Work It Out

My weekly workout report for the week of November 22nd – 28th:

Monday, 22nd
6 miles on the dreadmill

Tuesday, 23rd
6.75 mile run outdoors – my body was definitely not acclimated to the temp and wind chill, and this one was rough

Wednesday, 24th
3.25 mile run outdoors

Thursday, 25th
None

Friday, 26th
4.5 mile run outdoors

Saturday, 27th
None

Sunday, 28th
4 mile run outdoors

Total weekly miles:24.5

13.1, here I come

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I am officially running my first half marathon.  I registered this morning for the Earth Day Half in St. Cloud on April 16th.  Yes, I know it’s more then a few months away, but I am excited. The course is fairly flat and I know some people who have run it in the past who loved it.  Bonus points for this race being on a Saturday, too.

I have a few other races that I have been considering but I don’t want to get ahead of myself just yet.  One event at a time.

Work It Out

My weekly workout report for the week of November 15th – 21st:

Monday, 15th
5 mile run

Tuesday, 16th
overheard barbell squats
6 x 45
2 x 6 x 55

Dumbbell kettlebell style two handed swings
4 x 25 x 25

T-push ups on Smith machine
3 x 10

seated cable row
3 x 10 x 60

Planks
3 x 45sec

3 mile tempo run, treadmill

Wednesday, 17th
6 x 800m treadmill, 6 miles total

Thursday, 18th
deadlift
6 x 135
Sumo deadlift
3 x 6 x 135

Bulgarian split squat
3 x 6 x 65

push press
3 x 5 x 65

inverted row, Smith machine, feet elevated
3 x 6

Pallof press
3 x 10 x 60

3 mile temp run, treadmill

Friday, 19th
6 mile run

Saturday, 10th
none

Sunday, 11th
4 mile run

Total weekly miles: 27

Wish List

I am of no help when people (Mothers) ask me to send them Christmas gift ideas.  Funny, because I am pretty sure Mr. BKL hears all about them and to him there must be hundreds of things I want.  Problem is I never remember them when prompted.  I really need to start a list.

Part of the problem is that my Mom and my Mother in law both buy way too much for Christmas gifts.  I would never complain because I am always grateful, but I think they could both scale back a bit.  Save it all for that grand kid they are secretly and not so secretly waiting for.  I am cool with just spending the holidays together.

At the same time, I often have trouble buying them things because they never want anything.  This year I might get them both some gifts from Garlic Gold.  To say I received just a sample from Garlic Gold would be an understatement.  They sent me all of their products.  So very cool of them.  Unfortunately I haven’t been able to sample all of them yet, but so far we both have been smitten.  I know you guys have been hearing about Garlic Gold on other blogs for a while now and I wasn’t sure I would believe the hype, but this stuff is pretty good.  I promise I won’t push it too much since you most likely have seen it elsewhere – but if you are really interested definitely check out my store.

So because people always say I am hard to buy for here are some attainable and not so attainable ideas:

Attainable
-more winter running gear like compression pants and tops, socks, and Yak Trax so I can avoid breaking limbs from slipping and falling.
-A new winter coat that is really warm but still sort of cute.  Maybe this should go in the unattainable list because those two things together are nearly impossible to find by the way.
- iTunes gift cards so I don’t die of boredom on the treadmill this winter when the roads and trails are icy like today.
-Books. Or gift cards to buy some books. I don’t have any particular titles in mind right now but I know I will be needing some new reading material after my current to-read pile of 3 books is conquered.

Unattainable
-an iPad
-a ridiculous DSLR camera
-new cell phone and data plan
-a new bed and bed frame
-a Kitchen Aid stand mixer

What is one thing you want that is completely ridiculous and unattainable right now?

0’Tooles Rule

For my 20th birthday, not quite being of drinking age yet, I wanted to go out for dessert with my roommates.  Bennigan’s White Chocolate Chill Out was a worthy, share-able dessert. I have no idea if they still have it, but if you have a Bennigan’s Shenanigans near you, it might be worth a trip.

So the four girls who occupied a dorm suite in Pavek hall ventured out on a cold February night (my birthday falls during the worst time of year) and settled into a booth and ordered our delicious dessert to share.  This cute guy who worked there walked by a few times and I swear I had seen him before.  I said to my ladies…”I think that is J’s roomate. He’s cute. I wonder if he’s single?”

Well friends, cute Bennigan’s worker guy is now my dear husband.  This story has a point besides being nauseatingly endearing.

Since he worked there throughout college, I would go visit often.  The Turkey O’Toole was one of my favorite menu items. Not exactly a healthy choice now, but it wasn’t bad for my college eating standards.  I suppose the fries on the side negated any inking of health the turkey provided me. The best part of the sandwich was the pretzel roll bun and honey Dijon sauce. We still speak of that honey Dijon's greatness. 

I came across some pretzel buns at Trader Joe’s the other day and immediately had to re-create the Turkey O’Toole.

Ingredients needed:

-Pretzel buns
-thinly sliced deli turkey, warmed in the oven or stovetop
-honey mustard/dijon – we used Ken’s Light
-swiss cheese

Directions:

Slice your buns and toast in the broiler. After toasting, remove from oven and spread honey mustard on one or both sides.  Top bottom bun with turkey and swiss.  Put it back under the broiler until cheese is nice and melty. Top with bun top and enjoy.

A few recipes

When we woke up to a snow day on Saturday, the only thing I could think of was baking. I had printed out two recipes that I have been wanting to bake – one from Angela at Oh She Glows and one from Mama Pea.  I decided to tackle the recipe that I perceived as more time consuming since I had the time, which was these Pumpkin Butter Oat Squares with Candied Pecans.

You see, I have a bit of a pumpkin butter surplus. 

I got all giddy when Trader Joe’s had their version back in stock a few months ago and bought 3 jars on a whim.  Then, a few days later, what did I see at Costco?  Two GIANT jars of pumpkin butter for the price of 1.5 jars of the Trader Joe’s version. I wasn’t ready to commit to the two giant jars without trying it, but of course they had as sample and I had to have it right then and there.

Here is the link to the original recipe from Angela:

Pumpkin Butter Oat Squares with Candied Pecans

A few adaptations I made were the usual non-vegan substitutes like using regular butter instead of Earth Balance*, a regular egg instead of a chia egg, and cow’s milk instead of almond milk. I also used 1/2 bread flour and 1/2 whole wheat flour instead of spelt.

Here is my final delicious product.

 

And for your dinner needs, last night I decided to tackle channa masala.  I haven’t had an Indian recipe that I have made and haven’t liked yet.  The Fitnessista would be proud! I bookmarked Jenna from Eat Live Run’s recipe a long time ago.  I think I tackled the tomate paste pince like a champ because it turned out awesome.  It smelled amazing in my house, not gonna lie.

Here is the link to the recipe I used from Jenna:

Channa Masala

Oh and as you can see, I was so excited I started eating my naan before I remembered to take a picture.

 

*I put Earth Balance on my grocery list for this recipe (and others from my vegan blog favorites) but nearly fell over in the aisles of Cub when I saw the price: $6.28 for one tub.  I always laugh at Cub’s prices on organic, vegan, and specialty items so I wasn’t expecting any miracles but still.  Fortunately I found some at Trader Joe’s a few days later for about $3.  Much better.  I just can’t get over how some stores charge double or more then others for items like that.  It’s not like I have to travel far to get it cheaper elsewhere.  A few blocks in some cases.  Nice try Cub, but you lose.

Work It Out

My weekly workout report for the week of November 8th – 14th:

Monday, 8th
6 mile run

Tuesday, 9th
7.25 mile run

Wednesday, 10th
front squat
6 x 65
3 x 5 x 85
OH squat
2 x 6 x 45
bench press
6 x 75
2 x 8 x 65
standing cable row
3 x 10 x 60
cable face pulls
2 x 10 x 60
abz

treadmill tempo work, 2.5 miles

Thursday, 11th
5 mile run

Friday, 12th
deadlift
6 x 135
2 x 155
2 x 155
2 x 155
6 x 135
barbell hip thrusters
3 x 10 x 65
push press
3 x 5 x 65
hang clean to push press
2 x 5 x 65
u/h grip lat pulldown
3 x 8 x 85
Pallof press
3 x 10 x 60

4 x 400’s, 2.5 miles total

Saturday, 13th
shoveling the heaviest snow ever

Sunday, 14th
4 mile run

total miles ran: 27.25

Too soon?

You tell me.

Media Play

Previous installments of Media Play are here, here, and here. Media Play is my ramblings on music, books, and movies/TV.

Music
Last time I didn’t have any exciting music news to share.  This time I have a few random singles and a new album that even I am surprised that I like as well as I do.

The singles:

-Mark Ronson and the Business Intl – Bang Bang Bang
-Mark Ronson and Phantom Planet – Just (a cover of Radiohead)
-I went old school with some classic Soundgarden – Blow Up the Outside World
-Matt & Kim – Cameras

The album:
-Florence + The Machine – Lungs

Now, I downloaded The Dog Days Are Over about a month ago because it had a catchy beat that made for a good running song.  I started listening to the previews of of the other songs on the album on iTunes and took the plunge.  I am usually not into female singers like the lead singer, but for some reason I do like this.  Maybe it reminds me of my angsty Tori Amos days way back when.

Books


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I finally finished The Girl Who Played with Fire a few weeks ago.  I didn’t find it nearly as captivating as the first book in this series.  I won’t go on and on about it since I am sure 99% of the world has read this now.

Up next…Open by Andre Agassi.  So far it’s an easy read.  I enjoy tennis but don’t know a lot about it and didn’t really follow him at his prime, so it’s maybe more interesting to me coming at it with a fresh perspective. After that Generation Kill by Evan Wright. See below…  

 
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Movies/TV
The only movie I can recall seeing as of late is The Duchess with Keira Knigthley. I am a sucker for historical movies and historical fiction like this.  The costumes, sets, and visual appeal on this one were amazing. I would recommend it only if you are into this time period.  My husband is most definitely not, so I watched this one on my own. I might have to pick up a book now about Georgiana the Duchess of Devonshire.

Mad Men – what can I say.  I loved this past season and have developed a crush on Don Draper/Jon Hamm and can’t really decipher which is which.  I don’t think I am alone on this one. Please tell me I’m not.

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Exactly.

And another surprise to me was the HBO miniseries Generation Kill.  On recommendation a few times by a co-worker, whose TV and movie recommendations have never led me astray, I finally sat down with for this one.  I was captivated against all logic.  I have never been into war or military shows, movies, etc., but this was different.  So of course I had to get the book.  Even if you think you won’t like this, I encourage you to give it a shot.

And last but not least, is It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Everyone has been telling us to watch this for what seems like forever now, but I get it.  So, so beyond ridiculous which just happens to be one of my favorite brands of TV show. We are currently on season 3 and I’m sure we will go through it pretty quickly.

Three thumbs up!

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Looks can be deceiving

I have one shelf of a book case dedicated to cook books, but I wouldn't say I have an abundance of them. I feel like I have looked through the pages of those that I do have hundreds of times.  Sometimes a recipe will jump out when it hasn’t in the past. I have two Real Simple cookbooks and love the simplicity (heh) of the recipes and photography.  Pasta bakes are always a good idea, so this recipe looked doubly appealing.

At some point, fuzzy math happened while writing down the few ingredients we needed and even at the store the mass quantities of food that was being procured for this recipe never struck me or Mr.BKL as a bit much. I guess I can’t speak for him directly, but he didn’t let on that this was going to make one metric ton of food.

I blame the artistic photo that accompanied the recipe.  It’s vanishing point on the horizon fooled me into thinking we were making a 9x9 sized dish, not a 9x13 sized dish. That and I didn’t really bother to read the whole thing.  Fuzzy reading I guess. Perhaps the fact that this recipe is in the Freezer Meals section should have been a clue as well?

See?  Totally looks square.

Overflowing the biggest pan we own.

Action shot! Mr. BKL trying to contain the behemoth into the baking dish.

At the end of the day, this was an easy delicious meal. A few healthy swaps we made:

-90% or better lean ground beef
-skim ricotta cheese
-part skim mozzarella

This time I didn’t go for whole wheat pasta.  Just wasn’t feeling it.

Here is a link to a similar recipe online.  Interesting is that even in half it makes 4 servings.  If we would have halved ours, we would have still had 6 servings.  So use those nutrition facts provided at the bottom cautiously. I did some more fuzzy math and figured that 1/12 of our recipe resulted in about 450 calories.

Here is the one we made:



Lasagna Style Baked Zita
from Real Simple Meals Made Easy

Ingredients

-1 pound dry ziti
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-1 large onion, chopped
-3/4 t. kosher salf
-3/4 t. black pepper
-1 pound ground beef
-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
-1/2 cup chopped fresh oregano or 1 1/2 T. dried oregano (optional)
-1 24-26 ounce jar marinara/pasta sauce
-1 15 oz. container ricotta
-1 10 oz. box frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess moisture
-1/2 cup grated Parmesan (2 ounces)
-1 cup grated mozzarella (4 ounces)

Directions

Heat oven to 400F. Cook the ziti according to the package directions. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the onion, salt, and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the beef and cook, crumbling with a spoon, until no trace of pink remains, about 7 minutes.  Add the pasta sauce and cook for 3 minutes.  Remove from heat. Add the drained ziti to the pot and toss.  Add the ricotta, spinach, and 1/4 cup of the parmesan and toss again. Sprinkle the mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish. (I sprayed mine with cooking spray, too.) Sprinkle with the mozzarella and remaining parmesan.  Bake until the mozzarella melts, about 15 minutes.

You can also freeze this by covering with aluminum foil after assembling, but not baking.  When ready to bake, thaw it overnight in the fridge.  Then cover and heat in a 350F oven for 1 hour. Uncover for 10 more minutes until the mozzarella melts.

Work It Out

My weekly workout report for the week of November 1st – 7th.

Noticeably missing from this week is strength training.  I got a little caught up in my new running toy, the Garmin 205. I am enjoying being out in the nice fall weather much more then the gym.  I know I will have plenty of time there soon enough as the weather turns.

 

Monday, 1st:
5 mile run

Tuesday, 2nd
7 mile run, 1:04 – see above

Wednesday, 3rd
6 mile run

Thursday, 4th
6x 800’s, 5 miles total

Friday, 5th
3.25 mile run

Saturday, 6th
none

Sunday, 7th
4 mile run

weekly miles: 30.25

Craft time

I had somewhat of a penchant for all things crafty growing up.  Candle making kits, the rock tumbler (please tell me you know what a rock tumbler is), friendship bracelets made from buckets of embroidery floss, container upon container of seed beads for jewelry making, and plenty of hot glue gun burns.  No wonder I chose a major that allowed me to make miniature scale models of things.

But sometimes my penchant becomes more work then it's worth.  Most of the time I see some necklace, hair accessory, or ridiculous holiday decoration and say "I can make that!"  Of course you can make a lot of things, but at some point there becomes a serious time and money conundrum.  Sure, I could make that, but will I end up spending more money then I would if I just bought the thing?  Similarly, how much time will it take for my genius idea to come to fruition?

Enter: the easiest hair accessory you will ever make. Time and money well spent.
 
What you need:
-hot glue gun
-some ribbon at least 1/2” wide
-a thin elastic hair tie preferably the same color as your ribbon
optional:
-some beads and elastic thread

Warm up the glue gun and get your ribbon out.  Mine happens to be left over from my wedding.  Three years ago.  Speaking of, those projects would be worthy of quite a few posts themselves.

So the hardest part about this is getting your ribbon the right length around your head.  You want it to be tight enough so it stays put but yet it has to stretch enough with the hair tie to get over your head.  You also have to take into account the extra needed to wrap around the hair tie to receive the glue. I measured a around my head so that the ribbon met at the nape about end to end. I used my fingernail to make an indent on the ribbon to show where to make a cut.

After you think you have the right length place the hair tie inside the ends of the ribbon.  Fold over the ribbon ends around the hair tie and glue.  Once it’s dry, you have yourself a new hair ribbon.

If you want to get fancy, adding some color with beads or a bow is pretty simple. I added some dark purple beads to mine using elastic thread.  You can find it near all the beading stuff at most craft stores.  I just out a few beads on the string and wrapped it around, then tied off the string.

Now, unfortunately I didn’t get a good picture of the ribbon actually in my hair. 

You can kind of see it just above my ear in this one.   

Here is a close up.  By the way, it’s really hard to take a picture of your own head. 

Will work for coffee

A sad, sad thing happened recently.  Our coffee maker bit the dust. Not that I expect any electrical appliance, device, or machine to last more then 2 years these days (they just don't make 'em like they used to, and you kids get off my lawn).  As a side note, when we had to replace our 1970's era water heater last year, everything I read online was that you shouldn't expect any new water heater to last more then 5 years.  Well isn't that convenient for the manufacturers of the water heaters.  Hey! We're going to make a bunch of crap so those idiots have to spend thousands of dollars every 5 years instead of every 30!  Ha, ha, ha!

Getting back to the coffee maker, the sad day happened on a Saturday.  It was a funny joke because merely a day before, the coffee maker made two pots of coffee without a hitch.  Apparently in the 24 hours in between the last pot, a giant gaping hole formed at the bottom of the water reservoir. You see, when I went to pour water into the maker, it ran straight through the bottom.  I didn't realize the reason for my feet becoming soaked simultaneously was from the bottom of the coffee maker until most of the pot had been poured in already.  Sweet.  My first thought was that I had already put water in the coffee maker and it was overflowing because of my attempt to put two pots of water in.  Not this time.

Disassembled Mr. Coffee on it's way to the graveyard.

I took to the internet for some d.i.y. coffee maker repair help and saw instead that the coffee maker we had, a Mr. Coffee brand from about 2 years previous, had some scathing reviews on Amazon.com.  Seemed I wasn't the only one who had purchased and experienced wet feet from the leaky device. I moped back into the kitchen Charlie Brown style, bottom lip protruding at my current lack of caffeination, when my knight in shining armor reminded me that we had an old coffee maker in a box in the basement from his bachelor pad days. 

Low and behold....The Toastmaster.

The $10 back-up plan.

The Toastmaster in it's simplistic form produced hot coffee.  And that is all it needed to do in meantime before we replaced the old counter top worthy machine. Toastmaster's white plastic and 1980's style carafe doesn't exactly scream design to me, but I suppose I could deal with it for the time being.

Eventually after doing some research online and reading reviews, I settled on a reasonably priced Hamilton Beach with basic features and good looks.  It's not the fanciest of coffee makers but seems to be a reliable friend. Time will tell I guess.  Please don't tell me you have this coffee maker and it sucks.  I don't think I could take the disappointment so soon.  Let me bask in it's glow for a few more weeks.



The Toastmaster returned to it's nesting place in the basement for the next cold, sad day when the current coffee maker ceases to exist.  I would like to say I won't need a back-up ever again, but I am a realist.  They just don't make 'em like they used to.

So, are you a coffee drinker?  Tea?  Neither?  Get your caffeine from Diet Mountain Dew? Or no caffeine at all?


P.S. If you are wondering why I didn't just go down to Caribou for a few $5 coffees, well, they are $5 and there's just something about home brewed coffee in my 2009 PGA Hazletine mug. To say I am a creature of habit is a bit of an understatement.

Work It Out

My weekly workout report for the week of October 25th - 31st.


Monday, 25th
5 mile run

Tuesday, 26th
front squat
6 x 65
5 x 85
5 x 85
5 x 85

front squat to push press
4 x 6 x 45

bench press
3x 6 x 75

cable face pull
3 x 10 x 70

swiss ball crunches
3 x 10 x 25# plate

2.5 mile run with 1.5 miles tempo

Wednesday, 27th
6 mile run

Thursday, 28th
deadlift
6 x 135
1 x 155
1 x 155
1 x 155
sumo deadlift
6 x 135
6 x 135

single leg dumbbell Romanian deadlift
3 x 8 x 30

push press
3 x 6 x 65

single arm cable pulldown
3 x 8 x 30

Pallof press
3 x 10 x 60

u/h grip lat pulldown
8 x 85

wide grip lat pulldown
6 x 85

2 mile run

Friday, 28th
none

Saturday, 29th
30 minute run, about 3.25

Sunday, 30th
6 mile run

total miles: 24.75