My Awesome Guide to Running.

For those of you who've followed along the Smith journey for a while, you know that I started running back in September, only to learn in November that I'm a wuss I had Achilles tendonitis, thus making it impossible to run anymore.  

I went to the doctor, got some medicine, did physical therapy, and took several months off.  I got the itch again when it started getting so pretty out, so I decided to try it out.  And guess what?  The persistent icing (as in ice - not frosting), the prescription anti-inflammatory, and the lazy sitting around on my backside months of rest paid off.  I'm back in the game. 

I'm taking it slow, so I'm starting back with the Couch to 5k plan as I did the first time around.  But since I've learned a few things through all this, I thought I'd share for a couple reasons: 1)  To motivate any non/beginning runners, and 2) To make long-time runners chuckle at what probably should have been obvious to me to begin with.

Here goes.

1. Stretch.  This is major.  That's why I put it first... and that's why this is the only guideline not laced with sarcasm.  Did you know that holding any stretch under 30 seconds doesn't really count?  So stretching your hamstrings for 10 seconds does nothing.  My physical therapist told me to think of it like a hair band - it takes time for the them to stretch.  Same with your muscles, except more serious of course.  Stretching is majorly important and prevents injuries and that day-after-tightness.  Do not overlook the post-run-stretching.
2. Morning runs are delightful.  I don't know what it is, but mornings have this magic to them.  It's like it's just you and the birds and the pavement ahead.  Magic, I tell you. 
3. Do not, I repeat DO NOT, sprint until the very end.  And even then, only if you feel it's absolutely necessary, which it probably isn't, but your choice.  I'm a moron who decided that sprinting on my second-to-last running interval would be a great idea.  I blame it on the Jay-Z/Linkin Park song on my playlist, but I should have known better. 
4. Speaking of Jay-Z...  His music is perfect for motivation.  Add it to your playlist in a part of your run that you know is that point when you're ready to give up.  Follow it up with Miley, if you dare.  She'll be a little easier on your pace but will put a lil smile on your face.  Just me?  Okay.  Have it your way.
5. Breakfast.  If you must eat before you run, stick to fruit or something light.  No matter how cute your husband is, do not let him convince you to go to Waffle House when you know full well it's going to make your run in 1-1/2 hours incredibly difficult.

That's my guide.  

Oh, and get good shoes.  But 6 is not a prime number, so I am not officially putting it on my list.   Because I have issues and lists of this nature must be prime.

Disclaimer:  I am not a doctor (in fact, I work in marketing).  This guide is for sarcastic entertainment purposes only.  So if you want real medical advice on how to start running, do not consult me. 

It's the little things.

I totally stole this title from my dear bloggy friend Tami, but it's something I've been thinking about a lot lately, thanks to her ever-positive tweets.  This has been a rough week for a number of reasons.  In spite of it all, however, there have been so many "little things" to put a smile on my face.  Here are a few.

This face.  Body under the covers, head on the pillow. She must think she's a person.  Who might have given her that impression, I wonder?  Certainly not me.  ;)

I'm running again.  PTL!

 Photo from here.

And since I just started back, I haven't worked out my playlists just yet. Somehow my iPod Genius playlist took my Jay-Z request and decided the song I walked down the aisle to at our wedding was fitting.  Although it is about as far from Jay-Z as I can come up with, it still brought a smile to my face and put some pep in my step.

This text from my darling husband.  I got him some new shoes this week.  If you can decipher the ebonics, I think this means he likes them. :)

And then this Facebook status from my sweet Mr. Smith, who was far braver than I will ever be this morning.  {Taking the dogs to the vet is like a form of self-torture.}  Apparently Emma pup wasn't given the be-on-your-best-behavior talk this morning.

And, Lady Liberty, of course.  Can't forget her. :)

Tell me, friends, what are the little things making you happy this week?

P.S.  Please blame Blogger for the wonky lack of appropriate line breaks.  Hopefully you can read and enjoy anyway!

Lady Liberty: Live and in Concert on Donelson Pike.

My apologies for my shoddy photography skills.  This is the best I could do while driving 10mph and trying to play iPhone photographer while keeping my eyes fully fixated on the road ahead without ticking off people around me.  {That pesky air freshener in the upper right corner didn't help much either.}

But the point here is:  I drive past Liberty Tax Service each day on my way home from work.  

Every day since January, this girl or someone like her has been dancing outside the strip center.  I assume this is their take on a sign twirler.  A girl dressed as Lady Liberty advertising their tax services.

She gets really into it.  Dancing.  Skipping.  Waving like she's just been crowned Miss America.  

So every day I go through this bittersweet experience of laughing at her and thinking "How did that poor girl end up doing that?"

But mostly laughing.  Because this, my friends, is what makes my days worthwhile.

Menu Monday.

I'm pretty excited about the diversity of this menu.  Lots of grilling, but we have a little bit of everything going on... except Mexican which is probably good because we've been a little heavy on that lately.  Heavy being a key word. 

To keep up that diversity, yesterday I picked up a new cookbook at Homegoods.  Next week is going to be packed with some Cooking Light: Fresh Food Fast goodness.  Get ready.

Monday:  I was planning something homemade, but I'm seriously craving pizza.  So that's what we'll have!  

Tuesday:  Kabobs on the grill!  My recipe below.  With potato salad, from Gina's Weight Watchers Recipes.

Wednesday:  Homemade spinach manicotti, again from Gina's.  And, yes, that means the pasta part is homemade too. What am I getting myself into?  Salad.

Thursday:  Grilled pork chops for Mr. Smith (using the same marinade recipe we use for the kabobs).  Quorn "chicken"patty sandwich for Mrs. Smith.  Annie's mac & cheese.  Grilled asparagus.

Friday: Seared Scallops with White Beans and Spinach, from fANNEtastic Food.

Saturday:  The Smith's are headed out for some Asian fusion for  birthday dinner for a friend.

Sunday:  Chicken on the grill for Mr. Smith.  Quorn Gruyere Chicken Cutlets for Mrs. Smith.  Cauliflower fritters, from Gina's.  Zucchini with feta.  Salad.

Photo from here.

Kabobs a la Smith

As with all my recipes, you can make some pretty easy ingredient adjustments based on what you like or don't.  There are no measurements - this can be as big or as small as you need it based on the number you are serving. 

Start with your meats:

New York Strip, cut into bite size chunks.

Shrimp

Scallops

Then your veggies:

Squash

Zucchini

Onions

Red Bell Pepper

Yellow Bell Pepper

Green Bell Pepper

Mushrooms (if you wish)

And the marinade:

1/2 c. olive oil
1/4 c. fresh-squeezed lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1tsp dried thyme
1tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp lemon zest
(Serves 4-6.  Adjust measurements to make more or less.)

Here are the steps:

1.  Chop all your veggies into bite size chunks.
2.  Marinate meat and veggies separately for 4-6 hours or overnight.  (FYI - We don't marinate the steak.  That tastes better on its own, IMO.)
3.  Grab your skewers and go to town.  Mix them up however you'd like.  (Mr. Smith's will have all the steak, mine will be heavier on the veggies.  Both will have a little shrimp & scallops.)
4.  Put them on the grill and have some fun! :)

Oh, boys.

Still don't know how to work my camera. Boo on me.  

For now, today's texts from Smith-marriage.

Mr. Smith:  I'm going to catch a matinee today. Clash of the Titans.

Mrs. Smith:  Oooh, have fun!

  {Secret thoughts: So glad I don't have to go to that!}

Mr. Smith:  Oh gosh. They're coming out with a Sex and the City 2.

Mrs. Smith:  You think I didn't know this? ha!

Oh, and btw, Mr. Smith decided 11:30 last night was the perfect time to watch New Moon with me... he knows I can't say no to gazing at hunky vampires from the comfort of our king-size-memory-foam-mattress.  

So guess who went to sleep at 2am this morning.  Me.  

Guess who fell asleep at 2 minutes into the movie.  Mr. Smith.

Best (and Worst) of Menu Monday.

While I continue figuring out how in the world to actually work my newfangled camera so I can show you my shower fabulosity, I'm going to do my Best and Worst of Q1 2010 Menu Monday.  Hopefully soon I can figure out pictures! :)

The Best:

 Photo: Randy Mayor; Styling: Leigh Ann Ross; From Cooking Light

Black Bean, Corn, and Zucchini Enchiladas, from Cooking Light.  (1/18)  All I can say is yum.  These are fabulous.  I think we added chicken to Mr. Smith's, but either way, this recipe is great.  

My Mom's Fajitas.  (1/25) I have and always will love these.  I used steak for Mr. Smith and TJ's soy "grilled chicken" strips for mine.  I marinated the soy chicken just the same as we do real meat, and these were just as wonderful. :)

Photo from fANNEtastic Food.

Almond Encrusted Tilapia, from fANNEtastic Food.  (2/1)  I've said it before, I'll say it again:  this stuff is incredible.

Photo from Cooking Light.

Vegetarian Chipotle Nachos.  (2/22)  I made several changes to the original recipe, and we absolutely loved this.  Mr. Smith said next time he'd rather have ground beef instead of chicken, but the black beans and adobo sauce - yum!

Fettuccine Alfredo, from Cooking Light.  (3/8)  This was just good.  Hearty and tasty but not fatty like the original.  A definite repeater.

Crispy Shrimp with Orange Ginger Sauce.  Originally from Cooking Light, found on Eat.Drink.Smile.  (3/29)  I expected this to be good, but dang... this exceeded all expectations.

The Worst:

Quinoa Carrot Zucchini Casserole.  (1/4)  Not sure what it was about this thing, but it was awful.  I love some quinoa, but not this.  Blech. Save yourself.

A Lamb Orzo Greek recipe.  (1/25)  This was awful.  I cut the mint and parsley in half, and the spice in this was just entirely too strong.  I found it on another blog, and she seemed to just love it.  The Smiths, on the other hand, thought it was vile.

There were several so-so recipes that I'm sure we won't repeat.  There were also a few that he liked more than I did, and several I liked more than he did.  I only highlighted ones we were both willing and excited to eat leftovers of.

I hope this inspires you to try some of them out!!

Menu Monday.

After a BEAUTIFUL Easter weekend full of lots of yard work and some serious eating (Mexican twice!! OOPS!), I'm ready to settle in for some relaxation and home-cooked but light meals. 

Monday:  Grilled chicken on the grill for Mr. Smith.  Quorn Chicken w/ Gruyere for Mrs. Smith.  Grilled asparagus.  Mrs. Smith's pasta salad.

Tuesday:  I'm hosting a Baby Shower at work for a friend.  Dinner will be a hodge-podge of the food there.  Mr. Smith will have leftovers.

Wednesday:  Dinner with a friend.  Mr. Smith's on his own. :)

Thursday:  Springy Shells, found on my friend's blog JayeWalking, originally from PW's Tasty Kitchen.  This one is packed with veggies, and I'm so excited to try it out.

Friday:  Pecan-Crusted Mahi Mahi from The Freckled Citizen.  Steamed broccoli with fresh garlic.  Mashed sweet potatoes (peel, chop, boil, drain, mash, add butter & brown sugar, enjoy!). 

Saturday:  Homemade pizza.  Salad. 

Sunday: Date night.  Will we do our stand-by Sushi or Mexican? ...or maybe a try something new!  We shall see.

I think this week is going to be packed with some food posts.  I'm going to recap the best and worst of the first quarter of 2010 Menu Mondays.  Some of those were fabulous, some of them got trashed and we moved on to pizza.  So sad.

And I have to show off all my shower hosting handywork - I did a bridal shower 2 weeks ago and a baby shower tomorrow night.  Don't tell, but I'm totally repeating some of the recipes because they were really freakin' good.  My new camera has recorded ever little step, so I need to show it off!

A very happy day.

Today is a very, very happy day for 2 reasons.

The first is Easter, of course.  May God bless you and your families as you celebrate such an incredible holiday.

From here.

The second is the 7 year anniversary of Mr. Smith and I beginning our dating relationship.  We haven't yet reached our first marriage anniversary, so we're doing a mini-celebration of this one, simply because we enjoy celebrating our love and each other.  Mushy mushy. :) 

I'm a lucky girl to have known him for 7 years, and I'm looking forward to the years of marriage we will soon begin to celebrate.

I'm throwing a baby shower!

I'm planning a baby shower for my dear, dear friend Mrs. K.  She's having a sweet little girl in July, and I've having an absolute ball planning her shower.

Over the past few weeks, I've been doing a little research on themes and have settled on birds.  It matches her bedroom theme, and I just saw so many cute make-your-heart-fuzzy-without-the-baby-shower-cheese-factor things we could do with it all.

I created an inspiration board - something I didn't even do for my own wedding - and I'm so proud of myself.  Please, someone, pat me on the back. :)

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

The first little square is a Bird's Nest cupcake.  Cute, no?  I love the manzanita centerpieces!  That is a must for a bird them, I do think.  We'll do some egg salad sandwiches... get it?  Eggs?  The drink is a mocktail, at the momma's request, and is appropriately titled "Yellow Bird Cocktail."

The rest of these... I just thought the pictures were pretty.  :)

I found some perfect invitations via Etsy seller sweetpeababy.  We'll customize it for her information, but isn't it just darling?

The shower is still weeks away, but I'm happy to be back in the party planning game after my 6-month hiatus after the madness some people refer to as planning-your-own-wedding.  It's fun to do things like this for others!  Not nearly as much pressure (or budgets or nagging or crying or unsolicited opinions).

What do you think ladies?  Any game ideas?  {That whole candy-bar-in-the-diaper thing is an absolute no.}  Baby showers are pretty foreign to me, so I'm open to suggestions!