Third Time’s The (Chocolate) Charm

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Coco

For the last three years, my son has had a wrestling tournament in Richmond, Virginia.

For the last three years, we’ve gone down early to beat the horrible traffic that clogs I-95S on a Friday afternoon.

For the last three years, we’ve spent the afternoon in a quaint part of Richmond called Carytown.

So why did it take three years for us to venture into this store?

For The Love Of Chocolate

Sure, it’s in a section of the block that looks like a run-down strip mall past its prime, but I don’t know why the name didn’t draw me in before. 

We finally ventured in this year, and were astounded (and nearly overwhelmed) by the size, selection, and quality of their merchandise.

We of course got some fine chocolate.

But we also found some fun candy:

Jelly Belly Jelly Bean Chocolate Dips - Orange - 2.8 Oz Bag (Pack of 12)

The Easter Bunny is welcome to bring me more of these jelly beans!

If you’re running the Richmond marathon or half marathon in the fall, you may want to plan a visit to Carytown. 🙂

Have you ever overlooked a local treasure?

Posted in Food | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Book Review: Mile Markers

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Coco

I put “Mile Markers” by Kristin Armstrong on my Christmas list because Steena (@AHappyPace) was so enthusiastic about it. It was the first of my Christmas books (all running-related–imagine that!) that I chose to read.

As explained in the first chapter (“Warmup”), the book is based on the weekly blog posts she writes for runnersworld.com. I think I would have enjoyed the pieces more as blog posts–spread out in small doses over time–than I did reading them in a book. Maybe I should have limited myself to one chapter at a time, or read one entry at a time for daily or weekly motivation.

After a few chapters I had to put the book down for a while because I was getting jealous of her seemingly perfect life. I was jealous of her pack of running friends who live around the corner and meet at 5 am on weekdays for an awesome run before their kids wake up. I was jealous of her lifestyle as a work-at-home mom with the time and resources for running clubs, gym classes, book clubs, and church groups. (In a snarky moment I decided that she must get good alimony and child support from Lance.) I was jealous of her kids–even when my kids were in their nice pre-teen years they couldn’t have cared less about my running and never, ever wanted to run with me.

It got me thinking about my blog posts. If they were read one after another they might come off as annoyingly positive and overly-optimistic. Yes, I write about my running injuries and some of my other struggles, but I do not write about the things that really make me lose sleep at night. Being fair to Kristin Armstrong, I’m sure her writing was subject to a similar filter.

Judging this book by its subtitle (“The 26.2 most important reasons why women run), I have to say it is a well-mapped out course. There are lots of great insights, new perspectives to ponder, and motivational nuggets. I probably will keep this book out and flip through it from time to time when I need inspiration or a reminder of why I run.

If you are a woman runner, I think you will enjoy this book. Even if you don’t run, if you have another activity that gets you through the rest of the day (be it athletic or artistic), you might enjoy it. And if the only bright spot in your life is an occasional girl’s night out, you might be encouraged by the underlying theme of the power and importance of friendship.

Have you read Mile Markers?

What did you think?

Posted in Book Reviews, Fitness, Life | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

My Egg Beaters Canvas

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Coco

My high-protein, low-calorie, Egg Beaters-based breakfast is one of the “diet” meals that now form the foundation of my healthy lifestyle. I’ve always been a breakfast eater, but I’ve traded PopTarts and Frosted Flakes for an Egg Beaters omelette and whole wheat toast.

I’m not sure exactly when or why I first started using Egg Beaters, but it probably was a combination of calorie-cutting and convenience that got me started. I even invested in this cute little cast iron skillet–the perfect size to make an omelette with 1/2 cup of Egg Beaters (10 g of protein and only 60 calories!).

Over the years I’ve come up with some favorite “recipes” for different Egg Beaters omelettes. Many of them stem from the fact that I love veggies but the rest of my family doesn’t. That means I often have leftover veggies and need to figure out how to use them up.

My Egg Beaters Canvas

Here are some of my favorites:

  • Broccoli & Cheese Omellete. Dice cooked broccoli and toss into Egg Beaters while cooking. When nearly done, sprinkle with shredded cheese (parmesean or cheddar) and fold in half to finish.
  • Pizza Omellette. Microwave about 1/4 cup pasta sauce (leftover spaghetti sauce is great!) and spread over cooked Egg Beaters. Sprinkle with shredded cheese (parmesean or mozarella) and fold in half to finish.
  • Fajita Omellette. Toss cooked fajita vegetables (onions and peppers) into Egg Beaters while cooking, or layer on cooked Egg Beaters. Fold in half to finish.
  • Spinach & Feta Omellette. Microwave a generous handful of spinach (baby spinach or trimmed spinach). Add cooked spinach and crumbled feta cheese to Egg Beaters during or after cooking.
  • Tex-Mex Omelette 1. Top cooked Egg Beaters with a generous dollop of guacamole or diced avocado. Sprinkle with shredded Monterey Jack cheese and fold in half to finish.
  • Tex-Mex Omelette 2. Top cooked Egg Beaters with fresh salsa. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese and fold in half to finish.

 

What yumminess is tucked inside?

What do you like to put in your omelettes?

Posted in Fitness, Food | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Twenty Days

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Coco

What would I have done differently if I knew this time last year that I only had 20 more days to talk to my Dad, to see his smile, to share his pride in my children?

Would I have given him the baseball cap I got at my son’s wrestling tournament and was saving for a Father’s Day gift? Maybe, but then I wouldn’t have that bittersweet memento.

Would I have called another time just to check in and say “I love you.”? Sure, but we were in touch regularly.  

Would I have made sure my son paid a visit to show off his new (to him) car? Possibly, but how could we have know that waiting until the weekend would be too late?

As I wrote last year when I was in the after-shocks of his sudden death, I was blessed to be saying good-bye to him with no unfinished business between us. That doesn’t mean that his death didn’t sting–or that it still doesn’t hurt–but it means that my mourning him and missing him is rooted in love.

If I found out today that I only have 20 more days with a loved one, what would I do differently?

Posted in Life | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Satisfied With Good Things

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Coco

Psalm 103 is a standard part of the Ash Wednesday service in the Episcopalian Book of Common Prayer. The whole Psalm is very powerful, but when we said the Psalm on Wednesday, I was struck most by the first section :

Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Isn’t it wonderful that on a day that we mark the start of a season of self-denial, we are reminded the God satisfies our desires with good things?

This is one of those passages that begs to be applied to diet issues–who needs junk food when God has promised to satisfy our desires with good things?

 

But this week, the Psalm made me think of this prayer “for young persons” (also from the Book of Common Prayer):

God our Father, you see your children growing up in an unsteady and confusing world:
Show them that your ways give more life
than the ways of the world,
and that following you is better than chasing after selfish goals. Help them to take failure, not as a measure of their worth,
but as a chance for a new start.
Give them strength to hold their faith in you,
and to keep alive their joy in your creation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

I’ve turned to this prayer recently, as I realize that my son will be heading off to college soon–where I won’t be able to balance his time with friends with time with family and where I won’t be there we went he gets home at night to make sure he is safe (and sober!).

For him, and for his friends, I pray that he sees that God’s ways “give more life than the ways of the world,” and that God will satisfy him “with good things.”

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One way that I am observing Lent is by renewing my committment to listen to the podcasts of the Daily Prayer service from the New Zealand Book of Common Prayer by David Guthrie. The podcasts are available for free here and last about 15 minutes.

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Are you satisfied with good things?

Posted in Life, My Faith | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment