Livin' the Dream in Lima

This weekend, my Business Man & I traveled home to visit our families. It has become our little tradition to head home the weekend of the Pumpkin Fest  - the cooler temps have usually just  arrived, there's pumpkin goodies all around, and of course, I get to race the Pumpkin Classic 10km . It's the perfect way to kick off fall. We got home late Friday night, and after a short night's sleep, we were up bright & early for the 10km. I know I haven't been blogging much about my training this fall (slacker!), but I've been putting in lots of hard work. Long runs, interval sessions, tempo runs. I was really excited to race yesterday morning, to see what kind of shape I was in. (I hadn't raced seriously since July 4.) My momma came along to walk the 2-mile, and my Business Man came to cheer us both. (My dad had to work, or he would've been there, too.) The weather was perfect - 50s and sunny, perfect for racing. Mom & I at the start, looki...

Isn't it funny how sometimes you just get a little carried away with life and your blog goes a month without an update?! I've been super busy ever since we got back from Colorado... between baking orders for  Sara's Sweets , training for the Columbus Half-marathon, and getting back into the swing of school. (We've already been back for 7 days... just 173 to go! Heh.) Systems of equations, anyone? School started last Tuesday, and we have had some pretty big changes. Instead of 95-minute blocks and semester classes, we now have 50-minute periods and classes that last all-year long. It's been a bit of an adjustment, but I like it so far. (Except for the whole four different preps at the same time. That's a lil' rough.) I've got several of the same students from last year, and they're a fun group. We're also acclimating to the new Common Core standards which is loads of fun. (Or not.) Some beautiful sugar cookies to lessen the blo...

July was a crazy busy month. Two weddings, a 4th of July party, a vacation to Charleston, SC, and Calabash, NC, a 5k down in Columbus... and  a short little trip to Vail, Colorado. (Currently sitting in the Denver airport waiting for our flight home.) What would I do if I had a job where I had to work in the summer?! I'll start with our Colorado trip, since it's the freshest in my mind. Each year, my Business Man has the opportunity to win a vacation with his company, and this year it happened to be an escape to the beautiful mountains of Vail.  We flew out Sunday morning, and arrived in Vail just in time for some exploring. Our resort was located about 2 miles from town. There is an awesome little trail that connects all the resorts & shopping/dining areas, so we walked that a lot into town. View from one of my runs Monday morning, we decided to be all athletic and take a hike up the mountain. It was only 3.2 miles, and labeled as "intermediate", so ...

It's that time again... time to start (seriously) training. With an actual training plan, not the go-out-and-run-whatever-you-want training plan. Fall racing season is just around the corner, and I'm looking forward to some PR's. I've got a few summer 5k's left, and then some longer races in the fall. I decided NOT to run a full marathon this fall, and focus on speed in the half-marathon. I really want to break 1:30 for the half distance, which is definitely possible. (My PR is 1:30:14.)  Here's my schedule. (So far.) July 28 - SIDS Prevention 5km August 4 - Square Fair 5km September 15 - Pumpkin Fest 10km October 6 - Hands for Haiti Half-marathon                                       or   October 7 - Octoberfest 10km October 21 - Columbus Half Marathon (GOAL RACE - sub 1:30) November 9-10 - RAGNAR Relay Tennessee After consulting my BFF Jack Daniels, I...

Yes, that's right. Strawberries + balsamic + bacon on pizza? Don't knock it until you try it. I have prepared this pizza no less than 5 times this summer, with full intentions of photographing it and blogging about it. Every  time, we would be about halfway through the pizza when I would remembered "Gah! I was gonna take pictures! Oh well, it's too delicious... next time!" I don't know where the self-control came from, but this week I managed to get a few pictures before devouring our new favorite pie. What makes this pizza so delish? All the different flavors - the tangy sauce, sweet strawberries, salty bacon, fresh cilantro. It's seriously phenomenal.  The sauce starts with some reduced balsamic vinegar. Cook it over medium heat until it is reduced by half, and becomes thick and almost syrupy. Just poured into the pan... Reduced & ready to go! Then, mix it up with some strawberry jam and a bit of sriracha chili sauce. A little ...

I've been seeing some "Day in the Life" posts float around the interwebs and thought it'd be fun to partake. Here's how I spent my summer Tuesday. 6am - Alarm goes off so I can run early to 'beat the heat.' But... since I'm not meeting anyone to run, I immediately roll over and go back to sleep. 7:30am  - I wake up for real, and make my way downstairs. I cook a gourmet breakfast for my Business Man (a bowl of microwaved instant oatmeal, so gourmet) and make myself a mug of iced coffee. Yum. After getting my own breakfast, I plop myself on the couch to watch the Today show. 9am  - After spending an hour and a half in front of the TV and 'blogging', I decide I should do something productive. So I attempt to get started on some lesson planning and how to implement the common core standards for next year. Gross. 10:15am  - Enough of that school stuff. I decide I should go to the gym and get my run on with Kathie Lee & Hoda. (Even ...

The last 8 days have been busy .  2 out-of-town weddings + 2 rehearsals  + 2 rehearsal dinners + mid-week 4th of July party = exhausted Sara. Yesterday I took a day to completely recoop and I feel much  better. Nothing an afternoon by the pool can't cure! So... rewind to our first wedding weekend. My Business Man's college roommate got married up on a beautiful lake in Michigan. It was so much fun to reunite and spend some time with his friends from college, who have become my friends as well. Love our friends' weekends!  Love these 'ribbon dancers' we used for the send-off! The wedding was gorgeous - the bride's attention to detail was insane! The place settings, the favors, the cake.  Beautiful tables Loved the linens They had homemade strawberry jam for favors. Isn't this display the cutest? (I may have snagged 4 jars...) My Business Man & I even got to take a little boat ride during the cocktail hour. Firs...