Detroit Red Wings!

The Wings made it to the playoffs on the skin of their teeth!  22 seasons in a row!!
Since they are playing the Anaheim Ducks, it is going to be some late nights in our house.

Are you a life-long, die-hard sports fan? Which team?
Go Red Wings!!
-ELH

WWW

Mon, April 22^nd – Bootcamp!  I ran 0.83 miles on the treadmill during the workout.  And also found out that even though the gym is closing at the end of April, our trainer found a gym to workout in for May, so no rush to use classes and I’ll be bootcamping it through May!

Tues, April 23^rd – More bootcamp in the morning and “ladies” only workout class in the evening – trying new stuff!  In total, I ran 2miles.

Wed, April 24^th – Off/rest day.  The alarm was set for a morning walk with Molly, but decided to sleep more and cuddle with Gussy!

Thurs, April 25^th – Easy run day – 3miles in 27:57.  My legs felt a little tired, so not a great run.

Splits –

Mile 1 – 9:23

Mile 2 – 9:19

Mile 3 – 9:10

Fri, April 26^th – Bootcamp morning and taxi service in the afternoon to pick-up G from the airport!

Sat, April 27^th – “Long” run day! 4.3miles in 44:13 and then a 2mile cool down walk with Molly and G.

10min easy warm-up – 1mile @9:23, 0.07miles @9:02

2min easy

3 x {5min fast – 1^st: 0.56miles @8:56, 2^nd: 0.56miles @8:56, 3^rd: 0.57miles @8:50

         2min easy}

1.19mile warm-down @ ~9:23

Sun, April 28^th – Rainy day here, so no long walk with Molly.  I did make it a rest day and worked some stuff around the house!! Pics to come!

Enjoy!

-ELH

2 weeks worth of WWW

Mon, April 8^th – Easy morning run – 3miles in 29:43

Splits –

Mile 1 – 9:30

Mile 2 – 9:42

Mile 3 – 9:30

Tues, April 9^th – Went to bootcamp, but our instructor didn’t show up L so I went to work and walked 2.1miles around the campus. 

April 10^th – 14^th – Mini vacation – a few days at the beach with G’s family and then a friend’s wedding.  It was great seeing a lot of friends from Baltimore and getting some rest.

Mon, April 15^th – Early morning airport run, so I just took Molly for a 2.12 mile walk in the afternoon.

Tues, April 16^th – Bootcamp morning where we ran 2.4miles throughout the morning!  I also found out that the gym is closing at the end of the month.  I still have 8 class to use before May 1^st, so running is sort of going to take a backseat for the rest of April.

Wed, April 17^th – Easy run morning – 3.01miles in 28:46

Splits –

Mile 1 – 9:37

Mile 2 – 9:33

Mile 3 – 9:31

And yoga in the evening.

Thurs, April 18^th – Bootcamp morning!  Which included ~1.6miles of running.

Fri, April 19^th – Bootcamp morning!  Which included ~1.2miles of running.

Sat, April 20^th – I tried out a crossfit class – it was fun and we ran ~1mile.  I did the circuit in 16:06, the goal was to finish in 15min, pretty good for my first time.

3 x { 20x squat wall balls, 20x box jumps (I did step-ups), 20x press-ups (I used the 35-lb bar), 400m run}

Later in the day, I took Molly for a 2mile walk.

Sun, April 21^st – “Long run” morning with my favorite workout –

10min easy warm-up – 1mile @9:23, 0.07miles @9:51

2min easy

3 x {5min fast – 1^st: 0.55miles @9:01, 2^nd: 0.55miles @9:06, 3^rd: 0.57miles @8:42

         2min easy}

1mile warm-down @ ~9:40 (hit split instead of stop so the time is a little off)

Total – 4.11miles in 43:07!

Cool down walk with Molly – 2.12 miles.

Hope your workout have been fun too!

-Enjoy

ELH

Winter 2013 Book Review

Lots of reading this quarter!  Which equals not a lot of knitting.  It also helps that the Outback has blue-tooth, so get in ~30min of audiobook a day.

My reviews/recommendations - this is also posted on Goodreads.

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks, 2 stars
I like Geraldine's other books, but this wasn't a very good book. I listened to it read by Geraldine and the tone and cadence of her voice were so slow, it was tiring to listen to. The book is focused on a newly widowed women who has also lost her sons and most of her village to the plague. It follows her life in the village as the plague strikes until one day an event happens that causes her to leave. She then starts a new life and the book ends. It sort of leaves you wanting more, but story was so slow and boring that I wouldn't really want to read anymore. I would skip this book and read March or People of the Book.

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach, 3 stars

Nicely written story with well developed characters. Towards the end, the book gets a little crazy/weird that turned me off, but the author was able to recover and ended the book on a nice note. Very enjoyable!

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson, 2 stars

Weird, crazy story. Skip this book and read Between, Georgia.  Much better book!

Death Comes to Pemberly by PD James, 3 stars

Mainly a book about Mr. Darcy and the estate. It was ok.

11/22/63 by Stephen King, 4 stars

If you are fascinated with the assassination of JFK, this is great historical fiction book. I enjoyed this story full of fiction and history. Great read.

The English American by Alison Larkin, 4 stars
Pippa Dunn is a hoot! I have read a handful of British novels and most are dark and depressing. This book is upbeat and light-hearted. It is a great book if you are looking for something different and want a fun story.  

Atonement by Ian McEwan, 3 stars

A nice classic. I really enjoyed the end of the book with the perspective of an older character. I haven't seen the movie, I might now.

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton, 3 stars
I listened to this book narrated by Caroline Lee. I just love her voice! This book followed a similar pattern as other Morton books - hidden family secrets discovered generations later. The story was very good, well developed, and had beautiful language but the secret was not surprising. If you are going to read a Morton book, I would recommend The Forgotten Garden. Loved that book!

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult, 4 stars

This was not a typical Jodi Picoult novel about a mother and her struggles with motherhood during a very difficult situation. This book does focus on family, past transgressions, and a whole section dedicated to one storytellers account of her time during the Holocaust. This was a wonderful book and I had a hard time putting it down. I definitely recommend reading this book.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, 4 stars

This was a pretty sad book, so if you are not in a happy place, then skip this book for a few months. 
It was a great book and I really enjoyed the story from the dog's perspective. Things did get a little screw in the middle that I found annoying, but the author wrapped up the story nicely.

 

The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder, 3 stars

My Pulitzer Prize book for the quarter.  It was a book of short stories related to the Bridge of San Luis Rey.  It was an easy read, but didn’t have a lot of meat.  Unless you are crazy like me and reading all the fiction Pulitzer Prize winners, you can skip this book.

What books have you read recently?  Any make it onto your top book list?
Enjoy!
-ELH

Boston Marathon

Sending my thoughts and prayers to everyone effect by this awful event.
-ELH

Mixed Nuts - Spring Edition

G's Birthday Breakfast alteration!

Lots of b-day gifts!

Using his b-day gift!!

Possible curtain options...decided they were too busy.  Sticking with the ribbon plan!

Easter dessert - Almond cake!

Whole Foods' interpretation of Asparagus.

Mine interpretation of Asparagus!

Enjoy!
-ELH

WWW

Mon, April 1^st – Planned off/sleep in day!  We did walk Molly 1.81miles in the evening -> blowing of steam from crappy excessive long drive home.

Tues, April 2^nd – Boot camp morning!

Wed, April 3^rd – Run morning!  3miles in 29:18.  And evening yoga.

Splits - 

Mile 1 – 10:37

Mile 2 – 9:21

Mile 3 – 9:15

Thurs, April 4^th – Boot camp morning!  With 0.65miles on the treadmill!

Fri, April 5^th – Feeling tired, so I just took Molly for a 2.12 mile morning walk instead of running.

Sat, April 6^th – I tried a new workout class (make-up class for a missed yoga class)– it was okay.  We did some cardio, lots of arm work, and some abs.  When I got home, we took Molly for a 2.14mile walk.

Sun, April 7^th – 2mile walk with Molly in the morning and another 3miles in the afternoon instead of running.  Lazy girl!

What an exciting week!

Hoping this week will be better :)

Enjoy!

-ELH

March Mileage

20.16miles running (down 1mile from last month)

36.47miles walking (up 4miles from last month)

Yearly totals - 78.26 running, 95.14 walking

Enjoy!

-ELH