Playing catch up

See you in a few months, non-stationary bike.

Have I really not blogged since the Autumn Classic?

I'll use my usual excuse, I've been busy :)

This is one of four posts I'll have in the next few days... I need to write about my most recent trail race, the 1,000 burpee challenge I took on and some great new songs for spin I've discovered!

The election was... the election. Crazy busy up until the end, when we all got the results the pollsters said we would get. For a slight peek into my professional life, check out the fact checks myself and my colleagues were able to put together. I'm quite proud of what we were able to do!

But enough of that! Some updates on how my Musselman training is going (and other randomness that I feel like writing)!

There have been a few freak nice days but for the most part the bike has been shelved for the season (tear). I'm glad I got in as much riding as I did before it got cold and dark. But now it's cold and dark.

I set a goal of doing three lifting sessions, three swims and three runs or spins each week. Haven't gotten there yet, I will this week!

I've realized I'm not very good at resting. My initial instinct when I took some time off after the election was to pick up some extra spin classes. (I've got a song post coming.)

I am getting AWESOME in the pool. Well, nowhere near awesome. I'm still pretty pathetic, actually. Right now I'm up to two and a half laps without stopping, 25 lap total. Given that I couldn't even do the breathing thing three months ago, I feel awesome.

I'm really noticing improvements in my strength, thanks to my trainer. I can do 35 pushups, 47 decline crunches and hold a 4:00 plank. And some other benchmarks I can't recall at the moment.

I still haven't been running much, but every time I do it seems to come back naturally, so I'm going to keep focusing on swimming and strength and pick up on it in the spring.

Lizzie Dog is upset that I am not sharing my Wegman's salmon with her. I guess I could spare one bite.

Trader Joe's is finally open! Just in time for me to realize that I could find most of the things I missed there at Wegman's. But no matter! I got some ginger pear tea, frozen mahi mahi and cheap Gluten Free waffles. YUM!

McKenzie's seasonal reserve hard cider may well just be the death of me. And I have a P!nk song in my head.

Ok, that's all I got.

Foodie Friday: I love Wegman's, I miss Trader Joe's, I heart nut butters

I've never been very good at remembering to post something like this weekly. Usually I'm good about it for a few weeks then it fizzles out.

Living in Rochester means shopping at Wegmans, and the place is a palace. There's a whole Gluten Free aisle and so many great food finds!

On the other side of the coin, I'm missing my Trader Joe's :( But it will be here in October so I feel I must educate my new Rochester friends on the glory that can be found there. (But what will they do about their wine selection??)

So, I'm bringing back Foodie Friday with something I love, and then something I miss, for as long as I decide to keep it up :) !!


WHAT I LOVE AT WEGMANS

My parents can attest to this: I hate peanut butter. Hate it hate it hate it hate it. It makes no sense! I like peanuts, I like peanut butter when it's mixed with other things, like soy sauce or chocolate. I like almond butter and cashew butter and sunflower seed butter. But by itself, or with the trusty sidekick jelly: Eww.

I was craving some sunflower seed butter when I went to Wegmans last week (I'll get to that in a minute). After getting a "wait what's that" from the clerk, he spoke into his walkie talkie then directed me to the organics section.

There was a small selection of nut butters that contained this gem: Earth Balance coconut and peanut spread. "81% peanuts with extra virgin coconut oil". Creamy. $5.

To buy or not to buy? I hate peanut butter. I love coconut. I took the plunge.

I was a little afraid of it at first. I brought it to work with some rice cakes to eat instead of my protein bars, which I'm trying to give up. Like clockwork, my tummy started to rumble around 4 p.m. Snack time! I fished out a plastic knife, ripped off the seal and spread it on the rice cake.

Total deliciousness.

I'm not a food writer, but it was just a little bit sweet, a little bit salty, and very filling! It has agave syrup but no added sugar, 190 calories and 6 grams of protein in two tablespoons, vegan, naturally Gluten Free

It doesn't need to be refrigerated, so it's going to live in my desk with my trusty pack of rice cakes.


AND NOW, WHAT I MISS AT TRADER JOE'S

So what kept me from buying the sunflower seed butter at Wegman's?

It was $8!!!!!

At Trader Joe's, you can get a jar of sunflower seed butter for $5.

As much as I enjoy non-peanut butters, sunflower seed butter is the only one I bother to dig in and eat directly from the spoon (or whatever utensil is most handy). Before I give the empty container to Lizzie, I make sure every salvageable bit is gone. So yummy! Very creamy, sweet and salty. And addicting!

So, Wegmans, your peanut and coconut butter will tide me over, but I can't wait for decently priced sunflower seed butter! 

Foodie Friday: Trader Joe's (or Trader Ming's) Soyaki sauce

I'm addicted.

I picked this stuff up at Trader Joe's and blew through the whole bottle. Now I'm dying for a chance to go back to TJ's so I can stock up.

It's low-cal, lower sodium, and really yummy. Great over brown rice, chicken or veggies.

Not a champion this week

I'm slowly dying.

That's actually a gross exaggeration. But I really did have had the cold/flu/I-don't-really-know-what-it-was from hell this week. We're talking pounding headaches, random body aches, a general fatigue and, of course, an imaginary clothes pin clamped tightly on my nose.

So, a few miles around the indoor track at the Y has been the extent of my training. Instead of talking about that, I offer you this link to this hysterical blog. Enjoy. Especially this post. And this post. See you next week. In the meantime, I'm going to be a little busy, in Lost we just found out Juliet is not such a good person after all (or is she double-crossing the others?)

One more random note -- of the me being annoyed with a company and needing to tell the world in a way that will come up in a Google search style. Never order from Nutty Guys. I love dried fruit and nuts, so I got a Groupon for them and ordered more than the Groupon would cover. It took them 20 days to ship my order (their website promised 2-3 days). They didn't respond to several emails wondering what was going on -- their online chat doesn't work and no one picked up when I called. It wasn't until I complained to Groupon that I got an unapologetic email from them explaining that they were out of stock on something. They're shipping is pricy too -- lesson learned: Go to Trader Joe's, same prices and they're way better!

And to not be the whiny consumer, do order from Marbles: The Brain Store if you like puzzles and such. I also discovered them through Groupon, and they are super-reliable. I love my Buckeyballs!