A Case of the Runs

I'm not sure why I've taken to doing these "New Year" posts (see 2010 , 2009 ).  Perhaps it's something about that last digit in the year changing that forces me to think about what the coming months will bring.  In reality, I just start feeding off of this "starting over" mentality that seems to take over after that last Christmas gift has been unwrapped. Back in June, I did a mid-year progress report of my "resolutions."  If you keep any to-do list, you can probably sympathize with the satisfaction of crossing off items, and these resolutions are very similar.  Here is my brief update on all: PR - The only PR I might be able to BS is for trail half-marathons ... 2:05, anyone?  Eff, anyone who reads my blog regularly knows that I am disappointed as heck about my lackluster year, which was probably caused by not running enough races (<-- which was caused by repaying upwards of $15k of student loans)   Finish dissertation - com...

So I received a little package just before Christmas. Let's just say I've already indulged in this Cappuccino Larabar (for other Larabar reviews, click HERE ), coming to a store near you in 2012. This bar contains coffee-flavored chocolate bits among the nuts and dates and would be perfect with tea.  Or coffee, I guess, but that would be a bit much for people like me who can only tolerate so much coffee. Thanks, Larabar! ------ FTC Disclaimer: I was sent a sample of this product to review and was not compensated to provide any particular opinion.

UPDATE: 12/26/11 -- Winner is #4, Krissy !  Please e-mail me for your voucher! ------ I'll preface this by apologizing to the dudes... this giveaway is aimed toward women.  Of course, if there is a woman in your life that could benefit from this giveaway, you can enter on her behalf if you wish... just make sure if you win, she winds up with it in the end! Leading Lady specializes in full-figure and nursing bras .  I don't fit in either of these categories (not sure how that makes me feel.......).  However, I will say that if I ever need to nurse a kid, having a sports bra that can open up like so would be VERY awesome. A bit about the company: " Leading Lady is a premiere intimate apparel company dedicated to creating comfortably functional, remarkably affordable, stylish and easy-to-wear bras, camis and sleepwear. A family owned and operated business, Leading Lady has been expertly tailoring nursing and full figure bras for top brands...

Happy Hanukkah! With Christmas coming soon (don't forget to enter the Leading Lady giveaway , for a gift for yourself!), I had to get this post up as soon as I could so that maybe someone could enjoy this holiday goodness before "the season" ends. I found THIS recipe on Happy Herbivore  and decided to make it for Sunday brunch.  The recipe came together very quickly (I mixed the dry ingredients the night before!)... the meal was ready in 20 minutes ! Fresh out of the oven. Enjoyed with a Numi tea sample that I received at Foodbuzz Festival  (it was a soothing, somewhat sweet, and light tea). "The Ukrainian" likes eating fresh tomatoes with salt and pepper at breakfast, and I have caught on to this.  It adds some freshness to otherwise heavy breakfast foods! I used some Earth Balance spread on the warm scones.  I didn't buy, or force "The Ukrainian" to buy, it... he says he naturally likes the way it tastes.  Yay! I screwed up a bi...

A couple of months ago, I mentioned that I got a guitar .  Now, I am not that busy of a person.  Yes, I work full-time, some side stuff (this blog, mentoring, continuing academic obligations), etc. etc... but I really could be spending more time with María (said guitar's name). At least she didn't cost what this Spanish guitar did...  As seen at Guitar Center, Hollywood, CA  So far, I've actually learned a few songs -- a lot of chord progressions, which basically means that you strum chords rather than play the individual notes of the melody.  I've also dappled into the true Spanish guitar form, but this is not really why I got a guitar.  I want to play Green Day, Adele, and even acoustic versions of Red Hot Chili Peppers, haha.  YouTube has been one of my primary teachers, along with books: A while back, I received a copy of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Guitar to compare against the Guitar for Dummies that I already had at home....

Hey, folks! My work location has shut down for the holidays (didn't think I'd get to take part in this, but I can... yay!), so I am planning on spending the time wisely by: - going snowboarding - getting a smog check, going to the dentist, and other nagging errands - helping to babysit my niece - baking with my little sister - running??? Speaking of running, I have been a bit out of it since the marathon , in spite of my intentions to train for the next one and a half-marathon that I may or may not do on January 8 (it was free, thus my flippant-ness). How "out of it" have I been?  Well, on the week of December 5, I ran 15 miles... total.  And I felt hugely accomplished for doing so. I'm probably going to pay for it during my half-marathon, but it might be enough to snap me into sanity...  The same thing happened in 2009 prior to my PR marathon , so maybe the same thing will happen?  But perhaps I'm getting too old to pull that off again. Anyway,...

This is my second update to the post in which I mentioned I was going to try to lose some weight to spare my joints and such as I ease back into running post-marathon .  After 2 weeks (I've been doing weigh-ins on Mondays): Change (me) Change (Ukr) Overall Weight  -2 lb -2 lb Waist  no change --  Bicep  -.5" n/a  Hip  no change n/a Thigh  -1.25" n/a After 4 weeks (all changes are compared to baseline , NOT the previous week... figure there are gonna be ups and downs, so this is the best way to capture just the overall picture). Change (me) Change (Ukr) Overall Weight  -3 lb -4 lb Waist  no change -2" Bicep  -.5" n/a  Hip  no change n/a Thigh  no change n/a I decided not to post Week 3's update, since I wasn't able to get the tape measure numbers.  However, that week, I was down -4 lb from the start and seemed to have gained one back in Week 4 (though I was wearing more cl...

I have to admit that I've eaten way more frozen entrees than one really should.  Something about vegan boxed meals intrigues me, just like energy/meal replacement bars .  Perhaps it's that I am skeptical that these could come close to the typical non-vegan versions... or perhaps I just like the chase. This Tuscan Veggie Bake from Kashi was a surprise purchase (on sale).  I know that not all of Kashi's stuff is vegan, but for all intensive purposes, this one seemed to be.  The dish is similar to lasagna, except there is no cheesy aspect to worry about (I put "worry" because it's so easy to mess up cheese substitutes!). I thought that this was not bad, but as a lasagna lover, I was really missing some substance in the middle besides vegetables and lentils(?).  I also thought it was a tad salty, but I think that's a complaint I have about any frozen food with a tomato sauce base.  However, it did fill my stomach without hurting it... and that, my fr...

Are you tired of seeing pumpkin yet?  This will probably be the first and only time a pumpkin recipe appears on this blog this season.  However, THIS recipe is one of the best ones. The key ingredient is: water.  I also halved the sugar and subbed half of the oil with unsweetened applesauce. The loaf served as breakfast for my sister when she was a new mom.  I also brought it to a potluck recently because it whips up quickly and contains readily-available ingredients.  I'm sure it'd make a great festive snack, if you can practice portion control.  It's not too sweet and quite moist. And yes, pie plates make perfectly good bakeware. =) THIS recipe

I have been working out regularly for about eight years now, but personal training is unventured territory for me.  The last thing I needed during my "me time" is something constantly staring at/correcting me .  So although I had access to free training in the past, I never bit. My best friends recently got trainers and are seeing pretty good weight-loss results.  Given that I gave jumped on the weight-loss wagon, I thought it'd be a good time to at least see where I stand in terms of my body composition. I look tired here, blah.  To be fair, I drove an hour to get there, and I had just gotten off from work. Joe from Encino Personal Training Institute offered "The Ukrainian" and me a free trial session.  This place is located off the 101-N on Hayvenhurst (for those who aren't in CA, there are other franchises -- but this I'm sure they are all different). The club includes a variety of equipment.  This is their cardio area, which members a...

My calves were sore as heck after my previous marathon .  They were so tender, particularly the one that buckled, that I couldn't even stand the thought of foam-rolling it. Luckily, I had a sample of this Tri-Body Recovery Wash from the Skin Care for Athletes line, which as you can guess by the name, makes organic/natural skin care products for athletes. I don't know why I don't do more bath-related things to relax me, since I'm a big fan of bath bombs and lotions and such and am often stressed from work (and formerly, school).  I tried the whole ice bath thing a couple of times with just a tray of ice cubes (I can't bear to "waste" a bunch of perfectly-good ice!), which obviously wasn't all that helpful. Anyway, this gel helped a lot.  I lathered this up in the shower and paid special attention to my calves.  That evening, I suddenly felt SO much better -- less sore and stiff.  That's pretty unusual to suddenly feel recovered in the middl...

What the heck is in THIS picture?! It looks awfully reminiscient of a marathon training program.  And based on my recent marathon failure , I thought I'd never be making one of these again. Not sure why I look happy in this photo... happy to be done?  Next time, I hope to be happy for a race well-run. (More pictures from the race HERE ) I don't know what the heck I'm doing.  I'm registered for the 2012 Los Angeles Marathon on March 18th (and a few shorter races in between).  It will be my fifth LA Marathon, and for some reason, I have not been able to run better than a 4:50 each time (my PR is 4:19, a time I've hit twice).  Although I am scared that I will be wasting my time again by training for this race and then succumbing to a surprise calf spasm for the 11th time, I have decided that this one will be a go.  Some notes: I will NOT register for any other marathons until this one is done. I will consider alternatives from my phy...

Happy Holidays! Well, it's December, and that can only mean that you're probably already tired of the Christmas music, tinsel, and commericals. But if it's any consolation, holiday Clif bars are here (I received an entire box of 'em last year)! This Peppermint Stick is a new flavor, and being the good bar reviewer , or just eater, that I am, I tried it immediately. I liked this one because it really did remind me of candy canes.  Not to say that you won't get a carbo-bad-breath afterward, but I imagine it'd be a treat to cool your mouth slightly as you take a break from your winter activities.