Apple hand pies and a 15 degree run

I start class tomorrow! Technically the semester started today but I don't have class on Monday. I spent my last day of freedom on a project I have had saved for a while. Apple hand pies! They are just so cute and bite-sized (Not that this will probably stop me from eating four or five lol. This recipe is from Faux Martha, a really awesome food blog. I want to make more of her recipes asap!!! I think mine came out pretty well, though maybe not as pretty. I did use a Sil-Pat while baking. This is such a great tool and if you love baking, I definitely suggest buying one- your cookies and other baked goods will come out so evenly baked.

Yesterday, I went on a run outside for the first time in many days. it's been especially cold here the past few days, between 10-20 degrees all week. With the added wind from the city, it was almost impossible to go outside, let alone run in it. Well, a bunch of friends finally convinced me to go out and we did 6 1/2 miles in the snow at Rockefeller State Park. It's such a beautiful park. Afterwards, we went out for a group breakfast. I was wearing tights, a skirt, compression socks, an Under Armour long sleeve, a jacket, hat, and gloves. Hahaha we were all SO bundled up!

photo of my run from here.

Back to class tomorrow and maybe a race on Saturday if I can get my butt into gear!

Crying when you watch tv...

...Is a thing that I do. Fringe ended last night for good and it was amazing. I cried more than once. I am one of those people that is waaaay too emotionally involved in television. But really, I was amazed by how well the writers were able to tie up so many loose ends to a show that has been so crazy. I mean, they've reset the timeline more than once and have alternate universes. This is not my first time watching a series finale. The ones I remember the most, besides this one, are Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Battlestar Galactica. All were satisfying endings that left questions but made you feel like things were resolved. I think Fringe will be one of those shows that will eventually become a cult-classic. I know I will recommend it everyone I know :)

In non obsessive tv news, I'm going back to school on Tuesday. I have three days left at the gym and then a week of leading orientation before classes start. le-sigh. I'm excited to back but too comfortable here. I just signed up for Coogans 5k in March. Now I have three major races and one small one signed up for this year. I'm sure all add some 5 and 10ks to the mix but I'm pretty happy with a half and a 10 miler for this year. If the half goes well, maybe I'll add a fall race. This is going to be the year that I stop worrying about my abilities because I know that I have them. I'm going to really push myself to compete and be a more active member in the running community.

Also,  I made quiche for my mom's birthday! I started out using one recipe, but ended up actually blending a bunch of recipes and making my own up, which is my first time really doing this. I'm still working out the kinks but here it is

Rachel's bacon, zucchini, and gruryere quiche

Ingredients

- You can buy frozen pie dough or you can make your own. I really like this recipe from Martha Stewart.

-5 eggs
-1 cup creme fraiche
-1 cup whole milk
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp black pepper
-1 tsp dried thyme
-5 slices of bacon, cooked according to package
-2 small zucchini, sliced lengthwise, 1/8 inch thick
-1/2 cup gruyere cheese

Directions-

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- make pie crust and fit to pan or take out frozen pie crust
- cook bacon in pan according to package instructions. After cooking the bacon, remove from pan but keep grease and cook zucchini in pan until it shrinks and is slightly browned (about 5 minutes on each side)
- blind bake pie crust in oven at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. You can cover the crust with foil if it starts to brown too much. I don't own pie weights so I use pennies or beans wrapped up in foil.
-combine the creme fraiche, whole milk, salt, pepper, and thyme in mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add eggs and combine.
-Strain egg mixture through a fine sieve
-place cooked bacon, cooked zucchini, and shredded cheese at the bottom of the crust. Then, pour egg mixture on top.
-Bake for 20 minutes and then reduce heat temperature to 325 degrees and bake for 45 minutes

Back to reality... sort of

I have been blogging less this month because I have been home and most times I am **gasp** away from my computer. Sadly, my month off is coming to a close. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to go back to NYC and school, but I will definitely miss my family, the gym, my car, and just chilling all day.
I'm filling my schedule before I get back. I've been doing a LOT of Spinning, I've been running (of course), going to Body Pump, and also going to Boot Camp. I love boot camp. It's basically a one hour, intense cardio workout that also incorporates weights, but mostly body weight. We do crunches, push ups, dips, lunges, squats, and then some kick boxing-ish stuff in between to keep the heart rate up.

Oh yeah, I got these babies over the weekend! SO JAZZED! I was skeptical CWX when they first came out, but after trying them on and then actually working out in them, I'm converted. I got the knee support type and since everyone knows I have the most messed-up knees, this has been awesome. Has anyone here noticed that my love of the gym is probably the same as my love of workout gear? Oh well, at least it's a healthy addiction.

I'm also reading this book- The Cure for Everything by Timothy Caufield. I will probably be talking about it for a while. In his book, Caufield tries to untangle the myths behind fitness and health. So far the most important topics he's discussed include-

-You can't lose weight just by working out, you need to diet as well
-It's practically impossible to get the abs that celebrities show on the cover of magazines. The industry is selling sex and easy ways out, not being healthy
A good diet comes from eating less, knowing portions, counting calories, and cutting out processed foods
-The best workout is one that is really difficult, moderate exercise is okay, but it won't do much.

I was pretty much aware of most of this but it's nice to here that "hey! don't feel bad if you don't have washboard abs." Just saying. Also, the book has inspired me to do more HARD strength training and more interval workouts. The book actually says that it's better to get in a shorter, harder workout, then a long, easy one. Obviously any kind of workout is good, but you shouldn't go on an easy 40 minute run everyday. When I'm at school, this gets challenging for me so using my Garmin, I'm going to try to do intervals and also hit the gym more at school to do some sort of circuit.
So that's the workout plan. In other news, OHMYGODTOOMUCHTVWHATAMIGOINGTODOWITHMYSELF?!?!
#firstworldproblems

No but really, T-minus 3 days until Fringe Finale. I will most likely cry. In fact, no one plan on calling me after 8pm on Friday. Girls started this week and it was really good. I already like where this season is going. Shameless has also started up again. Next week, almost all of my regular shows are back on, as well. One might ask, "where does this girl find the time to watch so much television and also go to college and train? Well I'm not 100% sure. I would guess I just sleep less and procrastinate more.
How are everyone's workouts going/ Am I the only person in the world that watches this much tv?

I started off the New Year running!

In the battle of pajamas vs. running sneakers yesterday, I am happy to say that the sneakers won and I ran for forty five minutes at the gym. It is below freezing here and although I have the gear for outdoor running, my parents were gracious enough to turn on my gym membership for January so I am going to use that indoor track!

This is my new sweatshirt I got for Christmas. I'm sure it was waaaay too much for any sane person to spend on a sweatshirt but hey it's the best sweatshirt in the entire world and I'm obsessed with it. At school everyone dresses up so I usually wear a dress or skirt everyday but when I'm home, I basically bum around in pajamas or gym gear all day everyday. I do enjoy winter break.

Today I had plans to go to spin in the morning, but I overslept so I ran on the track instead. I wasn't that upset about waking up late, I was exhausted from New Years festivities. I am also back to my morning oatmeal routine. Oatmeal makes me feel very healthy. I like it extra mushy with lots of milk :) I ate it while watching School of Rock, which is a movie that just never gets old for me.
I was thinking of my resolutions for the New Year, and if I had any. I don't really like the idea of resolutions because I feel like they're taken sort of mildly and people just give up on them by the end of February. So instead of saying that I have some resolutions, these are my new goals.

Resolutions (or goals, really) for 2013

1. Eat less sweets (everything in moderation)
       It's not that I eat a lot of desserts, it's just that I tend to grab for things around 4 pm. I think it's a blood sugar thing. I'm going to try to counteract it by eating something healthy, instead of a cookie or chocolate. I am also going to try to keep to my rule of no eating after 9 pm.
2. Break 2:00 for a half marathon

3. Get more involved outside of school and meet new people.

Creme Brûlée extravaganza!

A tradition in our family on New Years is not to party per se, but to have a nice dinner party with really good food, board games, and music. We also flip through all the channels to find the least annoying recording of the ball drop. I live about 30 minutes from Times Square but I've never seen the ball drop live. True story, when you live in NYC, you get very cynical about tourist-y things- the ball drop probably being the number one thing. So I always watch it on television. OMG did anyone see Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin?? What was going on?? Anyway, my dad made lasagna, my mom made salad and sautéed spinach, and I made chocolate and vanilla creme brûlée. Warning, food porn coming up next-

Our very good friends from out of state stayed with us and watched the Twilight Zone marathon on the Sci-fy channel and they left this morning. I'm watching Rent (the greatest musical ever, don't argue with me) and trying to wrap my head around working out today. My matching pajamas are just sooooo comfy. #lazygirlproblems Here comes 2013! Hope it's starting out awesome!