Category Archives: Books

Hello – Is Anyone Still There?

Posted on December 15, 2010 | 15 comments

Hello blog world – is anyone still reading? I know – I’ve been away so long. Things have gotten so hectic, as I’m sure you all are feeling as well. The holidays have hit like a ton of bricks and work hasn’t exactly been a piece of cake either. Oh and did I forget to mention that 2011 BOSTON MARATHON TRAINING HAS BEGUN!!

Yup – it started on Monday and so far so good. I banged out a great almost 6 mile run on Monday morning before work and have hit the treadmill on Tuesday and Wednesday. I’m going to try to make tomorrow an early morning run, but you know how I am with those. 😦

For those of you interested, here is the link to my training plan. I’d say it’s a middle-of-the-road plan. It’s not a beginner approach, but it is by no means as aggressive as some I’ve seen. I plan to run 600 miles between now and April 18th, 2011. My highest mileage week will be 45 miles and my longest run will be 22 miles. So game on!!

So what have I been up to lately? Well, our gas is still broken, so no baking really to speak of. I’m currently reading two books. I know – I’m usually not the type. Well, I was already into Little Bee, but then I picked up Ultramarathon Man – Confessions of a Midnight Runner, for some running inspiration and the first 5 pages pulled me right in. I’m thinking one will be a commuting book and one will be a before bedtime book.

In running news – I have been running even pre-training! Hurray. It hasn’t been a lot, but it’s been better than nothing. My friend Lauren came down to visit two weekends in a row and we raced both weekends. Here we are running the Joe Kleinerman 10k…

We ran the 10k in 50:13. And then the next weekend, we ran the Jingle Bell Jog with our friend Rachael in Prospect Park and we were very festive…


Like the socks?! NYRR provided us with the jingle bells for our shoes, so we just took it to the next level. We ran this 4 mile race in 31:59. P.S. – I am officially qualified for the NYC Marathon in 2011 through the NYRR 9 +1 program (run 9 NYRR races and volunteer at 1)!

And then, I also experienced Santacon for the first time ever…


Hundreds of drunken Santas and elves running around NYC – definitely interesting. Unfortunately, we missed the “reindeer games” that happened in Central Park – we showed up just after things ended, but I can only imagine. And no – we were not dressed up, we simply wanted to see what this Santacon was all about.

All in all, it’s been a very busy past few weeks. I apologize for the lack of posting and commenting. Although my posts may be sporadic right now, hopefully I will get back into a routine after the holidays. Hope all is well with everyone and you are enjoying the holiday season. I’ve got to find the time to check in on the blogosphere to see what’s new!

So tell me – what’s new with you (if anyone is still reading). How are your holidays going?!

15 Comments

Posted in Books, Holidays, Marathon, NYRR, Races, Running, Uncategorized

The Trifecta: Restaurant, Book & Movie Reviews

Posted on November 17, 2010 | 6 comments

Good afternoon all! I know I promised you a book and restaurant review today and I wanted to get them up earlier, but then I decided to just lump them together with a movie review and make a GIANT post. My apologies in advance for the length. So let’s begin.

Restaurant Review

Nobu
I was admittedly very excited when I learned that Hubby’s co-workers were planning a dinner at Nobu that would include significant others. Score! Besides being excited to see some of his co-workers and their signficant others I’d met before, as well as meeting some new team members, more importantly, I was thrilled to hear we would be gathering at Nobu!!

And so it was that I left work last Thursday and headed to Nobu on 57th. The restaurant is actually a bit hidden and set inside a little covered area.

Once our party arrived, we were escorted upstairs and Bill’s boss promptly spotted Ace from American Idol. For those who know me, I’m awful at spotting celebs, so I truly appreciate when people spot them and point them out to me. Apparently, I am oblivious.

Once we got down to business with the Nobu menu, I turned from oblivious to clueless and overwhelmed. Thankfully, I was with some people in the Nobu-know who guided our table to make the right selections. The downside of that – I’m at a loss to tell you what some of these pictures are. I will do my best…

Pretty sure this was the sashimi salad.


Some sort of mushroom salad that was soo tasty.


Rock Shrimp – Hubby’s favorite and might be mine as well. This was amazing. A must-order if you ever go.


Holy sushi and sashimi selection! All the ones I tried were amazing.

All of the food was soo delicious. I’m sorry I can’t go into more detail – I wish I had paid more attention during the ordering. There were also some other dishes that I didn’t post because  literally had no clue what they were. There wasn’t  a single thing that we ordered that I did not like. However, it was not a cheap meal by any means. That is my word of warning to everyone. Be prepared to spend some dough. And also be prepared to see some of the most pretentious and well-dressed people you’ve ever seen. There were some people there like our table – low-key, fun and laid back. But you could also spot a ton of uptight business folk or freshly bo-toxed glamazons . And I swear to you that just as we were about to leave the Jonas Brothers came in, but they were seated behind a wall and I knew it would be inappropriate to try to scale it. Not that I’m a fan of the JBs – just desperate to actually recognize some celebs from time to time.

Book Review

The Girl Who Played With Fire

By: Stieg Larsson
[photo source]

I’ll assume that if you want to read this book or already bought this book that you’ve read the first book: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. If not, I’d like to kindly ask you to stop right there and go back to the first book. You can not read the second book in this trilogy without reading the first.

That being said, this book does have a completely new story-line, but you need the history to gain the full understanding. It’s so difficult to explain Larsson’s plot line within these books. I’ll leave it at saying that  Lisbeth Salander is back and is working with journalist Mikael Blomkvist again on unraveling some criminal activities and mysteries. However, the relationship between Salander and Blomkvist has changed drastically since we last heard from them, so that adds a twist to the feel and direction of the plot.

General thoughts on this book – it made me immensely nervous right from the beginning. I was terrified for Lisbeth and worried about what would happen to her next. I felt this way a little bit in the first book, but this book intensified those feelings and did so right from the start.

As per Larsson’s first book, it’s a fast-paced, intriguing page turner. I cancelled plans and skipped the gym to go home and read this book. I did not want to put it down. However, toward the end there were a few details and situations here and there that I found to be a bit unbelievable or far-fetched. This disappointed me momentarily, but did not affect my overall opinion of the book.

The end of this book way okay, but nothing entirely amazing. Overall though, if you liked the first Larsson book, I can pretty much guarantee you will enjoy this one as well. But remember – it’s not for the faint of heart, there are some serious thrills and chills in these books.

Movie Review

Get Him to The Greek

We watched this movie last night and I have to be honest and say that it did not live up to my expectations. Perhaps it was because before we popped in the Netflix DVD, we had been watching “The Hangover” on HBO. It’s hard to think anything is as hysterical as that movie. So maybe not such a good pre-movie choice.

Regardless, this movie has its funny moments. Hubby doesn’t really like Russell Brand, but I found him to be amusing and a pretty decent actor. He’s got potential. His character reminded me of the washed up rock star from “Love Actually.” Now that was a great movie.

Anyway – this is a short movie and it’s probably better off that way. You’ll enjoy it if you go in with some realistic expectations and a willingness to forgive some predictability. I did really like that they tied it to “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” – now that was another great movie! Somehow, I doubt that I’ll ever say that about this movie though.

That’s all folks!!

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Posted in Books, Restaurants, Reviews, Uncategorized

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Tag, You’re It!

Posted on November 10, 2010 | 12 comments

So it’s Wednesday night right now and I’m about to sit down to eat this…

Yum to a grilled cheese with apple. Love it! I just got home from work a little bit late and didn’t make it to the gym for a run.  Last night I didn’t make it either, but it wasn’t work stopping me.

Alright, I’ll fess up and tell you what I did last night instead of hitting the gym like I had intended. I got on the subway yesterday evening after work and cracked open my current book: The Girl Who Played with Fire. I proceeded to fly through about 40 pages on the ride home and then promptly got off the subway and beelined it home to read more instead of going to the gym. I know – I am officially a nerd. I then proceeded to eat an entirely unhealthy dinner because I couldn’t tear myself away from the book.

Ok, I’ll tell you what I ate – 1/4 of a bag of tositoes and a few white oreos with milk. Sick I know. They were within reach and did not require putting my book down. Bad healthy living blogger – bad!

I then ignored all the shows on t.v. and buried my nose in my book from about 6 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. when my eyes began to close against their will.

Just as I thought the book had released its grip on me, I spent the rest of the evening tossing and turning in a fitful unrest. I blame the book for this unrest because, well, it’s kind of disturbing at times and I think I subconsciously brought my fear to sleep with me. But it is certainly a gripping book.

Tonight I did better as far as eating a decent dinner. But…the book is calling my name. Once this dinner is done, all bets may be off and I may find myself curled up in bed reading until 1 a.m. I really hope not because I have some serious plans to get up early tomorrow morning.

Anyway – that’s my big unhealthy confession for yesterday. Now, before I succumb to the call of the book, I’ll answer a few questions that Katie tagged me to respond to…

1. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
Back in upstate NY. I know it’s so boring, but I miss our families and upstater friends. I’m hopeful that things might work out so that we can head back that way someday.

2. What has surprised you the most about blogging?
That many times it comes easily, but other times not at all. Some days I can sit down and write a post in 15 minutes and feel extremely pleased with how everything came out. Other times, I’ll sit there for hours and the final post is anything like I had hoped it would be.

3. What food could you not live without?
Oh man, such a tough one. I’m going to go with cereal on this one. I’ve been better about switching things up for breakfast, but I think if someone banned cereal completely I might have a break down.

4. You have a Saturday all to yourself.  How would you spend it?
Get up around 8, go for a nice long run with my friend Lauren. Come home, shower and then eat at the Creperie. Go shopping for a bit and find tons of  amazing size 5 shoes on sale! Have a lovely lunch. Spend the evening with Hubby and friends for a nice dinner and drinks. Bed by 12-1 a.m. I’m sooo boring.

5. What is/was your major in undergrad?
English!

6. Are you in the field that you thought you would be when you were younger?
Not exactly. I thought I’d be a journalist or a novelist. I’m in communications – so it’s not too far off. Maybe there will be a novel someday…

7. How often do you blog?  Why?
A good week, I blog about 5 times a week. I have had some slumps and slower months, but I try for about 4-5 times a week. It also depends if anything interesting is going on.

Now I tag Kelly, Jocelyn, Britt, Ashley, Holly, Megan and Dori to answer these questions if they so choose:

1. Why did you start your blog?
2. Salty or sweet food? You can only pick one.
3. What’s your favorite time of day to workout? (morning, lunch, night, etc.) And why?
4. You have to recommend a favorite book to a friend – what do you suggest?
5. Do you think you’ll be blogging in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years? Why or why not?
6. List 3 of your favorite blogs (I know everyone has many more than 3, but I challenge you to list only 3)?
7. What was your very first job?

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Posted in Bloggers, Books, Uncategorized

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A Thurdsay Book and Movie Review

Posted on November 4, 2010 | 5 comments

Happy Thursday all on this rainy, cold day.  Oddly enough, I went to bed last night without setting an alarm (by accident) and managed to wake up at exactly my normal time today. So strange. Ever had that happen? Talk about internal alarm.

So I FINALLY saw The Social Network on Tuesday night. I also have to share that my friend and I picked up dinner from the Whole Foods salad bar and ate it in the theater – a first for me. On two fronts: 1) first Whole Foods salad bar experience; and 2) first time eating dinner in a movie theater.

On the first front – LOVED the food from Whole Foods! I don’t know why it took me so long to try it. I think because I knew how much I was going to like it and want to go back.

On the second front – eating my dinner in a theater was a lil weird. I managed to finish my food before the movie started. I did not want to be crunching away while the movie was playing. It was interesting.

Now as far as the movie goes: I wasn’t obsessed. I thought it was interesting and it was definitely a different style than I thought it would be, but it didn’t wow me. I think I built it up too much in my head after hearing so many reviews about it. And essentially being one of the last people to see it. Don’t get me wrong – I thought it was interesting and I was sufficiently hooked in many scenes, but I didn’t think it was exceptional.  I’m glad I saw it, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to convince someone else that they had to see it.

And now lastly, here is a nice little book review for you!

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

By: Jamie Ford

The last time I was visiting my parents I finished the book I was reading. My mom had just finished this book, so I grabbed it for my train ride back to the city. This book is definitely a quick read and very enjoyable. I don’t think the author’s writing is particularly unique or memorable—it is more the topic that will draw your attention.

Basic premise of the story is about a 12-year-old Chinese boy named Henry Lee. He lives in Seattle during World War II and goes to a “white” preparatory school. His parents want him to become more Americanized. He meets a Japanese girl at this school called Keiko. Although they live in the U.S., Henry’s father has strong ties to China and follows the fighting going on between the Chinese and Japanese. He hates the Japanese and will not allow his son to associate with anyone of Japanese descent. Of course, as you can guess, Keiko and Henry become good friends and then develop stronger feelings for each other.

That is the basic overview, but more than the relationship between Henry and Keiko, I was taken in by the descriptions of how Japanese families were treated during this time and then shipped off to internment camps. We’ve all learned about these camps in U.S. History classes, but this gave me a new, personal look into that time, and the anger and hatred that these families faced.

This is a book of fiction, but many of the places and some of the people mentioned in it are real. And the author did his research on the internment camps and relocation of Japanese families. I found the relationship between Keiko and Henry to become almost secondary to the real story of these families. And I wasn’t exactly sold on this teenage love being the right backdrop for this very important subject. I didn’t hate their little love, but I didn’t actually fully believe it either.

Essentially, I enjoyed the book for what I learned about that era and the look into the internment camps. I probably could have done with the pre-pubescent love story though. But who knows—maybe this isn’t a story that is geared toward me. Maybe this is a book that Ford intended for middle schoolers to read. Perhaps the author is simply a device to help engage younger readers in an historical story.

Regardless, it is a quick read and offers a unique insight into that time, place and issue in U.S. history. I say it’s definitely worth a read.

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Thursday Reviews: Firenze and Sedaris

Posted on October 21, 2010 | 11 comments

Happy Thursday all! Having two days of training this week meant that the week has flown by, but I also have a ton of work piling up! Today should be a productive day. So today I have two reviews coming your way; a book review and a restaurant review.

Firenze
Hubby and I postponed our anniversary dinner until last night. We had to wait until the Yankee game was over to head to dinner, but once it wrapped up, we walked over to Firenze on 2nd Avenue between 82nd and 83rd.

It is a tiny place. I’ve walked by it a bunch of times in the past, but never really looked in. It’s small and if you’ve got a noisy group of drunken middle-aged parents behind you (which we did), it can get pretty loud.

The waiter seated us and promptly brought over some bread with what I think was marinara sauce on top, along with some olives, regular bread and cheese. (I apologize for no photos – Hubby doesn’t like it. And in this place, people would have gawked.) So then the waiter asked if we wanted to see a wine list. I said sure and was handed a 20-page book. I became overwhelmed and handed it to Hubby. And then finally we each had a single glass of wine.  (I had Chianti and Hubby had Cabernet.)

I started off with the insalata mista, which was good, but a little heavy on the dressing.  For my main dish, I had the Tagliolini Gamberi & Radicchio, which was fresh pasta with shrimp and radicchio in a light cream sauce. It was good, but I’m not sure if I liked the radicchio all that much. Hubby tried a bite and said the same thing. It would have been better with something else, maybe broccoli?

After dinner, they offered us a complimentary after-dinner drink, which was very nice. I declined, but Hubby had the amaretto and then we were talked into ordering the Tiramisu, which was delicious.

All in all, I enjoyed the meal and would come back. There were definitely other things on the menu that both Hubby and I wanted to try.

And now, how about a book review… 

When You Are Engulfed in Flames

By: David Sedaris

This was not my first go-round with David Sedaris. I read his “Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim” a few years ago and thought it was hysterical. Therefore, when my mom passed along this book, I took it more than willingly and moved it high up on my reading list. Although the front cover threw me a bit, I quickly reminded myself that it was simply Sedaris’s quirky style.

This book is a set of short stories that are taken from many different points of Sedaris’s life – both younger and older. I really can’t go much into plot, since each chapter is a brand new story with a new theme or focus. The common thread between them all is that they are laugh-out-loud funny. No seriously, the people next to me on the train (I was reading it during 3 train rides) must have thought I was a nut to be laughing so much at a book. Instead of thinking I was crazy, I told myself they were simply looking at my book jacket so they could jot down the title and buy the hysterical book for themselves.

Sedaris’s style and voice is so unique, quick and witty, that you can’t help but feel like you are good friends with him and he is confiding in you about these ridiculous stories. I also decided that I must meet him and am hoping he’ll release a new book and have a book signing in NYC soon. I want him to be my friend.

Simply put – read this book. And if you’re like me, you’ll probably end up wanting to buy or borrow all of his other books too. My only word of warning: this book is not for the modest or timid person. Sedaris lays it all out there, so expect the unexpected. And laugh it up!



11 Comments

Posted in Books, Restaurants, Reviews, Uncategorized

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Things I Will Accomplish Today!

Posted on October 7, 2010 | 5 comments

I don’t know about you, but I feel like my days and weeks are flying by at lightning speed. How did it get to be 7 p.m. last night and I was still at work? How did I not cross as many things off my to-do list as I had planned? Can we please hit the pause button? Or give me just a few more hours in the day? Not to mention that I went to bed at 9:30 p.m. last night! Hubby was actually making fun of me. But I couldn’t help it.

So – to start Thursday off with some strategy, I’ve devised my list of things I want to accomplish today. It’s just a short little thing. Haha. 

  • Writing this work article that has been hanging over my head (and a bazillion other things I need to get done at work today)
  • Leaving work at the appropriate time today (5:00 p.m.!)
  • RUNNING no matter what the weather or how tired I am
  • Unpacking my weekend bag from last week
  • Packing my weekend bag for this week
  • Making dinner (yet to be determined what – likely something super easy…maybe even soup)
  • Vacuuming (you could probably make a sweater with the Murph hair on his favorite chair)
  • Watching Grey’s Anatomy and Jersey Shore (yeah I admitted it)
  • PASSING OUT!

I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to do all this…but I’m giving it a shot. I figured if I wrote out a nice little list and got to cross things off on the blog (such fun), then they will be more likely to happen. 🙂 In my extended 26 hour day, I’d also like to paint my nails and finish reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (say that 10 times fast) because it’s turning out to be a great book – but let’s not get crazy here.

And lastly, the other thing I’m doing today is posting my book recap of Bel Canto! Here it is – have a great day! What’s on your to-do list?

Bel Canto

By: Ann Patchett

I’m still not sure about this one. Have you ever read a book where you are a bit wary of where things are going the whole time? I wondered with this one. I kept waiting for the story to really start, but little did I know that it had already started and I was fully immersed in it.

So what’s the plot overview, you ask? Well, it takes place somewhere in South America. There is a party at the home of the country’s vice president. The party is in honor of Mr. Hosokawa, a powerful Japanese businessman. They have invited Mr. Hosokawa’s favorite opera singer, Roxanne Coss, to sing at his party—meaning he cannot refuse the invite. They are hosting this party because they want the Japanese business man to invest in business in their country.

From there, the story really begins when a band of rebel fighters invades the party and holds the entire group hostage. They thought the president of the country was to be in attendance, but he was not. From there, the rebels’ plan goes awry and they have to revise their strategy.

I can’t say too much more than that about the plot because I’d be giving away the highlights of the book—although at the time, I didn’t realize they were the highlights.

This book was different from most other novels I’ve read. I really hadn’t a clue where this was going. I mean there were a few different scenarios running through my head, but I was pretty off. It is a story that really focuses more on how the people cope in this situation than it does the situation. The situation plays a big role, but that’s not the point.

I won’t lie to you and say I loved this book. It had its slow moments. I did not fly through it. And I found myself frustrated with the pace at times. But I think that is sort of what Patchett wants you to feel. She is trying to bring you into the hostages’ world and how slowly it moves.

Maybe I would have gotten into this book if I had connected with the characters more. For some reason, I just didn’t absorb and click with their personalities. However, it’s not for lack of personality. The main characters certainly had them. Perhaps that was the reader’s flaw in not opening up enough to them.

Lastly, I want to warn you about the ending. I didn’t like it. I actually got to the end and kept double-checking that I hadn’t missed pages or that there weren’t more somehow hidden. That couldn’t be the ending I told myself. It was. And I was not happy. Not that I need a “happy ending” by any means. I just need an ending that makes sense to me. This one did not. Maybe that was Patchett’s goal—to have the reader asking “how did that happen?” But it also left me saying: I won’t be running out to buying another book written by Ann Patchett. Sorry.

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Finally Friday and Finally A Book Review

Posted on September 17, 2010 | 5 comments

Happy Friday all!! I was pretty busy at work this week, but the first week back after vacation is always rough and it seems to have taken years to get to Friday. Thank goodness it’s here!!

So far I am doing pretty well with my half marathon training plan. I headed to the gym yesterday after work because they skies were looking ominous and when I was about a block away from the gym is started pouring! It was insane here. The floor of the women’s locker room at the gym actually flooded a little bit. But I ignored the minor flood and hopped on the treadmill for a quick three miles in 26:26. Don’t worry – there was no water near my machine. 🙂

The skies were clear when I emerged from the gym after my run, so it worked out perfectly.

This weekend we have no major plans. It’s going to be the last weekend that Hubby and I will have together for a while because of conflicting travel schedules. So low-key sounds perfect.

Before I leave you on this fine Friday, I offer you a little book review that is looong overdue. Here you go – enjoy – and have a great weekend!

Once a Runner

By: John L. Parker, Jr.

I have to first tell you how I came to select this book. I was spending my lunch-hour browsing around Borders downtown. I had stopped in to pick up a specific book and then the comfort and expansiveness of Borders sucked me and I started lingering in the Fiction/Literature section (always my drug of choice). As I slowly walked from shelf to shelf reminiscing over previously read and much-loved books, and eyeing some new release here and there, a book on a shelf just above my head caught my eye and seemed to jump out at me. The cover had the outline of runner. I stopped. Reached up. And pulled down “Once a Runner.”

Not all that strange you say? Well, it just so happened that I was going through a little running rut at the time and had been struggling to force myself to get back into a running routine after my last marathon. The title described exactly how I felt: I was “once a runner,” but wasn’t so sure anymore. I felt that fate had placed that book in my line of sight, so I bought it.

I didn’t get around to reading it for quite some time, however. I think because I knew I’d feel a little guilty once I dove in. And I did. The narrator of the book, Quenton Cassidy is a collegiate runner at fictional Southeastern University and he is hard-core. Even my 20-mile pre-marathon training runs don’t stack up next to this runner’s training.

Admittedly, I felt like a lesser runner almost immediately. Chalk it up to my running rut circumstance or my less than speedy times, but it seemed that Quenton was there to show me what a real runner was—and that wasn’t me. I think this made me a little resistant to the book at first. But finally, about halfway through I dropped the jealousy and guilt and found myself gladly accompanying Quenton on his most difficult training runs.

And shockingly, I understood just how he felt on many of those runs. Parker was able to articulate those strange and intangible feelings that runners face on particularly trying runs and even on amazing runs. Soon I found myself wanting to put on my running shoes, sign up for a race and share in Quenton’s experience.

This book is considered a cult classic in the running world. It was originally rejected by many publishers and Parker took to selling it out of the back of his car at races and meets. But it was an instant hit with runners and a buzz began to develop. Eventually, it was picked up and printed officially by a publishing house.

I won’t say that this book changed my life or the way I look at running. I’ll just say that it renewed some excitement in me and reconfirmed that all the sweat and pain is really worth it in the end. Not just because I might set a new personal speed or distance record, but more importantly because of those wonderful indescribable feelings you have after you finish a run that takes you to the brink and back, and shows you exactly what kind of person you are on the inside.

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More Change – A New Look!

Posted on August 26, 2010 | 13 comments

Good morning all! So I think I’ve worked out all the kinks in this new layout. What do you think? I had the toughest time getting my header to work, but I finally figured it out. I’ve been wanting a little make-over for my blog for a while, but couldn’t find a theme I liked. I finally found one! I’m hoping it will make navigation a bit easier. I like the drop down menu at the top.

But seriously – do you like the change or no?

In case any other wordpress bloggers are wondering – this is the new Coraline theme, but I upgraded to be able to edit the CSS, which allowed me to customize it a bit more. I’m very happy with it and I hope you like it!

So as you can tell, I spent some time working on my blog yesterday, which meant that the gym went to second rank and I didn’t make it. However, I have only really promised myself that I’ll start training for the half marathon once I get back from Ireland.

Yesterday I began the process of eating up as much of our perishable food as possible, starting with breakfast.

Oatmeal with the rest of the blueberries we had, which were leaning toward going bad anyway. I dumped them all in and had a beautiful blue/purple breakfast!

Lunch was nothing exciting, so no pics.

Then for dinner, after I was able to fix all my blog issues. I whipped up an omelet for Hubby and for me.

I used up the leftover mushrooms and grape tomatoes, shredded cheese and spinach. YUM!!

I finished Once a Runner last night and will try to get my review up before we leave for Ireland. It was pretty good and I love that its popularity with runners is what essentially helped get it officially published. Runners are the best. 🙂

Not too much else going on. I’m trying to slowly gather the clothes I’m going to take with me on our trip. If I don’t do it early and wait until the last minute, I’m sure I’ll forget something. I’ve also decided that I’m not going to blog while I’m away. It would just be too hard to coordinate. Most of the places we are staying at are small B&Bs, so they may not have internet. I think I’m also going to hold off on guest bloggers for now since it’s kind of late to be asking people.

I’ll be back in New York on September 10th, but probably won’t have a chance to blog until the 12th – I hope you’ll all come back to my blog then!! 🙂

So that’s my plan – can you tell I’m getting excited?!! I’ll leave you all with some health headlines in the news:

Egg Recall Exposes Flaws in Nation’s Food Safety System: This was nice to see just after eating eggs last night. I cooked them thoroughly, so I think we’re safe.

The Claim: Dark Cats Cause More Allergies Than Light Ones: Mr. Murph is pretty dark  and my allergies were very severe when we first got him. But I wouldn’t trade him for the world!

Antihistamine use linked to extra pounds: This goes along nicely with the article above. Haha! I love when research like this is released and then they say: “The researchers stress, however, that the findings do not prove that antihistamines are the cause of the extra pounds.”

Trying to Lose Weight? Drink More Water: This really isn’t news – is it? Maybe more like a reminder.

And lastly – this one truly grosses me out and makes me nervous: New York most bedbug infested U.S. city: survey – EWW!!

That’s all folks – have a good Thursday. The weekend is right around the corner!!

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Posted in Books, Uncategorized, Vacation

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Rev Me Up!

Posted on August 25, 2010 | 3 comments

Happy Hump day friends. Although I can’t see anything particularly happy about it. 😦 This weather has got me down. Four days of dreariness is no fun. But I think tomorrow is supposed to be nicer.

In happier news, the running book I’m reading (Once a Runner) has finally started to get me excited to run again! I think I’m going to hit up the gym tonight after work for a quick treadmill run. I’ve been waiting and waiting to feel inspired by this book and just last night it started to rev me up to run.

Of course, I leave this Sunday for Ireland, so all running will be put on hold once we’re there, but at least I’m feeling some excitement about the idea – right?

And let me just pose this question to the marathoners out there: Does training for any other distance motivate you as much as training for a marathon does?

I ask because I do in fact have a half marathon coming up in October (I’m running the Bay State half while my friend runs the full and tries to qualify for Boston – cross your fingers!!). However, it’s been especially hard to tell myself I have to start training for it. I think when I come back from Ireland I am going to create an actual training plan for the half – something I’ve never done. I’ve only ever created plans for marathon training. But I think without a plan, I’m more likely to slack off. Plus, hopefully by the time I come home, maybe there will be a tinge of fall in the air! What’s better than fall running?! 

I didn’t have any exceptional eats going on yesterday, so I only snapped a photo of my dinner:

A giant salad with grilled chicken, cheese, grape tomatoes and some rice. Although you can’t see much of the fixens in this photo.

Thanks for all your advice and feedback about my resistance to change post from yesterday. I know fighting it only makes things more difficult, but generally if there’s going to be some change, I like to have control over it. Haha – I think that’s the stubborn Taurus in me. 🙂

Anyway – I thank you and hope that this upcoming vacation will allow me to appreciate the constants and cope with the many changes happening. I am afraid that I’ll come back and won’t have any readers because I won’t be able to post from Ireland. I have not jumped on the smart phone bandwagon.

For other bloggers out there – how do you post while on vacation or traveling? Do you use sprintcard or other wireless option? Everything seems so darn expensive! Ideas?

Have a great Wednesday all!

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Posted in Books, Travel, Uncategorized

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The Countdown Begins!

Posted on August 23, 2010 | 9 comments

Happy Monday all. How were your weekends? Mine was pretty low-key. Today is a dreary and depressing day in NYC, but I’m not letting it get me down because at this time next week I’ll be in Ireland!! Hence, the countdown to our Ireland Vacation 2010 has officially begun.

I’m a little bit nervous that this week is going to drag by because I’m so anxious and excited for vacation to get here. But then again, I do have a ton of stuff that I need to get done before I leave, so maybe this week will be busy and just buzz right by. I suppose I’ll find out soon enough.

So anyway – this weekend was very nice, although not filled with any running to speak of. I have determined that I will not be motivated to run until after our vacation. It’s just not where my head is. I k now it’s awful, but I just haven’t felt like forcing it. Maybe this means I’m not a “real” runner, but I’m pretty tired of giving myself the guilt trip. I know that I’ve got a half marathon in October and I think that once we get back from Ireland, that looming deadline will really hit me and I’ll get into gear. Until then, I’m not going to beat myself up.  

If you’re a runner – do you ever “guilt” yourself for not running enough?

I had this conversation with my friend who is currently training for a fall marathon. Hearing her talk about her training makes me feel guilty for not running more and not running a fall marathon. That sounds pretty crazy – I know. She doesn’t experience the “runner’s guilt” like I do and I just wondered if any other runners out there get it?

Moving on, so last Friday was a busy day and then I went to the Yankee game with two of my girlfriends, one of which is pregnant. We did not eat healthy anything at the game…but we sure had fun!

Despite watching the Yankees lose pretty miserably, we still had a great time together. And the weather was amazing.

We called it a night after the game and went to bed fairly early. And then on Sunday morning, I took them to my favorite crepe place for breakfast – The Yorkville Creperie right around the corner. We debated between ordering savory or sweet crepes and then made the wise choice to split a savory crepe and each have our own sweet crepe.

Our savory crepe:

Filled with ham, egg and mozzarella.

Then my friend Becky and I ordered the Country Crepe:

I added some granola to mine. It is filled with strawberries, banana and nutella – YUM!

Lauren has this heavenly crepe:

It was filled with lot of fruits and topped with whipped cream. Doesn’t it look like the 4th of July?!

The rest of my weekend was very low-key. I read some more of my book “Once a Runner,” I watched Law Abiding Citizen with Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx and thought it was pretty good. Then I cleaned a bit and watched Trueblood on Sunday night. I’m so sad that Trueblood is almost over. 😦 

I hope you all have a good Monday!

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Posted in Books, Restaurants, Running, Uncategorized

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