Chopped! Tiny Apartment Edition

When it comes to the grocery bill, I'm the first to admit that I have a pretty... liberal interpretation of the word "budget."

As in, I regularly spend $65 at Stop 'n Shop, $25.50 at Whole Foods and $19.99 at Trader Joe's. In a single weekend. For the two of us. Oh, plus the farmer's market and Friday dinners out, but Andrew usually pays for those so they totally don't count.

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If you couldn't tell from my killer Fat Bastard impression, I love me some food.

As you might suspect, because of this compulsive food shopping addiction, the cabinets in our meager little kitchen are literally sagging under the weight of all the random crap we have amassed in the past year. Take, for instance, my apparent blind terror that we will one day run out of pasta or canned beans. Laugh all you want, but if a bean-less, noodle-less zombie apocalypse is upon us, see if I share my stash during the big carbo-loading party when the time comes to outrun them. NOT TO MENTION that while your glycogen stores deplete and your brains are being chomped on, I will have enough slimy, stringy leftovers to cleverly divert the zombies and get away.

Unfortunately, while I personally would have no problem blowing my entire paycheck on gourmet wine and cheese treats, the company that holds my student loans and my landlord seem to think otherwise.

Bloody buzzkills.

So, in an attempt to help rectify this "shelving problem" AND fatten our wallets, Andrew and I agreed to abandon our usual Supermarket Sweep-style antics this week and try to only eat meals created with the random shit we have accumulated in our kitchen. We gave ourselves a $20 budget on Sunday to buy whatever fresh ingredients we needed. A bag of romaine, a bag of spinach, two grapefruit, two bottles of soda water, a bag of Hoodsies, a loaf of bread and some sandwich thins (and a box of mac n cheese because we ate our last one on Saturday, and both feel very... exposed... should we ever not have one in stock) came to $19.64.

Now let me tell you what (CRo, I hope you read this and say that line in your hubby's Texan twang. I did while I was writing it. Creepy? Maybe. Hilarious? Definitely.). Spending under $20 on food is a MAJOR FEAT, PEOPLE. As has been the actual art of turning our hoards of random boxed goods, leftover vegetables and assorted culinary accessories into meals that are nutritious, satisfying and don't taste like dirt. Particularly considering that we somehow didn't have any meat in backstorage and ran out of milk on Monday.

Basically, we've been pretending we're contestants on Chopped.

You know, the show on Food Network where celebrity chef Ted Allen, formerly known as, "the one from Queer Eye that my Dad always suspected was straight", finds four chefs to compete with each other and is all, "Congratulations.... you have 30 minutes to make a meal out of the following ingredients: Spam, hard taco shells, cocoa puffs and frozen asparagus! Ready? Go! ... sorry, your meal sucked. You have been CHOPPED!"

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Not gonna lie, I'm really enjoying this little challenge. So far, I'm totally winning, because Andrew took one look at our "surprise ingredients" and declared, "spaghetti" and "stir fry" our only hope for the week. Yours truly, however, has a distinct advantage due to that time I stopped eating meat for 47 days, and has whipped up some pretty snappy suppers so far, if I do say so myself (say that 5x fast!).

Monday: Scrambled eggs and pan fries. Used up: the last 3 eggs, scrambled with 1/4 can of organic black beans, some sauteed frozen green pepper, dash red hot, half of the jack cheese in the fridge (which I gave about 2 more days before it becomes a science experiment), and 2 morningstar maple "sausage" patties that have been in my freezer for 2 months, crumbled. Side of pan fries made with 3 small white potatoes, swirl of EVOO, salt and pepper.

Tuesday: Black bean tacos. Used up: the rest of the can of black beans mixed with 1/4 jar of Trader Joe's Roasted Corn and Chile Salsa (which we became obsessed with after sampling it at the Brookline Food Festival), simmered on low with a hefty dose of chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, s&p. Served in five hard taco shells (3 for him, 2 for her), with remnants of the lettuce we bought, half of the cherry tomatoes we had left, 1/4 container of sour cream that has 5 days until it expires and all but the last .5oz of the jack cheese as accouterments.

To his credit, despite his lack of imagination in the kitchen, A-man has been a real contender. He has managed to compile lunches for each of us (as well as my breakfast), every day but today (and he did make his own today). Yes, that may SEEM unimpressive, but given the amount of food I require on any given day, it's not something to sneeze at. He informed me this morning that I have run out of cinnamon raisin Ezekiel bread (travesty), my natural pb supply is dwindling (good thing I've run out of toast to put it on!),  I'm on my last grapefruit (I enjoy cheating the system and have one decorating stashed at my desk), we're down to one banana (dibs! dibs! I need it for my GM), our spinach supply is completely depleted (oh, cruel world! I guess he can have that last banana after all), and the remains of our coveted leftover-from-Sunday-Pre-Challenge slices of Pizzeria Regina extra-cheese pie are now out of stock.

We might also be out of raspberry vodka, which is a real shame, seeing as I owe it some of the credit for my sparks of genius in the culinary arena of late.

Sad day.

I haven't taken full stock of the situation for tonight, but I saw a can of chickpeas lurking during my hunt for adobos last night, and A has a dinner date with his Aunt (I'd say he's cheating on our deal except I totally didn't bring lunch and resorted to a miniature cup of mediterranean pepper soup and a bag of baked Lays from Au Bon Pain for lunch). Because he hates curry and I'm slightly ashamed of the amount of canned tomato products I've managed to compile (perhaps to aid in my "this spaghetti is really brains" diversionary tactic? Blood substitute?), I'm thinking some kind of riff on channa masala is in order. Plus, there's a glass of wine left in my fridge taking up space that I really need to get rid of.

Oh, and brownie mix. I HAVE to use up that shelf-space usurping brownie mix.

Thank God for flax "eggs"! :)

What's the most creative meal you've cooked/eaten lately?

Friday Confessional: If A = B, then B = Whaaa??

Greetings and salutations, friends! :) Thanks for stopping in today; I know there are more of you out there than comment regularly (XOXOXO to my commenting peeps; what was it that Shakira said..."Stats don't lie?"), so I wanted to take an opportunity to say hi to the lurkers, whoever you are, and that I hope you have a great Friday (or Saturday. You know, if you're that person from Australia.). I'm also working on getting a commenting platform with the "reply" feature, but can't download anything at the moment, so stay tuned.

Ok, let's cut to the chase. It's Friday. On Fridays, we wear pink confess our deepest, darkest, most embarrassing thoughts, obsessions and musings. 

So, without further ado, I do hereby solemnly confess:

B ≠ B. 

B = A.

As you all know by now, math is not my strong suit. In fact, one of my most humiliating high school memories involves my Advanced Math class (which is basically Pre-Calc, aka Trig, at my ridiculous public high school). Now, Advanced Math is typically a class for seniors -- the progression is generally Algebra I freshman year, Geometry sophomore year, Algebra II junior year and Advanced Math senior year. HOWEVER, if you happen to do well enough in junior high or, apparently, if you are straddling the fence between a B- and a B in 8th grade math and your moron teacher hasn't figured out you've been taking advantage of the formulas some industrious future Wall Street exec has engraved onto your desktop, you can end up a year ahead of the "regular" high school math schedule, finding yourself in Geometry with a bunch of sophomores when you're only in 9th grade.

Guess which side of the fence I ended up falling face first into?

Hint: I'm Tac, and my math skillz are responsible for the #highschoolsexjoke FAIL.

I wasn't ready for Geometry L3, but I took it, failed a few tests, then busted my ass (and a LOT of tutoring from my friend Meghan, who is now getting a PhD in chemistry) to get by with a B. Over the next year, I had a lot of ups and downs with Algebra II, getting a D the first semester and a B+ the second (I had a good teacher who worked with me), and, after a brief fling with Advanced Math L2 in which a member of my class said the fractional equivalent of .5 was 1/4, I ended up in Advanced Math L3, right back with the other juniors I'd started the advanced track with and a whole bunch of impressionable seniors.

As the majority of my classmates were preparing for graduation and gossiping about colleges, there was a small subset of us who needed to get our Class Selection sheets for the next year signed off on by our teacher. Of course, since Advanced Math is usually a senior class, the only option beyond it is Calc I. Reluctantly, but ever-conscious of the "you'll never get into college with only three years of math" rubric, I put it on my sign-up sheet, knowing full well I wasn't going to get approved by my teacher, Beelzebub McSatan. (The penalty for taking a class you weren't approved for was that you couldn't drop the class without taking an F, an awesome little "I told you so" from The Man.).

One day, class finished early and I was finally chatting with a cute senior with whom I'd been half in love since I first laid my bespectacled eyes on him freshman year. Just as we were getting past the whole, "hey, can I borrow a pencil?" part, this annoying, nasally squawk called out:

"Caitlin?"
"Yes (Prince of Darkness)?"
"Are you planning on taking a math next year?"
"Uh... yes, (Lucifer)."
"I suggest you don't."

Oh NO he DI'INT!

The entire class went silent, I turned the color of a blood orange and squeaked out, "thanks", and that was that.

MORTIFYING.

But not as mortifying as this. #Noshame

That was a really long-winded way of explaining that Geometry has been screwing with me since my formative years. And that the foundation for most of life's problems can be traced back to the fact that I never really understood the whole Transitive Property.

Until now.

As you all know, I blog-named my boyfriend "B" short for "Blaine", because I compared him to that moment in Pretty in Pink when Molly Ringwald finally gets the guy. But there is a problem with this alias. You see, I have a coworker named B, whom I refer to as such in work emails, etc., and it was getting really awksauce for me to write, "and then I went home with B!" on the blog. It's like saying you went home with your brother. Icky. Besides, I fear the day some colleague finds this blog and starts some scandalous rumor about how B and I are secretly shacking up. So, I decided to let the cat out of the bag (with the imposter "B"'s permission, of course): the man you have all come to know and love as "B", short for Blaine, is not, in fact, B at all.

He's A!

Princess loves her "Uncle 'Roo!"

As in Andrew!

He's basically the most awesome dude alive, so I figured it was time to have his formal debut -- as himself. :)

Thank goodness THAT'S finally out of the way. Henceforth, "B" will be known as either "Andrew", "A", "BF", "My Love" or "Jackass", depending on my mood and, most likely, the lunar cycle.

Oh, and Calculus? I took it. I got a D the first semester and a B+ second semester (Yes, I know it's highly improbable for someone to get a B+ on integrals after a D on derivatives. Shout-out to Mrs. F, who came in to school at 6:45 EVERY SINGLE MORNING to tutor me, coming up with countless ways to explain concepts until I finally understood the material. That woman is a saint and deserves tenure and a raise!).  I also not only got into college, but aced Calc for Social Sciences my freshman year. So, to Professor Damien McLucifer, I say this:

KISS MY FACE AND I'LL SEE YOU IN HEAVEN!

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So, tell me: Do you create code names for people in your life (and/or on your blog!), or do you just refer to them by their regular names? In high school, my friend and I were Code Name Masters -- on the blog, I kind of do a hybrid; if it's someone I'm going to be talking about a lot, I try to get their permission to use their name/photos, etc. on the blog. If not, I sometimes just use their first names!

Postscript: True story: Andrew decided to shave his beard last night (which he started growing LAST APRIL for the Bruins post-season run, and only shaved it totally in June for the wedding we went to, where the top pic is from), so that he can re-grow it this post-season. Half asleep, I rolled over and freaked out, wondering who this clean-shaven man was!

Eleven in 2011! Or, Kicking This Year's Ass: The Update

Last night, as I was lathering my hair with Tresseme (I ALWAYS do my best thinking in the shower), a sudden thought caused me to almost drop the shampoo bottle on my foot, which would have rapidly devolved into an SNL skit.

What thought, pray tell, could have POSSIBLY caused me to nearly turn my bathroom into the set of Psycho? 

HOLY CATS! 2011 IS A QUARTER OVER!

 WHEN THE HECK DID THAT HAPPEN?!

(March 31, genius).

So, I thought it would be a fun idea to check in with my 11 Goals in 2011 and share my progress with you all. In the event that I'm not the absolute most important thing in your life, and you therefore don't remember what I pledged to do (or, if you're a newer reader, and you didn't deem me important enough to drop everything and go through my archives), here they are:

Eleven in 2011! Or, "How I Plan to Kick This Year's Ass"
Kicking 2011's Ass: Part Deux

1) Fiscal Responsibility
    I actually think I've done a fairly good job with this one. My monthly calls to my legal loan sharks student loan company to scream like a woman possessed because they never, EVER apply the right amount of money to the right loan subgroup seem to be paying off. I've not only created some epic profanities (see? I totally put the $40k English degree from a state school to good use), but I've also managed to pay down the principle balance of the highest interest rate loan (Seriously? 6.8%? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!) with the extra $50-$60 I've been throwing at the bill. It's not much, but it's something. I also take a slim satisfaction in knowing that "Jennifer" most likely quakes in her skinny jeans whenever my name comes up on the caller ID.
     In addition, my 403(b) is thriving, I understand the point of my pension and I've managed to save 5% of my gross income each month to increase my safety net account a respectable amount. BALLA!
First Quarter Assessment: A. Basically, I make it rain.

2) Travel More
     Sooo... that trip to Austin? It never happened. B couldn't get the time out of retail hell, and, after assessing our current financial situation, it was decided that while we really, REALLY wanted an excuse to go to TX to attend these nuptials, a few days' hotel stay in tandem with airline prices to Austin during SXSW (wtfg on the planning there, Bride) just wasn't realistic. I HAVE been doing my due diligence for B's Christmas present, i.e. the weekend in NYC, though. While I was ALL FOR dropping $350 to spend a night at the Waldorf with furry slippers and room service, Mr. "I've Never Been to NYC" apparently wants to EXPERIENCE the sights and (gag) smells of the city firsthand. Go figure.  So, if anyone has any sweet hotel recommendations or knows of a way to abscond with cheap Mets or Yankees tickets for the end of May, hook a sister up, will you?
     I've also been trying to figure out our October venture to Indy for my friend Meghan's wedding, which happens to coincide with my birthday weekend. More importantly, I've spent numerous hours perusing vacationoutlet.com, and have almost flown myself to Vegas for the weekend on more than one occasion. Big money! Come to Mama! (I'm just trying to be economical here; I could conceivably wipe out goals #1 AND 2 with this idea).
First Quarter Assessment: C+. Hey, at least I'm planning.

3) Run a Half Marathon
     Well, I *did* stick to a training plan for almost two months, and I ran a PR 5k in 36:00! Let's all clap for the slow kid (I jest; I had 1,000 people finish after me, and choose to ignore the fact that it was a run/walk). The bad news? I spent the next three weeks completely out of commission with these babies:

The other good news? I did my first run back yesterday, on the Dreadmill of Doom, with NO SHIN PAIN! It was only a quick run/walk interval of 16:30, but I made it 1.33 miles in that time, which isn't too bad for my first run in three weeks. I'll take it! (Editor's note: Motherlover... I just realized I left my Dr. Scholls inserts in my cross-trainers after Zumba last night. That's what I get for gellin' like a felon).

Boo-ya, 5k witchessss!

     Next up? Getting my mileage back up to 5k at a normal pace, registering and running another one, then proceeding to the 10k and registering for the half in October!
First Quarter Assessment: B. No "A for Effort" here.

4) Get My Blood Pressure Back to Normal
     As you might have gathered from this post, as well as this one (my most popular post to date), things in the weight loss department aren't going so well. Shockingly, my bp hasn't been climbing as high as you would expect, though. Since I've been so frustrated, I've been trying to work on the little goals I had set to help me achieve this one -- namely, getting back to being properly hydrated (8+ each day), cutting back on my coffee intake, getting in at least 30 minutes of cardio at least three times each week, and doing a yoga class at least once a week. Those were all pretty easy to accomplish, actually -- it's the "cut back on drinking" and "use less salt" that is killing me (literally) these days. I'd forgotten how good salt makes food like pasta taste, and it's a big adjustment going back to leaving it off of everything. Le sigh. Stress has also been creepin' on me, which isn't helping the matter.
First Quarter Assessment: C-.

5) Eat More Mindfully
     Now that I have 27 days as a vegetarian under my belt,  you would think that I have made tons of progress on this one, right? Except I really haven't. No, a mindful eater would probably put two and two together and realize that beef jerky constitutes, you know, beef, and therefore has no place in a meat-free diet. Except I didn't, and ate an entire bag of it while hungover on Sunday, gobbling my Veggie Delight and congratulating myself on 25 perfect days as a Lenten Vegetarian. Then I had the worst stomach pain of my entire life, barring the time I lost 7lbs in 6 hours via Norovirus (so not worth it; trust me here), and made the whole "beef jerky - beef" connection 4 hours later. I also ate all of this in my car, out of the wrappers, while reading blogs on my cell. Eff em el.
First Quarter Assessment: F.    

Step AWAY from the jerky!

 6) Get into Grad School
     I can explain this one, and it's actually a good excuse. In case you missed it, I am whatever the opposite of a mathlete is -- Kevin Gnapoor would never date me (aside from my lily white skin and the fact that he only dates women of color, of course). As such, I have been studying for the GRE for something like 359248 years, because while I don't need math for the degree I'm going for, I DO need a high composite score in order to get into the competition for fellowships, which is the only way I'll be able to justify taking on more student loan debt at this point of my life. The GRE is being restructured starting in August, with access to a calculator on the math section -- and while I SUCK at math in general, I am great at memorizing what buttons I need to push. (This is talent in other aspects of life, too, which is why I entertained the idea of becoming a lawyer for the first 20 years of my life). Once the GRE is done, the rest is cake!
First Quarter Assessment: B+.

7) Write More
     Duh. Winning!

     Actually, since the laptop disaster, I have a refreshed love for writing. I even wrote in my journal last night by hand -- like the Flintstones!
First Quarter Assessment: A-. Still working on the "creative writing/update blog three solid times/wk" thing.

8) "Control My Reactions"
      This is, possibly, the hardest goal I've set for myself this year -- because it's been ongoing for the past 7 years, since I finally sought therapy for my chronic social anxiety disorder and found my mantra, "I cannot control every situation, but I can control my ability to react". Forcing myself to stop obsessing over potential outcomes, particularly those that will most likely NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS come to pass, and stop second-guessing myself and my decisions is sort of like LSD; once you start doing it, it never really stops living in your spine. For now, I've just kept up with the yoga, worked on the meditation, found solace in the quiet moments (particularly in church), and reminding myself that LIFE is a marathon, not a sprint.
First Quarter Assessment: B. Solid, with room for improvement.

9) Spread the Love
     As I've mentioned before, I'm pretty active in the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. A very dear friend has a little boy with this horrible disease, and I've got quite a bone to pick with the stupid gene that is causing this poor kid so much misery. Short of becoming a geneticist, though, which is slightly above my skill set (not to mention my pay grade), all I can do is help to raise awareness and dollars to help researchers combat this horrible condition that has robbed the world of too many lives already.

Making Great Strides to Beat CF

Be on the lookout for the link to my fundraising page for the CFF Great Strides walk in May, or if you're from the Boston area and are interested in a scenic 5-mile walk on the Charles, feel free to email me at caitieexperiment [at] gmail [dot] com and I'll get you the deets! I'm also working in collaboration with the CFF on another project in October!
     I've also been researching other volunteer opportunities, as I'd love to get more involved in another charity. My sorority is extremely philanthropically active with a million foundations, so I've been perusing their many connections to see if there is anything I find appealing.
First Quarter Assessment: B.
     
10) Push My Limits
     When two of your mini-goals were to "go vegetarian once a month" and "try new recipes", and you then decide to go vegetarian for 47 days and nights (save for one, plus the beef jerky incident), I'd say it's a solid guarantee that you're going to kick that goal's ass. Luckily, a lot of the mini-goals associated with my other goals are things that are outside of my comfort zone (like, oh, "publish blog," "smile at random strangers" and "apply to grad school"), and participating in them checks off this little box, too. I'm also trying to keep this goal in mind as I approach things that I am terrified of, and do them anyway -- although if you think there is any way in motherlovin' HELL that I am going anywhere near a spider, a balloon, a cannon or a snake, you, my friend, are one sick puppy.
First Quarter Assessment: B+.


11) Be a Better (and New!) Friend and Family Member
     First off, I planned and executed a baptism, which in my family makes one a legitimate contender for the Nobel Peace Prize. It involved flying my sister and niece up here from Corpus Christi, corralling my mother's AND father's sides of the family on a single date, dragging everyone to Church and keeping the peace through the planning stages of the reception, which might or might not have involved a few screaming matches and espionage worthy of James-Frakkin'-Bond. But look at the end result!:

So worth it.

     I've also worked on cultivating new "blends" -- shout out to all of you readers -- and, in the process, have strengthened some friendships I already had, because it gives us more stuff to talk about and commiserate over. Katie and I even ran, and then blogged about, the St. Paddy's 5K together! (Here's her recap).
     Last, but not least, I've been working very hard at making -- and STAYING -- in contact with my "friends from home", aka the ones I've collected since kindergarten straight up through college, with whom I've either lost touch or simply hadn't talked to in awhile. If I didn't loathe Facebook so much, I'd be praising it right about now. :)
     Oh, and I FINALLY bought a new camera, so I've had the opportunity to take tons of pics, none of which I have uploaded to the web yet, but which I've been picking and choosing from to share with you dolls when I need them. Kisses!
First Quarter Assessment: A.

That's it in a seashell (because seriously, after this vegetarian thing, if I have to think about another nut, I'mmacutsomeone. Just sayin'.). All in all, not so bad. Final Overall Grade: B.

So, tell me: Did you make any New Year's Resolutions or goals? How are you doing with them? Have there been any surprises -- things you expected to be hard but turned out to be easier than you thought, or vice versa? Got any sweet tips for NYC hotel rooms?

Friday Confessional: Go Big or Go Home

Better late than never, right? Apologies to those of you who actually checked for the latest confession, only to find it missing -- a little TOO much St. Paddy's cheer combined with a crazy day at work left this little leprechaun in search of a pot filled with liquid pepto and The Price is Righj! I did start this one on Friday, so I might as well throw it up here! (Heh. heh. Get it?). FYI - if you have a problem with eating meat, the following post is NOT for you!

Ok, let's cut to the chase. It's Friday. On Fridays, we wear pink confess our deepest, darkest, most embarrassing thoughts, obsessions and musings. 

So, without further ado, I do hereby solemnly confess:

Last night, I ate...

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Meat.

And I'm not just talking about ANY meat here... I'm talking nightmare-inducing, OMG-I-can't-believe-I-just-ingested-that, Survivor/Fear Factor style meat.

I'm talking marrow.

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On a bed of citrus parsley salad and beef tongue marmalade.

Beef. 

Tongue.

Marmalade.

Omg I just threw up in my mouth a little thinking about it. Of course, that could be a result of the green beer I consumed an hour later.

The verdict?

Not so bad -- actually, I tried to convince myself that the marmalade was some kind of lentil dish (hey, it was DARK in there!), and then just went with it. B was feeling adventurous, and since I had obtained special dispensation from the Pope for Restaurant Week goodness at KO Prime (Beacon Hill, for you Bostonians), I said what the hell. When in Rome, right?
 
I used to be a picky-ish eater, but in high school, my palate started to mature a little and I found myself starting to LOVE flavors and dishes that I never, EVER expected to even look at without gagging, let alone consume. Indian daal? Sign me up. Bison burger? I'll take two. Sucking the lifeblood from the bones of a cow? Sure, why not?

Until my conscience started to get to me. Why marrow or ::gulp:: tongue is any more disgusting than any other part of an animal I happen to consume, I don't know. If anything, I think I should feel LESS skeevy, since I'm sure the cow that paid the ultimate price for my filet would have preferred to have ALL of its remnants used, rather than simply the "good parts." The marrow itself? The tongue? They were good. The steak was just meh. Honestly, though?

My favorite part was the spinach.

And, of course, the fact that for the first time in over a week, I not only felt "full" -- I felt HEAVY.


I think I might be going to the Green Side.

So, tell me: what's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten? Do you think there's a difference between eating regular animal product (steak, etc.) versus more, erm... exotic forms, such as tongue or marrow? Thinking back on it, most of the "weird" foods I've sampled have been in ethnic restaurants, namely French. How much do cultural differences play a role in our perception of what is "ok" versus "not ok" to eat?

Race Recap! St. Paddy's 5k Edition

I know, I know; you've been waiting on pins and needles all weekend, checking for updates to see how The 5k That Almost Wasn't played out -- well, wait no more! I won't hold you in suspense any longer!

After a rousing weekend full of bowling with coworkers and nice, long walks full of good conversation and this delicious hummus concoction from Pita Pit:

Whole wheat pita, hummus, tzatziki, cuke, tomato, spinach, romaine, onion and green pepper. YUM.

B and I went to bed early on Saturday night to account for the whole annoying Time Change thing -- can I just say that it's one of my FAVORITE days of the year, because it is now 6:30pm and it's still not pitch black outside?! -- but I have a tendency to get jet-lagged from it and needed that extra hour of shut eye for the big race! 

Sunday we woke up bright and early. As B snacked on his clementines (seriously, who eats clementines as his sole pre-race food?!), I ran around like a maniac scarfing a bagel thin/pb/chia/banana sandwich and making sure I had all of the goodies I had purchased for me and Katie to really get into the St. Patrick's Day spirit. If you couldn't tell from my coloring/name/shape that was "made for picking potatoes and plowing fields" (thanks, Mom, for that little self-esteem booster in 3rd grade), I'm pretty Irish. Therefore, the facial tattoos, Miley Cyrus $7 tee, pin, mardi gras beads and sparkly gold headband were clearly necessary:

Photo courtesy of Katie!

After navigating both the bus AND the T, not to mention picking up an overly friendly stalkers couple along the way, (how can you tell someone was not raised in the Greater Boston Area? They attempt to speak to you in public), we FINALLY made it to the race site, where we were directed to the pickup a half mile away from the starting line. Grand and all, and much as I enjoyed the bagpipes, I would have preferred the nice volunteer who sent us that way inquired as to whether we already HAD numbers, because it was cold, I had to pee, and I didn't really need to walk an extra mile pre-race. C'est la vie; at least the bagpipes were cool!

 

Once the gun went off, it took us 4:30 to get to the starting line -- apparently, when you're at the back of a pack of 6,000 runners, it takes awhile to get up there. We kept start/stopping and FINALLY, as we got close, I said good luck to B and Katie and we were off! 

I actually kept pace with the two of them for the first half mile or so; I decided to go with my "Motivate" playlist and was so busy jamming to hardcore running tunes like David Cook's "Dream Big" ::snark:: that I barely noticed the hill we were zooming up. At that point, though, B and K had gotten their strides and were pulling ahead -- so I had to get all Zen Master and recite to myself that I was running MY race, against MYself, and no one else.

I ran my first "official" 5k back in December, and was totally bummed that my time clocked in at 38:01:

My first race!

That was gun time, but I know it didn't take me 2 minutes to cross the starting line... and I'd been training at a 12 min/mi pace. I hadn't spent enough time running outside in the cold beforehand (I have asthma and exercise in the cold exacerbates it BIG TIME), and THIS time, I wanted to make sure that wouldn't be a problem. But when one door closes, another one opens -- I've been battling shin splints off-and-on the past few months, and I took a REAL hit while my sister and niece were here last month and I took a week and a half off of running. I did too much, too soon after, and as I started up the first hill of the race, I knew it was going to be as much of a mental battle as a physical one to set a new PR.

Sunday's course was definitely hillier than I expected -- the website said it was a flat course, and even after MapMyRun elevation mapping it, I wasn't planning on THAT many slow inclines. My shins were SCREECHING by the 1-mile marker. Like clockwork, though, my psychic iPod struck again and "Lose Yourself" came on just when I needed it. I kept running, despite every thought I had telling me to stop. I made it through one more hill and then re-strategized... as much as I wanted a PR and had planned walk breaks at the mile marks only, I decided to walk up the hills and run back down them.

Right as I was starting to wonder whether someone was going to have to roll my collapsed body out of the middle of the road, the psychic Eminem loving iPod struck again... with the aptly named, "'Til I Collapse." I don't know if everyone else was as obsessed with the Michael Phelps Spectacular 3 summers ago as I was (like, you know, going to the bar to watch him race), but ever since I found out it was one of his power songs, I've had it on every running playlist I have... and it never fails to disappoint. 

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As I pushed and pushed myself not to, well, DIE, I rounded a corner and the bike path that signaled the last .3 miles appeared in front of me. FI-NA-LY! The 2-mile marker had apparently been ripped down in the excitement, so I'd spent the past 1.75 miles wondering where exactly I was on the course. I trotted along for the first .15 miles, then, with the finish line in sight, slowed down to a walk for .05 to harness the power of my legs.

And with the last ounces of energy in my poor, throbbing calves/shins, I ran that last .1 of a mile in a time that would make Superman raise an eyebrow. 

And then I saw the clock: 40:14.

Then I hit the wall of people, shuffling aimlessly towards the mat while I darted anxiously between them, only to cross at 40:54... and immediately wanted to cry.

THEN, I remembered this was a chip-timed event, and that the guy at the beginning had been yelling, "ONLY 4:30 IN!" as I crossed the starting line... and realized that my time was actually a PR for a real, outdoor timed run... 36:14! And that I'd definitely spent more than :15 crossing the stupid finish line, and I'd made my goal of finishing in under 36 minutes!

Excitement Abounded

Needless to say, I was excited!! I still wish I had been able to eke out those other 3 minutes to hit 33, but at least now I have another goal for next time! Meanwhile, as I was hustling up those hills towards the finish line...

THIS GUY and Katie had obviously run ahead of me -- I'd been smack-talking them both up to each other all week (if you can't beat 'em, pit 'em against each other, that's what I say!) and they apparently spent the ENTIRE race duking it out for the win. Now, I wasn't a witness, but from what I can make of it, B was leading into the home stretch, and then decided to take an ill-timed walk break (this, my friends, is why it pays to map the course before a run). K took this as an opportunity to go all-out and gassed straight past him towards the finish line, and when B realized how close he was, he also kicked it into high gear to chase her down. Obviously, they both maintain that, had it not been for the clusterf(#* at the finish line, the respective party would have won. Officially, B clocked in a mere 5 seconds ahead of K, but I think this time is suspect and therefore have concluded it was a statistical tie, thereby necessitating a rematch at a later date. Either way, finishing in under 32 minutes in a hilly and COLD 5k is beyond my skill set at the moment, so I stand impressed by both of them! At least I got a medal!

I will say, the hardest part of this race for me was fighting the urge to push further and harder than I knew my body could handle. I knew going into the race that while I trained, I had really set myself back with that week-and-a-half break and subsequent too-fast build up, and that Katie has been busting her butt at the track and her times have been better than mine for at least the past six months. B is just a natural athlete who literally started running five weeks ago and was cranking out sub-10 min miles within his first four training runs. Holding back while the two of them jaunted off over the hill was REALLY tough, as was fighting the urge to push up those hills and knowing that if I did so, I'd pay a hefty fine for it later. Each time those, "you're walking again; this race is a failure" thoughts started to creep in, I had to remind myself that it was MY race, and I was running the best race I could, at that moment, with what I had. And I did -- even if I DID spend the rest of my Sunday like this:

Peas, Corn and Lego Harry Potter... what else can a girl want?

Unfortunately, public opinion (and my shins) dictate that I take at least a week off before I pick back up with my running -- I've been icing morning and night, and wrapping with Ace bandages under my pants when I remember. I'm DYING to get back out there, because I've got my eye on a few more races in the next two months and am gunning for that 11-minute mile, but I'm trying to look at the bright side: I haven't been to spinning or yoga in about seven weeks, and this is a perfect opportunity to get back to it! Caitlin at HTP coincidentally posted the night after my 5k about how she thinks yoga is imperative to keeping her injury-free and limber during her training, and as I pushed into pigeon in a pile of mulch before the race, trying to loosen up my left IT band, I had declared to B that I was going back to yoga this week come hell or high water. So, come 4pm, you know where to find me!

In other random news:

Vegetarian Adventure Update: Day 7

Today marks the end of the first FULL week of the Lenten Vegetarian Challenge. I have to say, I don't miss meat NEARLY as much as I thought I would; in fact, the only time I've actually really craved it was right after the 5k. I didn't go a great job of carb OR water-loading the day before the race, so that could have something to do with it. Our Restaurant Week dinner reservation is tomorrow night at a ritzy steakhouse, though, and I even got special dispensation from the Pope (or my Priest) to dig into a fat filet. Oddly enough, I was walking in to work this morning and fantasizing about ordering the salmon ... the times, they are a changin', indeed.

Possible 30DS Challenge?

Since I'm currently off the beaten running path until my shins decide to cooperate, I've been considering all the things I can do in the meantime to make me a better runner. HIGH on my list of priorities, in addition to yoga and more stretching, is to drop a few pounds (I know I need to lose more than that long-term, but I'm a one-step-at-a-time type girl!) and build up my strength again -- particularly in my core and my shins. I was up to 25 consecutive "real" pushups when I was doing the 100 Pushup Challenge before I pulled a muscle in my lower abs doing them, six weeks after I started skipping my regular Weds Pilates class. My abs feel like jello, and I noticed my back is hurting more while I run. So, I'm considering returning to an old standby, in addition to my normal gym routine -- I might be reincorporating Jillian's 30 Day Shred in the very near future. 

So, tell me: Have you run any races lately, or accomplished any major goals? If you are a runner, have you ever dealt with the evils of shin splints (and if you have, help a sister out and send me your tips!)? Did you shed a little tear for Nate Dogg, whose musical genius contributed to that athletic ode, "'Til I Collapse'"? Am I the only one who is borderline obsessed with the Olympics and finds them a perfectly reasonable thing to celebrate at the pub?

PS- If you haven't already, go check out Angela's Japan Disaster Relief Fundraiser over at Oh She Glows --- it's for a GREAT cause, and if you win the Glo Bars, I won't complain if you decide to share the wealth!!

Playing Chicken... Or Not.

I've been interested in the idea of going vegetarian before -- "C'mon, Caitlin," I'd say to myself. "'Just once. Just for a short period of time, just to see if you like it. I mean, it's not something we have to do again if you don't like it, but you should really give it a chance. Who knows, you might LOVE being a vegetarian and want to do it all the time."

Yes, I *did* give myself the vegetarian-virgin coercion speech. And *no,* I am not ashamed about it.

That's right, people, I have pledged my status as a carnivore to the Lord. After a lot of deliberation and a particularly hilarious text-convo involving Oprah, a bottle of fine wine (K) and a trough of $2 beer (yours truly), my fabulous coworker, Katie, and I have decided that for the next 47 days, we are giving up all beef, pork and poultry.

We started our quest by putting the "Fat" in "Fat Tuesday" -- and I mean literally. I went a little wild at our "Farewell, Meat!" lunch and instead of my normal Mini Bolocco Cajun Bowl with brown rice, white meat chicken and light on the cajun spices (blood pressure, you know), I went ALL-IN:

Small, full-on cajun burrito with a WHITE tortilla, BOLOCCO RICE, STEAK, FULL-ON cajun spices AND GUAC. Collective gasp now, everyone! #sarcasm.  (Sidenote: I wish I had broken off my calorie-counting ways enough to NOT have looked up the nutritionals under the guise of "curiosity". But I did, and was not terribly upset to see my lunch consisted of about 700 calories and over 2,000mg of sodium. The real killer is the roasted corn salsa, which I am planning to make myself this week so I can cut the salt but keep the flavor.)

Day 1 was yesterday, and I'm happy to say that it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought. I'm not going to be photographing ALL of my meals, or even posting them here, but I thought since it was the first day of a new routine, I'd document it for you. The good thing is, I've been having one or two days per week where I eat a basically vegetarian diet anyway, especially since I've started making some of the amazing dishes from my favorite healthy living websites. I never knew how amazing lentil soup could be if you just add a tablespoon or so of curry! I promise to link up to the fab recipes I'll be trying so that you all can share in the love, too!

Copious amounts of greek yogurt will be consumed, I can tell already... along with OSG Angela's AMAZING chocolate crunch dessert granola:

Holy. Yum.

My first veg meal was a plain Chobani yogurt bowl with chia seeds and crack granola. (Side note: I promise to never use the phrase "In the Mix:" on this blog, unless I'm referring to an awesome compilation cd. I <3 many bloggers who DO use it, but I always kind of cringe because I'm sick of seeing it everywhere. XO Caitie). Perfect little "non-meal" for Ash Wednesday and just enough to get me through my dentist appointment at 8:30!

Three fillings (well, two fillings and a "coating", which was basically a filling that my dentist slapped on a perfectly fine tooth because I have MAJOR sensitivity due to a horrible dentist I had years ago) and a numb face later, I drove the 40 minutes home, packed up my next mini-meal and headed to the office. I could FINALLY feel my face by 2, so I cracked open this baby and set to work:

 

Romaine, Tribe 40 Spices hummus, English cucumber, a slice of muenster and a few caesar croutons all wrapped up in a FlatOut. My absolutely fabulous cousin, T, is an 18-year old varsity swimmer and pole vault champ, and has been a VegHead for a few years now. This was one of her suggestions based on my facebook plea for recipes, and I was not disappointed! It kept me nice and energized without that whole post-lunch weigh down feeling.

Then I got slammed by a rockin' headache (novacaine wore off), and there weren't enough OTC painkillers in the WORLD to take care of it. Katie and I were picking up race packets for our 5k this weekend right after work, so rather than hitting the gym, we walked the 2 miles to the pickup and then parted ways. By the time I got home, I wanted to curl into a little ball on the couch and sleep, and eating was the last thing on my mind with my sore mouth and pounding temples.

I swore to myself that I wouldn't live off of pasta and cheese during this little experiment, but by the time B got home at 7, the soft goodness was all I wanted, so that's what we had. B boiled water for about 3 servings of whole wheat pasta while I prepped the rest of the ingredients -- aka opened cans. We strained the pasta over a bed of baby spinach, wilting it a bit, then threw it all back into the pot along with a few ounces of fresh mozz cubes, half a can of diced no-salt-added tomatoes, half a can of no-salt-added cannellini beans and a sprinkling of both garlic and kosher salts. I'd throw up a pic but B was in heaven and inhaled it all before I could even get to my camera! He also brought me home some Edy's Mint Brownie ice cream (after I BEGGED him to stop and get me ice cream for my swollen mouth!), and that was a great way to end the night (apologies on resolution -- I can't find a bigger photo!).

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All in all, I'd say Day 1 was a success! I'm very excited to see how the no-meat lifestyle affects me PHYSICALLY, more than anything. Vegetarian friends have always waxed on and on about how GREAT they feel after they quit eating flesh, but I've always wondered if they were just using it as an excuse to consume mass amounts of peanut butter and double stuf oreos (I'm kidding -- I just used to tease my veggie bff/roommate about eating that stuff!).

Not that I'd complain! ;)

So, tell me: Have you made any big lifestyle changes lately? Are you celebrating Lent this year? If so, what did you give up/decide to do for others?Have any fabulous vegetarian recipes for me? Post them in the comments to share the love or simply send 'em my way! CaitieExperiment [at] gmail.com -- I'd LOVE to hear from you!