Hey gang!  This post is spawned from my most recent encounters with drivers as me and my running shoes are navigating the roads in the mornings.

Because I run early in the morning, and by early I mean, I am the sun’s alarm clock, I get to encounter sleepyheads on their way to work, school, store, dealer, where-ever they happen to be going.

First things first, I run on the road.  The road is softer on my knees and it’s easier.  The sidewalks tend to be uneven and have stuff on them.  Including snow when people don’t feel like shoveling.  Anyway, because I’m on the road that means I’m sharing space with drivers.

Sometimes this can be a little dodgy because I have discovered that early in the morning people aren’t really paying attention to where they’re going.  They are on autopilot.  When you are on the road and…

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Last week saw two great posts in the blogworld focusing on being a women and eating.  Gena, from Choosing Raw, brought up the topic of women and food.  That as women we are allowed to enjoy food and want food but not to much or else that might not seem feminine.

I think there’s this stereotype that exists for women where if you LOVE food and LOVE to eat then your body must reflect that.  It is impossible to love food and love to eat AND still be in healthy shape.  What sent this message home to me was an encounter I had with guy at a party not so long ago.

I was chatting with some people explaining how I had friends in Dublin who own shops selling food and other things (Ava and Inggrie!).  The guy looked at me and asked how it was that I know so many people who own food establishments. …

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Remember my sushi love post where I talked about my new found adoration for sushi?

Well my bubble has since burst and I’m sort of bumming out about it now.

Scott and I have successfully eliminated HFCS from our diets.  It’s been about two years now since we’ve made the cut.

Last Friday Scott wanted to get sushi and then spend Friday evening gaming.  We are currently playing Army of Two The 40th Day and both of us were itching to get back to it.  We didn’t discuss getting sushi out-loud because every time we do, the weather turns to crap and we end up not being able to get any.

Friday, the weather was crap but we were still able to get out and pick some up.  We did not go to a sushi restaurant, we just picked up some sushi from Kroger. We had to go anyway for a few staples so picking up dinner was…

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Monday, 22nd:

Meh.  I didn’t sleep all that well and when I actually got up I was still very tired.  Like my body was tired and I took that as a sign that I needed to rest it.  I did exactly that and let it “rest” all day long.  I worked on a lot of blog things, office things, and things around the house.  I was productive all day long and that felt awesome!  I love being productive!

Tuesday, 23rd:

Got my butt up and was out the door by 7am for a six mile run.  It was only slightly cool out but it was snow-raining which was sort of crappy.  I have no idea what the deal was today but cars did not want to move out of the way.  *grumble*  Most of them barely scooted over and they were so close to me I could have easily reached out and touched the door.  This was when only…

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While I was hobnobbing it at the Foodbuzz Festival last year, I was one of the few who got to sample the spicy mac ‘n cheese that got passed around Friday evening.  It was creamy and spicy and I was thankful that it was a small portion because it tasted extremely decadent.

I made sure to tell Scott all about it and since then he has been saying, “Mmm spicy mac ‘n cheese” at random points.

Mac ‘n cheese isn’t something I make all that often but I have been making it since Scott and I first moved in together.  He grew up on that crazy boxed stuff and I personally think that stuff is disgusting (Gee do I want powder cheese? Or cheeze-whiz in a pouch for the “creamy” version. EW!).  We didn’t have it at my house.  We didn’t have mac ‘n cheese period,…

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Bistro Style!

I decided to changes things up a bit with pizza this week.  I wanted something “fancy” and something end-of-the-week worthy.  Many times I load a lot of veggies on my pizza because I love veggies.  But also because I think I need to in order to get my veggie quota in for the day.

I am teaching myself that this is not needed.  I eat plenty of veggies.  PLENTY.  Having just a few at dinner is A-OK.  This pizza is helping me get there.

At a recent trip to Whole Foods I purchased some in-house-made chicken sausage with feta and spinach.  I know! Doesn’t that sound amazing?  Well it smelled amazing as I was cooking it up.  I let this be my inspiration for this week’s pizza.

Bistro Pizza OHC Style:

• Spelt Crust
• Pizza sauce (just a touch, not too much)
• Shredded moz
• Feta
• Spinach
• Red onion
• Sundried tomatoes
• Spinach and feta chicken sausage

For Scott’s birthday week last week, he took Friday off and we headed out to breakfast.  Going out to breakfast is one of our very favorite things to do.  I like dinner but if I had to only do one, I think it would be breakfast.

I love walking into a restaurant and smelling the coffee, eggs, English Muffins, and pastries.  I love that it’s a little bit quieter and subdued.  I like seeing people read their papers or fiddle with files over a steaming cup of coffee and a plate full of goodness.

When Scott and I first moved to Ohio, we came across a place called First Watch.  We knew it was a restaurant but we weren’t sure what type so we looked it up online.  It said that it was a breakfast and brunch place only and closed at 2pm.  Interesting!  Because before our only encounter with breakfast places…

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Porters and stouts, I love ‘em!  Okay well I love stouts a little bit more than I do porters but don’t tell porters that.  I’m trying to keep our relationship smooth and casual.

Scott and I were perusing the beer aisle not long ago and we came across this vanilla porter by Breckenridge Brewery.

A dark beer brewed with actual vanilla beans?  You don’t say.  Interesting!

And because curiosity got the best of us, we purchased it.

It sat waiting in the fridge for the perfect moment.  Even though I do love beer, I have to be in the mood for beer.  I don’t want to waste a good beer on a moment when I’m not digging the carby goodness.  That doesn’t do anyone any favors.  Plus it could tarnish what would otherwise have blossomed into a beautiful affair.

Eventually it was beer night at the house and we poured ourselves…

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Most of us drink water throughout the day right?  Sure we might have some coffee or tea at some point as well but water is what makes the day.  Or at least it’s always on my mind, making sure I get enough water.

Taking in enough water keeps my system running smooth and believe it or not, helps keep the bloat at bay.  But you want to know a secret?

By the end of the day I am sometimes very tired of drinking some flipping water.  I want something a little different to shake up the day.  A squeeze of lemon or a slice of cucumber added to the water for zing, doesn’t cut it.  I want something more.  Something with UMPH! Something that keeps my mouth from being bored.

I started having evening drinks.  I’m not talking about wine or beer or something alcoholic.  I just mean something different that I didn’t have all day long.

I typically have seltzer and when I’m…

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The other day at the grocery store I came across some baby heirloom tomatoes and became quickly excited! I double checked to make sure that they were not from Mexico. They were not, score!  They were gorgeous and I decided to buy them since a container was only $2!  Not bad!

While I know that tomatoes are not in season right now, I also realize that some farmers run hydroponics in the winter to provide more produce.  This is a practice that I do not have an issue with.

Because these tomatoes were gorgeous, I wanted to use them in a dish that would show them off and not cover them up.  Tomatoes can easily get lost in a dish if there’s a lot going on or if the sauce is really heavy.  I wanted to avoid this as much as possible.

Tomatoes have a ton of juice…

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