (duh), but also so that I can share these wonderful recipes with family and friends… and hopefully help them realize that vegan food is not “gross” or “weird.”

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By kilax, October 26, 2009 7:43 am

I distinctly remember spending the night at my grandma’s house as a kid, and having her ask me if I wanted butter on my food – my toast, my (plain) pasta, my pancakes in the morning, etc.

Because of this, I grew up thinking butter was healthy for you. I figured, with my kid logic, that you added it to your food because it contained vitamins that you needed. I mean, why else would Grandma be asking me if I wanted some?

I also thought that fresh broccoli could only be served with melted cheese. Because every time I had broccoli at her house, it had cheese on it! Who ever knew these two items could be served apart!

Of course, now I realize those meals were just treats! And my grandma loved to treat us! And just so I don’t tarnish her name, I will let you know that she always made us eat a salad before dinner (loaded with ranch dressing – my choice, ha!), and that the food she cooks now is actually much healthier… uh, sometimes too healthy.

I think of this story every time I hear someone say something like “I don’t know what foods are healthy and should be in my diet” or “I can’t eat carbs!” Because my immediate reaction is surprise that people don’t have a general idea of what is healthy to eat, and that they fall for food myths like “carbs are evil” and “you can never have treats.”

But then I remember – I once believed butter was a health food! So, we only really know what we are told or witness first hand as we grow up. Some people probably end up with really distorted views about food, depending on how they are raised.

And even as we do become adults and try to do our own research and live a healthy life, who really knows what source we can trust? It seems like different “findings” come out each week, contradicting one another. Get 2-3 servings of fruit a day versus Limit your fruit intake! Too much sugar is bad for you!

Even when you eat a somewhat healthy diet, there are people telling you to eat raw, eat organic, eat less of this, eat more of that!

I think we all just need to do the best we can, with the tools/resources we have. Sure, you want to nourish your body now, so you get the most longevity and comfort out of it throughout your lifespan, but food shouldn’t be stressful. Too much stress can be just as unhealthy as a bad diet!

Hmm, this post took a strange turn! I actually wasn’t planning on those last few paragraphs. That is what happens when you forget your filter. I just meant to ask – did you have any silly food beliefs growing up? Or even as an adult?

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By kilax, September 19, 2009 11:23 pm

Warning: Picture Heavy Post!

On Friday and Saturday I finally got to do some touristy DC things – visit the monuments and some of the museums. We were lucky in that we had gorgeous blue skies both days… and uh, some gorgeous high temps. I got super hot walking around in jeans on Friday. I had to go back to the hotel and take a shower at 4:00 in the afternoon!

Why does this lion have such an unsure look on his face?

It’s funny how you cannot see the capstone of the Washington Monument when you are below it!

Steven picked up (free!) Washington Monument tour tickets for us and my coworker while we were in class on Friday morning. I loved going to the top of the monument! It’s always neat to get that bird’s eye perspective. And I love seeing how the roads are laid out from above.

View of the Mall and Capitol. I didn’t expect the Mall lawn to be in such bad shape.

View of the WWII Memorial and Lincoln Memorial.

In the top of the Monument.

After the Washington Monument tour, we visited the WWII Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. I wish I could have seen more, but I was feeling MISERABLE in the hot sun! Plus, I didn’t want to be too gross because…

World War II Memorial.

Steven is growing a flag out of his head!

I wish that was ME running.

… I was meeting Alice at a coffee shop! I was bummed when I found out Alice was in town for BlogHer and I didn’t get to meet up with her (okay, even though I was out of town that weekend!), so I had to when I was in DC! I am happy she was able to fit me into her Friday night schedule. She is so charismatic and a great story-teller. I wish I could have chatted with her longer.

Kim and Alice at Bourbon Cafe.

Steven and I went to Café DC for Greek food (ah, twice in one week!) for dinner. Nom nom nom. I want to re-create some of this food at home, especially the salad with chickpeas. We got an appetizer sampler, and falafel pitas.

We walked around a bit more in Georgetown after dinner. It was pretty happening – lots of people out and about. I even met a new friend, who made me miss Data!

New cat friend.

We toured the Capitol Saturday morning, which actually turned out to be very neat and educational! It actually made me want to learn more about our nation. Hmm, I wonder if that was intentional.

I found the history of the Capitol’s architecture very interesting. I didn’t know (or recall, I guess) until a few weeks ago, that the Capitol was burned down in 1812. The Exhibition Hall had neat models showing how the construction of the Capitol progressed over the years, and how the landscape around it changed.

The rotunda inside the Capitol.

The “frieze” inside the rotunda.

After that we had time to visit the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, and walk by the National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of the American Indian. And that was it. We were really pressed for time. And we actually thought our flight left an hour later than it did, so when we checked on it, we basically had to head back to the hotel to grab our bags. I am happy Steven got to walk around during the week and see things. There is a lot I wanted to see and didn’t – I guess I will have to on the next trip.

It’s so nice that the museums are free. I was surprised that they were not too crowded. I am so used to only visiting the Chicago museums when they have a special exhibit, and I feel like I am being herded and trampled on just trying to go through. It was not as bad as I thought it would be.

I really enjoyed the Mammal exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History. If I had the energy, I would probably post all of the pictures of the neat animals, but I don’t, so you’re lucky.

On the walk to the National Museum of American History from the Capitol, we passed a little squirrel that was sort of begging tourists for food. I had a granola bar, so I sat down to give him a piece. Apparently, I didn’t move fast enough, because he stood up, put his paws on my hand, and started grabbing at the wrapper! I gave him a piece and he scurried away to chow it down.

My little squirrel friend.

It’s so nice to be home, and have my laundry almost done, and not have to think about whether or not I can find a place that myself, my coworker, and Steven all want to eat at. Oh gosh, and MY bed. I cannot wait to fall asleep tonight. With Data (and Steven).

I think there is a lot more I want to say about DC, but who knows if it will come out cohesively. We’ll see over the next few weeks, I suppose.

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By kilax, August 21, 2009 6:45 am

What is your favorite (cold) cereal?

You know, the one you could just eat bowls and bowls of*?

I really like Barbara’s Bakery Shredded Oats. They are simple, crunchy little oat nuggets. I like to let them soak in the soy milk just a little bit, then bite into them when they are half crunchy/half soggy. Nom Nom Nom!

The unfortunate thing about this cereal is that it is EXPENSIVE, and somewhat hard to find. They used to sell it at Target, and would have it on sale from time to time… but you know how our Target is. They took it away.

Now I usually get it from my Grandma, who buys it in bulk through a co-op. I don’t think it is that much more cost effective for her, but it is for me – she gives it to me for free**! Too bad I only see her a few times a year.

*I apologize for ending a sentence in a preposition. Sometimes, I don’t know how to get away from it.
**I keep trying to pay her for it, but you know how grandmas are…

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By kilax, July 16, 2009 5:35 pm

I hate that I wear my heart on my sleeve, therefore making every emotion I am feeling obvious.

Last week, a coworker said, “Hey! You seem happy today.” I was happy that day. The last few times she’d seen me, I’d been very stressed or sad.

Yesterday, I ran into my mentor in the hallway of my building. I just said hello, and from that, he asked “what’s wrong?” He could hear the stress and panic in my voice.

And the worst example – a few of my college friends are visiting this weekend, and one just called me and said, “It seemed like you are kind of stressed out in the last few emails you sent. You seem worried about what we will do while we are there and what we will eat. We just want to see you and relax! We can just sit on the couch all weekend and eat whatever, it doesn’t matter!”

I wanted to cry when she called. She was trying to reassure me, but knowing that my stress was so obvious just made me feel worse.