Thinking Out Loud #2 (and I've Been Published!)

Oh Hiiiiiiiiiiii!  Two posts in two days this week?  Lucky lucky you.  Or maybe not.  This is going to be a whole bunch of random rambling!  So many things on my mind.

So, I'm linking up with Amanda at Running With Spoons for my 2nd Thinking Out Loud post today.  Let's commence.

1.  If you have a moment, check out my VERY FIRST EVER PUBLISHED ARTICLE over on Nannymag.com!  And please share it with every single human you know! HA  Of course I'm incredibly excited to finally be published somewhere (I was literally on cloud 9 yesterday when this went live!), but even more than that, the content of what I wrote about is something I'm incredibly passionate about.  The US trails all other developed nations in our support for families and young children and something needs to change.  This should not be happening in one of the richest nations on earth.  If you're so inclined, check it out and spread the word.  And hopefully you can catch the incredibly well done documentary on your local PBS station this month (check out www.raisingofamerica.org for more info).  And hey, I'm now one step closer to my dream of becoming a REAL LIVE WRITER!  In the words of the one and only Jerry Seinfeld, the wheels are in motion, my friends.

2.  In regards to #1 up there, I think I forgot to share on here that I'm an editor at Nanny Magazine!  I've been doing it for a few months now (virtually) and really enjoying it.  More wheels, more motion.

3.  I was home this past weekend for my nephew's Christening and had the chance to reconnect with so many friends and family members.  I spent some time visiting with my grandparents who gave me some concord grapes from their grapevine, which were SO sweet this year!  Then, I spent a couple hours helping my aunt weed her garden.  I know nothing about gardening so I pulled a few plants up by mistake but she didn't seem to mind :)  I visited my friend the night before she ran her very FIRST half marathon ever!  I had planned to be at the finish line the next morning but the time coincided with the Christening so I gave her a pep talk the night before.  I'm happy to report she finished!!!  I also got to reconnect with another friend who I hadn't seen in ages and was missing so much.  Andddddd I got to see a bunch of my favorite little people too (some in their Halloween costumes)!

4.  Also, my sister in ATL sent me this pic of my niece in her Halloween costume and I've been looking at it at least 3x/day since she sent it to me!  I can't handle it.

5.  I tried this Larabar flavor last week.  Sadly, I would not recommend.  Super dry and I couldn't even taste the coconut in it?!

If you're looking for a really good vegan chocolate coconut bar, I'd recommend the Chocolate Coconut Bliss from Raw Revolution.  They're my favorite:

6.  Started this post on a positive note and ending on one too.  I saw both of these graphics on social media recently and absolutely loved the words.  I hope one day goodness and kindness rule the earth.  Is that too much to ask?

Go be the change you wish to see in the world, good people.  Happy Thursday!



If you read my article, what do you think about the state of family and early childhood support in the US?

What were the best Halloween costumes you saw over the weekend?

Have you seen any inspiring images online lately, as opposed to the bad news that usually inundates our feed?!

Life Lately...

Oh heyyyyyyyyy.  I wonder if you're sick of me talking about California?  I realize I did 5 posts about my trip.  I guess I couldn't help myself.  There was so much to share with you and I wanted to keep re-living each part.  I hope I didn't bore you.

It was hard to get back to reality for a couple weeks after I returned.  And I think it was a bit more than 'post-vacation blues'.  I really missed California.  I missed everything I saw and how I felt out there.  I came back and the seasons had started to change here and it made me sad.  I'm sad to see the summer and sunshine go.  I am a fair-weather gal for sure and unlike a bear, I do not appreciate being forced into hibernation for months on end every year. 

Despite all of that, I am trying to readjust back to my normal life, while still keeping that sunny flame alive.  So since I've talked about CA ad nauseam perhaps you've been wondering what I've been up to lately?  Or maybe not.  My normal life is not nearly as exciting as my road trip life!  Oh well, this is what I've been doing anyway....

1.  I have a new baby at work.  Did I mention that before I left?  I don't think so.  She was born just before I left so she is a WEE little thing! Brand new to the world.  I love newborns.  They are probably my favorite population to work with.  So, now I have two under 2!  All the mommas out there know how crazy THAT can be!  So I've been working a lot and don't have any down time during the day anymore so it's been hard to keep up with blogging.  It still kind of amazes me that I get to work with brand new humans.  I love being there as they see the world for the first time.  It's kind of magical.

2.  Running is still mostly a no-go.  My leg/back of knee didn't bother me AT ALL while I was out in California, and I walked a lot.  Miles upon miles every day, in flip flops no less!  But when I got back home and started working out again it started to bother me!  So I don't know if it's the stress of my day to day life, or some particular workout that aggravated it.  It's quite frustrating since Fall is actually the most ideal running weather.  I've done a couple long walks where I've alternated run/walk mile by mile and it was borderline ok but over the past couple of weeks it has become increasingly irritated :(  So that's where I am with that.  Perhaps one day I'll have a job with health insurance again and I can get to the bottom of it!

3.  As much as I complain about the Fall weather, it is also pretty ideal not only for running, but for hiking.  The leaves have just begun to change here in MD and the woods become so inviting with their new colors.  I went to one of my favorite spots over the weekend (Gunpowder Falls State Park) and felt 'ok' for the first time since I've been back.  There's just something about the outdoors that speaks to the soul, isn't there?  If I could be outdoors 24/7 (in a WARM climate!) I would.  Perhaps I should look into a career as a forest ranger?! 

Behind the beauty of those changing trees lies a hidden warning though.  Winter is coming.  I can't even think about it.  Months of snow and ice sound about appealing as a death sentence right now.

4.  I went to the library last week.  I figured losing myself in alternate realities might help!  Currently reading this book:

It's about showing our true selves to the world, something most of us don't do for myriad reasons.  But the author contends the only way to reach true, deep, meaningful and intimate relationships with each other is to let everyone see exactly who we are.  Not who we want to be, or pretend to be, or who we think we should be.  It's hard to do and I don't think we realize how often we try to cover up parts of ourselves.  It's a good read so far.


Andddddddd that's my life back in Baltimore!  There are still a lot of things going through my mind, spurred by my trip, that I hope to put into action.  I just hope winter does not suck all of the motivation out of me.  It has a way of doing that.

I'm just going to keep reminding myself of this:

"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer." ~ Albert Camus

Oh God, I hope so.


I hope you've all been well :)



How do you feel about Fall?  Can you enjoy it for its own beauty or do you fear what is coming behind it as I do?!

Parents out there:  Any experience with two kids under 2?!

What are you currently reading?

Thinking Out Loud #1

After publishing so many random posts over the years on so many random days, I FINALLY decided to link up with Amanda at Running With Spoons for her infamous TOL Thursday post.  I am just all over the place with everything going on in my life currently and felt like I needed to add a little structure to my madness.  I have no idea if I will continue to do this weekly or if I can commit to this week only.  I'm a little delirious this week.  So here we go:

1.  I worked nearly 60 CONSECUTIVE hours over Labor Day weekend starting at 3am Sat morning.  Which means I slept for 2 hours that night.  Ohhhhhhhhhh I'm not kidding.  While everyone was picnicking, beaching, or just sleeping in, I was working.  I'm going on Day 11 of work here without a break.  Obviously if I didn't believe 100% in my work and care so much about it, I would not have made it through.  But having said that, vacation cannot come fast enough!

2.  I'm almost done booking my rooms on Airbnb.  I know what you're thinking.  My trip is less than a week away and I still don't have places to stay?!  See #1 for reference.  I literally have had no down time.  Plus, I am good at rolling last minute.  It's how I thrive.  I've booked a few rooms so far and the hosts I've been in contact with seem really inviting and genuine.  And then I read articles like this:

Ahhhhhhh!  Honestly, stuff like this does not freak me out, but please don't share this with my mother.  Because she will without a doubt book a flight to CA and follow me there! Ha

3.  On the workout front, I'm still not running and my leg is still bothering me :(  I took an entire week of rest, which did absolutely nothing!  So I started back up walking, lifting, biking, rowing and HIIT/strength exercises.  I'm kind of at a loss as to what to do.  I've been trying to ice it when I remember and foam roll more but MAN do I miss running :(

4.  I made these Chocolate Chip Zucchini Banana Bread muffins from My Inner Shakti and they were pretty good!  (I cooked.  I know.  Blame it on the stress/sleep deprivation.)  The only thing I didn't particularly care for was the taste of the whole wheat flour.  I've never baked with it before but it made the muffins a bit denser and drier than I think they would have otherwise been.  So I'd prob use regular flour next time.  And maybe a bit more coconut oil to make them moister.

 

 



5.  I am currently addicted to this delicious coconut concoction:

6.  My work can be exhausting at times, but I love it and put my whole heart into it.  And then I get days like this.  I am outside, standing in the middle of a perfect living landscape, playing with a child, and I think DOES IT GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS?!

7.  I have a fortune-telling app on my phone in which I crack a little cookie and get some wise little words each morning.  It's stupendous.  This was one I got a couple days ago.  YES PLEASE

6 MORE DAYS!  I should probably finish booking my rooms and start thinking about what I need to pack?!  I have 1 day off this weekend.  My first in 14 days.  I plan on running around like a chicken with my head cut off accomplishing everything that needs to be done in 24 hours. 

And that's all I have for my very first Thinking Out Loud post. I hope your weeks are a bit calmer than mine!  Go forth and conquer my friends :)


Tell me something RANDOM!

What was the last recipe you made?  How'd it turn out?

Do you enjoy fortune cookies?!

A Few Things Friday

I'm a bit scatterbrained right now with a hectic work schedule and preparing for my west coast trip so today is going to be a bunch of randomness!  No better way to start off the holiday weekend right?!

1.  I have been making and eating faux Chipotle burrito bowls all summer long.  How do I make these you might wonder?  Well I'll tell you!  They involve very little cooking which is a HUGE plus!

The base is this summer salad recipe I got from my sister last year and have made dozens of times since because I love it so much:

(Black beans, red pepper, cilantro.

I left out the corn this time because I ate corn-on-the-cob with dinner)

 

Then I add some ground turkey with taco seasoning:

 

 

Sometimes I stop there and sometimes I add rice.  This was brown rice in a bag which took about 2 minutes to make in the microwave! HA

 





And TA-DA!  A delicious homemade burrito bowl:

If I make this at the beginning of the week, there are enough leftovers that I can eat it for dinner for the rest of the week.  So quick and easy when I come home from work.  And that is the extent of my cooking and meal planning abilities.

2.  While we're on the topic of food, I ate at Nalley Fresh for the first time ever this week and it was SO good!  I can't believe I've never tried it before.  It's a salad place that has 6 locations around Baltimore.  You can build your own salad with whatever ingredients you want and they have a ton to choose from.  Everything was incredibly fresh and delicious, and it kind of reminded me of my favorite-ever salad restaurant in the world, Chop't. 

3.  Still talking food here.  (You would think I'm starving but I'm typing this right after dinner.) Anywho, you know how Amazon sends you emails with recommendations based on past purchases?  Well, I received one of those recently and this was one of the items they recommended...GAG!

Just looking at that picture again is making me nauseous.  I don't eat potato chips (don't like them) and I am not really a fan of ketchup.  So a ketchup potato chip sounds like my worst nightmare.  The rest of the email contained vitamins, protein bars and running socks so I have no idea why they thought ketchup flavored potato chips would tickle my fancy.  BARF

4.  MORE FOOD.  What is going on with me tonight?!  Naked finally came out with some non-dairy  protein drinks.  So I picked up this one recently to try:

It's non-dairy and vegan and contains a bunch of fruit, which are all good things, but I didn't realize the protein was soy-based.  I've been trying to stay away from that so I probably won't buy this again, and the flavor wasn't that great either.  Live and learn.

5.  And finally a NON FOOD item!  I got these shoes for the wedding I'll be attending in CA at DSW for $10!!!  I kid you not.

They were on clearance for $20 and then I had a $10 coupon.  I felt like an extreme couponer without the cameras and fame.  The only wedding appropriate shoes I have are heels, and since the wedding is going to be outside at a vineyard I wanted comfortable flats or wedges.  These are wedges and they are really really comfortable.  They are almost as comfy as the flip flips that are permanently attached to my feet.

And that concludes my rambling for today!

Have a great Labor Day weekend, and remember SUMMER'S NOT OVER!


Do you have any quick go-to dinner meals?

Does Amazon ever give you bizarro recommendations?

What was the last great deal you got?!

A Few Things Friday...

Happy Friday everyone!  Today's post is going to be a bit short and random.  I have a busy couple days ahead of me and not enough time to organize all of these thoughts into a more coherent package, so I'm going with a list. 

1.  I am working 14.5 hours today and 15 on Saturday.  If I make it to Sunday, it will be a miracle.  If not, well, it was nice knowing all of you!

2.  I've already planned out the 3 things I will be doing Sunday:  Sleeping.  Running.  Going back to sleep.  If possible, I'll try to fit some eating and showering in there.  No promises on the last one.

3.  The hours can be rough sometimes, but my "office" kinda rocks, especially in weather like this:

4.  I am addicted to this kombucha soda now.  I grab a couple bottles every time I'm in Target, which let's be honest, is often.  The root beer flavor is my favorite.

5.  One of my charges got a new book today and I could not believe my eyes! I loved this book when I was little (even though it scared me):

 

6.  I get teary-eyed every single time I read this book:

 



7.  I have been loving this massage stick that I got at Target for like $10.  It hurts so good.  I've been using it on my lower legs and the results are similar to the ART (active release technique)/Graston that I got during physical therapy a few years ago.  My shins have been a little testy the last few weeks so I've been massaging with this thing, icing, and wearing compression sleeves on long runs. 

8. One week until the St. Luke's Half. I can't wait! This is me running it 3 years ago!



I'm off to do some baby whispering.  I hope you all have a more relaxing weekend planned than I do!


Favorite children's books?
- I have too many to list!

Do you use foam rollers/massage sticks/etc as part of your running recovery routine?

What are you up to this weekend?

Rambling Food Thoughts: Raw garlic, Baby kale, Eggnog tea, and Cashew milk

I should probably link up to one of those Thinking Out Loud posts sometime, but alas, it's not Thursday and so this post is just going to be a stand-alone bunch of my random thoughts, mostly about food.  Let's begin!

1.  Came across this quote in an email I received this week and LOVE it to start of the year:

For last year's words belong to last year's language

And next year's words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.

— T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding"

  

2.  I forgot to mention the home remedies I implemented when I was attempting to overcome the flu over Christmas.  Before being diagnosed with the flu, and feeling like I just had a really really bad cold, I Googled something along the lines of "cold and flu home remedies"and overwhelmingly came across 2 main methods.  So for days (even after I got the diagnosis) I attempted to cure myself of influenza by chewing and eating entire RAW cloves of garlic and drinking straight apple cider vinegar cider.  Pretty sure I gave myself an ulcer and just FYI, it did not cure the flu.  HAHA.  However, the next time I feel like I'm coming down with a cold from one of the kids, I'm going to give these self torture methods another go and see if they work on colds.  Consider me your human guinea pig as I sacrifice my breath and esophageal lining for your benefit.  I'll report back.

 

3.  Finally took a picture of Wegmans sushi for you:

 

Mmmmmmmmm  The best supermarket sushi

 

 

4.  My sister made me an ENTIRE pan of vegan fudge over the holidays.  I've been slowly chipping away at it every day (I know, tough job) and it's almost done.  Whyyyyyyyyyyy?!  I keep wishing it was magic fudge that would regenerate itself every time I cut it, like a starfish, but that hasn't happened yet.  Not looking forward to the day when it's all gone.  How will I live?!

 

5.  I tried a salad mix with baby kale in it for the first time this week and was pleasantly surprised.  Unlike it's parents, the baby kale was delicate and mild and required no marinating before eating raw.  I do enjoy eating kale salads from time to time, but the secret there is you need to let the adult (?) kale soak in oil/vinaigrette for awhile to soften it up and make it more palatable.  So if that has turned you off in the past, see if you can find some sweet baby kale in your produce section.

 

6.  This tea is SO GOOD.  I don't even know what actual Eggnog tastes like (cough, cough, dairy) but this tea is scrumptious.  Get some before it's gone!

 

 

 

7.  While babysitting this weekend I realized the progression of songs I sing while trying to put a child to bed are directly related to how tired both the child/I am and go something like this: 

Various lullabies --> Random children's songs --> Show tunes --> Pop songs with borderline inappropriate lyrics sung like lullabies --> Repeat entire cycle!

 

8.  I finally found cashew milk at the store!  Verdict:  It tastes very similar to almond milk, but a bit less sweet and more nutty.  At this point, are there any nuts we can't make into milk?!  Don't answer that.  Have you tried cashew milk yet?

 

 

 

9.  It was 38 degrees on Sunday!! Warmest its been in days.  I took the opportunity to run outside and it felt like spring.  I kid.  But doing a couple runs a week on the treadmill is already killing me.  Perhaps I need to finally start listening to this Serial all the kids are talking about.

 

10.  I am looking for a spring Half, ideally in the month of April.  Right now, I'm thinking of doing a race I ran in 2012 back home - the St. Luke's Half Marathon, but am open to suggestions!  Preferably in the PA/DE/MD/DC/VA area so it wouldn't involve excessive travel.  What races are you all doing in the spring?

 

 

Anddddd, I think that's about it.  Apologies for the lack of cohesion in this post.  I've been kind of all over the place and super busy since I got back from the holidays.  I think it's setting the tone for what my 2015 is going to be like!

 

Tell me some randomness from your life or just what you're eating/drinking lately!

 

 

 

 



 

 

Current Thoughts

Happy happy Monday to you all!  Hope your weekends were all just peachy and splendid.  I have a lot of random thoughts bouncing around this little head of mine, so you will be getting them all right now, in no particular order.  Enjoy!

• What on God's green earth is a "booty like a Cadillac"??  Do I want one of these?  Do I have one?  I ponder this every single time this song comes on the radio, which is like 50x a day

• Taylor Swift's new album drops today and the CD player in my car has been broken for months.  OH THE HUMANITY!  How am I going to live?  TSwift is just my favorite ever, and each time she's released a new album it has played on repeat in my car for weeks.  I suppose I could download it on iTunes like the rest of the modern world but my car doesn't have an adapter so I would just have to turn the volume waaaaaaaaaay up on my iPhone while it sits in my passenger seat.  So bootleg!

• This weekend I stopped in to see Sarah at Charm City Run!  I had a gift certificate that was about to expire and baby needed a new pair of shoes.  So, I did something kinda crazy.  I ordered moon shoes (aka Hokas).  I can't wait to get them!  (However, I'm mildly worried no one will want to be seen with me/run with me in these things.)  I already run in max cushioned standard running shoes (Nike Vomeros) but these take cushioning to a whole new level.  They felt amazing and bouncy on my test run, and surprisingly were extremely light - lighter than my Nikes.  Amazing.  Once I get them and run in them more, I'll give you guys more feedback.

Source/REI

 

• I got all kinds of great things in the mail this weekend.  My mom surprised me and sent me a Graze snack box! The woman is constantly worried I'm not eating enough.  Her famous first and last words each time I see her "EAT SOMETHING!"  Is this an Italian thing or does everyone's mother do this?!  I haven't tried the snacks yet, but when I do I'll let you know what I think.  They are all GMO free, trans fat free and don't use high fructose corn syrup or artificial ingredients.  Sounds legit.

• And I received a recent Amazon order containing my very favorite protein powder in all the land as well as my current favorite vegan bars.  Just goodness to eat for weeks here.

• I just realized that October is nearly over and I haven't had a SINGLE piece of candy corn to date! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!  I have no idea how this happened.  Candy corn comes but once a year and my window of opportunity is slowly closing.  I think the problem here is that October just went WAY too fast.  This situation calls for emergency action.  What if all of the stores are already sold out?!

• Every time I go to the library, I pick up this book and then put it down because I know the nightmares it reveals, and I know once I read it I'll try to go full vegan again.  I was thiiiiiis close to checking it out at the library yesterday and once again chickened out.

• There are very few, if any, advantages to cold weather, but I was just recently reminded of one this week.  LESS FREQUENT LEG SHAVING!  Hip hip hooray

• Annnnnnnnnd, it's going to be 75 degrees in Baltimore tomorrow.  I plan to don my swimsuit for my evening run.

That's all folks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Have a great day :)


Tell me something random!

Ever run in Hokas?!  Would you?

What's the last piece of great mail you received?

Current Thoughts

Once again, today's post is being brought to you by the random thoughts swirling around inside my head over the past week...Enjoy!

1.  I just finished this book:

 

It's a YA novel that I'd heard a lot about on the internets and was touted almost as highly as The Fault in our Stars.  I'll admit it took me longer than I thought to get into this one.  The beginning was a bit slow and somewhat overly cheesy for me (as YA romances tend to be, but admittedly that cheesiness is usually what keeps me coming back for more).  But as I kept reading, I became more and more interested and invested in Eleanor and Park's story and ultimately really liked it.  No spoilers here, but this is one of those books that just kind of ... ends.  With loose ends and no real conclusion.  I really dislike those kinds of endings in books. I mean I just invested DAYS of my life reading all your words on all of your pages and you're just going to leave me like that?!  There better be a sequel here. And I can promise you this - when I write my first book, whether it be the next Great American Novel or a children's picture book - there will be a neat and tidy definitive ending people! 

 

2.  Came across this video of the one and only TSwift serenading a little boy in the hospital.  Just one more reason she is my favorite ever:

3.  Was at the park with my NannyKid this week enjoying the sun and sand(box) and a perfect stranger told me he thought I was a really great nanny!  DAY MADE  I love my job, but even more than that I just love my kids and am invested in making sure every day is the best day it can be for them :)

4.  Last night I was lifting free weights in the ladies gym (I don't do my free weights in the main gym because that area is overrun with meatheads and their grunting is just too much for me), and a nice older woman approached me because she wanted to know if I could show her some exercises for the back of her arms (tris).  Can I just tell you HOW excited I was to give her some one-on-one demos and instructions on how to do this?!  I kept it simple and just showed her overhead extensions, kickbacks and dips.  Then had her try each while I watched her.  Well I'm quite sure this was the Universe calling me out to get started on my PT certification.  Why exactly have I been putting this off for the past two years?!

5.  I am addicted to cherries.  It's becoming a problem.  I eat them every day.  I really don't know how I'm going to survive when it's no longer cherry season.  Or for that matter, when all the summer fruit goes out of season.  It's really not fair that we run out of peaches, blueberries, watermelon, sugar snap peas and everything that is good and right in this world after summer, and are expected to exist solely on apples and oranges for 9 straight months.  Just another reason I need relocate to a warmer climate.

6.  I just read this article on my Runner's World Facebook feed, in which they made the RW Half course flatter and faster this year by taking out some of the hills!  Oh sure, the year after I run it, they make it flatter.  This kind of has me considering running it again this year to see if I could better my time.  Sooo, this one may be back in the candidate pool for my fall race.  If the hills scared any of you away last year, this just may be the year to get in on the fun in Bethlehem.  Come run in my hometown!  Even if I don't run, I'll show up to cheer you on and give you the grand tour of the Christmas City!  DO IT

7.  Came across this on my FB feed from a distance runner and plant-based nutritionist I follow, and life really is that simple: 

Source

That's all for now folks.  The end :)

Happy Weekend!