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Hi Newlywife Readers,

I’m really in love with the DIY {Do-It-Yourself} movement that I’ve been seeing while surfing blogs. They have been such a source of inspiration for my husband, William, and I. So many talented people who can foresee the updated final product when looking at a crummy, out-dated, but steal-of-a-deal priced piece. When William and I got married, we had very little money and a recently purchased townhouse to fill. Most of our pieces {even today, 3.5 years later} came from my parents and grandparents who kindly donated to our start-up cause. So, since we love spending time together, William has some experience with construction and I love getting crafty, it was only a matter of time before we turned DIY into a hobby while our son, Ezra, is asleep.

3) We primed

What’s the way to your man’s heart? The way to my man’s heart is through food, like most I suspect. As a new bride I took it upon myself to refine that taste for food to include breakfast. It wasn’t always at the top of his list, but boy did I work hard to make it that way.

I love breakfast. And I really mean love. It is my favorite meal and I’ll eat it at any time of the day. In fact, I love breakfast so much that I served it at my wedding last October. My wedding was at night. That’s right, we served brinner.

Centerpieces at the wedding reception were donuts on cake plates and muffins on cupcake tree stands.

At first my adorable new husband just played along to appease me, but eventually he had the life changing epiphany. You know, the one where you realize that breakfast is God’s greatest gift to mankind. I do take about 99 percent of the credit for this change. The other 1 percent I give to a restaurant called La Note in Berkeley (please check it out for yourself, you won’t regret it!). But the 99 percent that I am responsible for is in this recipe that I am about to share with all of you.

French Toast de Dance

(there is no actual dancing involved, believe it or not Dance is my new last name)

What you need:

3 eggs (one egg for every slice of toast)
1 T. Vanilla
2 to 3 T. milk or cream (sometimes I use flavored coffee creamer if I have it)
1 t. cinnamon sugar
Semifreddi’s Cinnimon Swirl Bread-found at Trader Joe’s (this bread is a must!)

1. Prepare a griddle with some butter and pre-heat on medium.
2. Put your eggs, vanilla, milk, and cinnamon-sugar mix in a bowl.
3. Use a whisk to mix all ingredients together until well blended.
4. Slice your loaf of bread in thick slices
5. Soak a slice in your egg mixture on both sides and place on griddle. Make sure that your pan is hot before you put your toast on!
6. Add all remaining slices of bread and cook until each side is golden brown.
7. If I have extra egg mixture left over sometime I pour extra on each slice once it’s on the griddle, it adds a nice extra egg flavor.
8. Place on a plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy!

In fact, right now my husband is eating the French Toast de Dance that I made for this and declaring that he just can’t resist. It’s also 10 p.m. My work here is done. Now if I could just make him love to clean…

Thanks so much, Dani! And even though dancing isn’t involved, I’m pretty sure I’ll end up doing it anyway after I inevitably make this soon.

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Her Journey to Boston
Bobbi McCormick from NHerShoes

Exercise is obviously something I am very passionate about. I run at least three days a week, do aerobic kickboxing three times, yoga at least 4 days, and try and get strength training in when I can. It wasn’t until about a year and a half ago that I starting training smarter, and not harder! I joined a women’s running group and that is where I learned how to not only be physically stronger, but mentally stronger as well.

Isn’t it interesting to see runners out there that are not wearing comfortable clothes, running in old shoes, and running 20 miles?! WHAT! Yes, that was me. I would throw on pajama pants and old tennis shoes and jet out the door to get in a run, which is fine if you’re running for maybe 20 minutes or so, but I would run for over an hour like that. I would constantly chafe, get overheated, my sports bra never fit, and my feet would KILL me. I didn’t know any better, I didn’t know that there was anything else out there.

As I started learning that there is a smarter way to train, and become a better runner, I took it very seriously. I decided that I was going to run the Boston Marathon, no matter what it took. I finally bought some decent running shoes, my Asics that I adore, fell in love with running skirts, and carried water on all my long runs. I also used a plan to run my last marathon, instead of just running random useless miles. I learned what speed work was, and fell in love with the track. It took a lot of hard work and tenacity, but I made it to my first ever 3:20 marathon! It wasn’t easy by any means, but I know that if I could PR from a 4:20 to a 3:20 in a span of a year, then anybody can become a better runner they just have to WANT IT!

I have fellow runners that run a lot of extra miles during the week, and in my opinion you should run no more then 8-9 miles during the week. Most of your weekly runs should consist of easy 3 milers, tempo runs, or hitting the track. A smart runner also needs to be doing weight training as well, keeping your whole body fit for the road. I suggest doing some cross training in there, but keep it light if you are doing a race because you don’t want to get an injury before the big race.

What about fuel? I have many people ask me how I fuel before a race, during, and after. The night before a race, I try and have a balanced meal of carbs, protein, and fats. I don’t believe in CARBO LOADING, I think balance is best. I drink a ton of water throughout the week before, and I eat a little more carbs the first part of the week, and then more protein the couple days leading up to the race. The night before I love to have cheese-less pizza (I have an intolerance for cheese on pizza). I like to make it if possible, with lots of veggies and chicken. BBQ Chicken Pizza is the best way to go in my opinion. The morning of the race, I try and have a small bowl of oats and a cup of coffee with a spoonful of PB, if the race is early I will have just a piece of toast, PB, and a half a banana. During the race, or long run, I carry Hammer Gels. Hammer has all natural ingredients, and taste better in my opinion. I take one after the first 5 miles, and then another every 30-40 minutes after that. I don’t drink GATORADE; I drink Heed, another product made by Hammer. I carry a wonderful water bottle with me and sip it all through the race. After the run or race, I go straight for some protein. I usually have a water bottle that is already prepared for me full of all replenish ingredients; I am not a believer in eating ice-cream after a marathon. I would probably throw it up. Of course I eat lots of carbs and drink lots of water to replenish my calorie deficit, but I know that for me when I have a hearty smoothie filled with protein, I tend to get a lot less SORE.

I was super excited about the Boston Marathon last year, because not only was it my first time visiting Boston, the race was actually on my birthday! I was so excited to see all the runners, and fans. It was  a lifetime achievement in my book, and I finished  strong. I know that for a runner, the Boston Marathon is a big deal but for me it was more then just the marathon it was the person that I  became while leading up to the event. If this girl can do it, so can you. Want it, live it, love it!g day. I also suggest doing yoga as much as possible. We all know that stretching is great for our body, but yoga is also good for your soul. DON’T OVER DO IT! Listen to your body if you feel tired one day and can’t get the run in, don’t stress about it you will be OK to take that day off. Listening to your body is CRUCIAL in being a smarter runner.

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Thanks so much for posting over here Bobbi!  It was so great to hear why you run!  And I love the picture of Matt running with you during the marathon.  I totally teared up when I read the original post [see miles 20 - 24]!