Fun with Flowers

Last weekend Nicole and I went to check out Rowe Arboretum. I had no idea what to expect and while it wasn't very large, they had the most beautiful rhododendrons in bloom! They happen to be one of those things that really reminds me of Tennessee.......
but I have never seen such beautiful orange ones! I wanted to take them home!


Then there's this girl! What a hoot!


Pretty purple


This was one area of a bunch of them!

Sunbathing in Siberia

I have a Siberian Husky....at least that's what I am told. But give her a 75 degree day and the first place she runs is onto our very sunny deck....plops down....and probably wouldn't move until you made her. She LOVES to sunbathe. Seems a little odd considering how much fur she carries around (and sheds all over my house).

See here, I have made her sit up.....she's not happy about it. (Oh and yes we are restaining our deck this year. I know it looks awful!)

But, if she must get up....she will go visit the fishes while I feed them. I can't tell if she thinks they are funny or look tasty.....but no chance of her jumping in the water to find out.

Now, Rosco, on the other hand,

prefers to lay and stand in the cool shade of the back tree.

He's not too happy when I make him come inside either. Sometimes I hate going back to work! :(

Strolling on a Saturday

This weekend was forecasted to be beautiful, so early last week I had my Saturday planned. Jaime and I went down to Findlay Market, one of my favorite historical places in Cincinnati. Its located in a very historic, but rundown, part of Cincinnati and is just a great place to visit and be a part of. Over the Rhine is currently in a state of Renaissance, with many new businesses coming in to revive the area.

Amongst the vegetables, fresh eggs (which I didn't need this time thanks to Jaime bringing me fresh ones from her parents casa), and even jewelry, there is this little place that sells gelato. Now, I haven't been to Italy, but from what I have been told (Kat!) this stuff is the bomb. Dojo makes the stuff in small batches and wonderful flavors like Honey Lavender and Sea Salted Caramel. I opted for a small which allows you two flavors....my picks?....Sea Salted Caramel and Turkish Coffee.......OH..My...Goodness!

(See all the lovely flavors and colors here!)

This is Jaime's bowl (with her cute red toenails in the background) Aren't these the cutest cups they serve in? I took mine home....yeah I am a dork. It was a #5 so I couldn't recycle it that way, why not use it again at home! By the way, the gelato was fantastic!

Here's a quick shot of some of the veggies. We cooked up some of them tonight! If you are ever in Cincinnati, especially during the spring/summer, stop by Findlay Market.....oh and if you live here and haven't been, you must, read, must go NOW! Enjoy local produce!

Gluten What?!

Many of you know that I have been eating gluten free since last June. It started as a trial week. I have a friend who has Celiac's at work as well as another who is gluten intolerant. (I will get to the differences later) By the second day of eating gluten free I was noticing big differences. I had been putting up with stomach growling, bloating, and other unpleasant things without realizing I could be rid of it. I would come home exhausted every day from work and barely make it through making dinner and crash on the couch. But, once going gluten free, I would stay up looking for things to do at night......I'm not kidding, I had so much energy and was so excited that I did, that I was looking for things to do.

Many of the symptoms of Celiacs and gluten intolerance are almost identical but the conditions are pretty different. Also interesting though, is that the fix is the same. A gluten free lifestyle! This is a good link to compare/contrast the symptoms for the two.

Now for those of you who aren't aware, gluten comes from wheat, barley, rye, and oats. For me, I first thought, but wait...aren't those good for you? Basically some people (this is becoming an increasing number every day) don't digest the gluten very well and it irritates the lining of your intestine. When this happens, you don't absorb the good nutrients from the rest of your foods well. (If you really want to get into the nitty gritty, look up what a good poop should be, floaters indicate low nutrition.....just sayin, I had lots of those!)

Okay, so what to do if you want to try this crazy eating habit? First of all, start reading labels....and get used to perimeter shopping. Huh? You know those rows of boxed premixed preserved for 2 years shelf food at the grocery store? Yeah, surprise surprise....its not very good for you, and it usually has gluten in it. I will go into this more in coming posts (I am hoping to make this blog a bit more about my GF adventures) but I do want to give you a few tips....

#1. Buy more produce, cook with it, learn new ways to cook it. Maybe you grew up hating veggies....try them again, your tastes might have changed.....and your digestive system will thank you for it.

#2. Eat more lean protein

#3. This seems obvious, but bypass the bakery and breads and pastas.

#4. Oh pasta you say!? I can't give that up! Well good for you there are wonderful rice pastas that I use instead. Look for them in the organic section of most stores. Some stores now have their own GF section too (Meijer, Trader Joes, Kroger)



I would recommend trying this first. Stick with things that are naturally gluten free, then you can venture into all the things that are out there to give you that bread/pancake/donut fix without giving you a belly ache. By the way, not all starches and carbs are off limits. Rice, Potatoes, Quinoa, and other grains are fine, just be sure to google them first. There is tons of info out there. Oh, and the Lipton Rice blends (the flavored ones like broccoli cheddar "rice" aren't rice!) They mix in Orzo pasta with the rice.....yeah, sneaky. Remember what I said above, read labels. Oh, and it won't say gluten. Look for these. It seems like a lot, but most of those you won't ever see, and after a week or two, you get used to it. You get a feeling for what foods are going to have stuff in them.



Oh, so by the way, some 9 months later, I have lost about 20 lbs, lost the bloat, gained better skin, more energy and even a better mood. All of which I would somewhat contribute to going gluten free. I am working out more often which I am sure helped with shedding pounds but I woudn't have had the energy before. But don't do it just for that. I can't begin to explain to you the difference in how I feel. Its awesome, and well worth giving up some hamburger buns!



Okay, so here in Cincinnati we have this wonderful store called Jungle Jim's. They have a huge GF section (amongst some of the best produce in Cincinnati) and I went in yesterday to get some flours. I am making carrot cake cupcakes for Easter. GF of course. I saw a new (to me) brand of GF bread. Oh....my.....goodness. Yummmmmy! Its got pockets of air, a wonderful taste and doesn't crumble. So, if you can find it near you, pick it up. I have already had 4 slices! Yikes!

My Research

Since I hadn't purchased a new pair of running shoes in about 2 1/2 marathons, 2 triathlons and countless 5Ks (not to mention the training for all) and about 3 years ago, I decided it was time. In looking for some I started reading articles and research about running barefoot......What!? you say? Yep! Since most of these articles explain it way better than I do I will just give you the link. This one for example, talks about a tribe of Native Americans that are known to run over 100 miles (at one time people) barefoot! And this one has some great visuals about what our beautiful dress shoes do to our feet (and balance and posture). And just in case you don't want to take the time to look at these links, I am putting some of the pics on here too.

Ick! The feet look like shoes!

A little hobbit-ish but I bet this guy has great balance!

This is one that really made sense to me. I have horrible posture.....could it really be somewhat due to my shoes?

Here's the new shoes (yes I know they are not stylish with my velvet skirt) I got them in the mail at work and couldn't wait to try them on. The shorthand on the premise of these is that they give a barrier between you and the ground, that's it.....no padding, cushioning, orthodic arch supports....nada. This causes your foot to re-learn how to work properly. I am not someone with good feet either...no no. Flat arches, plantar facitis pain galore, joint pain.

So, last night I wore them to the gym. Their website gives you a plethora of uses but I heard all these benefits of running, so off I went. I was told to start slow. Not a problem since I am only up to 2 miles after my surgery anyhow. I decided to run 1 mile. Can I just tell you how bouncy my own feet felt?! It was great. Now mind you, the reason you start slow is because your calves are going to work harder than normal and mine did! You will also feel muscles in your feet you haven't felt in a while. I was sore last night....but muscle sore! not joint and shin splint (often a product of my old running style) sore. I will admit I have a small blister on the inside of my arch....I have always gotten one there, so no biggie. In all fairness most of my soreness is on my right leg....the one I had surgery on 3 months ago. So, I guess the verdict is that these puppies are pretty cool!

On a last note, I ordered mine online, but I tried them on in a store before. You want to make absolutely sure you get a good fit. Oh yeah and apparently my pinkie toe is so incredibly tiny, it doesn't like to stay in its little home, but it doesn't bother me!

Monday Night Roadtrip

Monday was not my normal Monday night. I went with Andy and Marie to Lexington's Rupp Arena for the Flyleaf, Breaking Benjamin, 3 Days Grace concert. Roadtrip!

Marie's dad pretty much runs things around Rupp so he made up feel like VIP's....coming in the back door. Telling the parking attendant we were with him and him waving us through...and then as we are walking around in the basement we see Flyleaf equipment boxes! How cool! Her dad walked over to an office (to get us earplugs-no we aren't old...I will explain later) and there sat the setlist from one of their shows last week. I was sooooo tempted to snag it but instead just took a picture! I was very excited!

Okay so on to the earplugs....they are awesome! They drown out the background noise and let you just hear the music really well! Oh and that annoying eeeeeeeeeeee noise that you can't get rid of hours later when you are trying to fall asleep.....not there! We didn't have to scream at each other in the car on the way home. I think they are my new concert accessory!

Well, we sure did have a blast...oh and here's another Monday oddity....we had soft serve ice cream between two of the bands coming on to play.....no where else can I say I have done that! Awesome Monday!

Out of shape!

So back on January 15th, I went back to the doctor and was cleared to run...in a straight line, haha. I have since been working out 3-4 times a week, running 1.5 miles or so each time in addition to some other stuff.

Fast forward to this weekend. My crazy husband has been in Nashville helping move snow around down there. Something like they use 50 trucks here when it snows and they only have 8 down there, 7" of snow and most of the parking lots have been driven on for the last two days and now have 2" of packe ice.....yikes! Anywho....back here where it is never pretty in the winter, it has been beautiful and sunny for the past two days. I decided the dogs would love to go to Winton Woods today and it was very nice b/c there weren't many people there.

We walked/ran the loop twice....only 3 miles.....and they were loving every minute of it. Until we got home......

They went outside.....ate dinner.....and then this.......

can we say.....out of shape much? I guess its my fault....they don't get to go to the YMCA.