A mouth full of porcelain

Once upon a time, about 5.5 years ago now, I smashed my face on the volleyball court and knocked out my front tooth. We’ve been over this before, I know. Today, a few dentist appointments, some whitening and a couple tears later, I finally have a beautiful permanent porcelain tooth to call my own:

I know you are all just as ecstatic as I am. It really brightened my week.

Another thing that brightened my week… before my dentist appointment this morning I hit the pool for some laps. The lifeguard was BLARING some awesome country jams and it made me so happy. When I did my 15 minutes of pool running at the end of the workout, I sang along and am confident that he was loving it. I mean, who doesn’t love a girl screeching along to country music in a hot pink swim cap at 6 AM?

Hmm what else… I think my foot’s getting better? I continue to not feel almost any pain, I’ve been icing it like crazy and limiting the pounding. I even hop down stairs on only my right foot. I plan to email my doctor tomorrow see what she says. Cross your fingers. 

Until then, I continue to stick to the elliptical, bike and pool. I found out earlier this week that Jane hates the elliptical (who doesn’t) and barks at it while trying to climb on it with me…

Next on the agenda. It’s been called to my attention that the random poetic post about summer earlier thisweek may have been extremely premature seeing that it isn’t even spring yet….

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love you guys. But I write for me, I write about what I love and am feeling… that’s why I love doing it. Speaking of my mom, I think I may need to hand over my title of smoothie queen to her. She has become a pro smoothie maker over the past couple months, and our freezer at home is STOCKED with frozen fruits and veggies. I woke up Monday morning to this note:

I threw a little something together following her guidance and came up with a delicious tangy smoothie. Mar, the smoothie queen.

Saw this, love it, set it as the background of my computer:

Andrew’s off getting rich in Vegas this weekend so that he can come back and buy me cool things, so I don’t have too many crazy plans. I have committed to returning to the inferno at which they host Hot Yoga on Saturday morning, and am determined to not let it ruin my weekend. Yoga is good, yoga is good, yoga is good.

If I keep saying it maybe it will grow on me.

Happy Friday Eve. Make it awesome. Tell me something awesome. Ready Go.

Cheers!

Dancing in the Moonlight

I have three items on the agenda for today.

#1 - I did a spin class last night and came to a very significant realization. The music used during the class can very quickly make or break a class.

The spin instructor was fine… but the music was 1. Very soft and 2. A weird combo of rock/jazz/alternative. It was horrific, non-motivational, and borderline depressing. I honestly considered putting my headphones in and continuing on my own, but realized that would be rude. 

Needless to say, I powered through the irritatingly bad music and managed to get my sweat on.

#2  - Andrew and I decided to take the plunge and signup for a swing dancing class on Monday nights. Yes, you read that right. Dance class. Me.

If you recall, dancing has never been my strong suit. More like my weak suit. But it’s something that Andrew immensely enjoys, and it continues to grow on me. And with a season of weddings rapidly approaching, we felt classes would be beneficial. So, I pulled on my trusty old Toms and together we hit the dance floor.

The class was large, and we were by far the youngest attendees there. Which actually made me a little less nervous. The instructors were awesome, the steps were broken down to the point that a toad could have followed along, and long story short, we both enjoyed it. Immensely.

It’s 8 weeks long so I’m sure I’ll have more to report in that area. And to wrap up with a quote from our older, gray haired instructor leading the class, “You can literally swing dance to 80% of the songs out there. By the end of this class, you'll be able to swing dance to Pitbull.”

Challenge accepted sir.

#3 – I made a new smoothie last night. It made my mouth explode. I know you want the recipe.

Sparkling Cherry Citrus Smoothie

• A handful of spinach
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup of cherries (I used frozen)
• 1/2 clementine (or any kind of citrus fruit)
• splash of lime juice/lime concentrate (lemon would work too)
• ½ cup of Tart Cherry Juice
• ½ cup sparkling water

Blend. Chug. Be happy.

Cheers!

Lies & Food

I know, I know. I promised you all that I would share some recipes with you on Friday... and I didn't. I'm sorry. Forgive me?

I ended up going to a movie with a friend after work, followed by some food and beverages. We had had a long week of work including a five minute period on Friday when our fire alarms were tested and we all suffered severe hearing loss.

how I deal with obnoxious fire alarms. let's hope i don't react this way during a real one. 

It was also a bit of a letdown to have to go back to the white Starbucks cups. I recently went on a rant that they should have different colors for each month of the year. Green for March at the very least? Whose with me?

OK, on to the food. First on the agenda, I saw a recipe for a sweet potato pizza crust on Carrots 'n Cake the other day. It sounds awesome, and I really want to try it. And if any of you try it before I do, let me know. Check it out here.

I made a silent vow to myself that I was going to try to transition into eating more salads for lunch this year, as they are fairly easy to throw together and pack for work. However, my go-to lunch has and probably always will begin with a smoothie, and I whipped up something new this past week.

A (green) peanut butter pear smoothie.

Ingredients:

-1 banana

-1/2 pear (best if ripe)

-1 TB cinnamon

-1 large scoop of peanut butter

-Milk of choice (I used soy for this one)

-A handful of spinach (optional)

Blend. Eat other half of pear. Enjoy.

Last but certainly not least, I've got a special treat for my pup lovers out there. While I was home over break I whipped up some peanut butter pumpkin dog treats for Calamity Jane (her full name that is mainly used when she rips up potted plants) and she LOVED them.

Easy, cheap, and healthy for your best pal.

Most of the recipes that I found all followed the same basic ingredients. A lot included cinnamon, but I left that out this time around. 

Peanut butter pumpkin pooch treats:

- 2 cups flour (I used whole wheat)

-2 eggs

-2/3 - 3/4 cup pumpkin

-3 TB peanut butter

Blend together well, and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. If you want to use a cookie cutter for specific shapes, go for it! My mom and I just used a knife and cut a bunch of small squares out.

Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees. If you dog likes chewier treats, then pull them out closer to 20 minutes. Since they are all-natural and don't have preservatives, keep them refrigerated in tupperwear.

Try them out for your furry friend! You'll have one healthy, happy pup!

Cheers!

It's August. Let's talk Logistics.

bird diarrhea.

Even after coming outside this morning to bird diarrhea all over my car, my spirits were not dampened. Why?

August. It’s August, and I couldn’t be happier. Two reasons:

Oops, did I already use both of these pictures in previous posts? Sorry I'm not.

Our Colorado/Chicago/Danielle & Jeff's Wedding trip.

And then Labor Day shenanigans at the Delaware Beaches with my Colorado wolfpack.

August is going to be phenomenal.

Now, I owe you all another apology because today isn’t going to be weird. As much as I know you love my random weird/disturbing thoughts every Wednesday, the fact that it’s August 1 is going to override that.

July overview/August goals.

Looking back at July, I had a BLAST doing the Strong Like SusanAb Challenge through Run to the Finish. Honestly, she threw some AWESOME, challenging moves at me that I had never even thought of before, and I really feel stronger as a result.  If you are ever looking for a quick ab workout for the day, check out any of her Strong like Susan videos on Youtube. I recommend it.

this is Susan. she's a beast.

Other July recommendations? 

I don’t really feel like babbling on forever over plant-based smoothie supplements (although I could) but let me just say the samples that Vega sent me were were legit, so a huge thanks to them for sending them to me to try out.  My favorite? Tropical Tango, fo sho. I enjoyed them all, they are pretty low cal and PACKED with nutrients.

A dear friend of mine out in Colorado also sent me some samples from a company called Organo Gold that he works with.  I didn’t try them all, but did give the green tea and instant black coffe a go.  I was definitely a fan of the green tea, it had great flavor and helped to keep me on track with my “Drink more tea and less coffee” July pledge. If you’re interested in trying out the brand, let me know and I'll get you in touch with him.

Now, I know what you’re wondering. “Kait, what are your August goals?”

I’ve put some thought into it. And knowing that I will be traveling a lot over the next month, I’m keeping it fairly simple.

•  Plank a  Day. #Plankaday – At least one plank, every day, continuously trying to lengthen my time. Shooting for 5 mins by September.
• Clean Eating Challenge through Run to the Finish. I like her challenges, they are usually clear cut and offer great accountability. It also is a flexible challenge, which I need. Check out the challenge here.

Oh wait, one more thing. I officially have a running coach. But more on that later.

Cheers!

A bunch of firsts, and a second place finish.

Judging by the picture below, I would say that this morning was a great success.

Mud & Bagels. What more can a girl want?

Today's race was the first one that I have run since Boston. It was also my first Maryland race since moving out here... my first completely headphone free race... and my first trail race.

Boy was I unprepared. Although it was just a 10k, but I've already told a few people that it's quite possibly one of the harder races that I have run thus far. It kicked my ass. Let me take that back... the muddy hills, the running through creeks, and jumping over logs.. all those things kicked my ass.

My splits for the race are borderline hysterical, as I keep right around a 7 minute pace with the exception of mile 2 and 5... which drop down to 9 mins. Gee I wonder why.

Hey, that's me!

All in all I finished at 50:03. Typically I wouldn't be happy with a time like that for a 10k; my P.R is 43:50. But seeing that I ended up being the second woman to cross the finish line, and only 7 minutes behind the first guy, I'll go ahead and pat myself on the back.

$25 gift certificate to a running store? Don't mind if I do.

I'm not sure how I feel about trail races yet. I would need to do another to make a fair judgement. It most certainly offered a change of scenery, as the state park that we ran it in was beautiful. Yet I will say I'm looking forward to my flat 5k road race coming up in two weeks.

Following the race I treated myself to two of my favorite things; a bike ride to the pool, and an ice cold smoothie.

Beth, my bike.

Not my best shot. Yes mom I'm wearing sunscreen.

Smoothie Time

The wonderfulness inside of the thermos was a Mango Cucumber Lime Smoothie. So good, I had to share the recipe:

-Half a mango (or frozen chunks)
-1/3 -1/2 of a cucumber (sliced)
- 3-4 TB of lime juice
- 1 banana
- 1 cup of milk
-Ice

It sounds like a weird combo, I know, but it was honestly the perfect summer afternoon treat. Try it out!

How was everyone's weekend? Anyone else do any races?

I'm off to give myself a pedicure. Cheers!

After all that mud, my feet deserve it.