Hakuna Matada - Jumpin' into June!

[bunnyfoo]

Happy Friday! The weather has cooled down a bit and it's pretty nice out. It was a good morning for running. It was sunny and about 12C or 53F.

Dave - No doubt with all the workouts and walking you're getting in, you'll be in tip top shape for January! Sounds like you've got a long day ahead of you! Take it easy!

Elizabeth - The bugs are gone but the plants are a little waterlogged. Hopefully I can dry them out this weekend. Then I'll put some aluminum foil on them. Sorry to hear about the car, were you able to get it repairs so that you were at least able to drive to NY?

AFM - I was up this morning at about 5AM for a 6:30 AM training session. Tough getting up but glad I got it done. Did a little bit of back and arm work and some core work. I like the trainer, his style and the exercises we do are quite similar to those of my old physio but I might be moving downtown and I want to save some money. This gym doesn't let you do half hour training sessions so I probably won't go with them. I still like working out with one of the trainers I have now, he's pretty tough. So I won't be too upset.

I've got my baking class tonight so it's going to be a bit of a long day for me. Tonight we're making chocolate eclairs I believe. Then I have to get back home right away because I have another training session tomorrow at 10AM. Not sure if I should do my 4 miler before the session or later in the evening.

Have a great day and weekend everyone!

 

[Lynn G]

Good evening Team! Sorry to be out of touch, have not had the chance to make it on to the computer lately. We are on the road now, in Cripple Creek, CO tonight, had fun touring today. Tomorrow we will head back down (we are currently at 9600 feet) to Colorado Springs and we have signed up for a midnight bike ride in the Garden of the Gods. Tomorrow we will check out Garden of the Gods during the day to preview the bike route. I think it is a 26 mile ride. After the ride they will serve us a pancake breakfast at 3am. We will drive back home on Sunday whenever we get up in the morning.

Have a great weekend all!

Pixie dust to all who are in need.

 

[es45]

Vicky: The car made it to NY; it died on the return trip. We were 6 hours from home. Great job on the training! Sounds like you can afford to eat an eclair without a second thought

Lynn: that bike ride sounds like a blast. Can't wait to hear about it.

AFM: Running tonight because the heat is just too much. Car shopping tomorrow.

 

[MaryJ]

Vicky...How did you like Cripple Creek? We were there in April to visit some friends. We went to the Welcome Center as you come into town and I thought it was quite interesting. The bike ride sounds like it will be really fun. Can't wait to hear about it.

 

[Motomiker]

Hi Everyone!
Checking in via my phone. Waiting for the Northshore half to start. Cool temps and sunshine today!

 

[bunnyfoo]

Mike - I'm so sorry!! I forgot to post that you were running this weekend It's been a bit crazy here lately! Hope you had a great race!!

 

[Pudge_The_Fish]

Hello Team!

Vicky - I hadn't heard of those tracking websites, I'll have to check them out. Patrick and I are in for breakfast at Kona at least. Thanks for the update on Margie. How did your eclairs turn out?

Mike - The DL medal looks really cool. Hope your half went well!

Lynn - I haven't been to many of the DL restaurants. There is a new lounge at the DL hotel by the pool. DH and I walked by last weekend when we went to DTD and the patio looked nice. It was busy so we didn't stay to check it out more. Hope you had a great bike ride!

AFM - Last week was really busy for me so haven't had a chance to post till now. Patrick and I did our long run of 4 miles yesterday. That completed week 2 of our training plan for DL. We spent the rest of the weekend doing errands and chores around the house.

WDW 2012 packages came out today so I guess I'll have to start working on our plans for Jan. Right now, I'm thinking we're going to fly in Thursday but I'm not sure how long we'll stay.

Have a good night!
Emily

 

[bunnyfoo]

Hi everyone! Happy Monday! Had a pretty hectic weekend but got my workouts and running in.

Emily - Yikes! I didn't realize that the 2012 packages were out already. Have you decided where you and Patrick are staying? Good job on the LR! Which training plan are you following? You wouldn't believe it, especially in a class full of adults but someone stole a tray of eclairs and a tray of cream puffs from our group! I was just in shock!

Elizabeth - Any luck with a new car? My dad's car had a breakdown one year when we were driving back from Florida. I think it was an easy fix because it was just replacing the fan belt but I think we were in the middle of nowhere so the parts weren't that easy to get.

Lynn - How was the weekend bike trip? That is one early morning pancake breakfast - I'd get up for it though. I looove pancakes LOL

AFM - So the weekend was a little bit crazy. It started at 5AM on Friday when I had to get up early for training. I actually liked working out first thing in the morning becuse I feel like it gets things out of the way. I really like the trainer too but because of budgeting, I probably won't be able to afford to train with him.

Friday night was my baking class - we made cream puffs and eclairs. Both are made from choux pastry which is just roux (flour, butter, salt and water) and some (a lot of) eggs. It's quite labour intensive because you have to keep stiring the roux while it's on the stove. The annoying part is having to pipe the shapes onto the cookie sheet. For whatever reason, the instructor's eclairs puffed up a lot more than our's did. I wish she would have told us it was okay to make big eclairs. Our's were maybe 3 inches ... tiny.

Anyway, after the eclairs and cream puffs came out of the oven - our team had one tray of the unfilled eclairs disappear along with a tray of cream puffs. I couldn't believe it! I mean stuff like that happens in grade 5 and here we have a class full of adults! Unbelieveable! I know someone took our cream puffs too because they moved the tray from our table and put the empty tray back onto the trolley by the oven to make it look innocent. And no it wasn't a mistake because each tray was marked with the group's name. Oh well - I tried to be positive about it and say someone liked the way we made the puffs and eclairs.

Got my 14K in on Sunday. I did a course with rolling hills which was tough. I should have brought a bottle of water with me but wasn't thinking.

How was everyone else's weekend?

 

[Motomiker]

Hi Team,

Checking in with a race report: Yesterday I ran the Northshore Half Marathon in Highland Park IL. The weather was perfect with cool temps and part sun. The race started in downtown Highland Park next to the train. Parking was a little crazy because it was all over downtown. I got there early and got a spot near the start/finish area. The course headed South to the Ravina concert area and then back North through some really nice residential areas. Ravina was originally built in 1904 to be an amusement park and has become a concert area with some big name acts. It's the type of place where you bring your picnic basket, a bottle of wine and sit on the lawn. The residential area is where Michael Jordan and several sports stars live, in other words ritzy. Lots of shaded streets and "old money" homes. At one intersection, there was a Ferrari Testarosa waiting for the runners to clear, and we passed several Porsches out for a Sunday morning drive. The Porsches must have been the poor people in the neighborhood. The last few miles wound through Fort Sheridan which used to be a military training site. There was one huge hill at mile seven where I passed about fifty people on the way down and then got passed by about half of them on the way up! At several points on the course we came upon views of Lake Michigan. I finished in 2:09:52 which is my second fastest half, and the fasted this year. I felt alot better than I have in a long time. I think the training that I started two weeks ago have helped. On Saturday, the day before the race, Liz and I did a LSR of five miles with a girlfriend of hers, which seemed to help loosen me up.
This race is Chicago's oldest half marathon (33 years?) and I will do it again. It was a great course and I had a great time. Hopefully, Liz can do it with me.
Next weekend, its off to the Rock and Roll 5K in Chicago. Hoping for a PR! We'll see what the course and weather bring!

Have a great day! -Mike

 

[Lynn G]

Good Evening Team!

The weekend trip was fun. We ended up "wimping out" and sticking with our friends who were putting us up in Colorado Springs, and we did the "short" course which goes thru town but not thru Garden of the Gods - Garden of the Gods is very hilly, it would have been a grunt of a ride - the town loop had a few uphill sections, but it seemed mostly down hill. It was a 14 mile ride. The rest stops had snacks like almonds, fruit, M&M's, goldfish. At the end we had a breakfast burrito instead of pancakes, our friends who have done the race before were very disappointed there were no pancakes. We got back to the house by 4am, slept until 8am, had another breakfast of french toast and sausage before we headed home.

Today we headed out for a bike ride early before it got hot, got in 12 miles today. Then the dogs got their walk and I got in 50 min of Pilates.

Vicky - it was not very nice of someone to walk off with your eclairs and cream puffs!

Mike - great job on your race!

Emily - I don't know very much about restaurants inside DL, we usually eat at Downtown Disney because we usually do not have park passes (this time we will though). In the past, there has been a DIS meet just in front of Jamba Juice, a quick get together about 4:30 or 5pm. I haven't heard anything about a meet this year.

Mary - we also went into the welcome center, we basically just walked up and down the street, looking at menus until we decided where to eat. We went into the Elks Lodge (Scott is an Elk), and toured that building, very old and very interesting!

Elizabeth - hope you find a new car!

Have a great evening!

Pixie dust to all who are in need!

 

[Piglet24]

Hi Team!

Vicky- I can’t believe people in your class are stealing food! Way to go getting your 14K done!

Lynn- Nice to see you’re getting quite a bit of bike riding in. Breakfast burritos are delicious!

Emily- Glad you made it through your 4 mile run.

Mike- Thanks for the race report! I’m glad your race went well.

Elizabeth- I hope the car shopping is going well.

Dave- I hope your training is still going well!

AFM, I did not do any running this weekend. I really didn’t feel well this weekend so I decided to rest instead. I’m planning to get back to it tomorrow, but I think I might try Galloway’s run/walk intervals. We saw the Hangover 2 on Friday night and went to dinner with a few of my new coworkers. Dinner was good and the Hangover was just ok. I was not that impressed with it, but that’s just me. Have a great Tuesday team!

 

[Hockeychic]

Good morning all!!!!!!

Great weigh in this morning down 2.2 pds!!!!! I went to the DR Friday to get results of my thyroid blood test and I was extremely low!!!! I have been hypo thyroid for about 21 years but never this low. SO dr adjusted the meds so I hope along with good eatting and exercise that scale will start to move only increased my meds on Sat so we will see. I think it takes awhile to really get into my system. However, food and exercise is going great.

Emily: WTG on the run, I booked our package on the weekend, now fingers crossed for some specials.

Vicky: OMG someone took your stuff wow....unbelievable!!! 14K on Sunday wow are you up to that distance already with the Mid Summer plan? Are you doing Mid Summer and Acura? Also have you signed up for Scotia yet?

Mike: Great race report, sounds like it was a awesome race and congrats on your 2nd fastest 1/2.

Lynn: WOW you guys are not just sitting around and relaxing during your retirement. That is come crazy milage you are putting in. You go girl!!!!. How is the knee holding up with all the cycling?

Regina: WTG on listening to your body. What did you think of the Hangover 2. We saw it on Saturday, was not impressed, loved the ending but that was about it.

Well off to work to pay for my disney addiction. Have a good one all

Kim

 

[bunnyfoo]

Hi team! Well I had a post done up but had to close up my IE after IT wandered by.

Mike - Great RR! And congrats on an awesome time! I'll bet the Porsche belongs to the guy with the Ferrari - he probably gives it to his housekeeping staff to run errands! Always fun to see how the other side lives though.

Lynn - Were the breakfast burritos any good? I would have prefered the pancakes too but sometimes burritos are tasty too! And WTG on getting in all the bike riding in!

Regina - Sounds like you're getting along really well with your new coworkers! How are you liking the job so far? My partner in baking class saw Hangover 2 and The Bridesmaids. She said she was surprised that she like The Bridesmaids better because the first Hangover movie was so good. Hope you're feeling better!

Kim - WTG on the weight loss!! That is awesome! I hope the adjustment with the meds work out. When are you going back to be assessed by the doctor. Yup, I'm doing with Acura and Midsummer Night's. Too bad they moved Acura to August - it would have been nice to have a July race. This is week four of the 30K training plan, so far so good. If only the weather would stay this cool for the whole summer, I'd be set! I don't think I'll register for Scotia - it's close to MCM ... although I have been having second thoughts about going so I'm not sure yet.

AFM - I did another hour training session yesterday. We did weights and some leg exercises - hamstring curls and leg presses along with some compound exercises. Then I went home and ran 3.5 miles LOL I didn't get a the speediest pace ever but I thought it wasn't too bad considering the workout. I managed to keep it under 11 m/m and I ran all the running intervals. I probably will get a couple of sessions with the new trainer. I feel like it's going to help me with my weight loss but feel somewhat guilty telling my chiro that I'm going to train with someone else.

I'm going to see tonight if I have time to make some blueberry lemon muffins. I'm down to my last two Meyer lemons. So I'm trying to decide whether to use them in the muffins or save them for the weekend and make lemon squares. I like lemon squares but they take a bit longer to make than muffins but are so tasty!

Anyone have plans for Father's Day? Have a great day everyone

 

[es45]

Hi, all,

Bought a car yesterday. It's a 2008 Honda Pilot with 25k miles. DH actually said, "This car would be perfect for when we go to Disney again." And this is a guy who doesn't like Disney. He's changing his mind or I'm wearing him down; either way, I'm planning a trip

Going to the gym tonight for some time in the pool. My right knee is a little sore from running yesterday.

Happy running everyone!

 

[Piglet24]

Hi Team!

Kim- Congrats on the 2.2 lbs! That’s great food and exercise are going well. I hope the medication adjustment also helps. We were not impressed with the Hangover 2 either. It had a few funny moments, but that’s about it. I think they should have just stopped at the first one.

Vicky- My coworkers are a little bit crazy, but they all seem pretty nice. The first Hangover was really good and I was so excited to see the second one, but I just felt let down. It did have some funny moments, but overall I just wasn’t impressed. Of course, I also took issue with some of the storyline, which didn’t help. Great job on the 3.5 miles after a weight workout! What intervals are you doing? Enjoy your baking! No Father’s Day plans for us. You?

Elizabeth- I hope the new car works out and congrats on wearing DH down or convincing him Disney is great! Sounds like a win either way!

AFM, I ran 3 miles today with one of my new coworkers. It was nice to run with her and she took me somewhere the hills weren’t too bad (they were still there, but weren’t huge or constant). I did take a walk break at 2 miles, but I figure walk breaks are ok and help me finish stronger, so hopefully she didn’t mind too much! Besides, I’m still planning on giving the Galloway method a try and see how that goes. Sydney seemed to have a great time running with us, although all the barking dogs we passed in the yards were a bit distracting for her since she’s not used to that as much anymore. Other than that, nothing really at all going on over this way.

 

[bunnyfoo]

Morning everyone!

Elizabeth - Congrats on the new car! I love DH's comment about it being the perfect car for Disney! Have to agree with Regina that it's a win either way! I hope your knee is feeling better soon.

Regina - I've left the Father Day planning up to my mom. I know you're laughing! I'm sure we'll go out for dinner or something like that. I'm a little upset at him after he broke one of my smoothie containers so I haven't felt like talking to him for a bit. I do 10/1 intervals which works out pretty well. I think for January I'm running with Eva and she's doing 4/1. WTG on the 3 miler and the new running partner! Sounds like Sydney is feeling better?

AFM - I did a arms intensive workout last night. I told the trainer, I'll probably be walking around with my arms up in the air all day today but I actually don't feel too bad today. A little stiff but that's about it. I'm going to try and get in a short 2-3 miler after training this evening. I think we're suppose to be working on legs but I'm going to ask him to go a bit easier because of Saturday.

The eating has been going well but the scale isn't budging. It's weird because my clothes feel loose. It's annoying how the scale doesn't reflect that but I know it's dependant on so many other things.

I made lemon blueberry muffins yesterday and I think they turned out pretty well. I used the last of my Meyer lemons and a container of fresh blueberries. I tried out a streusel topping and ended up with what I thought was a lot of leftover. Turns out as the muffins puff out in the oven, the streusel spreads out - so I probably could have pressed the mixture more into the muffin for even coverage. I'll see if I can post some pics later on.

Have a great day everyone!

 

[Lynn G]

Good Afternoon Team!

Vicky - Breakfast burritos were OK, hard to eat - they were just wrapped in foil, and they really fell apart and there were no utensils. They did make one for Scott without eggs - he doesn’t like eggs. Blueberry lemon muffins sound great!

Regina - Yes, we have been able to get quite a bit bike riding in! Hope you had a restful weekend!

Elizabeth - Have fun planning that trip to WDW in that new car!!!

Kim - Congrats on the weight loss! No, Scott was never one for sitting around and relaxing!!! Cycling does not bother the knee at all! In fact, it seems to be helping both our knees!

AFM - Yesterday was really windy, so we aborted the planned bike ride - today we made it for 20 miles, dogs got their short loop in each day. I spent yesterday afternoon weeding the rocks, and today we did the weekly shopping, probably will start working on the camper this afternoon.

Pixie dust to all who are in need!

Have a great day team!

 

[windwalker]

Lynn I have rocks in my landscaping also and the weeds love to grow there. I have been battling them ever since the growing season started.

I had a great training walk this morning, my group and I went 6.8 miles in 1:22:39. Then Sally and I did the yardwork and then off to the dentist for me.

Mike you have become a racing machine brother. My first race of the year will be mid July. DisneyWorld is not a race for me since I have no chance of winning, but an event and a time of joy and fellowship.

Have a restful evening y'all.

Dave

 

[bunnyfoo]

Hi team! Please send good thoughts out to Regina this morning. She was involved in an accident yesterday. I think she's okay but could probably use some

Regina - I hope everything's okay. I saw your FB posting this morning. Keep us posted if you can.

Dave - Great pace! Is anyone from your walking group coming to Disney? Hope things went well at the dentist!

Lynn - WTG with all the miles! I will post the recipe for the lemon blueberry muffins. Calorie wise they're not too bad. They should have made pocket pie burritos. LOL I was watching a food show yesterday with a fast food vendor who made all different kinds of pocket pies. I thought that was really handy because it took the mess out of eating foods like pulled pork. Say hi to Scott from all of us!

AFM - Well I bought several sessions with the new trainer. So I'm really looking forward to that! They gave me a bit of a deal - until the taxes were added in Yeah, we pay 13% sales tax up here in the north. Ugh! Training last night was a mix of leg work and upper body. I skipped my planned 2 miler because I had a few errands to chores to take care of.

I sent an email to my TA asking about booking into Pop for January. She's out of the office this morning so I should hear back from her later this afternoon.

And that's about it!

Have a great day everyone!

 

[bunnyfoo]

Here's the recipe for the lemon blueberry muffins. It makes 12 muffins. I made a streusel topping instead of using the glaze. It was made with butter, sugar, flour and cinnamon (the recipe is at home).

Lemon Blueberry Muffins​

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/lemon-blueberry-muffins-10000000444741/print/#

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 1/4 cups low-fat buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
• 1 cup blueberries
• Cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (flour through nutmeg) in a medium bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Combine buttermilk, egg, and rind; stir well with a whisk. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moist. Gently fold in blueberries.

Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until the muffins spring back when lightly touched. Remove muffins from pans immediately, and place on a wire rack to cool.

Combine lemon juice and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Drizzle glaze evenly over cooled muffins.

Note: You can make these muffins up to 2 days ahead and glaze them the morning of the brunch.


Nutritional Information

Amount per serving
Calories: 187
Calories from fat: 23%
Fat: 4.8g
Saturated fat: 2.7g
Monounsaturated fat: 1.4g
Polyunsaturated fat: 0.3g
Protein: 3.7g
Carbohydrate: 32.6g
Fiber: 1g
Cholesterol: 30mg
Iron: 1.1mg
Sodium: 264mg
Calcium: 59mg