Monthly Archives: May 2009

This Stuff is Made in New York City

Posted on by Run DMT
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W_pretzelDespite raining almost our entire weekend in NYC, I forced myself to have a good time.   Seriously, Allan and I had fabulous kid-free getaway!   For Allan’s first trip to The Big Apple, we simply had to visit the typical tourist stops.

 

Times Square

times square

 

The Empire State Building

ESB

 

Central Park

Central Park

 

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Met

 

Allan had only one small request: Eat a real NYC hot dog from a  vendor in the street.

 

NYC Hot Dog

 

His company supplied us with tickets for In the Heights, a Tony award winning, upbeat and very entertaining Latin musical.  The comical characters are endearing and the music will make you move!    

 

In the Heights

 

On a side note, the play takes place in the part of Manhattan where my dad grew up.  I really connected with the characters and their stories since I could relate them to my dad’s memories and experiences of Washington Heights.

 

Our meals were also provided by Allan’s company.  On Friday evening, we dined at 5 Ninth.  The exposed brick walls and narrow iron staircase of this romantic restaurant gave a comfy feel of an old tavern.  Our table over looked the worn cobblestone roads of Ninth Avenue in Chelsea.

 

5 Ninth

 

Even though our wine glasses never went empty, they should have been paired with a better meal.  Honestly, the food was a bit disappointing.  Dining in this culinary paradise, I held NYC to a higher standard.  Unfortunately, I have had better meals here in Tampa. 

 

Being a business trip, we were obliged to attend a banquet on Saturday evening which served an atrocious meal at the W Hotel.  Simone (my sister) and Matt (her husband) also attend this business trip and were forced to attend the banquet as well, but for me, it made the evening more palatable.

 

NYC_Matt and Simone

 

NYC_Simone and Me

 

 We also had a few pints at the oldest ale house in NYC, McSorley’s.  To honor it properly, McSorely’s will get its own post.  More on Mc Sorley’s another time!

 

As we drove through Queens to JFK on Sunday, I gave Allan a tour of my mom’s old ‘hood.  Allan enjoyed putting a face to the places in my mom’s stories of life in Rego Park and Forest Hills.  

 

Even though it rained for most of the trip, I truly enjoyed our spring time trip to the Big Apple.  With patches of tulips and blooming Redbud trees, I’ve never seen the city so alive with color! 

 

NYC tulips

Burning Off My Beer Belly

Posted on by Run DMT
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I don’t know if it’s the heat, my allergies or the mass quantities of alcohol I seem to be drinking these days, but I can’t seem to wake up before 6:30 a.m. which doesn’t leave enough time to squeeze in a run before my family wakes up.  After I send Allana off to school, I can run before 9:00 a.m. and avoid most of the heat and swarms of love bugs. 

 

Chloe from Running with a Bottle of Wine always shares the following fact:

 

5 miles = 500 calories = 1 bottle of wine

 

Given the volume of beer I have been consuming lately, I am not running nearly enough miles to burn off my beer belly.

 

According to Drinkaware…

 

One pint of strong lager = 330 calories.

One pint of average strength lager = 200 calories

One pint of premium lager = 250 calories.

One pint of cider = 200 calories.

 

But Hefeweizens (wheat ales) are my beer of choice.  According to thedailyplate.com…

 

Shock Top = 99 calories

Blue Moon = 171

Magic Hat Circus Boy = 146

 

However, according to FitnessforWeightLoss.com, light beer…

 

On average, one 12 oz. bottle of light (lite) beer has 100 calories.
This is approximately 8 calories per ounce.

 

So either, I need to drink less beer or more light beer or drag my ass out of bed earlier to run more than 3 miles.

 

On Saturday, I ran a slow 6 miles.

1:05:09

Average Pace: 10:59

 

This morning, I ran a shorter distance today. 

3.17 miles

31:35

Average pace: 9:57

 

After my run this morning, my BFF Sharon Mann busted my ass and I worked out together.  It’s been awhile since we worked-out together.  I miss her and I need to work-out with her more often.

 

Next month, several friends and I will be running in the Oldsmar Taphouse 5K.  The first 30 male and female finishers receive a boot of beer, which means I have to train in more ways than one.  I am literally running for beer!  Fortunately, I have the beer drinking part down pretty well.  I just need to work on my speed…I mean my running pace and not the rate of the beers I slam.

A Mother’s Day Made to Order

Posted on by Run DMT
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With the lack of rain, it’s been really hot here lately and almost unbearable to do anything outside.  For Mother’s Day, I would have loved to have spent the day the beach, but I was afraid my DH would spontaneously combust make my day miserable again since he hates the heat.

 

I would have loved to have gone canoeing, but with swarming love bugs and the heat, I didn’t think anyone could tolerate that combination.

 

I love extravagant brunch buffets, but I didn’t want to deal with the Mother’s Day mob scene.

 

Theme parks are fun for Mother’s Day, but we’d have to deal with the whole sun and heat thing plus crowds.

 

So, what to do?

 

Of course, a pedicure was at the top of the list and I managed to sneak away for a spell to pamper my piggies.

 

But instead of a fancy Mother’s Day brunch buffet, I requested a sunset dinner at Hooters.  Can you blame a gal for loving their hot wings and ice cold beer? 

 

So Saturday evening, we invited some friends to join us and had a great time hanging out and watching the sunset over the Cotee River.

 

Hooters_NPR

 

Us at Hooters

 

Hang Loose

 

Sunset at Hooters

 

For breakfast on Mother’s Day, I requested one of Allan’s fabulous veggie omelets, which are better than any concocted at some fancy buffet omelet station and served with his delicious home fries and a side of bacon.  Following breakfast, Allan whipped up warm, sticky homemade cinnamon rolls and cafe con leche.  It was a breakfast fit for a queen!

 

Allan and the girls gave me the best presents, too!

 

Gift

 

Allana even wrote another poem for me.

 

I have a friend.

Her name is mom.

If I’m afraid, she’ll sing me a song.

I love her and she loves me.

She’s the best there could be.

My mom

My mom

My mom and me.

 

And to finish Mom’s special day, we visited the new Ikea in Tampa. 

 

IKEA

 

So, we beat the heat but didn’t avoid the crowds.  No matter!  I loved it all!  

 

I hope your day was all you wanted and more.

The Runs

Posted on by Run DMT
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It’s been while since I posted about any of my runs.  After all this is a running blog, darn it!

 

Truth be told, my runs have been few and far between.  In the last two weeks, I’ve ran a total of 3 times.  I’m not proud of that fact, but I can pile on the excuses.

 

  1. My foot took a long time to recover.
  2. When I do run, my sad 3 mile runs are pathetic.  I am so out of shape from my lack of running.  When I do run, it’s a chore and my times are just sad.
  3. With the highs reaching 90 degrees, it’s too bloody hot to run.
  4. There’s a love bug invasion at the moment and they skeeve me.
  5. There have been several controlled fires in the area due to the droughts and the smoke is getting to my asthma.
  6. I suck.

 

When I heard that the forecast in NYC predicted rain all weekend, I didn’t bother to pack my running shoes.  More than that, I knew I wouldn’t have the time to run during our short weekend trip.  But when we walked through Central Park and I spotted all the runners, I longed to join them. 

 

While moping over all the NYC runners in Central Park, I happened to notice their calf muscles.  They have the most AMZAING muscle definition in their legs!  I was so jealous!  So, I’ve decided when I can motivate my fat lazy ass self to really run again, I need to add hill and trail runs to my training to build myself some Big Apple legs.  That doesn’t sound too appealing, though.  Maybe I should call them NYC legs?

Lunch Money Giveaway Ends Today!

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Last chance to win your copy of Lunch Money’s latest CD, Dizzy.  You can read my review and enter the contest here.

 

NPR recently spotlighted Lunch Money with the songs from Dizzy featured in the broadcast.  By listening to the short on-line review, you can hear a great sampling of their songs.

 

Also, 3 full songs are available to download on the site, including my favorite song, “It  Only Takes One Night to Make a Balloon Your Friend“.  

 

We are definitley Dizzy for Lunch Money here!  Don’t miss your chance to win your copy!

Remembering Julia

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A year ago today, Little Julia gave her mom the tightest bear hug before she lay down for a nap as if to say farewell for the final time.  During her slumber, she was called to Heaven and left behind her older sister, Jordan, and her parents, Jackie and Bob.  

 

 

At 15 months old, Julia passed away to a SIDS related death also known as Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC).  

 

Taken from SUDC.org

SUDC is not new, but it is very rare. Sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC) is rare, with a reported incidence in the United States of 1.3 deaths per 100,000 children, compared to 57 deaths per 100,000 live births for SIDS in 2002. It is not surprisingly, therefore, that there is very little known in the medical literature about SUDC.

 

Last Cinco de Mayo, I hosted a dinner play date at Tijuana Flats.  Jackie and her girls along with several other friends joined us there.  Julia had just started walking and her baby curls bounced with every wobbly step she took.  That was the last time I saw Julia’s piercing blue eyes and smiley face.

 

Her untimely passing shook our moms group to the core.  As an organizer, I lacked the experience to deal with such a tragedy.  As a parent, I only hugged my girls tighter and counted my blessings.  Sadness now loomed over the group and no one knew how to handle the grief or how to help this family heal. 

 

In the weeks that passed, the members of Moms on the Go with the help of their friends and family supported Jackie’s family with love, prayers, groceries, delivered meals and funeral expenses.  None of which could help fill the hole in this poor family’s hearts.

 

Jordan, Julia’s older sister, guided her family through this tragedy.  With her child perspective on life and death, she helped her family heal by offering explanations on why God chose Julia to be His angel.

 

A year later, I am amazed by Jackie’s strength.  She openly talks about her angel and cherishes stories that others share about Julia. 

 

Since Jackie is an avid runner, Moms on the Go will host a Race for a Reason this October to honor Julia and to raise awareness and money for SUDC.org.  

 

Please say a prayer for the Julia’s family to help them through this difficult day.

 

For more information about SUDC, please visit SUDC.org and What You Should Know About SIDS and SUDC.

 

Bye-Bye Butterflies

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A few weeks ago, we watched five little caterpillars form chrysalises and change into Painted Lady Butterflies.  On Earth Day, we released the butterflies in our backyard.  The first three butterflies happliy flew away, but the last two were more hesitant to leave their cozy habitat.  Allana watched and waited patiently for each butterfly to fly away safely.  Eventually, the last two left the nest and the butterflies have been fluttering around our garden and the neighborhood ever since.  

 

watching

 

butterfly

 

waiting

 

still-waiting