A friend from work picked up a peck of honey crisp apples for me from  a local orchard…

Yes. An entire peck of honey crisp apples.

Yes. I am lucky.

Yes. I know you’re jealous.

No. I will not share.

Dave and I have been eating about 2 a day but I’m still concerned that we’re not eating them fast enough, so I have been thinking of things I want to make with them. Apple pies are on the top of the list, but I just don’t have the time to devote to them just yet.

After dinner tonight I looked at the pile of apples and thought, “how about some apple crisp with my honey crisp?” And so I made some.

Honey Crisp Apple Crisp

6 medium apples, peeled and sliced
cinnamon
1 c. rolled oats
1/4 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. flour
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place the apples in a 13×9 baking dish and sprinkle with cinnamon. Mix the remaining ingredients and sprinkle over the apples/cinnamon.

Bake for about 30-35 minutes.

It makes me think of the restaurant back home called The Dream that serves amazing apple crisp. My dad eats there so often and always requests the apple crisp with extra crisp that now the waitresses just know when he comes in!

This crisp is kind of dry, but I like it that way. If you like ooey, gooey crisp, this isn’t your recipe. But it would taste really good with some ice cream or a little milk. I ate mine plain but Dave ate it with milk and was raving about it! Well, I was raving about it too, but it sounds more credible if I say it was Dave.

I also like that I don’t feel as though I clogged an artery. The honey crisps are perfectly sweet and tart that they don’t need too much added to enhance the flavor.

And no. I will not share.

How do you like your crisp? Ooey and gooey, or dry? More crisp or more apple?

Your comments on my post about Dave’s hobbies are cracking me up! I am happy to report that we are down to three bikes now. Dave just sold his Specialized Allez, so now we’ve got his baby tarmac, his fixed gear bike (a.k.a. “the Stallion”), and my road bike.

But anyhow, I promised you a winner of the Operation Beautiful book, and that winner is…

Julianne!!

Julianne, shoot me an email at abby.normally.blog[at]gmail[dot]com with your address and I’ll get the book out to you!

This weekend Dave and I had a date day in the city and hit up some of our favorite places after we picked up our Great Race packets. First there was a trip to the zoo!

Lions are my absolute favorite animal! Mainly because of Aslan…I even wear a necklace that is a head of a lion. However, I felt so sad for the animals, particularly this lion because it couldn’t live like it was meant to live. I felt like Nala singing about Simba, “Why won’t he be the king I know he is; The king I see inside?”

We hit up one of our favorite restaurants, Fuel and Fuddle, which is in Oakland right in the middle of Pitt’s campus. 

They have a beer that I actually really enjoy—a house brew fire brick brown ale. MMMMM! 

They also have amazing sweet potato fries… 

And Dave always gets one of their live fire pizzas!
 

 My fortune cookie at the end of the meal was perfect for any blogger:

I totally agree…which is why you guys were just subjected to a terribly boring blog post.

What’s your favorite restaurant? Do you always order the same thing?

My husband has a thing for expensive hobbies. Particularly cycling and hockey. In fact, he’s currently off playing with his new toy…a ‘10 Specialized Tarmac. Those words don’t really mean anything to me, but it’s all I’ve been hearing since Friday when I gave to “ok” to sink our nest egg on a bicycle.

I jest.

But he did really buy a new bike and he is really riding it right now (9 pm, people…on a high school track), and his hobbies really are overtaking our tiny apartment. Our “guest room” is currently inhabited by hockey equipment and sticks, golf clubs, workout stuff and FOUR road bikes.

I wish I had some kind of high-maintenance hobby. I mean really, I run and blog. I’m seriously as quiet as a mouse in this place. I don’t even watch TV! Mainly because I’d risk the loss of my right hand if I tried to change the channel from ESPN.

Although in Dave’s opinion there are moments when my love of “strange” (read: healthy) vegetables becomes an inconvenience.

Like tonight, for example, I came home with fresh brussels sprouts to make Julie’s maple roasted brussels sprouts. When he learned of this, his expression was comparable to my expression when he told me how much the bike cost. Consider it payback, David.

I made those little suckers and Dave claimed that they were “just alright” yet went back for seconds…and thirds. I think I softened the blow by serving them with burgers…black bean burgers, which he also claims are “just alright” yet requests them over beef.

I think he’s putting up with my “hobbies” in hopes that one day I’ll consider cycling “just alright”.

Don’t hold your breath.

Well, you might have to, because the combination of black beans and brussels sprouts do a number on your digestive system.

I’d kick Dave on the couch after a dinner like that, but tonight I’ll be the one sleeping there. After all, there isn’t any room in our bed for me, Dave AND the new bike.

What’s the hobby that’s overtaking your spare room??

P.S. Don’t forget to enter my Operation Beautiful giveaway!! It ends tonight!

**Don’t forget to enter my Operation Beautiful Giveaway!**

You’re all probably wondering where my Bare{foot} Essentials Posts have gone. Don’t worry, they’ll be back. They’re just on vacation right now!

For now, I’m going to give you a little recap of the Pittsburgh Great Race.

First of all, it was a 10k and I have never raced in a 10k before, so I guess you could say that it is a PR, but what’s even more important is that it was Dave’s first race, a PR AND a PDR (personal distance record).

Dave is so hardcore. He didn’t train one bit for this race, in fact he hardly ran at all, but he was the one pushing me! Way to go, Dave!

Before I continue, I must warn you that I don’t have many good things to say about this race.

The race is NOT an out-and-back race, and I am not a fan of that all. We had to park in downtown Pittsburgh, a few blocks from the finish line, then shuttle to the start line in Squirrel Hill. Well, traffic was kind of annoying but what was worse was waiting outside for the shuttle in 50 degree, windy weather for about 45 minutes. By the time we got to the start line, our muscles were cold and stiff and we still had to wait for the port-a-potties! Not. Fun.

Also, runners had to pay $2 for a shuttle ticket! Um, excuse me? WHAT WAS THE ENTRY FEE FOR IF NOT TO INCLUDE THE SHUTTLE TICKET? I know it’s not much money, but it’s a rip-off. Runners already dish out a lot of dough for the entry fee, travel and sometimes lodging. Do us a favor and just include it in the entry fee next time.

It was obvious from the get-go that the race organizers were not prepared for the volume of runners. The race was capped at 14,000 runners which is almost incomprehensible… especially when you consider the sporadic shuttle buses and the whopping 10 port-a-potties by the start line!

It took us about 4 minutes to cross the start line once the race began, and we were both hungry and thirsty (and freezing!). Everything was just off. Surprisingly my cold/allergies didn’t really bother me…until afterwards.

The roads were so crowded with people, Dave and I spent the majority of the first half running on the sidewalks, dodging trees, telephone poles AND BY-STANDERS, because there was simply no room for all of the runners on the street. Unbelievable.

And after crossing the finish line, they basically herd you to the “reception” area, where you had to push and shove your way through the masses to get to water… and then do the same to get to the food 100 yards away. There was simply no room.

Sorry, Pittsburgh Great Race, but you were less than great and I promise I won’t be running you again.

BUT, back to RUNNING.

Of no fault of the race organizers (surprisingly), I just couldn’t hit my stride. This is probably why:

(source)

One minute you were flying downhill, and the next minute you were climbing. There was hardly any flat part of the course, which is fine, but it wasn’t a good race day for me.

Around mile 4 I actually got a side stitch! I don’t remember the last time I got one of those, and man was it annoying. It was one of those races that you’re just DYING for the mile markers. I was definitely struggling and it was probably because I was running on empty!

Dave was a great encouragement, but I realized a number of things about my racing mentality during this race:

• I cannot talk about running when I’m running.
• I hate it when people say “you’re ALMOST there”, and I’m not. Or “the finish line is just around the corner”, and it’s not. Don’t lie to me.
• I also hate cowbells on the side of the road. They are too loud.
• Side stitches suck.

But enough with the complaints, I’ll give you the details.

Distance: 6.2 miles (10k)
Time: 54:58
Average Pace: 8:51 min/mile

Even though I told Dave that I wanted to pace under 9:00 min/mile, I am slightly disappointed with this time. 2 weeks ago I ran a half marathon at 8:59, I feel like a 10k should have been much faster. I am trying to remind myself that the circumstances weren’t ideal, and I was definitely slowed down by all of the people and obstacles. I guess that’s part of the racing experience!

I don’t have any splits because I forgot my Garmin (!), but look! I survived without it!

What’s your worst racing experience to date? Any horror stories? I want to know I am not alone in hating a race!

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Gotham Books to review a copy of Caitlin’s Operation Beautiful. Because I had yet to read it, I was extremely excited.

The book is the product of a mass movement started by blogger Caitlin, who decided to leave a post-it note on a bathroom mirror telling women they are are beautiful. Obviously this random act of kindness was enthusiastically received and Operation Beautiful was born.

The book itself contains many testimonies and tips on fighting the ever-present “fat talk” in out society, and more importantly, in our own heads.

I really believe that the message of Operation Beautiful is one that should be spread to women (and men) everywhere.

I was recently talking with my roommate Lacey about how so many women have such a warped perception of their bodies. There are so many factors that play into this mindset, the least of all being the constant pressure for Hollywood actresses and role models to look like life-sized Barbies.

What I’ve learned through my own struggles with body image and talking with others who have had similar struggles is that that mindset is usually a symptom of a much deeper problem.

When we’re feeling so discontent with our bodies, there’s usually a deeper issue that we either can’t or don’t want to pinpoint. For example, most girls that struggle with disordered eating habits are perfectionists and over achievers, and let’s face it—you can never be perfect in all (or any!) areas of lives. However, if there is ONE THING that you always have control over, it is what you put in your body. So when some things seem out of control, many girls messing with their eating habits—either eating too much or too little to find control and peace in it. And let’s face it, neither of those eating habits make us feel good about ourselves.

Not too long ago I posted about what is beyond the mirror. We focus so much of our attention on what is visible on the outside, but the inside of our souls is what is the most important. Operation Beautiful is an excellent way to help all of us realize that we are beautiful and we are worth people’s time and that we are strong, but recognizing those things about ourselves is only half of the battle. We need to realize what is wrong in our hearts too. We need to realize why we crave control and why search for stability in things that can’t offer it. We need to work on improving the areas of our personalities that are hurtful to ourselves and to others. We need to dig deeper. Because peace with our “demons” and better quality relationships can help us feel better about ourselves.

Like I said, Operation Beautiful is a wonderful way to start the process of peeling back the layers of our hearts. When we do that we often find strength and beauty we didn’t know we had. And we also find ugliness that we have been trying to ignore. But ignoring those problems don’t make them go away. We help ourselves and the quality of our relationships when we strive to better ourselves. And once we come to terms with our weaknesses and struggles, body image isn’t a bad thing anymore. It’s a beautiful thing. It’s the gorgeous wrapping on an even greater gift. You are worth it.

Because I truly believe in the benefits of self reflecting and I even more so believe that we are all beautiful, I picked up a copy of Operation Beautiful for one Abby Normally reader.

All you’ve got to do is leave a comment on this post telling me something that you love about yourself
OR
something (NOT PHYSICAL) that you’re working to improve.

I’ll start with an example of both:
I love that I am a flexible person which allows me to accommodate and help my friends and loved ones. I love to help people in this way!
OR
I am trying to work on being more patient and understanding with people who do things differently or more slowly than I would. I tend to work through things quickly, but that leaves me with a less than stellar outcome, which is showing me that I need careful and detail oriented people in my life—so I NEED to be more patient with them!

Ok, so now it’s your turn!

*Contest is open to all US and Canada residents. You don’t need a blog or Twitter to enter!

**One entry per person.

***Contest ends at 12 am Tuesday (9.28) and I’ll announce the winner, as selected by random.org, that night.

****Happy Commenting!