What the sh-IT (band)

It’s been a few days since my Maritime Race Weekend races where knee pain left me feeling sore and discouraged.

On Monday during the work day everything felt fine, so that evening I decided to ignore the fact that it was raining and take myself out for a (planned 6km) run.

During the first kilometer I had some mild discomfort. By the time I reached 2kms, the pain was getting pretty bad but I was hopeful I could run through it. No dice. By the time I decided to turn around, the rain was coming down pretty heavy so there I was… soaked and sore with a foul disposition. I texted my sister a picture of how things were going, grateful for my waterproof phone case.

Thumbs down to knee pain!

By the time I got back to my car I was one surly little thundercloud. On the short drive home, I must have shouted FU@K about a dozen times. When the heart and body want to go, just to be sidelined by pain it is so damn frustrating!

I changed into dry clothes and then prepared myself an indulgent little treat of vanilla ice cream over two 2-bite brownies (warmed in the microwave) and rainbow sprinkles… just because. I ate my dessert and scrapped my upcoming runs.

With the wisdom and suggestions of some runner friends, I started looking into IT band syndrome. The more I read, the more I felt I had a “why” for my knee soreness (yes, self diagnosing via the internet… I must be a doctor right?). The information I read helped explain why my spring/early summer runs weren’t plagued with knee pain, since I’d been cross-training regularly.

So, I booked three treatment appointments back to back: massage therapy, physiotherapy, and chiropractic. I am SO happy to have a facility like this in our little community! 

Last night was my massage appointment and the therapist I met with told me that my left IT band was wicked tight (at this point, I was not surprised) so she spent an hour working on my legs. I knew I wasn’t going to come out all relaxed and wobbly as if I’d had a relaxation massage, but I think it's worth it.

Tonight I'm headed back to the same clinic to meet with the physiotherapist, Sally. With a better idea of what I was working with (injury/soreness wise), I looked forward to the appointment. 

In the meantime, I’ve been looking up stretches and strengthening exercises to help IT band over-tightness and those, combined with the treatment from the professionals at ProTX makes me feel like I am on the right path!

It's Apple Crisp Season Y'all!

I love this time of year. The leaves are turning, the temperatures are shifting to cozy sweater necessary and the apples are ripe on their trees. Over the past short while, I have come to be in posession of 30 lbs of apples.

20 lbs of Gravenstein - 10 lbs MacIntosh

What better thing to use up some apples than the favourite dessert of He-of-the-good-ideas... apple crisp?!!

So I grabbed my favourite casserole dish (1.8L French White) out of the cupboard of my newly completed kitchen (squee!) and peeled a mix of as many peeled apples filled my dish (my version of fancy measuring!)

Naked apples in a dish

I core and cut mine into segments with my Pampered Chef apple slicer which I love because it cuts the apples into 10 segments. For the segments with a bit of the core still on it, I use a paring knife to tidy them. Toss the segments into a large bowl for doctoring.

I grease my casserole dish with soft margerine and sprinkle it with a tablespoon of flour.

Take your bowl of apple segments and pour in 1 tbsp flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 cup white sugar and a "shake" of nutmeg. Honestly, I don't measure this. I use this kind of nutmeg and use the wee shaker side.

Mix it all up and pour into your greased casserole dish. I assemble the apple pieces to make sure there aren't too many big bits sticking up. Take a piece of sweet, cinnamonney (it's a word!) apple and eat it. Okay? Eat another. I ate about 5. Okay, 6.

Now, for the topping!

I use a half-cup of block margerine that I cut up small and microwave in a glass measuring cup.

In another large bowl I mixed together 3/4 cup quick rolled oats, 3/4 brown sugar and 3/4 cup of flour.

Add in 1/4 tsp each of baking soda and baking powder

(I didn't take a picture of it, but I put in about 1 tbsp of cinnamon and a few shakes of nutmeg)

Add in the melted margerine

Mix together until crumbly

Mmmm I ate a piece of the topping too

Bake at 350 for half an hour. Sometimes I turn the broiler on for about 5 minutes at the end, sometime I don't.

I set it on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes, then dug into it with a nice big serving spoon!

A nice big bowl for me and an even bigger one for HOTGI!

Oh my... so good!! There is totally a 2nd serving in the kitchen just calling my name!

If you make apple crisp, I'd love to know what you do that makes yours a family favourite!

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Wordless Wednesday: Blueberry Coffee Cake



Sweet. Sinful. Special.


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The only bad thing about carrot cake is the name

To me, there is nothing more mouth-wateringly perfect than a piece (cough*manypieces*cough) of moist carrot cake with cream cheese icing. No nuts if-you-please. I adore carrot cake to the point where it was the flavour I chose for the bottom tier of my wedding cake (I’ll talk about that brilliant creation someday). Some people turn their noses up at it. I don’t understand those people. Carrot cake (despite its healthy sounding moniker) is a rich and decadent dessert that is the perfect balance of sweet and spice.

Today, we are celebrating the birthdays of two coworkers in my department with an incredible carrot cake made by another coworker. She is a gifted baker and we all love when she brings in a container of treats to share. Actually, she and I work in a department with six guys so the second there is something homemade put out to share its like throwing bread at pigeons. Their heads cock to the side and they scuttle over to grab up a piece. Of course I’m talking about birds here, not the guys… right?

Sweet little pieces of carrot cake heaven

At any rate, I have already nommed one piece of the carrot cake, but the rest of it is sitting on the desk behind me and I swear it was made with gravitational pull (or crack) because I can’t stop thinking about it and when someone walks by, I can smell it. I am jonesing for another piece however my wobbly-bits do NOT need any more insulation so I am trying to restrain myself. At the very least, wait a bit longer so I don’t embarrass myself.

Hmm… I think enough time has passed. Now excuse me while I take my carb-loving, ever-growing behind over to the remaining cake and bask in its awesomeness before I gobble down another piece.

PS – Happy Birthday Scott & Chris!

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