Generally speaking, I prefer cooler weather over hot weather. I'd rather put on more layers than be wearing as little as I can in public and still being hot. And after a rather elusive fall, winter apparently arrived yesterday in the form of snow, sleet, and freezing rain, so I guess I need to get mentally ready for winter now. Berres Brothers coffee - Most of the year I drink Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts coffee - whichever is on sale in the grocery store. But once a year, Berres Brothers, a Wisconsin based coffee company, has a big sale and I stock up. I love that they have a ridiculous number of flavor options and that the coffee is smoother than Starbucks. I also love that I'm supporting a small local company (not my local, but … [Read more...]
Will run for food!
Does the food available after a race come into play when you are choosing a race or are you happy with a boring snack like a granola bar or pretzels after a race? For me, it depends on exactly how far I've run. For shorter races, I don't need anything at all, but sometimes something salty is good on a hot day. Even for a half marathon, I often don't feel any urge to eat at the finish line. But sometimes the offerings are so good, I eat even if I don't "want to". Wondering what races have make me want to run them again just for the food? Here are my favorites. Mainly Marathon races - the "aid station" is a smorgasbord of all the good things: pretzels, m&ms, gummy bears, hard boiled eggs, pb&j, pickles... And then there's … [Read more...]
I need coffee before my coffee
September was a whirlwind month for me. I'm still trying to recover - and October is not exactly laid back either. I'm pretty sure that I have coffee running in my veins at this point. So, it seems appropriate to jump in on Deb and Coco's coffee date. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I LOVE working for ZOOMA and the other project I took on. But going up to 30 hours a week of working has been quite a shock to my system. Something had to give and it feels like the blog has taken the brunt of that. I hope to get back to commenting and responding once Amelia Island is done. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I'm nervous about the Marine Corps Marathon. I've had training issues in the past, but I've always had a … [Read more...]
This is 48: wrapping up a year
This past weekend, I turned 48. As I get closer and closer to a new big round number, I keep thinking I'll start freaking out about getting old. But I feel better at 48 than I did at 47 (well, except for that pesky ankle/heel issue.) Last year at this time, I was deep in Marine Corps Marathon training with the Hansons plan. I was also recovering from what had been a month long virus - it started with several days of violent stomach upset that led to weeks of reduced appetite and lack of energy. While I would not recommend that weight loss method (I dropped 7 pounds in 7 days and it stayed off), it was the first time in years that I was not packing on extra marathon pounds. It was also the first time in years that my weight had not … [Read more...]
Have Skirt Sports, Will Travel #sisterhoodofthetravelingskirt
Post contains Affliliate links, which means that if you purchase through them, I get paid a small commission. It's been about 7 years since I first put on a Skirt Sports skirt and went out for a run. That first skirt was the Happy Hour skirt (basically a Happy Girl without the pockets). I fell in love with that skirt - for running. As I slowly built up my collection (I was the queen of clearance sales and ebay), I got in the habit of putting on a running skirt, running bra, and tank top when I'd get up. As a stay at home mom to two, I needed to be ready at any moment to head out on a run. Slowly but surely, the Happy Girl became a staple in my "mom uniform." In the last few years, my non-Skirt wardrobe has dwindled. I … [Read more...]
The summer where no running goals were met
This has been an interesting year for me so far. In some ways it was super planned (our trip to Australia and New Zealand) and some ways it's been completely a "roll with the punches" year. I'm still dealing with the hail damaged rental car, my kitchen is still not started, and Monday I worked 4 different gigs. (I won't be doing that again, see below for what I'm letting go.) But the weirdest part of the whole summer is that I had no real running goals. Well, except to actually start running again, so I guess I nailed that. End of post. No? Ok, here were my goals for the year with updates on where life is. Running Continue running injury free. Ooh, I completely blew this one. I still can't run too many days in a row without my … [Read more...]
How is it already Friday again?
This week has just flown by. But time spent at my parents' house always does. I've been so busy that I realized today that I'd completely forgotten to blog this week. I guess that's a good sign - I've been too busy with real life to write. And thankfully, it's all good busy. So today, you get five random things... Today Jones and I fly home to Virginia. I'm looking forward to being home, but I also always wish I was staying here. It's been awesome spending two weeks with only one child. I haven't gotten to do this since he was 4! We got to check out the International Crane Foundation, the Minnesota Zoo, and the National Eagle Center. He's a good kid and he's starting to explore college options (GAH!) and we both survived him taking econ … [Read more...]
August Coffee Date: Pour me another, please!
It always amazes me how fast the months slip by. It's hard to believe I wrote my last "coffee date" post from New Zealand. We've been back 3 weeks and I still feel like I'm trying to catch up. Apparently, taking two full weeks off from life does not work well for me. Anyways, I’m joining up with my friends Deborah and Coco for a virtual coffee date as well as linking up with Running on Happy and Fairytales and Fitness for Friday Five 2.0. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I haven't made it to bed before 1am in over a week. And it's not like I'm sleeping in - I've gotten up in time to run at 6:30am a couple of days and I've had early commitments several days. I live for the few days I've gotten to sleep in, but … [Read more...]
Add some ZING to your summer with OLD BAY Seasoning
This post was sponsored by OLD BAY. All opinions and recipes are my own. I've spent most of my adult life living within an easy drive of the Chesapeake Bay, where OLD BAY seasoning is a fixture in cooking. I can't remember a time when I didn't know what OLD BAY was. It's been a regular seasoning option for seafood for what seems like forever. I have a lot of fond memories of OLD BAY and beach weekends from college onward. It seemed like OLD BAY always brought us together for fun times and good food. But it's not just a seafood seasoning. When I asked my Facebook friends what they like to use OLD BAY on, one actually responded with "wouldn't the list be shorter if I just told you what I DON'T use it on?" OK, then. Suggestions … [Read more...]
Favorite photos from Australia and New Zealand
I'm not gonna lie. Our vacation was AMAZING. But I've been home since Sunday and I'm still struggling to recover. The almost 16 hour flight from Sydney to Houston, coupled with the layover and then 3.5 hour flight from Houston to DC wore me out completely. Add in the fact that it's literally day and night difference in time (14 hour difference) and I've got the worst case of jetlag I've ever experienced. The first couple of days I also kept having issues with equilibrium. (You know how you feel the world is moving when you get off of a boat? I had that for about 36 hours after I got off the plane.) On the bright side, I've been waking up at 5:30am every morning, so I've gotten some early runs in. On the not so bright side, that means I've … [Read more...]
Getting coffee halfway around the world
It's time for a coffee date, international style. I’m joining up with my friends Deborah and Coco for a virtual coffee date (they are both local to me – I should meet up for a real coffee date…) I’m also linking up with Running on Happy and Fairytales and Fitness for Friday Five 2.0. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that this trip has been amazing! We've been to Auckland and Rotorua in New Zealand and to Nelson Bay and Sydney in Australia. For some reason, despite not having been here in 20 years, Sydney always feels like coming home. In fact, we immediately went for a beer at a brewery we enjoyed the last time we were here. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that we've had an amazing mix of kid oriented and adult … [Read more...]
Happy 10 Year Blogiversary to MCM Mama!
Ten years ago, I sat down and created my little space on the web on Blogger. Back then the blog was MCM Mama and the whole point was to make it so that Beer Geek did not have to listen to me talk constantly about my training for my first Marine Corps Marathon. So, some might say that this blog was a marriage saver. The last ten years have been an exciting ride. I've put a lot of time and energy into it, but in a lot of ways, I've gotten way more out of it. I've had some amazing experiences, I've made some wonderful friends, and I've gotten some lasting opportunities. When I first started blogging, you couldn't respond to comments. You had to go to the person's blog and comment there if you wanted to have a conversation. Most of my … [Read more...]
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