Monday's Meditation: The Break Up

After my half-marathon this past May running and I decided to take a break. I realized throughout all of the training, and preparing it felt more and more like a chore... not an enjoyable activity.

I felt pressure to do well, and afterwards felt that to some people I hadn't done well enough, or that the way I went about the whole process wasn't right. Or that the only reason I did semi- well was that I trained a lot (which 3 runs a week felt too little). It just made me feel like I could've done better or that I should've. Don't get me wrong, I am beyond proud that I accomplished this race and at a decent time, but I let others take that from me and it made me hunker down more in my decision to not be running.

Then I picked up Born to Run by Christopher McDougall... and I'm forever grateful that I did!!

(Source)

If you are/were a runner, athlete, or someone that just likes a good story... I highly recommend it!  I'm realizing the longer I read, the better I feel about my decision to take a break with running.

I want to run because I enjoy it, because it makes me happy, because I feel good when I'm out there. I want to run with JOY!!! I want to run for ME! And right now... it just ain't happenin'.  Running shouldn't be some painful experience, our bodies should love it! (After all they were built for that purpose) but as a society we've completely lost our dependency on our bodies, feet, and what they can accomplish!

I'm hoping that soon I'll find my love of running again, and when it comes I'm just going to go out there and have fun :) Do I still want to run more races? definitely. But I want to leave all pressure and expectation behind me and just love it! So until that happens it'll be Insanity and P90X for me, which I'm ok with.

So I won't say goodbye to running... we'll just say "see you later" and remember that absence makes the heart grow fonder :)

Sweetness

Although there are many times Jon and I feel completely alone in the land of Korea, we are sent some awesome reminders that this is most definitely not the case. We are reminded of all the absolutely amazing friends we have back home!

We are blessed!

Last night I was feeling pretty down about being away from family... which kind of surprised me because I've actually been doing well on the homesick front. But it was a little overwhelming last night.

And today when I ran to my school to grab a package I found a card.

Our anniversary is in about a week and last year and this year... it never fails our friend Katie ALWAYS remembers.

Katie has always been one of the most thoughtful friends. She sends cards for birthdays, anniversaries, and I'm sure any other special occasion you could imagine celebrating. And she does this with ALL of our friends from University.

Katie has always been a fantastic friend, ever since freshman year :) We've been in small groups together, played flag football, basketball, we've shared our love of Jane Austen, and I think she's finally used to my touch feely ways :)  ... and I know she'll always continue to be a good friend.  She is great at keeping in touch with others... and not just facebook/email wise. I love that she does things in letter form.

I wish I were half as thoughtful as you Katie!!! 

Thank you so much for brightening up our day with your sweetness :)

Katie we love you and can't wait to see you for an awesome visit in Korea in just a few months!!!

Yoga

As if I haven't mentioned it enough, Jon and I've been doing the P90X program. As a matter of fact Jon has only 3 days left until he is officially finished!!! Woo hoo!!!

As part of the program there is a Yoga day. And I have ALWAYS hated it. It's 90 minutes of horror.  The first 45 are solid sun salutations, upward dogs, downward dogs, vinyasa's....etc. And it sucks.  I've kind of always avoided this day and just done the stretching video.

I only wish I looked this calm and cool during yoga...I'd be tipped over on the floor.

Now for a little disclaimer... I actually don't usually hate Yoga. I actually took my first Yoga class in Korea. Now you'd think learning a sport in a different language would be hard... and it is. But Yoga is a series of sometimes complicated positions and learning it in Korean was a bit of a treat.  I'm sure I did the majority of it wrong, but I enjoyed being part of a class and the instructor was always super excited that I came :)

And that is exactly why I was sort of surprised that I actually really disliked the Yoga X video. But after reading why it was part of the program and how beneficial yoga really is to your body I decided to give it another go, same instructor but only 45 minutes and a lot faster paced.

Here's Tony... doin' his thing. (He's the P90X guy)

Buuuuuuut, during this 45 minute video Tony said a little something that made me realize why yoga is so dang difficult for me!

"The vast majority of Americans don't like yoga, because they have to be calm in an isometric posture that is uncomfortable. And, that is working on joints, ligaments, tendons, and muscles. It's also working  patience and your breath. It's an atypical exercise, and if there is any society that needs it more in the world it's America just a chance to chill, learn how to chill out and be in the moment and be present and undertake time to breath and understand the physical pain. If you breath and clear your mind you become more open not only phsycically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually."

Nailed it right on the head Tony. I have issues with chilling out, being calm, and being uncomfortable. I'm used to exercise that is fast paced, gets my heart rate going, and I'm mooooooving so pain doesn't last too long. Yoga ...hmmmm I'm still moving, but the pain is there because you are stuck in that position. But the great part is I sweat almost as much with Yoga as I dod anything else. It's tough and really does rely on your strength in more ways than a lot of other exercises. It works EVERYTHING and really does keep you limber.

I seriously need to learn how to do this... sweetness.

And to be honest I really do feel that yoga makes you more aware of your body's limitations and abilities. I've been able to focus more on what my body is feeling like that day and certain areas that are tighter than others. I like being more aware of my body and I like being more "in tune" with what's going on. 

I'm starting to approach yoga days differently now. I'm trying to focus on the many benefits my body will get from it and really trying too look at it in a positive light! And I actually enjoyed my yoga this morning! We're making progress!

Do any of you enjoy yoga??? Why or why not?

(Oh.... and if you want to see some REALLY amazing shots go to my friend Laura's blog  she took some fabulous photos of our other elementary school friend, Haley... who is now a yoga instructor. Seriously amazing shots :) )

Granola Bars

Recipe week is continuing here on the Stainbrook's Street... mainly because I have a lot of time on my hands and I finally have the time and motivation to makes some things I've been wanting too for awhile!

Yesterday I whipped out my homemade granola bar recipe and I was not disappointed. I really love granola bars, but a lot of times they have extra High Fructose Corn Syrup, soy, and other products added in that aren't really needed.

These babies are quite easy to make and delicious too!

Homemade Granola Bars

-1/2 c. brown sugar (I'm hoping when we get back to the states I can replace this with date puree, or something a little healthier... but no such luck in Korea land)

--1/4 cup non-sweetened applesauce

-1/4 cup margarine (I replace half of this with ground flax seed)

-1/2 tsp. Vanilla

-1 egg

-1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

- 1 tsp cinnamon

-1/2 tsp baking soda

-1/4 tsp salt

- 1 cup oats

- 1/4 cup wheat germ (optional)

And from here on out you can add whatever dried fruit or nuts you want!

For this mix I used 1 cup raisins, 1 cup craisins, and 1/2 cup slivered almonds

cream the margarine and sugar

Add in the applesauce, vanilla, egg, and flax blend together

Mix in Flour, Cinnamon, baking soda, salt and wheat germ

Then add in Oats and whatever other mix-ins you prefer!

Press into a greased pan  (it doesn't have to be too thick) bake at 350 for 20-25 min.

Take them out, let them cool

And then wrap 'em up in saran wrap or wax paper!

My recipe makes around 20 bars (give or take a few, depending on how much I munch as I go, and how big I cut them)

Now you have an arsenal of deliciousness waiting to be a snack, or breakfast, or dinner... or anytime you want 'em :) We usually bring them to school to snack on after a mediocre school lunch.... but really they are amazing at any time of the day!

Monday's Meditation: Vacation and Food

 So technically we aren't on summer vacation yet, buuuuuuuut we do happen to have a nice long weekend and so far it has been fantastic!

We happen to have this lovely 5-day weekend because our schools are camping. That's right, students, teachers, etc... all camping for 3 days.  Can you imagine if we did that in the states? It would be madness! But they do this at least once a year! And it's not just our small island schools either...  last year our schools of 700/800 students did the same thing! Only the Principal, Vice Principal, and the homeroom teachers go.
Can you imagine... being the homeroom teacher? In charge of 30 some students for 3 days! I would kill them... and then myself. I think for the islands it's not so bad because there are under 20 students in each class and they are extremely well behaved. Our schools from last year on the other hand... there were a bunch of issues with drinking, smoking and all that jazz. I just can't imagine parents in the U.S. being ok with that teacher to student ratio.

Anyway, because our schools are off camping, we have some days off. So we've been cookin'!


I've been having fun with a few recipes lately and figured I might as well share the joy and deliciousness.

The first one we tried was a yummy muffin tin quiche/egg bake type thing.

Yes the picture does not make them look appetizing... But I don't know if egg ever looks appealing in photos.

Makes 9 Muffins

-6 eggs, beaten (you can use egg whites, egg beaters... but we aren't that fancy in Korea)

-1/2 a pepper chopped up

-1/2 an onion chopped

-2 cloves garlic minced

-2 Tbsp. Milk

-1/3 shredded cheddar cheese

-some bacon chopped up 

(you can also chop up mushrooms, spinach...basically any veggies you want)

Mix it all together and spoon into greased muffin tins.

Bake at 350 for about 30-35 minutes.

ENJOY!!! with a side of cinnamon toast and orange juice :)

The second on our cooking list  of greats is some yummy stir fry!

Look at all that color!!!! Gotta love those veggies!

The stir fry is pretty self explanatory... cut up a TON of veggies. In our mix we have....

peas, zucchini, red pepper, garlic, onion, and carrots. We also tend to add in bok choy if we have it or any other veggie that sounds good.

Saute the veggies in some EVOO and then we add in the brown rice

And then comes the sauce... which is the BEST PART!

Lemon/Lime Stir Fry

-1 tsp. flour

-40ml lemon juice/lime juice or both (our usual!)

-30 ml honey

-1 Garlic clove (can you tell we like garlic???)

Mix it all together then stir it in with the rice and veggies... simple and DELISH! We also usually add in some chicken, but tonight we decided to go all veggie much to Jon's chagrin.

I love this stir fry, it's zesty, fresh and just really summery feeling...

And the last on our list of yumminess....

A favorite summertime treat... POPSICLES!!!!!

We found these fun molds at the store for about $1... best dollar spent...EVER.  So now that we had the molds, I had to figure out how to make popsicles and what I should put in them. So here is what I came up with, again really simple but I need to experiment a little bit more.

The first is some refreshing pineapple/strawberry popsicles

Just add some 

-Frozen Strawberries

-Pineapple

-Yogurt

-Little milk

Blend away!!!! Pour into the molds and freeze! I think Next time I may add a little lemon/lime and maybe some honey or sugar to give it a little something more. But considering all of the scorchingly/humid days we've been having these have been amazing!

And the next was extremely simple

Pudding Pops!

I felt like a kid again :) Sorry for the blurry photo... trying to hold the D90 and get good lighting and taking the picture all at the same time doesn't exactly produce the best photos... but man that was a dang good popsicle :)

So that's what we've been up too. Lounging about, working out, and eating lots of fun things!

What are some of your favorite new recipes? We can ALWAYS use more ideas!!!

Stung, stung bad

Since it's been a long week, and since it's a Friday, and because I found myself crouched down in the fetal position during one of my classes today because a huge killer bee came within 10 feet of me... I thought we'd take a little walk down memory lane.

The summer of 2006 I  was living with two other Sarah's... yes there were three of us (talk about confusing).  I like to call it "The Mormon Summer" as we decided to befriend two random Mormon missionaries that were trying to convert us. They actually broke a lot of their church's rules by hanging out with us as often as they did, but I'm pretty sure they just did it because they had crush's on the other two Sarah's ( I was dating Jon at this time).

Anywho... one of these days we found ourselves going to take a hike on the Superior hiking trail. We had been hiking for a good hour or so, talking, taking pictures, pretending to be tour guides, and enjoying the day. But because I had to get to work that evening we decided to take the trail back to the car.

At about this point in time I decide I haaaaaaad to go to the bathroom. Well... you can put two and two together. We're out hiking, middle of nowhere... I had nothing but mother nature's restroom. So I went for it! I start hiking back in the brush... getting out of view of the trail.

I drop my drawers and am gettin' ready to go and I feel a sharp pinch on my heiny. I'm utterly confused. I had seen no bushes with thorns or prickly things and couldn't figure it out. Then I felt another, and another, and another! Now I'm just frantic... WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME!!!!??? And then I take a look around.  There are HUNDREDS of bewanets (bees, wasps, hornets... I don't know the difference) swarming me... and my underparts. I shot up and start sprinting for the trail... so there I am, in my underwear... my pants around my ankles,  on the trail with the two Sarah's and the Mormon boys (who quickly walked the opposite way down the trail)  I'm freaking out trying to get my clothes off of me and I, kid you not, there were bewanets lining my pants and underwear.... literally crawling all over me.

The Sarah's rushed to the rescue getting the pants off of me and getting rid of the bees  as I sat in the middle of the trail, rocking back and forth crying.... in my underwear. Not my most shining moment. And yes... other hikers did walk by wondering what in the heck had happened to me... and my pants.

It's at this point in time I realize that my wallet has dropped from my pocket. My wallet containing a few hundred from my tips the other night. The wallet containing my debit card, drivers license. social security card, and everything else that was absolutely necessary to my life. Did I mention my wallet was black and the size of a palm? Now lost in the dark deep woods  with swarming bewanets ready to kill you at any moment?

Now I'm really panicking.... damn the bees.... DAMN ALL THE BEES!!!!!!! I was able to settle down a bit more after I got my pants back on and we went into problem solving mode. Then Jace... ,one of the mormons, stepped up to the plate. ( Although if he wasn't deathly allergic I'm sure Todd would've as well.) And miracle of miracles HE FOUND IT!!!!! I mean what are the odds!? Although my heiny and other regions were stinging miserably, I still had to try to make it to work. That and the fact that all of the toxins running through me weren't going to be making me feel better anytime soon... so I needed to get outta there.

Now let me make this clear. I have NEVER called in sick to work.... NEVER. Unless I am on my death bed, I show up. But I figured that this was an ok occasion to call, after all I had just been attacked by 50 million killer bewanets. It was justified. So on the way down the trail I called my boss, who was crazy... (another story for another time), and she kept me on the phone for 45 minutes... asking what I thought my "angels" were telling me, and what I should've done different. Ummm let me think... my "angels" are telling me to not use mother nature as my own personal toilet and that bewanets want to kill you at any time and will get their revenge by stinging you in places that were never meant to be treated that way.

After fu-hinally getting off the phone and concluding that I would not be coming into work (my angels told me not too) we got in the car.... and it HURT. We decided the stingers were probably not out and that they would need to come out one way or another. The only way we knew how was with a credit card... scraping. Now... I'd love to know if someone can scrape their heiny and nether parts with a credit card while having the venom of 15 bewanets inside of them i'd like to meet them. It just wasn't happening... so Sarah Och and I got reallllllll close that afternoon in the gas station restroom... and I'm forever grateful.

The next few days proved to be a pain in the rear end...literally and figuratively. Sitting hurt soooooo badly (which was perfect since we had a wedding the next day) and I was beyond tired for most of it.

As ridiculous as this story is, I have to explain it... because no one understands my plight. They don't understand why bewanets (especially the mammoth size ones in Korea) scare the living daylights out of me and send me into hysterics.  And I must say the Koreans look at me a little strange when I tell them, but there is a moral to the story. Never utilize mother nature as your personal restroom without taking in ALLLLLLL of your surroundings... and never underestimate where a bewanet will sting you... I'm still a little scarred.

Stiff Competition

I for one think my husband is quite the stud. Although I am on the biased side.

I have noticed though, that my sentiments are shared with many women, students, (and sometimes men) in Korea. While it only reinforces my fantastic decision in a partner, sometimes it's just darn cute.

I'm not sure what kind of spell Jon has on his students, but he's been the target of more than one crush. Last year he caught one of his students writing his name and drawing hearts around it, many of them tell him how much they love him, how handsome he is... etc.  and this year he got this cute little thing....

Alright Jini... let's see what you have to say...

For those of you that can't read it, it says

Jonathan You are So Good English Teacher!

Jonathan very very cooooooool~

Very *tall!~

Very Good *Voice

Very *Handsome

I like Jonathan 

but you are older

tham me and 

you married!

Ha Ha Ha!~

You very good Teacher

Well at least she recognizes that he's married... and that he's older than her. And I do have to agree with the rest :) 

And she does a good drawing...

All in all I think I'm ok with the competition... I'm pretty sure I've already got this one in the bag :)