Monday, July 29, 2013

Fourth of July & a DNS

I know, it's been nearly a month ago, but I need to do some catching up!

The Fourth of July was interesting, that's for sure!

It all kind of started on Fourth of July eve....

My parents came down from Minnesota for a visit and so my mom could attend the bridal shower I was throwing for my sister that weekend.

Louis came back after this three week "stint" with his dad.

Louis and I were scheduled for races in the am, he a 1k and me a 5k. 

I was exhausted and with Louis camping out on our bedroom floor, I made a leap into bed.

That leap turned into crack, and that crack was my right little toe.  Broken.  The night before a race.

I have never, ever had a Did Not Start, but I would now.  The swelling prevented any chance of getting into a shoe and the throbbing prevented me from even walking correctly.  I was so mad at myself!  Of course I looked up the race results later only to find out I could have placed in my age group (for the first time ever!).  UGH! There's always next year, right?

BUT....Louis, on the other hand?  *NAILED* it!!  He ran his little heart out.  His first race without his mama.  I stood at the finish line waiting to take a picture and thought he'd be around mid-pack.  Nope!  More like first ten finisher!  My heart swelled bigger than my toe!


 Louis ran his little heart out!


 More hardware for Sweet Lou (who appears very tired)!


After the race, it was time to go home and get ready for festivities there.

Great friends, delicious food and the traditional 4th of July fire in the fireplace (outside) made the day!

We ended the day as any good 4th of July celebration should end....with sparklers are fireworks!



 I think Mara liked the sparklers more than Louis did (ok....I might have too)!


Waiting for the big show in Frisco!



Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Let's Get Juicy!

I got Ryan a juicer a few months ago for a late birthday gift.

I’m not sure who is loving it more (I think it’s me!)

Juicing is often criticized for not providing an adequate source of fiber, but it is a good way to get in a lot of the nutrients in fruits and vegetables if you don’t enjoy eating them.  It also is a great way to get the vitamins and minerals that you may not normally absorb because it gives your digestive system a rest from having to break down the fiber.

After watching a movie called “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead”, I became very interested in juicing.  The movie profiles a man who does nothing but juice for 30 day.  He benefited with a large drop in weight, normalization of blood pressure and the cessation of a skin condition from which he had suffered from in years.  While I have none of these issues, I was intrigued by how GOOD these people felt while juicing.  I try to eat fruits and vegetables, but usually don’t have more than 2-3 servings a day.  Juicing is a great way for me to get those nutrients.  The movie is very eye opening....it provides a great example of how pills/medication are not always the only answer.  Diet is *so* important!




There are a TON of recipes for juices online, but I have had a lot of fun creating my own.

I recently made our *favorite*, which I call “good morning sunshine”.
This batch contains:

A bag of frozen mangoes

A bag of frozen peaches

¾ of a pineapple

8 carrots

A couple of large handfuls of strawberries (about 20 this time)


This juice is very fruit heavy and can also be high in calories, but it is *so* good!  Typically, mixing about 50% fruit to 50% vegetables is really the way to go to help cut down on calories and fructose sugar.


Our evening cocktails

Pineapple and mangoes have been known to decrease inflammation, which is good for a runner.  All of the ingredients are full of antioxidants.  For me, it’s a win.

Other juices I have made are pretty much anything and everything I have on hand.  I throw in spinach, kale, chard, beets, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, carrots.  A garden in a glass!  I’ve read a lot of research on beets and how they increase energy-they are full of iron.   I should be full of energy in a few weeks, because I have a bumper crop of beets that will be ready soon (enough beets for a couple dozen people – I went crazy on the beets!).

 that's *a lot* of beets!


Garden in a glass ingredients - basically whatever I have that makes juice!

Finished Product

Another "myth" about juicing is that it is expensive.  The good morning sunshine juice cost about $11 for 3-5 LARGE servings.  This is MUCH less than a Starbucks coffee every morning and *so* much better for you!  By storing juice you can lose some of the nutrients and enzymes that are available immediately after juicing, but the way I figure it, getting some of the nutrients are better than getting none!  We have a slow masticating juicer (the Omega 8606) which helps maintain nutrient levels.  Storage in an airtight container also helps. 

Besides energy and just feeling better, my skin looks great when I juice!  Bonus!