No, not together. 

I went for a run one evening last week.  As I started down my street, I thought it was raining.  But it wasn’t.  I was being attacked by a swarm of bugs.  I thought I was safe once I got off my street, but my entire loop was infested with these tiny bugs.  I couldn’t wait to get home to take a shower because they were all over me.  I coughed, and two came out of my throat.  They were stuck in my hair, on the back of my neck, and up my nose.  And the worst part?  I found about a dozen of them inside my sports bra.  Not kidding.  Want to see what they looked like?

 Do you really think I took a picture of my insect-infested cleavage?

It was super gross.  I spared you.

Last Thursday was pizza night!  I took photos of my pizza making so you can learn how to make your own super delicious pizza (it was; just ask Miriam!).

 Prepare your vegetables first (wash and chop).  And that’s fresh basil back there, too!

A light sauté is all they need.  The basil is not in there; save it for later!

Next: Open your pre-made crust.  This one is tasty but a bit expensive.  I wish I had some Trader Joe’s whole wheat pizza dough. 

  Cover your crust with a little garlic powder, dried basil, and dried oregano.  And hope that no one notices that it was broken in half when you took it out of the package.

You didn’t forget to grate some cheese, did you?  Of course not.

  Top the crust with sauce, then cheese, then the lightly sautéed vegetables.  This is also when you sprinkle on the chopped fresh basil.  Add some more dried oregano, too, for good measure.

Time to cook!  The directions on the pizza crust said to preheat the oven to 450 degrees, then turn it down to 425 to cook the pizza.  I think I set it for 12 minutes but ended up leaving it in for 15 or so.  Just keep an eye on it and remove it when the cheese gets all brown and bubbly.  (When I used the TJ’s pizza dough, I precooked the dough, so you’ll have to play around with your recipe a bit to see what works with what you use.)

And…pizza time!

Yum!  And yes, I used the break as a cutting guideline.

  Always serve with a salad so you don’t feel bad about how many pieces you devour.  It’s all about balance.

Doesn’t that look good?  Almost made you forget about the bugs, right?

Actually, life hasn’t been a beach for over two weeks. That’s when we were at the Jersey Shore (shut it now) to spend time with my mom’s cousins and enjoy the beach. Anyway, I had a whole post formed in my head over a week ago, but you know how it goes. So, since I’ve forgotten all of that, I’m just going to update the blog in style. Cheers and jeers style, that is!

Cheers to a weekend vacation to the beach! The Canadian nieces and nephew (and their parents, of course) joined Mama and me for the ride down (actually, since we went in their car, I guess we joined them). It was a good time with fun cousins. And cheers to Uncle Max, whose 90th birthday was celebrated that weekend!

Jeers to having improper beachwear. Don’t get naughty; I was totally covered. However, I wore running capris and a tank top due to my improper beach body. Jeers to insecurity. Cheers to the weather, though; I wasn’t too hot after all! And cheers to napping on the beach. Oh yes, I did.

Cheers to spending two weeks with the northern nieces and nephew! I miss them so much (they left on Sunday). 

Cheers to turning two. Last Saturday was southern nephew JP’s second birthday! Happy birthday, cute boy! I’m sorry you couldn’t join us at the beach. You would’ve had a great time with your cousins.

Cheers to more birthday celebrations! My Canadian sister’s and our cousin’s birthdays are a day apart, and we celebrated just like we used to when they were younger:

Note: Never turn down a piece of Carvel ice cream cake.  Trust me.

Happy 35th 27th, Rachel!

Jeers to taking forever to post. I’m to blame, of course, for not sitting down and just writing out the things floating around my head (which have since floated away, clearly). But I’d also like to blame my computer, which can suck it. And I’m sure it would be able to do if it weren’t so slow.

Jeers to my knees.  Why do you hate me so?

Cheers to Paul McCartney. Because, well, why the hell not? And also because he’s a good sport. He’s been on tour the past few months and has encountered a few fans wanting him to sign various body parts so they can tattoo his signature on them. And he’s done it! Crazy, right?

 Photos by Bob Gannon.  And holy crap!  SO AWESOME.

And, apparently, he helped out a family who bought expensive tickets to his show and then got moved far away in the venue because their daughter is in a wheelchair. Not only did they get moved up front, but she also appeared on stage and got a hug from Sir Paul himself!

Jeers that none of the people brought up on stage was me. And jeers that I haven’t seen him on this tour. But cheers to the rumor that the Up and Coming Tour will be extended for six more shows! I hope he comes around here. And I hope I win the lottery so I can pay for the ticket.

And I’ll end on that hopeful note. Do you have any cheers or jeers you’d like to add?

Dude, running is hard.  Really hard.  As you may recall, I have bad knees.  More specifically, I was having a huge problem with my left knee last month.  And, you may recall that I’m not a great runner as it is.  My left knee has been feeling better, and I’ve been running decently.  Last weekend, I ran my 4.41-mile route on Saturday and did fine.  I took the same route on Sunday, and it was disastrous.  My knees hurt pretty badly, and my right knee was particularly sore.  And the right knee still hasn’t recovered.  I went on the same route today and slowly finished, but my right knee apparently hates me.  Seriously, can’t you cut me some slack, knees?  Actually, I think it’s my fault.  I have a few of Jillian Michaels’ videos, and a few days before last weekend, I had done this:

  Stop pointing at me, Jillian.

This DVD is serious.  And there are many lunges.  Many, many, many lunges.  Which I blame for my disastrous Sunday and painful week.  Fair?  Maybe not.  But there it is.  I hope my knees will stop rebelling soon so I can get back to exercising the way I want to.

You know what else I’d like to do?  Be able to blog on my own computer.  I’m using Miriam’s (thanks!) because my computer has crapped out again.  Actually, it was being really slow earlier, so I did a scan; looks like it was infected with a virus.  It still wasn’t working after deleting the files, so I went to do a system restore (yay, last week!), but now it seems like it may have crashed again.  Or maybe it just overheated (again).  Either way, it’s not working right now.  I’ll blame my annoyance with my computer for all my snacking this evening.

And now I must go to sleep.  I guess this wasn’t the month when I started blogging regularly after all.  I don’t think this will be the week where that starts either.  I have to work some weird hours, and I have to fit that all in by Thursday afternoon, before the vacation starts.  What’s that?  A vacation?  Mmmhmm, that’s right.  Perhaps I’ll post about it sometime.

Today was a very exciting day.  Why?  Well, for starters, it was spent at the spa.

What’s more relaxing than sipping water with lemon while listening to a wind chime fountain?

And a trip to the spa isn’t complete without this:

Can you see the flower on the big toe?

Now, you’re probably thinking, “Sara, why is a day at the spa so exciting?” You’re probably also thinking, “Sara, those clearly aren’t your big boats you call your feet.”  Well, they’re not.  Those feet belong to the reason this spa day was so very special.

This photo has been mother approved.

That’s The Pie, and today is her seventh birthday!  And for her birthday, she requested a spa party.  So her friends came over to relax and get their toenails and fingernails painted.  They also made beautiful sand candles and received facials and hand treatments.  Everyone enjoyed a tasty lunch, followed by this:

As requested, a Webkinz cake (look it up)

There were also cupcakes with the Webkinz logo, all handmade by the birthday girl’s mother.  Seriously, look it up.  It’s pretty good!  According to the birthday girl, it was an awesome party.

SEVEN!  Craziness.  I can’t believe she’s seven years old.  Although, at this point, it’s hard to believe there was a time when she wasn’t around.  And it’s even more difficult to remember this funny little girl as a quiet little baby!  Happy birthday, my sweet Pie.  I love you so much!  In fact, like I always tell you, I couldn’t love you more; it’s impossible!   I hope you have the best year being seven years old!

So I went to the orthopedist on Thursday about my knee.  He’s the same doctor I saw when I injured my ankle last year, and it turns out he’s also a sports medicine specialist.  I think this is why I like him so much: He’s all about figuring out the problem and doing what you can to get back to doing the activity you want to do, as opposed to stopping your activity to solve the problem (like this doctor).  Anyway, he confirmed my previous diagnosis of patellafemoral pain syndrome, which, like I mentioned before, is also called “runner’s knee.”  (By the way,  if I have a condition that can defined as “runner’s knee,” does that mean I should actually consider myself a runner?)  I had an x-ray to make sure I didn’t have anything else going on, including Osteochondritis Dissecans, OcD, which is the bone chip issue I have in my ankle.  In fact, he specifically said “OcD,” and said I’m well familiar with it because of my ankle.  I actually wasn’t sure what he meant at first, thinking, “OCD?  How does he know I wash my hands constantly?”  But then I remembered that this was the name of the bone chip condition.  Fun!  So my knee looked fine in the x-ray, no bone chip, so he gave me some hip exercises to do that will hopefully help my knee and reduce the pain.  He also said that if the pain continues, I should come back with my running shoes and he’ll have me run on the treadmill to see what’s going on.  (He mentioned other things that some people who have patellafemoral pain syndrome do, like get orthotics, and he said I could try a knee sleeve and recommended one with a strap that goes under the kneecap.)  All in all, I was pleased with the appointment.  Mostly because I went to a doctor who actually respected me, listened to my issue, and talked to me like an intelligent adult (like this doctor).  I told him what my physician said about not sending me to a physical therapist because physical therapy would only strengthen the muscles around my knee, and I look strong enough already.  He said that sometimes primary care physicians spread misinformation, and he certainly would recommend exercises (this was before the x-ray was taken).  Again, I think that the fact that he’s a sports medicine specialist makes a difference.

So I’ve been running the past few days.  I’m not so sure my knees like it.  But it feels good to be back outside, even if it’s been difficult.  (Though my knees often feel better when running than walking.)  Today I completed a 4.25-mile route around my neighborhood, running as much as I could while taking walking breaks when needed (probably ran around 3 miles or so).  On one walking break, I was stopped by a man who wanted to know where the closest grocery store was, or, more specifically, where he could buy some cigarettes.  I directed him toward the nearest gas station (don’t worry, Mom, I was going the opposite way), and he thanked me and said, “I would love the opportunity to work out with you.”  I don’t know what it was what he was attracted to more: my big ol’ stomach that jiggled with each stride or the buckets of man-sweat pouring off me. Hot.  Almost as hot as the offer of working out with the cigarette-smoking guy who says inappropriate things to strange women in front of his(?) kids.

   I mean, sex-ay.

So yeah, dude, I’d love to work out with you.  Perhaps you can take a puff of your cigarette, I can take a puff of my inhaler, and we can run off into the sunset together.  A match made in effin’ heaven.  Can’t wait to pass you on the street again sometime soon! 

So, there a bunch of things I’ve been meaning to write about.  But, it’s so very late, so I have to choose one topic.  For now, I’ll just write about this week’s celebrations!

Happy birthday, #1 brother-in-law!  His birthday was yesterday (the 17th).  He shares his birthday with my grandmother, who turned 85, which is pretty awesome, no?  Today (the 18th, in case you’re not following) is my brother Sam’s birthday (I can put his name on here since he doesn’t read the blog; you don’t get to choose how you’re addressed if you don’t comment here).  And, of course, today is Paul McCartney’s birthday!  He’s out on his Up and Coming Tour, so I know he’s busy, but I’m sure he could take a minute to comment here.  Then, if he wants to be called Sir, or Paul, or Paulie, or Macca, or Gershwin Prize for Popular Song Winner, he’d get to choose that.  Also, if he’d like to choose to move his concerts in Toronto to a weekend when my Toronto family isn’t going to be HERE, he could do that.  He could also choose to give me front row seats after he chooses to change his tour schedule to include my city.  And I could also choose to come back to reality.  But why?

Here are a few links to Paul performing earlier this year.  Seriously, this dude is 68 today.  Crazy.  They’re both amazing, so I know you’ll choose to watch.

Do you want to know my secret?  (Do you promise not to tell?)

OK, here’s the story: I injured my knee a week or so ago.  I’ve always had problems with my left knee.  A few years ago, I was diagnosed with patellofemoral pain syndrome, which is basically (from my research) an overuse issue.  Last week, I ran when I was in Toronto and felt some discomfort but no pain.  However, I didn’t ice my knees like I usually do after running.  When I returned home on Monday, I went for a run and experienced some pain.  I stretched and iced when I came home, but my knee still hurt.  The next day, I discovered that my knee was all swollen and painful.  Eff.  I haven’t done too much since then because rest is good, and I’ve taken ibuprofen and iced.

Classy icing system I’ve created, but frozen vegetables are also recommended by the American Academy of Family Physicians! 

Anyway, I called the orthopedist I saw last year for my ankle problem, but they couldn’t fit me in for two weeks.  Thanks!  I sure hope it’s nothing serious!  So instead, I called my primary physician because I just wanted to make sure that I haven’t totally messed up my knee.  They fit me in on Friday.  First I saw the nurse, who insisted on weighing me and saying, “Wow, you don’t look like you weigh that!”  Lady, it’s not a compliment to tell someone that she doesn’t look like she’s that fat.  And this brings me to my post title: I weighed myself today, and while I still weigh too much (i.e., I may actually look this fat), my scale says I weigh ten pounds less than my doctor’s scale.  And I promise I wasn’t wearing ten pounds of clothes on Friday (can anyone tell me how much a pair of Converse weighs?).  Anyway, the doctor finally joins me a half hour after my appointment time and immediately says that she won’t be able to resolve my problem.  I might mention that she hasn’t even talked to me at all or looked at my knee at this point.  I explained my previous diagnosis (since I noticed she didn’t have my chart with her), and I told her that I’ve been taking ibuprofen and icing, and while the swelling has decreased, it’s still not back to normal.  She acknowledged the fluid in my knee and rambled on about what I should and shouldn’t do, never finishing a sentence completely or coherently.  She also said she wouldn’t send me for physical therapy (although I swear that’s what she said she would recommend when she first came in) because all it would do is strengthen the leg muscles around my knee, and my legs “look strong enough.”  Fo’ real?  Obviously, they’re not as strong as they could be…I injured my knee!  So overall, the appointment was a waste of time and money, and I was really disappointed.  And I need a new primary physician (since I had a similar issue with this doctor a few months ago).  In the meantime, my knee is still swollen, but at least now I can feel the kneecap under the fluid.  And like I said, I’ve done some exercising, but I’ve taken it easy on the knee, which is super frustrating.  But what can you do?  It doesn’t hurt as much anymore, but I do feel pressure, so I’m not sure what that is.  I’ll probably end up keeping the appointment with my orthopedist just to be sure there’s no major damage.  And I hope I can get back to running soon.

But hey, at least I’ve finally lost ten pounds!

How the eff did that happen?

I mean, hello.  How’ve you been?  I’ve been doing well, thank you.  Except for having to deal with this for the last month:

Can you guess what that is?

That isn’t snow.  That’s pollen.  Pollen-covered grass.  Holy crap, that’s disgusting.  And it’s been wreaking havoc on me.  Seriously.  I’m stuffed up, all itchy (eyes, face, everywhere), and a weird thing has been happening while I sleep: My top lip swells up.  I’m not sure what’s causing it, but it’s clearly some sort of really gross allergic reaction.  So it’s all swollen and raw and dry on top; I look like a duck.

Speaking of ducks, I didn’t post a happy birthday message to The Duck, who turned two last week!  Happy birthday, sweet little girl!  I can’t wait to see your funny smile tomorrow!

That’s right, I’m headed to see the northern nieces and nephew tomorrow.  The Pie and Mowgli were in town last week with their father (#1 b-i-l) for a stop-by and to drop off Mama, who was there visiting for The Pie’s special prayer book ceremony in school.  I’m so proud of all the kinders!  Anyway, we had a nice little visit, which included a trip to Hoffman’s, of course.  No trip to Mama’s is complete without a trip to Hoffman’s!  Unless it’s winter, of course.  Good times were had by all, except The Pie when riding on the roller coaster.  I told her that now, by being brave and trying it, she knows she doesn’t like roller coasters.  What I should’ve said was, “Now you know why I wouldn’t go on it, kid!”  By the way, if you’re paying attention, you’ll know this also means that we returned to the scene of the crime.  We did not see our long-lost friend, though.

We miss you, Phil and Ted.

Other happenings from the month of May:

Library rats: When Miriam and I were in elementary school, we spent every afternoon as library rats.  No, we didn’t  fight with each other and gnaw at books in the basement of the library (that’s not entirely true; we did fight loudly enough one time to be thrown out by the mean librarian, after which my mother made me write an apology note that, I can tell you now, was completely insincere); however, we did hang around in our local branch of the public library, which was attached to our school, waiting until someone would pick us up.  Did I mention that we only lived about a block and a half from school?  My mom didn’t let us walk home until the end of fifth grade.  In the meantime, we hung out with other library rats and supposedly did our homework.  I can still tell you where the Nancy Drew books were (upstairs all the way in the back corner to the left) and where the Stephen King books were (downstairs to the right before the tables).  And I can still picture the card catalog near the front desk!  That’s all gone now.  The school has been redone and the library was removed.  So very sad.  But also exciting because a brand new library was built instead!  The grand opening of the new branch was a few weeks ago, so Miriam and I walked up to relive our youth.  Obviously, it’s completely different.  No more Dewey Decimal System!  Many computers!  DVDs!  But oh, I love the library.  It’s true.  Nerd alert.

Loss: We’ll miss you, Aunt Dorie.  You were a funny lady.  I lift a glass of Crown Royal in your honor.

Happiness: There’s a new baby boy in our family!  I love seeing the photos of my cousin’s beautiful boy.  Yay for babies!

Long weekend: It was a good one.  Actually, let me go to the weekend before, which was a regular short weekend.  Mama and I did some shopping, and there was a lot of hanging out on the patio.  This past weekend was Memorial Day weekend.  That’s when the kids were here.  Miriam and I made Friday night dinner.  Saturday was the day we spent at Hoffman’s.  There was also a Target trip (another of course!) and some homemade pizza:

Thanks for your help, sous chefs!  The Pie put on the vegetables, and Mowgli sprinkled cheese on his side. 

And now another long weekend for me!  I’m excited to spend time with the kids and relax a bit also (I hope).  But first comes lots and lots of driving.  And with that comes lots and lots of coffee!  So this jittery lady will see you from the other side of the border!  I hope you all had a good May, and let’s talk more in June, shall we?