Against the Wind

At the end of 2011, I decided to cross something off my bucket list... and run/jog a 5k during the Mercedes event last weekend.

I started training back at the beginning of January by running before and/or after my aerobics classes or weightlifting. Honestly, running while not used to running is the most humbling experience ever. I work out five or six days a week in both cardio and strength training (weight lifting), and was thinking that running would require some adaptation, but that adapting would be expeditious.

WRONG.

Running is rough, ya'll! (Random Paula Deen moment)
Carrying your own body weight for however long is much more strenuous than I imagined.

Thankfully, something (I don't know exactly what) kept me running and I was increasing my time running without stopping by five minutes every week or two. Brandon encouraged me to lighten up with the weightlifting so that I wouldn't have to bulk up for the race, but I continued my usual routine without working heavy with legs. Running had the potential to kill my cardio mojo (because I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a natural runner), and I am actually pretty good at strength-training... so I kept lifting to keep my self-esteem high!

A natural "over-achiever," I began completely stressing myself out and running for about an hour every time I went to the gym. Over time it occurred to me that if I ran a decent portion of the race, it wouldn't actually take me an hour to run the 3 miles. With that, I began running 30-40 minutes, and my psyche gave itself a break.

Segue to... the month of February:
Stating the obvious, I will point out that Birmingham has had a pretty mild (and for the most part, lovely) winter. We had that super scary tornado in January (not at all lovely) and then lots of sunshine and temperatures in the seventies.
God has a real sense of humor in making the entire race weekend below freezing. No, really. Hilarious.

On Saturday, February 11, I woke up at my usual weekday wake up time, 4:20 (gross), because I was pretty anxious. I ate a Quaker "Weight Control" oatmeal packet for breakfast (good for breakfast on a hard cardio day... for anyone who might care) and neglected my usual cup of coffee to prevent a potty-break during the race. When we left, I had a long-sleeved work out shirt on under a fleece jacket with my yoga work out pants. Right before we stepped out the door, Brandon asked me if he needed to be "stationed" somewhere along the course in case I needed to take my jacket off. Upon walking out the door, I assured Brandon that I would not be losing my jacket during the race. The temperatures were bone-chilling, and the wind was blistering. These factors added to my nervousness.

We arrived downtown to lots of people who were waaaaaaay more pumped than I, but that really added to an eventual fun atmosphere. I got pretty frustrated when I first got settled on the track, trying to get my iPod started. I had gotten new earbuds for my iPod that are made for running; they go around your ears, and apparently my earlobes were too small to keep the earbuds in tact. This meant no offensive and head-banging music that usually pushes me through my runs. I didn't have too much time to fluster about this, because by the time I had pulled out the buds and squished them in my hand, the announcer was counting down to the beginning of the race. I remember randomly asking people beside me if they were competitive and if they were going to push me out of the way. Isn't that so idiotic? They didn't look at me like I was, thank goodness, and kindly replied that they were running for fun.

The start off process was really interesting. Apparently, the people who actually want to win these things go to the very beginning of the line (they might push) and start the whole shebang off with a quick sprint or a run. The rest of us walk briskly (all I knew to do at this point was to follow suit) to the start line and then begin the run.

I was able to run for a bit before my first power-walk break, but running in the super cold is really difficult. Running in the wind was pretty brutal. Normally, the wind was blowing against us, so right when I would get a second wind and would be able to speed up, my legs would speed up, but the pace at which my body moved forward would not speed up. This was pretty frustrating, but, alas, there was nothing I could do, so I decided to keep my attitude sunny-side up.

At the beginning of the race, Jeh Jeh Pruitt (from Fox 6) was pretty close to me and he and his friends were exchanging funny candor. One of his buddies said, "Jeh Jeh, we're moving to the back of the line, we better move up!" While I had no expectation of breaking anyone's record in this thing, there was no way in Bermuda I was coming in last. Consequently, I started to speed up.
I don't remember too many specific things about the race, but I do remember thinking that Birmingham was prettier than I realized. I also remember keeping up with the same group of people throughout the race, which meant I kept semi-consistent speed.

When we had a little over a mile left, we had this little U-turn sort of thing, which helped us understand where we were compared to the rest of the runners. I was relieved to know that I was never actually in the back of the group, I was consistently in the middle.
**Disclaimer: there is nothing wrong with being in the latter half of the group, or walking the entire event. I made a point on my bucket list to run/jog the majority of a 5K, so I wanted to make sure I was true to my expectation.

Lots of disc jockeys from Birmingham radio stations were along the path playing music and encouraging us, and one station let us know that our finish line was around the corner. Naturally, I started to speed up because I was almost finished. Then, wouldn't you know it? THE WIND KICKS UP. FABULOUS! MY LEGS MOVE FASTER BUT I DON'T MOVE FORWARD FASTER. YAY!

Honestly, I was just so excited to finish, that I didn't care. I had to hold back tears a little bit. Isn't that silly? This was just one of those things that, five years ago, I could have NEVER seen myself doing. I never thought that I would hear somebody call, "Congratulations, Lili Kane!" as I RAN across a finish line.

When I crossed the finish line, the people I had been running close to congratulated me and I congratulated them.. and I was pretty fascinated that this was such a supportive event. I was quickly greeted by Brandon and his aunt and uncle (they ran the half marathon the next morning and stayed to watch me race after they registered.. so sweet!). They had free Powerade for us which was a relief (so thirsty!), however, someone had to open it for me because my fingers were numb :).

Overall, it was an awesome experience that I would repeat... even with the temperature and the wind!

So, here it is - may I have the motivation to continue crossing off and enjoying it!
-own my own house
-grow a lemon tree
-go to Lucerne, Switzerland
-have a child
-touch the life of one of my students
-run/jog a 5k
-read a book that changes my life (any input for this one?!)
-go camping
-snow ski again
-obtain a Master's degree
-change grade levels
-write a song

Peace, love, and LOTS of stretching,
Lili/Potatoes

Sweeeeeeet Caroline (BOM BOM BOM)

I'm a horrible blogger, guys! How ridiculous!

However, I am THRILLED to make an entry revealing the most recent addition to the Kane family -- our dog, Caroline! (Sorry to let down any human baby hopefuls.)

All Chalkville teachers returned to work on a professional development day and were followed around by a precious blonde pup. She trotted with all of us as we walked building to building and made us all feel guilty for not being able to let her in!

*Random note: I have wanted a dog for a very long time, and when I was in North Carolina (my favorite place in the WORLD) this summer, I decided that I would name my first dog Caroline after the state. Silly and flower childish, I know.

On one of many trots the pup and I took together that day, I thought to myself, You know, she really looks like a Caroline... but simply thought nothing of it. She seemed so clean (fur and teeth) and was so sweet and well-behaved that I assumed she was on a girl's day out and would return to her family that afternoon or evening.

However, I came to work early on the students' first day back to see that same sweet angel trotting around in freezing weather. I felt horrible for her but knew I wouldn't be able to let her in due to liability issues. When some of the second grade classes were taking a morning restroom break, I was talking to my friend Jennifer about the sweet baby. I told her that I had thought about at least taking the little pooch to the vet the previous day because I was so worried about her being out the in cold, but didn't want to strip a family of their companion. By the end of our conversation, Jennifer had convinced me to take the dog home with me if she was still at school at the end of the day.

Not even an hour later, Jennifer had rushed over to my door and told me that she'd watch my kids while I went to stake claim on the dog, because if no one claimed her the school would have to call Animal Control (for the same liability issue). I could NOT have lived with myself if I had let that slide and decided I would take her home, and if Brandon wasn't agreeable to taking in a pet, I would find one of my dog-lover friends to keep her.



I took her home that day and from the start, Brandon was all about having fuzzy companionship at home.


From that moment on, she was Caroline :).

                                                                        Her first picture!

                                                                       Life's tough, ya'll.

                                                                               Rawr.

                                                                       My favorite : ) .

Here's our new baby! Hoping this sporadic and apparently un-habitual blog post finds you all well!

Hugs,
Lili/Potatoes

Project: Singing in the Rain

OK, I'm reverting back to my old blog habit - actually... NOT blogging.

But my own source tells me that the last time I "blogged," I was looking forward to May flowers after a pretty emotional spring semester.

I hate to tell you that - excluding a pretty good beach vacation with the husband (our first vacation PERIOD since we've been married!) - Project: May Flowers was a bust.
May is a pretty stressful month for teachers anyway (mid-May, I was wondering why I had thought May flowers were a possibility, remembering May last year!) - getting grades in, cleaning out/closing out the classroom, trying to control seven year-old chaos, etc.
The whole month of May also left lots of non-tenured teachers wondering if they would be returning the next school year. I have no idea why I am fortunate enough to still have my same job, grade level, classroom, etc., but with the relief of knowing I have a job next year, came hysterical sadness and guilt in knowing several of my incredible work friends were pink slipped.

Meanwhile, on the way to church one Wednesday afternoon, a woman pulled out in front of me and hit my Altima Elphi. She was an excuse maker ("Well, officer, I looked both ways *looks to her left and right* and just never saw them") and didn't file an insurance claim, so taking care of everything was quite the ordeal. Consequently, I had to rent a Grand Marquis, so I was driving everywhere looking like a mob boss.

The icing on the cake, per se, was that my beautiful dog Bailey died at the beginning of June. I am to the point now that I am so glad she isn't sick or hurting anymore, but your house is just not the same for a little while when a beloved four-legged buddy passes.

(sweet Bailey, about 7 years ago)

One the days that I sat, sitting pitifully feeling sorry for myself, I found my mistake with Project: May Flowers. I was a little taken aback by my error, because my realization was something that I have always preached to myself, but seemed to forget in a month of pouting: I was expecting for things to be "good," without any action on my behalf.

That might not make any sense. I've typed that statement a few different ways and they have all seemed foggy so I will put it this way....

During my amazing four years in Auburn (war eagle!), I had some awesome professors. When professors stressed classroom/behavior management, they always emphasize "proactive" strategies - preparing your activities and structure so that you might prevent behavior problems before they happen.

Out of all the professors I had, my all-time favorite was Dr. McCormick, my social studies methods teacher. We were talking about classroom strategies one day with her, and she said, "Proactive strategies are great, but here is the truth, ladies. Crap happens, and bad behavior happens, with or without proactive strategies. Essentially, good management is all in how you react."

I decided that Dr. McCormick's philosophy applied to my situation, and that I needed to shift my thinking. Crap happens. Sometimes, all you can do is learn how to dance (or sing, for me) in the rain.

Interestingly enough, I am a very aesthetic person, so I tried to get myself together by doing a couple of things.

#1
Making a list of things that I'm thankful for.
My mom suggested I do this once my first year in college when I was upset about something. While I don't remember what I was upset about at the time (it was probably ridiculous), I do remember that I got my emotions straight and remembered how fortunate I was.
So I did it again... I am not going to post the list, because it was hysterically long - I stopped myself and moved on when the attitude adjustment clicked.

#2
Knitting
I have started my Christmas list for presents. I am almost finished with my first project and am very excited. Knitting is pretty "knit"-picky (har, har) and the slightest mistakes are very obvious. I am excited about how pretty the first project is, and I am an overbearing perfectionist, so that says a lot!

#3
Exercise
I guess this doesn't count because I've been anal about exercise for a while now, but trust me, exercise is the best way to work off steam.

#4
Made a bucket list. Or, more accurately, added on to my bucket list, and continue to do so.
Before I document the current list, I will say that all list items have one condition: they are things that, ultimately, I have control over. (For instance, I didn't put "Be President of the USA" on it, because I cannot control who people vote for...)

Anyway. List:
-own my own house
-grow a lemon tree
-go to Lucerne, Switzerland
-have a child
-touch the life of one of my students
-run/jog a 5k
-read a book that changes my life (any input for this one?!)
-go camping
-snow ski again
-obtain a Master's degree
-change grade levels
-write a song

I don't know why the bucket list helped. I guess it just reminds me to stay on my toes.

So, there are my strategies, thanks to Dr. McCormick's unknown input... and here's to singing in the rain!

I hope that this blog finds all of you well!

In closing, here is a recent vegetarian dish that I've done recently.
Preface: I LOVE California Pizza Kitchen's roasted vegetable salad, and this was inspired by that. Brandon does not like salads, but if the meat-eater in your house likes salads, I highly recommend this one.

I sauteed eggplant, red peppers, corn, and baby bella mushrooms and then put them atop raw spinach, avacado and a spring lettuce mix. My favorite dressing is Ken's Lite Asian dressing, so that is what I use. My recommendation is any oil-based dressing.



Hugs and such,

       Lili/Potatoes

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MILLER!!! :)

Today, Brandon and I drove up to Hartselle, Alabama to celebrate Miller's first birthday! (Miller is my cousin Calloway's baby boy.)

Miller is the fifth (and youngest) grandchild in his immediate family thus far, so this is the first baby birthday where I've experienced several itty bitties running around along with the birthday buddy. It was the funniest thing - anytime you looked around you saw a little head pop out beside a couch or table (my cousin 'Carrow compared this to the game whack a mole), heard a slew of giggles, or felt a sweet little hand pull your arm to get your attention.

Super short today... but LOTS of fun pictures of little boo-boos. YAY!

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Lili/Potatoes

Pretty pumped/overwhelmed about all this stuff!

Um, too cute. That's all.

Yum...

Big fan of the wagon.

Miller's cousin Will and their friend Madeline.

Miller attempting to open a gift himself :).

Doll baby.

The ham sandwich of our family, Will!

Being a goof troop.

Meat and Potatoes with the man of the hour!

Here's to May flowers!

To put it simply, April has been a dramatic, long month. (Isn't it funny, that usually the longest months are the 30-day ones? February is also ENDLESS normally.)
Really, the spring semester as a whole has been inundated with scary things happening to people I love, and last week's horrid April Fury was certainly the icing on the cake, cherry on top, etc.

Also...
most people who know me, know that one of the top reasons that I can't wait to actually purchase a house, is because I desperately want a yard so that I can grow a lemon tree (true story) and do other gardening tasks. I know that once I have yardwork to do, my appreciation for it might dwindle, but I like being outside in general.

With all of that said, Brandon and I made a small trip to Home Depot on Monday and bought a small pot of-gerber daisies (YAY!!!), basil, and cilantro. We decided to have a mini-porch garden while we are still apartment-dwellers. The basil smells really good, too!

I have a goal to become more "domesticated." I've kicked up the cooking quite a bit, and have gotten somewhat better at housework (yuck). I'm thinking that a summer project might be sewing? Maybe curtains for my bare inside windows. If anyone has any pointers on that (fabric, places to go, how to actually DO it), fire your advice away!



I'm pretty much full of anti-climactic posts...
But yesterday Brandon and I enjoyed another vegetarian dinner! No meat for him this time. It was pretty filling.
We had a big load of vegetables (bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, zucchini, baby bella mushrooms) sauteed in apple cider vinegar, sesame oil, and soy sauce (really tasty Asian marinade) and couscous boiled in water and lemon juice (I'm telling you, a lemon tree would be so useful!) .

I'm posting pictures of our porch "garden" and of our meal, so who knows what order they'll be in.

Have a great week -- here's to hoping that April showers bring May flowers! (But what do May flowers bring? PILGRIMS!!! ha ha.)

Hugs,
Lili/Potatoes

First post... ah!

For those who might already know me, I am pretty obsessive about things looking nice and precise when viewed by the public (ie, the text being the same, everything correct, etc.), so jumping into the blog water with no floaties could be interesting.

That being said, here we go!

I am Lili... I'll be the primary blogger, as this sort of thing is not entirely up my husband Brandon's alley. I used to keep journals back during those AWESOME high school days (sarcasm) and have had fun looking back in them (mostly due to the stupidity of the contents!) more recently. I thought it would be fun to look back on our glory days (no sarcasm) when we're older.

Brandon and I met when we were in college. He went to UAB and I went to Auburn (WAR EAGLE!). One of our friends had a birthday party and we met there... long story, short: the rest is history.
We were engaged a little over a year later, and after a two year engagement (phew!) we FINALLY got married in December of 2009.

He is in graduate school, about to graduate with his Master's degree in Exercise Physiology. I am a second grade teacher at Chalkville Elementary.

The blog title that I found to be pretty witty (Meat & Potatoes) is in honor of the fact that Brandon is a big meat eater and I am a vegetarian. People normally find that one of the more interesting parts of us as a couple and often ask how we handle that.

Believe it or not, it's a pretty easy undertaking - at least it is for us. Brandon happens to really like vegetables anyway, so I'll usually make a hearty vegetarian dish and then make some sort of meat for Brandon to add to it. Simple, huh?
Hopefully, I won't blunder or drown in these blog waters and can figure out how to post a picture (sad, I know) ... but tonight, we had a dish that ranks up to a HUGE Brandon and Lili favorite dish. A couple of weeks ago, we bought a cook book called New Vegetarian Cuisine. I really liked it when I looked at it because it is primarily vegetable-heavy recipes rather than unusual tofu/supplement/vegan-esque recipes that Brandon and I don't care for.
Anyway, tonight I made broccoli and arugala pasta. Essentially, you make a nice little marinara sauce that simmers to thicken for a bit, and then you boil raw broccoli and torn off lasagna in the same pot (HUGE time saver.. you would think that would occur to me at some point). At the end, you mix the pasta, broccoli, and sauce with some arugala (confession: we couldn't find arugala immediately so we just got spinach, still good!).. and then we enjoyed!

How do you please your meat eater? Add chicken! Pretty easy, huh? I sautee chicken with EVOO, garlic, and pickle juice (promise, you'll like it).
It was awesome. A definite "Meat & Potatoes" favorite.

I guess this is a pretty anti-climactic post, but I promised pictures! Yay!

Thanks for sticking with me!

Lili/Potatoes