Red Faced Runners

Hello again!  So Soon?  Well, I have something very special to share with you all and I know that you are not going to want to miss out on all the fun!

I've signed up with Red Faced Runners.

It is a group of ladies that are taking on a challenge to run 5k. Simple right?  There is even a link on their blog post to a training plan to run 5k.

These are women from all walks of life and all over who want to improve their lifestyle, become more healthy and look awesome doing it!  What better way to achieve that than wonder woman socks?  I already checked and they run about $10-$15.  I'm totally getting a pair!

Now, I've been running for awhile.  You can read a bit about my running life from a few of my previous posts...3 miles where are you?, Overwhelmed, & Free For All Friday.  So it's not something new to me but I will say that it has been a challenge to be consistent and to up my mileage when I'm running into things like shin splints, crazy schedules, laziness and just plain ol' unmotivatedness (I'm sure that's a word).  Did you think I was actually running into things?  Who runs into shin splints or laziness silly?  Anywho, I need to find "my rhythm"...and I think that this group will help me with that in a huge way.  You have a greater chance of accomplishing something when you have a goal in mind...a vision..."my people perish for lack of vision",  right?  I certainly don't plan on perishing anytime soon!  Bring on the vision!

So, to put it in a nutshell and I quote, "We challenge you to move your bodies and join in on our journey by running your way towards a 5k race in your hometown on the weekend of September 8th." from the Red Faced Runners blog.

I challenge you too!  Dust the cake flour off your tennies, trade in your apron for a some comfy running clothes (and don't forget a good sports bra, you don't want your girls getting out of hand...and in your face) and take to the pathways, streets or treadmill!  We are women!  We deserve to be healthy!  We can do it!  GooooOOOOO TEAM! :-)

Head on over to their blog and register, like their fb page and let me know how you're doing!  I'll post some 5k runs in my area soon if you live close and need one to run.  

As always, be blessed, thanks for stopping by and leave some love!

3 miles where are you?

This is NOT a cake post so if that's what you were expecting...sorry.  That will come later.

Right now I'm feeling a bit frustrated because it's been SOOOOOO LOOOOONG since I've been able to run 3 miles.  The last time I have recorded of running 3.5 mi was May 25!  Then summer hit and I had to get into a new routine with the boys being home.  Then there were birthdays and cakes and just plain 'ole busyness.

June 9th and 16th I had posted 30 min runs but I don't remember hitting the 3 mile mark.  Honestly, I'm not trying to whine although it probably sounds like that's exactly what I'm doing.  I just want to share this with someone else.

Now I have been "cross training" more which I've never done.  I've incorporated Zumba, which is super fun and lasts for an hour.  AND let's not forget my awesome bike that my sweetheart bought me!  I've been riding about once a week for 45-60 min as well!

Also, I did, just once, a Cardio Sculpt class that kicked my rear!  I need to do that one again...but I can't think about the pain.  

This past Sunday I actually went out on my first real ride on real streets!  We took hilly Flintridge, if you know where that is and rode for about 45 min.  That was really exciting!  I was tense.  Not because I was afraid of falling but because I was not used to being around all the cars.

I can't wait to go out again.  Only problem is I won't go alone and someone has to watch our boys so unless they are spending the night somewhere my outdoor rides will be few a far between.

I went to the "Y" this evening expecting to do a Zumba class but it was cancelled due to a/c problems and what not so I got on the treadmill to see what I could do.  I ended up doing 2 miles in about 22 min.  Eeh.  I'll keep trying.

Truth of the matter is I am really ready for this summer weather to be over so I can run outside again...with my dog.  I really miss it.  I'm not pretending to be some hard core runner who can take this heat and humidity so don't bash me.  

So there!  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!  Until next time friends.

As always, be blessed, leave some love and thanks for reading!

Overwhelmed

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/run/7606696.html

As I sat here reading the above article that was posted on "The Woodlands Marathon" page I became overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude, thankfulness and awe, mixed with a tinge of "unworthiness", at how far God has brought Rick and myself.

I am truly amazed, on a daily basis, at how effortless our Lord is bringing things together for Launch Multisport (Rick's company) to host The Woodlands Marathon on March 3rd of 2012.  That's not to say there isn't work involved but the Lord has opened every door that needs to be opened and closed those that need to be closed.

If you'd have asked me last year what I thought we'd be doing this year it probably would have been somewhere along the lines of "working."  That's it.  Working.  Not much vision, hope or fun there.  But now, after seeing what has transpired and what I know is ahead in our future I can assuredly and confidently say, "pursuing our dreams and fulfilling our purpose!"

Not only are we pursuing our dreams but we are pursuing a healthier lifestyle...something else we've always wanted but up until about 3 years ago, never figured how we could.  It wasn't enough of a priority, we were too lazy, our lives were too busy...whatever excuse we chose to spit out at the moment it wasn't the right one.  Because there really is no excuse for not making healthy choices whether it's exercising, choosing to eat a salad instead of a burger or spending time at a park instead of in front of the tv.  We ALWAYS have a choice.

For these things I am overwhelmingly grateful to my God, my Savior, my Friend and Heavenly Father.  Thank you.

Free For All Friday

Alrighty people, today I'm gonna be all over the place!  Hence, "Free For All Friday".  I have a lot things I'd like to share so I'll do my best to get my thoughts across without rambling too much.

First, I'd like to introduce you all to a friend of mine, Lauren Giles.  She's one of those gals that I've known for awhile but there was a long hiatus when "life" happened, we lost touch and then BAM! facebook happened and we're in touch again!  Sigh...don't you love FB for that!  She has a pretty amazing blog and you can check her out here, TeamGiles.  How pretty is this little lady!  She is a runner and pursues a healthy lifestyle...I think you'll LOVE her!

Now after reading one of Lauren's recent posts she inspired me to try and tackle something that's been on my mind for quite awhile...painting the laundry room!  What a great idea to make a gloomy room a happy room!  And I think Lauren did a great job on hers...check it out!  How chic!  I'm thinking of trying a yellow, orange or bluish color then stencil a large peony or something like that.  Leave me a comment and tell me what you think.

How's that for not rambling?  Short and to the point, right?

Okay, so this morning I did my usual 5K run.  By usual I mean what I've been doing 3 days a week for the past 3 weeks.  I have been improving, which is always a plus but this week I had the privilege of running with my best friend as my coach...my sweetheart, Rick.  He ran with me on Monday and Wednesday but today he had a meeting so I was on my own.  I didn't do as good BUT I still did it...well.  See...

Just 2 days ago I ran this in just over 30min putting me at about a 9:50 pace or so.  Having Rick there to pace me and say ok let's push it for 1 min obviously helped.  I run with my "Great Weimer", Demi, who happens to be a great 10min/mi pacer.  She stays pretty steady so when she starts getting ahead of me I know that I'm slowing down...no good.  But she doesn't push me to go faster either which doesn't help.  I guess I'll keep on keeping on and try to "push me myself" when Rick's not with me. ;-)

Last thing I'd like to post about is Natalia's Cake Creations.  I had the honor of doing the desserts for a church's 4 yr anniversary a couple of weeks ago and I have to say it turned out rather nice!

I think the church did a great job on decorating the table.  I supplied about 7 dozen cupcakes, about 6 dozen mini cupcakes and a 6" cake for the centerpiece.  The name and logo are hand cut/painted and the 4 on top was made with fondant.  The flavors were chocolate, vanilla and red velvet.  From the comments received, everyone seemed to love them!  Wheww!  It's always nerve-wracking for me to let others critic my work...especially when it's something that's going into their body!  Is that weird?

This coming Wednesday I have a cake to make for an adoption celebration which is called a "Happy Gotcha Day"!  I'm really excited about it and can't wait to show you pictures of it!  Then, I'll have a 60th birthday cake for twin brothers AND my first castle cake next month for a sweet baby turning one!  So keep an eye out for more posts and pics on those later!

As always, drop me a comment, God bless and thanks for stopping by!

Months Past

I trust everyone had a Merry Christmas!  We did although we had a wave of sickness move through.

So after my hiatus of two months I, like most, am setting a New Year's resolution to...wait for it...wait for it...blog more!  Bet you weren't expecting that one.

"So, Natalia, what HAVE you been up to the past couple of months?" you ask.  Well, I'll tell you.  The end of October, as you may have heard, was Halloween and I decided to make my costume!

Yep!  I was a CupCake!

Sorry for the bad quality.  My laptop recently crashed and I've not retrieved my photos from it so I'm having to use my FaceBook photos for some of these.

Then in November, I had a birthday cake to do for a young girl, turning nine, who likes to ride horses.  Her mom gave me the color scheme and this is what I created especially for her!

Everything was handmade from gumpaste and fondant.  I was pretty proud of my first horse and learned a lot from it too!

Then a couple days later I had a birthday cake to make for a great guy, Jason Womack.  He and his lovely wife, Lindsay, have been our close friends for over 12 yrs but I've known them since middle and high school!  They have both been involved with music pretty much their entire lives and he plays guitar (mostly) so I made this for him.

I was privileged to be able to share this cake with them since most of the cakes I make are for others and I never get to eat them.  BUT, I have to be honest and say that it wasn't my best tasting cake.  It was more like pound cake than the light cake I was hoping for.  For this I apologize, my friend, and hope for another chance to prove my baking skills. :-)

Now we get to Thanksgiving and it's such a magical time because for me it means the start of the holiday season and that's my favorite time of year!  We had Thanksgiving dinner at my In-law's home and my mom and dad were able to join us.  We always have so much food and such a great time!  But before we were able to enjoy dinner, Rachel, my sis-in-law and I ran in the "Run Through the Woods" race that takes place every year Thanksgiving day!  It was my first 5 mi race and I LOVED it!

Us at the starting line.

                                               Raych finished at 55 min. and I finished at 57.5 min 

After the race.

 Striking a pose for the paparazzi.

So AFTER the race we got to enjoy dinner with all the family!

Which I am not able to obtain pictures of at the moment but you didn't miss much there so don't worry.

I absolutely love decorating for Christmas and usually I start before Thanksgiving or shortly after.  This year I started after because of the timing of everything.  But I got it done and I was pretty pleased!

The fireplace...

The tree.

The weekend before Christmas we had a big announcement event in Market Street here in our community and that announcement I am glad to say is the return of The Woodlands Marathon, set for March of 2012!  This is under the arrangement of my sweetheart's new business, Launch MuntiSport!  He has had the support and participation from an amazing team of 3 other guys who have as much of a passion to see this happen as Rick does.  This is going to be a huge event and it has been a year in the making although the actual chain of events that led to the announcement only started a couple months prior!  Things have happened very quickly and we've had to go with the flow and bend with responsibilities.  This is a very exciting time in the Frank household and for The Woodlands Community!  To give you a better scope of what has happened here are a few links with articles.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/run/7344655.html

http://www.hcnonline.com/courier/sports/article_292f1f30-e28b-5cf0-b05e-6e81dacf6e10.html

http://www.texasrunnertriathlete.com/ME2/Default.asp

Now, we typically spend Christmas Eve at Papa and Nona's (in-laws) and let the boy's open one gift and then we have Christmas day at our house with all of my family, and this year, all of Rick's too!  So this year we had about 25 people in my home.  It was a bit crowded but still so much fun!  We took family pics and then I was only able to get pics of the aftermath.

 Christmas Eve at Nona and Papa's

 Casey and Corban

 The Three Stooges

Trying out their new chairs and checking out their stockings!

Christmas Morning!

There are a couple more videos but I can't get them to upload properly.  So I'll just provide more pics!

Corban got his "Bucket O Soldiers" from Toy Story 3 that he wanted!

Casey cleaned up with an Xbox 360 with 2 games and extra remote, Sonic Comics, a watch and a few other things!

Corban also got Woody!  Santa also brought him a rocket, Buzz costume and jet pack!

THIS is the Frank/Norrell Family

At the moment we have ALL boys BUT Rebecca, in the yellow sweater will be having the first girl in March! This is a very exciting time for all!  We are so thrilled to finally start evening up the odds.

This is The Resendez Family...

...and the Resendez/Frank Family...

Yes, there are a LOT of us!

Here's my little Buzz Lightyear

And when it's all over...

Even the dogs got to taste the delicious food that we had!  I actually cooked my first turkey this year with sides of dressing, mashed potatoes and green bean casserole!

Rock

Demi

Shadow

The aftermath...

It took me 2 days to get everything cleaned because I was being so lazy!  The food was put away of course but the dishes lingered.

And that my friends brings me to today!  I made a Ham Asparagus Strata from a BHG mag recipe and some Lemon Creme for an order of Lemon Blueberry cupcakes (will post pics later).  Now, we are off to another friends bday party!  If I can just get Rick to put the xbox controller down!  Sorry Don!

My First 5K

Good evening folks!  I hope you have had as an incredible day as I've had!  What?  Your day wasn't incredible?  Well then, let me tell you about my day so that you can share in the incredibleness of my day, shall we?

As stated in the previous post I have begun running.  It wasn't easy and it wasn't even something that I ever viewed as something I wanted to do.  Well, Rick, my hubby got started a few years back and has been doing incredibly well.  He's completed 3 Triathlon and several other small runs here in our area.  He also got picked (lottery system this year) to run in the Houston Marathon coming up next year in March, I believe.  I am so proud of him and he has come such a long way.  Not only has he improved his health but he looks incredible as well!  Love you my Honey Bunches of Oats!  Along this incredible (there's that word again) journey he started he has researched, read magazines, talked to anyone and everyone who runs, bikes and swims, and has read forum after forum regarding these sports.  So, you see, by the time it actually got around to me putting on a pair of shoes (recommended by my hubby of course) he had done all of the hard work for me!  Essentially, he became my coach, trainer and biggest supporter!

I started my "athletic" journey just about 7 months ago.  I started out walking of course.  I use the BuddyRunner app on my phone to log my walks/runs.  It's actually pretty cool because it tracks your course, elapsed time, pace in min/mile, elevation fluctuations and of course your distance.  I can sync all of this info to  the web and track my progress.  Anyhow, I started out walking and my first logged walk was .62 miles in 21 min and 17 sec.  Yeah, I was turtle slow.  I wasn't fully on board yet so that affected my effort.

As you know from my previous post as well, we have 3 dogs.  Two of which are large breeds and need good consistent exercise so they don't go stir crazy.  I used them as motivation to get me moving and Rick had taken one of them on a couple of his runs before so I knew they were up for it.  So having the "incredible" (word of the day people) support of my husband and some great dogs, not to mention protection, to run with I began running!  I don't want to bore you with all the details of my past runs but I'll just tell you that I started with my first 1.5 miles in March in 23min 49sec at 15'10" min/mi, to my first 3.66 miles in September in 54min 47sec at 14'57" min/mi, to TODAY!  I ran my first 5K race which is about 3.1 miles and I did it in 34 min at a pace of 10'41"!  Now that may be a bunch of mumbo jumbo to a lot of you but to a runner that's what it's all about!

Here are a few pics, albeit bad, from my phone's camera to help you share in this incredible event from today.

Us before the race.  Since Rick had signed me up through his work we had matching shirts, "awww", and we were trying to look for others from his work but there were so many people we couldn't find anyone.

The SEA of people!  This was only a small portion.  I believe the announcer said they started with about 1,800 racers for the first one and today there was over 38,000!  That's a lot of people ya'll!

We were in the non-competitive category and the Family walk started first then the Competitive Runners then us.  So we were able to get closer to the front once they started.

After the race they had a huge area where everyone could go and hang out.  People were handing out snacks,  water, hand towels and other goodies.  While walking around we ran into one of our good friends who has a prosthesis on his left leg from a motorcycle accident.  He and his wife are incredible people and we are blessed to know them.  It was great to see him out here too!  Yes,  that is a banana sticking out of my belt and a Luna bar. :-)  I told you they were handing out snacks!

So, that was the start of my incredible day!  Yes!  There's more!  Since the boys stayed with Papa (thank you Papa!) Rick and I were able to stay downtown for a bit and spend some time together.  After the race we went to, REI, an outdoor recreation merchandise store.  If you haven't been I highly recommend purchasing a membership and going!  We hung out there looking at cool stuff and trying on shoes.  Then, we went to a very unique Persian restaurant called Kasra's.  It was very delicious!  Sorry, I don't have pics of that. :-(  We got to sit and eat and talk!  Without being interrupted by little munch-kin voices! But wait!  There's more!  When we got home I went straight up stairs and took about a TWO hour nap!  Oh man, that felt good.  I ended up bathing the dogs when I got up and just hanging out with my honey and boys...how awesome is that!

To round out this incredible day I will go to sleep knowing that tomorrow will be me and my sweetheart's 12 year anniversary!  Yes, I have been blessed with being with one INCREDIBLE man for over 12 years and I wouldn't change it for the world!  So, I leave you with this...aren't we cute...

God bless!

Random Randomness

Well, hello everyone!  It's been a while since I've posted.  To be honest I got a bit frustrated with trying to come up with something and then when I did I didn't have the time!  Se la vi!

So, today I'm just going to share a few very random thoughts with you.  And I mean RANDOM folks!  You'll probably be asking, "where did you pull that from?" Wouldn't you like to know.

Anyhow, first I'd like to share a little gem with you that my husband got me hooked on a few months back.  Drum roll please...

COCONUT WATER!!!!

It is pretty amazing stuff, this Coconut water.  Pictured above is the Goya brand, which also happens to be the cheapest at a whopping 17.6 fl oz for $0.97!!!  Yes, folks, you heard that right.  $.97!  There are other good brands line O.N.E. and Vita Coco but they cost at least twice as much for almost half the volume.

...I wonder if Goya will send me free Coconut water for this free marketing I'm giving them?...

Here are a few benefits of consuming Coconut Water-

-Low in Carbs
-99% Fat Free
-Low in sugars
-Contains 15x more potassium than a banana

...and a few more...

Coconut water contains organic compounds possessing healthy growth promoting properties that
have been known to help
1. Keep the body cool and at the proper temperature.
2. Orally re-hydrate your body, it is an all natural isotonic beverage.
3. Carry nutrients and oxygen to cells.
4. Naturally replenish your body's fluids after exercising.
5. Raise your metabolism.
6. Promote weight loss.
7. Boost your immune system.
8. Detoxify and fight viruses.
9. Cleanse your digestive tract.
10. Control diabetes.
11. Aid your body in fighting viruses that cause the flu, herpes, and AIDS.
12. Balance your PH and reduce risk of cancer.
13. Treat kidney and urethral stones.
14. Boost poor circulation.

So drink up everyone!  There is much to be had from Coconut Water!

My next random thought actually ties to my drinking more Coconut water so it's probably not as random as I'd hoped.

I've started "running".  Running being a very loose term as I don't do it as consistently as I'd like but am really trying.

...As you probably know we have 3 dogs, a Miniature Schnauzer, Shadow.  He loves to play soccer and the harmonica.

Demi, our Great Weimer, as we like to call her (she's mixed but shhhh, don't tell her), loves to act silly and play with her bunny.

...and our newest addition to the family, Rachmaninoff or "Rock", a Great Dane who is the still a wee pup at about 11 months.  He loves to take long walks and lounge around.

"What do your dogs have to do with you running?" you may ask.  Well, they help motivate me to run because if I don't get them out at least 3 times a week they start going bonkers on me!  So, about 3 times a week I take Rock and Demi on a 3 miler or so and then when I get back I take shadow out for a few minutes just so he doesn't feel left out.

My husband has signed me up for the Susan G Komen, Race for the Cure tomorrow but since we'll have the boys I'll only be able to do the family K walk.  Oh well, there's always another race.

Okay, if you've read this far, I thank you.  For my final random thought I am choosing cookies!  See how I did that?  From Coconut water to running to cookies!  That's pretty random, huh?  Boom!  That just happened!

So, the other day...Tuesday I think...the cooler weather was really making me feel good and I decided to do some baking!  I've never really been a sugar cookie fan but figured I'd try my hand at decorating a few since I had some leftover icings.

I used the recipe found on this post by Bakeat350.  She's a sugar cookie expert here in The Woodlands so I knew she wouldn't let me down.  I was right!  These cookies came out great!  I already had some pumpkin cookie cutters so I used those and made some circles just to use up the extra dough.  This is what I came up with!  I think they turned out pretty cute, not to mention delicious!

 For the orange icing I had leftover cream cheese icing that I tinted orange.  The I piped Royal icing, tinted green, to make the stem and curly twigs.  The round ones I iced with white royal icing and added the green on top.

I was on such a roll that I decided to make my absolutely scrumptious ChocoPeanutbutter Oatmeal cookies too!

The recipe for these I stole from the back of my Imperial brand Brown Sugar bag then tweeked it to make it good!

ChocoPeanutButter Oatmeal Cookies

Cream together:

1 stick butter

1/4 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar

1 egg

Then add:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Fold in:

1 package (12 oz) chocolate chips

1 1/3 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup of oatmeal

2 Tbl of Peanut butter

Bake approximately 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees on an parchment covered baking sheet or until edges brown.

Until next time...drink coconut water, go for a run and eat cookies!  Happy Fall ya'll!