Happy Sunday friends! I hope you are enjoying your holiday weekend. I always experience a bit of the ‘blues‘ after we take the Christmas decorations down and pack everything away for the next year. While this year didn’t feel as “Christmas-y” as usual leading up to the holiday, I still had a TERRIFIC time once it got here. I miss the sparkle of the tree lights already! 
Another reason I bum out a little bit at the start of January is that our next holiday weekend doesn’t arrive until Memorial Day! It’s always a long stretch of time during that 5 months without a holiday weekend. (Although… maybe at my new job they treat Presidents Day as a holiday. I don’t even know! My last two jobs did not. Hmmm, something to look forward to maybe!)
I had a little time to post today since MSP is working on a project in the garage and because I’m hoping that if I DON’T pay very close attention to the Broncos game, maybe, JUST MAYBE, they might win. I’ve been getting a little TOO worked up over recent games, so today I’m only keeping ONE eye on the game and the other on my laptop! 
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Yesterday was GLORIOUS! Why? Because I finally got to get outside for a RUN! It was about 22 degrees when we took off in the morning but we warmed up quickly. We got in 4.41 miles, just enjoying the brisk morning and the sunshine. Then after we got back we did about 2o minutes of some really good stretching. This is the first winter in a long time that I remember being so housebound due to snow and cold here in Colorado.
Running outside when the sun is shining does wonders for my day. It puts me in a fabulous mood and energizes me to tackle whatever might be on my list.
While on the topic of running, I want to give a couple of SHOUTS out to some blog friends:
Cindy has been doing a “Couch to 5K” program and completed her first 5K on her treadmill (that she lovingly refers to as MAS, as in Maserati.) This is a FitFEAT for Cindy and I’m very proud of her! One of her 2010 resolutions is to compete in a 5K race.
Allison made a last minute decision to run a New Year’s Day 7.5 mile road race called the Freezaroo and beat her 2009 time. Funnily enough, Allison considered her run “mediocre” at an 8:06 per mile pace. I, however, only see that kind of speed on my Garmin when gravity is helping me out on a steep downhill! I think she ROCKED that race.
Congrats ladies for starting of your new year, Fit-style!
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To recap Saturday EATS, about 30 minutes before the run, I had my “go-to” pre-run fuel: part of a Coconut Cream Pie Larabar. And then when we returned, I had “Snowflake Toast” (Ezekial with light smear of raw almond butter, sprinkle of unsweetened organic coconut and a drizzle of raw local honey). I adore Ezekial toast and know that it must be boring for you all to look at day in and day out … but it’s just SOOOO good!!
Some veggies, baked pita chips and hummus:
Some homemade miso soup with unpasteurized barley miso, with spinach and nori strips:
Leftover Spicy Shrimp & Veggies from Friday’s Chinese restaurant outing:
The night was topped off with a vegan cookie from Whole Foods and another visit to the Wii RESORT where we did some airplane dog-fighting, some archery and shot some hoops! The Wii is seeing a little more action these days with the long holiday weekends. It’s easy to forget how fun it can be!
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When you are done reading today’s FitFeat post, head on over to Joan’s blog, I’m In The Garden Today, to read her superb post about COMPOSTING. This is something I’d like to explore further this year. We recycle like mad in our house (finally had to add a 32 gallon bin purchase this weekend to the two 14-gallon bins we already use for curbside recycling.) But it seems we could be doing a better job of being more “earth friendly” and throwing out even LESS. Joan’s post was highly informative and if you haven’t been out to her blog yet, go give it a gander!
Well friends, so far my “Broncos Avoidance Tactic” has worked because they are positioned to score a TD here to tie it up with KC. Oooop! Make that SCORED a TD! I hope that you are enjoying your weekend and I’ll see you back here tomorrow for the first Monday of 2010!
Let’s make it a GREAT year, full of FitFEATs!
– Shari B. =)
#1 by Cindy on January 3, 2010 - 8:53 pm
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Hey Shari!
I just posted about having the blues (a bit) because we took our tree down and I love the twinkly-ness of it all.
and thank you so much for your pat on the back or High Five…it was a FitFEAT…and I am now going to search 5K’s to sign up for! and HEY…a while ago I saw you had an event where you were covered from head to toe in mud…. this weekend I found a Muddy Buddy event and saw it is held in your neck of the woods…our town is hosting it this year and hubs and I want to do it and I was hoping for some insight…offline is fine too.
I am so happy got some outside time today! It feels so good huh?
See ya tomorrow.
.-= Cindy´s last blog ..Greens Galore =-.
#2 by Shari B. on January 5, 2010 - 5:47 pm
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Hi Cindy! I’m emailing you now about the Muddy Buddy! I also don’t mind talking here. Whichever is easier. I recommend doing it at least once.
After that, I don’t know! It’s DIRTY!! 
You deserve a HUGE high five! Well done on the 5K TM! It’s mentally TOUGH to stay focused on the treadmill….
#3 by Joan on January 3, 2010 - 5:35 pm
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Hi Shari,
Is nori and dulse same thing different name? I got nori and had some in zucchini quesadillas…not too shabby! And I’ve oggled miso so many times…just not sure which to buy of the 4 flavors I see and how to use it. Just add a bit to boiling water right? The pkg looks like such a lot…does it keep? I know the fermented product is one of the healthiest ways to get soy I read.
And btw…thanks oodles for the plug. Glad you liked the post.
.-= Joan´s last blog ..Mulch, Compost or Fertilizer? =-.
#4 by Shari B. on January 4, 2010 - 7:59 am
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Hi Joan,
Nori and dulse are different. Nori is a green sheet-like sea vegetable that you often see used in sushi rolls. Dulse is more of a purple-ish brown color. They will be marked with their names on the packages.
As far as miso, you definitely don’t want to add it to BOILING water. You want to take it off the heat before you mix it – the boiling water will destroy the goodness that is the miso. I don’t know how long it keeps – i’ll keep you posted. This is my first container – I’ve been looking for it everywhere, but finally found it this weekend!