Monthly Archives: March 2012

My step-father in law’s son came to the states to visit from Germany, and to round out his trip, we went to Rustler’s Rooste for dinner.

Rustler’s Rooste makes me feel like I’m back home in Louisville! All of the signs and statements on the menu are “country hick” sounding, and it has a super casual atmosphere. There’s even a super pampered bull named “Horney” that chills outside greeting everyone as they come in! (He’s happy because he’s the only bull that’s safe around here!)

It was great to see the fam, since I have been so busy lately.

Cameron and I had our U.S. wedding ceremony here in 2010! We had a great friend’s husband marry us out on the patio, then had an amazing dinner! We took off to Europe the next day!

Man, thank God for getting sober, starting to hike, and run! (not to mention eating way better!) I had an incredible wedding, but boy was I unhealthy!

Back to good food!! (some healthy, some not )

Check this sucker out!

Cameron and I shared this amazing platter, called Cowboy Stuff, and almost needed a gurney to get me out of there! It included BBQ chicken, BBQ pork ribs, filet skewers, swordfish skewers, shrimp, veggies, cold slaw, corn on the cob, pineapple, ginormous potato fries, Cowboy beans, and a salad before. SOOOO good! I ran 6 miles today, and ate little for breakfast and lunch, thank God!!

Then we said buh-bye to Horney

to be a coveted bull….and get to lay around all day knowing he’ll never be slaughtered….what a life….

Now it’s off to more

I am 82% done, and can’t stop!! Do any of you ladies out there want to go see Hunger Games this weekend? I fully intend on having this read by then so I can go see it. Maybe we can make a girl’s night out of it! Go to Pita Jungle for dinner, hit the movies afterwards? Let me know what you think!!

Happy Trails!

Stacey

Today has consisted of

with

while eating

for dinner, then more of

What a healthy, productive day!

I LOVE this book! I am just over halfway done now, and it has turned into a page turner! I may never leave my bed until it’s finished. Only for a 6 mile long run tomorrow, lol!

How was your weekend? I worked….alllll weekend…but, this was the highlight of mine!!:

SOOOO PUMPED!! I’m off Saturday, too! Sometimes things just work out right

Happy Trails!  (back to Hunger Games, see ya tomorrow!)

Has anyone ever had Cowgirl Cookies? I think it’s a generic name for a kind of cookie made with oats and nuts and healthy stuff (plus some dark chocolate chips!). I had one at Pomegranate Café for the first time a few weeks ago, and decided that I HAD to find a recipe and make some of my own. (For $3 a cookie, they better be that good!). I found a recipe from The Baking Stone, and tweaked it to my liking.

Stacey’s Cowgirl Cookies

• 2 cups oatmeal
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tea baking soda
• 1/2 tea baking powder
• 1/2 tea salt
• 1 tea cinnamon (I think I added a tad bit more, like 1.5 tea)
• 2/3 cup Splenda (or whatever kind of sugar or sugar sub you prefer)
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• (at least) 1 cup vanilla soy milk (any kind of milk will do)
• 1 tea vanilla extract
• 1-2 tea ground flaxseeds (I said healthy!)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
• 1 cup Nestle Toll House dark chocolate morsels (oh yeah!)
• 1/2-3/4 cup chopped walnuts (toasted or untoasted)
• 1/2-3/4 cup pomegranate Craisins (or raisins)

You mix together all of the dry ingredients up to the cinnamon. Mix the Splenda through the flaxseeds in a separate bowl. Slowly add dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Here is where the “at least” part of the soy milk can vary. When I made these for the first time, before I even added all of the dry ingredients, I knew the mixture was too dry. I added more milk to help the ingredients mesh better together. You want the end mixture to be pretty thick, but you want all of the oats to have been stirred in well and not dry. Does that make sense? The mixture feels a little tacky to the touch. Then, fold in the coconut, chocolate chips, walnuts and dried fruit. Form into balls that are just a bit bigger than golf balls. Put them on a parchment paper covered baking sheet, and bake at 350* for about 12 minutes!

I have no idea how many calories and fat grams these have, and I don’t care! You can see that the ingredient list is very healthy, so don’t be too paranoid of indulging. I usually grab three on my way out the door in the morning….and a couple when I am done with dinner….and a couple when I wake up at 3am,… You get the point. They are SO good!! You can substitute any kind of nut, dried fruit, etc. Make the recipe what you want! Don’t put in coconut, it’s ok! I think this last batch, I added come slivered almonds, too.

Ali really wanted some, too, but I had to remind her that chocolate is not for dogs!

I had a fantastic run with my friend Sue today around Tukee! We did 4 miles, and kicked some serious butt! I should’ve taken a picture…..it was such a good run that, being the dedicated and smart crazy insane pain loving runner that I am, I decided to take an ice bath.

Party ice time everyone!!!!

I am currently reading Mile Markers by Kristin Armstrong. It’s pretty good so far. Has anyone else read it? Did you like it? I am going to read Hunger Games next, because I keep hearing about how good the books are. Do they live up to their hype?

Let me know if you make the Cowgirl Cookies, and how they turn out! What did you do to workout today? Have you read either of the books I mentioned above? How did you like them? Leave me some love!!

Happy Trails!

Stacey

So I didn’t run the Kiss Me I’m Irish run in Glendale today for a few reasons. One of which, is I had a doughnut on my car, so it really wasn’t safe to drive across town (literally! Glendale is about 45 minutes from Ahwatukee without traffic on I-10!). SO, I decided to run it in Ahwatukee, instead!

I had my own little race, and I’m sure everyone thought I was crazy, but I loved it! Allergies are still horrendous, but I still managed to squeeze about 5.5 miles out of myself . I allowed myself to take walk breaks without feeling like too much of a loser. Jeff Galloway says you should, right??!! That really helped me run even further without suffocating from my constant hacking.

After I finished my run, my hubby and I decided to go watch some good basketball, ie: IU and U of L games, at a local restaurant called Tukees. Food was pretty good, and IU won, which made hubby very happy!!

Then, we went to Loco Patron to watch the Louisville game. Everyone was drinking their green beer and partying like the little leprechauns they wish they were. We even met some dudes from Indiana that went to Wabash College, and remembered when the Purdue Dance Team (myself included) cheered for them at their football games! (They are an all guys college.) How random!

Then after we got home, Ali asked if she could borrow my headband.

Mommy! Where’d my ears go?!?!

Then, we watched Louisville win and make it to the Sweet Sixteen! GO CARDS!!

Tomorrow, morning run with Sue, if it isn’t pouring down rain. I hope it rains overnight, though, so the allergens all wash away! Plus, I LOVE rain! Do any of you AZ peeps like rain? Miss rain because you are a former Midwesterner?

What did you do for St Patty’s day?

Happy Trails!!

So today, I decided to go to Pita Jungle for lunch, because they just opened one up in Ahwatukee. I was in the mood for some good, wholesome, healthy food. I usually get the chicken combo platter to go after hiking Camelback or Squaw Peak, since there is one up at 44th St and Indian School. I love the platter, but it was time to try something new. I sat outside, and the weather was perfect! I ordered the Hummus and Ahi Tuna appetizer. Take a look at this!

I forgot to take a picture before digging into it because I was so hungry!

The tuna was seared to about a medium rare, and was absolutely fantastic! Their hummus is always good-creamy and fresh, and perfect with the tuna on pita bread. I also had their tropical iced tea, which is a favorite of mine.

I was supposed to do a long run today. So I set out around sunset close to home, and was struggling during mile two! I made it to about 2.7 before taking a major break. I actually sat on the curb….what is wrong with me! Part of the problem is that I am battling allergies, so I feel like I am constantly in the process of coughing up a hairball. It makes it difficult to breathe consistently when you are coughing and clearing out your throat during your entire run. I ended up walking for a bit, then running again, then walking for a bit, then running until I hit 4 miles. I wanted to do 6, but that just wasn’t happening tonight.

Does anyone just have periods of time where they just struggle after the first mile or two? I am so nervous about my half marathon if I am struggling this much now!

Like a good runner should, I decided to take an ice bath when I got home.

25 lbs of pure hell muscle recovery right there!

Party ice my ass

What distance does it take you to warrant taking an ice bath?

Tell me about the last time you were discouraged about running a long distance, and how you got through it!

Happy Trails!

Sunday was ALL about the princess. Little Princess Ali the Pug, that is! The WalkRunWag 5K9 was a really cute and fun race! There were tons of dogs and their people there, and even some other pugs for Ali to hang with!

We got there right before the 1 mile walk started. Ali knew we were going somewhere special, so she was so excited!

Until I put her in her safety harness. “Mommy, I know you love me, and this is safer on the highway, but really???”

That’s better! Off we go!

Starting line for the one mile run/walk

OMG its more pugs! And their Mommy and Daddy have a wagon for them! I wanna borrow his shirt, it says “Get Your Nose Out of My Butt!” SO awesome!

Aaaaaand we’re walkin’

Ooooh look at the fountain! Too bad I’m vertically challenged…

Glad I’m not the only one who needs a break!

Out friends asked if I would like to ride in their wagon because Mommy looked tired (I only weigh 24 lbs, come on Mommy!). Mommy said “yes, please!!”

I want my OWN wagon now, Mommy!!

I’ve even got my own body guards!!

I really AM a princess, Mommy!

Are we there yet, Mommy??

Yay! We made it to the finish! And I get water!!!

And a picture with the fire hydrant!!

That was so much fun, Mommy!! Can we do it again next year??

Then, Mommy had to go to this place, and help them do some stuff in some room in the back of a store. She was running around and putting treats in bottles and putting stickers on them, and talking to people, and typing on the computer. I laid on this chair the whole hour being an angel, because Mommy says this is how she puts food in my bowl. So I said ok! I’m tired anyway after my race!

Then, Mommy took me to Loco Patron to get lunch and water. I even got my own stool!

And my own water bowl!!

Today was SO much fun! Now I think I need a nap.

Love, snorts, and puggy kisses!

Ali the Pug

Wow, it’s been a little over a week since I’ve blogged! I had a busy week with work and doing Climb to Conquer last weekend. Now, I have a three day weekend to relax, thank God!

So last weekend, I did Climb to Conquer Cancer with some friends and colleagues from work. It consisted of a 5.6 mile “hike” (walk) up the road to the top of South Mountain. There were over 4200 people that participated, so it was a really nice event!

This is the top at the finish line.

My friends Carmen and Drea at the 101.5 Jamz DJ tent.

Drea and Carmen on the bus (they had busses for the tired to take us back down to the bottom) We were really tired and hungry after our 5:30am wakeup call!

Me on the bus right before my little nappypoo. Totally brought back memories from junior high!

After the climb, we went to AZ Bread Co for breakfast, where I had an awesome Garden Frittata, a strawberry banana smoothie, and some coffee. Then I went home and took a nice long nap. There’s nothing better on a Saturday afternoon than eating a great meal after a race or an event, then going home and snuggling up in bed with my Tater Tot for a nap.

I had to work on Sunday, but still managed to sneak my long run in afterwards. I wasn’t planning on it when I got up Sunday, but by the end of the day, I was craving a good run! I ran 4 miles, and loved every second of it! I haven’t run that far without stopping in months. I did have a little bit of knee pain, but only about a 3 on a 1-10 pain scale. I came home, took a small ice bath, and called it a night.

I am planning on a long run of 5 miles tomorrow with my friend Karen bright and early. What an awesome way to start a weekend!

I have to send a huge thank you to SkinnyRunner for the suggestion to use Windows Live Writer. I guess I was a masochist before, because it took me forever to do a post! So thx SR, from one dumb blonde to another .

I am super excited for

with

this Sunday! I will take lotsa pics and do a big post about it, don’t worry!

Are you racing this weekend? If not, what are your plans?

Happy Trails!