Tuesday BLAGS coming at you late — but still on Tuesday!

Highlights of my Memorial Day weekend:

Saturday

• Core Fusion Cardio
• Found this real, used Prada bag in black at street fair for $10! Yes, it is real.
• Baked by Melissa tiny cupcakes (s’more is my favorite!)
• Long walk from SoHo to Upper East Side
• Outside dinner and margaritas at Dos Caminos

Sunday

• Outside brunch and sangria at Bistro 61
• Relaxing in Central Park’s Sheep Meadow where my friends did this:

• Working/conference call in my backyard from 8 – 11 (not a highlight, but worth mentioning since it involved a backyard)
• Bubblegum vodka
• Outside dinner and drinks at Mediterraneo

Monday

• Outside brunch at Beach Cafe, including both pancakes AND french toast. IN ONE MEAL
• Relaxing, napping and reading in Central Park for hours
• Shake Shack milkshake
• Long walks from the East Side to the West Side and back
• Inside dinner and lychee martinis at Luscious Thai

I love New York City in the summer. It empties out and everything is just so fun and easy.

Aside from having to work and getting 10 mosquito bites and a sunburn only on my left shoulder, it was a perfect weekend.

I am very excited to post the items and descriptions for Dori’s Shiny CHARITY AUCTION happening on Thursday, January 21.

I will be running the NYC Half Marathon on my birthday, March 21. This is my first half marathon and I am running it for Think Pink Rocks, a non-profit organization whose mission is to raise awareness about early detection of and genetic testing for breast cancer and to provide funding for screening, treatment and research. My mom, a breast cancer survivor, was diagnosed at age 37. This is a charity that is extremely important to me and I am honored to run my first half to raise money for them.

My donation page is here:

http://www.active.com/donate/thinkpinkrocks/dysterious

To reach my fundraising commitment of $1,000, I am holding an auction on this blog on Thursday, Jan 21 — exactly 2 months from the race! I’d love you all to help me out and bid on something you might really want.

AUCTION RULES

1) The auction starts Jan 21 at 10 am. I will post the list of items and their bid start price. All items start at $20 and will be divided into the following categories: Professional Services/Goods, Homemade, and Baked Goods

2) Each item will have a title and corresponding number. You will email me using either this form or my email address dysterious at gmail dot com with the item NAME and NUMBER in the subject line. I will not accept bids left in the comment section.

3) The auction starts at 10 am EST and will end at 10 pm EST, Thursday, Jan 21.

4) I will post a list of each item and update the top bids throughout the day

5) I will send a confirmation email to the winners. Each winner has 24 hours to donate their winning amount to my donation page. If I do not receive their donation, I will contact the second highest bidder as the winner.

6) Serious bidders only, please! Please read item descriptions carefully as there are NO REFUNDS!

I am really impressed with the generosity of people and companies who stepped forward to donate their time and products. I am so excited by how amazing these items are and I really hope you are too!

AUCTION ITEMS

Professional Goods/Services

(1) Aurorae Yoga Set

Includes:

• Brand new pink “Hope” yoga mat, which was created with the intention of supporting women who have or have had breast cancer
• Rosin bag (for slip free yoga practice)
• Yoga towel

I have an Aurorae mat in lilac and I am in love with it! I even get compliments from my yoga teachers. And when you put your hands and feet on the mat and then move them, you can see the imprints. An amazing mat! I also have the rosin bag and it keeps my hands from slipping.

*Note – the Hope mat debuts in February and will be shipped to the high bidder as soon as it becomes available.

(2) Pastry Girl Cakes – 2 dozen cupcakes, flavor of your choice

2 high bidders will each receive 2 dozen cupcakes of their choice

*Note – Cupcakes are available for NYC area bidders only. If you live outside NYC and would like to bid on Pastry Girl Cakes products, you will receive 2 dozen COOKIES.

Pastry Girl Cakes is a custom cake studio serving New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. We provide delicious and beautiful cakes, cupcakes and cookies for your most special events. We specialize in wedding cakes, birthday cakes, shower cakes and cakes for corporate events.

Pictured – Coconut cupcakes

Find a list of available flavors here: http://www.pastrygirlcakes.com/flavors2.htm

Find pictures of more cupcakes here: http://pastrygirlcakes.com/cupcakes_coconut.htm

(3) Exhale Spa 10-Class Pack of Core and Yoga Classes ($350 value)

Core (CORE FUSION!)

Build a strong core… Develop washboard abs… Improve your posture… Deepen your practice… Focus your mind.

Experience a transformational Core Fusion® toning class, based on Lotte Berk Method fundamentals, Pilates, and 50 years of combined fitness expertise, to achieve a strong, athletic, flexible, and youthful body. Improve your performance in sports with the total body workout, Core Fusion® Sport. Or strengthen your overall wellbeing within a combination of yoga asanas, Qi Gong, core strengthening, and stretching with a Core Fusion® Yoga class. All classes include a cardio element and are fueled by upbeat and inspirational music rhythms.

Yoga

A union of mind and body… linking breath with movement… a meditation in motion… the flow of energy.

Our yoga classes are ritual journeys that respond to the changing needs of urban life by infusing the highest quality of teaching with a revolutionary approach to yoga. For this amazing transformational practice we have created an equally amazing space.

Exhale as you discover your sacred space for this ancient healing practice.

Namaste.

(4) Professional Cooking Lesson for high bidder + 1 guest

New York City area only

Mercedes Vargas is a chef who currently works at the Ritz-Carlton. Formerly pastry chef at Gemma, Pair of 8′s and La Bottega. She also works with private clients on different functions as well as with Great Performances caterers. Her menus mostly consist of fresh, seasonal and local foods.

The cooking class for two people would be approximately 2 hours. The menu will be determined by Mercedes and the client, it would be three courses, all appetizers or dessert, depending on what the client would like to learn. The certificate will cover her fee of $300 for the class. All other expenses are covered by the client.

(5) Personal Training Session with Celebrity Trainer Brynn Jinnett

New York City area only

(6) The Blog Fairy Custom Blog Header

A custom blog header designed by The Blog Fairy, who has designed many blogs including Dori’s Shiny Blog, Missy Maintains, Just Flourishing and more! Visit http://theblogfairy.com to view samples of her work.

(7) Yoga OR Dance Lesson with Emily Oldak (Modern dancer, certified yoga instructor, former Cirque du Soleil star)

High bidder + up to two guests can select a private one hour yoga session or dance class

New York City area only

Emily Oldak was born and raised in NYC. She began dancing when she was 4 years old and became more serious when she attended “The Fame” School where she discovered her love for modern and contemporary dance. Following high school Emily graduated with a BFA from the Juilliard School in 2005. While at Juilliard she danced works by contemporary choreographers such as Aszure Barton, Paul Taylor, Ohad Naharin, Dwight Rhoden, and Robert Battle. Directly after school, she joined Cirque du Soleil for their new Creation of “Love” which was in collaboration with the music of The Beatles. While at Cirque, she learned others street forms of dance as well as aerial acrobatics. In her free time in Vegas she studied to become Yoga certified. After 3 years at Cirque she decided to return to her home to pursue a freelance dance career. She currently works with the Chase Brock Experience and Aszure Barton and Artists. Emily is represented by Mcdonald Selznick Associates. You can catch her in her latest commercial gig with MSA as a body double for Shakira in her newest music video “Did it Again”.

(8) MyPublisher - 20-page Classic Hardcover Photo Book with Book Cover

A customizable 20 page MyPublisher photo book with a personalized photo Book cover

http://mypublisher.com/products/classic

(9) Personal Training Session OR Health Counseling Session with Catherine Hesse (Core Fusion teacher & certified Holistic Health Counselor)

Personal training for New York City area only. Health counseling session can be held in person or via phone depending on location.

Catherine is a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition with Columbia University and is trained in all the different dietary theories, eastern and western nutrition, modern health issues, personal growth and development, and health counseling. She is a Core Fusion Yoga Teacher Trainer, and a senior teacher of Core Fusion®, and Core Fusion Yoga, at Exhale Mind-Body Spa, in New York City. She specializes in body image, emotional eating, general wellness and healing through self love. Catherine is certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners.

(10) Tees For Change - Chase Dreams bamboo short sleeve t-shirt

*Two t-shirts are up for auction. I will accept two winning bids.

Made from 70% sustainable bamboo and 30% organic cotton, this tee is luxuriously soft and silky and has an amazing fit.pumpkin tee, yellow text on the front

• pre-shrunk and runs a bit smaller
• fair-trade and sweatshop-free, imported
• available in sizes S (0-2), M (4-6), L (8-10) and XL (10-12)

http://www.teesforchange.com/chase-dreams-bamboo-short-sleeve-tshirt-p-102.html

(11) Six month subscription to TurnUpMyWorkout.com

TurnUpMyWorkout lets you choose your favorite kind of music, pick the intensity level you workout at and each month you will receive a list of motivating workout songs! I’ve tried this service myself and absolutely loved it — it gave me a new list of awesome songs that pushed me through my first half marathon training run! (Will be posting a review soon)

For more information, visit the website at http://turnupmyworkout.com

**Please note the music downloads are not included

(12) Bumble and bumble Hair Care Gift Pack from Missy at Missy Maintains ($200 value)

Pack includes:

• 1 bottle Spray de Mode Hairspray
• 1 bottle Classic Hair Spray
• 1 bottle Bb Gel
• 1 bottle Gellac
• 5 oz. Holding Spray
• 5 oz. Styling Creme
• 5 oz Medium to Thick Curl Creme
• 5 oz Medium to thick Curl Conscious Shampoo
• 5 oz Medium to Thick Curl Conscious Conditioner

(13) Sign Language Lessons with Jenny from ColorHungry –Boston area only

Includes 2 one-hour sessions

Born the child of profoundly deaf parents, Jenny could sign the alphabet by 1 and a half. She went on to learn American Sign Language and as a hard of hearing individual herself, often serves as an interpreter at her workplace for deaf students visiting campus. She has over 20 years of experience.

(14) P&G Prestige Fragrances Sampler Pack from Ashley at Healthy Happier Bear

Includes:

• Flora by Gucci 2.5 oz
• Escada Marine Groove 50mL
• Lacoste Challenge 75mL

Value $192

(15) Health and Fitness Book Prize Pack from Melissa at FitnessNYC

Includes:

- 12 Steps to Raw Foods

- The Secrets of Skinny Chicks

- Extreme Fat Smash Diet

- Runner’s World: The Runner’s Diet

- Fast Track: Training and Nutrition Secrets from America’s Top Female Runner

- The 90 Second Fitness Solution

- 8 Minutes in the Morning to Lean Hips and Thin Thighs

(16) Gold’s Gym – Bailey’s Crossroads (Falls Church), VA – Washington, D.C. Area & surrounding area bidders only

Four items are up for auction. Limit one per customer.

- Three Month Membership to Gold’s Gym + 1 personal trainer session

- One Month Membership to Gold’s Gym + 1 personal trainer session

- One Month Membership to Gold’s Gym + 1 personal trainer session

- One Month Membership to Gold’s Gym + 1 personal trainer session

Please specify if you are bidding on the one month or three month membership when bidding.

(17) PriorFatGirl e-Cookbook

A collection of healthy recipes from the friends of PriorFatGirl! Over 50 recipes + tips from personal trainer MizFit

Homemade Goods

(18) Colorful Bulky Afghan

A gorgeous, high quality handmade multicolored afghan. Looks stunning displayed on a couch and will keep you warm and cozy!

(19) Handmade “Passage to India” Bracelet by Jenny from ColorHungry

(20) Handmade Earrings by Katherine from Low Fat Kat

(21) Handmade Necklace by Katherine from Low Fat Kat

(22) Food Blog Charms by Mara from I Made Dinner

Four items for auction: 2 computer charms and 2 peanut butter jar charms. Please specify which charm you are bidding on when you send your email.

Charms are handcrafted out of lead-free pewter. They come on either a vegan-friendly nylon cord or cell phone charm.

Baked Goods

(23) Seattle Cookie Bars by Mallory from Bacon Wrapped Life

Up for auction: two dozen cookies – one dozen Cherry Almond and one dozen Hazlenut

A Northwest twist on the classic Magic Cookie Bar.

The flavors are inspired by Theo’s Chocolate, a local Seattle love that makes organic, fair trade chocolate that is unbelievable.

The Theo Classic Combination bar, Dark Chocolate with Cherries and Almonds is in the first cookie, along with lots of chopped almonds, dried cherries and shredded coconut. The sour bite of the cherries and the smooth, bitter dark chocolate from Theo cut through the sweetness of the cookie for a really addicting treat.

The 3400 Phinney Chocolate bar, Hazelnut Crunch Milk Chocolate is in the second cookie, along with a ton of chopped hazelnuts and of course shredded coconut. Wonderfully sweet, nutty and delicious. Plus, a couple Theo bars thrown in for good measure, so non-Seattle folks can appreciate the inspiration for the cookies.

(24) Choice of Whole Cake by Maggie from Say Yes to Salad

2 high bidders will receive one of the cakes listed:

• Hot Milk Sponge Cake with a brown sugar and coconut topping. Goes well with fresh fruit and whipped cream.
• Pumpkin Fruit Cake made with homemade pumpkin puree. A seasonal favorite.

Please specify which cake you are bidding on in the subject line.

(25) Peanut Butter Butterscotch Brownies by Jenny from ColorHungry

Jenny discovered these puppies one night when she was too upset to sleep and started baking. Imagine her surprise when these turned out to be some of the tastiest brownies she’s ever eaten. And don’t take her word for it- others have agreed!

Remember — these items will all be up for auction starting at 10 am EST on Thursday, January 21. I will post the item list on that day along with the top bid for each item. I will update this list throughout the day.

http://www.active.com/donate/thinkpinkrocks/dysterious

Good luck!

Update below!
_______________________
I found out that I did not get accepted into the NYC Half Marathon through the lottery process. Or, I should say, I had a nightmare about not getting in and I woke up and checked the computer, which confirmed that I did not, in fact, get in.

I’m pretty crushed about this for a number of reasons, the main one being that this race takes place on my birthday, March 21. When will that ever happen again??! A new, ambitious distance to conquer ON my actual birthday? And I just started running back in June, so a half marathon on the start of a new year for myself would really set the stage for the year to come. Plus, how pumped would you be for a race before and during it if it was your birthday! It would have been a really cool start to a new year.

The other big reason I am upset is because I am on the fence about surgery. I haven’t made any decisions and won’t until I am 100% sure. But, if I do have surgery in April as I had originally planned, it might not be possible for me to run a half marathon anymore.  I’d really like to accomplish this goal before then.

I had selected April as a tentative time for surgery for a number of reasons, most importantly because my position at work is ending on March 31. It just made sense to do this when I don’t have to take a month of work off. However, if I were to find a new job within the next couple months, I would change my plans.

But again, I am not 100% sure I am even doing the surgery. I still have doubts.

I know there are other half marathons. I am considering abandoning the surgery idea and doing the More Magazine/Fitness Magazine Women’s Half Marathon in April.  But I am not ready to commit yet without knowing what is going on with my medical situation. And if I sign up, it would be making a decision on surgery before I am ready. But I am considering it. Strongly…

And I have been toying with the idea of guaranteed NYC Half Marathon entry by running for a charity. While this is of course a wonderful thing to do, I am not sure about this either because I would have to raise at least $1,000 depending on which charity I choose, and I don’t know if I can do that. Do you have any good ideas for fundraising? I’m not one to organize any type of blogger bake sale, but I would be interested in hearing any other ideas you have. If $1,000 can seem attainable and not a big scary number, I might do it. But I’d have to decide soon because I need to train.

Maybe I am overreacting or being dramatic. This is just a race, after all. There are much more important things to worry about; I do realize that.  It is also 5:05 am right now so maybe I just need to sleep and wake up and I will feel better. But for now, please let me know what you think about me running for a charity.

Thanks blogworld.
______________________
Update: I signed up with a charity and I have an amazing fundraiser coming. More info coming soon!!!!

Remember that type of puzzle on Wheel of Fortune??

So on Saturday, Missy announced some exciting news on her blog: Shape magazine contacted her to do a little feature about her weight loss a few years ago! They wanted to do a photo shoot of Missy doing an exercise she regularly does, and after the Core Fusion location didn’t work out, they decided to take pictures in a spin studio instead. The magazine told her to bring some friends along to pose as spin classmates. Missy asked me, her sister and our friend Melanie — and of course I said yes!

Early Saturday morning, I woke up and got dressed in an unusual pairing: workout clothes and full face of makeup. I walked over to the gym, which was conveniently at a New York Sports Club just a few blocks from the boy’s. I even stopped at Juice Generation along the way for a fresh pressed green juice. I arrived at the gym before the other girls, so it was just the NYSC employee, the camera men and me! It felt strange to be alone in a large gym. It also felt strange to see myself looking so even skinned and lip glossed in gym mirrors!

Shortly after Melanie arrived, and then Missy and her sister. We went into the spin room and the photographers arranged our bikes  and we got started. They instructed us to smile and snapped one picture after another. I wasn’t sure when was an appropriate time to blink, or to rest my smile for a second. I ended up not doing much of either.

But I loved it. I have to say, I could spend all day every day just smiling for cameras. I love pictures of myself! Not that I love how I look in pictures, but I just love smiling for them and being in them!

The people at this gym are kinda nuts. A spin class was starting at 9:30, so we had instructions to be out before then. At 8:45, an angry mob loomed outside the spin studio demanding entrance. Who goes to class 45 minutes before it starts?! These people were NOT happy. I also must mention that I tried to sign up for this spin class and found out that it booked up 2 days before. These people sure do love their spin. And they weren’t about to let a silly national magazine photo shoot get in the way of it!

One of these psychos was carrying a backpack from my own company’s fitness center. I didn’t say anything to him about it, but it does appear he belongs to 2 gyms. Or maybe he no longer works at my company; few do any more.

One woman in particular went especially crazy. She camped herself in front of the door and wouldn’t move, angrily mumbling to herself the entire time. She seemed to be, along with the company backpack man, the leaders of the mob.

Eventually, the mob forced their way in to the photo shoot and started setting up camp on bikes, even taking it upon themselves to MOVE the bikes back to their original locations (they were all rearranged for the shoot). These people are nuts!

After the shoot, the photographer showed us the proofs on the computer and they look amazing! Missy especially looks beautiful. The magazine comes out in January and I can’t wait!

Since spin filled up and I didn’t have regular sneakers with me (silly me), I used a wrench I carry in my gym bag to tighten my spin shoes to instead remove the hooks from the shoes. Oh G-d I hope I can get them back on. In retrospect, I really should have taken a picture of how they looked before removing them. Once I removed the feet clips I was able to go use the elliptical.

I started to feel some serious gym envy. I used to belong to a gorgeous, 7 floor (+ rooftop deck), fancy and expensive gym. After I injured my knee, started going for weekly expensive stomach treatments, and officially stopped going to my own apartment for anything other than mail, I quit that gym and started running outside and using the boy’s building gym.

Now, running outside season is over. The building gym is so boring I cannot bring myself to get there. There are no TVs that you can actually listen to and they have the type of ellipticals that I hate — as in, the type that have NO incline option. I never get a good workout on them! There are some boring treadmills, although I need like a TV to run anything more than 3 miles on them — if I even get to the place to do that (oy I sound like a whiny brat.). There is one very old stairmaster and a couple of even older bikes. I am not complaining! Having a building gym is a luxury that I never knew before, and it was so cool for me at first. But the coolness wore off as I find myself opting to sit at home watching TV rather than go there. It is just too boring and un-fun to take.

So here I am at a gym with tons and ton of machines. Machines I never even heard of! There is one that is like an elliptical and a stepper combined — anyone know of that one? It looked so cool! There are regular treadmills and also unusual treadmills that I am not sure the purpose of  — but would love to find out. There are so many of the ellipticals I love and miss (WITH incline) and also a bunch of the ones I don’t like as much. There are stairmasters and even the kind with moving stairs. Those are hard and I never get to do it anymore. And the best part of it all? Every single machine had its own TV. Every. Single. Machine.

And there are classes. When I was in the spin room for the photo shoot, Missy’s awesome house music was playing and I felt like I was in a class — and I wanted, craved, to be in a spin class. I miss it. I will never go overboard with it again, maybe once or twice a week at most, but I do miss it. I loved it, it was a part of my life. And there are some other classes as well, although this definitely seems like more of a machine gym for me.

As I was happily trotting away on the elliptical, I got to thinking. My thoughts went something like this:

I am sweating so much after just 15 minutes on this elliptical. I never sweat on the apartment elliptical. I can set this to intervals! It does the hard work for me, I just have to follow along. I am getting such a great workout, I will never have another workout like this all winter long. And the treadmills! I can definitely run good distances with my own TV! And I want to do that stair machine, and that hybrid machine and those strange treadmills. I want the option of spin.

If I stick with the apartment gym, the way things have been going, I will rarely work out. Look at me now. I ran a couple times a week outside to prep for my race, but the race is tomorrow and then what? On my training plan’s “cross-training” days, I didn’t even cross train. I just sat on the couch! If I belonged here, I would go and actually get some good workouts in. My endurance is so low, my strength non existent, I think I could improve my mood and myself if I join this gym.

Uhhh yeah. As for distance, it is not super close to the boy’s but it is an easy walk when the weather is agreeable and an easy bus ride door to door when it is not. And there is a NYSC across the street from work, so that would double my chances of making it to the gym. I always wanted to be able to workout during lunch and it always bothered me that I wasn’t allowed to join my own company gym due to a stupid rule that is surely causing them to lose a lot of money these days.

So, armed with the information of what all my friends who belong there pay, I marched myself to the membership office prepared to join. I figured especially now, during this economy, gyms were not doing so well. I read an article about it in the paper not long ago. I figured there must be some really great rates to get members in.

Wrong!

The price they gave me for the Gold membership, which would get me full access to my home gym and off peak access to other NYSCs was a much higher price than all my friends pay for their better Passport membership, which gets them access to all NYSCs at all hours. I told them this but they didn’t seem to care. The price discrepancy was huge, with the smallest being a $20 a month difference and the largest much more than that. But that is not even the issue. The issue is that I just can’t afford it. I don’t have the money.

So I left.

But of course I couldn’t stop thinking about it. My mind was set. And I wondered why I can’t afford the price they gave me . . . and of course, it hit me quickly, since I’m not an idiot.

I can’t afford a gym membership because I pay, in addition to $500/month on health insurance, about $650/month on other medical treatments, appointments, prescriptions, etc to maintain my day to day life with as little pain as possible. $500 alone is devoted completely to a weekly treatment I receive. It is no wonder I can’t afford a gym membership.

So I started thinking. One less treatment a week could help me pay for the gym. But then what about my GI health? But then what about my health cardiovascularly? What about my strength? What about being able to get out of bed in the morning without crying in pain?

Therein lies the predicament.

I want so much to create a healthy balance in my life: food, fitness, overall health. This balance is not possible as my overall health takes up ALL my resources. I already can’t eat salad. Now I can’t go to the gym?

Of course, all these stresses reinforce the fact that I now want to have this surgery. I need my life back.

I’m sure some of you are thinking I could try and get a discount from my health insurance (requires a year commitment and only saves a couple dollars) or from my job (same exact deal as the insurance, right down to the discount company used). So those options are not possible.

Back to the issue at hand. I decided to try and cut back on one medical treatment a month so I could have some money for the gym. This was a very hard decision and I am not 100% sure if it is the right one, but the gym is not permanent. I could be done after just 2 months if I decide it isn’t worth it. But since it is now two days after the photo shoot and I am still obsessing over the idea of a gym membership, I think I need to try. This is how I am. I obsess until I do. But first, I get to sample! Missy is giving me a free 1 week guest pass to New York Sports Club, so I can try the gym out for a week and then decide for sure what I want to do.

Although you know as well as I do that my decision has already been made. I am joining a gym.

After my free trial week is up, of course.

Do you consider the gym/working out a priority? Do you think it is worth it to spend a little money for your health?

True story. But first, an admission: Although I technically live in Manhattan, the apartment is so far away from the thick of it all that the boy calls it a suburb of Manhattan. As a result, I have never in my nearly 4 months of running outside run on city streets. One of the benefits of being in the burbs is having an actual running trail right in front of the apartment. All I have to do is run down a ramp and I am there!

I skipped my planned 5 mile run on Sunday — my last 5 mile run before next Sunday’s 5 mile race — because I got my hair blown out on Saturday (redeeming my free visit from Blow — remember that story? Well let’s just say this visit did not go smoothly either. More on that in an upcoming post). As a result, I did not want to mess up my hair. I chose to forego my training plan run in favor of pretty hair.

I set my alarm to wake up in the icy cold Monday morning for a boring treadmill session, but when I woke up my stomach was not having it. So the run had to wait. Tuesday had a much better forecast, so I decided to get an outside run in Tuesday morning — perfect. On Monday night, my stomach once again rebelled. This time, in the form of a pregnant lady’s belly or perhaps a basketball. I happened to glance down and was shocked to see my stomach in front of my face. It was huge! Massive. I looked pregnant and my maternal instinct told me to lovingly rub this massive bump of a belly. So I did.

My love for my unborn air bubble quickly subsided when I started to freak out. I have seen my tummy in all states of bloat, but this seemed worse than it has ever been. Or, more likely, worse than it has been in a very long time. Not only did I look about 5 or 6 months preggo, but the skin was taut and my stomach felt very strange to the touch.

In my freak out state, I took a photo of the belly, shirt rolled up in pregnant lady fashion. I sent it to Cassie in a state of alarm. I sent it to my brother with the message “GET IN MY BELLY.” I started to get worked up not only because I was in extreme pain and felt so much discomfort, but because I am still a girl and I can’t help but associate big belly with fat. Obviously I did not go from skinny to fat in the course of a few hours. But tell that to the girl with the giant balloon belly. Balloon Belly! That’s what they’ll call me!

I also was alarmed about my health. Why was this happening now? What was going on? The boy, a doctor, performed the doctor tap tap test, and bestowed on me the clinical diagnosis of air. Cassie agreed. The boy was concerned that something else was going on as well, and we discussed which hospital’s emergency room we would grace with our presence should my condition become worse. Luckily for both of us (me because pain sucks and him because he is studying for a big test) no ER visit was necessary. We fell asleep and although I woke up throughout the night nauseous (the boy says the word should be nauseated. why?), I was able to get up at 6 am for my outdoor run.

Because it doesn’t get light until 7 am now, I was not comfortable running on the path by the water in the dark. I opted to run on city streets which I had never done before, being in the burbs and all. I was a little worried about the traffic lights but figured it would be a nice change of pace. And it really was. I loved this run!

I felt great the entire time, comfy in my new Zensah leg compression sleeves and new Zobha workout pants (purchased at an online sale to have another pair of workout pants that can double as work pants, stretching to fit around my tum). There was lots to look at and no route to follow, so I got to explore the city. I ran where I wanted, when I wanted. Sticking of course to major populated streets. Thanks to my Polar RS300X sd, I knew my distance the entire time. I really just went with it on this run. If I wanted to run on a certain street or look for a restaurant I’d been meaning to try, I did. If I wanted to circle around the same block twice, I did. I felt extra camaraderie with the runners I ran into because we were running on the street! Sure, anyone can run on a running path. But here we all were on the street! Instant bondage bonding. Eventually, I headed home to make my 7:00 am curfew, and arrived at the door after 40:35 minutes of running 3.61 miles.

And today I felt so much better about my pregnant bloat that I felt comfortable sending the picture to a bunch of friends. I am so proud of my little bundle of joy air. Okay, proud is not at all correct. Coming to terms with it is more like it. I have not been feeling well at all lately . . . and my days of fitting into my pants have returned. Just in time for pants season. Woo hoo. I will call the surgeon next week to check in.

So, back to the matter at hand — almond cookies. Kinda.

So what happened was Gena posted this Almond Milk recipe and obviously I had to make it, and have to going forward every week of my life. So I made the milk, purchased a nut milk bag, and wound up with lots of almond pulp in addition to my heavenly milk. By the way, never buying Blue Diamond again.

I didn’t want to just toss the almond pulp like I toss my juice pulp every day, and the boy happens to love all treats almond (as do I), so I decided to make some almond cookies! A recipe online here, a recipe online there, I didn’t fully read any but I got the gist of what to mix together to make cookies. The problem? I don’t own all purpose flour. But! My gluten free pancake mix is actually called pancake AND baking mix. And they provide a recipe for muffins right on the bag! I figured, if it can make muffins, it can make cookies! Right?

So I mixed up all my ingredients (including agave! no sugar!) into a yummy batter. Then I greased a baking pan and shaped the dough like cookies on the pan. See photo:

Put in the oven at 350. I don’t actually know what cooking temperature is good for what, but I vaguely recalled reading the number 350 in one of the recipes I fleetingly glanced at.

After a little while, I went in to check on the cookies. They looked big and puffy and in major need of a flipping. I flipped them all over, thinking they looked suspiciously more like pancakes than cookies. They cooked on the other side and when I deemed them finished — can you imagine the delicious almond smells making their way through the apartment? — I removed them from the oven. They were definitely ready. But they definitely were NOT cookies.

The almond cookies I baked turned out to be almond pancakes.

I accidentally made pancakes! I am thinking this flour does NOT work to make cookies.

I have to admit, they taste great. Like, really great. Like, I’m upset I already ate dinner because I would have loved to have an almond pancake dinner. After eating some large crumbs/chunks of pancake, I put the pancakes on a plate and covered it in tinfoil. The boy emerged from his chamber of study and tasted a pancake. He LOVED it. I am so happy because I think he is generally skeptical of agave. But he does love his almond flavored treats, and this certainly qualifies. And now he has breakfast for tomorrow! He even gets to pour maple syrup on it.

So even though I failed miserably at masking cookies, at least I have a recipe to use with my almond pulp until I figure the whole cookie thing out — almond pancakes! Only next time, I think I’ll use my griddle . . .