Monday, April 12, 2010
New Bloggie Address!
Just a reminder that I have moved: http://www.runrettarun.wordpress.com/. Ch-ch-check it out!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Made the Move!
Hi everyone! I made the switch to Wordpress: RunRettaRun! I'm still a Wordpress Virgin so bear with me while I learn to navigate the site.
XO - Retta
XO - Retta
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Mouth Breathing
Afternoon, all! I've been a tardy blogger lately! When I left work yesterday, I had to get gas before picking up the Pre-K enrollment paper work. I was seriously low. Shhhhh . . . don't tell The Lover.
By the time I got to the gas station, it said 4 miles to E. Scary. I have been super spoiled. The Lover used to fill up both of our cars but it's been so insane lately that I've had to do it myself. I got out and realized the tank was on the opposite side of the car. Wowza.
Pre-K enrollment night started at 500 PM. Each elementary school in the district gives out 40 packets. First come, first serve. I got to the school at 503 PM and was #37. Barely made it, but made it I did!
For dinner, I was craving breakfast so I made "binner."
Eggs, mushrooms, spinach and leftover potatoes (x 2.5 it was fantastic). And garlic toast on the side. Like my new plate? I hit up Target and majorly scored with their post-Easter sale! I <3 sales - especially if it's 50% (or more) off!
We had some storms going on last night and it helped me sleep so well. I love falling asleep to the sound of rain against the windows. It also made it very difficult to wake up this morning. I kept hitting snooze until 600 AM. I finally dragged my ass out of my bed and stumbled to the coffee pot. I love the person who invented the self-timer on the coffee pot! There is nothing like waking up to a hot pot of coffee.
Breakfast was divine! Pumpkin Overnight Oats -
On the agenda was at least a 4 miler (5 - 6 if I could squeeze it in) but after 2, I called it quits. Sometimes, I'm just not there. Yesterday, I had a great run and felt like I could have kept going. Today, I just couldn't hack it. It has a lot to do with being on a treadmill for the 3rd day in a row. I prefer to run outside but when I'm congested and struggling with breathing, I keep it indoors. I keep telling Donna that I'm a mouth breather today haha.
Lunch was excellent!
I had a Boca burger on a sammie thin. I smeared the thin with a wedge of Laughing Cow and topped it off with some spinach. On the side, 3 HOOGE carrots and hummus for dipping. So. Full.
The Oklahoma Blood Institute keeps calling and asking for blood donations. When I donate blood, I'm tired and blah for a week or more. We have a blood drive at work coming up in May. Is it selfish for me to put it off until then so it won't affect my training and upcoming race? Normally, I would be all about donating.
Anyhoo, the race is in 17 days! GULP. If you haven't read about the OKC Memorial Marathon, check it out! It's the 10th anniversary of the marathon but 15 years since the bombing. We have people as far as Canada and New York participate because of what happened. I cannot describe the camaradarie and the emotion in the air during this event. It's just awesome!
By the time I got to the gas station, it said 4 miles to E. Scary. I have been super spoiled. The Lover used to fill up both of our cars but it's been so insane lately that I've had to do it myself. I got out and realized the tank was on the opposite side of the car. Wowza.
Pre-K enrollment night started at 500 PM. Each elementary school in the district gives out 40 packets. First come, first serve. I got to the school at 503 PM and was #37. Barely made it, but made it I did!
For dinner, I was craving breakfast so I made "binner."
Eggs, mushrooms, spinach and leftover potatoes (x 2.5 it was fantastic). And garlic toast on the side. Like my new plate? I hit up Target and majorly scored with their post-Easter sale! I <3 sales - especially if it's 50% (or more) off!
We had some storms going on last night and it helped me sleep so well. I love falling asleep to the sound of rain against the windows. It also made it very difficult to wake up this morning. I kept hitting snooze until 600 AM. I finally dragged my ass out of my bed and stumbled to the coffee pot. I love the person who invented the self-timer on the coffee pot! There is nothing like waking up to a hot pot of coffee.
Breakfast was divine! Pumpkin Overnight Oats -
- 1/2 cup dry oatmeal
- 1/4 cup non-fat plain yogurt
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup rice milk
- cinnamon
On the agenda was at least a 4 miler (5 - 6 if I could squeeze it in) but after 2, I called it quits. Sometimes, I'm just not there. Yesterday, I had a great run and felt like I could have kept going. Today, I just couldn't hack it. It has a lot to do with being on a treadmill for the 3rd day in a row. I prefer to run outside but when I'm congested and struggling with breathing, I keep it indoors. I keep telling Donna that I'm a mouth breather today haha.
Lunch was excellent!
I had a Boca burger on a sammie thin. I smeared the thin with a wedge of Laughing Cow and topped it off with some spinach. On the side, 3 HOOGE carrots and hummus for dipping. So. Full.
The Oklahoma Blood Institute keeps calling and asking for blood donations. When I donate blood, I'm tired and blah for a week or more. We have a blood drive at work coming up in May. Is it selfish for me to put it off until then so it won't affect my training and upcoming race? Normally, I would be all about donating.
Anyhoo, the race is in 17 days! GULP. If you haven't read about the OKC Memorial Marathon, check it out! It's the 10th anniversary of the marathon but 15 years since the bombing. We have people as far as Canada and New York participate because of what happened. I cannot describe the camaradarie and the emotion in the air during this event. It's just awesome!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Negative Peeps
Afternoon! Wow. This day is almost over. It's been balls to the wall, folks! Feels like I just got here. I'm going to rewind a bit . . .
For dinner, I was a tad stumped on what to make so I asked Big Boy what he wanted. He is very picky and basically loves pizza. So I decided we should do a "Make Your Own Pizza" night. There was sauce, cheese, red circles (aka, pepperoni), mushrooms, spinach and tofu to choose from. The base of the pizza was leftover naan that I had gotten from the Asian grocery store. They were in the freezer and didn't take long to thaw. (Yes, my counters are old school lol)
Big Boy in action . . . He loved it!
He made both The Lover's and his own. The Lover's has mushrooms on it.
I made mine with very little sauce, mushrooms, spinach, cheese and leftover BBQ tofu.
Dessert was Easter candy, of course! I also had some chocolate covered pretzels.
This morning started off great. Both boys were in great moods and although it was a hurried morning, it was smooth sailing. I had a Chocolate Cherry Bomb for brekkie.
We also had our relay marathon meeting. We have 3 teams this year! So pumped. What, what! Though I had that awful nightmare, I'm more excited than anything. Lunch was quick and easy. I was starving and took a bite before taking a pic. Oops!
Mmmmm . . . black bean and sweet potato burgers can never be wrong. For dessert, I had chocolate Oikos with strawberries. So sinful - in a good way!
I also had some pineapple that went down the hatch - no pic sorry!
So do you know anyone that is so freaking negative? I have a few in my life and it is so frustrating. I feel like they totally bring me down. Now, I'm not Ms. Happy Rainbows 24/7 (because that would be so annoying) but I am a generally happy person. I have bad days like everyone else but oh my goodness! The constant negativity just chaps my ass. (sorry for the super country saying) And it's not just negativity towards themselves but about EVERYTHING. Is there a point when all that negativity just ends up being self-fulfilling prophecy? Honestly, I could pick up my computer and throw it against the wall. It is THAT annoying to me. I tend to want to "pump" that person up but when do you say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH? When you feel that it's dragging you down as well?
Do you have Negative Peeps in your life? How do you deal? OK I must run! The Lover and I are off to get Big Boy enrolled in Pre-K. Sniff, sniff. They grow up so darn fast. It feels like I just gave birth to him and now he's 4!
For dinner, I was a tad stumped on what to make so I asked Big Boy what he wanted. He is very picky and basically loves pizza. So I decided we should do a "Make Your Own Pizza" night. There was sauce, cheese, red circles (aka, pepperoni), mushrooms, spinach and tofu to choose from. The base of the pizza was leftover naan that I had gotten from the Asian grocery store. They were in the freezer and didn't take long to thaw. (Yes, my counters are old school lol)
He made both The Lover's and his own. The Lover's has mushrooms on it.
I made mine with very little sauce, mushrooms, spinach, cheese and leftover BBQ tofu.
This morning started off great. Both boys were in great moods and although it was a hurried morning, it was smooth sailing. I had a Chocolate Cherry Bomb for brekkie.
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- 15 frozen sweet dark cherries
- 1T chocolate syrup
- 1 banana
- 1 cup rice milk
- ice, ice, ice!
We also had our relay marathon meeting. We have 3 teams this year! So pumped. What, what! Though I had that awful nightmare, I'm more excited than anything. Lunch was quick and easy. I was starving and took a bite before taking a pic. Oops!
Mmmmm . . . black bean and sweet potato burgers can never be wrong. For dessert, I had chocolate Oikos with strawberries. So sinful - in a good way!
I also had some pineapple that went down the hatch - no pic sorry!
So do you know anyone that is so freaking negative? I have a few in my life and it is so frustrating. I feel like they totally bring me down. Now, I'm not Ms. Happy Rainbows 24/7 (because that would be so annoying) but I am a generally happy person. I have bad days like everyone else but oh my goodness! The constant negativity just chaps my ass. (sorry for the super country saying) And it's not just negativity towards themselves but about EVERYTHING. Is there a point when all that negativity just ends up being self-fulfilling prophecy? Honestly, I could pick up my computer and throw it against the wall. It is THAT annoying to me. I tend to want to "pump" that person up but when do you say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH? When you feel that it's dragging you down as well?
Do you have Negative Peeps in your life? How do you deal? OK I must run! The Lover and I are off to get Big Boy enrolled in Pre-K. Sniff, sniff. They grow up so darn fast. It feels like I just gave birth to him and now he's 4!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Nightmares
Why hello there! Hopefully your Monday has been a fast one! Mine has been great. Before Miss D and I headed out for a run, I snacked on a slice o' bread and some pineapples.
The weather was perfect for a run. Warm, slightly breezy and cloudy. My training plan called for an easy 2 miler. We definitely took it SUPER easy. Donna had injured her leg and had to rest all last week. I wanted her to ease into running so she wouldn't injure it even worse. We were able to chat and catch each other up on our Easter weekend.
My lunch was a plethora of leftovers from Easter dinner.
Buttery bread, roasted squash and zucchini, strawberry salad and BBQ tofu. My sister-in-law, Brandy, makes this AH-MAY-ZING salad that she knows I go ga-ga for. It's basically a spinach salad with sliced strawberries, sugary walnuts and sprinkles of parmesan. Oh my Heaven, it's good! I get all the yummy leftovers. To make the tofu, I pressed firm tofu for about 45 minutes, cut them into cubes, marinated them in some BBQ sauce and baked them for about 25 minutes at 400 degrees. So very good!
I had to leave work early to take Baby Boy to the ear, nose and throat doctor to get his tubes checked. Looking good! After the appointment, I snacked on some malted Robin Eggs. Those things are addicting! I also had two flour tortillas. Hey, I was in a munchie mood!
On to my nightmare. Last Wednesday night, I had this terrible dream. It has stuck with me and I keep thinking about it. It's really freaking me out. Basically, I missed the day to pick up my race packet. So the morning of the race, my relay team was waiting for me while I ran to get it. I discovered I had also neglected to pack my Camelbak! While I was doing that, the team left without me, even though I was the first leg of the relay race. When I realized they had left, I also realized every single person had gone as well. So in my head, I'm thinking, "OK if I can just get at least one person behind me, that would be cool." So I'm just running with everything I have and end up burning out way early! I keep looking around and I just see hoards of people in front of me and I'm all by my lonesome. So, I'm still determined to finished the half-marathon. As I'm running, I realize that everyone had finished and downtown (where the finish line is) was clear of everyone but volunteers. The race organizers had kept all the volunteers until everyone had finished and they were extremely pissed that they were waiting for little ol' me. Then I jerked awake!!
WHAT THE HELL. I'm spazzing about this freaking dream. Obviously, I have some serious race anxiety. Our relay teams are racing for fun, not time. I'm running the first leg of the relay so I can continue on and do the half-marathon for my own goal achievement. I don't really have a set time goal in mind. I want to be able to say that I have ran a halfie and never in my wildest dreams did I ever consider myself a runner until a little over a 1.5 years ago. So it's also for personal satisfcation, you know? I. AM. FREAKING.
Sorry for the serious ramble! Have you had some pre-event jitters? How do you handle it? I'd love some pointers!
The weather was perfect for a run. Warm, slightly breezy and cloudy. My training plan called for an easy 2 miler. We definitely took it SUPER easy. Donna had injured her leg and had to rest all last week. I wanted her to ease into running so she wouldn't injure it even worse. We were able to chat and catch each other up on our Easter weekend.
My lunch was a plethora of leftovers from Easter dinner.
I had to leave work early to take Baby Boy to the ear, nose and throat doctor to get his tubes checked. Looking good! After the appointment, I snacked on some malted Robin Eggs. Those things are addicting! I also had two flour tortillas. Hey, I was in a munchie mood!
On to my nightmare. Last Wednesday night, I had this terrible dream. It has stuck with me and I keep thinking about it. It's really freaking me out. Basically, I missed the day to pick up my race packet. So the morning of the race, my relay team was waiting for me while I ran to get it. I discovered I had also neglected to pack my Camelbak! While I was doing that, the team left without me, even though I was the first leg of the relay race. When I realized they had left, I also realized every single person had gone as well. So in my head, I'm thinking, "OK if I can just get at least one person behind me, that would be cool." So I'm just running with everything I have and end up burning out way early! I keep looking around and I just see hoards of people in front of me and I'm all by my lonesome. So, I'm still determined to finished the half-marathon. As I'm running, I realize that everyone had finished and downtown (where the finish line is) was clear of everyone but volunteers. The race organizers had kept all the volunteers until everyone had finished and they were extremely pissed that they were waiting for little ol' me. Then I jerked awake!!
WHAT THE HELL. I'm spazzing about this freaking dream. Obviously, I have some serious race anxiety. Our relay teams are racing for fun, not time. I'm running the first leg of the relay so I can continue on and do the half-marathon for my own goal achievement. I don't really have a set time goal in mind. I want to be able to say that I have ran a halfie and never in my wildest dreams did I ever consider myself a runner until a little over a 1.5 years ago. So it's also for personal satisfcation, you know? I. AM. FREAKING.
Sorry for the serious ramble! Have you had some pre-event jitters? How do you handle it? I'd love some pointers!
Bomb Diggity!
Another "Ask Me" answer at the end of this post.
Mornin'! Hope you had a faboosh Easter weekend and ready for a new week! I am a little sleep deprived myself but nothing a little (or a lot) of coffee won't take care of. I can't believe the weekend is over already!
We had a wonderful family get together yesterday. Lots of good eats and egg hunting fun.
And of course, can't forget the Lamb Cake! (before)
After. I got a tad carried away with the powdered sugar. Oops.
I could have done a better job at taking photos! Big Boy was such a pro at hunting Easter eggs. He did not mess around at all. The Lover helped Baby Boy but out of the four grandkids, Big Boy meant some serious business. I'll have to watch him like a hawk around all that candy. Ok, ok. More like I have to keep myself from sneaking Big Boy's candy!
The kiddos were a tad hungover this morning. Neither of them wanted to wake up. Poor guys. I slept in a bit as well. Mondays are so tough but my breakfast smoothie made it all better. I've seen this floating around the blog world for awhile and recently decided to give it a whirl.
Chocolate Cherry Bomb! It looks like sludge but 'tis delish!
My CCB contained:
What is the one thing you can't run without?
This is a toughie! I feel like I carry so many things with me when I go for runs. When I leave the house (or office), I carry my MP3 player, cell, key and water. I can certainly do without the player but my absolute "must have" would be my cell phone. You never know when you'll need it! There have been a couple times I've been out by myself and got a creepy vibe from someone. I totally hate when I leave without the cell.
How about you? When you head out for your bike/run/swim, what do you always have with you? Sorry this is so short but it's time to get biz-ay. Also, stay tuned . . . Blogger is making me very unhappy so I'll be switching to Wordpress soon!
Mornin'! Hope you had a faboosh Easter weekend and ready for a new week! I am a little sleep deprived myself but nothing a little (or a lot) of coffee won't take care of. I can't believe the weekend is over already!
We had a wonderful family get together yesterday. Lots of good eats and egg hunting fun.
I could have done a better job at taking photos! Big Boy was such a pro at hunting Easter eggs. He did not mess around at all. The Lover helped Baby Boy but out of the four grandkids, Big Boy meant some serious business. I'll have to watch him like a hawk around all that candy. Ok, ok. More like I have to keep myself from sneaking Big Boy's candy!
The kiddos were a tad hungover this morning. Neither of them wanted to wake up. Poor guys. I slept in a bit as well. Mondays are so tough but my breakfast smoothie made it all better. I've seen this floating around the blog world for awhile and recently decided to give it a whirl.
Chocolate Cherry Bomb! It looks like sludge but 'tis delish!
My CCB contained:
- 2 cups spinach
- 15 frozen sweet dark cherries
- 1T chocolate syrup
- 1 banana
- 1 cup rice milk
- 3 handfuls of ice
What is the one thing you can't run without?
This is a toughie! I feel like I carry so many things with me when I go for runs. When I leave the house (or office), I carry my MP3 player, cell, key and water. I can certainly do without the player but my absolute "must have" would be my cell phone. You never know when you'll need it! There have been a couple times I've been out by myself and got a creepy vibe from someone. I totally hate when I leave without the cell.
How about you? When you head out for your bike/run/swim, what do you always have with you? Sorry this is so short but it's time to get biz-ay. Also, stay tuned . . . Blogger is making me very unhappy so I'll be switching to Wordpress soon!
Friday, April 2, 2010
Easter Traditions
Happy Good Friday! I wish I could say I have the day off work but I don't. That's ok though because I'm just jazzed it's Friday. I hope the day flies by! I'm so very ready for the Easter weekend. We're looking forward to dying Easter eggs with our boys (OUTSIDE) and hunting for eggs as well. It will be exciting now that Baby Boy is bigger and is walking.
First things first! We had a very loud and wild storm breeze through this morning. Power was briefly lost and thank goodness it came back on because I hate jacking with the circuit breakers. We are also out of fruit and vegetables - a serious grocery store trip is on the agenda for the weekend. I had no clue what to make for breakfast so I stared at the open fridge and cabinets for quite some time. Then inspiration struck! I've heard of baked oatmeal but I decided to put the Retta Spin on it.
Baked Pumpkin Cranberry Crunch Oatmeal was born!
Ingredients:
I wish I had a lid for my casserole dish for better travel to work but I just used foil and a pot holder. It's taken me 2 hours to eat this while I've been working. It's a good size serving - probably 1.5?
Moving on (from the yummy that is in my tummy), I'm really looking forward to this Easter holiday! I mentioned earlier that the boys are older and will really enjoy coloring and hunting for eggs. FUN! I also look forward to making my annual Lamb Cake! It's not what you think. When we were kids, my mom had a cake pan in the shape of a lamb. She would bake the cake every Easter. After icing the cake, she would use shredded coconut for the "wool" and color the coconut for "grass". Over the years, the cake pan was lost.
I told my mother-in-law about the tradition and she surprised me with a lamb cake pan of my very own! (Insert collective "awwwwww" here) I've made my version of the lamb cake for 4 or 5 - maybe 6? - years now. I love doing it even more now that we have children of our own. It's cheesy but that's how I roll.
This was last year's:
It's kind of creepy in the face but it's tasty! I still need to work on my decorating skills haha. I love family traditions!
Do you have Easter family traditions you'd like to share? We typically do separate dinners my side and The Lover's side but we're just doing one this weekend. My side is postponed until next weekend.
First things first! We had a very loud and wild storm breeze through this morning. Power was briefly lost and thank goodness it came back on because I hate jacking with the circuit breakers. We are also out of fruit and vegetables - a serious grocery store trip is on the agenda for the weekend. I had no clue what to make for breakfast so I stared at the open fridge and cabinets for quite some time. Then inspiration struck! I've heard of baked oatmeal but I decided to put the Retta Spin on it.
Baked Pumpkin Cranberry Crunch Oatmeal was born!
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup oatmeal
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup non-fat plain yogurt
- pumpkin pie spice
- cinnamon
- 2t brown sugar
- vanilla cranberry almond clusters
I wish I had a lid for my casserole dish for better travel to work but I just used foil and a pot holder. It's taken me 2 hours to eat this while I've been working. It's a good size serving - probably 1.5?
Moving on (from the yummy that is in my tummy), I'm really looking forward to this Easter holiday! I mentioned earlier that the boys are older and will really enjoy coloring and hunting for eggs. FUN! I also look forward to making my annual Lamb Cake! It's not what you think. When we were kids, my mom had a cake pan in the shape of a lamb. She would bake the cake every Easter. After icing the cake, she would use shredded coconut for the "wool" and color the coconut for "grass". Over the years, the cake pan was lost.
I told my mother-in-law about the tradition and she surprised me with a lamb cake pan of my very own! (Insert collective "awwwwww" here) I've made my version of the lamb cake for 4 or 5 - maybe 6? - years now. I love doing it even more now that we have children of our own. It's cheesy but that's how I roll.
This was last year's:
It's kind of creepy in the face but it's tasty! I still need to work on my decorating skills haha. I love family traditions!
Do you have Easter family traditions you'd like to share? We typically do separate dinners my side and The Lover's side but we're just doing one this weekend. My side is postponed until next weekend.
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