Red Red Wine

I am sitting here blogging with a glass of wine. Red wine. I don't think I've ever done my blog with wine. Usually it's green tea and it's early in the morning - or - it's after I take Felix to school and then it's with a cup of coffee.

But right now I am having a glass to celebrate that I got my Christmas shopping done! It was actually quite pleasant to be in town this afternoon. The sun came out mid morning and that helped a lot with the condition of the sidewalks and the enjoyment of being outside. Way better than that gray crap, spitting snow and rain - bah.

We got more snow dumped on us last night and this morning. I almost cancelled with Linda, we had agreed to do the Sh'Bam class at my gym together today. But it was so incredibly slippery out, it was really scary to drive over there with the car, but we did it, very slowly, and made it just in time for the class to start, so Linda did finally get to try it out.

There was a special deal at the gym in the month of December where you could bring a friend for free to a class. She had never been to my gym so it was kind of fun to show her around. The class went better for me than last week because I was a tiny bit familiar with the routines. I still didn't do all the spinning around moves - that just makes me way too dizzy! Linda thought it was okay too, but she felt the music was too loud, which is true. I am not that crazy about the music in this class, except for the Black Eyed Peas "Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night" and Madonna's "Like a Little Prayer", those are fun to hear. In spite of that, I don't think I will do the Sh'Bam class on a regular basis once we get back from Texas in January. It's just not my thing and even though I am sweaty I never feel like I get a "real" workout like I do with running or weights or even the elliptical.

So then I showed Linda "my" treadmill and she tried it out, then she tried the stationary bikes while I ran a fast kilometer (5:42 - that's pretty fast for me) just to shake my legs out and then we headed home because we both had kids that would be home at lunch time from their exams.

So then after making sure they got home safely and feeding them a hot lunch, I walked downtown and started the last big push of Christmas shopping and I got it all done! yay me! It was busy in town, but I had my little list of places I needed to go and I moved along pretty quickly and got home at 5:30. It was pretty coming back in the dark with all the holiday lights and trees lit up.

So now my legs are tired and I am relaxing a bit before making some pasta for dinner, enjoying a well deserved glass of red wine. Shopping sure does take a lot out of you! But now I feel very relieved that it's ALL DONE. Now I just have to start thinking about packing for everyone...

My mom called this afternoon to tell us that the high temperature is supposed to be 67 F in Texas next week when we arrive! Hurray! I can't tell you how much we are all looking forward to some warmer weather after three weeks of non-stop winter and cold. I know we sound like big babies to those of you in the Midwest and Northeast but here in Belgium we just aren't used to extremes. The weather here is usually mild - rarely too hot and rarely too cold - but my son keeps saying it's all because of global warming and that things are changing. I hope not! My husband and I definitely want to move somewhere warm when he retires but that's not for another 20 years!

I kind of like this blogging with a glass of wine - I could get used to this! Hope you all are having a happy and relaxing Friday, wherever you are, and that you're able to put aside the stresses of the season and kick back and enjoy the cheer. Have a great weekend too!

Treacherous Ice

Treacherous...yes, indeed, it is...

We woke up this morning to what looked like clear streets and sidewalks but very quickly realized, walking to school, that the pavements were covered with "black ice" - and the ambulence sirens in the distance and the bikers falling all around us confirmed that the situation was treacherous. Felix and I made it to school on foot without falling in spite of a few slips and slides, I was hoping that Florian and Gillis made it to their school safely and made it home again at lunch...

At lunch they both came in with stories of falling on their bikes, luckily neither one was seriously hurt and they are now both upstairs studying away for tomorrow's exams. Phew. Right now it's pouring down rain. Weather forecast is predicting more snow and ice for the next few days - I sure do hope our flight on Wednesday will make it out of here!

Since I wanted to avoid being on the icy roads as much as possible, I did a really good yoga workout at home with Yogatoday.com - now it's time to go get Felix - hope I don't slip and fall!!!

PS: A recipe I submitted made it to this blog!

More snow!

Yes, it's snowing again! I think we have had, in the past two weeks, as much snow already as we normally have in a entire winter. Right now, there are big fat flakes falling from the sky. Lovely - if you don't have to go anywhere.

My youngest son is home sick so I probably won't be going anywhere except maybe the post office. Just going to stay home and make some warm soup and perhaps some cookies...

(Photo of the Groot Begijnhof in Leuven: Makoekis @ Flickr)

Meeting Jackie McFee

Remember the cute tanks my mom and aunt wore during the half marathon last month? I also bought one for myself and wore it to the gym for the first time last week. Very flattering and cute! While we were at the expo we actually met the designer, Jackie McFee, at her booth when we bought the tops - we all ended up getting the same one. Jackie was one of the main sponsors of the race (she also did the awesome tote bags we recieved), and her design work benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, so it is all for a very good cause.


I wore my new top to my first Sh'Bam class on Friday - so even though I felt like a total clutz, at least I still looked cute! The class was basically a very high energy aerobics class and even though it wasn't supposed to be as hard as Zumba, I thought it was pretty complicated - but then anything with "grapevines" and all those other classic dance steps is really not my thing. I have to be extremely careful not to fall on my butt!

My calves were surprisingly sore yesterday, from the Sh'Bam class, I guess. Today I went out for a run OUTSIDE! It was actually sunny and not too cold - this has been the first time I managed to run outdoors since I got back from Florida. It felt good, too! I have to say I definitely prefer running to aerobics class any day - nothing complicated about running, just put one foot in front of the other, and repeat, repeat, repeat....No fancy footwork required. But still, I look forward to spring and summer when I won't have to wear so many layers...and can show off my new tank top outside too!

Too Much Testosterone!

I got to the gym today and the weight room was crawling with high school boys! My gym works together with some of the local high schools and so sometimes there will be classes there, using equipment or taking group classes. Today, it seems, they were learning how to use free weights.

So I quickly adjusted my plans and decided to get a good run in on the treadmill. I haven't done much running at all since I got back from Florida - mostly because of the weather being so lousy for outdoor running - and I have to say it felt REALLY GOOD to pound away on the treadmill and work up a good sweat. I ran for 45 minutes and did a good 6 km. Felt great!

The weight room was still really hopping so I decided to do some weight machines, which I haven't done in a long time. The fun thing was, I can do a lot heavier on them now than I could in the past!

While I was stretching, one of the group class instructors, An, stopped to ask me to try their new class on Friday, Sh'Bam. It's sort of like Zumba, but with easier dance steps and top 40 music. So I told her I would come and try it out - so now I know what I will be doing on Friday. I will just have to keep my fingers crossed that I don't fall or trip...it will definitely be a new challenge for me!

Still cold!

Yep, it's still cold here...at least the snow melted during a brief warm up on Sunday so we can get around easier. Yesterday when I biked to the gym the temperature on the Stella building said "-0". Minus zero? How can it be minus zero? The funny thing is, when I biked back home, it said "0" - just plain zero, so that must mean it got warmer.

Workout wise, I am working on finishing stage 5 in New Rules of Lifting for Women. I should be able to get that done before we leave for Texas for Christmas.

Other than that, just getting ready for Christmas and trying to stay sane with a sick husband at home. And next week it's final exams for my two oldest boys so they will be home studying in the afternoons and expecting lots of TLC and treats from me. Thank goodness I can escape to the gym every now and then!

Hello Winter!

My exercise for today was walking back and forth to school while trying not to slip on the icy sidewalks hidden under a fresh layer of snow that fell last night (lower body and core for balance!) and then when I got home, shoveling snow (upper body and core - again for balance!). What a good workout! (But brrrr...I'd really rather be running my butt off in Florida...)

I also had to take the big pumpkin I got from a friend off my front porch and inside, before it froze. We don't have pumpkin in cans here in Belgium, so I usually cook one or two pumpkins each fall and make my own puree, which I freeze, to use in baking and soups. Then the first thing I do is make this recipe for the best little pumpkin cake ever!

Pumpkin Cake
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
2/3 c sugar
1/2 tsp each of cinnamon, ground ginger and nutmeg
1-1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
3/4 cup pumpkin purée
Juice and zest of 1 orange
3 T olive oil
1/3 c raisins
3 T pumpkin seeeds, toasted
3 T sunflower seeds, toasted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a loaf pan. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add pumpkin purée, orange juice and zest and oil, and stir gently to combine all ingredients. Stir in raisins and 2/3 of the toasted seeds. Pour batter into prepared pan, sprinkle with remaining seeds and press into top of loaf. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Very yummy - enjoy! And wherever you are - keep warm!