food – Page 3 – Movin' it with Michelle

Wordless (mostly) weekend wrap-up…

July 21, 2014 Movin' it with Michelle

We welcomed Friday with open arms after a very long couple weeks at work, with minimal days off…what did we do to celebrate? Yard work…yup. Call me crazy, but it was therapeutic to FINALLY get some work done around the house.

I don't think my family was quite as excited as I was to pull this mountain of weeds... — I don’t think my family was quite as excited as I was to pull this mountain of weeds…

But after 2 hours of work, and shaky arms, we let our hair down and enjoyed a couple of my husband’s famous daiquiris. DELISH.

Let's just say, this glass of amazing goodness went down a little too smoothly, LOL! — Let’s just say, this glass of amazing goodness went down a little too smoothly, LOL!

Saturday we took the top down on the Jeep and drove around running errands. We ate a late lunch, so I decided to make a light dinner I like to call “Little bites.” We had bacon wrapped figs stuffed with goat cheese, and shrimp toasts. To. Die. For. And so easy.

Saturday evening I got my gear out as I religiously always do before a long run or race, and was in bed by 10:30 (which is GREAT for me). We had 8 miles on deck for Sunday morning, and I was again pacing the 9:30 half marathoners for our 3rd training run. Nerves always set in, but I was able to sleep until about 4 a.m. when I woke up in fear I missed my alarm. Ack…I still had an hour before I had to get up! I stayed in bed, trying to rest, and finally rolled out of bed at 5 to get ready…

Obligatory gear post-what’s your favorite fuel?

My hubby and I met up with all my friends, and we smiled, talked, and chatted as we got ready to line up to run.

Photo thanks to my friend, Jitka: here is me, Jitka, and Carolyn!

And we were off…the first couple miles Jitka, Brian, and Debra and I ran quite easily on the trails. Wow…2 miles done already? Awesome! I was holding pace easily, and then the hill of hell at Japanese gardens came…THIS hill nearly killed me in the full marathon last year, but our group barreled up it full force…so much so that I missed the turn, and nearly tacked on a good quarter mile to our route. Woops…a couple runners got irritated, and I apologized profusely. This nearly set me off course, but I had Jitka and Brian cheering me on, and I quickly brushed the negativity off my back. (note-those that know me well know how directionally challenged I am…so leading a group this size can be a bit daunting). We finished strong, and I had a huge sigh of relief when we were done despite losing part of my group.

Me and my hubby-this was his FARTHEST run to date! So proud!

And then….there was the food…

Give. Me. ALL. the. FOOD. Yup, he earned this!

And then…we napped. I am surprised how tired I get after these long runs, seeing that last year my mileage was double. I AM enjoying being home by 8:30 in the morning after a ‘long’ run, I’ll have to admit.

What is the farthest you’ve ran? What’s on your race docket this year?

I am sticking to half marathons this year…with my 3rd full scheduled for next summer with my sister. Training starts in February, so stand by for details!

Keep Movin’, y’all!!

❤ Michelle

goals, moving forward

Monday Motivation, and stuff…

July 15, 2014 Movin' it with Michelle

I didn’t get my run in, Sunday. Nope…although I had planned on a quick short run of 3 miles, my body protested and instead I found myself stripping off my scrubs Sunday at 3 p.m. and pouring myself into the freshly washed sheets that embraced me lovingly with their freshly perfumed scent after just coming out of the dryer. I set my alarm for 4:30, smiled sheepishly at my running shoes, and as soon as my head hit the pillow I was OUT.

Yup...this was totally ME. — Yup…this was totally ME.

Work this weekend…well, was work. I am so far out of my comfort zone trying to manage an ENTIRE laboratory vs. just my section so by Sunday afternoon my brain was fried. Between nasty phone calls from angry customers, and trying to troubleshoot problems in which I didn’t even understand the process, I needed a NAP. Hmmm…this seems to becoming a pattern on my blog lately, no? LOL

I admit, I don’t get enough sleep…my “free time” in the evening starts at around 8-9 p.m. and with that, I mean time to get cleaning, laundry, meals prepped and chores done that I’ve let pile up far too long…But I wouldn’t trade a single second for the world. Although I’d love if someone went grocery shopping for me, since I forgot to squeeze that in today…

Sunday night, I was blessed to spend the evening with friends, celebrating one of my running friends birthday. It took my break away, the love that can be felt in a room full of people who primarily run together. We don’t work together, we don’t have kids in the same schools or sports, we don’t go out very often outside of lacing up in the wee hours of the morning to run or race. But get a group like this together on any given night, let alone a birthday and you will feel the connection and bond for miles. These friends have stuck with you in the toughest of miles, they have laughed with you on long runs when your delirious mode sets in full force, and they have helped keep you motivated to KEEP MOVIN’ FORWARD.

Some of my amazing running friends...<3 — Some of my amazing running friends…<3

Last night, I caught this GREAT shot of the super moon…and it was retweeted by the Kane County Chronicle! YAY ME! I love capturing awesome moments with my camera.

Today, I was able to reconnect with my sister that I haven’t seen since May. She and I, along with my kids, and hers minus 1 met for lunch today. IT WAS GREAT. Man I miss those little people (although most of them tower over me already, lol), and her SO much. We’ve agreed this will become a habit!!! It was great to chat, eat good food, and just let the kids be silly. Maybe too silly for a restaurant, but hey, they don’t see each other very often, LOL. She has always been such a huge inspiration to me, and I need to make more time for her and her amazing family.

A shout out to my sister...who didn't leave my side for 26.2 miles in 2012, and in life. LOVE. But who is that random dude to our left? LOL — A shout out to my sister…who didn’t leave my side for 26.2 miles in 2012, and in life. LOVE. But who is that random dude to our left? LOL

I should’ve come home and cleaned…but instead I watched “Hook” with my daughters after running to Target for new swimsuits for our mini-vacation to Michigan in 2 weeks. My first “Mom” suit, and I think it’s pretty cute!

Does it make me old to really think this suit is amazing?

I did make this amazing crab salad for dinner. Super easy, and pretty healthy. I also made my own take on dressing using blue cheese yogurt dressing, to which I added crumbled bacon, chives, and garlic to make it complete! DELISH!

This took literally 15 minutes to make! And my kids loved it!

I’ve been pretty lax in my training this summer, and I have to admit despite missing the mileage of a full marathon training schedule, it has been great just having fun with my running. The winter of 2015 will bring full marathon training and I know my legs will thank me for relaxing this summer/fall.

At the end of the day, I find myself beyond thankful that I have remained pretty healthy despite my right knee acting up from time to time. I think resting last winter and running only casually helped, and I will repeat this “resting” process as my knees have nearly 30 years of mileage on them.

Do you allow yourself time to rest?

Thanks for all the amazing support…y’all rock!

❤ Michelle

dedication

Movin’ forward with flexibility

July 9, 2014 Movin' it with Michelle

I posted the question on my Facebook fan page today, as to whether or not people are flexible with their workouts. As I was driving home from work tonight, my husband texted saying he was running late with meetings therefore our scheduled run would have to be postponed. I could’ve freaked out and ran without him, but I am so excited that he is embracing running that I opted to move our scheduled run from today, to tomorrow.

So what do you do when you have a night free from running? ~~Take a nap~~ Cook dinner and housework, of course, finished with some much needed strength training.

I really wanted a nap...just sayin'... — I really wanted a nap…just sayin’…

Tonight I made homemade crab cakes with spinach and cornflake ‘crumbs’ to keep them gluten free. Although I don’t have Celiac disease, I have noticed limiting my gluten has helped my Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I served them with red beans that I soaked and sautéed for HOURS along with cauliflower and shitake mushroom yummy goodness. Yup, overall delish! (I only had one tiny piece of bread, lol, I am weak).

After dinner while my husband mowed our ginormous yard, I thought hmmm…maybe I should run. Maybe…but the yummy food stuffs had settled nicely in the bottom of my stomach, so I opted to clean windows, and do my strength work out which consisted of:

3 sets of bicep curls

3 sets of shoulder presses

3 sets of squats-25 each

50 sit ups

50 push ups

tacking on a 2 mile walk today for good measure

Tomorrow the ‘window guy’ will come and assess our windows…I am nervous after having just spending a pretty penny on 2 sum pumps, but the condensation is getting so terrible that it needs to be addressed. Oh, and after this lovely appointment my hubby and I have some miles to tackle.

The ultimate point of this post is, are you flexible with your work outs when life stuff gets in the way?

dedication, goals, moving forward, running

Weekend wrap up

June 30, 2014 Movin' it with Michelle

Sometimes (often times) I find myself needed a weekend, well, FOR my weekend. This one was one of those weekends where we were on the GO all weekend. So this post will be mostly pics, filled with my little tid bits throughout the way…

Friday my husband had to go to a dress rehearsal for the wedding he was performing “Saber arch” detail in. So after dropping off my oldest at her BFF’s for a sleep over, I decided to embrace the moment and take my youngest out on a date. I asked her where she wanted to go to eat…SUSHI of course. We had such a nice time eating dinner, and walking the streets of Geneva window shopping and I treated her with well deserved ice cream.

We wrapped up our date with shopping for “Lucy” her American girl doll, and we found a beautiful hand made outfit.

We got home a bit late, and I was tired. I worked a few hours of overtime this week, and knew I had a long run scheduled for the morning. So I set my outfit out, fuel was ready, and I went to bed at 10 p.m.

Sadly, my husband came home late from his practice, and I wasn’t able to sleep…AT. ALL. I may have gotten two hours of sleep Friday night…MAYBE.
I got out of bed at 5:45 with baggy eyes and heavy legs. My long run was GOING. TO. SUCK. (and it did)
I met up with the Dick Pond run club gang, and we headed out promptly at 7 am. It was hot. It was humid. And all I wanted to do was go back to bed. But I ran. And thankfully Melissa stayed with me for the majority of the run. There were several walk/water/want to stab myself in the eye breaks. Here we are at mile 4, with a bug planted firmly underneath my eye. New make up scheme? I think…NOT.

Around the six mile mark, I sent Melissa on her way so she wouldn’t have to witness my epic fail of a long run. I couldn’t hold pace and the mental demons were winning. But I finished…8.18 treacherous miles logged.

And then. There was the food. Yes, I devoured this egg sammich like a mad women.

I wanted to nap when I got home…but we had a wedding to attend. Here are some highlights.

Today I was blessed to be able to take a NAP this morning…Morning you say? Yup, hubby got up at 6:30 for his long run and I got my youngest breakfast and settled. I may, or may not have napped until 10:30 a.m. I forced myself out of bed, showered, cleaned, and went to a dear friends housewarming/Mary Kay Party. I love my friends. Have I said that lately?

I came home to THIS dinner…Grilled steak, Egg plant, and quinoa…Can you say yum?

Yup...my hubby made this! — Yup…my hubby made this!

I finished the weekend with a 12.5 mile bike ride. I needed to find my happy place, which I can usually find during a long run…so I needed to feel the wind on my face, the sun on my back…and all that jazz…So I dusted off my bike, and hit the trails. My bike sucks, I’ll just say it, but it keeps me moving regardless. My pace was slow, but I felt great being outside as the sun started to set. I captured THIS awesome moment tonight….

And as I flew down the hill on my Walmart bike I realized…I can fly…I can run…I can ride. And as always, I keep movin’ forward.

❤ Michelle

Uncategorized

My first post….

December 31, 2013 Movin' it with Michelle

Sitting near my fire, nestled quietly in my ‘corner’ (yes, they do put baby in the corner from time to time, but guess what, she may like being in her corner sometimes) I find myself looking back on 2013 with a great peaceful feeling.

I have attacked my love for running full force, and despite injury at the end of the year I can still say I tackled my goals and gave it my all.

I have re-discovered my love for cooking, and plan on continuing to learn, grow, and flourish as a ‘home cook’ Chef.

Lastly, I have learned that not everyone will understand, or support our goals and dreams. And that’s ok…For our number one fan must always be US first.

With that, I say…find your passion…your ‘thing’…your ‘people’ and focus on what matters most.

Family…fitness…and forward motion.

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