Astrology - is there some truth to it?

I'm not somebody who follows my astrology or puts much stock in it. Yet sometimes it comes up in conversation with people and I always look up what I am, Libra, and while not everything describes me it's pretty crazy how much does.

Recently I was talking to somebody about Chinese Astrology and how we're both going to have kids born in the year of the dragon. I had to look up with that sign even meant.  While I was at it I decided to see what my sign was and was rather surprised.   This shit is just crazy.

My Chinese astrology is the horse.  Sure there is a lot in the description that I don't feel fits me (I could be wrong) but I was shocked by how much was on point.  It was also weird how I realized a lot of the issues I've been having lately are kinda summed up in this sign, maybe me feel a bit better and like I'm not completely off my rocker.

According to www.astrology.com, "Horses are the nomads of the Chinease Zodiac, roaming from one place or project to the next. All the Sign's incessant activity and searching may be to satisfy a deep-rooted desire to fit in".  Um..yup. It also says that Horses tend to feel "inferior to their peers, a misconception that causes them to drift from group to group out of an irrational fear of being exposed as a fraud."  I can't say the last part is correct but I definitely feel inferior to almost everyone in my life.  It doesn't matter what it is, I always feel like I'm a step behind and not as good as the other person.  So this one is so very true.

One part I found funny was that "Horses crave love and intimacy, which is a double-edged sword since it often leads them to feel trapped". God that is so freaking true.  I crave the intimacy part of a relationship but then I'll turn around and want to be left alone to do my own thing.  It then says "Love connections tend to come easily to Horses, since they exude the kind of raw sex appeal that is a magnet to others. This sign tends to come on strong in the beginning of the relationship, having an almost innate sense of romance and seduction".  Really?  This is so not me.  Somehow I missed the whole sex appeal thing.  I doubt anybody has ever looked at me or thought of me and thought I had it.  Me and sex appeal have never been in the same sentence, at least not with a positive spin. I'm sure somebody has mentioned how I don't have it.

If you haven't looked up your Chinese Zodiac in awhile, give it a shot. If nothing else it might surprise you how eerily accurate it is.

Change the World Wednesday - No Power Exercising

This weeks Change the World Wednesday challenge is:

This week unplug your exercise routine by using no power. No treadmills, ellipticals, gyms, TV, music, or anything powered to assist in exercise. Make your workout Eco-friendly ... and, as always, let us know all about it.

Or ...

If you're not really into exercise, please consider it. In the meantime, take a look at your daily routine and choose one activity which uses power and accomplish it without power. Some examples might be preparing a meal without the use of the stove, washing dishes by hand instead of using a dishwasher, visiting friends and family instead of watching TV, etc. And oh yes, we want to know all about it (you'll get points for creativity).




Now THIS is a challenge you know I'm all about. Treadmills are so incredibly boring, I had to do my long run on one several weeks ago and stopped at 8 miles (my goal had been 12) because I was going to shoot myself.  As long as it's not raining I will do all my runs outside.  In fact, up until May 2011 I didn't even have a gym membership. So I either did weights at home or ran outside.   Now that I have a gym membership I do go several times a week for cross-training (swimming and bike).


While normally this challenge would be easy and fun, at this time it's actually one I won't be able to really participate in right now. I have a good reason for that though.  At 26 weeks pregnant I have to play things smart.

Running is starting to become an issue, a lot of ligament pain during and after my runs.  This means I've had to finally convince myself that no more 8 mile or longer runs on the weekend.  I'm trying to convince myself 4 miles is my max. I've also told myself that to keep from running as often during the week (normally I'll try to get in a run outside 3-4 days a week) I need to cross-train more with things that don't cause me as much pain.  This means swimming and biking and that requires my gym.  I haven't figured out exactly what I'm going to do yet but I think I'm going to drop my runs to 2 days per week and cross-train 3-4.  I've already dropped weight lifting as I realized I tended to still push the weight I was using, or I would say I could do that at home without the use of any devices. 


It's also winter, which means if there is any chance of ice or snow on the sidewalk/street or the weather is misty/rainy, my butt is headed to the gym because it's safest for me right now.    


I would say that I would do this challenge halfway and not use my ipod or my garmin (which tracks my distance, time, pace) however I can't do that either.  Sure, I don't need the ipod and I'll actually keep from using that for a week.  However the garmin I can't give up.  My heart rate monitor is attached to it and I have to monitor it to make sure I don't go over 155 for baby girls health.  


So while I love this challenge and am totally behind it and support it, for obvious health reasons it's not one I can participate in right now.   I can tell you this though.  I love to trail run and I can't do that right now. It's also frustrating to go so much slower that some days the beep telling me I went over 155 and to slow down drives me nuts.  Therefore when I'm given the ok to start running after baby girl arrives, you can bet I'll be outside on the trails as much as possible and I'll probably leave the garmin at home several times.   You can bet I'll be revisiting this challenge later this summer. 


I do have one suggestion for all of you.  While thinking of this challenge keep in mind that one excellent way to be eco-friendly and get in a good workout is to drop your car off for an oil change and run/walk home.  Then when it's ready to be picked up, run/walk to go get it.  I do this almost every time the car gets an oil change. It's a great way to get in a short run and it saves on somebody having to pick me up/drop me off. 

Wordless Wednesday - One of us already had the baby

My Mom took this photo in early December. I'm the one in green, with a due date of early May.  My cousin is in the cute dress (give me a break..I still didn't have any maternity clothes at that point and had very little I could  still squeeze in to).  My cousin had her daughter on January 24th.   We look like we could have been very close in due dates.

More Wordless Wednesday can be found here.

Cherry Stollen or Cherry Bread Braid Recipe

This recipe is an old family favorite.  Well, it's not a family recipe but it's a family favorite.  My paternal Grandma used to make this for Christmas every year when I was growing up.  A couple years ago I remembered it and asked her for the recipe, we hadn't had it in years.   It was at this point that she mentioned she got it from one of her friends.  I figure I don't care, as far as I'm concerned it's a family tradition now.  Husband and I took over having Christmas at our house a couple of years ago and I have made this a staple. I don't really make it at any other time of the year, but it makes 4 so I always bake two and freeze two.  The reason you are getting this recipe now is because I needed room in the freezer and pulled one out to bake.  I've been in a happy cherry stollen coma for a couple of days.

I don't have pictures of what mine look like, because they do not look great. They test great, appearance is something I'm working on. Instead I've just posted a picture I found online.   In fact, I found a posting for a different braid bread recipe on reliable answers and the photo's show you exactly how to do the dough part.


Stollen or Braid Bread Recipe

Makes 4

Ingredients
1 lb butter, softened (4 sticks) (I ALWAYS use salt free butter when baking)
1 lb smooth cottage cheese *
4 1/2 cups flour
pie filling of your choice (1 can makes 2 stollens, or use fresh fruit)

*I haven't been able to find smooth cottage cheese so I just puree normal cottage cheese until it is smooth

Mix the butter, cottage cheese, and flour together until well mixed.  I have a habit of combining the butter and cottege cheese until well mixed and then adding in the flour.  I'm not sure it matters though.

Divide dough into 4 parts.  Place in the refrigerator until cold or over night.

When you are ready to make the stollens, remove one piece at a time as you don't want it to get too soft.  Roll dough out on parchment paper into an oval shape.  Size depends on you, I always treat it like a pie shell and do about the same thickness.    If you are going to cook right away, it's easier to then place this on a cookie sheet before doing the next step.

Pour fruit down the center of the rolled dough.  Half a can per stollen.  Cut the dough on the sides into strips and twist over the fruit.  If you are going to freeze any of these, now is when you would freeze it (before baking).

Bake at 350 for about 30 min.

Once out of the oven, while still hot, make a thin icing to drizzle on top.  I don't measure this,  I just mix powdered sugar with a bit of vanilla and a tad of milk.  I get the consistency I want and then drizzle.  You don't have to use vanilla, I just love the flavor of it so I always do.

Sometimes we need motivation

I never really thought I was the type of person to really "get" motivational posters or sayings.  Sure I read them and some I would think "that's cool" but never thought of them again.

Lately I've found that I really like them. I'm not sure why this happened all of a sudden. Of course most of them are running related or deal with working out in general.  I have also found some that are really funny and have been sharing them with a friend I run with once a week or so and it at least makes the work day a bit easier to get through.

There is one saying that I saw that I actually printed and taped up in my closet. I wasn't going to admit this to anybody. I felt embarrassed by it, in a way I kinda of still am.

The above really stuck with me for some reason.  I have it taped to a container that my sports bras are stored in, so I see it every time I go to either change into my workout clothes or gather them to go in the gym bag for a workout later in the day.

One day at work I was talking to a co-worker/friend who also works out and we were talking about insecurities with our workouts.  I mentioned the quote and told him how I had it taped up in my closet.  I told him not to make fun of me.  He said he never would, he has a motivational word written on the inside of his gym bag so every time he works out he see's it and it motivates him to work out harder.  It was great to see that somebody else understood where I was coming from.  Sometimes a word or a saying will really hit a nerve and stay with us and mean something to us.

Why this one specifically?  It's because I always feel like I'm not good enough. My pace is slow, my runs are just ok. I know so many people who run faster, and further, and better than I do.  I was running with a group on Sunday's for our long runs.  The pace was slower for all of us, only for them it's 2 min or more slower, for me it was either less than a minute or 1 minute slower.  I felt like I was somehow always struggling to be as good as they were.  I didn't even realize this at first, but late last year noticed how their race times were so freaking fast. It's awesome, I'm happy for them. I started to get upset about my race times though when I realized just how much better they were than me. How these slower runs must seem really slow to them, when I sometimes struggle because of the distance, the heat, etc. I enjoy the challenge, I know that it helps me to push myself. It doesn't mean I don't get upset about it though.

I know I improved a lot with my running last year. I worked my butt off for it and it paid off. I know I can get back to that once I'm able to really train again.  However right now I am forced to go at a slower pace and take things easy. While I realize this is for the best and I don't mind doing it, it can also be frustrating.  I've also been dealing with a lot of depression issues and feeling inferior in my running played in to that.

Then I came across the quote above.  It hit a nerve.  I felt it was true for me. I strive to be better, I work on it (when I'm able).  That's what really matters.  That I don't give up.  We all have bad days, there will always be somebody better.  What matters is that we strive to be the best that we can be, in whatever that is.  For me, that's in running, in my over-all fitness, and my goal to start doing triathlons.

I read this almost every day, sometimes twice. I'll read it sometimes in the morning when dressing for work but always when I'm getting my workout clothes together.  I'm a bit embarrassed to say it, but it's helped. I'm much more confident in myself as an amateur athlete. I know the level of fitness I'm at now, or rather what I was in before becoming pregnant, and I know what I want to be at after baby girl arrives.  I know it'll take a lot of dedication and hard work to make it happen. On those days when I read about everyone else's workouts and I see them getting in mileage I've never even attempted, and I see people doing mileage I can do but at a much faster pace than I've been able to do, I remind myself of this quote.  For me, it's making a word of difference.

Change the World Wednesday: National Heart Month

This Week's Challenge:

This week (and throughout the month), experiment with left over fruits and veggies by either blending them into smoothies or making soups. Fruits and veggies are very heart-healthy and finding creative uses for them instead of tossing them out is very earth-friendly (especially the ones which are slightly tired - check your refrigerators for these culprits). Be sure to come back and tell us about your efforts ... and offer recipes if you wish.

Hmm...what to do with this one.  The thing is that for the most part Husband and I do really well not letting fruits and  veggies go to waste.  We don't buy a lot at one time, which helps.  

We usually only buy enough fruit to get us through a week, or what we assume we'll eat in a week. Obviously sometimes we don't get to it but it rarely goes bad.  OK, fine, I'll admit that sometimes I let bananas get too ripe so I can make banana bread.  I'm guessing that doesn't really count though.  So for the most part fruit doesn't go bad. If I notice something beginning to go bad I usually will throw it in a smoothie, which isn't a big deal since I make them at least once a week for breakfast. 

Veggies are a different story.  Usually when we buy them fresh it's for a specific recipe. I admit, otherwise we usually buy frozen so we have them when we want them for a meal.  The problem with buying fresh is that a lot of things you can't buy just what you need.  For example, carrots and celery. You have to buy the entire bunch when normally you only need a couple pieces.   This is where we run into problems.   I know I'll need help when it happens again. 

It is winter here, even if the temps have been around 60 recently (boy do I LOVE that).  I imagine this means we'll be making stew and soups several times within the next two months.   I'll have to keep this challenge in mind and try to be better about using the left-over veggies.

On the flip side, now that I can and do compost at home, at least I know they will get used towards something and not go into the trash. 

Wordless Wednesday: Practicing

I have to admit that pretty much as soon as this picture was taken Husband looked at me and wanted me to save him, he has no clue what he's doing. Oh his time is coming.

More Wordless Wednesday can be found here.