Race season has officially started at the Ingalweather house! We were up bright and early Sunday morning in route to Neil and Edith’s first races of the 2015 season the Bridge to Brews 8K and Kids 1/2 Miler.
The kids race was on the small side and a bit over priced $12(!!) but Edith had fun once she started running so it was worth it. After Edith’s race we watched the start of the 8K/10K race to watch Neil cross the starting line. I was pretty impressed with the organization of the race and how quickly everyone got across the starting line. Once Neil passed us it was time to find coffee while Neil did the hard work for running over the Fremont and Steel Bridges. We made it back to the finish line and watched as the runners crossed the finish line and finally Neil crossed as well.
After the race we headed to the post-race beer festival which included a beer mug and give drink tickets. Side note if you ever do this race get your ID checked and bracelet before you start the race so you can avoid the lines. Since it was 9:30am and I didn’t just run a race I passed on buying my own cup and beer tickets but I did steal a few sips of Neil’s beer.
Once Neil had finished his beers and bowl of soup we headed out to lunch and then home for an unsuccessful nap time. On our drive home Neil and I discussed doing this race next year and hope that we can figure out a way for the both of us to run it.
Next of big race on Neil’s agenda is The Helvetia Half and we have five fun run 5K’s already planned as well. As for my race I am working with a physical therapist right now but I’m not sure that it’s going to happen. I may or may not decide to walk the course but we will see (side note more on PT next week).
Did you race this weekend? Any big races planned this year?
Disclaimer: This post is in no way sponsored. I received NO compensation for this post. I am simply sharing my love for the these products/shops/services. Body Care Product
CARU Skincare Co.You guys seriously this stuff is amazing. I have been using this all month and I just love it. I use the scrub 2-3 times per week to help promote circulation, exfoliate and eliminate dead skin cells. The scrub is so gentle on my skin and it leaves my skin super moist. After getting out of the shower I dry off and immediately apply the body oil which again just so moisturizing and amazing. I am kind of weary about body oils because this mama can’t be bothered to hang out to let oils or lotions dry but luckily this body oil skins into the skins easily by the time I am done combing through my hair and applying my face moisturizer and applying deodorant.
My hubby has taken to using both the scrub and body oil as well and he loves it an the smell which #sadface seemed to be a limited edition but I just checked and right now they have a Cedar + Fir scent and I bet smells amazing. I will also say between the two of us and using this for going on six weeks and have only used about 1/3-1/2 of the both products so a little goes along way and is worth the money. Have you tried any CARU products? I am super curious about their toners and face masks…basically everything that they carry.
Shop
My name is Lindsay and I am addicted to Abe’s Market Try for $2. Basically everyday at 11am EST/8am PST Abe’s Market releases new products that you can try for $2 including shipping (!!) So guess what I am doing most days at 8am? Yeah that’s right checking out what new products made the cut. You can order up to 3 items per day and most days I find myself ordering at least one. The sizes of the Try for $2 are not little samples either they are deluxe sample size or most of the time full size. I am going to tell you right now this is in no way sponsored (although Abe’s if your reading this…) The Try for $2 has been a great opportunity for us to try products we might not have tried if it wasn’t for the deal or buy some of our favorites such as those Beanfield Chips which are basically vegan Doritos. I just put in another order before posting this and I am too excited to see what they post tomorrow #IHaveAProblem.
Workout
I heard about the barre3 online program from Ashley’s blog and decided to give it a try last month and I am continuing to use it this month as well. As you may already know I have been dealing with some issues with pain while running so while I work with my PT to get that all figured out I have been working on strengthening my body and barre3 online has been such a great motivator for me. I can spend anywhere from 10-60 minutes doing one of their online workouts and even just 10 minutes gets me sweaty! I love the flow of the videos and all of the options. I am already feeling so much stronger and know I will continue using this service for a long time. One day I will get brave enough and actually go to a class…someday.
What are your March favorites? What are you just loving?
Complete my Blogger Book Club Book. Success.I just posted my book review last week and I have to say I loved my book! I read Grandma Gatewood’s Walk which is a biography about the first women to through hike the Appalachian Trail. IT was amazing! You can read my full review here.
Restaurant Free March. Massive Fail.We started out pretty well at the beginning of the month but then after a few weeks of sickness we just needed to get out of the house so we went out for breakfast…and then lunch…and then post swim dinner. What can I say? It was just an overall fail.
Actually Workout. Success. I have been doing a great job at working out regularly this entire month. We get out for a post dinner walk 5-7 days per week and I get out with the kids for a post nap walk 3-4 days per week. On top of that I have been doing a regular Barre3 online workout.
Drink More Water. Fail.I am calling this a fail because while I have done an okay job at drinking water I definitely need to be doing better. The past week was terrible so I am betting this will make my goal list for April as well.
Listen to More Music. Success.I have been listening to a lot more music at home and even dusted off the old (free) Spotify account. You can check out my March playlist here.
Eat More Veggies. Success. YES! I have been eating tons of veggies and the best part is Edith who went through a super picky phase has been eating lots of veggies with me. Most days we share a big salad and she ends up dominating it. So happy!!
Take More Photos. Draw.I would say that this was a more successful month than the past two but definitely a work in progress. I would love to be taking photos on a daily basis and I’m not there yet.
April 2015 Goals
Do a total of 500 minutes of Barre3 Online. As I said above I have really fallen in love with Barre3 Online and have purchased the online program after my free trial expired. My goal is to do around an average 10 minutes or more per day and so far I have been doing pretty well and I am feeling so much stronger. To keep myself accountable I have been tracking my workouts on my Instagram account.
Run 20 miles this month. I have been having some IT band issues so I have been focusing on stretching and strengthening. I actually have an appointment at Therapydia Portland next week to get things checked out – I’ll be blogging about my experience so stay tuned! Anyways I am feeling stronger now so I am making it my goal it get in 20 miles this month which is about 10 more than I did last month.
Stay up-to-date on my IIN Immersion. I have been really motivated to get back to regular health coaching and launching a new online program. Since I’m a little rusty after taking a break when I was pregnant with Alder I decided to participate in the IIN Immersion program again. I love that IIN has continued education FOR FREE!! It’s so great and I am already feeling back in the groove. That being said I want to stay on track and complete the bi-weekly modules. So here is to staying on track!
Project Clean House. This is one of my goals for the year but with summer coming and guests coming as well I want to get or house in order. We are working to live a more minimal life and it’s taking time but slowly we are doing it and hopefully by the end of the year we will be there. Until then I want our house to simply be clean!! Yesterday I cleaned the kids bathroom and playroom (which is a constant mess) and this morning I cleaned our office, entry way and downstairs bathroom; so already we have some progress but this will take time and it also means staying up on the cleaning.
This month for my blogger book club we were asked to read a biography and I actually had a really hard time deciding on one to read. At the very last minute I came across this book, Grandma Gatewood’s Walk*, and I decided to give it a chance because it just sound so good.
This book tells the story of 67-year-old grandma Emma Gatewood and her decision to through hike the Appalachian Trail (AT). She didn’t tell her family where she was going and as you will learn from the book this wasn’t an uncommon thing for her. She headed to Georgia with just a small sack that she had made and the clothes on her back and started on her journey.
The author, journalist Ben Montgomery, not only tells the story of Emma Gatewood’s hike but also about her life and really allows you to get to know the woman behind the hike. You start to understand that this hike is far from the hardest thing she has been through/done. Once Emma completes the AT her story doesn’t end there because she goes back and does it twice more along with walking the Oregon trail and hiking the Long Trail among other things.
I absolutely loved this book and just couldn’t put it down, Being from the New England and having hiked some of the spots she did I could just picture where she was and what she was going through. There is one point at the top of Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire and the hike down that I remember hiking so vividly 6+ years ago. As I read this book and her description of the tram and the the rough terrain I was back there again. The funny thing Emma Gatewood hiked the entire trail in tennis shoes and this section of the trail I too (made the stupid move) of hiking in tennis shoes. As you’ll understand when you read Grandma Gatewood’s Walk* we should have been a little more concerned when the tram guy asked if we knew what we were getting into when we asked for a one way tram ticket.
After posting this dinner last night on my Instagram I had a few requests for the recipe so here it is.
We spent most of yesterday out of the house at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival about an hour south of Portland. It was luckily a beautiful day and we soaked up the sun and festival with friends.
After parting ways we headed to the outlets since they were on the way home and mama needed some new clothes. After two many hours of shopping we finally headed home. While in the car we got to talking about dinner and discussed grabbing dinner out but Edith insisted that we eat dinner at home and that we have mac and cheese. We agreed but first stopped to pick up a few provisions which included the ingredients to make said mac and cheese.
My original thought was to do a customize your own mac and cheese and then Neil said “you know what would be really good [in the mac and cheese] some of that Sweet Earth bacon” so his brilliant idea won. I added kale because kale + bacon is great and because greens. Everyone enjoyed it and it was deemed a must make again meal.
Benevolent Bacon Mac and Cheese with | Vegan
2015-03-30 14:44:23
Serves 6
This vegan mac and cheese recipe features Sweet Earth Natural Foods Benevolent Bacon.
While pasta is cooking saute the kale and 2 cloves of garlic in 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium-high heat until softened. Remove from the pan and set aside; add the remaining olive oil and sautee the bacon until lightly browned. Set aside.
In a small sauce pan heat melt the Earth Balance over low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook on low for 90 seconds whisking the entire time. Whisk in the the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.
Slowly whisk the almond milk into the Earth Balance and flour mixture and then whisk in the vegan chik'n boullion cube. Cook over medium-high heat until the sauce coats the back a spoon.
Add the Dayia to the sauce and whisk until combined. Remove from heat and set aside.
Once the pasta is cooked and drained return the pasta back to it's pot and add all the ingredients. Stir to combine.
Raise your hand if you are a pasta-o-holic like me. I would say in an average week we have pasta at least twice and that’s only because I purposely don’t buy enough to have it everyday of the week – or we would. Edith requests pasta most days of the week and today I said YES and pasta is what we had.
Most of the time I make some sort of vegan mac and cheese or a pesto pasta for lunches. Since Alder is now eating err…playing with solids I wanted to make something that he could taste too so I decided to go with a nut-free pesto. It was also the perfect way to get Edith to eat some greens because lately she has been a little more picky with her food.
Anyways I made this pasta dish and it turned out fantastic. Even Edith who told me while I was making it that she wasn’t going to eat it declared that it was her “favorite best pasta”. So basically this pasta dish is a winner. Enjoy!
1 Italian Field Roast Sausage (optional), diced and lightly bowned
Reserve a bit of cooking water
Instructions
Cook pasta according to package.
To a food processor all the ingredients except sausage and cooking water; process until smooth. (If making for baby as well see note below).
Toss pasta with pesto and sausage adding as bit of cooking water as necessary to reach desired sauce consistency.
Notes
For Alder I added just the olive oil, peas, broccoli and nutritional yeast to the food processor and blended until smooth; I removed a few tablespoons to toss with a bit of pasta and then added remaining ingredients.
I have recently dived back into health coaching head first and am participating in the IIN immersion program for the 3rd time. While today marks the official start of the program we were provided with a few tasks last week to help us in preparing for immersion. One of the tasks is called The Clean Sweep which was developed by Thomas Leonard.
So what is the clean sweep?
Basically the thought is that when you feel balanced/perfect alignment in the four major parts of our lives, environment, well-being, money, and relationships, that we can be more natural energy. “The Clean Sweep Program, created by Thomas Leonard, consists of 100 items which, when completed, give you the vitality and strength that you want.” You are to answer each of the 100 questions, 25 per category, as truthfully as possible and only answer YES if the statement is virtually always true. The end goal being that you will confidently answer YES to each answer.
I started this Clean Sweep process years ago but sort of forgot all about it until recently. As I went through the questions this past weekend I thought it would be interesting to actually share my answers with you and to follow up every three-to-six months on how things are going. I guess you could say that these are a bunch of mini goals I have for myself for the next few years.
So we’ll start of with Environment and i’ll preface this with saying I am not surprised by how many NO’s are in this category.
My personal files, papers and receipts are neatly filled away. NO. This seems to be a constant struggle at our house and I really want to figure out away to get it under control.
My car is in excellent condition. NO.I had to laugh when I read this one. Seriously? Who with a toddler and a baby has a perfectly clean car?
My home is neat and clean. NO. Hangs head in shame.
My appliances, machinery and equipment work well.YES.
My clothes are all pressed, clean and make me look great. NO. This is another struggle I have had for years, or rather since getting pregnant with Edith. I am working on restocking my wardrobe with clothes that fit and make me feel great. As for laundry – 2 adults + 2 kids + cloth diapering = non-stop laundry. So maybe I’ll be able to answer YES to this when the kids move out?
My plants and animals are healthy. N/A.One must have plants and animals to properly answer this question.
My bed/bedroom lets me have the best sleep possible. NO.This is one of those grey area statements so I decided to go with NO. Our sleeping is less than ideal but we have two young children.
I live in a home that I love. (Big Fat) NO.
I surround myself with beautiful things. NO.I am so sad to say no to this answer and I really wish we had more beautiful things or at least things that I think are beautiful.
I live in the geographic area of my choice. NO. Yes and no. I love living in the PNW and Portland area but the keyword right now is area. We need to move (back) to the neighborhood we love or somewhere near it #2016.
There is ample and healthy lighting around me. NO.
I consistently have adequate time, space and freedom in my life. HAHAHAHAHA. NO.
I am not damaged by my environment. NO. So I said no to this one because not loving our home, neighborhood and just feeling blah makes me feel a bit damaged.
I am not tolerating anything about my home or work environment. NO.ALL I AM DOING IS TOLERATING.
My work environment is productive and inspiring. NO. We have failed at really putting our office area together #GOALS and right now it’s hard to be productive with babies hanging on you but instead of getting frustrated 90% of the time I embrace the time with them and try not to stress.
I recycle. YES.
I use non-ozone depleting products. YES.
My hair is the way I want it. YES. This took me years to actually say YES to but I finally am getting my hair done every six weeks!
I surround myself with music which makes my life more enjoyable. YES.This was one of my mini goals for March and whoot whoot I am succeeding. P.S. you can follow my March playlist over on Spotify.
My bed is made daily. NO. Umm….
I don’t injure myself, fall or bump into things. NO.I found this statement strange but I guess I have to go with NO.
People feel comfortable in my home. NO. Ummm? I guess I would say NO just because I don’t always feel comfortable here? Would someone actually tell you?
I drink purified water. YES.
I have nothing around the house or in storage that I do not need. NO. This is a huge goal of ours for 2015 – declutter and not just declutter but minimize our things.
I am consistently early or easily on time. NO. I miss being able to answer YES to this statement.
Total: 18 NO. 5 YES. 1 N/A.
This section of The Clean Sweep is pretty soul crushing actually. After completing it I was like so much to do to turn these NO’s into YES’ and I really would like to have 80% of them be YES’ by the end of the year. I would say there will be a few big and little goals for April that stem out of these results.
Have you/are you participating in The Clean Sweep? What are your results to this first category? Any surprises?
Race season has officially started at the Ingalweather house! We were up bright and early Sunday morning in route to Neil and Edith’s first races of the 2015 season the Bridge to Brews 8K and Kids 1/2 Miler. 
This month for my 
After posting this dinner last night on my 
