I’ve got both in my pants!!!
Let me explain….
I was itching at the office to get out in the sunshine. Our office at the hospital has no windows and it’s the most beautiful spring day here!!!
I snacked on my last Vega Vibrancy bar at 3:30 to tide me over till dinner. Loved these bars and must find more!
Quittin’ time finally came and I made my way on home with ants in my pants. By the time I got there I was dying for some exercise! What’s strange is that my body felt like it was retaining like 10 pounds of fluid. I felt awful! Not that I really sweat that much during my workouts, but it’s like my muscles were rebelling or something. I needed those 2 days off, but not sure every inch of me did.
I laced up my shoes, threw on the Camelbak (so happy to have this!) and took off on a 4 miler. I wasn’t so swift today – my muscles were ready to run, but they weren’t ready to run fast. I was pretty sluggisg in the speed arena.
We have a LANCE factory not too far from our neighborhood and a few times a month they bake things and the air becomes filled with aroma. Today’s aroma was like fresh cupcakes out of the oven!! Imagine wafting that in your nose every step of a run!! Lance in my Pants.
I wrapped up my run at 5:30 just in time to meet a neighbor for a blind date walk!
You see, Laura and her husband Justin were watching Current TV and happened to see my pod that was filmed a year and a half ago. They recognized their neighborhood immediately! Turns out Laura lives just down the street in my SAME NEIGHBORHOOD! What a coincidence!!!!! She sent me an email and we met for an evening walk – that may become a routine since Matt is too tired to walk with me most evenings! So fun to have a friend who found me on TV 
We ended up walking about 2 more miles – so I covered 6 total! Pretty cool.
I came home to find some excitement in my mailbox – Allie sent me Glee and some of her homemade granola bars!!! [Allie's blog is one of my very favorites - that girl knows how to style food in such creative ways! GO DUKE!]
Also exciting to come home to: dinner cooked by Matt! I knew I’d be out from 5:30-6:30 so I assigned him a soup for dinner 
Matt makes excellent soups!!
The soup featured Applegate Farms Organic Pork Bratwurst Sausage. I am still working through that sample pack they sent me…last year?! I have been nothing but impressed by each and every organic product we’ve tried. I’d buy them all again! These smoked brats were perhaps the least healthy of them all with 170 calories per link and with quite a bit of fat. I wouldn’t eat this flavor all the time, but it was still fun to get that wonderful sausage flavor. And with Applegate I always have piece of mind.
Also involved: potato, kidney beans, homemade stock, cabbage and canned tomatoes. Plus seasonings. We don’t have the recipe because we literally threw it all in a pot and simmered in this order: potato, beans, meat, cabbage, tomatoes. It sure was flavorful! I had a small scoop of seconds!
Wish I were in the Russian River!
I’m off to have a cup of My Tea Shelf’s Andes Breeze tea and watch Gossip Girl on the couch! Christina has hooked you guys up with a coupon code on of her hand-mixed teas: 10% off on any order KATHEATS. So far I have been nothing but impressed – spearmint, basil, cinnamon, raisins!?
Nite!
{ 61 comments… read them below or add one }
There’s a bread bakery in my neighborhood and when I run early in the morning I can smell the bread baking! Torture!!
Sounds like going for a run around there would make me hungry!
I’ve actually seen the Vega bars at WF, so you don’t need to order them online and pay shipping!! Your placemats are so pretty- I love toile
Have a great night!!
When I take 2 days off in a row I start to feel like I don’t even know how to run anymore. How super cool that your neighbor found you like that. Hope it blossoms into a great friendship!
The smell of Lance! That’s awesome! I’ve always wanted to go to a factory town where you can smell the product for miles! Have a great night, girl!
Yay GLEE!!!
That made me smile when I saw that.
mmm that soup looks delish! I did a similar run tonight – 1.75 miles walking and 4 running but could not run fast!
haha loved the ants –> Lance in your pants
^Actually that sounds scandalous
Love hearty soups! And I definitely wish I was in the Russian River Valley! Was there last week and never wanted to leave. . .
My undergrad was located next to a Purina plant. Yes, as in the dog food. Let’s just say that I tossed my kibble a few times on some bball conditioning runs. Enjoy your night, Kath!
When I was studying abroad in France, the little town had a (very small) baking factory right outside of it. Oh, the smells that would waft through town…amazing.
On the other hand, in grad school our town had a DOG FOOD factory right outside of town. Ugh. It gave off SUCH a specific smell that I will always associate with those four years in Indiana.
Soup looks freakin’ awesome!
The cabbage and potato are enough to make me want a bowl of that delicious looking soup!
Do you make your own stock often?
Matt makes the stock maybe 4-5 times a year. I could care less and would just use organic stock from a box! I think homemade is too dense, but he likes making it.
Lance in your pants definitely sounds scandalous!
Your bowl of cabbage and potato look delicious.
DITTO! I’m glad I’m not the only one with a dirty mind
I really want to run outside so I hope our rain stops soon.
I love meeting friends through blogging and other fun interwebs media. My favorite LOST buddy found me through my blog.
I have got to get some Glee songs in my life! Cant wait for the Second Season – I hear such good things about it – longer, more celeb guests, love storrrries developing!! AH!
That was so nice of Allie, I love Glee
Jealous of your weather!!
You’re lucky to have some of Allie’s granola bars, she’s such a sweetheart. Love making new friends, so cool your in the same neighborhood too.
That soup really looks rich and hearty
my husband’s a vegetarian so having meat in the freezer is a lifesaver for me. good to know it lasts for over a year!
Hooray for Spring!!! And that soup looks AMAZING!!!
Whenever I smell foods on my runs, I go crazy. Especially long runs.. I JUST WANT TO EAT! In college, my running route took me past a pizza place about 7 miles into my run. The smells were torture!
What a great surprise to come home to!
Lance factory, very cool!
The soup sounds delicious!!! Sausage and cabbage are a match made in heaven!
It was sunny here and I love it!
Hey Kath!
What’s your view on canned veggies? I’m a college student studying abroad in Australia so I don’t have much money but I NEED my good health
I’d say they’re not QUITE as good as fresh or frozen, but they certainly work well when you need veggies cheap + easy!! They are still veggies and still nutritious!
I love when you find a neighbor that you can connect with about health, food, and fitness.
What a great looking soup! And, so fun that your neighbor saw you on TV! Too cool! I’m definitely buying that tea – it sounds awesome.
Great use of cabbage! It’s like at peak season right now. I want to try vega and other bars so bad but can’t find them for less than $3 per bar. So frustrating to budget!
Katherine
whataboutsummer.wordpress.com
My husband is a great soup maker too! Must be a guy thing! Have fun with you shows and some relaxation tonight!
That soup looks great! Love the ingredients.
Evening walks are fun! Our weather has been lousy though.
Rain, rain, rain!
Jenn
That is so cute that you met your neighbor that way! I also agree on the taking time off, two in a row makes my muscles antsy to move! I’m pretty excited that happens though, because it means my body has finally adapted and likes running. I went from running nothing in October to finishing my 2nd running clinic to help me run a faster 5km
I love the combination of cabbage and tomatoes together. Something really comforting about it! That soup would taste great as leftover with age and flavors meld together.
I envy your sunny spring weather! All we’ve had in the northeast is rain for the last three days. At least it will be sunny and 70 on Thursday!
Loving those placemats — what a fun splash of color.
Good job on the run. That soup looks very yummy!
Aw thanks, Kath! I hope you find some tunes that power you through the half mary this weekend. I wanna try those vega vibrancy bars. Some people say they aren’t the greatest…but I have weird tastes
Enjoy the barzzz!
Glad to hear the Vega bars are good — I love their protein powder for shakes and was curious about the bars. Thanks for the recommendation!
Love current TV and SO glad the huz found you on there + told me
I’m not sure I could handle smelling cupcakes while running…that is just evil!
I literally just (as a pre-dinner snack) ate my last BITE of the granola bars that Allie gave me when we were at a blogger meetup. They are SO GOOD! I kept them in my freezer and ate like two bites at a time- I wanted to drag out the deliciousness for as long as I possibly could!
I was going to be so shocked if you literally had lance in your pants. Like the actual lance crackers!! haha! that would have been so out of character for you!
Oh and I am glad the ants were “ants” and not the kind that bite…. that would have been horrible!!! haha!
Aw love that Allie! She’s such a sweetheart! I also think it’s so great how creative Matt is with those soups! So inspiring to just try different combos out and create your own recipes.
this weather we’re having, has my body itching to get outside and do something! hopefully, I’ll fit in a morning jog/walk tomorrow morning. and yay! for the glee soundtrack! I just bought volume 2 last weekend and it has been on repeat in my car and itunes ever since. April 13th cannot get here fast enough!
I don’t usually eat meat, but my college food service provider does an amazing job with sustainable food supply. I didn’t know the Applegate products were so clean; I’ve seen them in the campus grocery store! You might be familiar with the company, it’s called Bon Appetit. The food is amazing!! My mom was so shocked at how I didn’t just avoid the Freshman 15, I lost weight
yaaaay sustainable foods!
Looks like yummy soup but GO MSU.
that Vega bar looks awesome, but definitely not as good as that soup!!!! Soooo jealous!
Those granola bars look delicious!
Erica – I lost my freshman 15 too
Bon Appetit is amazing!
granola bars and glee cds? sounds like the best thing to come home to!
I’ve been reading your blog for over a year and you are such an inspiration to me. Imagine my surprise when I see someone I went to school with on your blog! She’s from my hometown of Clintwood! It’s really cool because you are like a superstar to me and I know someone who knows you haha. Thanks for introducing me to overnight oats, they have become a staple in my house now
Small, small world. We are all connected!
Very small world! You now have two fans from Clintwood. (That is approximately 10% of the population)
looove allie’s blog, too–and always drool over her bars! i’m sure they’re amazing! enjoy! oooh and enjoy glee, too! i swear working out became exponentially more exciting/effortless once i added glee to my ipod haha
I had soup for dinner too!
I agree about Allie – I LOVE her blog, and I’ve made her homemade granola bars before – they’re so good! That girl is talent
Yum, cabbage soup! And I want the Glee soundtrack…. waah!
I can’t buy anything on iTunes at the moment because I’ve been travelling for 4 months and you can only buy from your own country. It’s so annoying!
Why not just buy the Glee CD’s yourself? It’s illegal to make copies of a CD, and you should support the artists/industry that makes the music you enjoy! I have been reading this blog for quite a while and understand that this is a source of income for you. I am quite disappointed that you would feel that my source of income is not worth of your money.
Kath, your husband is awesome! You’re a lucky gal.
Hello~
Why is it that after intense workouts you retain water~ I have been experiencing that in my legs as well. Did you like the foam roller?
~Thank you
Heather
I think it has to do with glycogen storage and repair…
I find I retain more when I DON”T exercise!
Love the foam.
Pod?