Biking Buddy!

I had an amazing weekend and the only reason I'm not completely depressed (still semi-depressed) that it's over is that I'm hoping this is the only the beginning of fabulous summer weekends ahead and Ash is coming back in a month for Katie's bachelorette party! We are so lucky she is such a willing traveler. 

We started off the weekend with a trip to the North End (Italian section of Boston) for a yummy dinner at Trattoria Il Panino, a wonderful restaurant I went to a few weeks ago with Eric, Tiff and Ronnie. I ordered the same thing I got last time so I didn't bother taking a picture (I know, I'm a horrible food blogger, I'm not going to pretend otherwise). I did take a beautiful picture of us though...

On Saturday my biking dream came true! I had a biking buddy!!!! Ever since I started triathlon training and began biking I have been complaining to everyone who will listen about how bored I get biking without a buddy. Many people have suggested headphones so I have started putting one headphone in one ear and leaving the other one open to hear people passing me etc (don't worry I don't bike on the road with headphones on). That has helped a little but not as much as having a biking buddy! Ash borrowed Caroline's bike and we took off on the Minuteman Bikeway all the way to Bedford. It ended up being about a 12 mile bike ride, which may not sound like much but it was more than I had done without a buddy so I credit Ash. It was far more entertaining to be able to catch up with Ash than just stare at other bikers passing me :) We did get a bit sprayed with mud (that's what happens when it rains for 3 days straight before you go bike riding) but other than that it was a very successful trip. It is my secret dream (and by secret I mean I'll tell everyone!) that Ash will match in Boston so we can be biking buddies every weekend. Well that and I can hang out with her anytime I want!

After our fabulous bike ride (during which my knee did not hurt one bit, yay!), we decided to refuel at a great lunch place called Fresh City. This place has great sandwiches, stir fry, salads and smoothies but the absolute number 1 reason to go to this place would be their *free* cinnamon pita chips. 

I once tried to buy Stacy's cinnamon pitas (and I love Stacy's plain pita chips) thinking they would be like these, but nope, these cannot be beat! 

Today we had brunch in Boston with Katie and Gerry :) We went to Tremont 647 for the Pajama brunch (but no we didn't wear pajamas). I just got a bagel because I didn't know what my stomach would really like, but next time I am going to risk it on the french toast that Katie got, it was sooo delicious! 

I really need to make an effort to try out new restaurants in Boston more often, particularly in the beautiful South End. 

After all the fun was over I had to come home and attempt to write my end of the year report cards for my students. Of course I decided to procrastinate instead and I went for a quick run (ended up hurting my knee so I stopped very quickly) and then went to look at road bikes. I test rode a really nice one and there were some things I LOVED about it (light weight, much easier to ride). However, it was so weird to be so hunched over, I felt like I could barely reach the brakes. Plus my arms were killing me after a less than a mile test ride. 

For the bikers out there~ Did you made the switch from a mountain bike to a road bike? Did you get used to the hunched over position? 

I'm so scared to make this extremely large investment and then decide I hate being hunched over and I want my upright mountain bike back!

Finally, I made a delicious dinner tonight but this post is already wayyy too long so I will post it tomorrow night...something to look forward to. 

Don't forget to enter the Trader Joe's Giveaway! I'm trying to double my number of followers during this giveaway and I am 13 followers away from reaching that goal so if you are thinking about following, please do! 

Just keep swimming, Just keep swimming...

There will be a few challenges for me on triathlon day. The very first will be the swimming portion of the race. This will be a challenge for two reasons, #1- I do not normally swim in open water, particularly oceans, and #2- I never swim with TONS of other people. Because of these challenges, I’d like to make it so that swimming 1/3 of a mile itself is not a huge challenge. I just came across this fabulous website on Susan's blog: http://www.swimplan.com/. It will design FREE personalized swim plans for you. I don’t know about you but I am lost when I am swimming laps. I basically just get in, swim 2 laps, stretch a bit, swim another 30ish and then get out. No thought to it what-so-ever. Now, thanks to this website I can plan out workouts that will push my endurance (I told them I can swim 800 yards comfortably and they gave me a 1200 yard plan!) and help me get a little bit faster. This is the plan they developed for me. I will either do it later today or early this week depending on how the cold is feeling. I usually rest for the first day or two of a cold and then continue to work out, but I’m not sure if swimming is different. I’ve heard that when you have a cold your ears don’t drain as well and I could get an ear infection. That does not sound fun so I may do something else to work out today ☺

Warm Up:
2 x 100 yards, rest 20 seconds/100 yards (kick with streamlined arms every 4th lap
*easy (50-60%)

Build Up:
2 x 100 yards, rest 20 seconds/100 yards (kick with streamlined arms every 4th lap)
*aerobic (60-70%)

Core:
3 x 100 yards, rest 30 seconds/100 yards
12 x 25 yards, rest 10 seconds/25 yards (try to reduce number of strokes)
*aerobic (60-70%)

Warm Down:
1 x 100 yard- Push and Glide (pause at the end of each stroke with one arm stretched out in front)- rest, 20 seconds/100 yards
1 x 100 yard- rest, 20 seconds/100 yards
*easy (50-60%)

The Magic of Honey Lemon Tea and Good Friends

My rest from working out turned out to be more of a rest than I expected because I suddenly started to get a really sore throat yesterday afternoon. It got progressively worse throughout the night and I woke up in the middle of the night to incredible pain. I hate sore throats, it reminds me of when I had mono and I would literally cry every four hours when I had to eat something (so I could take more Advil). I blame this random May sickness on the horrible weather we have had the last few days- it's been more like March than May! Anyway, I decided to take the day off work today because I did not think that yelling talking to my kids all day was going to make it any better. I'm glad I did because I've already taken two naps today and I could easily go for a third but I decided I should probably at least eat some lunch. This makes it Day number 3 that I have not done any exercise except for the 2 minute quad strengthening exercises that my doctor told me to do for my knee. I think my knee likes the lack of exercise (and today the lack of moving at all) because it is almost 100 percent now. I'm sure if I go for a run right now it would come back, but I'm hoping to ease back into it with a bike ride tomorrow and maybe a swim on Sunday, depending on how my throat is feeling.

My throat is already feeling a bit better than it was this morning, thanks to some yummy throat soothing tea that I discovered about a year ago when I lost my voice.

I know I should be a little bit productive this afternoon and get some report cards done, but I'm trying to also rest as much as possible because I have a very exciting weekend ahead.

It all started seven years ago when I was 18 years old and began my first year of college at BC. I received the information that my room would be shared with another 18 year old girl from Seattle Washington. It's strange to think about sharing a teeny tiny dorm room with a complete stranger from the other side of the country, but that's what you do. Somehow though, Ash and I got lucky- we became fast friends and ended up living together all 4 years of college. The only semester that we lived apart was the semester I studied abroad in Australia, and since I had a single room there, she was my only roommate during my college years. After college, she moved to Chicago to go to med school which brings me to why this weekend is exciting- she is coming to visit!!! This weekend was supposed to be my engagement party but when I postponed it (the party, not the wedding ha ha) she decided to keep her plane tickets for a fun visit and to attend a wedding tomorrow night.
That would be me and Ash in Aruba, an amazing spring break trip from sophomore year of college. This trip sparked us to constantly plot our permanent move to the Carribean, especially during those freezing Boston and Chicago winters! I'll be sure to post about our adventures this weekend.

I think the sun might be shining for the first time in three days right now so I'm going to go open all the curtains and enjoy it for a bit before I pick up Ash from the airport. I hope everyone has a great Friday :)

Don't forget to enter my Trader Joe's Giveaway and tell others about it!

I Don't Get It...

So I have a physical therapy appointment for next Monday. Until then though, my knee continues to hurt and I'm not sure what to do.
According to my doctor's 3 minute assessment, I have Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome.

Of course I have been googling away. I love that all this information is available to me, especially since my doctor didn't really say what exercising I should or shouldn't be doing. However, the internet is a confusing place! Some sites say that biking is good, some say people with patellofemoral pain should be taking time off biking. Many sites say that people who have been running should switch to swimming. Two other sites say that swimming, biking and running (GO FIGURE) are the causes of patellofemoral pain syndrome!

What can I do? What should I do?

I realize I have to take a break from the triathlon training right now and that's fine, but I'd like to do something with myself! Gotta burn off all that ice cream somehow :)

On a total different note, Eric is trying to make a mix cd to play with his middle schoolers so we are sitting here listening to songs to see if they are appropriate. As a result we are taking a massive trip down memory lane with lots of really hilarious/awesome songs. Just in case you'd like to come on our memory lane trip, remember these songs?

Black Eyed Peas- My Humps
Kelis- My Milkshake
LL Cool J- Lougin (you may remember this as the song that goes, "Who do you love? Are you sure?)
Next- Too Close
Cam'ron- Hey Ma

Seriously, just download all of these songs and listen to them right in a row and you will automatically be a good mood. Haha, or it could just be me. Unfortunately, most of these songs were banned from Eric's mix cd for obvious reasons, but I had a fun dance party with myself in the process!

Don't Forget to Enter the TRADER JOE'S GIVEAWAY!!!

TRADER JOE'S GIVEAWAY!!!!

I first discovered Trader Joes several years ago when my mom started to buy their delicious cashews and popcorn. In college I used to stop there on the way home from visiting Eric to pick up a few essentials. This continued after college. Then, this year I moved within walking distance of a Trader Joes. Slowly, it has become my main grocery store and I have found so many amazing foods, for a GREAT price!
I know many of you live in places where you are not fortunate enough to have a Trader Joe's so I decided to do a TRADER JOE's GIVEAWAY! And let's be honest, even if you do live near a Trader Joe's, it's a good excuse to try new things and get free food! Here is a photo of what I will be giving away:
This Giveaway Package Includes:
Luna Bars- 4 different flavors of Luna Bar. These bars got me through college and I would still eat them daily except that my stomach does not seem to like them :( 3 of the flavors are Sunrise bars and one is the Iced Oatmeal Cookie, yum!
Harvest Grains Blend- first debuted on my blog in Kelly's Favorite Things- this is one of my favorite "side dishes".
Peppermint Tea bags- Enjoy a calming mug of peppermint tea to relax before bed, or use it as a natural pick me up during the day :)
Cliff Kids Z Bar- another delicious and wonderful bar to keep you going on the run!
Almond Butter (Raw and Creamy)- Trader Joe's brand of yummy almond butter. This is especially unique because it is raw. It is my favorite staple for breakfast, lunch and sometimes even an easy dinner!
No Pudge Brownies- yup, that's right- FAT FREE brownies. Personally I still think they are delicious! All you have to do is add fat free plain yogurt (I've used soy too) and you are all set!

How to Enter:
This time around I am going to do a giveaway using the comments section and then do a random number generator. Therefore, you will need to leave a comment for EACH time you want to enter. So for example if you follow my blog and post about this giveaway on your blog you need to comment to me about each one seperately so you will be entered twice! You can earn entries by:

1. Following my Blog. You can tell me if you already do, or click on "Follow this blog" at the top of my page. I am hoping to get to 60 followers by the end of this giveaway so please help me get there!

2. Blogging about this Giveaway.

3. Twittering about this Giveway. That's right, join the fun of Twitter- and while you are at it follow me on twitter: RedSoxGirl10



This giveaway will continue until next Tuesday June 2nd. Good luck everyone!

I woke up this morning determined to get myself a new, beautiful road bike. I found a great deal online. I did the math and I could make back the money in 3 weeks with one of my tutoring jobs. Once I realized this I mentally prepared to fork over the money and I was ready. So I spend the morning cleaning the house and trying to be productive until the store opened at 12. At 12 on the dot, I stroll in the store ask for the bike and that’s when I received the news. It was slightly less disappointing than finding out my favorite ice cream was discontinued, but horrible all the same. That bike was meant for people who are 4 foot 8! No one would call me tall, but I am about 9 inches taller than that! The guy said they wouldn’t even sell it to me and if I want a road bike I am going to have to pay $400 MORE than I was prepared to spend ☹ So, needless to say I had not mentally prepared for that yet and I left the store.

When I got home, I decided to go for a ride on my crappy alignment, slow mountain bike. I felt like I was going a little faster than normal, but that could’ve just been because there were so many slow little kids on the bike trail today. Obviously, since I am a teacher I generally like children. However, little kids on the bike path can be very difficult. They tend to ride in the middle of the path and randomly swerve back and forth so I don't know how to get around them. Then, their parents, who are inevitably riding behind them, feel like they have to do something about the fact that their child is taking up the entire path. However, they always yell out, "honey!!! get to the right!!! stay to the right!!!" I'm sure it makes them feel better that they have put in the effort however, you can't fool me! I teach kindergarten and most of these swervers are 6 or younger. I KNOW these kids have no idea what their parents mean by "right." They are either going to ignore them completely or just guess which way they mean by right. This means I have to wait until they make that guess because if I go left and they decide right means left, guess who is going to crash? me! I would try to avoid times when a lot of kids will be on the bikepath but unfortunately my job means that I have the same free time as kids. It's okay though- the people that annoy me the most on the bike path are not kids, but walkers. As far as I'm concerned, walkers already have side walks, they don't need bike paths. Secondly, you particularly do not need to have 3 or 4 people walking next to each other on a bike path meaning that me, on a bike has to go OFF the trail just to get around you. Grr, is all I can say.

On a more positive note, I had a fabulous weekend at the Cape. While Eric played a million holes of golf, I got wedding things accomplished and went on a bit of a shopping spree at TJ Max. I got mainly some more work out clothes, which I feel like is a good use of money since I am spending so much of my life in work out clothes these days. Although the weather was not the best, Eric and I did manage to take a walk down to the beach. Eric tested the water...
Not as cold as the last time he was in it (New Years!)
On the way home from the Cape we stopped at a place called "The Ice Cream Sandwich" (in the town of Sandwich). They had cookie dough non-fat frozen yogurt soft serve. Basically my dream come true. Clearly this will be my new favorite ice cream place at the Cape and it's right on the way home, which will make coming home a lot sweeter!
This weekend I also reunited with my old friend from Starbucks. You have to try a Iced Passion Tea. I get mine unsweetened because I think it's sweet on it's own. There is something about iced drinks that just screams summer to me!
We finished off the weekend with Japanese food. I ordered a miso soup, steamed shumai (shrimp dumplings, yum) and some rice with teriyaki sauce. If Eric and I go more than a few weeks without Japanese we start to suffer withdrawl!
I love long weekends. Any chance we could make this a weekly thing? Back to work tomorrow for the final push until June 23- last day of school. Even if I only have a 3 day break before my summer job starts, at least I'll have a change of pace :) I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!
Sorry I have not posted the giveaway yet. I am trying to do a Trader Joe's favorites giveaway but I am trying to figure out what to include. Any ideas? Right now I think I have too many ideas and I need to narrow it down or I'll be sending the winner 6 different packages!

New Giveaway!!!

So everyone knows I am in love with pink. I am also in love with Vera Bradley. So of course I love the new "all pink" bags, but have been trying to resist buying one because I have so many other expenses at the moment. I just found this giveaway so I am entering. You should too (although I don't want to create competition for myself).
The same girl is also doing a tote bag giveaway so basically you can win a ton if you just go to her fabulous blog!

Good Luck!
Also stay tuned because I am going to post a giveaway from my blog later today!!!

Run for Ice Cream

On Friday, my boss sent out an e-mail reminding us to tell our class about the significance of Memorial Day before our Memorial Day assembly. Okay, I thought...
1. the OFFICIAL start of summer
2. cookouts!
3. the start of the Cape season (even though the Cape season for Eric and I is clearly year round).
Maybe not what she had in mind?
My Memorial Day weekend began on Thursday night (even though I clearly had work on Friday) at the Red Sox Game!!! It was my first of the season. Usually at my first game I am wearing 18 layers and freezing, not at this game. You can tell by the pictures I am sweating in the 90 degree weather!!!

And slightly more disgusting in this one...Oh well, maybe not the best photos but an amazing time :)

This morning I was in total wedding planning mode. I met with a great photographer, so now I have multiple that I like. I love the younger fun women, but I also have a slightly ridiculous, but slightly justified paranoia that whoever I choose will get pregnant and not be able to attend my wedding because she will be having the baby (okay, mostly psycho since that would be really bad luck that anyone would happen to be having a baby THAT particular day/week!).

After that I went on my FIRST dress shopping trip, woo! Here are some pictures of me in dresses. I can post them because I am positive I am not going to purchase either one. The first one makes my hips look HUGE (and this is not a problem I usually have because I have a pretty large waist). The second is more flattering but I don't like the lace very much.

Caroline and Tiff also joined the fun so we tried some bridesmaid dresses as well. This one is a contender:
It would be in pink though, not that peachy color. However, I'm not nearly as big of a fan of it in pictures so...probably not. Good first trip though.

And finally, in case you have not had enough pictures for the night. We went to a delicious restaurant in Hyannis Center tonight called Colombo's. Here is my delicious salmon dinner:
It had this delicious soy sauce vinegarette on the side. It was amazing. The only thing that was not amazing was that I waited all winter for the ice cream place next door to this restaurant to open because they have unbelievable soy soft serve that both my taste buds and my stomach LOVES. I was so excited about this that throughout my over 4 mile run today I kept saying to myself, "Run for ice cream! Run for ice cream!" and yet...they don't have the soy anymore :( They said not enough people were lactose intolerant. In fact, this is not true, tons of people are lactose intolerant but stupid lactate has allowed people to eat regular ice cream. BOO! Why is there no lactate for IBS? (just kidding I really don't want people who are lactose intolerant to suffer!). Anyway, I just ended up eating regular soft serve, so I feel kind of icky now but it's not the end of the world since everyone who reads this blog knows I clearly eat regular ice cream all of the time! Usually I feel kind of blah after but no excessive bloating so I figure it's worth it for my favorite food. But let me tell you, I used to feel perfect after that soy soft serve and I am very bummed about it being discontinued.

Quick Training Update: Did a 4.23 mile run today. Everything felt amazing except for my darling knee which hurt and hurts even more now that I am not running. I am going to call for physical therapy this week. I wasn't going to go but I think the pain is getting worse so I might as well see what they can do. I still find it so unbelievable that in March I could barely run for more then 3 minutes at a time and now I can do over 4 miles! I love that Couch to 5k Plan :)

Alright, early to bed for me tonight. I am exhausted!

Yoga Challenge Week 1

It's been a crazy past two days. Yesterday I went straight from work to tutoring to the Red Sox Game, yay! Then today I went straight from work to the Cape for the weekend. Needless to say I have not had a lot of time to blog, but I wanted to do a quick Yoga post since I said I was going to do a challenge update on Fridays. I started on Monday, here is how I did this week:

Monday- Yoga Sculpt (Exercise TV)- 33 minutes
Tuesday- Yoga for Runners- 10 minutes
Wednesday- Yoga for Triathletes- 10 minutes
Thursday- okay I admit it, I slacked- I had no time on Thursday and I really wanted to do the Shred before work. I did attempt to get my kindergartners to do yoga for a few minutes and did it with them- so I did try.
Friday- Yoga Sculpt (Exercise TV)- 33 minutes

Not too bad so far. I really love the Yoga Sculpt video from Exercise TV. It reminds me so much of the hot yoga classes I take (and the weather the past two days has helped this feeling!).

How has everyone been doing?

I will post some pictures from the last couple of days this weekend when I have some time. I am waking up early tomorrow morning to get some wedding planning stuff done. I am going to try on some bridal gowns for the first time tomorrow. I should be more excited but for some reason this is one of the things that I am not that excited about. I really like pretty colored dresses, so I am more into the bridesmaid dresses. I am going to have Caroline (my sister) try some on tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes!

My Thoughts on Idol (Spoiler Alert)

I know there are a lot of bad thing to say about American Idol. It's a corny show, some of the people on it are really not that talented, the judges can be annoying, they are the only show in the world that can take what should be a 5 minute show into a 2 1/2 hour show. However, I admit it,
I LOVE IT!
I started watching Idol during the second season when I was a freshman in college. We got out of it for a couple of years but got back into it senior year. Since then I have watched every single episode (even the auditions which I hate). I do, of course, tape the results show and fast forward through most of it but seriously, are they kidding me sometimes?
This entire season I have been a huge fan of both Kris and Danny. Adam has annoyed me the whole time for several reasons, including he is just totally not my style, he makes everything ridiculously dramatic, and the judges NEVER find any fault with him. On Tuesday night they were basically assuming that Kris was going to lose with their comments- "you really have accomplished a lot to get this far..." etc etc
That just fueled my fire even more. Anyway, I was so excited when Kris won last night AND I even decided that I did not hate Adam anymore. For me, you can tell a lot about a person by how they lose. I spend a lot of time teaching my kindergarten kids to be good sports (which usually involves them not bursting into tears and/or screaming in anger when they lose). Adam was a REALLY good sport last night. He actually seemed genuinely happy for Kris. And he should be really, because I'm sure he is going to get a record deal and be hugely successful regardless of whether he is considered the winner. Even Kris himself seemed to think that Adam should've won, but in all reality, regardless of talent, Kris was just significantly more likable. In all honestly I know basically nothing about music. Sure I can tell who can sing vs. who cannot at all (like myself) but when you have two people who can both sing and perform well, I don't know who is technically more talented. My guess is that most of America does not either. Therefore, we vote for who we like the most, and that is Kris :) I almost cried when he hugged his wife at the end. Now I can start my day in a great mood, which I'm sure my kindergarten kids will ruin within the first five minutes of the day. But luckily it will be brought back tonight at the Red Sox game!!! I hope everyone has a good one. Plus, in the Kindergarten ABC Countdown, today is D for "Dance Party" wooo hoo! Have I convinced anyone to become a teacher yet?

Just For Fun!

Just for fun I'm going to change up the blog completely tonight. As much as I think it's important to focus on my training, fitness and healthy food ideas- there is only so many times I can tell you that I am the slowest swimmer and biker ever, I eat almost the same food every day and my knee hurts (which by the way the doctor said is Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome and basically I just need to strengthen my quad muscles, so I'll work on that). Today while my kiddos were at library I decided to be completely unproductive and read blogs. I was reading Amber's blog and I was laughing out loud about it. You may not find this quite as funny if you have recently been in a relationship that involved cheating, so if that's the case you may not want to continue reading. However, I fortunately have not so I was laughing at some of the crazy situations, how they remind me of past (long past) situations of mine and some of my friends. Basically, Glamour magazine did an article about what constitutes "cheating" in a relationship, and Glamour readers voted. Amber summed up each situation and then offered her take on them. I decided to completely steal her idea (hopefully you don't mind Amber) and give my take. For fun, I also asked Eric (my fiance) for his take. Feel free to leave your opinions in my comments.

1. Is it cheating if the relationship isn't "official"
Girl is seeing guy for two years, guy doesn't want the "boyfriend" label so even though they are going on dates, sleeping with each other and meeting each other's parents they're never really boyfriend and girlfriend.

Glamour readers say YES.

Kelly’s Take: Cheating? No. Jerk? Yes. Your first cue was the fact that he was not willing to be on a label for TWO years…not two months, TWO years.

Eric’s Take: The girl should’ve bailed well before this ever happened.

2. Is it cheating to go on a "pseudodate"?
Girl meets handsome man on plane and gives him her number even though she's in a long-term relationship. Girl and handsome man go to a party together and she imagines her life with handsome man.

Glamour readers say NO.

Kelly’s Take: Yes. It would be one thing if she just gave him her number after some harmless flirting on the plane, but then she should never answer the phone again and definitely not go to a party together. I personally wouldn’t do this at all. This is sort of what Katie and I refer to as "emotional" cheating haha as opposed to physical cheating.

Eric’s Take: Yes it’s cheating- imagination is imagination, not actually giving someone your number.

3. Is it cheating if you just sleep in the same bed?
Girl and boy sleep in same bed but do not cuddle or even touch.

Glamour readers say NO *if* there is no cuddling involved, but YES if there is cuddling involved.

Kelly’s Take: Hopefully those who know me in real life are laughing out loud right now! This question was once posed to me when I was an innocent freshman in college. At the time I said it was uncomfortable (as in, I would be seriously unhappy with my boyfriend doing this), but not necessarily cheating. Older and wiser Kelly says, “it depends.” 95% of the time this is cheating, unacceptable and just plain dumb (mainly because it normally takes place in college in twin beds, why would you voluntarily share a twin bed?). The 5% I leave up for interpretation is for random situations where several people are sharing one bed, or a girl and a guy share bed out of necessity, but do not go near each other or cuddle at all.

Eric’s Take: If there is even remote attraction at all, it’s cheating.

4. Is a girl kissing another straight girl cheating?
Girls go out, get drunk and make out so guy's will buy them drinks.

Glamour readers say NO *but* if they've done it more than once then YES.

Kelly’s Take: Again, my friends are dying laughing again. I personally think this is not cheating at all, unless of course the girls are actually attracted to each other and are not just doing it to be funny…then it’s the same as if the girl is kissing a guy. I'd actually be more concerned about the girls trying to get free drinks from random guys haha.

Eric’s Take: Yes it’s cheating (haha, we disagree on this).

5. Is it cheating to exchange steamy Facebook messages?
Girl meets married guy, married guy sends her Facebook messages confessing his love to her, girl breaks it off because she feels guilty.

Glamour readers say YES.

Kelly’s Take: Um YES! I would be really unhappy with my husband confessing his love to someone else!

Eric’s Take: Absolutely cheating. Married guy is a dog.

6. Is it cheating to have a 'work spouse'?
Girl and boy joke around at work, go to lunch, workout together, even joke about having sex and say how they're attracted to each other. They "bond" on a daily basis, she says.

Glamour readers say NO.

Kelly’s Take: Um…work spouse is fine, but the line is drawn at joking about having sex and saying how they are attracted to each other!

Eric’s Take: Eric agrees with me. He thinks the line is drawn at sex and attraction.

7. Is getting a private dance at a strip club cheating?
Boy goes to bachelor party and tells girl that he won't get a lap dance, but then he ends up getting one, girl is mad.

Glamour readers say NO.

Kelly’s Take: I think this is fine, as long as he does not run off with stripper later of course ☺

Eric’s Take: No, a lap dance is right out in the open.

8. Is it cheating if your boyfriend fools around with his gay best friend?

Glamour readers say YES.

Kelly’s Take: HAHAHAH WHAT? This girl should run away three times as fast as I wanted the first girl to run away!

Eric’s Take: Dudes don’t let other dudes go down on them unless they are gay.

This entry has officially reminded me of the book "He's Just Not That Into You" which I absolutely love. Also it must be good luck that I decided to change it up because the Red Sox are having a ridiculous game right now and Ortiz finally got a home run! Yay! And I'll be at the game tomorrow night.

What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?

I have a tradition in my kindergarten classroom every year. 26 days from the last day of school, we count down using the alphabet. Each day is a new letter. Tomorrow is Letter C day and we celebrate- Career Day. All the kids have to dress up like what they want to be when they grow up. In the past I never dressed up, after all- I am already grown up (though I don't like to admit it). However, this year I'm motivated to pick something else to be- just for fun (or to fall back on when I really can't stand teaching anymore). At first I thought I'd be a retired person, maybe dress up like I was going to play golf :) Even though I really don't like golf, but no one has to know that. Then I started to think about what the ideal job would be. It's hard though because every job has it's ups and downs. For example I'd love to be a travel writer, get paid to travel around and tell people about it. But then again I'm kind of a homebody, would I really want to spend my whole life traveling? When I was younger I wanted to be a writer in general. I still think this would be an amazing job. But then again I like stability and a dependable paycheck, so maybe I should just stick to teaching. If only kids could be slightly less annoying...
I don't know what I will dress like tomorrow, perhaps just myself. If I come up with anything good I'll let you know.

I'm off to a good start with my Yoga Challenge. I did a 10 minute Yoga for Runners this morning after my 2 mile run on the treadmill. I will post my results from the challenge on Fridays and if you are doing it to, comment back and tell us how you are doing!

I was actually pretty happy with myself for getting through the 2 mile run. For some reason lately I've been having more trouble with my short runs. I think because I tell myself, "Kelly it's just two miles, no big deal" and then as I'm doing it, it's still hard! Where as, with the longer runs I get myself pumped up and tell myself this is going to be long. Weird I know but oh well, today I tried to get myself pumped for the two miles. I told myself it was going to be hard because it was going to be on the horribly boring treadmill (which is not much of a stretch) so I did it. My knee wasn't too bad after, and I'm going to the doctor tomorrow so I'll know more about the knee then. I had some extra time tonight so I tried to convince myself to go for a bike ride, but it didn't happen. I need a biking buddy, it's just too boring on my own. Hopefully I'll get some motivation to either bike or swim tomorrow. For some reason I just don't feel like I get as good of a work out when I do these two sports, even though they are both incredibly hard.

I am all over the place tonight (so much for being a writer) but I was craving pizza again after my creation last week. I used basically the same ingredients (tomato sauce, summer squash, zucchini, mushrooms and black beans), but this time I decided to use Panera Sour Dough bread instead of pizza crust, yum.
Delicious. Probably going to be lunch or dinner for the next few days :)

Kelly's Yoga Challenge!

So I've mentioned for my overwhelming desire (but failure) to be a yogi. I just think people who do yoga are so strong and flexible, plus if they are really good at they have that skill I will probably never have to block out their thoughts and just focus on their breath. But, I am probably the least flexible person ever, can't block out my thoughts at all, and strength- well, it's improved due to the SHRED, but I still wouldn't say I am strong by any means (physically anyway). I'm starting to get into the thick of my training for the triathlon, which seems like a bad time to get really into yoga. However, I actually think it may be the most important time because I am putting a lot of stress on my body, the least I can do is stretch it out and build some of the important muscles I need for my training. So I've decided to challenge myself- from now until June 23rd (my last day of school with the kindergarten kids- my summer job starts a few days later) I will do at least 10 minutes of yoga EVERYDAY. No matter whether it is a "rest" day, a long run etc etc- I will do 10 minutes of yoga. I will get my yoga from the following sources:
10 Minute Videos:
Yoga for Runners
Yoga for Healthy Shins and Knees
Yoga for Triathletes
(possibly some others from Polly...my new hero)
30 Minute Video:
Yoga Sculpt (Exercise TV)- found On Demand
1 Hour Classes:
Vinyasa Flow at my gym
Hot Yoga at Prana (only for a treat since it costs extra- but its the best place ever, if you live in the Boston area, seriously- try it!)

Just to set the record straight, I am not going to list quick yoga sessions in my daily workout plans listed on the side of this blog. If it says "yoga" on a day, that means I am at least doing a 30 minute video, if not a full hour + class. I did the 30 minute Yoga Sculpt this morning from On Demand. It was awesome! I really liked it and I will definitely be doing it again. It's a lot easier for me to motivate myself to do 30 minutes in my own living room and 1 hour anywhere else :)

I'll keep you posted on how I do. If anyone wants to join me in this challenge let me know and we can keep each other on track! I might need some help not "forgetting" to do a quick 10 minute session.

Virtual Reality Biking Riding

Yesterday was a beautiful and relaxing day. I watched my darling kiddos play soccer in the morning- they were pretty good for six year olds! Well except for a few who enjoyed staring into space and paying no attention at all, but let me tell you- they are the exact same way when I am teaching :) At least I know it's not just me.
After I decided to try out this PB2 stuff I have heard so much about. It's powered peanut butter which I realize sounds disgusting. I probably would never have given it a second though except peanut butter is one of my favorite things in the world, but unfortunately my stomach does not agree, I think because it is high in fat. The powered peanut butter is VERY low in fat so I thought I'd give it a try.
It says you can just mix it with some water and you have peanut butter, but I decided to go for Jenna's recipe of mixing it with Greek yogurt instead. I love her blog and so many of the amazing treats she makes- but this did NOT work for me at all. I think I probably did it wrong (she might even use the chocolate version and I know she adds more things in) but plain- this did NOT work! I decided it was not the PB2's fault and that it was the yogurt's fault for needing something sweeter. Instead I had an English muffin with some of the PB2 (mixed with water). It was much better than the yogurt version, but it still tasted a little weird to me. Am I doing something wrong? Anyone have any recommendations for recipes to use with this PB2...since I still have the whole jar left?
Luckily dinner was a lot more successful than lunch. I went to a new Italian restaurant in Belmont called Il Casale. My parents went a few weeks ago and have been raving about it since. They decided to take Eric and I so we could try it for ourselves. Eric decided to order this really crazy beer that looked to me like a wine bottle!
As for the food, it was delicious. The bread (often my favorite part of Italian restaurants) was nothing to write home about, but the rest of the food more than made up for it. This is my pasta, does that look like Italy or what?
The dessert was wonderful as well. I got a scoop of chocolate chip gelato (did you really think I was going to go for something non-ice cream related?)
Today Caroline (my sister) and I got up bright and early to hit the gym. Since it was raining out this morning I decided to try out this crazy exercise bike at the gym. It was one of those bikes that needs you to steer it, and it has a big TV that shows you the scenery of your bike ride. I choose a beginner coastal route and started out down the "road." I immediately wanted to see what would happen if I forgot to steer and went off a cliff. Since I come from the video game generation, I immediately expected to go flying, have my bike fall out from under me, and crash into the ground. If anyone has ever been to Lanes and Games in Cambridge, my image was similar to the little devil guy that comes out to laugh at you when you miss ALL of the pins. Needless to say, it was quite uneventful! The bike just simply moved itself back on track and really didn't need me to steer at all! BOR----ING! I'm not sure I liked the machine anyway, it felt like it locked everytime my leg extended, particularly on the downhill. It did successfully show me HOW slow I really am- it took me 21 minutes to bike 3.5 miles. PEOPLE CAN RUN THAT FAST- I can almost run that fast! Well...maybe I can't but still shouldn't I be biking at least twice as fast as I can run?
Speaking of biking, I am headed over to the bike shop that I bought my bike from (when I was in 7th grade, haha!) to make sure everything fits properly. I am probably going to go to the doctor later in the week to get my knee checked out and I want to rule out the possibility that bike does not fit. Hopefully they don't say, this bike is way too small, what are you thinking? Because I will say- I am thinking I really don't like biking so I'd rather not drop $1000+ on a new bike :)
I hope everyone is having a nice weekend!!

Chinese Food and Ice Cream = Perfect Friday

I could not be any more happy that it is FRIDAY! This week seemed so long. I celebrated this lovely Friday with a quick drink with my co-workers after work and then a nice visit to our favorite Chinese Food restaurant with Eric. If you live in the Boston area, venture out to Newton, MA (almost Watertown) to go to a place that LOOKS like a hole in the wall, but I promise it has the best Chinese food ever: Chung Shin Yuan. Of course it is cheap too so you basically cannot go wrong. Apparently they do a ridiculous lunch buffet on the weekend but Eric and I have never been because there is always a line out the door. Eric has stated that if he could only eat one food for the rest of his life he would eat the egg rolls from this place.
I like them too but my stomach does not enjoy the beef or the deep fry so I just eat a tiny bit of the end of one when we go. I order the Chicken Lo Mein and it's SO good- not greasy at all just amazing. When I tell people how often Eric and I frequent this place, I have been questioned how we are not the fattest people alive. I swear the food here is not nearly as greasy and yucky as many other Chinese places and no MSG what-so-ever. Here is my meal:
Don't worry, I didn't eat all of that. We have some yummy leftovers that Eric will probably eat for breakfast tomorrow morning :) And to finish it off-
Just kidding :) My fortune was not nearly as fitting as this. However I saw it in someone's blog recently and it reminded me a lot of my life lately, always thinking about what I am going to blog about. Unfortunately I forget which blog I saw it in and when I googled it I found it somewhere else so I can't give the original person credit- but if it was you, thanks! My real dessert was, of course, ice cream!
It was a delicious coffee mug filled with Edy's Slow Churned Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. I try to make myself feel better by eating the 1/2 the fat version. Probably would be better if I just didn't eat ice cream so often! But not as fun.
Now that I am done with my masters I am trying to catch up on all the pleasure reading I have not had a chance to do. Of course I should probably be wedding planning, but I'm still temporarily checked out from that so pleasure reading it is. I got 3 books out of the library today. I am going to start The Help first because it is a 2 week loan only. If I don't get into it pretty quickly I'll switch to one of the other books. Hopefully they will be nice, relatively-mindless pleasure reads!
I'm off to bed early tonight. I get to run in the morning (and by "get to" run I mean at least I don't have to bike or swim!) and then I'm going to watch my darling kindergarten kids play soccer. Even though they have driven me nuts all week I am still going to support them, what a nice teacher. Luckily they won't annoy me tomorrow because I will not be in charge of them. Plus, I'll get to see if they really score the 10 goals per game they all claim to!

Save Some Room For Dessert

Today was a successful swimming day. Well, successful in that I swam 30 laps in a row, all freestyle. I still got a massively dirty look from the guy who's lane I joined. I don't know what it is about these swimmers, but newsflash- the pool is not yours!!! If I ever have the luxury of having a lane to myself and someone wants to join I am going to shoot them an amazingly happy smile like I couldn't be any happier they have graced me with their presence. Maybe that will make up for all the rudeness. Anyway, my knees hurt a lot after. I really don't get what the deal with my knees are. They feel better tonight though and tomorrow is my off day so I hopefully the rest will be good. Of course as soon as I do a lot again they will get worse again. The oddest part is that swimming and biking are supposed to be easier ont eh legs. I see all the people who take a break from running in order to help their knees, shin splints etc- they bike and swim! Why is that making my pain worse? I seem to do best with running!

On a happier note, I love dessert. I am including some recommendations for yummy, low-calorie, dairy-free desserts (I still recommend them even if you can have as much dairy as you want). The first I discovered about a year ago. They are raspberry and vanilla popsicles and only 80 calories :)
At one horrible point I thought these were discontinued (they disappeared from Stop and Shop & Whole Foods!), but it turns out they are on. On my quest for another possible dessert, I found these amazing pudding cups. I tried the only chocolate and the only vanilla versions as well and they were fine but I find the chocolate and vanilla mix to be the best.
I am basically completely addicted to these. I could easily eat ice cream every single night but these stop me from doing so because they taste just as great (but are better for me because I will only eat one of these as opposed to ice cream which I may just continue to eat forever haha). One warning about these two fabulous desserts is they are not cheap. However, they are delicious and you don't really need them every day (well I do haha but normal people may not) so it won't add up too quickly. Besides, you should never skimp on dessert!

I need a new book...

I am absolutely exhausted today and I don't know if it's because I am fighting whatever illness has kept half of my work out this week or if the kindergartners are just pushing me over the edge...probably both. I am so ready for this year to be over! I can't handle the immaturity anymore. I was literally about two seconds away from searching for a new job (yeah right, like I could find anything in this economy) when I did have something sweet happen that made me (SORT OF) remember the "perks" of my job. We have this "Secret Reader" in my classroom where someone comes in to read to my class, but I don't tell them who. Today the Secret Reader was the mom of one of my students. Her daughter just learned to speak English this year, but she does not know it well (and by that I mean she is still WAY better than I ever was at Spanish after 8 years of class so I'm still impressed...). She came in today and brought a book with her. Apparently it was a traditional Korean tale about a wood cutter and it has a moral about the importance of telling the truth (which a few of my kids could use to learn!). This was really exciting for my class because two other students are also from Korea and knew the story already. Anyway, the mom read the story and then she asked the kids a couple of questions about it. She also gave the kids little pencils she bought in Korea when she went to visit a few weeks ago. The kids were so exciting and her daughter was smiling ear to ear. When she left she told me she had been nervous for two weeks about this because she knows she is not great at speaking English. She kept telling me how her daughter really wanted her to come and she was really scared and didn't want to. I think she had rehearsed reading the story and asking the questions! This got me thinking about all that mom's do for their kids. How they are willing to do things every day they are scared of, just to make their kids happy. Of course, I was so uplifted about this for awhile until I realized that none of my bratty children will come close to appreciating all of these things but hey! That's not fair though because this woman in particular has a wonderful, appreciative daughter who I am sure will be excited about what her mom did for her for a long time to come :)
In other news, since I can't eat cheese (although at this point I eat ice cream and greek yogurt, so I should probably just start eating cheese too and see what happens), I haven't eaten pizza in almost two years. Today I finally decided to make my own pizza, inspired by Meghan. I took a pizza crust, put on tomato sauce, black beans, summer squash, mushrooms and zucchini.
It was actually delicious. Of course it's been so long since I ate real pizza, I may not have a lot to compare it to. I liked it though. I was thinking of putting mango on my next one to make it like Kelly's version of a Hawaiian pizza, but who knows if that would be gross. I was too scared to risk it this time around, but maybe next time.
I also went for a 30 minute bike ride today. I was proud of myself for getting off my butt when I am this exhausted, however I also realized I am the slowest biker alive. I really have to work on that. Training for a triathlon is weird because you only do each sport twice a week. It doesn't feel like enough to really improve in any of the sports. But it also seems impossible to do more than that. It's very strange.
Lastly, I finished my book last night- The Red Tent. It was really good, nothing like what I usually read (as mindless as possible), but it was much better than I expected. I need a new book, anyone have any recommendations?

Conquered the Hill!

This morning I went for a run outside. It was a bit chilly but it still beats the treadmill. However, I think I need to turn around my attitude towards the treadmill because I think my knees and shins definitely prefer it. My run in itself was pretty uneventful. For some reason I seem to be a lot better on weekends and really struggled through a 2.5 mile run today. However, the major accomplishment for this run was that I made it up my HILL!!! If you haven't been reading my blog for now, I basically live on one giant hill. It is a real problem with working out because I cannot run or bike up it. For the past few months I've been thinking that I have to do flat running courses only because I stink at hills. When I found out my 5k had some small hills I was SO scared. Turns out, normal hills I can handle- my hill is not horrible. It's crazy. The same is true with biking. I can bike up the hill my parents live on and other normal hills, but my hill I can't do (partly because it begins at a really busy intersection so there is almost no way to get any momentum going). Today since my run wasn't going amazingly and I had to stop to walk after about 2 miles I decided my goal would be to make it up my hill running the whole time. I DID IT! Although I think I have probably strengthened my leg muscles in the past few months, I think a lot of it (like running always is) was very mental. Even though I was breathing REALLY heavy, I was determined. Luckily at the end of it I get to stop, I have no idea how people do Heartbreak Hill!
Last night for night I made a nice mix of haddock, Trader Joe's Harvest Grain Mix, carrots, zucchini, and Teriyaki sauce. It tastes delicious. It doesn't look so fancy because I just stick it in a bowl and mix it all together but this meal wasn't about presentation (most of mine are not actually haha).
Speaking of yummy food, I tried something new today for the first time. I have been into Almond Butter for the past couple of years but today I tried Trader Joe's Raw Almond Butter for the first time.
I really enjoyed it actually. It tasted pretty different from regular almond butter, but I think for some odd reason my stomach may have liked it better, which in itself is a reason to never have regular almond butter again (if it continues to be true). For those of you who have never tasted any kind of almond butter, you really should! I got into it like I got into it like almost everything else in the past few years, looking for something easier on my stomach than peanut butter (of course peanut butter is a major obsession of mine- like if I could eat nothing else for my entire life I would eat bread with peanut butter, that big of an obsession). I've found that I really love it and it's a welcome change from peanut butter sometimes. If you just want to try it, you can buy fresh almond butter in small quantities at Whole Foods. It's a bit pricey so just buy a small amount to try it. Yum.
I am trying to motivate myself to go to a yoga class at the gym tonight. I want to give yoga at the gym at least one more chance before I swear it off forever. However, American Idol is on tonight so it's definitely possible that I will end up lounging around instead. Plus I think I might be getting a cold. I think I need a break from kids so I don't have to work so hard at fighting all the germs!

Good Intentions

I'm not sure if it's the Irish in me, but I love potatoes. I love potato in every possible form, mashed, baked, french fries, potato chips etc. However, my all time favorite is definitely mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes are the first thing I learned to cook and they are always what I am in charge of when we make dinner at my parents house. When I started having problems with my stomach, I had a slight dilemma with my mashed potatoes. Potatoes are 100 percent fine for my stomach, but the HUGE amount of butter I liked to add to help mash it all up, was not as good. That's when I began making Kelly's Famous Healthy Mashed Potatoes. Okay fine, they are ridiculously easy to make and I am talking them up, but I am quite proud of myself for finding a creative solution to this problem. I now pour warm chicken broth (just heat it up in the microwave) onto my potatoes before I mash them. This serves the same purpose as the milk and butter and allows the potatoes to whip up nicely. It adds some nice flavor too. I admit it's not QUITE the same as all that yummy butter, but especially if you are eating a meat with some flavor (such as chicken teriyaki) it's definitely okay! I've even got my family eating it this way and my mom claims it's better (I don't know about that, but definitely healthier!). Here is a picture of my wonderful creation.
Some day when you are feeling healthy, try it out. And then, like me you can ruin all your good intentions with some yummy Purple Cow frozen yogurt (black raspberry with chocolate and white chocolate chips) YUMMM! I was going to say I don't normally eat this much ice cream (since I just posted a picture two days ago) but that would probably be a lie :)
I hope everyone had a great weekend. Thanks for the info about the random number generator for my next giveaway, I will definitely do that next time :)

Yummy Yogurt, Amazing Rolls and Giveaway Winner!

Happy Mother's Day everyone! I am not a mother (though I get called "Mom" and feel like a mom at work all the time!) but I have a fantastic one so I enjoy this day. Especially when it is so gorgeous out. In spirit of this beautiful Mother's Day, these are my favorite flowers in my garden this year, especially because the guy who lived here before us planted them so I just get to enjoy them. I love tulips.
This morning I woke up bright and early to go the gym to do my swimming. Every Sunday my training schedule tell me to swim and bike, but I have yet to actually bike on a Sunday so far, oops. I woke up this morning completely determined to both swim and bike. Swimming went okay, my arms felt a lot better than the other day. The pool was completely packed though, and one lady got SO pissed at me for joining her lane I thought she would drown me on the spot. Clearly, she owns the pool.
I then decided to bike to my parents. My sister and I were going to make my mom pancakes, but she had already eaten so we just hung out for awhile. When my Dad came home he was confused to see me over because he didn't see my car in the driveway and then he said, "Oh yeah, I forgot new Kelly doesn't bring a car" haha...I'm developing a reputation! Eric and I are going over there tonight though so I'm pretty sure I'll take a car later. My bike ride went really well today. The bike path was really clear so I guess all the moms didn't want to exercise this morning :) Plus I moved my bike seat up a bit and it made me slightly faster and I think it will hurt my knee less. In my defense though, I can see why I had it lower before because now I definitely feel like I have a bike seat up my bum. But hopefully that sensation will disapear soon.
I came home today and decided I was absolutely sick of my previous go-to for lunch. I've been eating a rice/quinoa mix with black beans and mango every day for lunch. It's amazing but I'm ready for a little bit of change. I decided to jump on the bandwagon with all the bloggers who are obsessed with Greek yogurt. Usually I try to stay away from dairy because it bothers my stomach (except for when I eat ice cream) but I thought I'd give this a try. I mixed it with a few strawberries and some sliced almonds. It was nice and pink so obviously I was loving it. Plus it tasted yummy.
Also, the other day Eric ordered pizza from Bertuccis and got some rolls. If you don't have Bertuccis near you let me just say these are pretty much the best rolls ever. They are made out of pizza dough and they are basically like heaven in bread form. They have been calling my name for the past two days so today I decided to make a turkey sandwich on one of them. It's probably not exciting enough for warrant a picture but just so you can say you have seen the best rolls in the universe, here is it:

Finally this morning I had time to pick the giveaway winner! I know it only takes 1 second to actually PICK the winner, the process was a bit more complicated. I had to write everyone's name on a piece of paper, then I had to figure out how many times each person entered so I could write their name the correct number of times to put in the bag. For those of you who also do giveaways is that how you do it or is their an easier way that I did not think of? So after I did it and double checked everything was right I put them all in the a bag and then had Eric pick out a winner!
So the winner is............DRUMROLLLL......Kristen! Yay!
Kristen, please e-mail me your address so that I can send you your new torture device- oops I mean Jillian dvd :) Thanks to everyone who participated. If you didn't win, don't worry- I am already plotting my next giveaway and I think it's going to have to do with food. But seriously if you know a better way to pick a winner rather than writing everyone's names several times, please do share!
I hope everyone has a great Mother's Day!!!

How do you know when to rest?

So last night we had some friends over. Eric was in charge of dinner but I did make some chocolate dipped strawberries and bananas, yum.


Looking at the pictures again I kind of wish some were left this morning. But nope, we ate them all last night :)
Anyways, I ended up not getting a lot of sleep and I have that miserable teacher test this afternoon so I hope I don't fall asleep during it. This morning I woke up and I debated for awhile about whether I was going to go for a run or not. On one hand, I had only 4 hours of sleep and it seems smart to conserve my energy for the test. On the other hand, I am training so I really need to keep on top of things. Back on the first hand, my legs are absolutely killing me. But on the second hand, I took a day off yesterday so I probably do not deserve another one. I finally decided to run around the reservoir because at least it is dirt instead of hard pavement. As I was running around I started to realize how I maybe should've waited until a little later in the morning. There was literally not a single other person there, which kind of freaks me out since I clearly watch way too many kidnapping shows. Then I thought, maybe I'll see Tiff (my best friend from high school who happens to live on the other side of the res) because she often walks her dog around there in the mornings. Two minutes later, who do I see? TIFF! Yay! This made my run significantly better (and not just because I got to stop to talk to her haha). In the end I think I ran about 2 miles, which is not great but considering it's better than nothing. According to the pedometer that Eric brought me from his work it was only 1.5 miles but I don't get how that is possible since the res has marks all over that say it is .9 miles around and I ran around it twice.
My problem right now is I really don't understand why my legs hurt so much. Even during this training I have rarely worked out for more than 30 minutes, which I would say is bordering on EASIER than what I was doing before. So what is the DEAL? I am all for a little, "it's sore but it feels good" but most of this does not feel good. Also, I am probably reading too much and everything is like, "don't do too much too soon!", "rest if it gets too hard!" etc. That makes sense and all, but at some point you have to push yourself or it's not a triathlon! Hopefully once I get some sleep I'll be able to do some serious training tomorrow and feel better about it. My legs will get some rest this afternoon while I tell the crazy MTEL company all that I know about being a Reading Specialist.
By the way, I am going to draw the winner of the giveaway when Eric is awake because I want him to take pictures of the process haha so we will either do it when I get back from my test tonight or tomorrow at some point. If you still want to enter, I'll continue to take entries until I actually draw the winner so go for it!

Yoga: A Love/Hate Relationship

So it's 8:20 in the morning, my kindergarten kids will be arrive in 20 minutes and I decided instead of getting ready for the day I am going to blog. Hopefully I will not make this a habit. I just really had to tell everyone about my newfound yoga love.
The thing about yoga is, I have a love/hate relationship with it. I love it because it's one of the only times my body gets properly stretched. It makes me feel good, and strong (if it's a good class). Also, I have a secret (well not so secret) desire to be one of those people who loves yoga and is really good at it. Except for one problem, I usually don't love it and I am absolutely horrible at it. I hate it because I am horrible at it and if it's not a good class I leave feeling like I wasted an hour of my life (and no, I do not ever attempt hour and a half classes!). Now when I say I am horrible at it, I don't mean because I am not flexible...though that is true. I don't mean it's because I don't have great balance, my balance is okay. What I am mostly horrible at is the whole "clear your mind" aspect. The only way I can clear my mind is to be productive or doing something fun. The best way to get myself thinking about everything I SHOULD be doing is to get me in a room, sitting on a yoga mat, and telling me NOT to think. So this presents a problem for yoga. The only yoga I have ever found that I really really really loved was at a place called Prana. It is hot yoga and it's really hard!!! However, it actually did help me clear my mind a bit because I was focused so much on trying to do the poses and get stronger. I was always sore after it and I felt like I really didn't have to do anything else (work out wise) that day because I went to yoga. The only problem with that place is that it is also $15 every time you go. This might be okay if you go very occasionally, but if you want to take up a serious yoga practice, this could start to get in the way of your mortgage payment. So I always go back to doing yoga at the gym, hating it and then giving up.
Yesterday I happened to come across this link on a couple of different blogs I was looking at: Yoga for Runners. I tried it out this morning and I loved it. It's only 10 minutes, but it definitely did stretch the areas that felt really tight. Plus I love most anything that is only 10 minutes. The same lady also does Yoga for Healthy Shins and Knees which I am also going to try out because those seem to be major problem areas for me. Kind of similar to yoga, I cannot decide if I love or hate the lady who does the yoga on these videos. She is very peppy and happy. I am going to choose to love her though, because someone has to get me to do some serious stretching after all of this training! Let me know what you think if you try them out.

PS. Thanks for all the encouragement after I posted last night. I decided even if I do come in last, at least I still finish right? Don't worry though, I have no plans to give up just because I stink at biking and swimming. That's all part of the challenge.