Randomness (poo, marathon chat, Affresh winner, Healthy Surprise giveaway)

Last night I got this email below & wanted to share it with you & also hope that you’ll pass it on to your friends.

You may have heard the big news: thanks to LARABAR’s partnership with TerraCycle®, LÄRABAR wrappers are now recyclable! We hope you will start saving your wrappers!!!

TerraCycle collects all kinds of hard-to-recycle items (did you know you can recycle flip-flops?) and repurposes them into new products, ranging from recycled park benches to upcycled backpacks. Additionally, each Brigade program provides an opportunity to raise money for non-profits and schools. To get started, visit the TerraCycle website.

We value your support and assistance with #larabarupcycle as we continue on our journey to do better for the planet!

By the way- There will soon be a giveaway for LARABAR’s.  You won’t want to miss that one!  I’ve got a few good ones lined up for you!

Today is my “rest” day.  I typically choose 2 days not to workout & today happens to be one of those days.  Not that I sleep in & relax or anything, but I don’t have to jump out of bed at 5:00, I typically stay in bed til 5:30.  So, I was wondering what I should share with you today.  Well, I need to tell you about all of the weird poo going on around my house.  Yup, that’s right, I said poo!

We have a ball python in our house.  Yes, it’s in a cage, and yes, it’s Truman’s pet.  However, I’m the one who takes care of it, as Truman is too young & Benji isn’t interested.  Fireball, the ball python only poo’s after he eats.  He does eat frozen thawed rats.  I buy them from the pet store that way.  Well, Fireball poo’d.  Why am I telling you this?  I can’t even tell you how much that snake poo’d.  It didn’t look like his regular snake poo, looked like another animal got in his cage & poo’d, there was so much there.

That’s Truman & Fireball!  So, when I was telling my family that I was surprised, I was joking & said it looked like another animal got in the cage.  My family thought I was so crazy, but, I’m telling you it was bigger than the snake.  THEN, I went to check in on Yertle &  Mrs. Yertle, our Russian Tortoise’s & the Mrs. had some poo on top of her shell.  I’ve never seen that before.

I’m sparing you pics of the poo, as I didn’t take pictures of that, but it was a weird “poo” day yesterday!  Did I turn any of you away?  Glad I shared with you?  Well, we have a houseful of animals, which I think is great for my kids & truly I like as well.  It’s work, but not a ton & certainly worth it.  I think that it’s healthy to have pets around, as it’s so comforting, teaches about responsibility, etc.

Stone has a guinea pig too.  I don’t have any poo story to share about “Junior”.  I’m sure you’re glad I spared you from that one.

I’m so indecisive about signing up for the Chicago Marathon (which may sell out soon) or a marathon in another city.  I like Chicago because it’s so well sponsored all throughout the entire race, you’re never alone.  People cheering throughout is pretty amazing & really gets me through the tough times.  However, it may be neat to run in another city.  I’m just worried about hills.  I ran the Flying Pig Marathon many years ago & it was too hilly.  Thought I was going to die.  Who knew that Cincinnatti had huge hills that felt like mountains when running uphill.

I’m done rambling for the day.  Well, for now.  Aren’t you lucky?!?!?!?!

The winner of the full line of Affresh cleaning product:

• 14 Alida Harris ~ Invent Your Own Option! ~
•  I’ll be sure to get your information over to my friends at Affresh right away so they can send you your new cleaning products!

Don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for Healthy Surprise.  I’m thinking of entering so I get another box!  Ha!

Can you help me decide?  Which marathon to choose?  Minneapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee???  I need an early fall marathon on a Sunday.

Thanks for your help.

Meatless Monday

Today is Meatless Monday & I’ve got a GREAT soup & other stuff for you as well.

I made this lentil soup, with a few alterations of course!

I added a can of tomatoes & omitted the onions.  I added extra garlic gloves & hot sauce.

It’s really good & simple!

I also had some leftover salad that was amazing.  It’s kale, purple cabbage, fennel, spinach with this peanut salad dressing from Carrie on Vegan.

This dressing is really great!  Not the most appealing looking, but delicious!

I also made a few other things that I prepped for the week.  I love when I’m prepared for the week with my meals because then I know that I’ll be eating well & not just grabbing things in a hurry that I would otherwise not eat if I had healthy stuff prepared!

So, I made the lentil soup, peanut dressing, kombucha squash tots, have tofu ready with ingredients for a recipe, as well as ingredients for sweet potato/zucchini patties & vegie soup.  I’ll share all of these with you as the week continues.

I had a good workout yesterday while watching Homeland, of course!  Ran 4 miles, 40 “ball sit-ups” & 128 push ups with the use of my 100 Push Up app!  So excited to be part of the No More Girly Push Up Challenge!

As for the Healthy sELF challenge.  Today is tackle a nagging task day.  It seems to be the theme of many other bloggers lately for this one- cleanin out workout clothes drawer.  I simply throw my workout clothes in this drawer & have to dig when I want something.  I’ve been meaning to clean it, but haven’t taken the time, well this is the time!  It’s got to get done!

Tomorrow I’ll announce the winner of the Affresh cleaning supplies.  You’ve still got a little time left today if you haven’t entered the rafflecopter!

The next giveaway is from Healthy Surprise!  The snacks are really amazing.  I blogged about it here, so you can check it out again if you forgot!  The rafflecopter is up & ready.  This is definitely one not to miss.  There are great things in there that I’ve never seen before  & am so happy that you’ll now have a chance to try out these goodies as well.

Click on the Rafflecopter on the top right side of the page to enter!

Are you having a meatless Monday?

Uh huh uh huh I like it- I LOVE it!

A huge thank you to Laura @ Fit Running Mama for recommending Homeland.  I ran a sweet 7 miles yesterday because it kept my attention.  I seriously will be able to increase my miles because I can’t wait to see more!  YAY- that’s motivation for me!  This is what I’ve been looking for & I found it.  Seriously, this is great!  Some people use music as a motivator & I do like music, but it doesn’t really keep me going for those long runs.  During my summer long runs, I listen to books on my IPod.  If it’s a good book, I will keep running so I hear what happens next.  I love that!

Well, yesterday I made some really great things that I never tried before & both were a hit!  You never know.  I’ll tell you about my conversation with Benji, boy, he let me know about my new baking habits.

For lunch, I made green vegie pancakes.  I swapped out a few ingredients, see below what I did!  They were really great!

Green Vegie Pancakes

Ingredients

• 4 cup zucchini, broccoli, and/or cauliflower ( I used broccoli & zucchini)
• 1 1/4 cup flour garbanzo bean flour
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1  T dried basil
• 3  garlic cloves
• olive oil

Preparation

1. 1. Place the vegetables in a food processor and pulse to chop fine.
2. 2. Add the chopped vegetables into a bowl along with the flour, salt, egg, basil and garlic powder. Mix to combine.
3. 3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat and place 1 tbsp of the batter into the pan for each pancake.
4. 4. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side.
5. 5. Serve with marinara/hot sauce/tamari sauce or dip of your choice.

Accompaniments: Marinara sauce, Ketchup, or Mustard

They are really great & eveyone enjoyed!  Benji used Tamari, I used hot sauce & Samantha used marinara.  Stone like plain!  Of course Truman would touch these babies!

Samantha had a great idea to make a “pizza crust” with this recipe.  It sure would be better than standing over a pan on the stove for so long.  I could just put in the oven til done & then top with whateve toppings we choose.  I love the cauliflower crust pizza, but it’s way too messy for me to do again.  This would certainly not be difficult.  I’m going to make it & will make some with nutritional yeast, but will make some with cheese & pizza sauce.  That way, we’ll all be happy over here.  I’ll post recipe when I do that one!

I also made this great salad & dressing.  The dressing was from Carrie on Vegan.  Once again, it was a success.  I love her recipes!  I however made salad with purple cabbage, spinach, kale & fennel.  It was a ton of crunch & so good!  I didn’t take a picture.  Will work on that!

I have to tell you that I can not give you the recipe for the chocolate muffins because according to most people who tried them, they were a complete fail! Back to the drawing board.  I did get a big laugh at lunch yesterday when Benji (who typically likes everything) told me that the muffins were terrible.  He continued to tell me that when I’m baking with ingredients like I use, I can’t really call it baking. He prefers the old fashioned way I used to bake, the not so healthy way.  However, there are a few things that he does enjoy, but doesn’t seem to be too many! Seems to be the majority around her.  I guess I need to keep tweeking!!!!

Off to have an amazing run, I know already because I’ve got HOMELAND!  Can’t wait to see what happens today!

When you run on a treadmill, what keeps you on it?

virtual 5k

I hooked up with 13 in 2013 with Jill Conyers.  Yesterday was my first  race for this series.

It feels good to start race season & I’m so happy to be part of this challenge to get me going.

That’s how my day started & got very busy thereafter.

The boys played a mean game of chess at the library!  Look how intense the game was for them!

I’ve had Homeland on reserve at the library & they called me to tell me that it was available.  So, this will be my new running dvd.  So excited to pop it in for my run today!

We love our pets!  had to go to the pet store for more hay, reptile carpet & treats.  While we were there, we had to watch the dogs in daycare for 30 minutes.  Honestly, I think the boys could have stayed there all day.  They were enamored & were chosing which dogs they wanted to take home.  I had to explain that other people owned them & the owners & dogs would be sad not to be with their own families.  Besides, we’re “full” in the pet department right now!

Went home to get ready to go to cousins for dinner & had a cold walk home.

When we got home, the boys rushed upstairs & were very quiet.

They were sleeping in Nemo’s new bed.  Hard to tell, but they both smushed together on her bed & decided they wanted to give it a try.  Poor Nemo didn’t know where to go, so she was in our bed.  Well, we had to change that in a hurry.  Everyone ended up in their own beds!

One more day for The Affresh cleaning supplies giveaway!  Enter the rafflecopter on the top right hand side of the page.

Well, I’m off to checkout Homeland!  Have you seen it before?

Feeling Better

Well, I was under the weather yesterday for a bit, so I made the smart decision not to exercise.  It’s hard to do when I had in my head that I wanted to do a certain workout, but know the it was definitely the right decision.  I slept a little later (didn’t pop out of bed at 5am).  Sometimes sleep is the best thing.  I definitely believe sleep is as necessary for good health as eating right & exercise, so try to get 7-8hrs/night.  Well, yesterday I took it easy for a while & when I was feeling better, got to my regular Wednesday running around!

When I got home, a sweet package was waiting for me with my Sweat Pink shoelaces.

Aren’t thoses babies sweet?  Don’t worry, I’ll share!

Then, it was dinner prep time!  I decided to treat the boys to what they’ve been asking for….

Stone had steak & Truman had mini hot dogs.  I on the other hand had a very delicious dinner:

Spaghetti squash topped with roasted broccoli slaw & chickpeas with marinara sauce!

This is the marinara sauce 

I never used it before & it sounded good, but was a bit too sweet for my liking.  Would have been better without!

I also found a new hot sauce & had to give it a whirl. 

It’s called Ghost Pepper.  Can you also read what it says?

Well, let me help you out here:  More than one drop is suicide!  Yep, that’s right!  I love hot sauce!  Really, how hot could this stuff be?  REALLY HOT!  Holy Ned!  I added a little more than a drop & my mouth was on fire for quite a while.  I won’t be having this in the near future.  I wonder if Benji will like it.  If not, it’ll go to my neighbors!  Ha!  They can handle all types of heat!

I was definitely up for something sweet after dinner, so I had some coconut sorbet.  YUM!

I post prior to my morning workouts, but I’m sure having a day off will make for a great run this a.m. I’m looking forward to getting back on my treadmill!

Don’t forget about entering the Affresh giveaway- it’s still going on for a few more days!

I’ve got a great one as soon as that ends.

Are you working out today?

Do you feel guilty when you don’t workout?

WIAW #2

Yesterday was a great food day for me, which always makes me happy!

Be Real Cereals & Almond Milk.  I didn’t have time for a muffin, but love this cereal.  Some people eat it hot, but I love it as it, simple & cold!  I’d eat it without almond milk, but it’s way too crumbly & messy!

Love my apple’s for mid morning snacks.  They really help get through the morning.

Lunch was more cauliflower soup & another apple!  I love the soup.  It’s seriously easy & delicious.  You can add greens, or whatever herbs you like.  If you try a variation, please let me know what you’ve done so I can try it too.

Well, I had to run to the store before I got the boys from school & was really hungry, so I got these Keenway snacks.  They’re really great.  However, the package said there were 4 servings.  Well, it wasn’t 4 servings for me :).

I made this red lentil spinach curry last night & I can’t tell you how amazing it was! Not difficult & seriously so amazing.  You HAVE to try it!

I typically have something sweet at night & a bedtime tea, but had Stone’s first  band concert last night!  Got home & went straight to bed!

Don’t forget to enter the Affresh giveaway for their complete line of cleaning full size supplies.  I love them & are sure you will too!  The Rafflecopter is on the top right side of the page.  You can enter daily for more chances to win!

I’m loving these giveaways!  Hope you are too, as I have a few more coming up….

What will you eat today?

Giveaway Giveaway Giveaway

I’ve got a great little story for you about my giveaway today.  Well, have you heard of Affresh?  It’s a great company that makes cleaning supplies.  I knew about Affresh washing machine cleaner tablets when I purchased my front loading washing machine several years ago.  If you have a front loader, you know how important it is to use an Affresh tablet to keep your machine fresh smelling & clean.

Then, last spring, I entered a contest, as I love contests.   I had no idea how it was going to change my world.  Long story short, I won an entrance to the Chicago Marathon along with 14 other Affresh challenge winners.  It was quite the journey.  Filled with contests, commraderie, and lots of fun.

(This is me before the 2012 Bank Of America Chicago Marathon, in my Affresh jersey!)

In short, I hooked up with Affresh for the challenge, but learned about their cleaning products during the process.  I LOVE them.  The kitchen cleaner is truly my favorite!  It cleanes my counters so nicely & keeps them shiny and smooth.  This is for real!  If you know me, I spray & wipe my counters several times a day.  Yes, I have a few issues about clean kitchen counters.

Well, my friends at Affresh were so generous to send me some cleaning products to try & also offered to sponsor a giveaway for 1 lucky winner!  If you win the giveaway, you’ll get all of those products below, delivered right to your door!  I seriously love these products, and am sure you will too!

That’s it for today, as I’m exhausted trying to get some new images uploaded on this blog.  I’m not so tech savy, so this is really exhausting for me!  I’ll let you all know about this soon. Thus far, I’ve got a new header up & running.  What do you think?  I had an amazingly talented woman help me.  I’ll share all of her information with you as soon as I get everything up & running.

I was so excited about Affresh that I forgot to tell you about a new HIIT running method I encorporated into my run today & will continue for my shorter runs, as I think it makes me faster & stronger.

I ran 5 minutes on the treadmill at a pretty good clip & then jumped off for 20 push ups.

Continued this routine until I got to 3 miles.  I didn’t do 20 push ups at the 3 mile marker, that was my reward for being done!  I got 100 push ups in this way & a good run as well.  I know that it’s good to incorporate other exercises as well, but one thing at a time for me is a good way to start.  Do you do any HIIT that you love & want to share?

What is your favorite cleaning product ?????

Don’t forget to enter the rafflecopter on the upper right hand side of the page for chances to win the Affresh cleaning supplies!