Why Follow This Blog?

I am humbled by the number of people who send me comments on Facebook, stop me at church or school to mention my blog, refer to my posts before my YMCA classes, or tell me over the phone or via email, Facebook, or Twitter that they read what I've written.  Wow!

I thank you.

I started blogging because I'm a writer.  I've always loved writing, but as an elementary school teacher, my passion became to inspire 8 and 9-year-olds to LOVE writing.  If I can't write for a living, maybe I can inspire a few who will.  MY personal writing has be relegated to the proverbial "back burner" as I've pursued my teaching and fitness careers.  Thankfully, with today's technology, I don't have to write my thoughts, send them to a publisher, and wait for 8 months to receive a letter saying that they won't be publishing my writings at this time.  Today, anyone can publish.  That gives me the courage to write.  But to whom?

This spring, I've written about things that I'm passionate about through this pubic forum.  It all started as a private blog, but I've opened it up to Facebook friends, and now to the rest of you who either live gluten-free or love fitness and healthy living.  I don't have anything to sell; I'm just excited about sharing my experiences with anyone who's willing to listen.  I publish as "Dusty Whiskers", because I am Mama Kitty to two amazing little black cats, but in this day and age you have to protect yourself from ridiculous things like identity fraud.  Most of you know who I am anyway...

More importantly, I want to talk to you.  I want to hear what you think. I want to hear your thoughts about my posts, ideas, recipes, product and restaurant endorsements, and experiences.  I want to hear from you.  I want to know how you've tweaked my recipes, how I could improve mine.  I want to know where some of your inspirations come from so I can be inspired too.  I want to know what fitness endeavors your taking on.  Let's talk!

And also, writers need feedback.  Yeah, we're needy.  The poor Husband has to deal with my complaints that I only have X number of followers.  I can't tell you how excited I was when I had my first follower who wasn't required by genetic code to follow my blog.  (Thank you, Mark!)

Also, because I want this to be a place of dialogue between people who want to discuss health and fitness.  I don't want this to be a place where I post my thoughts to the air.  I want this to be YOUR forum as well.  What do YOU want to share?  Do you agree with my ideas?  Do you have others to share with me?

And, I'll admit it, because I'm a needy writer-girl.  Yes, that's me.  As soon as I hit the "publish" button, I start imagining those who will actually read my post.  I can always count on Karen to respond immediately.  As my college roommie and fitness aficionado, I know she understands my purpose and my neediness.  But, in utter transparency, I confess that I check HOURLY for blog comments.  I'm in desperate need of affirmation!

Thank you for reading this blog.  Thank you for responding via Facebook and email about my posts.  But if you're willing to sign up to officially "follow" this blog (and/or the gluten-free cat fitness blog), I'd LOVE it.  All it takes is registering and signing in when you want to engage in dialogue.  (And of COURSE you can sign in as WHOEVER you want.  "Dusty Whiskers" is already taken.)

Regardless, thank you for reading.  I love you all.

A Few of My Favorite Things

“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…”  Although I love roses and kittens, I have a few other favorite things that make me smile even more.  And I got to experience four of these favorite things this morning.

1.  Fun

Today I got to participate in the Country Music Half Marathon!  Live music, excitement in the air, cheering crowds, strangers yelling encouragement, over 30,000 people focused on crossing the finish line...  What could be more fun?  My biggest fan, the Husband, traipsed all over town to document this fun.

We were under the threat of an impending tornado warning, which actually prevented some participants from finishing the Full Marathon, but standing in our corral with 1,000 other nervous runners, the temperature was perfect, and the forecasted rain hadn’t yet begun.

2.  Friendship 

Friendship just makes this life sweeter.  And this year I got to run with my friend, Andrea.  We’ve been friends for over ten years.  We’ve taught school together, laughed ‘til we cried, found amazing deals at the mall, prayed for each other, traveled to New York City, and now, we’ve run a Half Marathon together.  It was her first Half, she was still recovering from strep throat, but that girl did it!  She finished all 13.1 miles, and I couldn’t be more proud.  We committed to finishing together.  We didn’t care how long it took, how scary the weather forecast was, how many hills we might have to walk.  We were conquering this thing together.  Running by her side was an honor.

3.  Fitness

I’m so thankful for my ability to practice fitness every day.  I love teaching my fitness classes, training for events, and encouraging others to try things that they never thought they could do.  God gave us amazing bodies that are capable of more than we know. 

Sometimes those bodies say, “Hey, that’s enough.  I need a break.  Not this season.”  Sometimes they say, “Bring it on.  Give me one more mile.  Push harder!”  And when they speak, we need to listen.

The Husband listened this year after painful IT-band issues, and I could see it in his eyes starting at 5:30 this morning.  He was chomping at the bit at the start line, salivating as he jogged along next to us snapping pictures at mile 4., and riddled with angst as he cheered us on at mile 8 ½.  But when he surprised us on the final stretch at mile 12, I just saw love and pride on his face.  Yes, he wanted to be running this race with us.  But this was a different race, and he was there for us.  I love that man.

4.  Food

Nutrition is a key component of an endurance event.  So I started the day with my power breakfast.  This smoothie is the perfect combination of protein, carbohydrate, and fat, and because it’s blended, it’s easy to digest right before a run.

Pre-Race Smoothie

1 cup almond milk

1 T. peanut butter

1 scoop chocolate protein powder

ice cubes

Toss in the Vita-Mix, and you have quick, delicious fuel for the miles ahead.

After the race, we stopped at FiddleCakes (definitely one of my favorite things), because they gave out free cookies to anyone who ran the Country Music event today.  Sweet recovery treat!  Thank you, Tasha and Lindsay!

And then the grand finale.  Gluten-free pancakes for lunch.  I rarely make pancakes, probably because they instantly spike my blood sugar, I eat way too many, and then I regret it.  But after running a Half Marathon you deserve a few extra calories. 

Today I used Elana Amesterdam’s Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook and tried her pancakes.

Pancakes with Almond Flour

2 large eggs

¼ cup agave nectar

1 T vanilla extract

¼ cup water

1 ½ cups blanched almond flour

½ tsp sea salt

½ tsp baking soda

1 T arrowroot powder

1 T grapeseed oil

I used my trusty Vita-Mix (for the second time today) to blend the eggs, agave nectar, vanilla, and water for 1 minute on high.  Then I added the dry ingredients and blended until smooth.  I heated the grapeseed oil in a large skillet on medium-low heat and then poured about 1-2 tablespoons of batter in the pan for each pancake.  The outside of the pancakes browned much faster than the inside cooked, so it was challenging to tell if the pancakes were done.  Elana says to “cook until small bubbles form on the top of each pancake; when the bubbles begin to open, flip…”  Mine didn’t get bubbles.  Maybe my pan was too hot.

Regardless, they were delicious.  The Husband said that these pancakes were even better than “real” pancakes.  (I bristle at gluten-free not being “real”.  But what should we call the gluteny alternative?)  They were nutty, light, and incredibly tasty.  And despite the fact that I enjoy drenching my pancakes in maple syrup, I did not feel the spike in blood sugar that I’d normally feel with pancakes made with other flours.  Have I mentioned that I’m loving baking with almond flour?

So, it was a fantastic morning, filled with a few of my favorite things.  The rain (which didn’t start until mile 12) is coming down in buckets, I’m clean and warm on my couch, I have incredible memories, my tummy is happy, and I think I’m ready for a mid-afternoon…  (You thought I was going to say “nap”.  Ha!  Silly friends.)

Excercising on Vacation - Get Out and Have Some FUN!

Vacation is all about getting away. But there are some things that I just can't get away from. One thing is exercise. Why? Because I love it. Because it's fun! The first thing on my mind when I wake up is what type of workout I'm going to start my day with. Scratch that. The last thing I think of before I go to sleep at night is what I'll do to exercise the next day. There, that's a little more honest. And yes, that's even on vacation. The husband says that vacations are for resting. True, but some of us rest a little better after getting the endorphins flowing.

I love my gym -- the whir of the treadmills, the clanging of the weights, and the energy in the air as everyone is bustling about to meet their fitness goals. I love my group fitness classes and the participants even more. We work HARD together, and there's a feeling of camaraderie when you go through intense exercise together, especially when you accomplish things you never thought you'd be able to do!

But on vacation it is nice to have time away from the gym and to work out for me. I've had the best workouts this week. A coastal town has miles of roads and beaches, with gorgeous scenery, and built in air conditioning blowing in from the sea. No mirrors, mats, or HVAC this week.

Monday started with long runs on a coastal road. Tuesday started with a 24-mile bike ride with the husband. I'll be thinking of that bike ride for weeks to come during 6:00am spin classes! Wednesday was back to a good training run and a great walk along the beach with Mom. Since jellyfish were lining the wet shore, and I have a serious fear of jellyfish stemming from a bad childhood experience with a Portuguese Man o' War, we opted to walk, or march, in the deep sand. Wow, does that work the hamstrings, calves, and glutes!

And then there was Thursday. Oh, Thursday. I've been envisioning this workout for months. Seriously. I have a great 75 minute Vinyasa Flow Yoga CD by Baron Baptiste. I loaded it onto my iPod for times when I'm away from home and just need to start my day right. But the best thing about Thursday's yoga workout was that I set my mat up on the rooftop deck just as the sun was starting to take the chill out of the air. And this is what I got to see during my practice.

Unbelievable.

It's possible that I will never again be satisfied with another yoga experience.


And, savasana, or final relaxation pose, looking up at this sky left me giddy with excitement for the day.

So, at the close of this day, what do you think I'm considering?

That's right. Will tomorrow hold another long bike ride winding through more beach towns? Should I get that 10-mile training run out of the way before Saturday? Hmmmm.

I do know that whatever I choose it will start my day off right, it will be fun, it will be refreshing, and it will lead to rest.


And here's a funny little video that the husband took over his shoulder while biking. Exercise should always be FUN!