An Interesting Trend

In class today we had the opportunity to play around with some of the tools Google offers. One of them is called "Trends" and it provides internet search trends overtime. I decided to do a test and laughed out loud when I saw the results...no surprise. I searched "diet AND exercise"...before you even look at the graph,I'm sure you can all guess what part of the year is highest for those searches!

This is a search only for the United States, but I think it's hilarious that every New Year people are trying their hardest to get healthy!

Looking for Motivation

Ever had one of those workouts where you leave thinking "I could have run further, I should have done more push-ups, I could have definitely done more core work"? Well, today was one of those days. But then I remember that 57% of Americans exercise only occasionally or not at all (yes, I found that on the Internet, lol). So, even if I maybe slacked a little bit today, it's ok.

BUT....that being said, I wanted to find out what motivates YOU to give it your all in the gym? Is it that feeling of peace you get? Is it to fit into a pair of jeans? Feel free to vote in the poll!!!

Great Customer Service

Every once in a while, I stumble across a business that actually CARES about their customers. I like to make sure that I highlight those businesses so other people are aware of it too!

Back in November I signed up for the Desert Spring Triathlon in California, which happens to be exactly when the USMC saw fit to send me all the way to the East Coast (VA Beach) for a 10-week course. Thinking that I'd most likely lost my money, I decided to at least make an attempt to get a refund. I e-mailed the race director, Greg Klein, and explained the situation. Within MINUTES, I had a reply in my inbox saying that they could either refund my entry fee or defer it until 2012. Unfortunately, I won't be around to do the race in 2012, so I did have to ask for the refund. And today, just as promised, my check arrived in the mail from Klein|Clark Sports LLC!

So I wanted to say THANK YOU to Greg Klein and Brenda Clark for running a company that cares. If I ever have an opportunity to run one of your races, I promise I will! So many races refuse to refund money regardless of the circumstances!

Run for Fisher House

April 16-17 I will be running a 24-hour race, the Fool Moon 24-hour Trail Run in Calabassas, CA. It's not run for any specific charity, but on the wonderful recommendation from my awesome sister, I decided that it would be great to support a local charity and good motivation for the run. I know that you are all probably hounded by different charities on a regular basis, but I wanted to reach out and ask you if you can donate ANY amount to the Fisher House of San Diego. Below you will find a description of what Fisher House provides for families of active and retired military members who require in-patient medical care.
There are two different ways to donate:

1) Pledge to donate a specific amount of money per mile that I accomplish - this means that right after I run, I send out the total distance I completed and you base your donation amount on that.

2) Lump Sum - a specific amount donated to Fisher House, regardless of the miles I complete.

Any amount will help and I want to thank you all in advance for your contributions! If you are able to donate, please e-mail me (ryutwin2@gmail.com) and I will give you further details.

Semper Fidelis,
Jessica

Fisher Houses I & II at Naval Medical Center San Diego provide a “home away from home” for active and retired military families of patients who have been admitted for medical care at Naval Medical Center San Diego. Both houses are comfortably furnished homes with a combination of 18 suites with adjoining baths, common kitchens (fully equipped), laundry rooms, living and dining rooms. Fisher House I has a stair chair for orthopedic challenges and two ADA compliant bedrooms. Fisher House II is completely ADA compliant with an elevator.

The Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher Houses are available to families who are coping with the medical crisis of a loved one and have no local accommodations. The Fisher House Foundation generously provides a grant to pay lodging fees for all families to stay at the Fisher Houses.

The Fisher House is available to families of Active Duty and retired military personnel, including National Guard and Reserve, as long as the patient has a military sponsor.

Donations

The Fisher Houses are a non-profit organization that depends on volunteers and donations for support to enhance daily operations and program expansion. The San Diego Fisher House Federal /State Tax ID number is: 95-1645429. Checks should be made out to: Fisher House Foundation.

Dinner Experiment

For dinner tonight, we had Knight and Leonie over and they were our guinea pigs for a few new recipes! We started with Basil-Mozzarella Tomatoes. We also made Israeli Salad (no pictures), which has diced green pepper, tomatoes, and cucumber with olive oil, lemon and lime juice, and salt and pepper.

For the main course, we made a Butternut Squash-Mozzarella and Sage pasta. I started by roasting the butternut squash with cumin seeds, salt, pepper and a bit of olive oil.

Meanwhile, I mixed butter, fresh mozzarella, fresh chopped sage, garlic, lemon zest, and lemon juice with a blender to make the "sauce". Once it is mixed, I laid it out on some wax paper and then chilled it for about and hour. Then I cooked the pasta. Once it was ready, I drained it and added the squash and the sliced up "mozzarella-butter". I forgot to take a picture before we ate, but here's the overall idea of the dish.

For dessert, we made a chocolate cake with a ganache topping and some orange peels for decoration. I also made some whipped cream to go with it!