Morning Run! (11.05.2008)

Today is a historic day for our country, but I also made some personal history. I got up on my own, and went for a morning run before work! I have gotten up early to run with others before work, but never gone out on my own, so today was a special day in the history of ME too. :)

What got into me? It might have been my "sweet" boyfriend screaming "MCCAIN WON, MCCAIN WON!" at 5:45am in an effort to freak me out and wake me up. Nice, right? I went to bed before knowing the final results, but I felt confident that I would wake up to President Obama, so there was no fooling me. OK, maybe for a millisecond, but even through my early morning fog - I screamed back - "YEAH RIGHT, NICE TRY!"

I could have fallen back to sleep if I really wanted too, since it was SO early, but instead, I got up and got ready to go out for a morning run. I even told Oscar we were "going to the park" which forces me to go because if I say those words, he will not let me forget it. He looks forward to walks in the park like I look forward to really good food. Makes us giddy.

Actually, the main reason I got up and ran was because of my own guilt. The whole "run to vote" didn't happen last night since I had no motivation. It was dark and raining lightly, so it just wasn't happening. We did "walk to vote" though. The school where I vote is probably about a half mile away, so it was a quick walk and no lines at all! Here is the proof I voted. Plus, I am sporting my 2005 NYC marathon shirt!

This morning's run was a 30 min light jog and it felt great. Very mild morning outside and I was hot in my sweatshirt and long running pants. Have to remember that for Sunday since it is supposed to get up into the 50s.

Let me get back to last night's eats - had the leftover Maryland Roasted Chicken with some Veggie Mash on top. The chicken was so incredibly moist and delicious. On top was the "veggie mash", which we whipped up using only the veggies and sauce that was created in the bottom of the roasting pan. Carrots, celery, onions, parsley, and 1 cup water that were baked in the dish with the chicken. The drippings from the chicken added so much flavor and this sauce turned out fantastic. I attempted to do a "cool" picture, but the chicken just looked lonely since I didn't have anything else on my plate.

The veggie mash would make a really good soup. It was tested numerous times as seen below.

I also ate tortilla chips and hummus for pre-dinner. I need to stop buying tortilla chips. I have no will power with them. Dessert was a ww eggo with almond butter and chocolate chips. (sorry, no pics)

Breakfast this morning was thrown together at work, so again - no pics. Oatmeal with hot water, raisins, a banana, pumpkin butter, and almond butter. yummmm.

I leave you with two pictures from Lucy's play time.

Oscar had to get in on the action. He's never seen a stuffed animal he didn't like, even if it meant getting closer to Lucy.

Hope everyone is having a fantastic day!

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Maryland Roasted Chicken

Thanks to all for the nice comments about the marathon this weekend. I did something I was trying not to do and checked the weather! I know it is out of my control, but I had to do it. So far, so good. Partly cloudy, high of 58, low of 38. I could handle that.

Tonight's walk with Oscar was in the dark, on the outside of the park. (I grabbed a big honeycrisp apple before I left for the walk to hold me over until dinner) I get freaked out going into the park at night, so we walked down by where the football/soccer field was because they had the lights on and then I was able to let him off to run and chase the ball. Kevin went with a co-worker to a group run in Federal Hill. Every Monday at 6:30pm, a group meets and runs 4-6 miles and then goes back for a 30 min ab workout. It sounds awesome, so I want to try and go after the marathon!

After the walk, I came home and had 2 of the leftover potstickers from last night and then a few (too many) tortilla chips with whole foods black bean dip. This stuff is addicting. For dinner tonight, I made a turkey and swiss cheese melt on whole grain bread using light, whipped butter.Meanwhile, I decided to roast a chicken that I got from the store last week. For 99 cents a pound, I knew it was the perfect time to try this for the first time. Gotta love a deal.

I chopped up a bunch of carrots, onion, celery, and fresh parsley to put in the bottom of my glass baking dish which I had sprayed with PAM. I poured about a cup of water and placed the chicken on top of the veggies. The top of the chicken was seasoned with pepper and old bay and then I stuffed some unsalted butter between the skin and meat. I pressed it around to cover as much of the chicken as possible. (I probably used about 3 Tablespoons)This went into a 400 degree oven for an hour and a half. I made sure to baste this chicken every 20-30 mins or so using the juices from the chicken mixed with the water in the bottom of the pan - it smelled SO GOOD.

The cooking time will vary, but since I happen to have a meat thermometer, I kept checking every 10 mins after the hour and a half were up until it reached 180 degrees internal temperature.Its done! Kevin is planning to use the juices in the bottom of the pan with all the veggies and create a veggie gravy...yum. Dinner tomorrow night will be a good one!Hope everyone has a great night - GO Redskins!

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1 day to go (10.10.2008)

1 day to go and I am so happy it is friday!! First things first, last night, Kevin and I went to the race expo to pick up our race packets and it really got us excited for saturday. There was a stand with all these different head bands that had sayings on them and the one that hit home for me was this:ha! I truly do run so that I can eat the foods I love! and I just realized the one below it too - Operation: shrink a bootie - funny stuff.

Afterwards we went and picked up some last minute supplies and then met my parents for dinner at Carrabba's. I hadnt been there in years, but I was pleasantly surprised. Everything was fresh and delicious. Didnt get a picture of the hot bread, but it was great, I had about 2 pieces dipped in the herbs and olive oil - YUM.

To start I got the Italian salad with an italian vinaigrette - and I forgot to ask for the dressing on the side, but it tasted perfect to me and wasnt drenched in dressing!My meal was the Mezzeluna, which was half moon shaped ravioli stuffed with chicken, spinach, and ricotta in a tomato cream sauce. It was great and not too rich, but a huge portion, so I brought home a bunch of it. (oops, one slipped into my mouth before the picture :))They had the little shot glasses of dessert and we decided that we had room, so I got this one with an italian cookie, pineapple, and banana cream with a strawberry. It was OK. It had too much whipped cream and not enough of the good stuff.My mom and Kevin both got the cannoli shot glass dessert, which i tried of bite of and liked much better. next time...For breakfast this morning, I got up and made french toast! I haven't made this in forever and was inspired by Caitlin who had it as a pre-race day breakfast! I mixed egg whites, a splash of skim milk, and cinnamon - and then dipped the bread into the egg mixture before throwing on the pan. (literally - i threw it by accident because the bread almost slipped off my fork - egg was all over the pan - oops)

Topped with sliced banana, raisins, more cinnamon, and sugar free syrup - this was a great filling breakfast! (my nerves werent as bad this morning, so it went down fine!)Hope everyone has a great FRIDAY!

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