The Cold That Keeps on Giving

As some of you may know, my husband Drew and I are signed up to run in Bloomsday this year and though our training started just a few short weeks ago, we are definitely making some progress. Due to past knee injuries, Drew hasn't run more than a couple miles for a very long time. So we started out slow. I knew that we had given ourselves plenty of time to build up the miles. What I hadn't counted on was getting massive cramping in my calf in week three. "It's okay", I tried to encourage myself, "I built time into the training for this sort of thing and it will be fine". (If you haven't already noticed, I'm a planner and I don't like getting off schedule!) That was last week and after missing a good two days of running, the painful spasming went away. Saturday morning rolls around and I'm feeling alright. Three miles later I'm feeling great, okay I can do this! Then Saturday afternoon hit me, literally. I started getting a mild sore throat, but didn't think it was that big of a deal. After all, I had just attended a very emotional memorial service and thought it was probably all the crying I did. "It'll go away" I told myself, "it's nothing to worry about". Saturday night comes around and my sore throat is still there, along with some congestion in my head and a runny nose. That night only got worse. I hardly slept, I probably blew my nose 50 times, drank gallons of water, popped some vitamin c and my symptoms would not go away, they didn't even seem to lessen! I didn't go to church on Sunday, which is not something I usually skip unless I have a really good reason. Sunday afternoon seemed to get better and then Monday rolled around. I was feeling better so I went to work (I hate missing work). No sooner than I got to work that I realized that it was a mistake. I stuck it out for a few hours and left early. Came home and went directly to bed, which is where I stayed for the rest of the day and all of the next. I was supposed to run yesterday, didn't. I thought about going today, again I didn't. Tomorrow is a possibility, but we'll see. I've been getting really frustrated that I can seem to stay on schedule with my runs. <Insert disappointed sigh>

What is the point to all my rambling you may ask? Well, I'll tell you.

Like I said before, I'm a big planner. I like things to be organized. I come up with something that I think is a pretty good plan and then I (sometimes) remember God has a better one. Over the last few months I have been doing a Bible study on "Breaking Free". I am finding that I get caught up in what Beth Moore calls "captivity of activity", I'm constantly needing to be busy. I often forget to just be quiet before Him and listen to His Word. I've yet to see what His plan was in all of this, but I have a feeling God is trying to tell me to rest in Him, something I am not very good at doing. I've had several hours over the last few days to "rest" and think about slowing down and saving more time to spend with my Savior, I would encourage you to do the same.

Join Me & Take the Pound for Pound Challenge!

Join the Central YMCA of Spokane and me as we help fight hunger with supporting local food banks.Take the Pound for Pound Challenge pledge and 11 cents per pound lost will be donated to food banks in our communities to help those in need. Even if you are at a healthy weight, you can pledge to maintain that weight and Pound for Pound will still donate for 5lbs. There is no catch, you have nothing to lose...er, except for maybe a few pounds?

https://www.pfpchallenge.com/

Prevention & Treatment of Running Cramps

Today I had a plan, and my plan was to run at least 2 miles and maybe more if I felt up to it. I got about a .5mile into my run when my calf starting cramping. I thought that if I just kept running that maybe it would go away. Not so. I finished 1 mile before I had to give up, I just couldn't get past the pain. It was very disheartening, so I decided to do a little reading in hopes I could find something that would help. Although I am a firm believer in stretching, I have to admit that I haven't been consistent with it. Here is an article that I found helpful, it talks about cramp prevention and alleviation of cramps:

Avoid Running Cramps With Help From Runner's World

Seven Months in Heaven

So I just figured out today that Drew and I have been married for a total of 7 months! I can't believe that time has gone by so quickly. It just seems like the other day I was planning for my big day, now I'm helping my big sister Kate plan for hers. We are enjoying life as a married couple, learning new things about each other everyday. Of course we have our ups and downs, but who doesn't? Drew is working hard, putting in extra hours at his job as Production Supervisor at Sterling International. He comes home tired most days of the week, but still finds energy to spend time with me. Just the other day he cleaned the apartment, brought me flowers and made dinner for me. I am so blessed! Here is a recent picture of us at the Davenport.

Flower Cupcakes

Tonight I attempted to make flower cupcakes with my sister Kate. I say attempted because we could not get the frosting to work. First it was too thick, then it was too thin. We finally got a decent consistency and did the best we could with it. I think we'll need to try it again sometime. Anyone have a good buttercream frosting recipe?

Make Your Own Greek Yogurt

Fellow Greek yogurt lovers, want to save some money on Greek yogurt? Here's how, make your own!

The other day I was talking with one of my coworkers on how much I love to eat Greek yogurt, but saying that I didn't like how much more expensive it is compared to regular yogurt. She told me she actually makes her own. Want to know how? It's really easy!

What you'll need:

Plain lowfat or nonfat yogurt (I like Nancy's)

Strainer

Coffee filter or papertowel

Large bowl (big enough to fit strainer)

Line a strainer with a coffee filter or papertowel, place over large bowl. Take yogurt and dump into a strainer. Save the yogurt container for later use. Put yogurt into refrigerator and let sit for several hours, you should see liquid in the bottom of your bowl. The longer you let it sit, the thicker your yogurt will get. I like mine really thick so I leave it in the refrigerator overnight. After you let it sit, discard the leftover liquid and put the yogurt back into the container. It's that simple!

Oat Bran Muffins

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 3/4 cups oat bran
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup dry nonfat milk
1/4 flaxseed
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded carrot
2 cups chopped Granny Smith apple
1 cup raisins (I used Craisins instead)
1 cup fat-free milk
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large egg whites
1 thin-skinned orange, unpeeled and quartered
Cooking spray or muffin papers

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups, level with a knife. Combine flours and the next 8 ingredients (all purpose flour though salt) in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in carrot, apple, and raisins.
3. Combine milk, oil, vanilla, egg whites, and orange in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Make a well in the center of flour mixture; add milk mixture; stir until just moist.
4. Spoon 3 tablespoons batter into each of 28 muffin cups coated with cooking spray or lined with papers. Bake in batches at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until muffins are browned and spring back when touched lightly in the center. Remove the muffins from pans immediately and place on wire rack.

Yield: 28 muffins (serving size: 1 muffin)
Calories 114; Fat 2.8g; Protein 3.5 g; Carb 22.6; Fiber 3 g; Chol 0mg; Sodium 188 mg; Calcium 61 mg

Meeting Malachi

Today, as I was taking my lunch break at the Service Station Cafe, I met the sweetest baby boy named Malachi. His father Tim, commented on something I said to the barista and then I noticed his adorable ten month old baby. Tim apparently has seen me in the Service Station before (I am a frequent customer) and asked me if I had heard the story of his little boy. I remarked that I had not and so he began to tell me how it all began. And so the story goes...

Tim and his wife have been trying to have a baby for a very long time, they have tried practically everything you could think of and to no avail. This last year they got involved in a church here in Spokane and through a connection in the church decided to adopt a baby. Very soon after making this decision, they got a phone call about a newborn baby that was ready to be adopted. Malachi was only 2lbs when he was born, so he stayed in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) until he was a healthy weight to take home. Fortunately for Tim's wife, she was working in the hospital in the NICU, so she was able to have special bonding time early on with their new baby.

Malachi is the sweetest tempered boy and when you smile at him, he smiles back and kicks his feet in joy! I only wish I could have gotten a picture of him for you to see. He doesn't understand it yet, but he is already such a blessing to his parents. It's so encouraging to hear a story like Malachi's and to see God's work in people's lives!