Team 'Ohana--No One Left Behind: The Continuing Adventures

[chimera]

Homemade yogurt is sooo much better than store-bought. There's no gelatiny stuff so the texture is much nicer. I usually make plain and add blueberries, honey and almonds, but I sometimes add raspberry preserves and mini choc chips instead for a treat.

Homemade yogurt

1. Need milk...whole, 1% or 2%...fat free not good. I use Horizon Organic 2%.
2. Pour milk into saucepan, however much you'd like.
3. Need candy thermometer to measure temp of milk. Heat milk on stovetop at medium until it reaches 180 degrees.
4. Move milk off burner to cool until temperature is less than 100 degrees.
5. Need yogurt starter with active cultures. I use Stonyfield Farms Plain or Vanilla. You can also use some of your previously made yogurt, but the cultures will start to die off after too many uses.
6. Need yogurt containers. I have Ball jars from Target, some plastic 8oz and 16oz that are starting to crack. I also have some squatty little glass jars that are 16oz.
7. While milk is cooling, place a scoop of starter (1 TBSP or less) into each jar. Once milk is cooled, pour into jars and stir. I leave it plain but you can add Splenda or sugar to the jars before adding the milk.

Now the fun part...I use my husband's insulated soft lunch box, but a cooler also works in a pinch. I put a heating pad in the lunchbox on low, then add the jars of milk and leave them on the counter overnight. If I put them in around 5 or 6 pm, they're ready by 7 am the next morning. Then they go into the fridge until cool and set. For Greek yogurt, just suspend some coffee filters over an empty jar (I use binder clips to secure to the edges). Let the excess moisture drip through the filter, then scrape off the yogurt into another container. It's yummy...I use it as Greek yogurt and in place of sour cream.

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

Thanks for that recipe, Mel. I will have to try that sometime.

Glad you are back, Kerry. 46 weeks?! Good idea coming here to remain accountable.

 

[tiberius]

Kerry - Good luck with days one and beyond on the new plan. You have plenty of time to get ready for January.

Mel - Thanks for the recipe. I look forward to trying it out when I have some time.

I'm wondering how I go from from warm and muggy weather on Sunday to a Winter Storm Warning today. Fortunately, I don't have too much traveling to do today that's not work related. In fact, almost no work today as I worked past 9 last night and am getting ready to go to the dentist.

Have a great day everyone!!

 

[princessbride6205]

Just checking in before I get back to my BL coaching duties...I did my incline walking yesterday, and 4M on the TM this AM. I'm slowly getting faster. I ran at 11:32 today and Saturday, and I just feel like I'm really moving faster. I think I'd better get used to this speed before I try to get faster again. I know I sound quite slow to you all, but I started at barely being able to do 16 min miles, so I have come a long way.

Nicole -- You will love the shuffle! I consider mine essential
Maria

Maria - can I have more than one playlist? Or do you just have one big one on the Shuffle? I only got as far as starting to charge it last night. LOL
And don't even say you are slow - I think it's a good pace. (Of course, I'm biased because I'm at a similar or slower pace on my runs)

Nicole That sounds like a great treat for your daughter to make her own Sunday...I hope she had enough to share. Sounds like she will have a great week. Hope you have some fun adult activities scheduled while she is away.

DD did share her sundae, and we each got our own desserts as well. My sister picks them out for us. I ended up with pineapple upside down cake. That was pretty good. The accompaniment was a pineapple and mint salad topped with frozen Greek yogurt. That was awesome!
DD gets to go to preschool this week since my mom teaches at one. Today was her first day there, so I'm anxious to hear how she did!
As for adult activities, DH and I went out to dinner last night, but then both felt sick afterwards. Tonight he's hanging with a friend while I get in my last long run before the Princess. Tomorrow will be cleaning and grocery shopping. LOL But it is still kind of relaxing not to rush out the door in the morning, rush to get dinner ready after work, not having to work out at 8:30pm, etc.

Nicole - The Army 10-miler is in Washington DC in October. I've done it once and definitely want to do it again. It's a very inspiring race, especially now that we have so many war veterans in our military. I had tears in my eyes on that course. The course is scenic and nice and steady (not too hilly, not too flat). We are an Army family, so it's a great race for me to take part in. I highly recommend it, but be warned - it sells out VERY quickly. I think last year they had 24,000 slots and the race sold out in 6 days.

As for me today, I started DAY ONE of my newly mapped out course to the big Mickey in January. My training had been off-again, on-again this winter and I really lost control of everything. I am the kind of person that MUST have a road map to make this work, so a few days ago I sat down and worked out a 46 week plan - the number of weeks between now and the marathon. So today is day 1 of week 1 out of 46 weeks until the WDW Marathon. Today's plan was X-training. I went to spin class and then came home and started the Jillian Michaels 30-day shred. Ouch! Getting back on board here at theDis WISH forums and with Team O'Hana was part of my plan to stay accountable. Here's hoping that works! I love the support here.

Congrats on establishing your plan!
The Army race sounds really inspiring and a great course. I'd love to do a race in DC someday in the future.

Richard - Thank you so much for the book! I started reading it this morning on the bus.

I'll be back later, but I need to get to some actual work now!

 

[novafan]

Thanks for that recipe, Mel. I will have to try that sometime.

Glad you are back, Kerry. 46 weeks?! Good idea coming here to remain accountable.

I know, it sounds like a long, long road, huh? It's more of a countdown. I actually broke the 46 weeks into 3 phases. The first phase is to help me get ready for a 10K at the end of May. Between the 10K and the middle of July, I have NO idea what I'm going to do. I need some kind of maintenance plan for those 6 weeks. Then the real marathon training starts in mid-July. It makes much more sense on paper. Ha ha!!

 

[momoftwogirls]

No time to catch up with the thread right now - I haven't visited in two weeks - I need to keep up better

As for me.... I’m still wavering back and forth about going to the Princess race next week. I've been weighing pros and cons for a few weeks now. My original goal was to try and PR at the race but I am far from that at this point. My training has not been too consistent this past month.
I really enjoyed the race last year but just can't seem to get excited about it this year. If I do decide to go - I'm definitely looking forward to meeting up with the Ohana group.
I hope to make the time to read over the last two weeks of Ohana happenings tomorrow.

 

[jbucci]

Kerry: I'm impressed with the planning. I can barely think a week or two ahead. Good luck with the plan. Somehow when it is on paper it is always more "real". It helps me stick with stuff-- even just recording my workouts in a notebook makes me feel more accountable.

Mel: Cool info on the yogurt, I'll have to try it some time.

Maria: Great job working on your speed. I know how tough it is. I've been trying really hard to break the 12 min/mi mark, so I'm in the same speed range you are.

Richard: I give up on the weather anymore. We've now had 2 days of rain and they are calling for more snow later in the week.

Things are pretty good here. I finally feel almost better after sleeping for several days straight (ok, I went to work on Mon but then promptly went to bed). I got in 6.5 miles today and managed an hour at 5.4mph continuous running. DD6 has been in a great mood which just makes everything better. We had a rescheduled 1/2 day of school and were having childcare woes for tomorrow and managed to work something out with her school last yer where she can "visit" for the afternoon-- makes me happy when things work out

 

[tiberius]

Richard: I give up on the weather anymore. We've now had 2 days of rain and they are calling for more snow later in the week.

Since I have been watching a mix of rain, sleet, ice and snow fall at various times this afternoon and evening, I am right there with you, Jen.

Nicole - Enjoy the book!

 

[princessbride6205]

I just had to hop on to report on my training run. I got a really late start tonight and toyed with not doing it. The horror. I'm really glad I did - it was the first run in a few weeks where I felt really good. 8 miles - my last long run till the Princess. I ran in my race outfit too to test it out. All is good - I LOVE my running skirt.
I knew before that I could finish the Princess, but I was afraid I'd be dragging myself. Now I feel like I can finish without being miserable.

And now it's time for me to go collapse into bed.

 

[corinnak]

Oh man, I've been neglectful too! It seems like it's ALWAYS one of those weeks with me.

Kerry - welcome back! It's great to see you again and it sounds like you've got BIG plans for this year!

Christine - your new shoes sound great! It is a tough thing being a "normal" size - so many fewer shoe deals than if you have tiny or monstrous feet, it seems.

Richard - Congratulations on your awesome PR! You blew that goal right out of the water! This year is YOUR year, for sure!

Mel - are you SURE you can promise no snow wars in March? I am just hoping there won't be any freezing rain. Freezing, I can take. Rain, I can take. The combination of the two....ughhhh.

Mmm....yogurt.....

Nicole - I love my shuffles as well. Yes, I have a small fleet of them. It's a long store of love, loss and then finding the lost one. Oh, and that whole thing with the one that got wet and I thought was doomed as well, but then got fixed by a miracle. Is yours one of the new ones with the controls on the earphone cord or one of the old ones with the controls on the body of the shuffle? I have the old kind and LOVE them so, so much. On mine anyhow, you can only have one playlist.

So glad your new clothes are working out so well and your last long run went well for you!

Maria - I can't believe how busy the BL thread still is! It's great, but it's a LOT. You are keeping up admirably. I'm not doing as well over there and I'm not even coaching yet. My turn is coming in March, though. I haven't watched any Caprica yet. And I must say, this conversation here is not really goading me to do it, either!

I agree with the others - 11:32 is a great average speed!

And I propose that none of us talk any more about how "slow" we are. People who are faster than you wouldn't ever judge and say "oh, she thinks she's so fast but I could leave her in the dust!" They know it's hard work getting faster, regardless of where you start from. Plus, it is bound to make those who are slower than the "slow" person feel even slower. We don't need that! Most important of all, it allows that negative thought t to linger and stay comfortable in your head and who needs that? I know I'm the queen of "Slow but relentless" but truly I wish I'd just grabbed onto that relentless and thrown out the word "slow" long ago. OK - putting away my soap box.

Kathy - I think you should come and just have fun with us!


As for me - I'm continuing on with my cross-training quest. Yesterday I tried a TRX demo class. Pretty cool stuff. I had done some pilates/core stuff the previous day and really felt it while doing some planks with my feet suspended by those straps!! She said "We start out with 20 seconds and build up to a minute" and then she proceeded to go and help the other woman with her gear and chatted away with her for goodness knows how long. I just stayed there, suffering in that plank....I suppose I had the option of collapsing in a heap, but I was so relieved when finally she said "OK, Corinna - you can stop now." I'm not sure how I can fit this class into my training plans for the spring. It's not just a matter of "can I be there then." I also have to take into account all the other workouts I need to do during the week. Love cross training - hate scheduling!

Today is my last chance for a long run before the Princess. Any later than today and it will be messing with my taper, I'm sure. Not that this has been any kind of training program. Haphazard, I'd call it.

I have noticed an annoying thing about being the size I currently am: Used to be I'd look on the clearance rack at the running or sports stores and there'd be PLENTY of good stuff in my size. When you're looking for a medium running shirt? Sorry - they are all cleaned out before they get to clearance. I tell you, running is a whole lot easier in a medium than an XL, which probably explains why there are more M runners eating up all the clothes!

 

[momoftwogirls]

Corinna – Good luck with your last long run. How far are you going? I’m going to try 6 or possibly 8 either tomorrow or Friday and call that my last long one.
The clothes problem is a good one to have!

Nicole – I’m glad your last long run went well. It’s such a good feeling to know that you are prepared for a race. Great that you got to try out your race day outfit – thanks for reminding me about that – I need to figure out what I’m going to wear. I’ll try mine out tomorrow.

Jen- Good luck with the weather coming your way. I love the snow but am so glad that we won’t be getting much from this storm.

Richard – The rain/ice/sleet/snow mix is the worst – reminds me of WDW in Jan. I’d much rather just have all snow.

Mel – Thanks for the yogurt instructions. I don’t know if I’m brave enough to try making my own just yet but I did print out your recipe.



Well , I think I've decided to still go for Princess weekend. I started to think about it and make some ADRs and brief plans. Hopefully the excitement will come and the worries will fade soon.
UPS man just came and brought me a package from Running Warehouse. I love ordering from them! I placed my order Monday evening and it arrived today – very fast free shipping! Now I have new shoes to try out tomorrow. My order also came with a free tech shirt and a free bag – can’t beat that!

Princess Weekend Runners/Walkers/Spectators –

• [*]Are we still planning to meet at Captain Cooks at the Poly at 11:30 Sat or have the plans changed?
  [*]Does anyone want to join me for afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian? I have a reservation for 2:00 on Sat? I don't plan to visit any parks on Sat - just Ohana meet, tea and then POR WISH meet.
  [*]Does anyone want to meet up for dinner on Friday evening?
  

 

[FFigawi]

And I propose that none of us talk any more about how "slow" we are. People who are faster than you wouldn't ever judge and say "oh, she thinks she's so fast but I could leave her in the dust!" They know it's hard work getting faster, regardless of where you start from. Plus, it is bound to make those who are slower than the "slow" person feel even slower. We don't need that! Most important of all, it allows that negative thought t to linger and stay comfortable in your head and who needs that? I know I'm the queen of "Slow but relentless" but truly I wish I'd just grabbed onto that relentless and thrown out the word "slow" long ago. OK - putting away my soap box.

I think that's a great idea. Fast or slow is all relative anyway. As long as you're running the best that you can and achieving the goals you set for yourself, that's all that really matters.

Of course, having said that, one of my goals this year is to do more speedwork and track work so I can race faster. I guess that fits in with the "achieving the goals you set for yourself" statement above, so I'm not too inconsistent.

 

[novafan]

I think that's a great idea. Fast or slow is all relative anyway. As long as you're running the best that you can and achieving the goals you set for yourself, that's all that really matters.

Of course, having said that, one of my goals this year is to do more speedwork and track work so I can race faster. I guess that fits in with the "achieving the goals you set for yourself" statement above, so I'm not too inconsistent.

I agree! I'll drink to that! I've always carried on about what a poke I am, but I'm done with that. I'm just happy to get up, get out and get it done. Oh, I like that. That should be my motto.

I've stuck to my little plan so far this week.
M - XT spinning 55 mins, JM's 30 day shred DVD
T - 30 minute run (running for time is new for me, I have always done distance)
W - XT Body Pump class, Jum's 30 days shred DVD to which I say OWWW! Feeling sore today.

 

[MouseDogMom]

Mel - Did DD find a prom dress? I'm not unhappy to have that phase done. Although now DD is doing pageants (still don't quite get it!) and has a whole new need for fancy stuff. Fortunately, her BF's mom is the one who got her into the pageant world, so I leave it all to her.

Kerry - Welcome back! And good luck with your training plan. My plan for this year was to schedule races every month, so I'm always only a few weeks away from the next race. It does, however, make it difficult to figure out where you are in a pre-set training plan. I'm 3 weeks away from the next half, but 10 weeks away from the one after that. So which week do I follow?

JenB - Glad you're feeling better. Nice when child care works out. Now if I could just find someone to take care of our dogs when we go away.

Nicole - Congratulations on an excellent training run. And great that you already have your race outfit determined. I'm guilty of taking everything with me and deciding the night before (maybe because my last 4 races have been in ridiculously cold, wet conditions!)

Corinna - I am removing "slow" from my vocabulary. I was actually really exicted during my Myrtle Beach run when a group of runners moved to the side to let me pass. I don't think that's ever happened before! For the first time in my running life, I actually felt faster, if not fast. Right after that one of my friends called, and I slowed down to talk to her, and they passed me!

Kathy - Glad you've decided to go for Princess. If I were going, I'd love to meet you for tea! I can only imagine if I told DH now that I wanted to do a solo trip to WDW... I'm getting ready to go post on the Tobacco Road thread about dinner the night before. It's way too close now! And yes, Running Warehouse is great!

Richard - I'd really appreciate it if you could keep the weather there. Our last 3 systems have come out of Texas - we're getting rain now but it's supposed to change to snow tonight. DH just called and asked what our running plans are for today and tomorrow - ugh! I can't get excited about going out in this weather, but we blew off Monday's workout, so I may be stuck.

Feeling really lazy this week. I had 3 hard runs last week, so I decided it might be a good idea to let my body rest, which is why I blew off Monday's run. I should have run last night, but DH started coaching his boys' soccer team this week, and I used the free time to grocery shop, do yard work, and straighten the house. So after 3 days of temps in the 60's, it's cold and raining and I need to run. Bad planning on my part!

Jackie

 

[tiberius]

Jackie - Sorry, but the cold weather has already moved on to the east.

Corinna - My year? Talk about pressure, but yeah...I do hope to set PR's in several distances this year, so I guess that counts as my year if I pull it off.

After thawing the layer of ice off of my windows this morning, I finally got off to work. By 9 AM the sun had melted all the ice left and today's weather was for more normal than yesterday's.

I'll be kind of glad when the Olympics are done and I get to bed earlier . Now, back to watching the Games...

 

[corinnak]

Oh Richard - no pressure, of course! It seems like you've already had amazing races this year. The world is, of course, unpredictable and I sure don't mean to jinx anything for you! Just keep on keeping on and keep on having fun.



I'm so glad so many of us are thinking of speed as a relative term. The only person it truly makes sense to compare ourselves with is....our past selves.

I managed 7 today before I ran out of time for my long run (almost wrote Lung Ron) and had to pick up the kids - they usually have piano lessons right after school on Wednesdays giving me a little more time, but the teacher broke her ankle earlier this week - go figure, there is that unpredictcible world at work!). I am thinking I may hop on the TM one more time tonight and try to get another 4 done. It's not REALLY the same as a long run, but sometimes we have to take what we can get and hope for the best. I'm starting to accept the idea that I'm probably not going to get a PR in the Princess Half. After all, if there isn't any freezing rain, how am I going to run even as fast as I did in January? If I'm gonna, I'd better do it before I turn into a pumpkin!

 

[princessbride6205]

Nicole – I’m glad your last long run went well. It’s such a good feeling to know that you are prepared for a race. Great that you got to try out your race day outfit – thanks for reminding me about that – I need to figure out what I’m going to wear. I’ll try mine out tomorrow.

Well , I think I've decided to still go for Princess weekend. I started to think about it and make some ADRs and brief plans. Hopefully the excitement will come and the worries will fade soon.
UPS man just came and brought me a package from Running Warehouse. I love ordering from them! I placed my order Monday evening and it arrived today – very fast free shipping! Now I have new shoes to try out tomorrow. My order also came with a free tech shirt and a free bag – can’t beat that!

Princess Weekend Runners/Walkers/Spectators –

• [*]Are we still planning to meet at Captain Cooks at the Poly at 11:30 Sat or have the plans changed?
  [*]Does anyone want to join me for afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian? I have a reservation for 2:00 on Sat? I don't plan to visit any parks on Sat - just Ohana meet, tea and then POR WISH meet.
  [*]Does anyone want to meet up for dinner on Friday evening?
  

Very cool about Running Warehouse - I'll have to check them out.
I'd be happy to join you for the tea. I've never done that! Yes we are still slated for the Ohana meet as far as I know.
As for trying out my outfit, the skirt AND the shirt were new items, so I had to make sure I could go the distance without them bugging me. I was that dork at our little neighborhood gym running 8M at 9pm in a little running skirt.

I'll be kind of glad when the Olympics are done and I get to bed earlier . Now, back to watching the Games...

Same here! And I can watch my other TV shows that have been so neglected.

I'm so glad so many of us are thinking of speed as a relative term. The only person it truly makes sense to compare ourselves with is....our past selves.

I managed 7 today before I ran out of time for my long run (almost wrote Lung Ron) and had to pick up the kids - they usually have piano lessons right after school on Wednesdays giving me a little more time, but the teacher broke her ankle earlier this week - go figure, there is that unpredictcible world at work!). I am thinking I may hop on the TM one more time tonight and try to get another 4 done. It's not REALLY the same as a long run, but sometimes we have to take what we can get and hope for the best. I'm starting to accept the idea that I'm probably not going to get a PR in the Princess Half. After all, if there isn't any freezing rain, how am I going to run even as fast as I did in January? If I'm gonna, I'd better do it before I turn into a pumpkin!

Just wanted to give you a shout out of thanks for the pep talk about our speeds. You're right about just comparing us to ourselves. And I appreciated your point: "Plus, it is bound to make those who are slower than the "slow" person feel even slower." Yup. I'm working on getting out of the habit of defending or making excuses for my times. Like when I tell people I'm doing a half marathon, I've been immediately following that up with, "But I don't run the whole thing. I walk too." Why do I feel the need to say that? I've trained, I'm going to show up to the start line, I'm a runner.

Also, Corinna - do you know if jogging strollers are allowed at the Challenge Obesity 5k? Trying to figure out what to do with DD that morning, as DH is now going to be out of town that weekend.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Great, I managed to say the one thing I could to make people feel bad instead of good. I apologize profusely, and sincerely hope I did not make anyone feel bad, although I obviously was offensive in my post, and for that I do sincerely apologize. I clearly need to think about it more before I post on this thread. The last thing I would ever want to do is make anyone feel bad about any aspect of their training, I am an absolute back of the packer!

I hope everyone has a relatively speedy weekend --although I'm personally hoping mine will go slowly so I can recover from this ridiculously fast week.

Maria

 

[laughinplace199]

Hello Cousins!

I know I haven't been very good about posting lately, just a lot of stuff going on IRL. We have so many new cousins and I am looking forward to getting to know everyone.

Kerry - Welcome back!

I'm jealous of all of you doing the Princess! I hope you all have a wonderful race/visit to the World. We'll be there in April for a family vacation, so I really couldn't talk DH into a trip in March as well. Maybe next year...

I've been having major motivation issues since the marathon. Luckily, I just planned out my training schedule for a half that I'm running in May. It turns out that this week is my first week of training, so that did force me to get out there. I think I need to always have a race planned (like Corinna and Richard ) in order to stay focused.

Does anyone have Wii Fit? Last night I bought Wii Fit Plus, so I'm hoping to use that as my cross-training. I haven't tried it out yet, but that's on the schedule for tomorrow.

Have a great week, everyone. I hope to be better about reading and posting!

 

[corinnak]

Great, I managed to say the one thing I could to make people feel bad instead of good. I apologize profusely, and sincerely hope I did not make anyone feel bad, although I obviously was offensive in my post, and for that I do sincerely apologize. I clearly need to think about it more before I post on this thread. The last thing I would ever want to do is make anyone feel bad about any aspect of their training, I am an absolute back of the packer!

I hope everyone has a relatively speedy weekend --although I'm personally hoping mine will go slowly so I can recover from this ridiculously fast week.

Maria

Oh, Maria - I truly did not mean to call you out or single you out - so many of us have said something similar in the past - including myself. Goodness knows (and I know!) the last place you were coming from was a place of wanting to bring anyone down. I apologize if my tone was too chastising. It truly was not meant to be. I just want us all to feel GOOD about what we're doing without a need for qualifying our work.


Nicole - There are plenty of people who would LOVE to have your speed. You've come a long way in such a short time - you should be very proud! I think it is a cultural thing to downplay our abilities and achievements. How many times have people said to me "You ran a marathon!" And I say "Oh, just a half marathon" I did it at the airport in January, even! For some, a half marathon is such an unimaginable distance to cover, it might as well BE a marathon. So we gotta be proud of what we can do, because regardless of our speed or style, it's amazing that we can do it. Heck, for some of us (me) it is amazing that we even TRY to do it.

And as for being a dork in a running skirt - I don't know what you're talking about. I think running skirts are always a wise and fashionable choice.

I don't know about strollers on the Challenge Obesity course - it's in Como Park so they can't exactly ban them, I'm thinking. So long as you stay to one side so faster runners can pass easily, I would think it wouldn't be a problem, but it might be a good idea to email the race director. He's a really nice guy - I can write to him and ask if you'd rather. They have a kids event as well, so she would likely not be the only child present, by any means.

I did manage to talk myself into 5 last night on the treadmill. It's not an optimal long run with an hours-long pause in the middle, but I feel like it will be OK. Unfortunately, my knees were feeling a little creaky at the start. Not sure what's up with that. Makes me wonder if I am needing new shoes. Great timing, right?

Better get the kids to school!