Happy Birthday....

to my new Brother-in-law!
I hope my sister spoils you today:)

Enjoy!
ELH

Crafts

I made another face plate post card cover!

This is for the light in our bedroom. It makes me smile when I see it :)

Now I just need to figure out something for that wall. It looks kind of sad.

Any suggestions?

ELH

Happy Birthday....

to an amazing, wonderfully supportive, running friend!

Her husband and I shared a cube in grad school and it wasn't really until we all moved to the DC area that I became real friends with her.

I hope she has an amazing day!

xoxox
ELH

Decorating update

I am slowly filling in missing wall art for our house. I recently bought 2 state name prints from B & A Prints on etsy. One from each of our home states!

I want to frame them with black frames and 2" mats. I am going to look at Ikea and TJMaxx Homegoods, but I might end up using my favorite framing company - American Frame. I used them to frame our diplomas and assorted prints we have gotten on vacations.

Side note - Did you watch Trading Spaces? I used to love that show and watched in religiously. One of the designers mentioned that every room needs a touch of black. I never really understood that, until recently. I have been framing our new artwork in black and it looks great. It really grounds the room and makes the artwork pop! What color frames do you like?

The question is now placement. I am thinking either in the hallway with our pictures of Notre Dame and La Sagrada Familia or
in the empty corner in our bedroom.

What do you think?

Speaking of the bedroom - I am still on a hunt for something for the prison windows.

Notice the new red blanket? My mom crocheted it for us. I love it!!

During Christmas, I found this beautiful frosted glass star and I think it looks great in this window.

I do want to get rid of the suction cup mounting hook and hang it directly from the window, but after fixing all the walls, I am hesitant to put new holes in the wall before I am 100% sure I like the placement.
I want to find another star for the far side window and move the dream catcher into the middle window.
I haven't found anything locally, so I went back to etsy. I found L.A. Glass and love all of the stars. I am thinking about asking if they can make me a 1D clear iridescent star like this -

What do you think?
What would you do with prison windows?

Enjoy!
ELH

Weekly workout review

Mon, Jan 16^th – Run day!

15min easy warm-up – 1mile @9:10, 0.66miles@8:54

5 x {3min @8min pace – 0.37miles @8:11, 0.37miles @8:11, 0.37miles @8:02, 0.38miles @7:55,

0.39miles @8:01

3min easy}

10 min easy warm-down – 1mile @8:58, 0.12miles @8:44

Total - 5.36miles in 55:02

This was the first run (in awhile) that I felt great and really enjoyed running!

I did do my back exercises/stretching and 2-week-ab routine later in the evening.

Tues, Jan 17^th – Monday night I put our Christmas tree away and tweaked my back. Oh the pain! Work was awful. I tried to stay at my desk most of the day with my heating pad. I had a Physical Therapy appointment in the afternoon and it was wonderful. I was there for 2hrs and the therapist worked out the knots, showed me new exercises, and ended the appointment with electrical stimulation and heating pads. Heaven! When I got home, I did some more back exercises/stretching and 2-week-ab routine.

Wed, Jan 18^th – Nike Cross Training Shakedown (30min)

1min light jog

2min straight leg kicks

1min slide and glide

1min walking lunges

2min recover

2min wood chop with 10lb weight

2min mountain climber

30sec tuck jumps

1min push away balance

1min walk out push up to swivel

1min ski jumps with 10lb weight

1min froggers

1min recover

2min plank row to rotation

1min alternating step back lunges

30sec high knee runs in place

1min 2feet lateral hops in place

2min broad jumps

1min bicycles

1min shoulder press

1min bunny hops

2min pretzel stretch

2min lower back stretch

1min standing hamstring stretch

Followed by my back exercises/stretching and 2-week-ab routine. This is my favorite iphone app!

Thurs, Jan 19^th – This was supposed to be my 2^nd run of the week, but my back was hurting again. I am back to taking the pain and muscle relaxer meds in the evening. It helps, but PT helps the most. I can definitely notice a change.

Molly and I did go for a 2.10mile walk in the morning and in the evening I did my back exercises/stretching, 2-week-ab routine, and arms with my 10lb weights.

Fri, Jan 20^th – Physical Therapy day! My therapist “massaged”/worked out the knots in my back and tightness in my legs. It hurt, but felt much better after. In the evening I did more back exercises/stretching and the 2-week-ab routine.

Sat, Jan 21^st – Supposed to be the long run day, but I woke up to thunderstorms and back pain. I don’t mind running in the rain, but lightning is another thing! So, I went back to sleep with the heating pad and planned on doing the Nike Cross Training workout later. After waking up the 2^nd time the rain had stopped, so I took Molly for a 1.52 mile walk warm-up, followed by the 45min Transformer workout.

2min light jog

1min back pedal

1min slide and glide

1 min straight leg kicks

1min recover

3 x {1min ski jumps with 10lb weight

1min squat jumps

1min plank walks – did this on my knees

1min jump rope – I hate jump rope, so I just jumped in place

1min recover during the 2^nd and 3^rd time through the circuit

2min alternating step back lunges

1min kick downs

1min modified tricep push ups

1min recover}

2min alternating step back lunges

1min mountain climbers

1min hip lifts

2min standing hamstring stretch

1min lying quad stretch

It was hard and I was tired after. My legs were sore later in the night!

I did do my back exercises/stretching and 2-week-ab routine in the evening.

Sun, Jan 22^nd – Long run day! My plan was the same 10mile loop as last week with less walking breaks (took 7 last week). My body had other plans. As you probably read, I have been having back pain all week and this morning was no different. I decided to push through it – 8 weeks until the ½ marathon! My legs were sore and I had little energy, so I turned towards home around mile 5, making it a 7.5mile loop. I am happy that I did it. I am going to keep training as I can and not worry about how long it takes me to finish the ½ marathon in March. Finishing the race is the biggest thing, since it is a “Do the 2” event – double medal! One for the ½ marathon and a second one that says 26.2 since I did the sister race back in October! Love it!

Splits –

Mile 1 – 9:25

Mile 2 – 9:01

0.75miles @9:07

2:24min walk break

0.38miles @8:49

1:37min walk break – was over heating and my legs were killing me

1mile @9:11

0.44miles @9:26

2min walk break

1mile @9:18

1mile @9:04

0.62miles @9:05

Total - 7.5miles in 1hr 12min!

I did a cool down 1.08 mile walk with Molly.

I plan on doing my back exercises/stretching and 2-week-ab routine in the evening.

Enjoy!

ELH

My back

I finally had my MRI on my back (insurance snafu back in Dec, pushed it to January!), followed by my follow up with the back Dr.

MRI report -
Mild to moderate right convex scoliosis (14deg bend!) of the lumbar spine with apex at approximately L2. Partial disc desiccation at L4-L5 and L5-S1 and to a minimal degree at T12-L1 and L1-L2. Lost of disc height is mild to moderate at L4-L5 and mild at T12-L1 and L1-L2 (possible indication of arthritis!)
No abnormal paraspinal soft tissue mass (no cancer!!)

Impressions -
1. Right convex curvature of lumbar spine (how was this missed when I was growing up?!)
2. Mild multilevel degenerative changes, most prominent at L4-L5 and L5-S1. No high-grade spinal canal or neural foraminal stenosis.

Last May, my mom had lumbar surgery for a similar problem, but she had pretty much lost all the disc height due to arthritis. My dad has had rheumatoid arthritis since he was in high school, so finding out that my back is falling apart isn't that surprising. Awful, but not surprising.

The back Dr. recommended physical therapy (PT), annual check-ups to monitor the scoliosis (anything over 20deg is bad news), and return visits if the pain worsens. I like the PT idea, but I really don't want to be in pain and have to go back.
I work for a MD, PhD, so I had him look at my results and he recommended visiting my primary care physician and getting on a preventative treatment plan. Sounds great! He recommended a Dr in the clinic he visits that really focuses on preventative medicine. I have an appointment at the end of February!
On a side note - it is a one-stop-shop, so I can get my annual done then too! Sweet!!

Last Friday was my first visit with the PT.
After looking at my back, he said some of my problem is my posture. I am not using my lower abdominals, so my shoulders hunch forward and puts added pressure on my lower back. I am working on better posture and engaging my lower abs. He also "massaged" my right lower back and buttock, trying to work out the tightness that is causing some numbness down the back side of my right leg. It was painful! He also gave me some exercises to build up my obliques and buttock muscles. Basically, the lower part of my core is very weak! I am a little disappointed in my body, but happy that I am on a path to make things better. I don't want to have to deal with regular back pain or have surgery!

My next PT appointment is on Tuesday. I am looking forward to it:)
Enjoy!
ELH

Weekly workout in review

Monday, Jan 9^th – ½ marathon training! The plan was 45min easy run, then 8 pick-ups (30sec hard, 30sec easy). It turned into 4mile easy run and 8 PU.

Splits –

1mile @8:48

1mile @ 8:43

0.26miles @ 9:30 - Hilly!

1:16min walk break (0.07miles)

1mile @8:49

0.68miles @8:51

1:54 min walk break before starting the Pus.

#1 – 0.08miles @ 6:53

#2 – 0.08miles @ 6:14

#3 – 0.07miles @ 6:50

#4 – 0.07miles @ 7:36

#5 – 0.07miles @ 7:07

#6 – 0.07miles @ 7:11

#7 – 0.07miles @ 6:59

#8 – 0.07miles @ 7:09

After, I did a cool down walk with Molly – 0.51miles, my back exercises, and arms with 10lb weights.

Tuesday, Jan 10^th – off day! I had my follow up appointment with the back Dr. Nothing major – good, but some indications that things could get worse, so I have been sent to physical therapy (PT). I plan on writing a post just about my back.

Wednesday, Jan 11^th – 1mile walk with Molly in 19:52 – slow! It was supposed to be a run day, but it was raining in the morning and I wasn’t motivated in the afternoon. I just ended up doing a bunch of floor exercise – abs, back, arms, buns of steal, and stretching!

I did find a 2-week-ab routine on pinterest and thought I would try it.

Everyday for 2 weeks -

25 crunches

25 crunches laying on your left side

25 left knee touches

25 crunches with feet flat on the floor

25 crunches laying on your left side

25 right knee touches

25 crunches with legs flat on the floor

25sec plank hold

25 lower abs raises

I am keeping track of how often I do it, so hopefully I will make the 2 weeks!

Thursday, Jan 12^th – 1mile walk with Molly in 19:53 – we need to pick up the pace! Again the weather was crappy, so I didn’t run. Instead I did a Nike Training workout from the Nike Training Club iphone app. I picked “Get Lean” -> Advanced -> 30min Heartthrob. The app is free, so you should definitely check it out. It was hard and fun!

The workout required a medicine ball and 8lb dumbbells. I only have 10lb dumbbells, so I just improvised with one weight when it asked for a med ball.

The workout –

1min light log

1min high knee runs

1min recover

1min alternative medicine ball push-ups

1min plank walks – I HATE these!

1min plank row to burpee – I am awful with plank rows with any weights!

2min squat jumps

1min side lunge with rotation

2min leg deadlift reverse fly – need to get lighter weights for this!

1min broad jumps – I am terrible at this. I can’t jump!

1min plank row to rotation

30sec high knee runs

30sec modified burpee

30sec high knee runs

30sec modified burpee

1min Russian twist

1min alternating forward lunge with arm curl

2min ski jump to cross back lunge

30sec mountain climbers

2min squat jumps

30sec froggers

30sec mountain climbers

30sec froggers

1min walk out push up to swivel

1min crazy Ivans

2min standing hamstring stretch

2min pretzel stretch

1min lower back stretch

After, I did do the 2-week-ab routine.

Friday, Jan 13^th – 1^st day of Physical therapy for my back. I’ll get into the details in a future post.

I did do the 2-week-ab routine.

Saturday, Jan 14^th – 10 mile long run! Lets just say it wasn’t pretty, but I did it. My motivation has been lacking, it was cold – 25F!, I am still dealing with some congestion, and my legs felt like dead weights. But, like I said, I did it. Instead of stopping my watch, I just hit lap, so the splits are a little weird.

Splits –

1mile @ 9:04

0.74miles @ 8:58

1:21min walk break

0.2miles @9:18

0.79miles @9:03

1:47min walk break

1mile @ 8:51

0.13miles @9:12

2:14min walk break

0.68miles @ 9:00

1:29min walk break

0.95miles @9:00

0.53miles @ 9:06

1:25min walk break

1mile @ 8:53

0.56miles @9:11

1:44min walk break

0.62miles @9:01

1:04min walk break

1mile @ 9:10

0.25miles @8:50

10.01miles in 1hr 36min.

My training plan, has me scheduled for 13miles next weekend. Maybe a better idea is repeat the 10mile run and try to eliminate the 7 walk breaks!

I did cool down walk with Molly – 0.52miles.

Later in the day, I did my recommended PT back exercises and the 2-week-ab routine.

Sunday, Jan 15^th – off/rest day. I did do my PT back exercises and the 2-week-ab routine.

Enjoy!

ELH

Pierogi

My mom is Polish and we have some great food traditions. One of them is pierogi that I make for Christmas. The recipe is pretty simple and I like mine stuffed with mashed potatoes. My great-grandma's recipe calls for farmers cheese, which is hard to find, so I use cottage cheese. I do add some salt and pepper to the cottage cheese, but potato is the best!

Recipe -
1 cup sour cream
3 egg yolks (you won't need the whites, so feel free to make an omelet!)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour, sifted

- Mix eggs, sour cream, flour, and salt with a large spoon.
- Mix well and knead in enough flour to make it smooth.
- Cover and let it rest for ~15min.
- Divide dough and roll to desired thickness - thinner is usually better.
- Cut with 4inch cookie cutter - I just use the largest glass I can fine in our cabinet.
- Fill each circle with ~teaspoon of filling - cheese, mashed potatoes, green chile?!
- Fold each circle in half and crimp the edges with a fork to seal.
- Once finished making your pierogi, boil them in salted water immediately. Once they float, they are done. Cool on the counter, flipping over to cool the other side.
- They can be stored in the fridge for a few days after being boiled.
- For serving - fry them in butter until golden brown.
- We like to eat them with sour cream.
- Makes ~20-30 pierogi.

Since I only make them once a year. I usually triple the recipe and spend most of the day making these tasty guys! Definitely worth the effort:)

Ingredients.

Mixing time!

Making the circles.

Ready for the filling.

Stuffed and crimped close. Waiting for a salt water boiling bath!

Cooling after the boiling bath! Note - I made these Wednesday night.

Frying in butter on Saturday morning! Yummy!

Enjoy!
ELH

Happy Birthday....

to my sister!I truly hope that you have an amazing, wonderful day!

Love you!
ELH

1st workout update of 2012!

Sunday, Jan 1^st – Happy New Year!!

I am registered for a ½ marathon in mid-March and 5 x 5K run on April 1^st.

I wanted to try and average 8min/mile for the ½ marathon, but with my back problems and this lingering cold, I am hoping to just finish the race under 2hrs. I am going to do a few fall marathons and hopefully I will be able to train to achieve 8min/mile!

As for the 5 x 5Ks, my plan right now is to try and be consistent throughout and possible get a best time. My goal times will solidify once we get closer to the race and after I do a 3 x 3K training run with a 10min break in between.

Monday, Jan 2^nd – 1^st run of the new year! 3.10miles in 27:15.

Splits –

Mile 1 – 8:54

Mile 2 – 8:44

Mile 3 – 8:43

0.1miles @ 8:47

Nice consistency!

Tuesday, Jan 3^rd – MRI day! I have had an MRI on my head when my migraines changed and they thought I might have a pituitary gland tumor, so I wasn’t too worried about feeling claustrophobic. This test was different. It was really loud and I did start to feel a little uncomfortable. Hopefully, this will be my last one! My follow up appointment to go over the results is on the 10^th.

I did walk Molly in the afternoon – 2.0 miles in 38:29. After, I did my back exercise, abs, and I have added in arms with my 10lb weights. My arms are getting a little flabby :)

Wednesday, Jan 4^th – 3.76mile run in 32:37. I was trying to increase my mileage, but the lingering congestion is still bothering me and I have a hard time breathing. I did a cool down walk with Molly - 0.53miles in 9:16 and then back exercise, abs, and arms.

Splits –

Mile 1 – 8:51

Mile 2 – 8:38

Mile 3 – 8:33

0.76 miles @ 8:42 pace

Thursday, Jan 5^th – 2.04mile walk with Molly in 39:03, followed by back, abs, and arm work.

Friday, Jan 6^th – 2.12mile walk with Molly in 38:35 (trying to pick up the pace!), followed by back and arm work.

Saturday, Jan 7^th – 7.01mile run in 1:03.28! It wasn’t pretty since I felt out of breath a lot, but I did it and it is going to be hard work getting back up to marathon condition!

Splits –

Mile 1 – 9:01

Mile 2 – 8:51

Mile 3 – 8:52

Mile 4 – 8:43

0.5 miles at a pace of 8:53

0.12 miles walk break (2min)

0.8 miles at 8:51

0.06 miles walk break (1min)

0.52 miles at 8:44

1 mile at 8:49

It was hard, but I am happy with it!

Sunday, Jan 8^th – Easy stroll with Molly. 2.04miles in 41min.

Enjoy!

ELH

Dec 2011 workout update

Just a quick update with running and walking mileage. I periodically added in abs and my back exercise.

Monday, Dec 19^th – Walking in the AM with Molly – 1.71miles in 32:12.

Tuesday, Dec 20^th – Running! 3.11 miles in 27:24

Splits -

Mile 1 – 8:46

Mile 2 – 8:58

Mile 3 – 8:41

0.1miles @ 8:55

Wednesday, Dec 21^st – I went for a long walk alone before heading to the airport to visit my family for Christmas. 3.01miles in 50:49.

Thursday, Dec 22^nd – G and I went for a morning walk in my parent’s neighbor, but I forgot my watch. We did bring our phones and were planning on taking a picture of a local Frank Lloyd Wright house, but there were people walking in the house. Oh well. Maybe another time.

Friday, Dec 23^rd – Morning walking with my Mom. We did 2.01 miles in 4hr 28min! Opps! I guess I forgot to stop my watch when we got home.

Saturday, Dec 24^th – Just a quick morning walk since we had a lot of stuff to do to get ready for the annual Christmas Eve party! 1.54miles in 32.10.

Sunday, Dec 25^th – Merry Christmas!!

Monday, Dec 26^th – 5K to walking off all the tasty food we ate the past 2 days. I made pierogies (tutorial coming soon) and apricot foldover cookies (Apricot is my favorite name for the next kitty!) and my dad made his annual homemade pork sausage. He makes a green chile and habanero version. It goes fast, so G was stalking the kitchen to make sure he got some this year!

Apricot foldovers in progress. The dough is a butter, eggs, flour, and a water.

Sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

So tasty!

Tuesday, Dec 27^th – 2.07 mile walk with Mom in the morning.

Wednesday, Dec 28^th – Short walk with Mom in the morning before heading to the airport. I had a great time visiting my parents and hometown!

Thursday, Dec 29^th – 3.11 mile run in 27:02. Got to get back into it!

Splits –

Mile 1 – 8:35

Mile 2 – 8:55

Mile 3 – 8:36

0.1miles @ 8:33

I did get a cold before we heading to my parents house for Christmas. Lots of congestion and lots of Kleenex used. Running has been hard because I still have lingering congestion.

Friday, Dec 30^th – Back-to-back running days trying to reach my goal of 900 miles for 2011! 3.10 miles in 26:44.

Splits -

Mile 1 – 8:51

Mile 2 – 8:33

Mile 3 – 8:26

0.1miles @ 8:27

Saturday, Dec 31^st – Back-to-back-to-back running. Probably not the best for my back, but a goal is a goal! 3.10 miles in 27:18.

Splits –

Mile 1 – 8:53

Mile 2 – 8:47

Mile 3 – 8:45

0.1miles @ 8:25

Walking mileage for 2011 (at least what was recorded with my watch) – 189.66 miles! And 900.58 running miles!

Enjoy!

ELH

Happy belated birthday to my

"first official" nephew Colson!

Happy 1st Birthday!!

What a cutie:)

His birthday was the 2nd, but we are celebrating today!

Love you!
Aunt ELH

Shoes

I have a lot of shoes!
61 to be specific!
That doesn't count the 12 flip flops I also own.
All neatly stored in shoes racks on 2 closet doors and 2 under-the-bed storage case.

It seems like a ton, but don't women usually have a lot of shoes?

I have been cleaning and reorganizing the house. I filled up 2 bags of goodwill donations before the holidays! Tonight was shoe night :) I am tossing 6 pairs of shoes and 1 pair of old running shoes.

Some of my shoes are multiples - grey and green converse, 3 pairs of Brooks running shoes - one to run in, one to cross-train in, and a red pair that were once running shoes that I now use for casual wear, 2 pairs of NEW Brooks running shoes - I bought them for $60 each!, brown and black Dansko clogs - I work in a lab and spend days on my feet!, pink and green puma sneakers - these should be on the chopping block, brown and black patent leather flats with a cute bow on the toe! and my latest black (Christmas present from my mom) and silver (just-cause gift from G when we were at the mall) sparkly Nike Air Cole Haan flats! If they only came in red :)

Now some of the shoes have specific functions - black plain 2" heels for interviews, snow hiking boots, wellies, brown 3 1/2" Mary Jane heels - only pair of brown "fancy" shoes - I should probably get rid of these...., my Kate Spade wedding shoes, black ballroom dance shoes, Halfinger slippers - best slippers ever!, and brown and black boots - I don't wear them often, but they fit and don't hurt the tops of my feet, so I keep them around (have bone calcification on the top of both feet. Had bone removal surgery ~7years ago and the Dr said I would probably need to have the procedure done after 15 years. The bone is growing back and wearing anything tight across the top of my foot is painful. Tall boots are pretty much out of the question.)

I do have ~10 pairs of shoes that I could/should get rid of. You know, "If I don't wear it this season, I should get rid of it." But I keep telling myself I like them, they aren't bothering anything and G doesn't seem to care how many pairs of shoes I have! Maybe one of my New Years resolution should be to wear a different pair each day until I have cycled through all of them!

How many pairs of shoes do you have?? What seems like a reasonable number?
Enjoy!
ELH

Book Review

Total books for 2011 = 43! To be accurate, I did not read all of them. I listened to 10 of them while I was running (unabridged). In my mind, I read all of them, G does not agree. Oh well!
You can check out the past reviews for Winter, Spring, and Summer.

Fall - Sept 1st - Dec 31st.

Lost Symbol by Dan Brown - Typical Dan Brown book with Robert Langdon, but set in Washington DC. It was fun reading about the history of the city and symbolism. If you have read any of his other books, you know who the good guy and bad guy are and what the outcome will be, so not much mystery. It is a good read and if you like historical fiction, definitely check it out.

Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - Have you seen the movie preview?? The books are much better!! The first book is good and gets you hooked. The second book is AMAZING! The third book is good, but sort of a let down. I was a little disappointed and sad that the adventure was over. I highly highly recommend this series!!

The Women in White by Wilkie Collins - This a very old book and was recommended to me by a friend since I loved The Thirteenth Tale and that book used Jane Eyre and The Women in White as references. I did listen to this book while running and it is quite long and drawn out. If you want to read classic literature, this is a great book, otherwise skip it.

Ape House by Sarah Gruen - Did you read Water for Elephants and love it? I did. This book is about apes living in a language learning lab that gets bombed and the apes are moved to New Mexico and exploited for 24hr real time web cam TV. Think Big Brother with horny apes! The writing is good and the story is a page turner. Definitely check it out!

Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire - 4th and final book in the Wicked series. I read all of the books and honestly couldn't tell you much about them. I got lost in all the characters, locations, and Oz history. I did love Wicked the musical, so I felt I needed to finish the series. This is by far the best book! The author spent the first few pages giving a brief history/summary of the past books and had multiple family trees. I referred back to the family trees a few times! Thank-you Gregory for including that! On a side note, you probably want to read the paper copy instead of the Kindle addition, easier to flip to the family trees.
Dorthy does make it back to Oz and the cowardly Lion is one of the main characters. If you are an Oz fan, definitely check out this book. It will make you happy and give you closure.

Paris Wife by Paula McLain - A historical fiction about Ernest Hemingway and his first wife Hadley Richardson. It was interesting to listen about Ernest's life and adventures in Europe during the 1920s. I recommend reading this book if you are intrigued by the “Lost Generation” (Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.)

Don't Blink by James Patterson - Patterson books are my guilty pleasure. I can read his books in a few days! This book starts a new series with Nick Daniels as the main character. If you like Patterson, don't miss this book. If you are new to Patterson, start with the Alex Cross books!

Kill Alex Cross by James Patterson - The latest Alex Cross installment. Another page turner, but the title is a little misleading. The bad guy isn't really after Alex, only angry at him because Alex claimed he was a criminal. Definitely recommend this book to Alex Cross fans!

The Calhoun Women - Suzanne and Megan by Nora Roberts - This was stories 4 and 5 of the Calhoun Women series. Each girl finds her mate and the history/mystery of The Towers is solved. If you need some easy beach reading, then this and the first book are wonderful!

Alison Wonderland by Helen Smith - I got this book on my kindle for $1 when Amazon was having a sale. The review made it sound wacky like Bridget Jones Diary. Hummm, not so much. Definitely wacky, weird, and strange. Skip this book!

Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner - I really liked this book. Jennifer wrote this book a while ago, but didn't finish/publish it until recently. I was tired of her books because they all seem to have the same theme. The ugly, fat girl, who has a beautiful friend, who "has it all." The friend turns out to be depressed and the fat girl looses tons a weight and get pregnant by someone who doesn't really want to be a father. Same story, that was good the first time, but old the 2nd, 3rd..... times.
This book was about 4 different women each in different stages of their life, who through chance have their lives interwoven. It was a great book and I highly recommend it!

December/Yearly mileage!

Happy New Year!!

I hope you have a great 2012.

December mileage = 15.53miles
Yearly total = 900.58miles!!!

I did go through 3 pairs of running shoes this year. I guess marathon training will do that.

For 2012, no marathons :)
I am signed up for a 1/2 marathon in mid-March and 5 x 5ks on April 1st! I will probably do our local 13.1 race and I am thinking about the Detroit 1/2 marathon. The race goes to Windsor, Canada under and over the river! Sounds awesome! And I might be able to go to Joe Louis for a Wings game :)

What races do you have planned for 2012?
Happy 2012!!
ELH