Category Archives: Uncategorized

Book Review: Cutting for Stone

Posted on June 17, 2010 | 2 comments

Okay guys – I finally have that book eview for you! Here it is. This is a good one, check it out! 🙂 BTW – All my book reviews are also accessible on the right side of the page under “Pages.”

Cutting for Stone

By: Abraham Verghese

Let me start this review off by saying that I wasn’t that into this book at first. It took me some time to become involved in the story and the characters. For whatever reason, I was a little standoffish. I think part of it might have been because it seemed a little bit like John Irving’s The Cider House Rules at first. A poor hospital where a baby is born (in this case two babies), but has no mother to care for him. And of course, the talented doctor who runs the show.

At the time, I don’t think I knew that’s why I was hesitant, but looking back, I think these similarities played a part. I love Irving and simply thought no story could compare to Cider House, nor should it even try.

But, I’ve digressed. Cutting for Stone is completely different from Cider House. Besides the details I described above, everything is different. Once I realized things weren’t going the same way, I settled in and enjoyed the story. This book spans generations and continents.

It starts with a nun going from India to Ethiopia and meeting a doctor on her voyage. She ends up catching up with that doctor again and then works alongside him at Missing Hospital. I don’t want to give away too many details, but years later – that nun gives birth to two children and dies in the process. The twins are named Shiva and Marion and their story takes over from there. The reader watches as they grow up, which is narrated by Marion. They live through a lot of political turmoil in Ethiopia and it shapes their lives and destinies.

Don’t be fooled though, this is not a political novel. Marion recounts some of the political happenings throughout his narration, but remains very removed and distant from it all.

Overall, I thought this book was wonderful. I felt I came to understand and love all the characters, even the ones that maybe I wasn’t supposed to. The end of the book was very emotional and I found myself crying at numerous points. Typically, it takes a lot to make me cry in a book – so be prepared if you decide to read it. I highly recommend this book – tears and all.

P.S. – Interesting sidenote is that Verghese took John Irving’s writer’s workshop. So perhaps my feelings of similarity are not completely unwarranted.

2 Comments

Posted in Books, Reviews, Uncategorized

A Running Rut

Posted on June 16, 2010 | 12 comments

Good morning all! I’m back and a little less stressed finally. The big meeting on Monday went very well. And then yesterday was a busy day full of follow-up stuff related to it.

But I did get out for a run last night, although it was kind of pathetic. I only ran 3.5 miles and not at a very fast pace. I pretty much feel like I am starting at square one with training for the Boilermaker on July 11th. Plus, I’m signed up for a 5-mile run this Sunday and I have a feeling it’s going to be tough for me.

What I thought might help inspire me and get me back into running mode a bit was to review some of my marathon training runs I did from Jan – April.

January

February

March

April

May

So I know that totally just bored you, but it was a good exercise for me. We all have ups and downs with running. It really helps me to see the progression of my training, see that it wasn’t perfect, that I had some tough spots and recognize that this little struggle I’m having right now will also pass.

I’m a runner and I think I’ll always be a runner, but I need to understand that I’m not always going to be the most motivated runner or always have awesome runs. I may go through ups and downs, but that’s okay.

So – I’m taking my latest stinky runs in stride (no pun intended) and am going to run however I feel comfortable and not worry too much about measuring myself against my previous times or feelings, or other people.

Do you ever get in running ruts? How do you deal?

Ok – moving on! There seems to a consistent color scheme to my foods lately.  This weekend I had some delicious fruit – kiwi and apricot.

And then for dinner last night, I made this:

Do you see the green and orange them? A little weird.

This recipe was simple – brown rice cooked in water and chicken broth. Chicken with cooked veggies, including corn, peas and carrots. Then I sprinkled some shredded cheddar cheese into the pan and cooked it all together a little while longer to make it creamy. One of my favorite easy recipes!

I think I’m taking tonight off from running, especially since rain appear imminent. And I promise that a book review for Cutting for Stone is coming – I swear!!

Have a good hump day all!

12 Comments

Posted in Recipes, Running, Uncategorized

Lessen the Stress!

Posted on June 13, 2010 | 7 comments

Happy Sunday afternoon! How is it Sunday already? Sorry I’ve been MIA for a few days, but the work stress reached a new level on Thursday and Friday. Both days are sort of a blur because I was going, going, going all day, and ended up working late both nights. This weekend has been me catching up on some much needed rest and house-work.

I don’t have any new runs to report. I plan to get back into the swing after this big meeting on Monday.

As far as eats, I made a different dinner on Wednesday night that I liked, but Hubby did not.

Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, chicken sausage, and apple in a white wine, lemon and butter sauce. Like I said, I thought it was good, but Hubby did not.

On Thursday night, I finished Cutting for Stone and it was amazing! Seriously, it was so good. I was crying hysterically for the last 100 pages though – just a warning. The glass of red wine that I had in conjunction with finishing it probably increased the waterworks. I hope to have a review coming soon.

Friday was work and more work and then Saturday was some much-needed rest. I also whipped up a few cookies from my family’s “Bump Cookie” recipe. I halved the recipe below:

Bump  Cookies

1 stick of butter
2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of milk

Mix together in a saucepan over moderate heat.  Once it comes to a boil, boil for approx 2 1/2 minutes.  Take saucepan off the burner, add 3 cups of Quick Oats and 5 Tablespoons of cocoa and 1 tsp. vanilla.  Stir quickly until is combined and starts to come together.  Quickly drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper to cool and set.

These cookies get their name from my childhood – whenever my aunt would make these, I’d call them “bump cookies” because they looked so bumpy. The name stuck. They aren’t the healthiest cookies, but they are really good.

My last noteworthy eat from the weekend was my breakfast this morning, which really hit the spot. I haven’t been craving oatmeal lately, but today I was and this banana and peanut butter bowl was delish.

Yummy and I loved the light.

The rest of today is cleaning up the apartment a bit, making some steak for dinner and then watching True Blood at 9 p.m.!! I’m soo excited.

Tomorrow is going to be crazy hectic, so I likely won’t be posting. But then Tuesday will be back to normalcy and hopefully back to me running a lot more. Also, my friend Lauren starts her marathon training tomorrow! I’m excited for her and am hoping that her training will inspire me to run more as well.

How was your weekend?!!

7 Comments

Posted in Books, Dessert, Recipes, Uncategorized

First Post Marathon Run!

Posted on June 9, 2010 | 16 comments

Well all, I finally did it! I ran my first post-marathon run last night after work. The weather was perfect – about 70 degrees and sunny. I set out just after I got home  and my overall feeling is: I should not have taken a complete 100% break from exercise for 3 weeks. :-/ Duh, right?

My initial reaction when I first started running was – Wow this feels so great! And in truth, the entire run felt really great overall, but I can tell that I’ve lost some of my cardiovascular strength and endurance and maybe a little speed. I think a break from running was definitely needed for me, but I wish I had been doing some other cardio exercises, such as using the eliptical or biking.

My next race is the 15k Boilermaker in Utica, NY on July11th and I feel like I have some training to do. Anyway – here are my stats from my run:

Mile 1 – 8:14
Mile 2 – 8:14
Mile 3 – 8:34
Mile 4 – 8:28
.5 – 4:12

Total mileage – 4.5 miles in 37:44. Average pace – 8:22 minute mile.

So it wasn’t terrible, but I definitely felt like I was working, whereas before the marathon, those split times might have felt pretty comfortable. And my toe felt completely fine!! YAYA!

I am considering running the Women’s mini 10K this Saturday in Central Park, and possibly the 5 mile NYRR races the next two weekends, but I haven’t completely decided yet. I think racing a bit would help me increase my speed for the Boilermaker – my goal time is under 1:17:00!!

In other good news – I was selected to participate in my work’s Leadership Development Program!! Only 16 people from the entire company (over 1,900 employees) are picked each year to participate in this 5 month program. The America Management Association comes in and hosts 2-day classes once a month for 4 months, we do assessments, and get career coaching and guidance. The official announcement went out yesterday and I’m so excited!

It’s nice to be selected for something like this, especially after I’ve poured so much into some of my recent projects.

I’m skipping my meal recaps for the past two days. They weren’t all that exciting. Except for perhaps the use of this on my English muffin the other morning:

Mmm I love PB&Co.’s peanut butters, but I was reluctant to try this one. Something about the cinnamon with the peanut butter sounded less than appealing to me. But my mom had this PB at her house and I was kind of forced to try it a few months ago and fell in love. So she gave me a jar as a gift the last time I stopped home. Thanks Momma! I also think I need to make a trip to their sandwich shop in NYC – located in Greenwich Village. 🙂 Which may just be the mecca for PB lovers like myself. Plus I like that this PB is all natural and the company uses “packaging and sales materials are 100% recyclable, and start with recycled materials whenever possible.”

P.S. – I’ve also decided to run The Sun Half Marathon, that is in conjunction with the Bay State Marathon that my friend Lauren is running in October. If you remember – she is trying to qualify for Boston so we can run it together next April. The half marathoners start with the marathoners and run with them for about 3 miles, so I’ll get to help her start and find a good pace to ensure she gets that BQ!! Anyone else running that marathon or half marathon? It’s supposed to be a pretty flat and fast course for anyone out there trying to BQ!

What races do you have lined up for the summer and fall?!

16 Comments

Posted in NYRR, Races, Running, Uncategorized

The Customer is Always Right!

Posted on June 7, 2010 | 3 comments

Good afternoon. I’m writing a lunch-post for the first time in a long time. How was everyone’s weekend? Was it as crazy fast as mine? It flew by in a hot second.

What’s not so hot anymore – the weather finally! Yesterday evening it totally cooled down and became really comfortable and breezy.

I started off my Sunday with a yummy breakfast of Van’s organic waffles with banana.

After breakfast I bopped over to CVS to use the two coupons I had: one for 20% off Sat/Sun only and one for $4 off. And I checked beforehand that they could be combined. When I went to checkout, the cashier informed me that my 20% coupon had already been redeemed. I explained that, no this was my first time there today, and he looked at me skeptically and then waited – like I was just supposed to say “oh okay” and pay the full price.

Um – no way. I specifically waited to buy a bunch of stuff in order to use these coupons. I am all about getting a deal and I wasn’t about to just shrug my shoulders and dish out more dough. So I calmly explained again that “no, it hadn’t been redeemed yet.” At this point, the cashier looked downright frustrated and annoyed with me, and begrudgingly told me he had to call his manager.

So he did, the manager came over, used some special code and poof – magic, I got my 20% discount.

I share this story because after this little incident, I realized that I’ve definitely changed a bit in the past few years. In the past, I probably would have been so embarrassed and felt so bad that I was holding up the other customers, I would have just said okay. But I was actually very irritated that CVS sent out this coupon that was valid for two days only and then had the nerve to say I couldn’t use it!!

Call me a pain if you want, but I’m happy I stood my ground and got my discount! I’m a loyal CVS customer and I deserved it!

Have you ever had an experience like this? How did you handle it?

After my CVS debacle, I came home and cleaned a LOT and then ate a random lunch.

After lunch, back to cleaning. And more cleaning. We’ve been busy and away for a few weekends, so the apartment needed it.

After cleaning, I threw together a little grilled chicken over salad for dinner.

My salad had romaine lettuce with cabbage and carrots, cheddar cheese, apple, walnuts and raisins. Yummy!

As I mentioned last week, work is going to be a bit crazy this week. But my toe is feeling a lot better and I’m hoping to do a short run either tonight or tomorrow – FINALLY!!

Have a great Monday all!

3 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Is it Seriously Sunday?!

Posted on June 6, 2010 | 3 comments

Wow – where did this weekend go? It’s already Sunday evening and I’m not looking forward to the start of the work week.

Saturday was a really nice day. We woke up a little later than usual and headed to Marlboro, NY to visit some friends who just had a baby a few months ago. By the time we left the apartment around 11:30 a.m., the weather was already pretty hot. We got to Marlboro and met the new little babe and then we headed to Newburgh, NY for a late lunch and drinks.

The area we went to was right on the water and I’m kicking myself for not taking more pictures. We went to The Blue Martini on Front Street. It’s a sushi bar, but they also offer sandwiches, salads, wraps, etc. I started off with the Over the Moon Martini.

I don’t remember exactly what was in it, but I think it has some pineapple juice and peach juice. Yum!!

We started the meal off right with a cheers…

I ended up ordering the California Chicken Wrap, which has grilled chicken, avocado, bacon and tomato – but I completely forgot to take a picture. It was very good though. I dove right in.

After linner (lunch/dinner), we headed back to our friend’s house to play some Wii and have a few more beverages. We didn’t end up leaving until almost 10:30 p.m., so we got back home pretty late. I think that may led to our SUPER late rising time today – almost 10:00 a.m. Granted, I woke up at 7, 8 and 9, but then went back to bed.

How was your weekend? What was the highlight? How did you beat the heat?!

Have a great Sunday night all!

3 Comments

Posted in Restaurants, Travel, Uncategorized

Getting Some Saturday Sleep

Posted on June 5, 2010 | 2 comments

Good morning all! Happy Saturday. I had some grand plans to get up early this morning and get some necessities from CVS, but I slept in until 9:00 instead! And it felt nice. What’s with me and needing some extra sleep lately?

As I mentioned yesterday, I totally slept in on Friday morning by accident. I forgot to set my alarm and the Murph didn’t wake me up. So I flew out of bed and headed to work without breakfast. I made it there on time, but had to create a make-shift breakfast.

A Gnu Bar, a banana and an iced coffee. I have been a coffee fiend lately – I had an iced coffee Tues-Fri of this week and am enjoying a hot coffee right now!

My work day was busy and things are a bit stressful. A few of my co-workers convinced me to grab some lunch out in the sun to lift our spirits. I was very hungry – my breakfast did not tide me over. So I ordered myself a big Turkey Reuben sandwich.

This was huge and I could only eat one half of it…and the fries. Yes, it was not such a healthy day.

The rest of my Friday back in the office was busy. I will forewarn everyone that next week is going to be a busy and stressful week. We have a major meeting coming up and next week will be the final prep for it, so I expect to be working some longer hours than usual. It sort of started yesterday because I ended up staying at work a little later than I wanted to get some stuff done. I was planning to go to a happy hour after work, but was just too exhausted and maybe a bit grumpy. I decided heading home was the best idea.

Hubby and I ended up watching Crazy Heart and I snacked on random things for dinner. And then I fell into a hard, much-needed sleep.

Today we are heading to Marlboro, NY to visit some friends who just had a little baby boy, who we have yet to meet. It’s supposed to be a lovely day and I think we’ll get to spend some of it outside! Can’t wait – looks like it’s going to be a great weekend!

What are your plans?!

Have a great weekend all!

2 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Stuff Those Peppers!

Posted on June 4, 2010 | 3 comments

Good morning all – happy Friday!! I totally overslept today and was running around like a mad woman. Typically Murphy wakes me up every morning around 5:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m., so oversleeping is usually pretty tough to do. Today for some reason, the little bugger decided to leave me alone and let me sleep in peace. And I certainly did – 45 minutes past my normal waking time. Yikes!!

First – a quick recap of yesterday’s eats, which includes a fun new recipe I tried!

For breakfast I reverted back to the hot stuff – oatmeal with banana, a splash of almond milk and brown sugar sprinkled on top.

For lunch I grabbed a quick salad with romaine lettuce, cheddar cheese, carrots, walnuts, dried cranberries and chick peas. But I forgot to document it. Afternoon snacks were Chobani yogurt and then this…

I know – so bad. I bought these for the Yankee game we went to earlier this week and then never ate them. I was having a sugar craving and was a little bit stressed at work, so this was definitely some stress eating. Boo!

But then my dinner completely brought my spirits back up!

Mmm I made stuffed peppers for the first time! I wanted to use red peppers, but the selection available at my nearest grocer was appalling and I didn’t feel like traipsing all around. Green peppers worked just as well.

Here is the recipe, adapted from CookingLight.com’s recipe search.

Stuffed Peppers

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 medium bell peppers (recipe called for four, but I made three and adjusted the ingredient amounts to fit), tops removed and reserved, and seeds removed
  • 1  tablespoon  olive oil
  • 1  yellow onion, diced
  • 1  large carrot, peeled and diced
  • 2  cloves garlic, minced
  • 8  ounces  lean (90 percent) ground beef
  • 1  teaspoon  salt
  • 1  teaspoon  pepper
  • 1  (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes
  • 3/4 cup  cooked brown rice
  • 3/4  cup  grated Monterey Jack

Preparation
Preheat oven to 375°F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add peppers and pepper tops and cook until tender, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove peppers from water and invert to drain fully.

Make filling: Warm olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add carrot and garlic and continue cooking until vegetables are just softened, 4 minutes longer. Add beef, salt and pepper and cook, breaking up large chunks, until meat is no longer pink, about 7 minutes. Add tomatoes and rice and cook 5 minutes longer. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese.

Fill peppers with meat mixture, dividing evenly. Sprinkle mixture with remaining cheese and top with pepper lid. Bake until cheese is melted and peppers are heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve hot.
 
I made two stuffed peppers for hubby and one for myself. Hubby gave them his seal of approval, but also said it was way too much food for him.

Awesome dinner! The rest of my night was cleaning up my dinner mess, vacuuming, watching a little bit of So You Think You Can Dance and then reading more of Cutting for Stone. It’s a really good book so far – I’m about 300 pages into it and I’m engrossed. I still have about another 200 pages to go, so I probably won’t have a review up this weekend, but hopefully by next weekend. Then it will be time for me to choose my next book and I’m torn between 1) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, or 2) Olive Kitteridge.

Anyone recommend one over the other or read either of these?

I might have to read Olive first because it’s my mom’s book and she needs to pass it along.

What’s on your summer “to read” list? Any great suggestions?!

Ok – well I hope everyone has a great weekend. We are visiting friends who had a baby about two months ago and we haven’t had a chance to meet him yet. I’m also hoping to maybe get in a short and easy run at some point. My darn toe is still hurting, but I just can’t sit around anymore!!

Have a great weekend!! 🙂

3 Comments

Posted in Books, Recipes, Uncategorized

Oh Running How I Miss You

Posted on June 3, 2010 | 5 comments

Happy Thursday – we are flying through this week! Well, at least my week is flying anyway. One thing that is inching along , rather than flying by – my recovery from all my spills and injuries this past weekend. I am itching to go for a run, but between my still swollen toe and the ache in my back from falling down the stairs, it just isn’t time yet and it’s killing me!

So I began another runless day yesterday with boring cereal for breakfast. I wasn’t feeling oatmeal at all or taking a picture of my breakfast.

For lunch I had a nice peanut butter and apricot jelly sandwich with a side of carrots.

Afternoon snacks were Chobani with granola (no pic) and then this juicy fella.

Good idea hubby! Sometimes I get so stuck on a routine I forget to try different fruits and veggies. Hubby picked up some peaches last week and I fully enjoyed this one. Yum!

I headed home after work feeling a bit bummed because I wouldn’t be enjoying a nice post-work run. Instead I focused on dinner.

I made baked haddock with lemon, butter, salt and pepper and topped with some parmesan cheese. It was pretty good, but I’ve decided I think tilapia is my favorite fish. I don’t like really fishy fish.

What is your favorite fish? Any suggestions I should try?

I also made a side of pan-fried veggies with a hint of soy sauce. So colorful!

And then, since I had some extra time because I didn’t go for a run. I made a quick dessert.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies! I first saw this recipe on Tina’s blog, but she took it from Julie’s blog.  These were delish. My oven always overcooks things a bit, so I took these cookies out about 1 minute early and they were so moist inside, just the way I like it!

I like quick and easy desserts like this. Even better, the no-bake desserts. I think I’ll go on a hunt for a few no-bake recipes to try. 🙂

I hope I can get back to running again soon, or else I’ll need to put some elastic bands on my pants. Have a great day all!

5 Comments

Posted in Dessert, Recipes, Uncategorized

Feels Like Summer

Posted on June 2, 2010 | 5 comments

Good morning all – it’s hot and sticky in NYC today! We seriously did not have a spring – we went from winter to summer. The hot weather is making my breakfast decisions a little tougher. I’m really not in the mood for oatmeal these days. I might have to give overnight oats another try.

Yesterday for breakfast I resorted to an English muffin with peanut butter and banana on one half and apricot jelly on the other.

What are your favorite summer/hot weather breakfasts? I need some new ideas!

Last week I had just a grapefruit one morning and it did not keep me full. I loved the cool freshness of it as a breakfast, but I have to worry about it keeping me sustained as well – which is did not.

For lunch yesterday I grabbed a salad and I snacked on a granola bar and Chobani yogurt during the day. Boring – so no pics.

Dinner had to be quick and easy because Hubby and I were heading to the Yankees game. I made a sandwich on an Arnold Thin with roasted chicken breast, mustard and american cheese. And of course, a side of pickles. Yum!

After our quick dinner, Hubby and I headed to the game – well I hobbled to the game really. My co-worker, who happens to be accident prone on a regular basis and broke her toe before (along with many other bones), swears that she thinks my toe is broken. I disagree – I think it’s just a bad sprain. But it’s already feeling soo much better today. I was actually shocked this morning by how great it felt.

Once we got to the game, I was tempted by the greasy sights and smells and convinced Hubby to share some french fries with me. Here we are at the game:

The game

We thoroughly enjoyed our $8 container of fries – it’s soo ridiculously expensive there. I also bought at diet pepsi and it was $5!! I really didn’t want to give in to the temptation, but fries are a weakness.

I also had an idea yesterday. I’m considering running The Sun Half Marathon that is run in conjunction with the Bay State Marathon on October 17. My friend and running buddy Lauren is running the marathon with hopes of qualifying for Boston (yay send her best wishes!) and I was thinking it might be fun to run the Half Marathon and then cheer her on.

Has anyone out there run that marathon or half marathon? Thoughts, feedback on it?

I’m not planning to run a marathon in the fall because we’re going to Ireland from the end of Aug – early September and it would be smack in the middle of training, but I’m thinking I should keep running as many short-middle races as I can. I’m in such a marathon-train mode at this point that I think it will be strange to not be training for one during the summer.

What races are on your calendar? Any really fun ones we should all know about?

I’ll say it again – if you haven’t run The Boilermaker yet – you should!! It’s so much fun. The whole town comes out, bands, animals from the zoo and then a huge party at the end with free beer. Great time!

Alright all – have a great Wednesday! I’m so happy it’s already mid-week! 🙂

5 Comments

Posted in Races, Running, Uncategorized

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