holiday cookies | Apple Crumbles

Christmas Cookie Special: Nicotera’s Bakery Cookies

Something new is happening around here. A never been tried before experiment. It’s not going to be exciting, it’s going to be challenging. What is it? It’s Time Off From Running for Joanne. It’s being forced upon me by a bad knee. Something I’ve never had to deal with before. I’ve had bad hips, hamstrings and feet but never a bum knee and I don’t like it. I recently read an article about how important time off is. It helps our body realign itself, inflammation go down, and micro tears heal. We won’t lose our hard earned fitness in two [...]

By Joanne|2014-12-10T18:29:42-05:00December 10, 2014|cookies|2 Comments

15K Stockade-Athon Road Race and CNYEats A Taste of Utica Butter Balls

No sleeping in this Sunday morning. We were up and running…well, I was since the dogs had to go out. Zoey and Shane went a couple of miles before Ted and I hit the road at 6:30 am to get to Schenectady for the Stockade-Athon, a 15K road race. It was raining and it wasn’t SUPPOSE TO BE RAINING! We kept checking the weather in hopes that 50 degrees with clear skies would set in by 9 am. It was an important race since it would give us an idea of where Ted was in his training for the Disney [...]

By Joanne|2012-11-11T16:13:52-05:00November 11, 2012|Taste of Utica|6 Comments

Cross Train to Complement and Enhance plus Nutella Hugs

When you have a few months in between key running events, it’s advantageous to rest those running muscles and strengthen connective tissue, maintain aerobic capacity but give the joints a rest. You can keep your fitness level up while allowing your running body to rest. Here’s how (source: Sparkpeople). Complement Running: Swimming: Rest the overworked lower body and develop the upper body muscles by swimming. Cycling: This will tire out those legs but cycling focuses more on the quadriceps and shins as well as strengthening connective tissue in the knees, hips, and ankles. Indoor Rowing: This is a tough one [...]

By Joanne|2011-12-06T20:24:59-05:00December 7, 2011|cookies|4 Comments

Multi Tasker + Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

Ted and I are both up and around about 2 to 3 hours in advance of our breakfast time but STILL feel a time crunch when making our morning meal. You would THINK we would allow more time to eat, read the paper and relax. We don’t. We have to rush and that results in the attempts at multi tasking. On this particular morning, Ted’s lack of “Muti Tasking” skills shone through. THE SCENE: As I was preparing my breakfast, I heard the coffee maker buzzing, gurgling, snorting, and finally pouring away. I looked over and saw the above scene. [...]

By Joanne|2010-12-16T09:57:31-05:00December 17, 2010|Baking|7 Comments

Life’s Decisions and Santa’s Whiskers

Way back when I was in high school, having children was never in my plans. In fact, with serious relationships, I made it known “No Kids!”. I wanted my own business and to be a part of the corporate fast track. Beware of what you wish for, right? This time of year is the toughest when you don’t have children. I often catch myself smiling when seeing the excitement of children in the stores and around the holiday scenery. When we go to parties, I often feel left out as parents talk about their children. For the most part, I [...]

By Joanne|2010-12-14T11:34:27-05:00December 14, 2010|Life|16 Comments

Chocolate with Francois Coconut Rochers

Swimming: Monday was such a burn out day, I went for a 30 minute swimming workout at the Community College to try to get some energy flowing. Swimming is a tough sport! Just because you can run so many miles doesn’t mean swimming one lap of the pool comes easy! I had to rest after every 25 meters. First, I used the kick board to practice my kicking. Then I tried the one arm stroke where you have one arm at your side and swim only with the other arm then switch after 10 strokes. That’s super tiring! I alternated [...]

By Joanne|2010-11-30T06:25:39-05:00November 30, 2010|Chocolate, Exercises|16 Comments