Playing dress-up

Last night was my monthly Winers meeting. Renee hosts every October's meeting, and it's a Halloween theme. We have a bonfire, and everyone wears Halloween costumes.

I looked online for days trying to think up a good costume, and I finally decided that I'd like to go as Medusa. The main (and most important part) of the costume is her hair made of snakes. I went to the dollar store and bought a few packs (about 40 individual) little snakes and a couple of bigger ones. Then I got some plain barrettes, and I spent a few hours hot-gluing the snakes to the barrettes so that I could arrange them in my hair.

I also got face paint (to do a grayish face and dark circles around my eyes), and a tunic with some netting stuff to go over it. I was really excited about my costume once I got it all together!

Yesterday, I told Renee I would come over early to help set up. At around 4:30, I decided to get ready, because it would take me a long time to get all the snakes in my hair.

When I picked the first one up, the barrette fell off. I tried another, and the same thing happened. The barrettes came off of each one that I picked up :(  I was so bummed. I am definitely going to figure out how to make it work for next year, though. I really want to go as Medusa!

I started wracking my brain to come up with a last minute costume. Searching through my closet, I saw my "fat clothes" from my before photo, and I even entertained the idea of dressing up as my before photo, by stuffing the clothes with pillows:

It was pretty funny, but it was nearly impossible to walk around like that. I texted Andrea to see if I could borrow a costume from her, and thankfully she was home and had a Supergirl costume! Jerry picked it up on his way home. I was planning on leaving the house at 6:30. By the time he got home with the costume, it was 6:45. I threw it on quickly, and thankfully it fit!

I went to Renee's to help set up, and everything looked great!
(Photos from Winers are all courtesy of Stephanie)

Before I left, I made a plan to have only wine, and no food there. While I was losing weight, that's how I always handled Winers meetings. The food is always fantastic, but it's usually very caloric and I have no idea how to count it. So I ate before I left, and just stuck to wine--I had about 6 oz.

I enjoyed seeing the girls, because I don't usually see a lot of them unless it's at a Winers meeting--and I haven't gone to the last few meetings, so it's been a while.

The blonde wig and poodle skirt is actually Jessica! Doesn't she look awesome? I think the blonde suits her well ;)  Stephanie (far right) was wearing a costume that her mom made in the 60's. Stephanie said even at age 13, it was super tight, and she was never able to wear it. Since she recently reached her goal weight, and is super petite now, she was able to wear the costume!

By the time I left, at around 11:00, it was 37 degrees outside. And my bare legs were completely frozen. When I got home, I crawled into bed under the electric blanket and snuggled up to Jerry, but I just couldn't get warm. I was completely chilled to the bone. But I had fun, as expected! :)

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The winner of the True Citrus package is:

Congrats Rachel!! Please send me an e-mail at SlimKatie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com within 48 hours, including your shipping address so that I can pass it on to True Citrus. Enjoy!

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Milestones

Today was my last long run before the marathon!! I decided to drive to the Metropark to start my run, and on the way there, I was thinking about how this was kind of bittersweet for me. I know I always complain about my long runs (well, any run, really), but there is obviously something about it that makes me keep doing it.

It's not "fun" by any means, but I've come to enjoy seeing the "regular" cyclists, walkers, and runners on the Metropark path. Seeing the seasons change so up close and personal from winter to spring, and then summer to fall has been really interesting. Marathon training has allowed me to run on trails I'd never used before, listen to hours upon hours of podcasts, and see some interesting people, animals, and things along the way.

I learned a lot about my body--that I have good days and bad days when it comes to running, that my knee prefers shorter distance runs, that I can chafe in places I never would have thought I could chafe. I know where all the public restrooms and drinking fountains are in a 15 mile span across three cities. I can tell you the exact distances between parking lots, bridges, and other landmarks.

Things I will not miss about marathon training: knee pain, having to turn down drinks and certain foods the day before a long run, looking at the same old scenery for mile after mile, having to spend calories on GU and Gatorade, having to wear a hydration belt while running, and using races as "training runs" for a bigger race.

My last long run today was eight miles. Eight miles is a relief to run after the 18- and 20-milers! But today, while I was running, I thought about the first time I ran eight miles. I'm sure I've probably written about this before, but eight miles was a huge milestone run for me.

I was following a 15K training program that was 10 weeks long. I wasn't training for a race, but I was a beginner and wanted to build up my mileage. On week nine, I was scheduled for an eight-mile run. It was an extremely hot day in August, and I had to run in the heat of the afternoon (the only time I could get away). I couldn't believe just how HOT it was, and I wanted to quit so badly.

I was really struggling, and just wasn't sure if I would make it. I didn't carry water with me, and I felt like I was really overheated. At mile 7.5, I had to pass by my house (where I would circle the block and arrive back home at the 8-mile mark). My vision was blurry, I could barely put one foot in front of the other, and I was actually worried about my health--so I quit. I only had a half-mile to go, but I know I made the right decision.

A week later, I was visiting my brother in Minnesota. He said that there was a nice trail along the Mississippi River where I could run, and I decided to run my eight-miler there. The weather was nice (still hot, but it was morning and not horribly hot--and it was along the river, which had a breeze).

I just wasn't feeling it that day.

Maybe it was the traveling, and vacation-mood I was in, but I ran about six miles before calling it quits. Attempt #2 was another fail. I was getting frustrated, and starting to think that I would never be able to run eight miles.

When I got home from my brother's, I went to the store and bought a piece of carrot cake. I had been craving carrot cake with cream cheese frosting for MONTHS. I put it in my refrigerator, and told myself that when I ran eight miles, I could eat it. That got me motivated ;)

I went to bed at 9:00 that night, to rest well so that I could wake up early the next morning (before it got too hot outside). I was determined to run those eight miles!

Third time was a charm.

August 2010, my first 8-miler

I ate my cake, and enjoyed every bite! I was prouder of finishing those eight miles than I was after my first 5K, first 10K, first half-marathon, and first marathon. That eight-mile mark felt like Everest to me.

After my first 8-miler

I had a rough run today--my six-milers this week were awesome, but today I was just having an "off" day. I kept reminding myself how HARD it was to run those eight miles a little over two years ago. Today was a "short" long run. And I finished.

I kind of miss being a "beginner" runner, because everything was so new. Every distance was new, I was bettering my pace with almost every run, and I had no idea how far it was from my house to the main road, or the mail box, or around my block. I remember when a 12:00/mi pace was my goal, and when I reached that, a 10:00/mi pace seemed unattainable, yet I reached that goal, too.

After my marathon, I'd like to go back to the basics, and start fresh. I can't wait to have an "easy 3 miles" on the schedule, and a long run that doesn't get into the double digits. I want to run hard and fast, just to see where my body stands now. I've been running long and slow since January!! When I do runs on the treadmill, it will be nice to be done after watching a half-hour sitcom, instead of a full-length movie ;)

A week from Sunday, all of this training will come to a head when I run the Detroit Free Press Marathon. And then I am declaring myself a "beginner" again--and I'm so looking forward to it!

I hope this post doesn't sound whiny, because that's not my intention. I'm just trying to describe how marathon training coming to an end is bittersweet, and how this marathon is almost like closing a chapter of my life. I've come so far as a runner the past couple of years, and today's run really helped me to absorb all of it.

I've become the stereotype that I used to hate--the "results not typical" person who lost 100+ pounds and is now running marathons. BAHAHA, I never would have foreseen this.

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True Citrus Review & Giveaway

Once upon a time, many many years ago, when I worked at Curves, a dietician would come in periodically to educate members about healthy eating. I always loved listening to what she had to say, and she introduced me to some new (to me) products. One of the things that she brought in was called True Lemon.

It was in a little packet (the size of a packet of sweetener). She explained that it was crystallized lemon--basically the equivalent of one wedge, and it wasn't sweetened at all. She showed the members this product and said that it's a great way to start drinking more water--you can add a packet to water, and it tastes just like water with a squeeze of lemon in it. I tried it and really liked it, but I wasn't able to find it in the store.

Fast forward almost 10 years, and I got an e-mail from a company called True Citrus--the original "True Lemon" company. They asked if I would like to try some of their products, and I was really surprised when I saw how much they had branched out. In addition to the True Lemon, there is also True Lime, True Orange, and True Grapefruit. The True Lemon and True Lime also come in shaker bottles to use larger quantities than the small packets.

They've even added some products that are sweetened--iced tea with lemon, lemonade, and raspberry lemonade. These are similar to products like Crystal Light, only they are sweetened with Stevia rather than artificial sweeteners.

I was excited to see all the bright citrus colors when I opened the box:

I've spent the last couple of weeks trying out the different products. I started with the four unsweetened products--True Lemon, True Lime, True Grapefruit, and True Orange.

Here is the what the contents of a packet look like (this is the True Lime):

I added it to some sparkling water (unsweetened--just plain old carbonated water) and ice, and it was really good! The True Lime tastes just like a squeeze of lime juice. I tried the orange, grapefruit, and lemon packets the same way. Normally, I am not a grapefruit person at all--I don't like grapefruit, and I don't like grapefruit juice. However, I have to say that the True Grapefruit was my favorite!

Jerry and the boys all agreed that they like the grapefruit one the best also, but we really liked all four flavors. The True Lime was screaming at me to use it in a cocktail (yes, screaming), so I looked online for a very simple recipe using lime, and I came up with a Paloma.

Why yes, that is a Sam's Club-sized bottle of tequila, thankyouverymuch.

A Paloma is a cocktail made with tequila, grapefruit flavored soda, and a lime wedge. A shot of tequila has 4 PointsPlus, so I used diet soda; and in place of the lime wedge, I used two packets of True Lime (I love lime, so I used two, but one would work too). It was fantastic! My only regret is that I didn't salt the rim of the glass, because that would have made it extra yummy. I made the kids a mocktail version (just the soda and True Lime), and they loved it.

Shaker bottles to sprinkle on veggies,
popcorn, pasta, meat, etc.

You can use the True Citrus products many different ways--almost anywhere that you would use citrus juice in a recipe. These are convenient in that they don't go bad (I've thrown away more lemons and limes than I can count because they've grown mold); they are also portable, so you can carry the packets in your purse.

Here are some ideas from the True Citrus website:
*Sprinkle True Lime on popcorn or tortilla chips.
*Sprinkle True Lemon on vegetables instead of using salt.
*Add True Lemon or True Lime to butter to make a lemon butter or lime butter.
*Make flavored ice cubes.
Click here for the full list of ideas on their website.

I haven't tried this yet, but I want to try adding a packet of True Lime to cheesecake pudding for a key lime pie-like dessert.

The lemonade mix and the raspberry lemonade mix are both very good as well. In the summertime, I like to make a five-calorie Arnold Palmer by mixing unsweetened iced tea with Crystal Light Lemonade (50/50)--but I am now going to switch to the True Lemonade, because it's sweetened with Stevia.

Overall, I honestly cannot say anything negative about any of the products they sent me. I really enjoyed them! And I discovered that my local Kroger carries the True Lemon and True Lime (unfortunately, not the True Grapefruit). They are in a strange spot of the store--with the sugar and other sweeteners. So if you check your store, try that aisle.

True Citrus is very generously going to give away a box of all of these products to one lucky Runs for Cookies reader! You will receive the same box that I did, which includes:

A box each of True Lemon, True Lime, & True Orange for Cooking, Baking & Beverages (32 packets/box)

A box each of True Original Lemonade, & True Raspberry Lemonade for Your Water (10 stick packets/box)

A box of True Grapefruit for Your Water (32 packets/box)

A canister of True Lemon Iced Tea for Your Water (6/2-quart packets)

A True Lemon & True Lime Shaker for Cooking, Baking & Seasoning (2.85oz/shaker)

That is a LOT of products. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! To enter, leave a comment on this post telling me how you would like to use one of these products. I will accept entries until Saturday morning (10/13/2012) at 8:00 a.m. EST. I will announce the winner Saturday evening, and the winner will have 48 hours to contact me or I will select a new winner. 

You can find True Citrus on their website, Facebook, and Twitter. 

(In full disclosure, I was given the True Citrus products for free to review, but was not required to give a favorable review. All opinions are my own.)

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Wednesday Weigh-In is Back

Jerry is working the day shift now, and he had today off work, so after the boys went to school, it was just the two of us. I had a 6-mile run on the schedule, so I got it done as soon as the kids left for school. I did the exact same route as Monday's run, and I had the same goal--to have even splits (maintain a consistent pace).

Monday's run was so great, and left me feel like I wanted more, so I was hoping to mimic that. And thankfully, I felt fantastic today as well! I didn't even glance at my Garmin, I just listened to my podcast and tried to zone out.

When I got back to the house, I stopped to stretch, and felt amazing. I think it's a combination of tapering (running fewer miles) and the fall weather. It's perfect! I just really hope that I have a run like this during the marathon. I looked at my splits, and they weren't nearly as consistent as Monday, but they weren't horribly far off, either:

After I showered, Jerry and I went to a new thrift store that opened recently. I bought a few things, and maybe I'll take pictures after I've washed them, but nothing that was a super great find. We had to stop at Kroger for eggs on the way home, and that led to browsing around. I pointed out to Jerry that they now have my former-favorite ice cream in a single serving size cup. I say "former" favorite because it was what I ate when I was obese... Chocolate Peanut Butter Haagen Dazs.

See how tiny? It's not even a half-cup--it's 3.6 fluid ounces. When I was obese, I used to eat a whole pint of this ice cream at least a few nights a week. I checked out the nutrition stats to see how many PointsPlus the little container would be:

Yes, that reads 310 calories and 21 grams of fat (9 of which are saturated) in that TINY LITTLE not-even-a-half-cup of ice cream!!

This calculated out to 8 PP. Not worth it. A cup that small is just a tease for me. ;)

I did find something that someone mentioned on my blog recently (Mary, I think...?). These breads:

Caramel Apple and Pumpkin Spice Swirl breads by Pepperidge Farm. These are seasonal, and I just had to try them. I usually keep bread like this in my freezer, and take out one slice at a time to toast for a snack or breakfast.

The Caramel Apple flavor is 3 PP, and the Pumpkin Spice is 2 PP--per slice. That seemed like a lot at first, but they are pretty thick slices, and probably the same amount of bread as a Bagel Thin, which I was spending 3 PP on. When I got home, I had a slice of the Caramel Apple one, and it was really good! I'm going to try the Pumpkin Spice one tomorrow for breakfast.

I love seasonal finds like this, but I hate that it's seasonal when I discover I love it! ;)

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I figured out how to switch my weight tracking day on Weight Watchers to Wednesday, that is what I plan to do from now on. I've always had Wednesday as a weigh-in day (only because that was the day of the week I started losing weight).

I don't know when or why I stopped doing formal weigh ins, but I think it was when I broke my jaw. I only did it sporadically after that, but I'd like to start doing it every week again. I always record my weight, my body fat percentage, and my waist measurement. I just weighed in on Sunday, so I wasn't expecting much, but here goes:

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Breakfast

You know those days where you wake up and the air in the room is so cold that you really don't want to throw back the covers and get out of bed? It's actually been that cold in Michigan for the past few days. I turned on our furnace, but I am trying my best not to turn the heat up high, because it's only the beginning of October!

This morning, I was SO comfy in bed under my electric blanket, that the last thing I wanted to do was get out of bed. I was up early enough that I had time to take a shower before waking the kids, so I basically went from electric blanket to hot shower in one motion. Then I dressed in jeans and a sweater.

It was kind of a hectic morning. I saw a couple of bits and pieces of The Doctors yesterday (or was it Dr. Oz?), and one thing that stood out was that people who wait longer than one hour after waking to eat breakfast are 50% more likely to be obese. That was shocking to me! I rarely eat within an hour of waking--usually it's about two hours after I wake up.

I like to be able to sit and relax with my breakfast, while I read e-mail or blog comments. This means waiting until after I put the kids on the bus, because there is no way I can sit and relax over e-mail while getting my kids ready for school.

Anyway, after seeing that little clip of the show, I decided to try and eat breakfast within that hour window. I got out of bed at 6:10, and after my shower, got the kids up and dressed. I cooked them breakfast (Noah requested eggs, because he had MEAP testing today, and his teacher told the class to eat a high-protein breakfast); and after all was said and done, it was 7:15 before I started making my own breakfast. Not exactly an hour or less, but a little sooner than I normally would have eaten (8:00).

I have no idea how much truth there is to the relation between what time you eat breakfast and obesity, but I've heard similar stats before--so it can't hurt. Maybe I'll try getting up and eating before waking the kids tomorrow.

Speaking of breakfast, I've tried the Pumpkin Spice Bagel Thins, and wasn't a big fan. It's not the flavor, it's the bagel thin itself. I love bagels! But these are not at all comparable to a bagel. They weren't terrible by any means, but I don't think I would buy them again. I looked for the Laughing Cow cinnamon cream cheese spread that some people mentioned, but couldn't find it. So I made my own spread by combining 2 Tbsp fat free cream cheese + 1 tsp. sugar + 1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice. The spread was good!

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My library book finally became available today:

The problem with being on a hold list at the library for so long is that I completely forgot what the first book (Divergent) was about.

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Something very strange happened about six weeks ago. I suddenly was completely turned off to ice. I've had an ice-chewing addiction for YEARS. I've written about this before. I would chew ice all day long, and when I wasn't chewing it, I was thinking about it. I constantly walked back and fourth to the freezer for an ice cube. (And because someone is bound to ask, the answer is no--I am not deficient in iron. My doctor checks this every year specifically because of the ice chewing). It was just a compulsive habit.

Anyway, out of nowhere about six weeks ago, I just stopped chewing ice. I even found myself dumping ice out of my glass after a drink instead of chewing it (unheard of for me). And even the thought of chewing ice makes me cringe.

This is a good thing! I always wanted to give up the habit, because I knew it had to be bad for my teeth. And I know the noise is annoying to people around me (although Jerry never complained). It's just so strange that I quit so easily, and without even trying. Maybe grapes have some sort of vitamin that I was lacking ;) I've certainly been eating my share of grapes.

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My friend Sarah from Arizona is in Michigan for a visit, and she's coming over tonight with her brand new baby. I'm so excited to see him! (Her too, of course). This is probably the closest I will ever come to being an aunt, and that's what this feels like for me. Sarah and I were practically sisters while we were growing up. We were born three days apart, we lived just two houses apart, we were best friends all through school, roommates in college, and the maid of honor in each others' wedding. She got married last October, and then pregnant almost right away. I just wished she lived in Michigan! Anyway, I'm looking forward to visiting with her tonight :)

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Consistent pacing

I had a GREAT run this morning, and boy, did I ever need that!

I've been feeling so burnt out on running lately (two back-to-back marathon training plans will do that, I guess), that I've been dreading my runs. Today, I had six miles on the schedule, and I really didn't want to do it. The treadmill would have been the best option for my knee, but I just couldn't stand the thought of running on it today.

It was freezing cold out this morning (in the high 30's!) so I wore my Under Armour Cold Gear running tights for the first time this season. I also wore a long-sleeved tech shirt. I decided that my main goal for today's run would be to run a consistent pace by feel (without looking at my Garmin). I didn't care whether my pace was fast or slow, I just wanted it to be consistent.

So I pressed the start button on my Garmin and didn't look at it again until I arrived back at my house over six miles later. When I started running, I just tried to take the focus off of running and let my mind wander, and hopefully forget I was running. I was listening to the Half Size Me podcast, and I ran on the shoulder of a pretty busy road.

I normally look at my Garmin every mile, when it beeps to signal a mile-split. Then I either speed up or slow down to try and hit my target pace. You can usually see the ups and downs on my pace chart. Today, I was tempted to sneak a peek, but I never did. I also usually pick up my pace the last half-mile or so, to finish strong. Today, I could feel myself trying to do that, but I was really trying to focus on NOT doing it. It was hard!

Before looking at my Garmin, I decided to try and guess what my overall average pace was--I guessed it was about a 10:35/mi pace. I was surprised to see that I was actually running a 10:09/mi pace, so I was running faster than I thought I was (I will have to be careful about this during the marathon, so I don't go out too fast).

Even more surprising to me were my splits--they were VERY consistent!

I went a little too fast on the last mile, but it was hard not to. Other than that, I did awesome at maintaining a consistent pace!

The best part about today's run, however, was how good it FELT. My legs felt good, my lungs felt good, I wasn't tired or achy or anything like that. I just felt really, really good. I am hoping and praying that I feel like that on the 21st!

I don't have a specific time goal for the marathon, but I really want to finish in under five hours.

That would be a pace of 11:27/mi. Since I've been training at a 10:30/mi pace, the only reason I would have any problem with a sub-5:00 time would be if I have serious problems with my knee or stomach issues, or something like that.

If I happen to be feeling good, and decided to try and run my training pace of 10:30/mi, my time would look like this:

A finish time of 4:35:00. I highly doubt I'm going to want to run that pace, however. I'm SUPER excited to run with Rik, and I would much rather run slowly and be able to chat than run faster to get a better finish time. I just want to enjoy it, because I'll never be doing this distance again ;)

A couple of people have asked me recently what I wear to run in when it's cold outside. I've mentioned my Under Armour Cold Gear compression tights (there is a link on my Favorite Things page). When it's cold, but not freezing cold (like in the high 30's, and 40's), I wear a long-sleeved tech shirt (I have a couple of long-sleeved race shirts). If it's really cold, like low 30's and below, I wear a tech shirt with a fleece jacket over it, plus those cheap $1 knit gloves and a headband for my ears.

Under Armour Cold Gear compression tights,
long-sleeved tech shirt plus fleece jacket,
ear warmer and (I did have) gloves

My favorite part about running in the cold--no need for a hydration belt!

When it's cold, but not UBER cold, I wear my compression
capris or pants, plus a long-sleeved tech shirt, and possibly a
headband (I'm pointing at bird poop, in case you're wondering)

With the exception of my Under Armour compression bottoms (capris or pants), I'm not picky about brands. Any old brand will do.

I got my Halloween costume finished today. I'm not thrilled with it, but it will work. At least I hope so, because I put a lot of work into it today! I went to Hobby Lobby to pick up something for my costume, and I saw Renee in there--she was also picking up something for her costume! I'm excited for Winers on Friday--it's been a long time since I went to a Winers meeting.

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Nut Butter Finds

It was a cold day in Michigan today! A high of 52 degrees, but I don't think it ever made it into the 50's.

Anyway, today is the start of week five on Weight Watchers--and Sundays are when Weight Watchers Online has me record my weight. Today I was 143.5, so I lost another 2.5 pounds this week. I'm very happy with that! I ate all of my daily points, all of my weekly points, and almost all of my activity points. I ate dinner out with the family, and I survived a birthday party. :)

I think I'm going to switch my weigh-in day to Wednesday. I've always had Wednesday as my weigh-in day, and I like that day better. So I may update midweek this week, and then weekly after that.

My mom has been dog-sitting for my little brother Nathan's dog, Bailey. The boys went to church with my mom this morning, so I said I would take Bailey for a walk. I brought her over to my house in the car, and then planned to walk her in the woods.

I had to bring her in the house for a moment so that I could get a bag to bring along, in case she pooped while walking her. When she came in, the cats didn't seem to interest her at all, but Estelle was hilarious.

All of her fur stood straight out from her body and she completely froze. Bailey was on a leash, so we walked through the house to the pantry, where I keep the bags, and Estelle was right on Bailey's heels. When Bailey would turn her head, Estelle would freeze again. Then when Bailey started walking, Estelle was an inch behind her. It was so funny to watch her!

I took Bailey through the woods, and I was freezing! I wished I'd brought gloves and a winter coat. Walking through the grass made my socks all wet, too. But Bailey had fun, so the walk was a success. I brought her back to my mom's and then made a quick trip to Kroger to get a couple of ingredients for dinner.

While I was there, I discovered two things: 1) Kroger now carries PB2! I've been buying it online since 2007, because I've never seen it in a store. I like that I can get it one jar at a time from Kroger now.

The second discovery was directly next to the PB2...

Justin's Nut Butters are Buy 1 Get 1 Free! That is so very tempting, because I would essentially be paying just $5 a jar rather than $10. I have a jar of each of those at home, however, so I resisted the impulse to stock up ;)

I made dinner in the crock pot, and it turned out so good! There are a ton of Crock Pot Italian Chicken recipes floating around out there, but here is how I made mine (as a pasta dish):

The creamy comfort food pasta dish was perfect for this cold day! I'm definitely going to be making that again.

I spent the entire afternoon trying to put together a Halloween costume for my wine club meeting next weekend. I have an idea, and it looks awesome in my head, but I'm not sure I can pull it off. I went to the dollar store to get some supplies, so we'll see how it works out. I can't share it until I wear it, however--that's one of the downfalls of having some friends read my blog!

Tonight is the perfect night to get cozy under my electric blanket with Jerry and watch the new episode of Dexter!

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Pumpkin Spice Doughnut

Today is Jerry's "change over" weekend--when he switches from midnights to days at work (this happens every four weeks). So he was off work all day yesterday and today, so we wanted to spend some time with the kids.

Last night, we took the boys out to dinner at Applebee's (their choice). Jerry and I were trying hard to decide where to eat, because we wanted to pick a place that we could fit into our PointsPlus. We were looking at menus online, and I was getting frustrated. Finally, I just said, "Let's just ask the kids where they want to go, and I'll make a good choice. Maybe I will go over my Points, but I don't care. I'm not going to avoid my favorite restaurants forever."

The kids ended up choosing Applebee's, which actually made counting Points really easy. Applebee's has a few items that are "Weight Watchers" items, and the Points values are even listed on the menu. I ended up getting the Creamy Parmesan Chicken (a chicken breast with a little cheese on top, served with spinach and rice pilaf). It wasn't bad! I definitely like homemade cooking better, but for a restaurant meal that fit into my Points, it was decent.

Afterward, we took the boys to get their Halloween costumes. Halloween is the only time of year that I think it would be more fun to have a little girl. My boys wanted to be all the gross/scary things, but we settled on a ninja and some sort of ghoul.

We went through the drive thru at McDonald's on the way home for a vanilla ice cream cone. I never, ever go to McD's, but I was really longing for dessert, and a cone from McD's is only 5 PP. It was so good, and easy to fit into my daily PP, that I think I will do that more often :)

This is a tea saucer-sized plate

This morning, Jerry went to get doughnuts to bring home for breakfast. We very rarely do something like that, but it's not very often that he has a weekend morning off where we get to just be lazy and spend time together as a family. I had already decided what to get--a seasonal Pumpkin Spice cake doughnut. I looked up the PointsPlus online, and it said 7 PP for a glazed cake doughnut. Not too bad, considering I had some extra activity points to use up today.

The 7 PP meant a two-ounce doughnut. I had no clue what they weighed, but I assumed that it was about two ounces, because it was about half the size of the yeast doughnuts. When Jerry brought it home, I put it on my kitchen scale to check: 4.5 ounces.

When I plugged in the numbers, that meant that my tiny little doughnut was 15 PP!!

Totally not worth it. That's equivalent to THREE of the McD's ice cream cones. So I didn't take a single bite. I let the kids and Jerry each try it, and then we threw it away. I was really disappointed, but there was no way I was going to spend 15 PP on that tiny little doughnut.

I ended up having two waffles with sugar-free syrup for 4 PP, and it was very satisfying.

This afternoon we had a birthday party to attend. Jerry's co-worker Daniel was turning 23, and his girlfriend planned a surprise party for him. She went all-out, and did a fantastic job with his party. It was at a bowling alley, and she put a lot of thought into the details.

I ate lunch before I went, and decided that I wouldn't have cake or anything else at the party. It was hard--she had little chocolates on sticks in the shape of moustaches:

Eli had already eaten a bite of his 'stache, but you get the idea

There were cookies and little cakes, pizza, soda, and birthday cake and ice cream. I didn't eat any of it, but I had already planned on getting another McDonald's cone on the way home, so it wasn't too difficult ;)

I stopped at Sam's Club on the way home to buy more grapes. I eat more grapes now than I did peanut butter a few weeks ago--I'm addicted! I really should start keeping track of the pounds of grapes I go through. While we were there, I spotted some pumpkin spice Bagel Thins. Those sounded really good to me, so I bought some. I hope I like them, because I had to buy them in bulk at Sam's! I'm going to try one for breakfast tomorrow. Trying to think of what to spread them with. Just cream cheese? Or maybe pumpkin butter...

Today marks the end of four full weeks on Weight Watchers. I feel as strong and determined as I did back in 2009-2010 when I went a whole year without a binge. It feels awesome to be back in control!

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Friends and running

My last double-digit run before the marathon! I haven't been very good at following one particular plan this whole marathon season--I started out with the plan that I got from a Women's Running magazine, and then had to make some adjustments for a couple of races. Then when my knee started giving me problems, I had to adjust even more.

But I did manage to get in a long run every week, including two 20-milers. So hopefully it's enough for the race. My training pace was actually faster than I plan on running at the race, which will help. I've been doing my long runs at a 10:30 pace, but for the race itself, I'm just going to try and stay at sub-11:00 miles. During training, I didn't factor in my bathroom breaks, water breaks, etc., and obviously those will count against my time when I'm racing.

Today I chose to do 12-miles for my long run (per Hal Higdon's schedule). Next week's long run will be eight miles, and then the following weekend is the race.

I had a hard time deciding where to run today. I'm so sick of all my routes. I can't run around my house for anything longer than about 6 miles. The route I've been training on is getting old--I've been doing all of my long runs there from spring and fall. I decided to run the route where I usually run into Renee, along a busy street and through a park on a gravel trail.

I didn't bring Gatorade or GU, since it was "only" 12 miles. I bought a bottle of water to keep in the car, and planned to do the lollipop route (six miles) twice. I only had to stop once in the first six miles (for a traffic light). The second half, however, took me about 25 minutes longer than the first--not because of my pace, but because I ran into friends to stop and chat with ;)

Nothing breaks up a monotonous, boring run like running into friends! First, I saw Alicia, who looked like she was on a mission, so I just exchanged a couple of words with her without stopping the run. About a quarter mile later, I ran into Renee. We always stop and chat for a couple minutes when we run into each other, so I was talking to her when Alicia came back. She was actually meeting Renee to do the second half of Renee's run with her. We were probably stopped for 10 minutes or so, and then I continued on my route.

When I got to the very top of the lollipop route, I ran into Courtney. We stopped and talked for about 10 minutes as well. By that time, I had three miles left, and was just glad to be almost done. I stopped at two water fountains for just a few seconds, and then made it back to the car. Total running time: 2:06:20; total elapsed time: 2:30:29. :)

When I first started running, I would never have considered stopping to talk to someone. I thought it meant the run "didn't count" if I stopped at all, for any reason. Now I realize how ridiculous that is. Running into friends (quite literally) is the best part of running! ;)

Speaking of friends, I get to spill the beans on a secret I've been keeping for months now. I think I've mentioned before that Renee is running the NYC marathon next month. This is her dream race, something she's always wanted to do as a runner.

Me and Renee after my first 5K (2010)

Renee was a huge factor in my weight loss and running success. She encouraged me and believed in me when I first mentioned the possibility of running a 5K--and she even ran the 5K with me (despite the fact that she normally runs much faster than me). I honestly don't think I ever would have started running if it weren't for Renee.

So in that sense, she helped me achieve MY dream goal. There was no way I could just sit at home while she went to NYC to achieve her dream of running in the NYC marathon--so a couple of months ago, I bought my plane ticket to go see her race in NYC this November!! :)

I'll be staying in New Jersey with Jen, from my Ragnar team. I'm SO excited to go, for so many reasons. I'll be arriving the Friday before the race, and then on Saturday, Jen and I are going to run the NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5K. And then Sunday, marathon day, I'm going to do whatever I can do find a good spot and cheer for Renee along the course. My plane leaves Sunday evening.

Other than Jerry, my mom, and Jen, I didn't tell anyone about this. I was planning to surprise Renee on race day. Even when we were in Minnesota for the Women Rock half-marathon, I didn't breathe a word. But yesterday, my mom mentioned that I should tell her, because what if she doesn't see me? Then it would be for nothing ;) So when I saw Renee today while we were running, I told her what was going on, and she was very excited.

I love that I can talk about it now, because I've been really excited about the whole thing! Any of my readers running the NYC marathon or the 5K the day before?

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A walk in the woods

I'm happy to say that the situation with the neighbor yesterday is resolved, and I feel much better about it. His mom was very upset that he used the gun irresponsibly, and she took it away from him. And the boy felt terrible about what happened with the squirrel. He said he thought he was doing the right thing--he felt sorry for it because its legs were broken, so he thought it would be best to put it down (with his BB gun). When that didn't work, he pretty much panicked and felt like the situation was even worse, so he did what he could to kill the squirrel quickly.

His mom agreed that he didn't handle it well, and she explained to him what he should have done (told a grown-up about the squirrel). We let her know that we don't let our boys use guns (even BB guns) without an adult (and that's when she said she had taken his gun away when he told her about the squirrel yesterday). So I feel good about it now.

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Boy, did I ever have a lazy morning. After I got the kids off to school, I was folding laundry in front of the TV. I put on an episode of Nip/Tuck, and got sucked into that. Two episodes later, I made myself get up and do some housework.

It's a gorgeous day outside! I wanted to enjoy the weather, so I decided to go for a walk. It's rare for me to take a walk "just because", but it was really nice to not worry about mileage or how many calories I was burning, or anything like that. I did bring my Garmin because I was curious how far the path was, but that was the only reason.

Remember how I discovered that amazing path through the woods a couple summers ago? We'd lived here for about eight years, and I never knew it existed right in front of my house. Anyway, I decided to walk that today. I was a little nervous to go through the woods by myself, so I grabbed my pepper spray.

I was so surprised as I got to the point where the path starts. The woods are practically gone! It's state-owned land, and I knew they were going to be making some changes to it, but it looked like a completely different path. Here is a picture from before (summer 2011):

 And here are some pictures from today:

It may not look very appealing now, but apparently they are supposedly killing and removing all the phragmites (those tall brown grass-like things you can see in the second pic from today), and then flooding the entire thing to be a sort of man-made lake. So I'm hoping it will be gorgeous in a couple of years.

It was still a nice, very quiet walk. Round trip from my house, it was a little under 1.5 miles. That's the perfect distance to get a little fresh air and not feel so lazy ;)

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My Ragnar Relay team has some big news--good and bad. The bad news is that Mary is no longer going to be running on our team. If you're a follower of her blog, then you already know her big news--Mary is pregnant (the good news)!! It was obviously unexpected, but definitely exciting. I'm so sad that she won't be running with us, but we still consider her part of our team.

However, we do need someone to run in her place, so Carly has joined our team! You may remember her from the very inspiring guest post she wrote for my blog. She began running at 350 pounds (which was no easy task) and has since lost over 100 pounds and run a half-marathon! She is very excited about joining our team, and we are all happy to have her. She will now be Runner #11 and Ada will be Runner #4.

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Tomorrow is my long run. On the schedule is 17 miles, but I know it's not necessary to do that many while tapering. Depending on how my knee is feeling, I might just do 12. I still haven't gotten a patella strap, so I had to order it on Amazon instead of driving through all the construction again to get to the running store. I'd like to have enough time to try it out before the marathon, though. Hopefully it will arrive soon!

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