All the things I love to do...

My parents arrived from France last monday night! It has been nice to have them and the kids are spending some time with their grandparents. For us it means a bit more time together to run, to mountain bike or even go out to the movies and dinner. Since I stopped working with my coach I didn't train every day this week tuesday and friday and sunday were off oops. However I need to figure out my schedule and my workouts. Yesterday B took me trail running. I was a bit anxious because last time we went together I found it very hard. All the hard work I put in last year in terms of training has paid off and I had a blast. I totally fell in love with everything. We ran 7M total and 2.5 were on the trails but those 25 min went by sooo fast. I was so focused on where to put my feet and taking in the scenery that I wasn't worried for once about my speed, that B had to wait for me etc... I was just in the moment! As soon as we hit the pavement all those worries came back. I'm hoping that I'll do a lot more trail running in the future! First I need to find a few girls who don't mind to get scratch up and dirty! One reason I stopped working with my coach is to have a bit more time for my home projects! I do tend to have a long list of them. B has no problem with me being so creative but he has one rule! You gotta finish a project before starting a new one. Since my free time is quite limited I have had a few projects waiting their turn patiently. The one that irritates B the most is the so called "vagina" chair named for its lovely shade of pink. He utterly despises the color and thus couldn't wait for me to get started on the slip cover. Since my parents are in town I hired my mom as a helping hand. I always do that to her! So we washed the fabric last night I know incredible I followed directions! It was dried and ready to go in the morning. I did read a few blog posts describing vaguely the steps to follow along with a few pictures. I decided that was enough to dive in myself. Some areas were a bit more dicey than others. The results is less than perfect but for my second slip cover ever it isn't too shabby. This is where it is at after working from 10:30-6:45pm with a 2H00 break at lunch. You can apreciate the difference between the pink color of the sitting pillow and the rest of the chair! We still have to trim the fabric at the seam, iron it and remove the basting thread. I hope to post pictures of it next week finished and back to its spot! I'm pretty pleased I have enough fabric to recover the IKEA chair as well. I am also a bit bummed because the white duck fabric is more see through than I expected! Especially since I bought the heavier weight! I'm hoping that a bright colored pillow will distract the eye! Then I will be allowed to purchase a bit of fabric to make two accent pillow and a bed throw. For a complete post let me put down the recipe of what I threw together for lunch! It is a morrocan/tunisian spin of the shepherd pie... - Ground beef - 1 egg - 1 cup Couscous - 5 yellow squash sliced - Cumin - Tumeric - Paprika - Balsamic vinegar - Olive oil - Cilantro In a bowl, mix the ground beef with the egg, the spices (cumin, paprica, tumeric) salt and pepper. For the spice mixture adjust for the flavor you like. I tend to use about 1tbsp of cumin, 1 tsp of paprica and 1tsp of tumeric. You can probably also add coriander etc... Cook in a pan and break it as you cook it. Slice the yellow squash marinade in olive oil 2tbsp and 2tbsp of balsamic vinegar, add some cumin to this as well. Sautee in a pan at high heat so the squash carmelize a bit. Cook the couscous, add bit of olive oil at the end. Once everything is cooked, in a low rim serving bowl put the meat at the bottom, then the squash and finish with the couscous. Decorate with some spices sprinkled over the couscous and some chopped cilantro.

Projects...

I don't know if the gray sky are my inspirations or just the sheer volume of projects awaiting my attention are forcing me to finish the ones in progress. This week end was quite productive in that area. First of all 2 months after starting my bookshelf project, both are up and filled up! I'm very happy with how they turned out and it is perfect!

I then started on a corner shelf to host the router in the guest bedroom. I went with a rounded design which for my first time isn't bad at all. The shelf is stained and finished. The brackets have been spray painted a mat black and will be mounted as soon as they are dry!

I still have to be more carfeful to erase any pencil mark before starting to finish a piece!

I put the construction of the nightstand on hold until I print and follow Ana White's direction.

Then another project sounded very very appealing for a rainy sunday afternoon. Touch up, print and frame a bunch of family pictures and hang them in the stair case and downstairs bathroom

I am not a big fan of that minty green. I was shooting for a more "brocolinish" green so I'm not sure what I'm going to do for the downstairs bathroom.

For the picture in the staircase I decided to have them all black and white, It is a start and needs much more but I like the way it is looking. My favorite picture the vertical big frame on the right of the wall :)

On top of all this projects bonanza, I managed to:

• clean up the kitchen
• Fold & put away a load of laundry and start a new wash
• Clean up
• Cook saussage risotto, salad and aple/caramel crumble

I didn't workout but I did pull a muscle in my thigh this will be my excuse of the week end!

I'm really really loving where my house is heading!

Big News

So I decided to stop working with my coach! It was a very hard decision and since telling her I've felt empty. The reason being well I don't feel I can really apply myself not because I don't want to but just because sometimes my life is just too much. I hate feeling guilty for a missed workout when my kids are sick or I am sick or because I'm just dragging.
Honestly I don't feel racing either I just feel like running long and strong, biking strong and getting better on the mountain bike! I will workout still a lot just not for the same reasons.
So I'm starting to go to yoga once a week, I'll go back to the pool once a week and the rest of my time will be divided between running and biking!
Of course today we didn't go running :( but we did take the kids on a 3M walk in Elfin forest. Also I pulled something in my left quad last week and well it isn't healed yet!
Tomorrow I was hoping to be able to road bike with a friend but her schedule got crazy so maybe I'll try to go mountain biking with the hubster instead or maybe trail running if the weather doesn't cooperate.
My goal being able to run 1:30 on the trails, mountain bike for 1:30 - 2:00 with minimal getting off the bike on hills!

On the house front, my parents are getting in town on monday night so I've beens scrambling to finish some project and well to start some new ones! Friday afternoon I was just so tired that I couldn't focus at work. Instead of starting dumbly at my screen all afternoon I decided to take the afternoon off and just putter around the house. I started a night stand for my parents and read. It was heavenly!
This morning, after baking some berry muffins, I made progress on the little nightstand, made a rounded corner shelf to host the router.
B anchored the shelf to the wall and I was able to fill her up with books. I also decided to remove all the crap in the downstairs bookshelf and put books instead!

Little by little the projects are being done and the house is getting more organized!
I have discovered wood work and I love it!
Now time for some laundry folding and some home cooking.

Too much stuff

I have just too much stuff to keep track of. I need to come up with a better way to do so cuz my head can't keep all that information in. This is the list I have come up with so far

• School stuff (when to bring what, library day, school admin stuff, parent teacher conference etc...)
  
• Home stuff (laundry, cleaning, home projects etc...)
• Money stuff (Bills thank goodness for online billpay, tax, retirement, money management...)
• Admin stuff (citizenship, etc....)
• Training stuff (that's why I have a coach but I still have to manage my time...)
• Work stuff (well I do have a full time job and it fills my head quite nicely )

I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot of stuff that is cluttering that tiny head of mine! Now back to work.

Bone tired aka I hate daylight savings

I don't know what it is but since Sunday I have been bone tired. I skipped my run on sunday and not by sheer lazyness just because I was tired. Granted that MEC complained of an ear ache at midnight and that for some cosmic reason it was hurting in her bed but not in ours. Then her idea of sleeping in our bed meant lets hug mama while slowly shoving her out of the bed because of course her spot is the most comfortable in the whole bed.
I woke up cranky with a headache and that feeling lingered all day. Well along with the fear of an ear infection! I think she sensed that her parents wouldn't be able to cope with one more sickness! Luckily my parents are getting her in a few days so I'm sure we won't have a fever in the next month, but probably promply following their departure! Murphy's law
Monday I could simply not wake up. I managed to motivate to do a bike workout but my legs were so tired that it resulted in one of the most pathetic session in my training history!
The highlight of that evening was watching Serenity once more which was awesome if only the movie could have been shorter! We were in bed at 11:3opm and well 6:30 came only too fast.
Today wasn't as bad as yesterday but the energy level didn't quite reach the required quota to tackle a 6x0.5M interval on the treadmill. Instead I did a strength workout which left me unsatisfied will need to rework that routine.

I'm falling asleep as I'm writing this post so let me wrap it up with a recipe...
To get back on our healthier habit I decided that tonight would be soup night. Today's flavor Potato Leek soup and since I've been craving biscuit I decided to try to make cheesy biscuits. Tada I even have a picture today ;)

• 4 potatoes
• 3 leeks (if you like it more potatoy than leeky replace a leek by a potato)
• bacon (totally optional, it is how I get my husband to tolerate my vegetable soups). I get the thicker kind with the least amount of fat. I was very pleased with today's choice.
• 1 cube or packet of chicken bouillon
• 1 tbsp of butter.

• In a pot, saute de bacon until crispy
• Remove the liquid fat but leave the bits of crispy thingy
• Add the butter and Saute the sliced leek until tender (you can use olive oil instead of butter)
• Add the quatered/peeled potato
• Add the chicken bouillon
• Cover with water
• Let simmer until potatoes are tender
• Puree in a blender

For the biscuits since I haven't found Urban Solace Cheesy biscuit recipe I settled for Red Lobster one courtesy of the "Cooking Photographer".

I was a bit taken aback when I saw that instead of butter the recipe called for vegetable oil.

The result was pretty good not quite as decadent at the one served at either restaurant but quite delicious still.

On this note I will jump into bed fall into a blissful sleep and hope that tomorrow morning will find me more rested! one can hope.

It has been a while

Man, time flies by... Well after being miserable for a whole week! I am back to my normal routine. I find it ironic that not exercizing is more painful than doing my normal 5 days/week workout!
After me being sick well it was time for MEC to have a bout of fever and thus I worked from home for the 4th Monday in two month!

This past tuesday I had a session with the coach and as usual she killed me. 15 min warmup, followed by 4x100 yards sprints, 6x0.4M sustained work. I didn't realize how tired my legs were until I went for my run the next day!

Today was back to normal in the Coon household, we started the day with a coffee and swimming lessons for the kids. We then came back home and I got ready for my mountain bike ride with someone new I met a while back. I was a bit anxious as it was my first time back on black beauty since my last big big fall!
It was a great ride, I am finally starting to feel a bit more confortable on the bike. I managed not to fall but yet go down some technical slopes and walk some others.
My quads were pretty wasted so well I did walk some hills as well! I did feel a bit like "all the gear and no idea" on my nice full suspension bike while my new riding partner was flying up and down the trails on a donated single speed bike!

Back at home it was B's turn to go out, so after cooking some muffins for the kiddos under MEC's supervision. I managed to sand the bookshelf and apply the last coat of varnish.

We then took the kiddos out to dinner at Harney's sushi in Oceanside. It was delicious....
To finish this beautiful day we are watching the whole nine yard such a good movie.
Tomorrow will be more around the house and a little 90min run....

hack hack sniffle sniffle

I so hate being sick. I just hate everything about it. Moreover I hate the fact that I can't get rid of all that bad energy by going for a run!


On the bright side I have read and read and read Style your life blogs and was really inspired.


I also bought myself a beautiful pair of 31/2 inch platform from talbot. I did order the size 6 in white and they are so pretty. However they are about a size too big. I was able to find a size 5 in the color I originally wanted yay! Today was crisis at the mall. I don't know what came over me but I decided to wip out the 4" platform, yes I wanna play grown up lately, the pencil skirt and as I've been cold lately a sweater.

Unfortunately it warmed up and so I was left sweating bullets in my sweater. Charming isn't it! So I went shopping in 4" heel! Well I went 20 feet before "running" back to the car and putting on a pair of pants and flats. Yes I can go down a steep steep hill on a mountain bike, run a half marathon but give up after 20 feet in high heels!

Anyways I felt gross, frumpy lumpy and I ended up running into Talbots, Gap, and the Limited without finding anything that I wanted to buy. Finally I decided that Banana Republic will be the place for my makeover! It worked and I even put the skirt and heels back. I laughed when the 31/2 inch shoes felt like slippers. If you missed it the sight you will have to wait another 5 years!

Tomorrow I'm back to my uniform, pants, flats and something cute on top!
OK my book awaits me and so is my pillow