Running, couch to 5k.

I call myself a runner, my husband calls me a part time runner or a fair weather runner. Only because I find it hard To run in the winter. So I started trying to run in winter just to prove him wrong, well also because I was getting fed up with my weight going up and up and up.

So I started my couch to 5k program that I have used several times now. In fact it's the reason I was able to run my half marathon. If it wasn't for this program I wouldn't be what I call myself a runner.

Its a really great program and really simple. You start off by doing a combination of walking and running and gradually build up your running time till you can run for a whole 30 minutes. I love it. Also when I get my endurance back after breaks from running I use it for speed work. By running as fast as I can for the running intervals and then catching my breath back on the walking breaks.

The program is a podcast called running mate 101.  Here is a link to the site.

http://myrunningmate.com/5k101/

It's free so hop on the link and download the program. It's an 8 week course. But trust me the first time I did it it took me 20 weeks to complete. I wondered why it took me so long then remembered I do every training day with the kidlet in the stroller. But I kept at it a completed the whole thing. In fact I've done the program several times now.

HitRECord

I finally did it. I finally put myself out there. Your wondering what on earth I'm talking about. Last year was a reading year for me. This year is turning out to be a writing year for me. Not only am I working on my blog, but I'm working on a few other written projects. These projects I'm planning on posting on a little website called hitRECord.

If your wondering what hitRECord is all about, check out the following link.

www.hitrecord.org

I heard about this company a few years ago but was always worried about posting my work out there. I worried that people wouldn't like my ideas or my work. I'm not the most out going person and it's really hard for me to put myself out there. But this year for me is all about breaking out of my boundaries and pushing myself. So today I joined the site and posted my first piece of writing.

It's not my best bit of work. But it's not the worst and so what what if no one likes it, at least I'm trying right? Not every idea you have is a good one. But maybe just maybe someone will like something that I post and be able to use it, or maybe it inspires them. Who knows what might happen.

Slow cooker sesame chicken

I  love my slow cooker. I can't get around it.  Slow cookers just making the life of a working mom (ok even though I only work part time) so much easier. Just throw everything in the pot in the morning and presto dinner or in the case of my family lunch.

So here is another one of my families favorite recipes.  Slow cooker Sesame chicken.  I originally found this recipe online but can't seem to find it again, so if this happens to be your recipe please let me know so I can credit you with the glory of this greatness.

This version serves 4 about 1 cup size serving.

2 chicken breasts
1/2 an onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce, ( you want low sodium otherwise it comes out a little salty, I know I tried regular the first time)
4 Tbs tomato purée/paste
2 tsp sesame oil
3 tsp  cornstarch/ (cornflour in the UK)
1/4 cup water
2 packets frozen broccoli
Rice to serve.


Place the chicken in the slow cooker.

Combine the onion, garlic, honey, soy sauce, tomato pure and oil in a bowl and then pour on top of the chicken. Or if your like me I just throw the ingredients one by one on top of the chicken and let them blend while cooking, but that's just me.

Cook this on low for at least 5 hours turning from time to time to make sure the chicken gets evenly coated.  Then about 20 minutes before I want to eat I out the rice on to cook. I also take out the chicken breasts and shred them with two forks. I then add the cornstarch to the water to make a slurry and add that to the sauce in the slow cooker so that it can thicken.

Once the chicken is shredded it goes back in to the sauce thickening sauce. I personal like to boil my broccoli rather than pan fry it, but either option is good. Once the rice is cooked. I serve.

What color candle should I use?

In Wicca the color of the candle that you use for rituals and spells is important. Each color represents different qualities or properties, that you would need or use in the spell that you want to cast.

The following is a list of what each color means. By far not a complete and comprehensive list but it will give you a basic idea.

White: Peace, innocence,  the Goddess, purity and truth. Also white can be used in place of any other color.

Black: Binding, protection,repels negativity and can be used for banishment.

Brown: Special favors, to influence friendships and for earth or animal related workings. 

Silver: The Goddess, astral energy, female energy, intuition, dreams, reflection and lunar connections. 

Purple: Luck in finances, hidden knowledge, spiritual power, and ambition. 

Blue: Element of Water, wisdom, protection from evil, calm, good fortune (my understanding is that for these you can use either light blue or dark blue). 

Light Blue: Health, patience and understanding. 

Dark Blue: Depression and vulnerability.

Green: Fertlity, luck, the element of Earth, physical  healing, monetary success, Mother Earth, growth, personal goals and abundance. 

Pink: Love, affection, romance, caring, nutruing and friendship. 

Red: Element of Fire, passion, strength, fast action, career goals, lust, driving force, survival, blood of the moon, courage, sexual potency and health. 

Orange: General success, property deals, legal matters, justice, selling, career matters, attraction and encouragement. 

Copper: Professional growth, business fertlity, career maneuvers, passion and money goals. 

Gold: The God, promote winning, power of the male, happiness, financial gain, business endeavors and solar connections. 

Yellow: The element of Air, intelligence, the sun, memory, logical imagination, accelerate learning, break mental blocks, persuasion and protection. 

So there you have it. This is just a basic list, but it's a start for you all. 

Just a chili day

Today I was off work again. But we had a busy morning. I managed to get a quick well really a slow 2 miles in before we went to work to finish training the new girl. After that we went to storytime.

Kidlet really likes storytime and missed it while the holidays were on.  Other than that it's been a slow day just chilling and spending time with the family. Back to work tomorrow.  So enjoying my family time while I still can.

So there you have my boring day. I also did laundry. For all you that want to know. And managed to fit in my yearly Pap test at my obgyn's office.

Family night out, part 1

It's rare that I get a whole weekend off work. But it just so happens that this weekend is one of them. So we decided to go out and do something. Now where I live there really isn't that much to do around here, but there is this little place called the nickelcade. It's like an arcade and servers pizza and has laser tag.

We decided to tame kidlet there for the first time. He had a blast. Loved it. So many games involve throwing balls and which toddler doesn't like throwing balls around, and then there is the whole putting money in the machines. Kidlet loves putting coins into machines so was in heaven. We got a ton of tickets that you can trade in for prizes. We got kid let candy as most of the prizes were not suitable for the age of kidlet. Also with the diet that kidlet eats which is mainly fruit and vegetables a little candy once in a while I feel isn't a bad thing when in moderation.

After spending a few hours playing games we  went and had dinner out. Poor kidlet was so tired from all the fun fell asleep on the way home. It's was a great night just spending time with kidlet and watching kidlet have some much fun.

Family weekend part 2.

Like I said earlier, working retail I never tend to get weekends off. This weekend was an exception. I managed to get the whole weekend off. As I posted yesterday we went out to family fun area and had tons of fun.

Today hubby spoilt me by taking me to happy sumo. Happy sumo is this amazing sushi place and they do half price sushi on Sundays which is just as well with how much me and hubby love sushi. It didn't always used to be like that, in fact he used to have to drag me kicking and screaming (not literally, but you get the idea). His favorite food is sushi and only has it has a treat. I didn't like it. But it was more the idea of it then the actual food. Then I tired it and slowly started falling in love with it. Which is great as now I have something that me and hubby can enjoy together.

Oh how I missed thee running that is.

Sick of being down about putting weight on, I finally went for a run. Was only planning a quick one round the block without kidlet. But when kidlet insisted on coming how could I say no.

So my quick run to get me out of my funk which was only going to be a quick mile needed up being just over 2 very slow for me miles with the stroller in the ice. My legs hurt my lungs hurt (bronchitis over holidays didn't help) but it felt awesome. Now to keep it up. I forgot how amazing the feeling of running is. It's not pretty, there are some tears, lots of sweat but the feeling it gives you is so worth it.

Just need to remember. Anything is better than nothing. Just wrap up kidlet well with layers and blankets and kidlet will be totally fine.