Thursday, July 18, 2013

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Fun & Fit: June

In June I participated in one event: the Twilight 5K. This was a night run through the South Miami neighborhood and I got the entire family to go so they could see Cati participate in her second official run. The difference between running with kids and running alone is huge for me and I finished the race in 30:25. So close to an under-30 finish!
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The real highlight was Cati though. Alex was standing with her at the starting line and I was waiting for her at the finish line because we didn't think she would do the run by herself, but she did! She was so proud of herself too. Once she got going, she didn't even look back to see if Alex was running alongside her. My normally reserved child, turns into such a free little bird when she runs. Her excitement about these events really helps to motivate me to keep on running and keep on taking her to different races. And it doesn't hurt that I love the way she looks running and in her running outfit!
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Not a race, but a running event nonetheless was meeting Jeff Galloway at a meet & greet. He's so cool and inspiring and, if it weren't for his run-walk-run method I would not be the runner I am today. If you ever get a chance to hear him talk, I highly encourage you to go. He's really funny and so, so, so nice.
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PS Please don't forget I'm raising money for Give Kids The World and participating in Disney's Glass Slipper Challenge on GKTW's team. All donations are greatly appreciated! For more information visit My Fundraising Page. 
Stephanie
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Fun & Fit: May

IT band is all healed so May was a fun month fitness-wise. The best part about May was getting Alex to do a mud run with me. We signed up to do the Merrell Down & Dirty along with his brother and his brother's girlfriend at the beginning of the month. Convincing Alex to do an event like this wasn't as hard as I thought it would be but I knew he had his reservations about the amount of running (he hates cardio) and mud (he hates getting dirty). Running is a lot easier when you have a great running partner so we breezed through the running and there wasn't a ton of mud so he wasn't as dirty as he thought he was going to be. What this race taught me is that, when it comes to obstacle races, I prefer there to be a lot of obstacles. We did the 5K and there were about 15 obstacles but the first mile or so was tough because the obstacles were spread out. Maybe it's just me, and I know that running itself is an obstacle, but I don't like having to run half a mile to get to the first obstacle and then having that first obstacle be something really easy to do. I had heard so much about this series and I had high hopes for it so I was sad that I didn't love it. Alex liked it but he didn't see why I think obstacles races are so much fun. Add to that is the fact that we stopped to take a picture at the finish line and that picture was nowhere to be found in the gallery, so I was a little disappointed overall with this event.

The next event that made up for Merrell Down & Dirty was Armageddon Ambush. This obstacle race was a week after Merrell, cheaper, and the race I wish Alex would have done. You had to run a bit to get to the first obstacle, but that first obstacle was a doozy (rope climb through the water) and it just got more and more challenging after that. The near-last obstacle was an inclined wall climb, rope climb, and giant slide all in one. There was more upper body strength obstacles in Armageddon Ambush, which had me spent near the end, but I still had the strength to almost make it up the wall all by myself! I was so proud of myself. I needed to be pulled up the inclined wall at my first obstacle course race and, at this one, I was six inches away from making it all the way to the top. A huge thank you to the guy who helped me cover those last few inches! After this race I was sore for days and high on the satisfaction of having completed what I felt was a difficult race.
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The last event I participated in May was Baptist Tour of the Gables 5K. A friend was doing it and she suggested I do it too since the race was in my neighborhood. I woke the girls up early (Cati sprints out of bed when she knows we have a race) and we walked to the race site. Both girls behaved really well during the run, except for the last .6 miles when Elina started crying because she wanted out. Throughout the whole run Cati kept asking where the finish line was because she wanted to come out of the stroller and run too. Once we made it to the three-mile mark, Cati was beyond thrilled when I told her it was her turn to run. The best part (and part of why I love these events) was having all these strangers yelling out encouraging words to Cati as we neared the finish line. The second best part was seeing Cati act like a veteran and walk over to the snack and drink table and get herself some water. My time was 37:53 and I'm so proud of that time. That time is close to my first 5K time and this time I did it with little running conditioning and pushing 25 lbs more of kids and snacks.
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PS Please don't forget I'm raising money for Give Kids The World and participating in Disney's Glass Slipper Challenge on GKTW's team. All donations are greatly appreciated! For more information visit My Fundraising Page. 

Stephanie
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Fun & Fit: April

Because I couldn't run most of the month due to my IT Band, I turned to pilates as my way of exercising. Pilates worked because it was free and I could do it from home every night! Have you heard of Cassey Ho of Blogilates? She has these videos on youtube and comes out with a workout schedule each month. I followed her workout schedule for the month of April and it really helped with flexibility and strengthening my legs. Now I am officially hooked!

I did, however, participate in one running event, the FICPA Money Run. I signed up for this run on a whim because I wanted to participate in an official race following the bombings in Boston. This 5K was the longest distance I had run since my half marathon at the beginning of March so it was a tough race to run. It didn't help that it was a scorcher that morning. What got me to the finish line was knowing that Cati and Elina would be waiting for me. Plus, I needed to finish in order to see Cati run her first 100-meter dash!
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Cati was so excited about her run. She absolutely loves going to running events because there's always some kind of kid-friendly entertainment and Cati is not one to turn down free food. She did this run with her grandmother and it was so cute watching two of my favorite ladies running to the finish line.
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As soon as the run was over Cati asked about the next race. I love that my love and passion for running has spread to her. Soon it will truly be a whole family affair!

PS Please don't forget I'm raising money for Give Kids The World and participating in Disney's Glass Slipper Challenge on GKTW's team. All donations are greatly appreciated! For more information visit My Fundraising Page. 

Stephanie

Monday, July 15, 2013

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Buttermilk Pie

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I can't believe we are halfway through July and it's been almost a month since my last post. I feel as if time has swallowed me up. Between going to school three nights a week and having both girls at home, it's been pretty nonstop here. I try to get out of the house as often as possible because if we stay home, cabin fever and high emotions start to set in pretty quickly. Before things got busy, however, we had a BBQ to celebrate Alex's first weekend off in nearly two months. Baking has been put on the back burner so it was nice to get back in the kitchen and bake. I decided to make this Buttermilk Pie because I had always heard about "buttermilk pie" and been curious about its taste. I read somewhere that this pie tasted like a sugar cookie in pie form and that's really the best way to describe this pie so don't let buttermilk as an ingredient turn you off from this sugary indulgence. 
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Also, sorry for the crummy pictures lately. The lens on my camera is broken and I have yet to get a new lens. That's another thing on my to-do list that I hope to get around to doing soon!

Buttermilk Pie
Source: Sing for Your Supper
Yields 1 9-inch pie


1 9-inch pie crust, unbaked (homemade or store bought)
1 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange pie crust in a 9-inch pie plate.

Mix together the sugar, flour, and salt. Beat in the eggs, butter, buttermilk, and vanilla until well combined. Pour into the pie crust. 


Bake for 1 hour or until no longer jiggly – check after about 45 minutes. If the top is getting too brown, cover loosely with foil. 

Remove from oven and let cool one hour before serving.
Stephanie