TOL – Modern Technology, Gym Class & Slow Walking

 

I have so many issues with modern technology and one of them is how available we all are, or really, how available people expect that we are because we are so easy to reach.

Kids today not only have cell phones, they now have the ability to text their parents from class to say they are bored and want to come home.

I had to suffer through my middle school classes and my child will too.

In fact, I am so bothered that I couldn’t send these texts to my parents when I was a kid more than anything else. I am jealous, okay? And this jealously is what will keep him sitting in class as I LOL back at him. If I couldn’t leave, you can’t either. Deal with it.

I am surprised he didn’t text to say he was hungry considering he is still on the breakfast before school is for losers kick.

Exhibit A: The whole grain waffle topped with peanut butter left sitting on the car seat. I think he took a small bite.

While on the topic of school, every time my mother reads my workout recaps, she calls me to say that if my evil high school gym teacher isn’t dead yet, she would drop dead to know that not only can I run, I can run fast and long.

Oh hey, Ms. Tirado! I may have fainted in your gym class and thrown up too when you tried to push me too far but look at me now! And no thanks to you and your early morning gym class detention time when you had me running in circles at 6:00 am as punishment for not wanting to change into my gym clothes.  

Ms. Tirado even told me that in all of her years of teaching gym, I held the record for WALKING her required fitness test mile the slowest in history. I didn’t RUN the required mile back then because I had a doctor’s note to excuse me from such a strenuous activity 🙂

I still walk slow you know.

My son routinely gives me a hard time about my walking pace at which point I usually remind him that I already ran my miles with speed intervals too so I am entitled to walk however slow I wish. I mean, don’t my legs ever get a break?

A few more modern technology complaints for today while I have your attention:

1. I wish my Keurig machine held more water in its tank. Every other minute that blue light is staring at me letting me know it’s time to refill. I don’t want to keep refilling! Hold more water at a time would you?

2. All Pin It! buttons should be required to be positioned in the same corner of all pictures on all websites. My goodness, I am forever hovering over images looking for the darn pin it button.

Some sites it’s the upper left corner, some its the center, some it’s the bottom right, top right yet never the bottom left. It drives me nuts! And what really puts me over the edge? When I finally find the pin it button on the image and a message pops up telling me there’s no image to pin. As if that makes any sense whatsoever.

I am off to run now, 8 miles on the treadmill here I come!

Check out what everyone else is thinking about today here.

[bctt tweet=”Thinking out loud & my problems with modern technology #thinkingoutloud #running #gymclass #kids #motherhood #technology @runwithspoons”]

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Anyone else have an awful gym teacher growing up?

What’s on the workout agenda for today?

Are you forever refilling the Keurig water?

 

 

 

 

Thinking Out Loud September 3, 2015

 

Just so you know, my son doesn’t start school until NEXT TUESDAY. I know, right? Like, every other school in America has started except for us. At least it seems that way.

I shouldn’t complain though, I am not ready for the whole school routine thing and I am still working on his school supply organization only to have him mess up my notebook system within a matter of two days.

In between attempting to get work done and keep up with my blog reading (I am totally behind), we did get over to Red Mango the other day to finally try the new acai bowls.

So it looks like my usual parfait but it’s not. There’s acai stuff in place of the usual yogurt layered in the cup with pumpkin flax granola (the best granola ever) plus lots of banana, strawberries and blueberries topped off with honey and coconut.

I absolutely loved it. I have had acai bowls before but this one was my favorite and it may replace my standard Red Mango parfait.

Next time though, I will order it without the coconut and honey on top because it really does nothing for me. I can take or leave shredded coconut and never overly loved drizzles of honey except during Rosh Hashanah which my goodness, is in less than two weeks.

I baked a whole bunch on Tuesday.

I like to bring dessert when I am a guest at someone’s house for dinner.

I made my usual oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookie recipe in pie form (because it’s a win friends and influence people type of dessert) and also a healthier batch of monster cookies adapted from Fit Foodie Finds.

I had a completely random and unlike me craving for PRETZEL M&M’S. Never my first choice in m&m’s but something about the pretzel (I never eat pretzels) combined with the chocolate combined with the crunch of an m&m was calling me from the Target candy aisle.

I just had to chop them up into the batter.

I really liked these cookies.

They have a dense, doughy texture and aren’t overly sweet (recipe called for coconut sugar) so you really taste the flavors of the ingredients, especially the mini chocolate chips and the pretzel m&m’s which are so my latest obsession to the point where last night I told my son we should throw the rest of the bag out and apply the squirt them with soap rule.

I spy rainbow cookies among my baked goods on the dessert table the other night…

3 random things you need to know:

1. I ate the last apple left in my house last night. How could this happen? I always have at least five on hand when I decide we are out of apples.
2. I finally own a spiralizer but have nothing to spiralize.
3. I did yoga in place of Pure Barre yesterday. What?! I know.

And for a special #TBT, a year ago this coming weekend I was in Florida to attend one of my best friend’s son’s Bar Mitzvah party.

And now, exactly one year later to the day, Danielle is getting remarried. Amazing what transpires in one year!

Unfortunately I won’t be able to get down to Florida this weekend but it’s okay because she promised me that her wedding won’t have the same out of this world chocolate cake that the Bar Mitzvah did so I am not really missing anything 😉

Be sure to check out what everyone else is thinking about today!

[bctt tweet=”Red Mango Acai Bowls, Monster Cookies and other random things #thinkingoutloud #redmango #acaibowls #cookies @runwithspoons”]

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If you have kids, did they start school yet?

Are you an acai bowl fan?

What do you like to spiralize?

 

 

The Johari Window

 

So much of what I learned in school was useless.

Okay, maybe not everything was completely useless but learning about the Aztecs and understanding Trigonometry (was that the math with SOH CAH TOA?) will forever seem as though I only needed to learn it to help my son with his homework, repeating the endless cycle of memorizing useless information.

I studied for exams and quickly forgot most of the material as soon as the bell rang but there were a few things we learned that have actually stuck with me for life.

Like prepositions.

In seventh grade, I learned and memorized all of the prepositions in the English language in alphabetical order. 

Aboard, about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, at..before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by…down, during, except for, from, in, into, like……did you want me to keep going? Because I can!

And then, something totally random known as the Johari Window.

Granted, I had to look up what this was called exactly for purposes of our discussion but the actual details of the four windows into the self were fascinating to me back then, even though I couldn’t fully grasp it all until now.

What I know about me and what you know about me, what I don’t know about me but you do know about me, what I know that you don’t know and what I don’t know that you don’t know either.

Lately, my good friend and I do a lot of deep talking about our past situations to better understand our current ones.

Lots of soul searching if you will.

And a lot of these deep conversations occur Saturday mornings, during my long runs. She calls me when she wakes up, knowing the strong possibility that I will be looking for some chit-chatting company.

Before she was up to call me during my long run last weekend, I was already in the mood to think a little deeper than usual.

Running does that to you. It’s like some sort of journey in the mind, especially when you run for a good two hours.

I even shut off Pandora voluntarily (I know, I can’t believe it either) because I wanted to hear my thoughts without Pitbull chiming in with his opinion.

I ended up thinking about these four windows and how they each applied to me in an effort to have some sort of A-HA moment of clarity.

That’s what this method is used for you know; to get to a point of being really honest with yourself.

To uncover your faults (no one is perfect), realize your strengths (we all have some), and bring awareness to some areas of your life where you might be making excuses, avoiding change, or completely unaware of something that needs attention.

Talk about passing the miles – this topic takes some time!

Click here for a really informative description of the Johari Window.

On a basic level of discussion in terms of defining myself, I am a really open person who has learned not to be naïve.

I am not secretive or mysterious, at least I don’t think so.

I like to think that even though you may not know me personally, you get a real sense of my personality and realize that what I say on this blog is completely honest and that my personality as it seems through my words, is how I am in person.

It made me happy to read Ashley’s comment yesterday because she gets me, through my words, without knowing me in real life.

I will say, after reviewing these windows, I have actually changed a lot over the years.

There was a long period of time in my life where I hung out in the blind window — living life from a really naïve perspective, while others could see things I didn’t allow myself to see.

Other people saw my head in the sand during the rocky points in my marriage, before I wanted to admit something was really wrong and probably not fixable at the time.

I didn’t want a divorce. I fought the concept with so much of my energy, to the point where I blocked out the idea of it completely.

The concept of divorce was so incredibly painful that my brain didn’t even want to go there.

I like to be happy. I didn’t fully allow myself to acknowledge what was about to go on because I didn’t want to deal with the emotions and the whole divorce process and the life-changing effects it would have.

I had that tendency, you know? Ignorance is bliss. But it’s not. At least not always. Sometimes you have to deal with the negative and feel really bad in order to feel better.

I am no longer like that. I confront what needs to be confronted pretty close to immediately and I don’t ignore things assuming that maybe they will go away when I know deep down that a change needs to be made.

I rarely make excuses and I also don’t tolerate much when it comes to what I want and deserve and that’s a really nice feeling.

There have also been times that I know things about myself that others don’t see.

I knew there was something wrong when  I wasn’t getting my period (when I was in college) yet the doctors saw my weight and assumed it was fine for my height.

It wasn’t fine. And I knew that.

I never missed a meal but I wasn’t eating enough at a time on a regular basis. The balance between what I ate and what my body needed was lacking enough to cause amenorrhea. I knew this and knew I needed to eat more.

A change needed to happen to get things back on track for my health but I remained slightly naïve about it, sort of ignoring it most of the time since I couldn’t actually see what was happening inside of me. I pretended to everyone that I wasn’t sure what the problem was — but I knew.

What I am working on discovering is that undiscovered self.

The things about me that you don’t see and I don’t know, or maybe don’t admit  to?

I tried really hard to be brutally honest with myself during this run to figure something out but I haven’t really come up with anything yet.

But what I love about this method is how it challenges our brains to dig up the past, think about the present and hopefully make some changes for the future.

I sort of feel as though this process can help us to change on our own without being provoked by someone else (people are so annoying), make some quality decisions, avoid repeating patterns and really understand ourselves.

Interesting, right?

Be sure to check our what everyone else is thinking about today!

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Favorite/least favorite subject in school? My favorites depended on the teacher and my least favorite was DEFINITELY  gym!

Do you remember learning about the Johari Window?

Do you find you can be really honest with yourself or do you make a lot of excuses/remain naïve?  

WIAW – Recent Eats And Lots Of Apples

 

This is not the What I Ate Wednesday I had in mind.

I have been planning out some foodie-fun posts like healthy packaged snack choices and finally updating my vegetarian meal planning post but none of that had time to develop because my son STILL HASN’T STARTED SCHOOL.

Not that I am complaining or anything because the quality time together is just lovely (although I took him and his friend to the movies and they made me sit somewhere else so that doesn’t exactly count as quality time), but really, like, why is his school district the last to start TOMORROW?

Anyway, I am headed into the city this morning to attend the Healthy Brand Showcase and, since there is no school for us, my son will be coming along with me for the fun.

I cleared it with the Healthy Brand people in charge and they were more than inviting and he is more than excited to check out the food and product samples available.

I do have some random eats worth discussing with you so, in no particular order, let’s begin…

The other day I mentioned on instagram that I bought the Cinnamon Raisin British (English?!) Muffins from Trader Joe’s.

While I used to survive on an English Muffin with peanut butter a day without fail for like seven years in a row, I decided after having these English Muffins for a few days that I really do prefer oatmeal first thing in the morning.

And, I also decided that I much prefer the Food For Life Cinnamon Raisin Ezekiel Bread and English Muffins over these Trader Joe’s English Muffins.

I haven’t been eating much lunch at home lately but when I do, it’s still my fave chick pea and avocado mashed on the Cinnamon Raisin Ezekiel bread. And, I have been adding Nutritional Yeast to the mash which makes it quite tasty.

Since yesterday was, um, the hottest day of the year so far (explain that one, I can’t) we went to Red Mango for a cool lunch.

I look forward to this parfait more than usual at the moment because I can load up in the berries department which is something I really can’t do right now at home.

I don’t even want to discuss that well-priced and big containers of berries are few and far between in the stores.

Good thing I still love apples.

In case you forgot, apples with peanut butter are my most favorite anytime snack.

Sometimes I get creative and mix the peanut butter with some Skoop A-Game. I really love the flavor combo.

I also really love a crumbled up Grain-Free Banana Bread Bite on top of a diced Granny Smith apple.

When you store the bites in the refrigerator and mash them up into a crumble which I adore, it makes for a spreadable/scoopable apple topping. And yes, of course add some extra peanut butter.

I introduced my son to the world of apple slices with hummus as a change of pace snack.

Not a great picture but you get the idea. It’s his new favorite thing.

Our other new favorite thing is to make the GF Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bites using the Skoop A-Game instead of the Skoop B-Strong.

And, this, well, this is pretty funny…

My son sometimes forgets that he is the child and I am the adult.

When he isn’t with me, he questions what I do, who I do it with and to make matters worse, he monitors my instagram and is sure to follow up on anything he feels he might have missed out on.

I was rather honored that he felt the dinner I posted on instagram which I made for myself appeared as though I dined out in a restaurant or something.

It’s all about the Power Bowl.

I could eat this every night and never get tired of it. Just mix up your seasonings and flavors to keep it all interesting. If you are short on time, rely on steamfresh vegetables instead of roasting the fresh kind.

And, because you rely on me for dessert news, Crumbs Bake Shop will be reopening! Click here to read about it.

Be sure to check out what everyone else is eating today!

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Favorite way to eat apples?

Which apple is your favorite? I love Granny Smith but Pink Lady is a close second when they are in season.

Do you have a food/meal that you have eaten every single day for years? Before I existed on English Muffins with peanut butter for breakfast, I lived on Life Cereal for a good four or five years every morning without fail.

 

 

 

Still The Same Yet Different

 

My brain goes to interesting places while I am running, yesterday’s nine mile run is no exception.

Based upon this post, it shouldn’t be any wonder why I don’t say hello to others as I pass them…I am clearly in another world trying to solve all of life’s mysteries for us.

Have you ever taken a trip back to a school you once attended only to think it looked much smaller than you remembered?

The building isn’t so big, the hallways aren’t so long, the desks are really tiny and how the heck did you ever fit your tush in the chair?

Did you have a favorite packaged snack growing up such as Entenmann’s cookies, Hostess Cupcakes or a specific Drakes Cake like Ring Dings or Yodels and think it was the yummiest dessert on the planet only to taste it years later and discover it to be a poor excuse for chocolate and a complete waste of calories?

 

Was it never as good as you thought? Did the company alter their recipe?

Or, did your palate get all fancy and learn to expect true quality chocolate, fresh from scratch goodies with real ingredients versus artificial flavors, colors and preservatives?

Have you ever suffered a running injury to the point where you needed to take up another form of exercise in order to rest and heal your injury only to find you love that activity possibly more than running? For the record this has never happened to me but I have heard of it happening so just go with it.

Or, maybe you still love running but have come to realize that you could also love Spin just as much or in another way?

And when it comes to love, what about those relationships in your life that you thought were forever yet suddenly out of nowhere come to end leaving you convinced that you will never recover, move on or fully get over it.

In fact, you assume that should the opportunity present itself to you again, you will welcome the day with open arms no matter how many years later it may be.

But something interesting happens over time.

You grow and get stronger from the experience and from living life, become more resilient than you ever could have imagined yet remain clueless to this change in you and to how over something you really are until it does come back to you.

And then, you suddenly find yourself seeing that former situation like you view a package of Ring Dings.

You once thought those cute little Ring Dings were really good but eh, they really weren’t best dessert out there.

It’s like your elementary school from childhood.

Still the same yet different. Only it isn’t different, it’s you that is different.

You outgrew it.

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Be sure to check out what everyone else is thinking about today!

Favorite snack cake as a kid? 

Have you had any of those packaged desserts recently? Does it still taste so good to you?

Favorite cross-training workout?

 

Red Mango, Homemade Pizza And A Snow Day From Running

 

If I wasn’t already completely confused as to what day of the week yesterday was, deciding to have Red Mango on a random Thursday afternoon for lunch only added to my confusion.

Coconut Greek Yogurt loaded with blueberries, strawberries, Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax Granola, a few sprinkles for good measure and a cherry on top.

It really doesn’t matter to me that it was below freezing, snowing and about to blizzard around me.

Red Mango makes me happy and I am all about ensuring my own daily happiness. Word to the wise– You cannot rely on others to make you happy but you can rely on Red Mango.

I crack myself up with ecards…Really, I do. Uncontrollable laughter.

It turned out that the blizzard didn’t hit until last night which meant school was opened yesterday (closed today) and I had to get the boy out of his bed against his will and out the door for the day.

It was not easy. Words cannot express how NOT EASY it was to battle him though the motions and to school.

In order to make up for being the evil person who not only informed him school was opened but robbed him of his blanket and comfort of the bed, I allowed him to make his own pizza for dinner last night.

He really doesn’t need to know that I am done with cooking; let’s let him think I was all about making him happy.

The chicken meatballs you see in the picture are from the batch we recently taste-tested from Kidfresh. We are super hopeful these meatballs make it to store shelves soon because the little boy LOVES them and I love how easy they are to heat up. Not to mention the minimal ingredients and terrific nutritional content.

I have a regular chef on my hands, don’t you think?

So. This blizzard.

The view from my front window since I cannot open the front door without getting snow in the house.

This blizzard has granted me an involuntary break from an early morning workout.

I am not going to lie – I have really been struggling to get myself out the door according to my usual early morning run schedule.

As much as I am a morning person, the cold of winter keeps me from looking forward to changing into my bazillion layers of exercise apparel and heading on out there.

But I have been doing it. You just have to. You just have to stick to your routine and move through the motions, knowing that once you are out there, you are happy.

How often do you override your thoughts? How often does your mind tell you no and you tell your mind yes?

Sometimes, I don’t even speak to myself, I just move it. I start with my pants, then my socks then layer myself in my tops.

I don’t think, I just do.

Make no mistake – I am a thinker, a planner, a person who does not act on impulse.

But when it comes to my daily workout, my morning run, my 30 minutes of sanity a day, you just, well, you do it.

Unless you are trapped in your house due to wind blown snow up against your front door.

Then you take it as a sign that you are meant to publish your blog post as usual and go back to bed.

I am sure that I will walk myself on over to the gym later in the day but my mind is focused and already preparing for tomorrow’s long run on the treadmill.

Have I mentioned I hate the treadmill?

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Did it snow by you? How many inches? We can’t tell because of the snow drifts.

Are you struggling lately in the morning because it is so cold and dark?

Favorite pizza toppings?

Will you be running outdoors or on the treadmill this weekend?

 

 

Peer Pressure, Cool and Can’t Buy Me Love

Would you consider yourself a leader or a follower?

I think I would say I am more of a leader than a follower, yet really, I am more of the type of person who doesn’t care much about leading or following.

I always have and always will do my own thing and not care what others are doing or what they are thinking.

Growing up I was blessed with amazing friends. I was never affected by peer pressure.

I can honestly announce to the world that I never have (and never will) try a cigarette or any form of drugs.

My friends never held this against me and if they did, I wouldn’t have changed my decisions – the only decision I would have changed would have been my choice in those friendships.

I realize that I am a rare breed yet I am hoping that I can raise my son to understand how important it is to be your own person, respect yourself (and others) and honor your own beliefs over the pressure that comes with growing up.

Yet even as grown ups, there is peer pressure.

Pressure to be married by a certain point, live in the right neighborhood, drive the right car, wear the right clothes…

Speaking of clothes, women in particular focus so much on their pants size that they let a number printed on the inside label of their pants determine their self-worth.

Holding yourself accountable to fit into a brand’s idea of what a size 2 is may come with the pressure to run as many miles as you see other bloggers running, exercising as often and for as long as the next person on the treadmill, along with trying to emulate someone else’s diet plan.

Then there is the pressure that comes with parenting –  having the right stroller, using the right diaper bag, enrolling your kids in the right preschool.

Breast-Feeding vs. Formula Feeding? A never-ending debate and divide loaded with pressure and opinions on both sides.

We may live in a tech savvy world compared to when I grew up but the truth is, peer pressure, as children and as adults, remains the same – the never-ending desire to simply be COOL.

But what does this “cool” mean exactly? And who is in charge of deciding who or what is cool?

“Mom, it is just known. You just know.”

Unfortunately, I agree with the little boy. You just sort of “know”.

Lately every other sentence that comes out of the kid’s mouth involves what is cool, who is cool and who knows who isn’t or what isn’t cool.

I am tired of this cool topic.

Right now, bullying is so prevalent in our schools and in society that it is having life-threatening effects.

It isn’t as simple as the Gooch taking your lunch anymore.

While my son definitely understands the importance of treating others with respect and wouldn’t hurt a fly (literally, he is afraid of bugs), I feel it is my duty as a parent to further address the topics of peer pressure, bullying and the desire to be cool.

I decided we need to watch the movie, Can’t Buy Me Love. My version of an educational documentary.

Being “cool” and having the right friends and material things isn’t always what it is cracked up to be. Hopefully Ronald Miller and Cindy Mancini will help him to understand that.

Now I just need to find a VCR to play the tape version that I already own of the movie or find a place to rent a DVD.

I am so not cool enough to use Netflix.

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So, are you a leader or a follower?

Did you used to watch Different Strokes?

Favorite 80’s movie?

Do you use Netflix?

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Stars Align….

Friday sure came quick! Love the short weeks when Monday is a holiday.

It went from 50 degrees last Saturday to suddenly high 90’s. Welcome to summer.

Pool, beach, outdoor dining…doesn’t get better than this time of year!

I can’t believe the calendar is claiming June 1st is tomorrow.

Lots of fun things happening in June:

My membership is back for Lifetime Fitness starting tomorrow! I am excited to vary my workout routine, get back to spinning and hang by the pool.

I am hopeful the boy enjoys going back to Lifetime, especially for the awesome outdoor water slide.

If not, I will re-evaluate the membership. As much as I love it and truly look forward to Spin Tuesday, it is a hefty price to pay if he doesn’t benefit from the facility too.

National Running Day is this Wednesday, June 5. Which also happens to be MY BIRTHDAY!

(awesome picture is courtesy of my girl, the Arty Runner Chick – Cait Chock – is she not an amazing artist?)

The universe has aligned this year to allow me more than one perfect reason to eat lots of cake.

I can’t help but still get excited about my birthday. Maybe I shouldn’t still get all giddy around this time of year but hey, age is just a number.

If you ask me, I feel 24. And I am sticking to it.

And if celebrating running and my birthday with lots of cake isn’t exciting enough for one month,  I am probably most looking forward to the end of the school year.

I have had enough of the lunch making, snack preparing, bus stop standing and most importantly, the homework enforcing.

I think the teachers should stop giving homework once Memorial Day weekend rolls around, don’t you agree?

It is time for camp to start and the boy to be exhausted from all of the activity and go to bed early.

Remember the foodcation I have been planning? I haven’t forgotten about it. At all.

I am still contemplating the logistics but have decided summer is the perfect time to take that little break from cooking.

In the meantime, until I pick the week and plan out the details,  I have noticed that I have been giving less thought to some meals and relying on my friends to do get the job done.

My good friends Amy, Dr. Praeger and Trader Joe.

I should really thank quinoa too. It has been a recent, easy staple in our house these days.

Quick and easy dinner last night – stir fry mixed with chick peas and quinoa topped with avocado.

I am off now to once again get the boy ready for school. Have a great weekend!

I need to know:

What are you doing this weekend? Any races?

What exciting things are on your calendar for June?