When knees are no good.

Yesterday, I decided to run as far as I could in 30 minutes. I'm still working on regaining some of my speed. I ran 2.4 miles in 30 minutes which I was pretty happy about. Ideally, I'd love to be able to run 3 miles in 10 minutes but I'm grateful just to run.

I decided not to tape my knees. BAD, terrible, HORRIBLE idea. My knees are in major pain right now. I am doing what my physical therapist suggests for when this happens. Resting, Ice, Compression and Elevation. I can't take anti-inflammatory drugs (counteracts with my birth control) so I took some Tylenol. (Boo!)

See what I mean about being grateful? Running is privilege. I need to work on treating my knees better so I'm able to run. I won't forget to tape again.



Sad face after running. Knees=no bueno. Yes, that is a bottle of tequila on top of my fridge.



Instead of birthday cake, Sarah and I had pumpkin whoopie pies from Corner Bakery. These are so heavenly. I gave Andy a bite because I'm an awesome wife.



I am also an awesome wife because I make delicious dinners. I made us a spaghetti squash stew. First, I sauteed 2 cups spinach, 1 diced red onion and one diced zucchini.



Hacked a huge spaghetti squash in half.



Scooped out the seeds and rubbed with olive oil.



Then I mixed the spaghetti squash innards with the sauteed veggies and a jar of sauce. I added diced tomatoes in the sauce. It was too soupy to be pasta so Andy decided to call it a stew. It was really good!





I am also a good/bad wife for buying these. They are delicious but dangerous. Just a warning.

I am icing my knee for 45 minutes a day (Three intervals of 15 minutes each) and praying that I can run tomorrow. We'll see.

Have you purchased any dangerous snacks recently? What did you get?

*I say dangerous because these cookies are tempting. I have no problem with chocolate, peanut butter or cookies. I limit myself to a serving size per day. I am trying to lose weight without restricting my food intake or putting certain foods off-limits. I believe in a healthy balance. I eat dessert EVERY night (within 150-300 calories) because I'd go crazy otherwise.

Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome and banana soft serve.

Yep. I went to the sports medicine doctor and finally figured out what's going on in my knees. I suspected patellofemoral pain syndrome a while back after reading about Caitlin's experience with it but wanted to make absolutely sure.

Treatment starts soon with physical therapy and they promised that they'd get me running again! Seriously, you have no idea how happy those words made me. I may not run fast but I sure do love running! I'm also getting custom orthotics for my feet to help with the plantar fasciitis pain. Things are looking up.

We won't mention how old this all makes me feel.

We are super behind in posts due to going back to work, school and a regular schedule. This drives me nuts.



I have been making tons of guacamole lately. I am obsessed. I added a 2 lb box of avocados to our CSA list for next Saturday.



And I bought some corn and black bean salsa from our local farmer's market. This is the BEST salsa I've ever had. We're planning on buying more from him later today.



I made steak tacos to go with the guacamole and salsa. I used a packet of Trader Joe's taco seasoning to give the steak some flavor.



Yes, I am holding the plate up in my kitchen....



Seriously delicious. I used an organic onion and bell pepper to give it a little bit of veggie power. Next time I might try an all veggie taco.



Andy made us margaritas using Trader Joe's margarita mix. Have you tried it yet? It's got decent stats and is so tasty! I love that it's not super sweet.



Dessert was banana soft serve. To make this please read Gena's post on banana soft serve I'm telling you this was AMAZING. I added a little vanilla extract and some white chocolate wonderful pb to mine and LOVED IT! I can't believe this was made with frozen bananas!



Seriously Gena, you have changed my life. I love dessert but don't need all that dairy. This is such a perfect and cheap replacement!

Has a blogger recipe ever changed your life? Please share!