I am not a runner

I am not a runner. I do not like running. I don’t get the runners high.
These are the messages I hear myself repeating in my head and when I speak to others concerning running.
Earlier this year, I started a couch to 5k plan to help myself become more physically fit. Some health and family drama happened around that time and I quit my training. The dust has settled in my personal life so a couple of weeks ago I decided to try training for a 5k again. I decided to start a few weeks or so in the program because after all, I wasn’t a complete beginner, right?
It is a struggle at first but each run does get easier. I am now up to 5 minute running intervals (5 minute run, 1 minute walk). Every time I bump up my minutes, there is a temporary struggle but then it does get easier.
Today when I was walking home from my “run” with my latte reward, I walked by an older couple who saw my 5K shirt from 2005 and asked me about it. I told them it was a race from 2005. The lady then exclaims “Oh you are a professional”. I about dropped my latte. To this I replied with a giggle “not exactly…I walked the race”. Her response to that was “oh that is good too”.
While I certainly don’t think I am a professional, it is all about perspective. To this lady who probably has never done a race in her life, I was a professional. Maybe I am not yet a runner today, but I can be a runner. Something that I thought was out of my reach can be really easily achieved. I can keep training and run an entire 5K just like that lady could walk one (barring any major health issues).
Hopefully when you see in a month, I will have run my first 5k (completely by running). Perhaps someday I can do a distance race, who knows?

Coq au Vin

From Photo Challenge

I finally made that Coq au Vin I have been taking about for a while (and a reason why I bought that fancy pot with the rooster on the lid). The recipe from Williams Sonoma worked well. I only had to make a few substitutions. For one half of the chicken I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts and for the other half I used the bone in thighs. I see button mushrooms in many french recipes but I can never find them in my grocery store so I substituted with baby bella mushrooms. In addition, I did not buy enough shallots for the recipe. Instead, I ended up adding colored boiler onions that we had at home. Finally, when it said skim the fat off the sauce, I didn’t need to – no visible fat could be found. It was very good, and even better as leftovers. It was a very successful cooking evening.

From Photo Challenge

We ate it on the patio with a glass of Beaujolais mixed with sparkling water and a side of persimmons. Carlos ate his with rice and a side salad.

From Photo Challenge

Epcot Food and Wine 2011

It is that time of year again. Every fall, Epcot hosts a Food and Wine Festival. There are many food and alcohol events during that time but most are a separate admission price. We usually go once or twice a year – once as a large group and another time to sample the goodies we missed while hanging out with the group. Our group event was on a Saturday this year. We had another one of those perfect Florida weather days. It appears that everyone in Orlando decided to visit the park on this day. I was able to sample a couple of dishes. Some of them included Feijoada (Brazilian dish), beef skewer with chimmichurri, cheese fondue, and pumpkin mousse. My favorites from the first day included the Argentinean Skewer and the pumpkin mousse. We also enjoyed many beverages, many in France, on this day.

Cosmo Slush

From Epcot2011v2.0 2011-10-30

Grand Marnier Slushie – tastes like a Cream Cycle

From Epcot2011v2.0 2011-10-30

Lydia enjoyed the lobster claw

From Epcot2011v2.0 2011-10-30

Carlos had the coq a vin

From Epcot2011v2.0 2011-10-30

And you can’t go wrong with some Rosa Regale

From Epcot2011v2.0 2011-10-30

At some point during the day, we got an infused tequila sampler. The jalapeno tequila was the best.

From Epcot2011v2.0 2011-10-30

On the second visit, I was able to try a few more dishes.
I enjoyed the pork sliders in Hawaii (with Mai Tai).

From Epcot2011v2.0 2011-10-30

Finally the Greek Cheese.

From Epcot2011v2.0 2011-10-30

Cinque Terre

One of my all time favorite travel locations is in peril. Cinque Terre experienced flash floods a couple of days ago. I hope that Cinque Terre is able to recover from this disaster.
These videos are of two of the towns:
Monterosso
Vernazza
In honor of these 5 lovely towns, I am re-posting my travel journal entries from July 2004 and adding photos taken during that trip.

Cinque Terre
July 08, 2004, 09:30
We just arrived at our lodging in the Cinque Terre. Sorry I haven’t been able to update the journal in a while, we have been in the Amalfi coast where internet and modern technologies are in second place to relaxing and swimming in the ocean. I will write as much as I can for now and I will update my journal for Amalfi Coast later.
We decided to skip Florence and Tuscany for this trip due to lack of time- We did not want to rush through it in 1 1/2 days. I will have to come back and enjoy all of Tuscany on another trip.
We took an overnight train from Salerno to La Spezia. La Spezia has trains that connect you to all of the Cinque Terre villages. We have decided to stay in Riomaggoire, the first and I believe the largest village. We will be doing light walks only today. After the lack of sleep, I don’t think we will have the energy to do the heavier walks.
I must go, there is a nice gentleman waiting to use the only computer here. I promise that I will update more later.

I love Cinque Terre
July 09, 2004, 11:46
Yesterday we arrived here on the morning train. We first took the train from Salerno to La Spezia and then inadvertently got off at the wrong stop because we did not realize that we had reached our stop (We were stuck in a tunnel and could not see the signs). We got off at the next town and stopped at the hostel there and waited until 7 am when it opened. Realizing that the hostel had a lock out time of 1-5 everyday and it looked like it was to rain yesterday, we decided to check out the lodging in the original town that we were supposed to stop at.
We decided to take the path called Via dell’ Amore (path of love). The path was a 15 minute walk. Ah, they had beds for us at Mar Mar. Not only did we have beds, we got a private room! We are staying in a dorm with eight other awesome people. We have a huge functional kitchen that we later use. We soon get along famously with others in the dorm. We a meet a couple of others who are not staying at our dorm but have been hanging around. After our nap, we go to the beach in Monterossa with our new friend Marissa. We sit on the beach and relax and I go for a swim. Floating in the ocean with my eyes closed and seeing where the waves take me is so relaxing. Unfortunately, it started raining so we decide to walk back to the train.
When we get back, it is time to prepare for dinner. Since most shops close at 7 here, the entire group goes shopping to pick up what we need for the meal. One gets wine, another pesto, another pasta, etc. We pop open the wine and begin cooking what I can only describe as an awesome meal. We set up the table on our patio outside which overlooks views of the town and the ocean. Soon the rain begins again. Thinking quickly, we grab all of our towels and lay them over the clothesline above to protect the food from the rain. It made the meal much more charming. After cleaning up from dinner, we hear music in the courtyard and decide to check it out. We arrive and find a charming puppet show. An authentic Italian puppet show. We do not understand a word that the puppets are saying but the tone of voice of the characters and the crazy movements of the characters make us laugh. We then decide it is gelato time. I have not talked about gelato like Nikki has (see her journal entry) but I believe that gelato is the one of the most awesome things in the world. It has become a staple of our diet. We finish the night at a pub that plays American popular music. As the night progresses, our entire group becomes dancing fools (except poor Nikki, I had to walk her home early). Even the owner “Franka”, a woman who I believe is in her fifties, comes out to dance and boogie with us. Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end. The bar closes and we stumble down to the water. It is so refreshing to be by the water at night with the cool breeze. Some guy plays the bongos behind me as Marissa dances. I decide that I am too tired to hold a conversation anymore so I stumble back to my room.
I don’t want to leave this place.
Well it is time to go do the monster 5 hour walk.

Another late start, and back in Rome
July 10, 2004, 18:10
Yesterday, after Thursday nights events, we were on to a late start for our big hike. We decide to start at Monterossa which seems to be the popular thing to do. I think I have never walked up so many steps in my life(Not even in the Amalfi Coast). When we arrive at the top, it is totally worth it. From the top, you can see the most picturesque of villages and it continues that way throughout our walk. Along the way we also witness lemon farms, olive farms, and of course grape vineyards. All I can say is that all of the beautiful pictures that I have seen of Italy, have been proved to be true.
Most of you know that I have been preparing for this trip by walking long distances, well it wasn’t enough. I can walk far distances now but those darn steps (or what I call non-steps – random rocks thrown on the ground to resemble steps) kicked my butt. I survived though, and I am really happy that I did the walk. It was the most spectacular view that I have ever seen – well almost as good as the Amalfi coast. I guess they are about tied in my opinion.
We take only the first and second trails, Monterossa to Vernazza, and Vernazza to Corgnelia. Those two were the best, hardest, and longest trails and we didn’t have time to do the rest.
While stopping for Gelati in Vernazza (I swear they put drugs in the stuff – can’t resist) we stop to watch these insane boys jump into the water off of a ledge that is about 8 feet higher than the water only to be thrown back onto the ledge when a huge wave comes in. It was crazy. After talking to others we discover that they have been doing it since they were real young and it is a daily event for them – for hours a day. It kept us entertained for quite a while. Later on, we saw the boys by the pharmacy patching up their bleeding legs and arms. Nikki and I have pictures of this event if you want to see it.
Returning back to Riomaggoire, we meet up with our roommates/new friends for dinner. New roommates join us later for wine on the terrace. Good conversation. We again return to our bar for a drink. Franka greets us with hugs and kisses. I am tired after one beer and have to leave on early train next morning, I go to bed. While getting ready for bed, hear group of drunken Americans/English speaking nationals singing loudly by the water. I get to sleep despite this.
Today, I am back in Rome after a four hour train ride this morning. I visited the Colosseum and wandered around town before I happened upon this internet cafe. I have already had gelati twice today. I am going to need gelati detox when I get home. I might try to get an authentic Italian meal once more and visit the pub around the corner from my hotel. Maybe I can meet some new people before I leave. Anyway, don’t want to waste any more time indoors, must get ready to see Rome at night.
Be home soon!

Note: Some of the entries were edited for grammar and readability.

Random thoughts about weight loss

This post is a little off topic but it is the only forum I have to express the frustrations I have had with weight loss throughout my life. For about the tenth time in my life I am attempting weight loss once again. It started as a child. The first few years of my life I was a healthy weight for my body. Around the year of 1985 at the tender age of 10, I spent a summer eating in Ohio. I ate my grandma’s home cooking, I ate 3 of those fresh glazed doughnuts from the local bakery (daily), I ate my grandpa’s stash of candy bars, and I drank a lot of Pepsi. I gained around 10 lbs that summer. To adult it doesn’t seem insurmountable, but to a child, it is a life changer. I came back to school the next year faced with day in and day out of pure mental torture. Guys I had been friends with for years were ridiculing me. They sang songs about me. I went home crying most days of the week. The next couple of years I was able to shed some weight. Some in part due to a growth spurt, some because I switched from regular to diet soda (at age 12!), and some just because I had a little spark of motivation to lose weight so I would stop getting ridiculed. It took a few more years before I was actually at an ideal weight but I at least felt sort of normal for a while (I don’t know too many teenage girls that don’t have body issues). The summer of 1992 I got a job working at a theme park at an attraction. I spent long hours walking back and forth in the heat, and jumping on and off race cars. Occasionally I would have to run down the track to start a car that had stalled. I ate very little. That summer I dropped 15 lbs. I met so many new people, I felt like I was in the best shape of my life. The next couple of years I was able to sort of sustain a normal weight on and off. I did gain some weight (freshman 15) but I was able to shed it as easy as I gained it. I finished college and started my first job. My lifestyle consisted of working, partying, and eating. I joined a gym but still the weight slowly came back on. I dealt with adult ridicule at this point. I remember a situation where my ex-boyfriend (who I was for some reason still friends with at the time) tells me that his new love interest referred to me as the “fat one over there”. Another situation where a guy who I guess was trying to hit on me calls me “thick” when I don’t return his advances. I was angry. I escaped a negative environment and moved back to my hometown. There I find temporary weight loss, a new job, new friends, and a new life. I felt good about my body again. The partying and eating once again takes a toll on my body and the weight comes back on. And the story repeats a few more times. I have used weight watchers, south beach diet, personal trainers, 5k training….but it all ends in the same – the weight comes off, then back on again. Then I meet my life mate and introduce him to my world of always trying to lose that extra weight. He is supportive but gets frustrated at my seemingly desire to not be healthy. We work through it. I decide to seek hypnotic weight loss therapy. I decide it is crap and only attend two sessions. Then something happens, 15 lbs mysteriously disappears. Is it the hypnosis? Who knows? We get married and the honeymoon begins. I eat like I am on vacation, for two years. Working out happens in spurts. The weight comes back on. I am now my heaviest ever. So the journey begins once again. What can I do to make it different this time? How can I make it “stick”. I started hypnosis again. I have been going twice a month. It seems to have helped me with many of daily struggles I have with food. I am able to associate doughnuts with dog shit in my mind so I don’t desire them. I still struggle with social eating and drinking. Sometimes I can portion control, other times I cannot. 3 beers in an evening still has not turned into 1 beer like it should be on a weight loss plan. There are still things to work on. Workouts have slowly been increasing in number and intensity (with occasional “bad days” where I skip) and I am no longer gaining weight. But I am not losing weight either (except from the miraculous two pound loss in the past two weeks). I think some more honesty is needed with how much I am actually eating. I have been working on journaling everything; the good and the bad. Journaling gives me a realistic picture of if I really am putting the work in. Workouts definitely can be stepped up a notch. I might try running again. It sucks but I think it is an good way to burn lots of calories. Finally, the beer will have to be set aside for a while. It will be painful, but no weight loss is going to happen when beers sabotage it with their empty calories.
Skinny Kid Days