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What’s in my running fanny pack
I am not a great runner, but I find myself signing up to run 5K road races all the time — I get sucked in for the cause of the race, and then hate myself when the running part happens telling myself I am never signing up to run again. I figured since I was on the cross-country team in high-school, and that running is as simple as putting one foot in front of the other, I can do it with ease. Wrong.
My neck and shoulders always hurt when I run – I end up just rotating my head from side to side to get the kink out and continue running. I lose my breath so quickly and don’t get it because I eat healthy and exercise on the reg! Now that I have a very energetic dog and a very active fiancé that take me on trail runs (we have a reservation about 4 minutes from our house, it would be a shame not to utilize all the trails), I decided I would actually learn how to run.
Back story: When I was in Poland last month, my uncle (who is a renowned surgeon) came over to me and put his hand on my back telling me to stand up straight. Uh, I thought I was standing up straight? I have tried to be more observant of my posture and constantly find myself adjusting and cracking my back.
Check back next week for a post about what to be looking for when evaluating your posture.
So to learn how to run properly, I first focused on 2 things that instantaneously changed how I felt when running: posture & breathing.
Proper Running Posture Tips:
- Hold your head high, centered between your shoulders, and your back straight. I focus on keeping my chest out and tightening my abs (or sucking in your stomach). This will give your back that straight line.
- Focus your gaze in front of you. This can be hard when you are running on rocky trails, and want to see where you are stepping. Glance down every so often so you do not run into a rock tree stump (it happens a lot!) but generally speaking focus your gaze about 30 yards in front of you. Looking down when running could lead to that strain on your neck muscles and spine.
- Keep your shoulders relaxed and parallel to the ground. Your shoulders should hang loosely with a slight forward roll for optimal relaxation. Several times during my run, I have noticed my shoulders rising toward my ears or tensing up, so I just drop my arms and loosely shake them out.
Turn a spare bedroom into a Walk-in-Closet
The closer you live to the city, the smaller your yard gets (if you even have one!), the smaller your parking spot gets, (if you’re lucky enough to have one!) the smaller your master bedroom gets and most importantly, the smaller the closet space gets! I was able to live with all the above, minus the closet space! After 3 years of folding and refolding clothes that were all displayed on the guest bed, closing the door from embarrassment of the mess it was when we had company, never being able to find a purse, a shirt, an accessory when I needed it, we decided it was time to invest and turn that guest room into a walk-in closet. We figured that if in the 3 years of owning our condo, we only had a handful of guests stay the night, turning the room into a walk in was a no brainer!
Where do you begin?
First, read more…
The journey called Life
Welcome back to my blog!
For those of you that have been asking me where my blog went — first of all, THANK YOU! and secondly, it was waiting for me to open my eyes. I was (and still am) on a journey — a journey I believe many people embark on (or should!). I will continue to use this blog as my platform to share tips, advice and learning experiences.
I quit my read more…
Bone marrow bones & baby food!
Happy chewsday, dog lovers!
I FINALLY found some mini bone marrow bones for Freddy! I used to get him a big bone and he had trouble getting all the marrow out from the middle before I threw it out
I found these the other night and I froze half of them and read more…
My grandma’s favorite oatmeal raisin cookies
My babcia used to make these cookies every once in a while –she would always make them extra baked – meaning they were on the very brown side — some might call them burnt! But that’s the way she liked them and I just loved cookies so I didn’t care!
Nowadays, when I bake these, I’m lucky if I can get a dozen out of the batch! ( one recipe makes 4 dozen) I eat way too much of the raw cookie dough before I get them in the oven! So needless to say, my cookies are baked just enough to get a slight golden color!
Both ways are delicious. Your preference!
I made half the recipe for me and Nico the other night and we managed to eat them all up with some almond milk and a Netflix movie… ooops
Here is the recipe… enjoy!
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The Summer of SPF
I’m officially in my late 20’s and can’t deny it anymore– (just turned 27 on St. patty’s day) and I’d like to think I’m not only getting older (sigh) but also getting a lot wiser…in many different ways.
For one, I used to be a fan of a dark ass tan! I mean who in their teen years and early adult years doesn’t want a tan – fake or not- we want it.
I will never forget going to Ann Hope (department store) with my Babcia (grandmother) when I was mmmm maybe six years old and having people grab my cheeks and comment on how “porcelain” (aka the nice way of saying extremely white) my skin was. In middle school, there was that one mean boy who called me Casper (the not so nice way of saying extremely white)
So, at a young age, having my mothers very fair skin and suddenly thinking it was a bad thing, I did anything I could to make it tan- from heavy bronzers, to tanning beds, to baby oil / tin foil in the sun (eeek) I remember saying that I’d rather be burnt than this white!
And the second scary thing was that I was not alone with those thoughts.I got my share of skin burns but it didn’t stop me from doing the same exact thing the following summer, and hearing and seeing plenty of girls and guys do it too.
the little boys expression is perfect! Don’t let this happen to you!
Luckily, I realized (before it was too late) that tans fade but the signs of aging and skin damage do not. I still get carded at the bars when my friends may not and occasionally get carded to see a rated R movie – so I’m lucky I still have a baby face and my porcelain skin remains. However, this is not the case for everyone – I have seen firsthand what excessive unhealthy tanning has done to young girls – leaving an orange tint to the skin with a rubbery, texture – not to mention WRINKLES galore and they haven’t even reached their 27th birthdays yet!
Up until recently, I haven’t taken a good approach to the sun and to my skin care.
Last year – on our vacation to Jamaica, I used SPF 30 very very sparingly + no hat on the first day and then switched over to a SPF 8 OIL. The result: a burn — and a bad one –and major peeling.
This year- on our wonderful vacation to St. Thomas, I used SPF 50 every single day every 1-3 hours + sun hat. The result: hands down- the best natural tan I have ever had in my life. NO peeling (I didn’t think that was possible!)
I also have been using this Vitamin C serum from Amara Organics every day and night. I have a few sun spots on my right cheek from my years of being a little too crazy in the sun but I am already starting to see them lighten up and faint away.
It also moisturizes my skin – something all of us in New England desperately need right now with this dry, cold weather… winter is continuing into Spring! why ohh why!!?
I am thankful I stopped going to artificial tanning salons 2 years ago, wasting my money and that I FINALLY understand and believe the dangers of the sun and know how to stay safe and healthy in it! Think: would you rather be a dried up prune or be a smooth creamy coffee ice-cream? I’ll take the ice-cream any day!
Make this be the summer of SPF for you and your family too! Wait – do dogs need SPF?
Sidenote: tanning salons may be necessary for someone with Vitamin D deficiency or to boost endorphins during the long winter we’re having. Be smart and remember, it is never too early to protect, nourish and rejuvenate your skin!
*Sponsored Post*
One of the best vacation islands…
Nico and I like to get away at least once a year… to keep us–well sane — and to reward ourselves for hard work. To refresh, refocus and to feel renewed in the one week away.
We started this the year we met by taking the ultimate new relationship risk and traveling together! We went to Europe to visit family and it was a beyond amazing experience; not only to see a part of the world and our families, but for us to really understand each other and grow and learn about one another. We traveled from Luxembourg – to Germany – to France (day trip) to Prague – to Poland… most of the time just us two =)
^I’ll be sharing a post about the EU trip!
The year after that we took off to Jamaica and stayed at an all-inclusive resort.
However, this year, with a recommendation from one of my long time friends, we decided on Saint Thomas – one of the United States Virgin Islands. We also decided to make this trip a combination of the first two trips. How?
Well – for one – we took off to a warm island in the middle of winter here. And two, we rented a car and explored the island life ourselves.
Between Nico and me, we’ve experienced a handful of islands – but nothing with such a homey (almost European) feel like St. Thomas (& St.Johns!)
We stayed at a boutique-like hotel, called Mafolie, instead of opting in for a more “standard” hotel — like the Marriott.
The people, atmosphere, food, and weather were magnificent.
Our favorite restaurant, by far, was this small outdoor seating by the bay place in Frenchtown called Epernay. From the very first bite, we were in love and even though extremely full by the end – we made sure to not waste even the tiniest amount of our meals! —the food coma was soooo worth it.
We took the car ferry one morning from the Red Hook area to St. Johns – which is another USVI about a 30-40 min ferry ride over. We were pretty happy we brought our car, so we could go at our leisure and be able to explore the entire island – which we did. and found this small. somewhat private beach in Cove Bay all the way on the East side of the island.
We also found a trail on the side of the beach which ended up having multiple trails: Salt Pond, Drunk Bay and then a longer trail leading up to Rams Head – which is where I took these awesome pictures!
The colors and view speak for themselves. I have never done a hike in my bathing suit (+ my Nike Free run sneakers) and …well… I LOVED it…On our second to last day, we found a small island –off the island– where the locals say they go when they want to “get away” Its about a 10-15 mins boat ride over there, called Water Island. or you can borrow someones dinghy if you’re lucky enough!
When you get there, you can rent a golf cart to drive around the area or walk to the beach called Honeymoon beach (which is what we did)- about a 10 min walk.There are 2 outside beach bars there: Heidi’s and Dinghy’s. We sat at the Dinghy bar area on the chairs provided for “patrons” only. So we naturally bought some drinks from the outside bar and enjoyed the view.
We went over to the opposite end and tried out Heidi’s for lunch and some more drinks —– wow. The food was outstanding. I mean Nico had a cheese burger— but no joke; it was one of the best burgers we’ve ever had. I had a Cesar salad with grilled chicken. The chicken was so tender and flavorful and the dressing was home-made and just the right amount of creamy.
People who live on that little island would come and go with their dogs for a quick swim – made me miss Freddy – of course!
We WILL be going back again… we’re hoping as early as October with some family members (including Freddy).. it was that great!
Wine and Pizza Night
Nico and I started a little routine of when we don’t feel like making dinner (uh clean up), we just put in a store-bought frozen pizza and open a bottle of wine and call it a night! Def not a bad thing – but how much better would it be if that frozen pizza was actually homemade by you — topped with ingredients that you personally put on it, with no hidden fillers?
So — I had my girlfriends over for Wine Wednesday and we did just that. We popped open some wine bottles (& beers) and made pizzas from scratch! My friend’s dad owns a pizza shop, called Amici’s and he was sweet enough to let his daughter bring over all the ingredients we needed – including a pizza stone for my oven! (I need to get one of those)
We had homemade dough, homemade sauce – and all the toppings you could want.
Growing up with a father who makes pizzas for a living, the girl sure knew how to toss that pizza dough!
We learned how to make the perfect circle – because to be honest, whenever I make a pizza, it is usually in some weird shape that’s not presentation worthy.
Here is what you do:
- Start with a ball of dough
- Place the ball of dough into flour to keep it from sticking to your hands (I used to only flour the surface and not the dough so I would get pieces of the dough that would still stick)
- Place your hand over the dough and work with your knuckles or the palm of your hand from the inside out while turning the dough 1/4 – the rotating creates a ridge, and will also flatten the ball.
- Toss it! {watch some You-tube videos before you do}
After the dough was prepped, we loaded up the ingredients, (as Freddy watched closely in case something might casually fall down …ohh that little cutie!) used some of the pizza cardboard box to slide it into the oven on the preheated pizza stone and 10-15 mins later.. a cheesy-bubbly-DELICIOUS pizza was ready.
Serve with a side salad and avocados if you’re extra hungry.
*I was able to freeze one of the pizzas we made, so next time Nico and I don’t feel like cooking dinner, we can put in a home-made pizza!! Now I just need to learn how to make my own wine…
**If you live in the Boston area – head north to North Andover and try out Amici’s Pizzeria! Tell Leo that Karina sent you =)
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Weekly Hair Mask
With all this outdoor snow and indoor heat, my hair has been feeling rather dry lately! Over the weekend, after my shower, I smothered some of this Argan Oil Hair Mask all over my hair and let it sit while Nico and I picked out a movie to watch.
After 15 minutes, I rinsed it out and already felt my hair to be much smoother and I’m sure healthier since it got some solid deep conditioning it desperately needed.
Not to mention, the product smells AMAZING! You can even use it as a daily conditioner, just leave it on for 10-15 mins once a week to get the deep condition.
I got mine off Amazon!
*Sponsored Post
Sun-dried Tomatoes with Feta Turkey Meatloaf
I don’t think my mom has ever made a “meatloaf” – so I guess that’s why I don’t understand the negative perception that comes with the food – I’m almost embarrassed to tell people I’m making meatloaf and I love it (okay, I’m not embarrassed – I tell people all the time) What I mean is, a lot of people instantly go back to when they were kids and the horrors when mom told them meatloaf was for dinner… at least that’s the consensus I’ve gathered!
Here is proof— when asked random people: Why do people hate Meatloaf?— here are some responses:
- Probably because they were subjected to the same meatloaf I was in school; hamburger with onion soup mix in it and some ketchup on top. It ruined meatloaf for me until I learned to make it myself and found out how it should really taste.
- I always thought I didn’t like meatloaf. At a church potluck, however, it was discovered that I did not like MY MOTHER’S meatloaf… To answer your question directly, I’d say that those who don’t like meatloaf haven’t tried the right kind yet.
- ….because when you add the word “loaf” to a food, it just makes it so much more….appetizing. Just think! “Cabbageloaf,” or, come down to McDonald’s for our new McLoaf! Many do not know how to make a good meatloaf. It’s the kind of thing that can be good when it’s made right, but can really, really go wrong when it’s not.
So, ever since I met my fiance and had him cringe at me when I said I’m making meatloaf for dinner – I have been determined to get him to like it! And… what do you know.. he gets himself seconds whenever I make it. If you make it right – it can be delicious (not to mention SO easy) especially for kids a great way to hide some veggies in it! I have made some with chopped carrots, kale, spinach, mushrooms…etc.
Even the doodle likes his veggies =)
This recipe here is by far, one of our favorites. Enjoy with a side of sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts!
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