Sunday, February 28, 2010

Retail Therapy

Sunday night already? How does the weekend ALWAYS go so fast? I know this would never work in the field of education, but I could definitely go for one of those jobs where you work 10-12 hours a day four days a week, and then get three day weekends. I am definitely a buckle down and get it over with person. That's why I front loaded my parent conferences this week and even though this week is going to be terrible, next week will be a lot better :)

Yesterday I tried to recreate the failed quinoa cakes of Thursday. Well, recreate is probably the wrong word. I tried to completely change them and make them quinoa chocolate chip cookies. The idea was good in theory but...

Yeah...a cookie should not do that. I probably should've reduced the egg whites when I didn't have all the veggies in there, but I didn't. Oh well, lesson learned. Truthfully, I thought they did taste better than the original quinoa cakes, but that was probably the addition of Ghirardelli chocolate chips.

Today had the potential to be a bummer of a day. I was tired and it was dreary outside (for about the 100th day in a row) I started to get into wedding stress out mode early this morning and was agonizing about ceremony music (any suggestions?). Eric immediately suggested we go for a walk, which seemed like a weird suggestion since it wasn't a nice day but I agreed because when faced with a decision between wedding planning and anything else, I choose #2.

As often is the case, Eric was a genius. A few minutes into fresh air and exercise, wedding planning was forgotten. Guess what I changed my focus to...?

Yup, my new spinning shoes!!!

This morning I e-mailed back and forth with Madeline, who I was lucky enough to meet when I was in Arizona last week :) She works at a running/cycling store, so she was a wealth of information for me regarding whether or not I could get a pair of shoes for both spinning and my road bike. Plus, she pointed me to a really helpful post she wrote back in January about bike shoes. If you have ever considered getting shoes for your bike or your spin class, I definitely suggest reading this post. I felt a LOT more prepared at the store today than when I went to a different store a few weeks ago, just after talking to Madeline and reading this post!

Feeling a lot more prepared, I went to a bike store near my house this afternoon and asked for a budget-friendly shoe I could use for both spinning and outdoor biking. The guy at the store, Joseph, explained to me what I needed to know about bike shoes and helped me pick out a comfortable pair.

Also...look at my bike now.....!!!

Clipless pedals!!!

I was totally not planning to get these, but it was a way better deal to get everything together rather than buying just the shoes today like I was planning to. Obviously, I am all for a good deal so I took the plunge. I have to admit though, I am scared out of my mind to try these out on the road though. I practiced on the trainer at the store a bit today, but I am sure I am going to have some major falls until I get used to these. I can only hope that spinning class adequately prepares me :) Anyone have any good rookie clipless pedal stories to make me feel better?

Also, since yesterday I found another bike race so if you have a bike and live around Boston, let me know if you would want to do any of the following races, I am looking for biking friends :) I will probably do two of these, not all three.

Cycle for Autism Awareness- May 2nd, Milford MA (30 miles)

North to New Hampshire- May 16, Wakefield MA (Half or Metric Century- 50 or 62 miles)

Best Buddies Challenge- June 5th, ends in Hyannisport MA (20, 50 or 100 miles- I'd prob do 50)

I hope everyone has a good start to the week!


17 comments:

  1. that is one flexible cookie. I bet it could teach me a thing or two on the yoga mat ;)

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  2. Oooh I want spinning shoes! Cute!
    Its not religious music, but we had Enya's Fairytale in our wedding, and it was just beautiful.

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  3. oh nice!!! I'm jealous of your clipless shoes :) I want to get some eventually but I definitely can't wait to hear how you're adjusting to them!!

    ps: the cookies: HILARIOUS!!! lol :D Oh, the joys of cooking ;)

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  4. I have speedplay frogs which are fairly easy (and different from others) to clip in and out of, but the first few times I forgot to clip out and...well...didn't go so well.

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  5. I can so relate to this post. I can't believe that its Sunday already and I've been so blah without the sun! I'm definitely looking forward to spring, that's for sure! I'm glad that you had your walk outside and your exciting new cycling shoes to cheer you up. I'm much more of a leisurely bike rider (you know, on a bike with a basket, streamers and a horn). :)

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  6. Ummm, that cookie is quite possibly the most HILARIOUS thing I have ever seen in my life. Seriously!

    I really want to start biking this summer! I'll have to email you for some tips :P

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  7. Yay, for bike shoes! They make an amazing world of difference both on a road bike and in spin class. Enjoy!

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  8. That was the funniest cookie ever!

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  9. Quinoa cookies huh? I have a ton of extra cooked Quinoa leftover from a different recipe and I wasn't sure what to do with it.. solution! :) I was so excited when I finally got real Spin shoes recently, it really does make all the difference doesn't it? :)

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  10. ha, aren't walks and fresh-air magical?! :)

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  11. That's a great picture of the bendable cookie!

    Congrats on the new purchase. Buying something new can turn a dreary day around. But I sure would like to see the sun again!

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  12. Yay! I'm so glad I could help! It looks like you picked some great ones! That picture of Eric is way too funny

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  13. I ended up with 'bendy cookies' recently when experimenting... at least they taste good!

    Congrats on the new cylce shoes & clipless pedals... nice to see some bike races on the calendar too!

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  14. Too funny about the cookie! I'm not much of an experimenter because I get discouraged quickly. So exciting about the new shoes! It will only make you feel better and workout harder!!! Right?! ;)

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  15. I'm scared of biking but if I wasn't, I'd be one of your biking friends.

    Retail therapy is necessary to stay sane. :) Hope you like wearing your new shoes for spinning and biking!

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  16. YAY you got spin shoes! I am so happyyyy! they wil change your life!

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