Let the training begin!

I spent much of Sunday evening readying the house for Christmas!! Looks so festive :)

But then I squeezed in a short, easy treadmill run to kick off my latest race training.

Just 3.05 miles near an 11-minute average.

The perfect application for our new treadmill.

And with that 3.05 miles, a milestone:

Nice! That feels good :)

So we're now preparing for the Heart Breaker Half, which was finally just announced for 2013.

They've moved it from downtown Portland to Hillsboro. I hope the course map is revealed very soon.

:)

Post-holiday run

Still nursing a bloated, urpy stomach from Thanskgiving, I just wanted to laze around yesterday. BUT... I knew a run would do me good, so I mustered my strength and headed out.

I planned to do just 3 miles or so, but the weather was perfect (dry, just about 50 degrees and no wind!) and I got into a good rhythm. I ended up running 6.2 miles in 57:52 - a 9:20 average:

It was gorgeous out, and I'm so glad I went.

As I cooled down, I spotted some fall beauty right in my front yard:

:)

Happy 542nd Birthday, Mom!!

In the middle of the busy week, we took time out to celebrate Mom's birthday!

At her request, we hit The Original Taco House on Powell for some Mexican dinner. Then we went back to my house for some cake.

We made due with the candles we had on hand:

(She turned 56!)

Happy birthday, Mom!! :)

Zach Floyd with the carry...

And the touchdown. And the stop.

We went to a terrific football game last night!

Tigard was playing Central Catholic in the Oregon 6A quarterfinals at Hillsboro Stadium. And despite a day of Black-Friday shopping, the fam decided to go to the playoff game to cheer on the Tigers.

Man, was that ever a good decision!

Despite Central Catholic scoring on the first play of the game, Tigard held on. The scores were close all night, with Tigard coming out on top 43-37:

Lots of our kids were there, and they rushed the field as time ran out:

Mom was leading the pep band, and Dad chaperoned the router bus:

We laughed all night because the announcer kept saying, "Zach Floyd with the carry." That kid is SO talented, and really led the team. He was definitely involved in most plays of the game, offense and defense. The Oregonian said Floyd rushed for 341 yards and four touchdowns on 47 carriers. Amazing.

Congrats, Tigard! We'll be there next week as we take on Lake Oswego in the semis :)

No. 34

Has it really been almost two months since the last book I finished? How'd that happen?

I'll tell you how.

This book came up next on the "A" shelf at the THS library:

I really tried. Well, maybe not too much. But I did try.

I wanted to be smart and read an intelligent, worldly book. I just couldn't.

BUT... I don't consider it a failure in my quest to read the entire THS library in order (well, at least the "A" shelf!). The book is so old that it's falling apart. Literally... pages coming out. SO... I spoke to the librarian, and she told me that the book was beyond repair and would be pulled from circulation. WOOHOO!

The next one on the shelf:

Already read it!

Next:

Attack of the Theater People, by Marc Acito, was the sequel to How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship and Musical Theater.

I enjoyed the story of a Julliard student who gets kicked out of school and tries to survive with the help of his theater friends. It was a bit sexually graphic in parts - probably not good for the young ones. But luckily, I'm old enough to handle it :)

This was a fun, easy read :)

Vegan...ish

The tummy saga continues, and I'm about to embark on a new digestive adventure - yay! 

With a lifetime of "tummy troubles", finally diagnosed a few years ago as "IBS" (not at all helpful), there have been lots of adventures and experiments. But my fingers are crossed, hopeful that this will be the key.

(source)

For the past several months, I've been under the care of a naturopath recommended by two girlfriends. I'm just wrapping up a nine-week course of medicine and will soon completely cut cow dairy and sesame seeds from my diet - for at least three months, maybe forever.

At first, I was upset to hear that my beloved cheese might be what's causing my problems. BUT... I've really come around. I've had weeks to wrap my head around it, and I think I'm ready!

You know when someone's in a bad job situation and really should quit but won't/can't pull the trigger. And then they get laid off and it's a true blessing, essentially making the decision for them when they couldn't. Anyway... that's sorta how I feel about this. 

(source) 

For many years, I've felt drawn to drop dairy. I don't like how animals are treated in the mass dairy industry, but I haven't been ready to give up cheese. My love of eating cheese and other milky goodness was more important than those poor cows. The desire was there, but I wasn't willing to pull the trigger. Now someone else has made the decision so I don't have to. Nice.


But first, there will be some indulging. I mean, this could be the very last time I get to eat cream cheese frosting, pizza, broccoli-cheddar soup and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!

If you have any amazing vegan/ovo-vegetarian recipes, blogs or restaurant recommendations, send 'em my way! :)

Planning ahead

:)