The big hole in the ground

With the race completed, it was time for a mini-vacation (aka yummy food and sightseeing). It was only fair that we have dinner at PF Chang’s since they were sponsoring the race and there was a location 2-miles away from our hotel in downtown Tempe.

I don’t know whether food just tastes better away from home or it was the runner’s high from the race, but this dinner ranked high on my tasty and healthy list. We started with steamed chicken dumplings and shared Asian grilled salmon with asparagus, ginger chicken with broccoli and brown rice.

A while back I saw a recommendation in Runner’s World for PF Chang’s Grilled Salmon, Asparagus and brown rice as a pre-race dinner. I have to concur that brown rice is a much better carb option, at least for my digestive system. It’s filling and gives me lots of energy without making me feel heavy and bloated like when I eat pasta.

And then the weirdest thing happened… I am generally not superficial at all and often skip the horoscope section in magazines and newspapers. But check out my fortune:

Do you think the Arizona location just orders a bunch of custom ones with the word desert in them? BTW, I stopped eating the fortune cookies when I found out they are like 200 calories each– their size is totally deceiving.

Instead we stopped by a local frozen yogurt shop (Arizona just like California has frozen yogurt shops on every corner. Sometimes there are even two on the same corner. So jealous!)

Post-race we headed to a Jewish Deli where I indulged in my favorite sandwich – Chopped Liver on freshly baked rye, coleslaw and dill pickle.

We finished the meal with fruit, apricot Hammantashen and apple-cinnamon rugelach.

After lunch, we headed to Old Scottsdale which looked just like an old western movie set. I kept waiting for Clint Eastwood to pop out spinning his guns.

Later that evening, we headed to a local brewery which is one of the top-rated eateries in Tempe.

The Peach and the Hef were my two favorites. Both had a light summery taste which seemed weather-appropriate for the Russian Canadian since it was 65 degrees and we were sitting on an open patio. The chicken spinach salad was pretty average.

The following morning, we woke up early, packed up, had a quick continental breakfast where I mistook gravy (to be served with biscuits) for oatmeal. Thankfully Eric jumped in between me and the ladle as I, filled with excitement to have found a healthy option, was about to pour myself a large bowl. He must have read my mind.  The drive up to the Grand Canyon took about 4 hours but felt like we drove all across country as the  scenery changed from the red desert to snow brushed woods to golden brownish fields of hay back to rocky/sandy mountains.

We stayed at the Bright Eagle Lodge on the south rim of the Canyon. This lodge was one of the first hotels at the rim built in 1937. As soon as we arrived, equipped with a hot beverage and wind-resistant Lulu gear, we decided to venture for a 2 mile hike to face the wilderness of the Grand Canyon. Ok, I might be exaggerating a bit. We strolled along a nicely paved walkway looking at billion year old rocks and along with dozens of other tourists snapping hundreds of Canyon photos which all pretty much looked the same upon further examination.

There is just no way to capture one of world’s great wonders. It’s absolutely breathtaking, though they cheat a bit since the air is much thinner due to the elevation.

The next morning we bundled up in blankets and watched the sun rise over the Canyon while sipping our morning coffee.

The road trip to the frosty Canyon prepared us well for what to expect upon our return home. For the next three days, Eric and I were trapped in the house as Seattle and neighboring areas experienced one of the largest snow storms in years.

Racing Arizona

As soon as we landed in Phoenix, we headed to the Health and Fitness Expo at the  Phoenix Convention center.

The convention center is giant, with cool sand statues in the lobby. This was a much a better setup than the underground garage at the Sheraton hotel for the Portland Marathon.

The course map at the expo showed that the half marathon loop starts and ends in downtown Tempe stretching North a bit into Scottsdale. The full course spanned all three cities – starting in downtown Phoenix, heading West through Scottsdale, ending in downtown Tempe.

After I picked up my bib number and the goody bag I made the best decision– to switch to a faster corral. When I first registered, I underestimated my pace, and the last thing you want do when trying to PR is start in a slow corral as you’ll be blocked by slower runners and waste a lot of energy on passing.

We spent about an hour browsing through the expo and snacking on sampling free protein bars. There were dozens of sponsors from the big brand names like Cliff, Nuun, New Balance, Nike, Garmin, etc. to a small Texas-based bakery (whose name I can’t remember, but they make the best “healthy” coffee cake). The two products to catch my attention were the Marathon Snickers (and I don’t even like regular Snickers but their Chewy Peanut Chocolate bar is the tastiest and very filling 210-calorie snack) and a set of Bluetooth headphones that locks in your ears (although I doubt their usefulness as not every media player has built in bluetooth support). On the way out the door, we ran into the Biggest Loser contestants from season 5 (perfect timing, considering our latest challenge). I am still catching up, so I begged Jackie and Dan not to tell me whether they ended up winning. Can you believe that he used to be over 300lbs and she was in the high two hundreds?

After sorting out and marveling at my treasures from the expo, it was time for a good stretch/roll-out session and then bed.

The race was scheduled to begin at 7:30, but was delayed by 10-15 minutes due to the light rail schedule.

As with any long run day, I started January 15th with the usual toast, peanut butter, and banana breakfast, followed by the “world’s greatest” stretch.

Time for some photos (way more pleasant to pose before the race vs. after).

And we are off… Being in corral 2, I started off way faster than I planned. I had to keep slowing myself down to stay within 8 min/mile. I am pretty bad at pacing myself in the beginning, but so far it’s been working out fine as I’ve been able to keep up my starting pace for most runs.

Rock’n’Roll Phoenix is known for its flat course and over 40,000 runners all over the country participated in this year’s race, many hoping to use it to PR or to qualify for the Boston Marathon. There are not many turns and the scenery is pretty dull (but there were some funny signs along the way).

It’s a good course if you just want to go out there and run your fastest race, but it’s not a fun time. The Portland Full will forever be my special race. Like a high school sweetheart or a first love, it might have been awkward, clumsy, painful, and a bit naïve at times, but it’s my fondest memory and I will forever treasure it. 

My favorite moments in Arizona were when I high-fived the cheerleading squads and the little kiddies on the side of the road. So many folks are focused on their time that they kept ignoring the pouts and puppy eyes they were leaving behind. Every time I touched a little palm and saw a big smile light up a kid’s face, it gave my legs extra energy to push further.

I saw Eric at mile 12 and tossed him my empty water bottle. I caught my second wind then and sped up to 7:30 min/mile to the finish line. I crossed it with the 1:45 running group, shaving 3 min and 33 seconds from my previous half marathon result. I was hoping for 1:45, so being able to hit it made the finish just so much sweeter. Most importantly– no blisters, injuries or chafing, but my lungs were burning for a few minutes afterwards– not used to the dry desert air. Overall, not a bad way to wrap up my last age 25-29 half marathon (landing in the top 5% for my age group).

After about 20 minutes of stumbling around the family reunion area (amongst the thousands of finishers and their fans), Eric and I finally found each other.

We bummed around the finish area (the Arizona University Stadium field) for an hour stretching, chatting, checking out other runners, refueling with free beer and more Marathon Snickers bars.

The stink and the cold finally got to me before the B-52s had a change to get onstage, so we headed back to the hotel for a hot shower and a giant celebratory lunch.

Half-marathon: check! Next stop: The Napa full.

Small Diet Changes from SHAPE

Once in a while when I am at gym doing an elliptical workout, I’ll pick up a magazine to flip through. Last week I came across a SHAPE magazine that someone left behind. I tried subscribing to SHAPE and FITNESS magazines but I find that most of the time their article content is repetitive and they have more ads than content pages (they might as well make those magazines free considering all the ad revenue).

I much prefer looking for fitness articles online as you can pick and chose how deep you want to learn about a particular subject. Anyway, I came across these nutritional tips that I though I’d pass along (so you don’t completely die from boredom) while I am running around the desert.

http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/diet-tips/experts-reveal-15-small-diet-changes-weight-loss

I love the idea of adding lemon to water. I’ll have to start bringing a bottle of cold water with lemon to work. After I read up a bit on psyllium, I’ll definitely pick some up on my next trip to Whole Foods. This stuff seems even more powerful than Chia seeds. I often struggle with listening to my hunger level. I either eat too fast– where I sense fullness 20 minutes after I’ve already polished off the entire plate (or two) or I just drown out any natural signals and keep on eating as it tastes too good to stop. 

[Jane Asks]: Which of the suggested diet changes do you follow already? Which do you want to incorporate more?

Take me to the desert

Take me down to the Rock’N’Roll City where the girls are fast and the Grand Canyon’s pretty…

It’s almost race time! I have not raced since my full marathon in October so I am a bit anxious, a touch tired (from a long week at work), and a bulkload excited to head to Phoenix to complete my first Rock’N’Roll half marathon. I am trying to tell myself that racing is just for fun to avoid the pressure of a particular time goal, but secretly in my head I am hoping to beat my previous time (1h49m). With 6 months of rigorous training, a full marathon under my belt, a flatter course and stronger leg muscles,  I should expect to do better!? My runner friends have forewarned me that I should not get disappointed if I don’t PR as this particular RNR race is very popular and gets very crowded, which might lead to a slower start.

I will be heading to Phoenix on Saturday morning, which means I am spending my Friday night rushing around the house trying to locate all the necessary items. First thing first, got to wash my running clothes.

I am attempting to pack light as I usually tend to overpack and return with half the suitcase unworn (and I am cheap and don’t want to spend extra $25 each way to check luggage).

It’s a bittersweet moment as I pack my trusted and true NB890s. They will be retired after this race as the treads on the soles have completely worn out which means the cushioning is all gone.

I don’t do a good job keeping track of the mileage on the shoes. Ideally, running shoes should be replaced every 300 miles or once a year (whatever comes first). I know it has not been a year since I got these shoes (I can still remember how excited I was taking them out of the box). I guess I’ve hit over 300 miles already. Not to worry, I have two new pairs eagerly waiting to hit the road (I went with NB790 (model prior to 890) and NB759 for more stability).

I am a New Balance girl. A lot of their shoes are made in the USA (which is very uncommon these days) and they are tight yet roomy enough to accommodate the changes in my feet during the run. They have good arch support without leading to blisters and I often find a good deal on them. What else can this runner gal ask for?

I turn into a finicky eater on the day before the race. I strongly believe that what you eat the few days prior to the race has a major effect on how the race goes. I prep Overnight Oats to enjoy on the way to the airport; a sandwich (whole wheat bread, reduced sodium turkey, spinach, Jarlsburg), veggies and a couple of fruits, and nuts for snacks later. I will need to find a Chinese place in Tempe that serves brown rice, steamed veggies and chicken for dinner. Any suggestions? I am also bringing my usual (peanut butter, bananas, whole wheat bread) for Sunday morning.

Am I forgetting anything? Oh yes, the marathon stick and the Epson salts for sore muscles before and/or after race.

Now I am all set. Time to catch a breath and relax with my friend Joe before heading to bed.

[Jane Asks]: Are you a good packer? Do you have any tips for packing just the right amount of stuff?

My fitbit has been flipped

We love all types of gadgets in our household. We don’t discriminate. As long as it’s got some wires inside or out and pretends to solve a task which at some moment we felt was important enough and no longer manually worthwhile, we will buy it. Sadly many of these “pieces of genius” end up in our garage as memorabilia to show our grandchildren one day (or until we get around to dragging them to PC-Recycle) and only a few survive the usefulness test posed by the Lawrence clan to remain present in the house. An example of a good gadget I recently acquired is my Garmin 305 GPS device. I use it religiously on my long runs and it has traveled with me all over the world. An example of a poor purchase is the bodybugg. At first I was super excited about it– finally there was a solution (or so it seemed) to end calorie estimation and once and for all find out exactly how many calories I burn each day. I am a total sucker for items featured on TV and since bodybugg is used on my favorite show the Biggest Loser I had to have it. I was very quickly disappointed with my purchase:

• It leaves marks on my arm when I wear it for too long (more than 12 hours), and it makes annoying beeping sounds to indicate disconnect/reconnect sequence. Folks at work were giving me more than usual weird stares whenever I’d adjust the bodybugg location on my arm. 
• The software applications for it sucks. For starters, the webapp requires full Java installation, which took Eric and I about 15 minutes to figure out since it doesn’t actually tell you that. The app scores low on usability and reliability as it tends to crash a lot and is not intuitive to navigate.
• The biggest downside was that there is no way to get the data from the device without the app unless you buy a display watch for an extra $70. But the sucky app is not even free! You need a monthly subscription (more money into their BodyMedia hands) to keep your account active. Once your subscription expires and you don’t renew it, the device is unusable, so its square black body’s  been buried in the grave of useless inventions.

The search for a perfect fitness device continued until a few days ago. I’ve returned back to www.loseit.com to track my calories for the Biggest Loser Challenge and I noticed loseit showing an option to link a fitbit to my account. I was intrigued to learn more about fitbit. A few of my co-workers purchased it last year and it appeared to me that it was just a fancy pedometer with a flower to indicate how active you’ve been. Boy, was I wrong!

This thing is so much more than a pedometer (keep in mind that my bar was significantly lowered after the bodybugg broke my little heart).

1. First it’s smaller than any pedometer I’ve seen, so you can clip it on to your bra or belt loophole. The clip is secure enough that I don’t have to worry about it falling off when I bend down or go to the bathroom (I’ve fished my phone enough times out of toilets already. I don’t need another reason to stick my hand in there).
2. The installation was very easy. You install a driver from the website which basically is a service that runs in the background to seamlessly upload your data. The device comes with a base station so whenever you are near it and your computer is on, the data will automatically get uploaded to the web server. (Don’t forget to turn on Auto-proxy detection if you are using on a work network).
3. On one hand I am loving the wireless upload so I don’t have to keep reaching into my bra every few hours while sitting at my desk (enough folks think I am already weird as it is). On the other hand, you need to remember to dock your device every 3-4 days so it can actually charge. I wish the device supported standard USB cables, so I can easily charge it at home or at work without the need to carry the docking station back and forth.
4. So what does it actually track? After you configure your profile (account info, sex, age, weight, height), it tracks your steps, distance travelled, and stairs climbed. Based on your movement, it calculates the calories burned. They use some fancy algorithm making the numbers more accurate than your regular $10 pedometer. 
5. There is a free online service to access your data and cool charts.
   
   

   You can also see the information directly on the device by clicking the little button at the top.

6. The best part is the sleep tracker. Once you get into bed you can hold the top button to begin the stop watch. When you wake up, press the button again to stop the counter. Afterwards, you will get freaky cool sleep analysis report that will show exactly how many times you woke up during the night. Note, I have not once gotten out of bed whenever there is a red active marker, but I did wake up and looked at the clock.
   
7. Similar to loseit, fitbit has a built-in social network where you can share your results with other fitbitters. I particularly like the integration with loseit. I can track my calories in loseit since I already have all my favorite recipes and foods entered there, and the food automatically syncs to my fitbit account. Similarly, my activity gets adjusted based on fitbit results. For example, on Friday I actually hit 10,000 steps, so I got 153 extra calories in loseit since I spent more calories than the allocated default. I don’t wear it during exercise, although that would be a good stress test. Can it keep up on my runs?
   

To sum up, fitbit is cool, cute, accurate and very personable (can’t believe it’s not made by Apple ). It even displays motivational messages on its screen throughout the day with just the right brightness so that “Go, Jane, Go!” does not project through my sweater for everyone to see.

If you are in the market for a new pedometer, I strongly recommend you splurge (fitbit cost $99) and get your fitbit on!

[Jane Asks]: Any cool fitness gadgets you’ve tried lately?

Positive encounter

This morning I had an unexpectedly happy encounter with my scale. We are like two high school friends that used to be very close but with time drifted apart and for some reason don’t tend to like one another anymore but still keep up appearances most of the time whenever we have a run-in.

No matter how much I mentally prepare, I tend to dread weighing myself, as the number is never what I  desire expect it to be. Mondays are especially bad, as  I am coming off a weekend which often includes splitting at least one bottle of wine with my hubby (70% for me and 30% for him). I can’t even recall the last Monday where I did not have a gain … until today. Despite my usual wine indulgence and two dinner outings with friends last week, I still managed to lose 6lbs. I could not believe the number (so I made Eric weigh himself, to make sure our scale was still working right).

(In case you are wondering, last Friday was Rachel’s birthday and we surprised her with a shopping spree and a nice dinner out. Here are a couple of before and after pictures.)

I fully embrace my ability to gain/lose weight for challenges like the Biggest Loser which drives me crazy on regular days. It’s not uncommon for me to gain 5lbs-8lbs of “vacation” weight when away from home, and over the years I have learned the tricks to take those pounds off just as quickly after I am back. I definitely let myself indulge over the holidays and on January 2 (for the initial weigh-in) my weight was up in its usual high range.

(I had to make a second apple cake for just Eric and I after it was such a hit at the Chrismukkah party. Eric is counting the days to the next Chrismukkah already):

So how did I drop 6lbs?!

1. Track calories and monitor food intake. I used www.loseit.com to enter my calories and stuck mostly to power foods from the weight watchers handbook (lean protein, fruits, veggies, whole grains, nonfat dairy). I’d have pumpkin oatmeal or egg white omelets for breakfast. Turkey sandwiches and veggies or salad with chicken for lunch. For snacks, Greek yogurt + berries, apples + almonds, cheese string. Dinners mostly consisted of some lean protein (turkey, chicken) + good carb (sweet potato, brown rice) + green steamed veggie (green beans, broccoli).
2. Don’t overeat after dinner while watching TV. For me the evening meal is not complete until I have dessert, so this week I made lots of sugar free jell-o and puddings. They are actually pretty satisfying, especially when you add light whipped cream on top and a few berries. Afterwards, I chew a piece of gum to resist late night snacking.
3. Work out like a maniac. I burned 8300 calories last week. My body does not respond well to hunger, so I need to eat (for the sake of those around me). Since I like food so much, I need to compensate with extra workouts. 2 hour workouts are becoming a norm, which is not just goodness for weight loss but most importantly for my endurance training for my upcoming marathon.
      
   On average, I’ve been eating about 1400-1700 calories a day (so don’t think I was starving myself for the weight loss)
   
4. Calories are not equal. There’s been conflicting messages around calorie counting. Some say it does not matter what you eat as long as you eat fewer calories than you burn, you’ll lose weight (that was the old school approach). The new school of thought is that calories are not the same. Certain foods “burn” through your body faster and are less likely to get stored as fat vs. others. I can certainly attest to that. 150 calories apple, 150 glass of wine, 150 calorie cookie, each affect my body differently.  Apple is no biggie, wine is a watch out zone, because it leads to overeating the more I drink, but cookie is where the danger lies, as it instantly gets converted into chub – there is a cookie on a tray and there it is on Jane’s behind.  
5. Keep it lean and green. This one I picked up from Bob Harper. (Sometimes when I am in the gym I pretend that Bob is there with me just like in the real game show. Reading his book might have sparked my imagination.)
   
   Cutting out carbs at night (although very hard to do at any point of the day) seems to lean me out faster.
6. Resist the scale. As tempting as it is to monitor your progress in real life, I try to stay away from the scale on hourly daily basis and limit the weigh-ins to just twice a week. The number on the scale is very powerful and even when you do everything 100% right it can bring you down as it’s not going dropping fast enough or due to normal body fluctuations you might even be slightly up one day. I stick to my plan on www.loseit.com and wait until the weigh-in day to have an element of surprise (just like on the show ).

[Jane Asks]: How are your fitness and weight loss resolutions progressing?

Biggest Loser

Over the holidays I started watching (and became completely addicted to) the NBC’s reality TV show The Biggest Loser. Never having seen the show until a few weeks ago, I still knew the general premise from the commercials and random conversations with friends and co-workers. It is really amazing how quickly an overweight person’s body can transform and drop up to 100lbs if they are placed in a controlled setting with pre-measured meals and snacks and rigorous workouts with world-renowned trainers like Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels. It’s a giant fitness lab experiment with a dozen  overweight American lab rats (I’d be that lab rat in a second if I had more than 80lbs to lose.)

One thing for sure, the show is an amazing motivator for many to get into better shape. If a 400 pound man can run at 12mph, you know you can do it too, you just have to try. With the new year upon us, the timing could not be more perfect for starting or amping up a fitness regimen. Did you know that fitness and weight loss are the most popular new year resolutions?! (I made that up, but I am sure it’s true ) And to help stick to a healthy lifestyle this year, my friends and I have started our own Biggest Loser Competition. (I have the best friends in the world. Not only are they supportive of my every crazy fit/diet obsession, they are even willing to come along for the ride).

Our challenge will be different and here are the rules that we are following:

1. To qualify for the challenge you will need to be at least 5lbs over your ideal goal weight (probably not hard since we are coming off the holiday week).
2. The challenge will last 5 weeks starting on Monday January 2^nd, and to make it more fun there will be a grand prize for the winner.
3. There will be a fee of $5 per week for all participants on the first week.
4. We are not going to “kick anyone off the ranch”– instead the person that is the biggest loser each week is exempt from the $5 weekly fee to continue the challenge. (I picked $5 so the most the challenge can cost is $25 per participant, roughly what a March Madness pool would cost. All the money will be rolled into the grand prize to entice the weight loss and create a fun competition).
5. All participants are expected to honestly report their starting weight and weight loss/gain each week. The competition will be based on the body weight % lost. Each week the person with the highest body weight % lost will become the biggest loser for that week and is exempt from the $5 weekly fee. At the end of 5 weeks the person with the largest percentage of body weight % lost since the start of the competition will be the grand prize winner.
6. The weigh-ins will be on Monday mornings and the results of the weigh-in must be emailed to the challenge organizer (If you are not comfortable with disclosing your weight, than you can provide your body weight % loss/gain the week after the challenge begins.)
7. At the end of 5 weeks we will hold an award  ceremony to announce the winner.

At the end of the day, this is not about winning the grand prize or the title of the Biggest Loser (unless you are an overachieving type-A striving for competition )– the focus is really on starting the new year right by sticking to healthy habits and getting into better shape.

[Jane Asks]: What are your plans for starting a new year healthy and fit?

Running in the New Year

How do runners ring in the new year? By running of course

I had a 17 mile run on my schedule this weekend, so I figured I might as well wrap up 2011 with a nice long run. The weather gods were on my side as  sun actually came out and the temperature was in the low 40s.

Some old habits are worth carrying into the new year, like my pre-run breakfast of toast, PB and banana.

A new running outfit undoubtedly would help anyone’s motivation.

Even though I claimed I’d never shop at Lululemon, I have become a convert (when I can get it on sale). The Run Inspire Crop II is the best running pant I have ever worn. It feels like second skin, and there was no chafing at all. Well worth the money.

My route consisted of two connecting loops. Each loop optimized around easily accessible bathroom locations. My two favorite stops are my gym (I swear I am there more than home) and Whole Foods. I visited Whole Foods twice. The second stop was on the way back as I did not bring any fuel with me, so a couple of Mighty-O donuts and cheese samples were perfect to carry me through the last 3 miles. (a tip for budget-conscious runners out there – stay close to Whole Foods for water and free samples).

I came a bit short of the planned 17 miles, but anywhere between 16-17 miles meets the training goal in my books.

After my long run, it was time for a well-deserved spa treat. My muscles were singing Hallelujah after some needed soak in whirlpool followed by a quick massage and mani/pedi.

Eric and I were thinking of keeping it low-key this New Year’s Eve and did not make any plans. Once 6pm rolled around we were trying to figure out what we should do for dinner. Luckily, there were still a bunch of places available on www.opentable.com (if you’ve never heard about this site, it’s great for reading restaurant reviews, checking availability and making instant reservations.) We opted to splurge on a nice steak dinner and returned to one of our favorite spots – John Howie’s. The place was happening but not over packed (unlike every time we’ve been to Daniel’s Broiler), and the steaks were superb!

It’s a good thing we split a baked potato as it was big enough to feed a family of four for a week and then some. The best thing about this place is their freshly-baked bread basket with various mini buns of all sorts – cheese puff, pretzel, ciabatta, some fancy crackers. If you are nice to your waiter he’ll even bring you extra of your favorite kind.  Oh, yeah bring on the cheese puffs and the pretzels – that’s why I run crazy distances!

Happy smiling people

Check out Eric’s new watch. One of his many Chrismukkah presents

We passed on overpriced dessert and instead picked up a few tasty things at Whole Foods – mini cheesecakes, tiramisu cupcake and sparkling wine. I felt that after the hospitality Whole Foods had shown me, it’s only fair I came back the third time to give them some business. The only downside to such a wonderful day is that I completely passed out on the couch by 10pm and the next thing I knew Eric was shaking me to give me a happy new year kiss as Dick Clark was doing the countdown on TV. When did I become such a babushka wrapping myself is shawls and unable to stay up until midnight?! (rhetorical question).

[Jane Asks]: How did you ring in the new year? Did you go out, stay in, host a party?

Chrismukkah

In our house we don’t just light the menorah candles or hang our stockings by the fireplace, we do both by celebrating Chrismukkah.

I thought we were pretty original with this unique holiday tradition, but apparently I was wrong, since it’s been featured on shows like The O.C. and there is even a wikipedia entry explaining this “pop-culture neologism”.

Chrismukkah starts with dusting off our menorah and rush-ordering Hanukkah candles from Amazon, since local stores don’t seem to carry them (Eric went to a holiday store and they offered up a box of “Dutch holiday candles” which contained a total of 4 candles!).

Next we decorate the house. This year Domino was in charge of decorations.

Of course there is gift exchange. Eric usually gets eight gifts, one for each night of Hanukkah.

What else can a Jewish woman ask for… except maybe a pair of designer stilettoes, and now I’ve got both

No holiday is complete without a feast of specialty foods to share with loved ones, so every year we host a Chrismukkah party and invite some friends to light candles and spin a dreidel or two.

This year’s menu included:

After hours of laboring in the kitchen the dinner came together nicely

And everyone seem to enjoy it (no food poisoning as far as I know)

We had some classic appetizers including a cheese platter, shrimp cocktail, trail mix, pineapple, and homemade salmon dip with crackers.

The first course consisted of a holiday salad (mixed greens, sweet white onion, candied pecans, pomegranate, turkey bacon) and Challah bread.

Then we sampled some classic Jewish dishes like mini-Reubens, latkes and beef brisket in mushroom sauce.

For dessert, there were two cakes: richly-flavored Gingerbread and delicious Dutch Apple cake (I got the recipe from www.smittenkitchen.com)

If you want the recipes for any of the items on this year’s Chrismukkah menu, leave me a comment, and I’ll reply with the recipe details.

We conclude Chrismukkah festivities with Jewish Christmas (aka Chinese food and a movie). 

Chinese Food on Christmas

[Jane Asks]: What are some of your traditions during the winter holiday season?

Live and Let Live

A couple of weeks ago, Groupon sent me the deal of a lifetime:

GnR is one of my favorite rock bands that I have listened to ever since I was 7 years old and found a tape in my dad’s car. Each song brings back special memories. I bought my first car while listening to November rain. My air guitar move had its first appearance in public to Sweet Child of Mine at a college bar. My high school boyfriend broke up with me while playing Patience and Don’t Cry for me on the phone. So without hesitation I purchased two tickets. On Friday I was so excited to finally see GNR live that we arrived to KeyArena an hour before the show, leaving extra time to pick up our tickets and a few refreshments.

I was ready to rock out!

Little did I know that no rock concert ever starts on time, and at 9pm we were still waiting around for the opening band to come on stage. Loaded was opening and it is a relatively new Seattle-based band led by Duff McKagan who is best known for his twelve year career as lead bassist for GnR. (I had a bunch of time to kill waiting for the concert to begin, so I was doing some research on Wikipedia ). The only song that I’ve ever heard Duff sing was “Fall to pieces” that he did a few years back with Velvet Revolver.

Loaded was loud and not very good and nobody knew their songs, so we were all counting minutes until Axl would take the stage. We were anxious as based on his performance history, there was a chance Axl might never show. Apparently there were three incidents in the past that resulted in angry fan riots and damages in hundreds of thousands due to Axl bailing at the last minute (assuming the wikipedia article is accurate).

By 10:30pm, the GnR finally took the stage with a grand entrance! There were fireworks and jets of fire in the background while Axl in his iconic rocker outfit – bandana, boot cut jeans, black leather jacket – was moving the crowd. For a fifty year old, he is in amazing shape. He was dancing, jumping, running at every song.

They played lots songs from Appetite for Destruction and a few from their new album – Chinese Democracy, which I was not familiar with.

Come midnight the band was still going strong with Axl on his third costume change (all that rocking made him pretty sweaty), but after a long week at work and a big day ahead, Eric and I decided to leave early. Sadly, we probably missed out on our favorite classics like Sweet Child of Mine and November Rain. Good thing I just happened to have the greatest hits in my car CD player and so we rocked to GNR all the way home.

I woke up early on Saturday to do a 14 mile run for the week. I was expecting to be slow and tired as I barely got 6 hours of sleep, but amazingly this was my fastest long run this training season. 13.75 miles in 2:01 with average speed of 8:58 min per mile. I spent the rest of the day getting dolled up for our Holiday party which was held at Sheraton hotel downtown Seattle. The theme this year was Alice in Wonderland.

I was disappointed as a giant smoking caterpillar never showed up.

I don’t remember such a good-looking couple in the cast of Alice in Wonderland

The party was ok, but lacked in comparison to Eric’s Ten Year anniversary that was fresh in our minds. My checklist for a good party is pretty simple:

• delicious food (with healthy options)
• unlimited alcohol (makes it for fun people-watching as the night progresses)
• good entertainment (a live band or a good DJ to get the crowd started)

Even though this year’s holiday party had some cool decorations and acrobats doing splits while hanging upside down from the ceiling, it fell short on all the three criteria. One of these years they’ll get it right.

[Jane Asks]: Any holiday parties you’ve attended recently or in your near future?