Head for the Cure

Sunday was my first 5K! When I really decided to take running seriously I just kind of jumped into a half marathon and skipped over all the shorter races. So this was pretty exciting for me! Not only was it my first 5K, but it was also Jack's!

Here we are getting psyched up for the big race. Jack got too psyched up and threw up right after I took this picture. I think it was nerves.

Team Clark:
He's not even a year old yet, but already a dedicated athlete.
He dropped that binky a few times on the race course and we had to stop to pick it up. Its either a rookie mistake or he was trying to sabotage the runners behind us by tripping them with his binky.
The race went really well. Since we'd run 18 the day before we decided to just walk this one. Well, maybe a quarter mile into it we decided that wasn't going to work. We spent the first mile bobbing and weaving to make our way through all the walkers so we could run. By the end we really got competitive and were trying to pass all the other strollers. Jack and I agreed that the best part of the race was the ice cream at the finish line!

Marathon Training: Week 11 Recap

Week 11 was another kick-butt week of running. I love feeling like I'm making progress and actually improving my running! That said, I am exhausted. I'm definitely ready for week 12, which is another step-back week. Before we get to that though, let's take a look at how week 11 went. Hal's scheduled runs are in PINK and Jamie's actual runs are in PURPLE. Do you think Hal is mad he's in pink? Maybe he'd like a manlier color... maybe next week.

MONDAY: Rest Day / 5 Miles. I like getting ahead of schedule. I find that later in the week I'm more likely to find excuses not to run.

TUESDAY: 5 Miles / 8 Miles. Brooke and I ran a different route this morning and I got to see parts of OP I've never seen before. It felt like the longest run ever. I wasn't tired, I just think I was bored.

WEDNESDAY: 8 Miles / Cross Train. I was so excited to go to the gym and get on the bike so I could finish my book! After an hour I still hadn't quite finshed, but I'd felt I'd had enough so I went home to read the rest. The Undomestic Goddess is hilarious. Thanks for letting me borrow it Jana!

THURSDAY: 5 Miles / 5 Miles. I ran a really hilly course around my neighborhood and felt really good! I can definitely tell I'm improving. I guess all that hill work is working!

FRIDAY: Rest Day / 2 Miles. We have a house-guest named Bacon. He's kind of like Ari... on speed. I'm serious. I didn't know such a dog existed. Trying to take the edge off and give Ari a little break, I took Bacon out for a two mile run. He's not a runner, but 2 miles didn't even phase him. He was all over Ari when we got home. Ari has finally met his match.

SATURDAY: 18 Miles / 18 Miles. This weather kicks ass. I swear it makes me a better runner. The last mile was tough, but not as bad as it could have been. No Swim Suit Man, nothing really exciting to report. Just 18 miles in under 3 hours. Woot woot!

SUNDAY: Cross Train / 5K. Today was my first 5K!!! Details to follow.

Total Mileage: 36 / 41

I didn't realize until I was typing this that I didn't actually get a rest day this week. Trust me I will be making up for that next week! Expect to see some 3 milers in place of 5. I'm seriously exhausted!!!

****Marathon Training Tip of the Week: Get strong, but not too strong. Hal suggests that at this point in the training program it is time to cut out "heavy lifting." I'm all about strength training and believe that adding to your overall fitness makes you a better runner. That said, I never do any heavy lifting. I try to do 2 -3 days of "light" lifting; upper body and lots of random lunges and squats. I think core work is the best thing you can do if you are a runner. It does all sorts of things like making running easier and preventing injuries. Good stuff. I really like to do random ab videos On Demand and anything Jillian Michaels. I think Hal's point is that when your mileage creeps up this high, your risk of getting injured shoots up too. So if you are lifting heavy, cut it out. :)

PB&J = Peanut Butter & Jamie

Remember when I said I was on a peanut butter kick? Well, just in case you thought I was kidding:

4 jars of peanut butter, and one jar of almond butter. Yum! And actually, if you count the two jars under the sink for the puppies...

That's 7 jars of nut butter in our house! We need help. We need PBA... Peanut Butter-aholics Anonymous.

Rally Time

The Gibsons (myself included) are big KSU football fans. We love K-State Football. And we love Bill Snyder. So much so, we decided to throw a party in his honor. Saturday was the return of the Annual Football Kick-Off Party. See those pictures on the wall below? Those are all these collages of pictures from previous parties. Ever since Drew and I started dating I've heard about these parties and seen the pictures, but for some reason when I came around the parties stopped. I was thrilled to hear we were bringing it back this year in honor of Bill!

Before I get into the millions of pictures from the night... a word about my in-laws. You know how everyone has a story about their crazy mother-in-law or bitchy sister-in-law? Not here. My in-laws rock. Seriously, I was so blessed to find the love of my life, but then to find out that I get to be a part of such an amazing family was like icing on the cake. Oh, and they throw a killer party. On with the pictures...

Twinnies:


Getting the party started:


Cheryl getting the party started. You can't really tell, but that pinata has Ron's pictures all over it. When someone (Brett) finally knocked it open it was stuffed with million dollar bills. Hilarious. Well, I think the kids were a little disappointed as they were expecting candy, but we thought it was funny.

Nick wore an MU shirt. What??? He was a big hit anyway... lucky he's got a lovely girlfriend and a killer stuffed jalapeno recipe!


Bill Snyder is the new Bill Snyder. Right Ellen?

My favorite running partner!!! Nothing makes me happier than Drunk Brooke.


See how much they love my sugar cookies!!!

Katy shoots a jello shot:

The previously mentioned totally awesome family I married into:

When I drink I like to take pictures of people when they aren't watching... so this is Mr. Boyd dancing with the pinata on his head (I think that's what that is) and pom-poms on his behind. Whatev.
Brett's team won 2nd place in K-State Jeopardy. Yep, there were medals handed out. I told you we were excited!

Todd and Gail had the most awesome T-shirts of the night. Todd's said, "Todd & Bill: BFF" and Gail's said "Bill & Gail Forever." Holy hilariousness.

Its not a party until Tom starts dancing.

Pool game in progress, but the important part of this picture is the poster contest against the wall. I cannot believe how funny these were. There are funny people at this party.

More fun with friends:

Huddle???

Drunk:

Nancy is like the all-star of party planning. The party had its own cups. You don't get much better than that.

Hmmm... drunk Bryan is another of my favorite things. No parade tonight, but lots of funny pictures with big hands.

Hey Brooke, how many miles did you run today??? Yeah, we're showing off.

More fun with Drunk Bryan:

Bryan + Brett + big furry paw hands = BFF.

And the night takes a turn for the worse. Why Todd? Why?

Don't do it Brooke...

Ahhh crap. Now we're all doing it.

And here it is... the best thing to happen to me and my camera in a very long time. I cannot help but bursting out laughing every time I see this picture. I'd totally make this my profile picture if it weren't linked to my dog-blog. Seriously, how does this happen???

Grant shows off his bartending skills with even more unnecessary shots.

Bryan gives this party two regular sized thumbs up.

Seriously??? More???


Bachman passed out on the couch, so we tied balloons to him... to try to keep him up. Get it? No? Anyways...

I think we officially rallied in the new season. I had an awesome time. I can't wait to see what this season brings!

Sugar Cat Cookies

I bet you thought I was going to skip the cookbook recipe from last week! Nope, I'm just running a bit behind in my posting. I waited until Saturday to make my recipe for the week and then all the hoo-ha going on since then has kept me from posting pics. Oh, and I didn't really take pics. So here's a picture from the internet of the book I used this week:

Someone (don't remember who!!!) gave me this cookbook at a bridal shower and I fell in love. It is seriously the best cookbook ever. So when Drew's mom asked me to make sugar cookies for the Kickoff Party this weekend I decided to try the recipe from this book.

The resulting cookie dough was... meh. I'm kind of an expert on cookie dough. Raw eggs or not, I'm going to eat it. This stuff didn't taste good enough to continue tasting... probably a good thing for my tummy. It was also really sticky and I kept having to stick it back into the freezer after rolling it out. While the taste wasn't the best, the cookies turned out pretty darn cute.



The purple sugar is a little messy, but at this point I was running super late (that's not like me, right?) and didn't have time to clean them up. The frosting was called "powdered sugar frosting" in the book, but it was essentially Royal Icing. When I went to pull out the powdered sugar to make the frosting I couldn't find it anywhere. Come on, I know I just recently bought a new bag... where the heck is it??? Oh right. Mya ate that bag. Off to Hen House I go! That dog owes me like $2.00 for powdered sugar, $3.00 for pancake mix, and like $100 for all the bananas, pears, and peaches she's devoured in the last few months.

Anyways, there you go... love the cookbook, but not this recipe. I'll be trying another for tailgates. And hopefully I can keep Mya's greedy paws away from my baking essentials.

Which one are you???

I just found this online and almost died laughing. I just had to share... my comments are in PINK. Enjoy!


The 12 most annoying types of Facebookers

Facebook, for better or worse, is like being at a big party with all your friends, family, acquaintances and co-workers. There are lots of fun, interesting people you're happy to talk to when they stroll up. Then there are the other people, the ones who make you cringe when you see them coming. This article is about those people.

Sure, Facebook can be a great tool for keeping up with folks who are important to you. Take the status update, the 160-character message that users post in response to the question, "What's on your mind?" An artful, witty or newsy status update is a pleasure -- a real-time, tiny window into a friend's life. But far more posts read like navel-gazing diary entries, or worse, spam. A recent study categorized 40 percent of Twitter tweets as "pointless babble," and it wouldn't be surprising if updates on Facebook, still a fast-growing social network, break down in a similar way. Combine dull status updates with shameless self-promoters, "friend-padders" and that friend of a friend who sends you quizzes every day, and Facebook becomes a daily reminder of why some people can get on your nerves.

Here are 12 of the most annoying types of Facebook users:

The Let-Me-Tell-You-Every-Detail-of-My-Day Bore. "I'm waking up." "I had Wheaties for breakfast." "I'm bored at work." "I'm stuck in traffic." You're kidding! How fascinating! No moment is too mundane for some people to broadcast unsolicited to the world. Just because you have 432 Facebook friends doesn't mean we all want to know when you're waiting for the bus.
There are like 5 people who are ALWAYS on my news-feed. And it never seems to be anyone I'm actually friends with.

The Self-Promoter. OK, so we've probably all posted at least once about some achievement. And sure, maybe your friends really do want to read the fascinating article you wrote about beet farming. But when almost EVERY update is a link to your blog, your poetry reading, your 10k results or your art show, you sound like a bragger or a self-centered careerist. Beats, Bears, Battlestar Galactica.

The Friend-Padder. The average Facebook user has 120 friends on the site. Schmoozers and social butterflies -- you know, the ones who make lifelong pals on the subway -- might reasonably have 300 or 400. But 1,000 "friends?" Unless you're George Clooney or just won the lottery, no one has that many. That's just showing off. George Clooney is on Facebook?!?

The Town Crier. "Michael Jackson is dead!!!" You heard it from me first! Me, and the 213,000 other people who all saw it on TMZ. These Matt Drudge wannabes are the reason many of us learn of breaking news not from TV or news sites but from online social networks. In their rush to trumpet the news, these people also spread rumors, half-truths and innuendo. No, Jeff Goldblum did not plunge to his death from a New Zealand cliff. I think MJ was the star of the news-feed for like a month!

The TMIer. "Brad is heading to Walgreens to buy something for these pesky hemorrhoids." Boundaries of privacy and decorum don't seem to exist for these too-much-information updaters, who unabashedly offer up details about their sex lives, marital troubles and bodily functions. Thanks for sharing. I consider potty-training issues to fall into this categorie and consider it grounds for de-friending.

The Bad Grammarian. "So sad about Fara Fauset but Im so gladd its friday yippe". Yes, I know the punctuation rules are different in the digital world. And, no, no one likes a spelling-Nazi schoolmarm. But you sound like a moron. This might be me!

The Sympathy-Baiter. "Barbara is feeling sad today." "Man, am I glad that's over." "Jim could really use some good news about now." Like anglers hunting for fish, these sad sacks cast out their hooks -- baited with vague tales of woe -- in the hopes of landing concerned responses. Genuine bad news is one thing, but these manipulative posts are just pleas for attention. I just de-friended a girl from high school because every f-ing post was, "When will it all end?" "Wondering how things got this bad." "At least things can't get any worse." Whoa Debbie Downer! I don't even know you, I don't feel comfortable sharing in your misery.

The Lurker. The Peeping Toms of Facebook, these voyeurs are too cautious, or maybe too lazy, to update their status or write on your wall. But once in a while, you'll be talking to them and they'll mention something you posted, so you know they're on your page, hiding in the shadows. It's just a little creepy. This is me!!!

The Crank. These curmudgeons, like the trolls who spew hate in blog comments, never met something they couldn't complain about. "Carl isn't really that impressed with idiots who don't realize how idiotic they are." [Actual status update.] Keep spreading the love. No one spews hate in my blog comments... no one really spews anything in my blog comments.

The Paparazzo. Ever visit your Facebook page and discover that someone's posted a photo of you from last weekend's party -- a photo you didn't authorize and haven't even seen? You'd really rather not have to explain to your mom why you were leering like a drunken hyena and French-kissing a bottle of Jagermeister. This is me, only on my blog! Katy already told me not to post pics from last night... they're going up Katy!!!

The Maddening Obscurist. "If not now then when?" "You'll see..." "Grist for the mill." "John is, small world." "Dave thought he was immune, but no. No, he is not." [Actual status updates, all.] Sorry, but you're not being mysterious -- just nonsensical. I hate when people post things like, "I just got the best news!" but don't tell you what the news is. Then I have to ask, and then you know I'm creepy lurker... just tell me the news!

The Chronic Inviter. "Support my cause. Sign my petition. Play Mafia Wars with me. Which 'Star Trek' character are you? Here are the 'Top 5 cars I have personally owned.' Here are '25 Things About Me.' Here's a drink. What drink are you? We're related! I took the 'What President Are You?' quiz and found out I'm Millard Fillmore! What president are you?"
You probably mean well, but stop. Just stop. I don't care what president I am -- can't we simply be friends? Now excuse me while I go post the link to this story on my Facebook page. I think the invitations increase as the older generation starts to join FB. Its kind of a novelty to them and they don't always realize how lame it is to try to start a snowball fight on FB. Oh, and I'd really like girls I never even talked to in HS to stop inviting me to play Sorority Life with them.

If you can't tell, Facebook is one of those things that really gets me going. I've been on a de-friending rampage lately, mostly because I've decided it takes way too much energy being annoyed at status updates from people I don't even like or talk to in the real world. I could be a nice person and ignore the scrapbook/potty-training updates, but I choose to be a B**** and axe 'em instead. Watch out! I'm on the war-path!!! :)

Which one are you???

Marathon Training: Week 10 Recap

This was a really good week of running. And after the last couple of weeks, I needed a good week of running! Its nice to remember why I started this in the first place. Scheduled runs are in PINK and actual run is in PURPLE.

MONDAY: Rest Day / Rest Day. I needed it. The 11 miles of hills on Sunday kicked my butt.

TUESDAY: 4 Miles / 4 Miles.

WEDNESDAY: 8 Miles / 8 Miles & 30 minutes bike. We planned our run for later in the day so I forced myself to the gym for some early morning bike action. I don't know how we get so lucky, but Brooke and I met at Roe Park to run and it was looking super ugly out. We made it halfway through our run before it started raining. And even then, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Plus, rain makes us run fast!

THURSDAY: 4 Miles / 4 Miles. In an attempt to bring Ari down a notch I ran 4 miles with him as fast as I could possibly manage. Nope, he was still bouncing off the walls all day. Good try though.

FRIDAY: Rest Day / Rest Day.

SATURDAY: 17 Miles / 17 Miles. Best run ever! The weather was beautiful and my legs felt great. I was definitely tired at the end, but not dead like I was last week. If every run was like this I might never stop running. Oh, and did I mention we saw Swim Suit Man?? Yep, he has a new bathing suit... a lovely high cut blue number. Super hot.

SUNDAY: Cross Train / TBD. I've been bitten by the hangover bug and am not feeling too motivated at this point, but we'll see if I get to the gym to do the bike. Highly unlikely...

Total Mileage: 33 / 33

***Marathon Training Tip of the Week: Don't get discouraged! Training takes a long time. My plan is 18 weeks long. In just the 10 weeks I've completed I've had super fabulous weeks like this one where I feel like a rock star after every run, and I've had super crappy weeks where every run makes me feel like... crap. Its silly to think that every one of these 18 weeks is going to be awesome. Sometimes 11 miles will seem impossible while 17 feels great. Its important to focus on the good ones and forget the bad ones. If a week seems sucky and you aren't loving running, just remember that it has to change sometime. For me, all it takes is one good run to erase an entire week of bad. Keep your chin up and just keep chugging away!

A Day in the Life

I'm having one of those "It's great to be alive!" Days. It could be the fabulous weather, or my fabulously clean kitchen, or possibly the fact that the husband gets home today with no plans to leave again until November. Regardless, it just feels like a great day!

Doing what I do, my days are pretty random. This morning was spent in the office, and this is what it looks like:

Mya snoozes on the couch. This is the only couch she's allowed to be on so she usually takes full advantage. Sometimes when she starts dreaming she growls and runs in her sleep. It is just about my favorite thing ever.

Ari typically runs back and forth from the front window to the office, reporting any and all suspicious activity that may be going on outside. This may include such happenings as: car drives by, squirrel climbs tree, wind blows leaves. He puts up a real hoo-ha when the mailman delivers the mail. You have to keep your eye on that mailman. Who knows what he's up to!


Ari is a one dog neighborhood watch.


I sit and "work" at our incredibly messy desk. The office is the catch-all of our house and is horribly disorganized. Oh, and when I say "work" I mean Twitter.


I drink like 9 cups of coffee a day.


Here's my sweet bulletin board that I brought with me from Commerce. This is what happens when I'm given a purchasing card and told to buy my own office supplies. They miss me, I just know it.

Sometimes Ari gets ballsy and kicks Mya out of her spot on the couch.



Mya gets upset and tries to climb into my lap. She maybe has a skewed view of her size, but she really likes to be in my lap. Sometimes she'll just sit there while I "work".

Seriously, how great are my office days? Coffee, dogs, Twitter... its the good life!

I hope everyone is having a GREAT Friday! I'm off to walk some very large dogs in this perfect weather!!!

Name That Fruit

If you said CrabApple, you win! It's okay, we didn't know what the heck it was either. Our fruit and veggie box from Fresh Connect showed up on Saturday with a bunch of these little fellas rolling around. I had to check the invoice to figure out what they were. Next question: What the heck do you do with a CrabApple???

If you said "make jelly" you win again! I checked All Recipes, my go-to anytime I need a little help and they gave me exactly 3 recipes. Usually there are like a thousand. So, my choices are jelly, pickled, or sauce. None of those sound appealing to me. So, I chopped them up and tossed them into my go-to Oatmeal Muffin recipe along with some raisins. The result...

... Yummy Muffin Tastiness!!!

The crabapples turned really soft and tangy in the oven. They went really nicely with the sweet raisins. Being the carb-a-holic that I am, I snarfed one down straight out of the oven... with butter of course. Look at all that fruity goodness:

Now that we all know there are alternatives to jelly, I thought I'd share my fabulous oatmeal muffin recipe. Its super yummy (did I say that already??) and very versatile. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup packed brown sugar (more or less depending on your taste)

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (more if you love it like me!!!)

3 tablespoons ground flax seed

1 cup milk

1 egg, beaten

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cups chopped fruit/nuts

Cinnamon & Sugar

1. Preheat oven to 425. Grease muffin pan with Pam.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and flax. Add the milk, egg, and oil. Mix until well blended. Fold in the fruit & nuts. Fill muffin cups 2/3 of the way full. Sprinkle tops with cinnamon & sugar.

3. Bake 20-25 minutes until tops are golden brown and muffins spring back to the touch.

4. Eat and enjoy! Store in an airtight container in the fridge for... I don't know, like a week maybe. They never last that long around here.