It was a quiet Friday at work. Sue was off celebrating her birthday and the phones weren’t ringing.  It was, however a busy day for paperwork.  Who enjoys paperwork?  I have to take numerous breaks to get through the monotony of it.  It has to be done, simply overhead but a must. Ho Hum.

The one important link:  Sustainable Food – Sustainable Agriculture.  Buy local.  Here is the link on Examiner.

A movie review:   “Up In The Air” with George Clooney.  I just love that guy!  He is so real. So NOT Hollywood. 

A very enjoyable movie. The scenes were clean. The language was typical:  the occasional nasty swearing.   Seriously. Must they ALWAYS swear?   In my world, swearing very rarely exists.  I really don’t understand why it has to be included in our entertainment. 

In this movie, an organization flies it’s employees around the world to fire people for other organizations. Not a nice job at all.   Along comes a young, intelligent woman who has a brilliant idea to “E-Fire”.  Not popular with the executives who want to keep racking up the sky miles.   George Clooney’s character is told to show this woman the ropes.  This interferes somewhat with his usual stream-lined modus operandi. 

I always gage a movie based on whether both Ted and I stay awake to watch the entire film.  This one we both did.  It MUST be good

Some other ramblings….

I am getting back into cake decorating.  It has become my mission to embark on the more difficult cakes.  To help me with my task, I purchased this book:

Anyone familiar with it?   That’s a cake on the cover.  Cool! 

Friday foodie fun was as follows:

One of my all time favorite yogurts: FAGE.  There is a manufacturing facility in New York and I was hoping they would respond to an email I sent to them.  Haven’t heard anything yet.   I like the plain, fat free Greek yogurts the best.  I can then add my own fruit and nut blend for taste, flavor, texture, and crunch.

I had my lunch at work which was:

• 2/3 cup broccoli slaw
• 1 cup baby spinach
• 3 grape tomatoes
• 2 small radishes, sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup garbanzo beans
• 1/4 cup brown rice
• 3 oz water packed tuna
• 2 1/2 TBS Newman’s Own Low fat Sesame Ginger Dressing

It must have been my walk with Shane this morning that upped the appetite.  We went out for one hour EXACTLY which resulted in 3.95 miles. 

The other night I up loaded Pandora on my iphone.  That’s for when I’m on the run without Shane.  I would hate to be rude to our boy by listening to music while he was loyally at my side. 

Anyone have Pandora?  Do you like it?

To the tune of “Do-Re-Mi” :

Let’s start at the very beginning
A very good place to start
When you read you begin with… A B C….

Registration for the 10 mile race is the beginning.  The race is the end, but you’ll have to wait for that one until tomorrow.

There was no hesitation about whether I should really do the 10 mile (my longest road race yet….oh yeah, not technically a race) or opt for a shorter mileage such as the 5 mile.  I walked right up, handed in my registration, got my shirt, and proceeded over to the Utica Road Runners Table.

I couldn’t help but notice some bountiful treats along the way…healthy right?

By the way, I had to grab a bag because I snagged 4 Chobani (Oh SO GOOD!) and a Fage plus ..see that Feta cheese pkg?  I swiped that as well.     Did you know that FAGE has a facility right here in New York State? 

In February 2005, FAGE USA Dairy Inc. was established in order to build a state-of-the-art production facility for FAGE Total in New York State.

The Plant is located in Johnstown Industrial Park, 200 miles north of New York City in an area of 22 acres and the building is 120,000 sq. ft. The Company has invested $100 million in order to manufacture FAGE Total in this highly automated, state-of-the-art plant.

Once at the Road Runners table, I met my friend Jim Moragne, the contact for Utica Road Runners membership should you want to join.  Every time I speak to Jim, he offers super information and somehow helps to take the edge off an up coming run.  We talked about the 10 mile Heart Run. I felt better. Then we discussed marathons.  He offered information about my desire to do the Flying Pig and then suggested some local marathons around New York State which might be an even better place to start marathon running.  I really felt great about running ANYTHING after our conversation.  THANKS JIM!

I continued on with my wandering about the Fitness Expo, remembering that I was playing hooky  from work so I was kind of “grabbing and going”.       

Biofreeze…you never know.  I sampled the Heidelberg French Peasant loaf.  I truly enjoy all Heidelberg breads. They are so soft and fresh and the flavor is like no other bread.  My favorite is the sunflower seed and raisin.  Unfortunately, the kind lady handing out samples had just finished handing out that loaf. 

Even a giveaway for coffee.  I so wanted to win a basket full of K-cups.  Oh well, I had to leave and they were just setting up for the raffle so I missed that one.

The popcorn was being consumed by about every other person I walked past.  Don’t you just LOVE the smell of popcorn?!

Even good old Hannaford’s had a table with their recipe filled magazines and information on “Guiding stars”. 

This year an organization was offering CPR training. There was blood pressure and cholesterol screening.  The Fitness Expo was so informative and interactive, it is a great place to get motivated to begin a healthy life style change. 

Now I’m excited. I’m looking forward to the challenge of this run.  I can’t wait to look back on this and scoff at myself thinking “how could I have been so concerned about such a SHORT run?”.  Wonder if that will ever happen?  Wonder if I’ll ever run that marathon?  I’m pretty sure I’ll complete a half marathon or two or more this year.  Food and running …does life get any better?

Me, a name I call myself
Far, a long, long way to run

See my info blog at EXAMINER on the Expo.