Early to Bed...

It could be because I'm still nursing a bit of a lingering hangover from a fantastic night out with girlfriends last night or it could be because I need to be up around 6am to get ready for the Sporting Life 10km! I am nowhere close to being ready (been at least 6 months since I ran 10km) but I'm really looking forward to this race.

Hoping I cross the finish line in one piece AND with a time under an hour!

Best! Love!

Productive Sundays!

Maybe I'm back to having my relatively productive Sunday routine?

Got up early this morning and made a pasta sauce with smoked proscuitto for the freezer followed by mac & cheese (with smoked gouda) for tomorrow night's dinner as well as homemade granola (will post the recipe as it's low sugar/oil & delicious) PLUS prepped for tonight's dinner of breaded tilapia, brown rice, cabbage & carrots. Um, phew... and this was all done before 10am!

I'm still having my insane aversion to meat (no, not pregnant) and basically cannot buy anything I see at the grocery store. I'll hit up Rowe Farms later this week to grab us a few staples. Ironically enough, I still managed to spend $140 without purchasing any true form of protein.

This aversion is driving me CRAZY! I pretty much can't look at meat without almost throwing up and the thought of any sort of preparation makes me cringe. I had an big aversion to chicken when I was pregnant with M and could buy it but not touch, prepare, cook or eat it. I got over it (sort of) once he was born. In the past 2 months or so, I'm happy to admit that our meatless versus meaty meals have increased but we're at the point where few meals involve meat. I need to either be prepared to offer more alternative protein sources (no soy) or get my hands & head back in the game. So far, butcher or market meat makes sense. We'll see...

Granola recipe will be posted tomorrow... g'nite!

Oh So Crafty...

D is pretty sure our neighbours think I'm crazy. It likely started with last year's Jelly Tot wreath for Easter, which was a bit of a fail because I neglected to Shellac it and it dripped sticky candy goodness all over our front door after every rain. The raccoons had a field day with this and the poor wreath was ripped from the door and basically eaten to bits after only a couple of weeks on display.

Anyway, the latest in porch decor on our street was M's birthday balloon wreath. I took some 700 + balloons and pinned them to a wreath and proudly hung it on our front door for the weekend of his birthday. I've put it away for now but this will be a tradition we carry for years to come.

Nifty Carrots

We're heading to my brother's house for Easter dinner later today and when I asked what to bring, my SIL suggested a veggie dish. I made these at Christmas to serve with beef tenderloin and think they'll be a great side to ham & lamb.

Nifty Carrots

5-6 large carrots - peeled, sliced & cooked until tender-crisp (reserve cooking water)

1/4 cup reserved carrot water

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream (fat free is fine)

2 tbsp. finely chopped onion

1 tbsp. horseradish

S&P to taste

1 tbsp. butter, melted

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Place cooked carrots in a shallow casserole.

Combine carrot water, mayonnaise, sour cream, onion, horseradish, salt & pepper and pour over carrots.

Combine butter & bread crumbs and sprinkle over top. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Serves 6

*Nifty Carrots, p. 167, The Best of the Best & More.

8 Sleeps!

Gah! The royal wedding is only 8 sleeps away! This is big news, people! BIG. Lots of details to finalize over here... what to drink, serve and WEAR!

Wait...

You mean, you're not taking the day off to drink Babycham or Pimm's while watching the wedding? Eek. Yeah, I am.

Is it wrong that I want to wear my wedding dress?

I Did It!

I finally got off my butt and went for a run. I only did a 4km loop but it was a good run. Not sure of my timing but it was the first run of the season so I won't be too hard on myself. I've got a couple weeks left before the Sporting Life 10km and although I know it will be my first 10km run of the season, I'm hoping to do it in less than 45 minutes. Felt good to be back out there though!

Two Years Ago Today...

Excuse me while I wax poetic for a few...

Two years ago today, my water broke at 4:30am. At noon, my contractions started while D & I shopped for a barbecue at Home Depot and when I told him what was going on, I pretty much had to scrape him off the floor. At 3:30pm-ish, we headed to the hospital and I will never forget those contractions along Gerrard Street when it felt like each one coincided with a red light. After a good hour of loitering by a candy machine in triage, we finally got a room at 5pm-ish and we found out I was only 3cm dilated. Shortly thereafter, we found out M was posterior (hence, the back labour) and we ordered the epidural. By the time it was in at 7pm, I was 7cm. Fast forward to 8:30pm and I was 10cm. Time to push!

At 8:37pm, my amazing son was born. D & I are so lucky and to this day, I'm pretty sure we both look at this kid and wonder what we did to deserve him. He is our everything and all that we do is guided by his sweet self. Love.

I love this little guy more than anything in the world. When I hold him in my arms, I want to squish him. A good squish but man alive, a good squish. I can't get enough of the looks, the laughs and the random things he says to us. We are so blessed to have such a sweetie in our lives.

So, cheers little buddy! Happy 2nd birthday! You light up our lives and it is your light that we follow day by day. Love to M!

Wordless Wednesday

Zzzzzzz....

Too tired to run. Jaw hurts from eating so many miniature Reese PB Cups. Fatty.

4 Weeks to Lose 4lbs

Weighed in at 134.2lbs this morning. I'm giving myself 4 weeks to get down to 130.2lbs.

Sounds easy. We'll see!

April Fool's Day

No joke... today is the day I go for a run. By today, I mean this month. April 1st is my personal date that kicks off my running season. This is the date I go by year after year so basically, it means I have to get off my butt and get out there. I don't have to go today but soon would be nice. The weather is supposed to be lovely all weekend so I'm using that as my incentive.

Um, yeah.

That 10km race on May 1st is also a bit of an incentive. I need to get out a few times before then and run my little heart out. I want to complete the run in under 55 minutes (doable) but I need to FEEL a bit more fit than my current fatty self.

I will go for a run this weekend. I will go for a run this weekend. I WILL go for a run this weekend!