Friday Night Photos

I have a lot of pet photos this week... but also a picture of my secret project for Jerry's birthday! (I'm saving it for last)

My neighbor pointed out to me that we actually have a peach tree growing across the street on the side of the dike. The other side of the dike is a marsh, so I was surprised when I walked over there and saw that there was, in fact, a peach tree. And look at these peaches! They are absolutely tiny (about the size of an apricot) but they are perfectly ripe. (Definitely not the same as the Georgia peaches I had recently, but it's fun to have mini peaches across the street.)

 

My mom fell and broke her wrist a couple of days ago. She actually had surgery on it today. She wanted me to curl her hair for her (she can't use her right hand at all) so I went over this morning. When I was leaving, my dad told me to pick some raspberries because there are so many that will go bad soon. I stopped and picked a cup full of them--they are so good!

I swear, the kittens were snorting lines of coke at 8:00 this morning. I've NEVER seen them so hyper! They were chasing each other around the house for an hour and a half. I put the treadmill up because they kept going under there to jump out and scare each other; then they used it as a jungle gym. Watching the kittens is super entertaining!

We finally ordered a new cat scratcher/bed from Amazon. The one on the right is our old one--yikes! We got it three years ago. This brand is kind of expensive, but after trying cheaper ones I think it's worth it because they last a lot longer. The one on the right was $50 and I was planning to replace it with the same model. Chick loves climbing through those holes, but he's almost too big to fit through them.

So, I paid $80 for the bigger one (on the left). I'm glad I chose to do that--it's big enough for all four cats to sleep on at once (if they liked each other enough, haha). And they can scratch the inside as well as the outside. The brand is PetFusion, and here is a link (affiliate) to it on Amazon. My cats LOVE these scratching beds--they sleep on them as well as use them to scratch (obviously). It's kind of an eyesore to keep in the living room, but if it keeps them from scratching my furniture, I don't mind at all ;)  (And yes, I'm going to get rid of the old one.)

Naturally, the kittens were playing on it the second I took it out of the box.

I gave Joey a bath outside yesterday and I really wish I'd thought to take a before photo. He didn't look dirty or anything, but after his bath, I realized what a big difference it made in his coat--he looks so pretty now! He went NUTS after bathed him. The second I was done, he took off running as fast as he could and ran a couple of laps around the outside of the house. It was hilarious to watch him. I guess he felt invigorated.

I just finished this book and it was really good! It's called 'Invisible Girl' by Lisa Jewell. The waiting list at the library was kind of long for it, but I wasn't in a rush for it. Once I got into it, though, it definitely held my interest. If you like mysteries/psychological thrillers, you may like this one. I am usually good at figuring out the "mystery" part early on, but this one kept me guessing. Here is the Amazon (affiliate) link.

Duck cracks me up because this is how he likes to be carried around. And he especially likes Eli to do it. He just sits there so calmly, with his back legs dangling while Eli carries him around. It's so funny!

And meanwhile, his brother found a new sleeping position...

Chick LOVES getting packages from Amazon; he plays in the boxes (nothing new for cats) but he especially loves playing with the packing materials. He likes to crouch down in the box buried under the bubbles, then he jumps out at anything walking by. He scared me half to death several times by jumping out at me!

And finally... Jerry's birthday! His actual birthday isn't until the 14th, but he is working that day, so we're celebrating today. I mentioned earlier this week about a "secret project" I was working on for Jerry's birthday. Well, here it is!

If you've been reading my blog for any period of time, then you are probably familiar with "the Jerry face"--Jerry makes this face pretty much every time his photo is taken. He's known for it! So I texted our family and friends and asked them to take a Jerry-face selfie and send it to me for a collage. I had the photos printed and I built the collage out of wood. I put it up on the wall last night when he was at work so that he would see it first thing this morning when he got home.

He LOVES it. He said that especially after 2020 lockdown and not seeing people, it made him miss everybody.

I thought it was so cute seeing him standing in front of it a few times today, looking at all the pictures. He said he was deciding who makes the best Jerry face, haha. 

It was really fun to work on, and I love how it turned out; I'm going to write a tutorial soon. I thought the project would be easier than it actually was. But it was definitely worth it!

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Return to Running Recap : Week 15

I had an exciting run last week and I'm still feeling good about it. I love those runs--the ones that make me feel like I worked hard and that my body is happy about it (the photo above is after that run). Here is a recap of my runs for Week 15... 

Week 15, Day 1 : Run 3 miles (outside)

We've had some nice days lately where it actually feels like fall--I am SO looking forward to fall weather! It was probably the weather that made me decide to run outside.

It was supposed to be an easy run (I was planning to imitate the pace/effort of what I do on the treadmill), but my heart rate was so high before I even started. My anxiety has been increasingly bad the last couple of weeks; I'd had it under control (as much as I can, anyway) for a while, but it's getting bad again.

My resting heart rate (in normal circumstances) is about 60 bpm. This was right before I started my run; anxiety has this effect on me:

It shot up into the mid-160s almost instantly. I tried to focus on going for "a light jog" rather than a run. Sometimes just thinking of it that way helps me to relax a bit. I lowered my heart rate from the 160s to 152 after half a mile or so. When I saw that I finished my first lap under 12:00 minutes, I was surprised and I couldn’t help but try to stay under 12:00 (I truly don't mind being a slow runner--but it's a natural habit to compete with myself a bit). I couldn’t see my pace because I set my Garmin to just show my distance and heart rate, but I could feel that my speed was a little faster.

Second lap was 11:34, and then I could feel myself picking up speed again. Then I started thinking I could just turn this into a progressive run and call it my speed work for the week. A progressive run is a run that gets faster as you go, so I was hoping for sub-11:33 on the final split. 

I looked at my pace about halfway through that mile and was shocked to see 10:40-something! So I became kind of determined to aim for sub-11:00 that last mile. I was running hard, but not all-out. I could probably run a 5K at that pace if I wanted to really push myself.

I was so happy when I was done to have hit 10:30 for that last split! Seeing that pace shows I’m getting fitter, and THAT’S what I’m aiming for. Since my heart rate was high for this whole run and I pushed my pace, I considered that my speed work for the week and I didn't do intervals.

Week 15, Day 2 : Run 3 miles (treadmill)

I was still feeling pretty excited about my previous run (seeing progress is the biggest motivation to keep going) and I hoped that I would see a lower heart rate for this run. From the very beginning, I felt pretty good and I knew my heart rate wouldn't be as high this time. I refused to look at my Garmin the entire run because I didn't want to get frustrated if my heart rate was high.

After an uneventful three miles, I ended it feeling good. My heart rate wasn't exactly low, but it was definitely better.

Week 15, Day 3 : Run 3 miles (treadmill)

I've been really exhausted lately. The increased anxiety means even less sleep than I already get (I have bad insomnia) and it's mentally and physically exhausting. I really didn't have any motivation to get this run done. I was working on that secret project for Jerry (I'm giving it to him tomorrow!) all day and I just wanted to curl up on the couch. But I promised myself that I was going to get back to doing three runs a week, so I sucked it up and just did it.

My legs felt kind of heavy and my feet were dragging a bit. It felt like the treadmill was moving faster than I could keep up, but I knew it was just that my body was moving slower than it usually does. I didn't even think about my heart rate or anything--I just wanted to get done.

When I finished, I uploaded the data to Garmin Connect and I noticed that my heart rate looked odd for the first mile. It went from 92 to 160 in 30 seconds (and I definitely didn't feel like I was working that hard); and then after five minutes, it went from 161 to 140 in less than five seconds. This happens once in a while if there isn't good conduction; and since I didn't really break a sweat for a while, I'm guessing that's what happened. (To get good conduction, the electrodes on the monitor should be wet--when I put it on, I always wet it a little. That's why the conduction is better once you start sweating.)

So, I don't think the first mile was accurate as far as my heart rate goes. But I'm not worried about it.

While my last run definitely didn't leave me with a runner's high, I am still feeling great about my first run of Week 15. It sounds so simple--running a 10:30 mile used to be SLOW for me a few years ago--but when I think about how far I've come in the last 15 weeks, it feels like a big deal. Seeing the numbers validates that my fitness is improving.

For the first day of Couch to 5K (May 24th), I had to run 60-second intervals and I remember how HARD that felt. I was completely exhausted afterward (and that was with 90 seconds of walking in between each interval). Out of curiosity, I just looked up the data: my average pace for the 60-second intervals was 10:37. Last week I ran a mile in 10:30. So seeing those numbers is motivating!

(Eli had to run a mile in gym class yesterday and he ran it in 8:02! I think that's his fastest mile ever--even from when he was in cross country. I have no idea how that happened, because he hasn't been running in a few years, but I was super proud of him.)

Jerry is off this weekend and we are celebrating his birthday tomorrow. And then on Sunday, we're celebrating my dad's birthday a couple of weeks early. So, it should be a fun weekend--and I'm hoping that will help with the anxiety and I'll feel back to myself soon!

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Wednesday Weigh-In: Week 15

It's 9:00 PM and I am just now sitting down to write this. I've been super busy all day!

I'd just gotten out of the shower and into pajamas when I realized I didn't do my token mirror selfie for Wednesday Weigh-In. So I threw on some clothes (including this new Friends t-shirt!) and naturally, Duck followed me into the bathroom to get in the picture.

He was SO insistent that I pet him. He actually wanted me to brush him--he always jumps up on the counter in the bathroom and nudges my brush. And because he trained me well, I always do it, haha.

Anyway, I finally gave up trying to get my usual picture. I like this one better, anyway ;)

He needs to start doing weigh-ins along with me--he's so heavy!

Anyway, I am going to keep this short because I'm exhausted from a long day. I had a great weigh-in this week. My weight was creeping down so slowly over the last month, I knew I was due for a good drop...

I was at 164.2 today; last week I was at 167.8. I lost 3.6 pounds this week--I'm thrilled! So that brings the total to 32.8 pounds over the last 15 weeks.

I didn't do anything differently this week than I normally do. I've learned over the years that as long as I keep doing what I know works for me (I wrote about it in this post), the weight will come off. Some weeks it may be small (last week I'd lost 0.6) and some weeks are like today. But I'm not doing anything differently.

A lot of people have asked me to do a post about what I eat. I used to do that, but I got tired of people telling me how "atrocious" my diet is and everything they thought was wrong with what I was eating (or not eating) and I stopped sharing my food logs. And honestly, my diet is nothing special! I just eat whatever sounds good to me. But I'll try to come up with a post next week detailing some of my typical eats.

Okay, I'm going to read my book and then go to bed. Let's hope I have another good weigh-in next week. I will be thrilled when I finally get back in the 150's!

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Transformation Tuesday #41

Happy Transformation Tuesday!

When looking through transformations for the Tuesday posts, I feel like I need to do some compilation posts of specific transformations throughout the series: bathroom makeovers, garden makeovers, furniture makeovers, etc. I get so inspired by all of the posts and it makes me want to make something over! Right now, I really need inspiration to get my landscaping done. I'm dreading it so much (and I've been procrastinating for, well, a year now).

Anyway, enjoy these transformations! And then transform something yourself and submit it for next week--just take a before photo and an after photo and send it to me at: katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com. Include your name and a description of your transformation. Without submissions, there is no series, and without a series, there is no inspiration for me to finally get moving on my landscaping ;) 

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My little transformation started as an outlet to the chaos that exploded in March 2020. I needed something to keep me busy while locked down, and some place peaceful to ride out the storm. I love to garden, so naturally, that's what I turned to. Here is the humble little zen corner I created next to the porch in my back yard. These pics don't do it justice!

- Caroline

Caroline, it's so pretty! It looks so welcoming and--well, "zen" is the perfect word for it. That's an awesome idea for lockdown, too; having a project to work on definitely helps! (I drywalled the garage which took months--but it passed the time so quickly.) I wish I enjoyed gardening... you are very talented :)  -Katie

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When we had our daughter last December, we wanted her nursery to be the bedroom closest to ours. Ultimately though, we wanted her room to be at the end of the hallway next to her sister’s room. I’m so embarrassed by the clutter but for over a year her future room has been a total junk room that I’ve avoided dealing with. But now she’s 8 months and a great sleeper, so we cleared out the junk room and either donated or found a place for everything, then made it a nursery. I love how it turned out! Hopefully I’ll have another transformation soon, I’m planning to turn her old nursery into a home office :)

- Laurel, Seattle

Laurel, I love it! It looks so warm and cozy. When I come visit, I'm definitely going to have to lie down and take a nap on that rug ;) The color scheme is great, too!  -Katie

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My brother, sister-in-law and myself spent all quarantine transforming their new house! At one point they were able to repurpose their cabinets into an island. They bought a marble table on Facebook marketplace, took off the legs and made an island! Brand new kitchen for less than $100!

- Angela

Angela, that island is amazing! What a cool idea to use the marble tabletop for the island. I LOVE repurposed items like that--it's so fun to look at something and think how you might be able to transform it to fit your wants/needs. You all did a great job!  -Katie

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My Secret Project

Okay, I don't want that title to mislead anyone (because certainly, I would click on someone's post that had that title) so I will state up front: There is no big reveal in this post. So please feel free to skip this post if you were hoping for something juicy ;) 

I am SO EXCITED about a surprise project I've been working on and I am bursting to share all about it. However, it's for Jerry's birthday (which is on the 14th). Once in a while he actually reads my blog posts, so I'm afraid to post photos or descriptions or anything in case he comes across it.

He does know that I'm working on something, though--he's been forbidden to go in the garage and he may not look at my phone; I've been doing a lot of texting, which is necessary for this project to come together. (I'm not saying that Jerry snoops through my phone--we'd never do that to each other--but I get notifications that you can see if my phone is lying on the table or something.)

I actually started working on all of this about four weeks ago! But it will be 100% worth it. I know he's going to love it. (And of course, I'll post all about it.)

Now, the whole reason I mention all this stuff without giving away the actual project is because I didn't do very well with getting in 8,000 steps a day--a goal I'd made last week. I've spent most of my free time working on Jerry's birthday project. I thought for sure that walking back and forth around the garage for hours would rack up the steps, but apparently not.

Here is what the week has looked like:

I only hit my target of 8,000 steps three out of six days. Not great!

On Wednesday, I was wearing the Fitbit for a while and noticed that I had over 1900 steps. Then I went to sync the Fitbit to the app on my phone (because I hadn't used it in several years) and it deleted the steps and started from 0! I knew that I had seen 19-something, so I just counted that.

Thursday was a really bad day for me. I felt super nauseous ALL DAY LONG. And I ended up going to bed at 7:00 PM!

Yesterday and today, I was working on Jerry's project all day. If I hadn't run today, my count would be 6,000 less than it is right now. I felt like I was super active, because I was very busy in the garage, but that obviously doesn't translate to steps.

Basically, this week was spent just getting used to wearing the Fitbit again. I'm not ditching the goals, though; I'm going to modify them a bit. On the days that I run, it's not hard at all to get in 8,000 steps (a 3-mile run is about 6,000 steps). On the days that I don't run, I really struggle to find ways to get the steps in. So, I'm going to have two different step goals: one for the days I run and one for the days I don't.

I'm also going to make the goals a little less ambitious now that I know how hard it is to get in so many steps. I can add more every couple of weeks or so as I get used to finding opportunities to get in more steps. (I love going for walks in the fall, so that will help.)

On the days I run, I'm going to aim for 8,500. And on the days that I don't run, I'm going to aim for 5,000. I'm also going to choose one day a week where I don't count steps at all. (Like that day I felt sick all day--I felt pathetic that my step count was so low!)

Tomorrow is Transformation Tuesday, and I only have one transformation to post--so please, send me some! Remember, it only takes five minutes to transform something. Let's see what you have :)

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BOOK REVIEW: 'One for the Money' by Janet Evanovich (no spoilers)

For 2021, I committed to participating in a read-athon with a 'Friends' theme (the TV show). You can read more about it on this post. Each month, there is a different theme (based on a quote/situation from Friends) for choosing a book to read. August's theme is: 

Ross: "PIVOT PIVOT PIVOT" - Read a funny book.

This one was hard for me, because I don't know that I've ever read a funny book (other than memoirs). I'm not a comedy person--I rarely watch comedic movies or sitcoms. I like drama and suspense! So I asked for suggestions on what to read for August, and this series by Janet Evanovich seemed to be popular (it's a large series based on a character named Stephanie Plum). Naturally, I read the first book in the series, 'One for the Money'. (Amazon affiliate link)

I feel like this was a good choice for the topic for me because it's a suspense novel with a lot of humor surrounding the protagonist. Not laugh-out-loud funny, but entertaining. She says a lot of one-liners and she gets in funny situations.

The basic storyline is that Stephanie finds herself out of a job and she literally has nothing to fall back on--she's even selling her appliances to a pawn shop to get enough money to get by while she tries to get a job. She hears about a bounty on a police officer who was involved in a shooting and then went missing. The reward is $10,000, and she thinks bounty hunting will be easy money.

She knows nothing about it, so a lot of the humor is when she's trying to learn the ins and outs of bounty hunting; mostly by learning the hard way.

Likes:

- The book was published in 1999, so it's kind of nostalgic to read about the 90's. That actually added to the humor of the book, albeit unintentionally.

- The protagonist was likable. I wanted to smack her several times for not exactly having common sense in certain situations, but she's still a fun character.

- The storyline was very easy to follow--no shifting timelines or characters (I actually really like books that shift around like that, like psychological thrillers, but not for this genre). For someone who just wants to read a straight-up entertaining story from beginning to end, this is that.

Dislikes:

- The story didn't draw me in to where I just wanted to keep reading. I had to struggle to want to read it. When reading, I enjoyed it and I can definitely see why others would, but I really prefer stories that make you want to stay up all night reading.

- The situations were extremely unrealistic. I can see that fitting with the comedic part of the book, though; the book wouldn't have been funny if it had been very realistic.

I think that's about it. It was a good choice for August's theme; I doubt I'll read any more of the series, but I'm glad I read this one.

September's Friends readathon theme is:

"The One with the Football" - Read a sports themed book.

I've actually had this one picked out for several months--I'm going to read "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen (Amazon affiliate link). I bought this book for a quarter at Salvation Army years ago and for some reason I held on to it. Now that I'm used to reading on my Kindle Paperwhite, however, I am just going to borrow the Kindle version from the library.

Here is the description from the publisher:

Jessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident. She's not comforted by the news that she'll be able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg. Who cares about walking when you live to run?

As she struggles to cope with crutches and a first cyborg-like prosthetic, Jessica feels oddly both in the spotlight and invisible. People who don't know what to say, act like she's not there. Which she could handle better if she weren't now keenly aware that she'd done the same thing herself to a girl with CP named Rosa. A girl who is going to tutor her through all the math she's missed. A girl who sees right into the heart of her.

With the support of family, friends, a coach, and her track teammates, Jessica may actually be able to run again. But that's not enough for her now. She doesn't just want to cross finish lines herself - she wants to take Rosa with her.

 It sounds like it will be light and kind of fluffy (a "feel good" book) and sometimes I'm in the mood for those. It's a young adult book and looks like it will be a fairly quick read. As soon as I finish my current book, I'm going to start on it!

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HERITAGE RECIPE: Hattie's Icebox Rolls

I could make this post one of my longest posts ever (don't worry, I won't). I found so much information online about the woman who submitted this recipe and I loved learning about her.

I marked her recipe at the beginning of this series as one of my "must make" recipes; however, it is an overnight recipe and I never remembered to start it the night before. This week, I planned ahead. This recipe is for "Hattie's Icebox Rolls". Iceboxes originated in 1802, and they functioned like a refrigerator--it was used for keeping food cold, only it used blocks of ice instead of electricity to do that.

This recipe for Hattie's Icebox Rolls was submitted to the Rockwood, Michigan Area Historical Society by Eva Pichan (1921-2020) in memory of her mother, Harriet "Hattie" Olmstead (1879-1972)

Eva grew up on her family's farm in Rockwood, Michigan. Eva was a "surprise" to her parents, who had two daughters (19 and 17 years old), so Eva grew up somewhat as an only child. Because of this, she loved to entertain herself by reading and looking through family books, photos, and letters--this developed into a lifelong interest in genealogy. You can read a LOT about her life on this Life Story page that I came across (like an obituary, but much more in-depth and about her life, rather than death). I also came across a video with lots of pictures of her! Here are just a few:

The reason I was drawn to this recipe was because of what Eva had written to go with it:

"These 'cloverleaf rolls' were our Sunday and special occasion treat from plain old 'homemade' bread when I was young in the 20's and 30's. One of Mom's very yummy treats from the Olmstead family farm on Woodruff Rd."

 Finally, I will get to the recipe (don't you just love the photo of her feeding the pig, though?).

As always with the heritage recipes, I am typing the recipe here exactly as it was written in the heritage cookbook. When making the recipe, I didn't use any modifications or substitutions. See my notes after the recipe. I retyped the "printer-friendly" recipe to include any clarifications from the original.

Here is a printer-friendly version!

Hattie's Icebox Rolls

1 c. boiling water
1/2 tsp. shortening
1 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

Stir above ingredients together. When cool add 1 beaten egg. One yeast cake dissolved in 2 tablespoons warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar. Add to other ingredients when adding egg. Four cups flour stirred in liquids; mix well. Set bowl in refrigerator overnight to raise. Grease muffin tins well. Using small amount of flour, form 3 walnut-size balls for each muffin tin. Allow to raise and bake 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned at 400 F. Remove from oven and brush lightly with butter.

My Notes:

I did buy a fresh yeast cake for this recipe. When the recipes call for it, I like to do that so that I don't substitute any ingredients. A package of dried yeast can be used instead, though.

The directions are pretty self-explanatory. Once all the wet ingredients are added per instructions, add four cups of flour and mix well. It didn't specify whether to cover the bowl, and I debated over this. I ended up placing plastic wrap very lightly over the bowl. It rose very well overnight.

I didn't know how many rolls this would make, but it made 12 in my case. For my fellow numbers nerds, I used 25 grams of dough per walnut-size ball, so each muffin tin held 75 grams of dough. And that worked out for an even dozen. (I used this tin first; if I had known how many rolls it would make, I would have used a different one.)

I wondered if I made them too big, because they rose quite a bit!

But when I pulled them from the oven, they were the perfect size. They looked AMAZING. I brushed butter over the tops like the recipe said to. I couldn't wait to try one, so I dug in while they were still hot.

The texture was the most perfect textured roll I've ever eaten. The outside had a nice crust and the inside was very fluffy.

Unfortunately, I found that they tasted kind of bland--I think they needed more salt. (My family agreed with me.) I really loved the texture of them, though, and I am going to try making them again--only I'll add more salt to the dough (hopefully that won't mess up the rising and all that--I'm not a baker!).

This was a very fun recipe to make--not just the rolls, but reading about Eva made me feel like I knew her--she sounded like a very sweet woman!

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Friday Night Photos

All day today I thought it was Saturday. I even started working on Saturday's blog post! Eli didn't have school today because of the holiday weekend--it's so dumb that they started school three days before a four-day weekend--so it just felt like it was a weekend. Thankfully it's only Friday, and the weekend is just beginning :)

As far as photos this week, I don't have many. But here goes...

Speaking of tomorrow's post, here is a sneak peek at the recipe I made from the heritage book this week: Hattie's Icebox Rolls. I totally immersed myself in researching the person who submitted the recipe--it's an interesting one!

When I was writing a menu for this week, I included a couple of desserts. I decided to make these Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Cookies that I'd posted a VERY long time ago. I had only made them once before! But I wanted to do something with Eli while Noah was at school, so we made these. (They take a while to make and it helps to make a two-person assembly line when putting them together). I am SUPER bummed that I forgot to take a picture of the inside of it! Just picture a soft cookie version of a Reese's Cup--chocolate cookie on the outside and peanut butter filling in the middle.

Duck was very needy when I was trying to write a blog post. He weaseled his way between my computer and my chest, so that my computer ended up being on my knees and I had to stretch to reach the keys. (Haha! Just as I was typing this, he did it again). Every time I stop petting him, he puts his paw on my face to remind me he's there and waiting to be the center of my attention.

This was Eli on the first day of 10th grade. I'm sure I've posted a lot of back-to-school pictures of my kids over the years--can you believe how grown up he looks? (I just saw that I apparently did a post full of the kids back to school pictures from 2007-2019--you can check that out here.) I'm bummed I didn't get a picture of the two of them--or even just Noah! (It's not too late--I'll do it next week). Their schedules are so different--Noah is taking solely college courses and he gets to sleep until noon if he wants, which is why I didn't think to get a picture on his first day. Eli has to be out the door at 7:00 every morning.

The past couple of days have been really cool outside--so strange!--and this morning felt like fall. So I got out of bed and immediately took Joey for a walk (not far, but enough to enjoy the weather).

And... the weather even inspired me to do my run outside today! I'm excited to write about it on my recap next Thursday.

I've had this recipe printed out for a VERY long time and unfortunately, I have no idea where I got it. It's called Dill Pickle Bread (I didn't realize it until I made it that it's actually like a flatbread). I'd like to link to the recipe, but I can't find it! It's none of the ones I searched on Pinterest. Basically it's a bread dough with a little pickle juice and fresh dill added. There is no sauce or anything (it's not pizza). It's topped with sharp white cheddar and chopped dill pickles. It was SO GOOD. And very filling--I ate it at 3:30 PM and wasn't hungry for a snack until after 8:30. Eli and I LOVE dill pickles, so this was a keeper for sure.

After my run earlier this week, I realized I'd been wearing two different shoes the whole time! Hahaha. They are the same shoe model and size, but just different colors.

After my run outside today, I laid in the grass in the front yard and just stared at the sky for the longest time. It was SO comfortable and relaxing.

And I saved the best for last...

Remember the heritage recipe I posted about Sloppy Joes? It was written by Jeanette Laura, who I learned lived in the house that I grew up in. (Here is the whole story). Anyway, my mom's friend Vickie showed the post to Jeanette (who is her mom) and Jeanette was thrilled--she said it made her day! It was so sweet to get the card in the mail from her--that actually made MY day ;)  I actually have earmarked a couple more of her recipes (done before I even know the story behind our connection). 

Have a great Labor Day weekend! xo

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Return to Running Recap : Week 14

Duck insisted on being in this picture. As soon as he hears me stop the treadmill, he comes running in and hops on. While I was trying to take a picture, he started stepping on the incline buttons while he tried to turn around, so the bed of the treadmill moving up. At least he didn't hit the speed buttons!

As I mentioned last week, I was thinking of adding some sort of speed work once a week to see if it will speed up progress on my heart rate training. I haven't decided on any sort of speed work pattern, but I'll just do whatever type of workout I feel like doing on that day.

I chose to do intervals again for my first workout of Week 14...

Week 14, Day 1 : 7 x (run 4 minutes easy, run 1 minute hard)

When I ran intervals last week, my heart rate didn't go up as high as I would have liked during the harder intervals, so I decided to bump it up higher this week. Last week I did the easy running at 5.0 mph and the hard at 6.0. I don't think the 6.0 was hard enough for short intervals like that (just 1 minute each).

This time, I did the same workout, but I changed the speed for the hard intervals. The first one, I did at 6.5--and it felt too easy. I did 6.6 for the second. Still not hard enough. I tried 6.7 for the third, and that felt about right. I still felt it was probably not going to get my heart rate high enough, but I think that I'm going to have to do longer intervals to get my heart rate in the high 160's-low 170's.

I decided that I would stay at 6.7 for each interval and then for the last one, I'd try 7.0 mph. The 6.7 wasn't horrible, so I figured 7.0 would be tough, but I would feel good when I finished that.

As soon as my Garmin signaled the final interval, I pressed the button and within about five seconds, I was dying. I felt like my legs couldn't go fast enough to even keep up! It was awful--I kept reminding myself that it was only 60 seconds, I could do it. But it felt like forever and I was thisclose to pushing the stop button. I couldn't believe how much harder it felt than 6.7--what the heck!

THEN, right as I hit the stop button, I realized what I did. I hit the 8.0 mph button instead of 7.0 mph. So I ran for a full minute at 8.0 mph--it was horrible! Hahaha, but I felt pretty proud that I managed to do it (even if I did pee just a little toward the end from all the jarring that my body wasn't ready for).

I knew my heart rate wasn't going to be what I'd hoped, but that just helps me to plan for the next speed work. I know that I need to increase the length of the intervals to get my heart rate up close to 170. Or run at 8.5 mph, and there is no way in hell that is happening.

My interval splits were: 152, 155, 156, 158, 157, 158, 164.

Even with my misfortune of running way faster than I intended for that last interval, I felt pretty good!

Week 14, Day 2: Run 3 miles at 5.0 mph

I simply set my treadmill at 5.0 mph and read my book while I ran. My effort didn't feel too hard, but my throat was SO dry--I tried swallowing, but it felt like razorblades in my throat. I know I should drink more water before running. I actually haven't been drinking nearly as much water as I used to.

I was hopeful that my heart rate would show that my effort wasn't too hard (I was very surprised when I saw how high it was). Maybe because of being dehydrated? I don't know. Just another thing to really pay attention to. Average heart rate was 149 bpm. (Remember, my goal is to stay in Zone 2 for the entire run--hopefully someday!)

Week 14, Day 3: Run 3 miles at 5.0 mph

I was feeling unusually energetic for some reason. My previous run was only the day before, which isn't ideal, but I definitely didn't feel exhausted. However, I could feel that my heart rate was high before I even started. Every time I decide to run, I can feel my heart rate increase--and then the more I think about it, the higher it gets. I need to chill ;) 

Again, I felt pretty good throughout the run. My throat wasn't dry, thankfully. Nothing really notable to say about it. Average heart rate was 146 bpm. 

Tomorrow I'll do my speed work for Week 15. I'll probably do intervals again; if not, then a moderately-hard tempo run. I always feel good after tempo runs!

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Wednesday Weigh-In : Week 14

I had just gotten out of bed in that photo above and it shows--haha. I didn't cut my hair, although it looks short--I just had it braided when I slept and then most of it fell out of the braid. But anyway, I loved that shirt when I was school clothes shopping with Eli, and since it was totally appropriate for anxiety-ridden me, I bought it.

Fourteen weeks. It really doesn't seem that long--it's less than 100 days.

Things that have changed in 14 weeks:

I am regularly running three miles at time; when I started, I was suffering through just one minute of running.

I've gone from not being able to squeeze into my size 10 jeans to avoiding wearing them because they are uncomfortably big (where I have to constantly pull them up). I don't now if I need a smaller size yet, but I love not feeling like I can't breathe when I wear jeans.

I've been able to add about 50% more clothes to my closet--clothes that I had put out in the garage without thinking I'd be able to get back into them.

I feel like I have hope again. Before, I really worried that I was never going to get my drive back. I felt like I was "too far gone" to get back to my most comfortable self.

I'm not dreading my physical in a couple of months. I have to get one for insurance purposes and if my weight is over 175 pounds, I have to pay a premium for insurance (having a BMI that is considered "obese"). It was stressing me out, but I am confident that my weight will be fine!

I feel like I have more control over my life now. That may sound dramatic, considering all I really changed was that I started counting calories and exercising. But it's all about discipline--adding those two things has made me take control of other areas as well.

The weight loss, even though I'm only halfway to my goal, has given me more confidence. I don't feel ashamed anymore; that was the most prominent feeling I had about myself just 14 weeks ago. I felt ashamed for "letting myself go" and for being unable (or I think "unwilling" would be more appropriate) to do what I needed to do in order to drop the weight I'd gained.

All of that said, I had a very small weight loss this week. I did everything right, so I don't feel bad about it. Sometimes, I just have weeks where the weight loss is minimal. I wish it would go faster, but I'm not going to complain as long as it goes down! ;)

I was at 167.8 today, which is down from 168.4 last week--a loss of 0.6 pounds. That brings the total to 29.2... I've been close to the 30-pound mark for a few weeks now! Hopefully I'll get there next week :)

Now, I've got to go out for a walk to get in some steps. I started my step challenge today: 8,000 per day for all of September.

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