Vacation time!

Be back soon...

5 for Friday / Princess Half Marathon Edition

1.  The 2013 Disney Princess Half Marathon weekend in upon us!  Good times ahead.  This will be my fourth weekend at Disney for the race.  I am not running this year, but I will be cheering everyone on.

2.  Check out my recaps from 2011 & 2012.  Both years I had a blast!  My pictures are terrible from last year though, so blurry.  It's because I uploaded them from my iPad via some crappy blogger app.  I need to re-upload (is that word?) those.

3. Best tips for a Disney race:  Don't be late, there will be a lot of people / HAVE FUN!

4.  Let's all hope that 30% chance of rain for Sunday morning passes right by Disney World.  I don't want to spectate in the rain and you don't want to run in the rain :)  I happily admit I am a baby about the rain.

5.  Good luck to all you Princesses out there!  Especially Annette, Martha, Sue, Daniella & Kelly!

5 for Friday

1.  Love my Le Creuset tea kettle!  It is the first whistling tea kettle (pot?) I have owned and I love it.  Hearing the whistle makes me so excited.  This is so weird and random, I know.

website

2.  I suck at training plans.  No idea what is wrong with me.  I map out a  plan and then don't follow it.  At all.  Awesome.  No running for me right now, I am all about yoga.  It hurts so good.

3.  Anyone wanna buy a Georgia 1/2 marathon bib?  It takes place March 17th.  I registered last year during the super cheap registration blitz, but am now unable to go.  Definitely bummed because I have never been to Atlanta before.  Any interest, let me know! 

4.  One week until vacation!  Who doesn't love a good vacation countdown?  I am going on a tropical vacation, so I downloaded the Bob Marley "Legend" album last night to get in the mood.

5.  How cute is this baby?  I saw this on Facebook and it had me cracking up for hours.

Crock Pot Carnitas & Tamale Pie

So this week I made the most delicious Carnitas Tamale Pie!  It was seriously restaurant quality.
I almost couldn't believe I had made it :)

This amazing dish all started with the Easy Crock Pot Carnitas recipe from PinchofYum.com
I followed the recipe exactly and made approximately 4lbs. of pork.  At first I thought 4 lbs. would be a lot for just one person, but I used the cooked pork in so many ways - tacos, taco salad, nachos and I put two cups aside for the Carnitas & Tamale Pie.  I even have a couple of servings in my freezer for future meals!
I love pork more than beef and definitely more than chicken (I have issues with chicken), so I was happy to have this tasty meat available for several meals.
The carnitas meat is not hot, just very flavorful.

The Carnitas Tamale Pie recipe is also from PinchofYum.com
Once again, I followed the recipe exactly.  I used mild diced green chiles and medium enchilada sauce.  This dish brought the heat and I loved it!  I used a dollop of greek yogurt in place of sour cream to cool it down a bit, and it was perfect.
My only tip would be: once you pull it out of the oven, let it cool down so it firms up a bit.  It's like lasagna where if you cut it too soon, it kind of oozes all over (which is not bad IMO).  Once it firmed up it was super easy to cut up and serve.

Check out these recipes!

Any other recipes for the carnitas pork you think I might enjoy?

Run Wild 5K & Zoo Miami

Saturday morning I took part in the Run Wild 5K held at Zoo Miami.
The zoo is only 15 minutes from my place, so participating was really a no brainer.
I did this race last year and I just love how the course takes you through the zoo! 
I also really like that included in the $25 race fee you are able to visit the zoo for free on Saturday!

I must say though, that packet pick-up on Saturday morning was absolute chaos.  I waited in line 40 minutes before one of the organizers said that if we wanted to run without our numbers we could since they were going to be starting the race any minute. 
The race was suppose to start at 8am, but did not start until 8:20am.
Ok, no big deal, I just ran without a number because I really didn't care what my time was.
The run was fine and it was a beautiful, kind of cool morning.  Plus we saw all kinds of animals.
Definitely a unique, fun run.
Cute, little medal:

This race does have great sponsors who give out lots of free stuff at the finish line festival.
The most unique thing I have ever received at a race...

These are given out by a local dentist.  I totally needed a new toothbrush, so I was super excited to get this!  I also picked up the usual banana & apple, some yogurt with a cereal mix-in, chapstick, water bottle and a smoothie.  Random mix of goodies to say the least.

The idea of this race is a great one, it just needs to get more organized!

******

After heading home to shower and nap :)  I went back to the zoo around 3:30 Saturday afternoon to walk around and take pictures.  I was there for about an hour and a half which was the perfect amount of time for a quick but casual visit. 
If you are ever looking for things to do in the Miami area, the Zoo is definitely worth checking out!

black bear

elephants

rhino

lion!

lion enclosure

doing what kitties do best

kitty!

onager, or wild ass

random pathway

african hunting dog

dromedary camel

hyenna

australian singing dog

koala

emu

flamingos - obviously, it is florida :)

5 for Friday

1.  How do you manage the blogs on your Google Reader and in your Reading List on the Blogger Dashboard? I can't figure it out and it is bugging me.

2. Mail is now only going to be delivered Monday - Friday.  Are people really upset about this?  Is mail still a thing?  IMO, why doesn't everyone just get eBills?  I loathe the junk mail/flyers I get in my mail box every dam day.  But I do love getting magazines, but I am still fine without them not coming on Saturdays.

3.  I have a severe addiction to sparkling water.  Back in December I started drinking sparkling water and now I can't get enough.  Flavored, plain... I love it all. 

4.  Book recommendations.  Have you got any?  I am going on vacation in two weeks and I want to read to my hearts content!

5.  Leah's Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars.  One of my BFFs and her mom make the best chocolate & peanut butter bars!  They are delicious and so easy to make.  I have made them for co-workers the past few years at Christmas and people always say "These are homemade?!"  So good!

 

Here is the recipe:

Half a box of graham crackers, grind them up in your food processor or blender

Half a container of peanut butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1 stick, plus 2 tablespoons melted butter

Combine all of these ingredients and smooth them out on the bottom of a 9 x 13 dish

Melt one bag of chocolate chips (I use semi-sweet) in a pan on the stove.

Pour and smooth the melted chocolate on top of the pb mixture

Put in refrigerator for two hours to set

Place on counter for one hour before cutting into squares with a sharp knife

Easy peasy!

And the nominee is...

The very sweet Jamie from, The Unlikely Competitor nominated me for the Liebster Award. 

Sooo, what exactly is that?

The Liebster Award nomination goes to those bloggers who have a following of less than 200 to promote other bloggers to comment, share and get to know each other!

The point of the Liebster Award is to answer questions, tell 11 secrets about yourself, and nominate 11 other bloggers who fit the criteria.

1. If you could get on a plane and go anywhere, where would it be and why?
Africa for a safari.  I've never been to that continent before and would love to do a safari!

2. What is one major thing you would like to accomplish in your life time?
Be completely debt free.  Is that ever possible?

3. What was your favorite class in high school or college and why?
There are three.  Civics my freshman year of high school because I loved my teacher.  She was interesting, organized and I learned a lot.  History my junior year of high school  We spent the entire second semester learning about the events in Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire".  I still remember most of it, so that obviously made an impression on me.  Advertising Design my sophomore year of college.  That class was FUN.

4. What is one thing that always makes you smile?
When my sister sends pictures of my sweet nieces.  I mean how can this picture not make you smile.

Those chunka cheeks are so cute!

5. If you were going to try a new hobby, what would you try?
Sewing.  I would love to be able to make curtains, pillows, bedspreads, etc. in the exact colors and patterns that I want.

6. What is your favorite kind of music?
Dave Matthews Band is my favorite but really I like anything that is Top 40 /Pop/Sounds fun and cheesy :)

7. What is your favorite race and why?
runDisney's Wine & Dine half marathon.  It's Disney, it's at night and you can eat & drink at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival.  As they say, it is the ultimate runner's night out!

8. If you could live anywhere for a year where would it be?
Tough question!  I guess I would have to say Barcelona, Spain.  I love that city!  I would also like being able to easily travel all over Europe while I was there.

9. What made you start blogging? 
Go Girl Go was started in 2011 as a way to document my year running the different Disney races.  Now I just like documenting random things in my life.

10. If you could meet a famous person, past or present, who would it be?
Prince William & Catherine and Prince Harry.  They count as one, right?!  The Royal Family is so intriguing to me and I would love to geek out and see/learn about English history.

11. What is something you have done that you are really proud of?
I like that I have been willing to try new things.  From going to college in Florida, working in Boston, living in Alaska and now in Miami, I feel like I have been able to have a lot of unique experiences.  All of these places may be in the USA, but they are all very, very different.  It has definitely helped me figure out what kind of life will make me the happiest!

So there you have it!
Instead of nominating 11 other blogs, I just wanted to give a shout out to some family & friends of mine who write their own blogs - check 'em out:

Martha at Marth's So Called Life
Amanda at Rise to Run
Sarah at The Yum Diary
Tricia at Living La Vida Lum

Any suggestions for blogs you think I might be interested in?

2012 Tower of Terror 10 Miler

I decided to do a quick recap of the runDisney Tower of Terror 10 miler I participated in back in September.  I do realize this was 4 months ago, but I like having these recaps to look back on. :)

So here we go.
The inaugural runDisney Tower of Terror 10 Miler was held on September 29th.  It is a night time, Disney villian themed run that takes place at Disney's Hollywood Studios.
Annette & Brian were also running.

Packet pick up was at the expo held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.  All easy to navigate and very organized.
I bought an orange sparkly headband from Sparkly Soul.  It was my first headband from this company and I really loved it.  Loved that the sparkles were around the whole band.  I wore it for the first time during the 10 Miler and it stayed in place perfectly!

The race started at 10pm and unfortunately the weather that night was so hot and humid.  That is pretty much what I remember from the night, just sweating my a** off!

The course was decent.  The out and back on Osceola Parkway was a little boring.  It gives me appreciation for the Wine & Dine half marathon where the out and back on Osceola is broken up by the run through the Animal Kingdom.  There are rolling "hills" here, so my Florida-flat running legs were kind of tired by the time I got to the ESPN complex.
Several Disney "scary" characters dotted the course and the mile marker signs look dark and ominous.
I enjoyed running through the ESPN Wide World of Sports.  It was something different for me and I liked it a lot.  I also liked running through Champion Stadium.  While it was not as exciting as running through Angel Stadium at the Disneyland half, I still thought it was great.
There were some complaints that the road leading into the ESPN complex was too narrow.  It was narrow, no denying that, but you were on a dirt trail surrounded by trees and I thought it was appropriate theming for the race.

The finish line was next to the Tower of Terror attraction at Hollywood Studios.
Once crossing the finish line, you received your medal and then had to continue walking out to Sunset Boulevard.

I heard a lot of complaining around me about the (very) small hill we had to walk up in order to reach Sunset Boulevard.  I thought the short walk from the finish line to Sunset Boulevard was necessary in order to spread out the thousands of people crossing the finish line.  It was very organized.
runDisney had suggested that you make plans to meet up with your family over in the "hub" of the park, where the Scorer's Hat is, but per usual people do not listen and many were crowded into the area where the runners exit the finish chute.

Bag check was located across the park at the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular venue.
This was a very smart move on Disney's part.  Sure you had to walk 10 minutes to get your bag, but it really helped the crowding.  People were, of course, complaining about the walk to get your bags and then they had to walk down a few stairs (can you imagine?!) to actually collect their bag.
I feel like if you have just run 10 miles you are more than capable of walking 10 additional minutes and down a couple of stairs.  I have no doubt people were sore after the 10 miler, but the set up for the After Party was great because it really alleviated an overcrowding clusterf*ck.
While I love the runDisney events so much, I am getting tired of people complaining over stupid things.  You see it everywhere - Facebook, Twitter, hear it in person.  I realize Disney is a company that epitomizes guest service, but sometimes people need to do things for themselves... like walk 10 minutes to get their bag!  That's my venting for the day :)

I love the night time races.  I am pretty sure I have mentioned this before :)
The park was open until 4am and we were able to go on a few rides.  Plus the Disney Villians were spread around the park for photo opportunities.

runDisney TV on YouTube.  Have you checked out the runDisney video recaps of their events?
You totally should, they do a great job putting them together.  They are a great way to share your runDisney experience with friends & family!
Here is their recap of the 10 Miler:

The Tower of Terror 10 Miler is definitely a runDisney race worth checking out!

5 for Friday

1.  I can't believe I missed last weeks 5 for Friday.   So much for being more motivated to blog.

2.  My parents have been in town since last week and we have been busy, busy, busy.  Good times!

3.  We are currently at Disney for the weekend.  I am obviously loving it.

4.  Blue Dawn and Vinegar worked amazing in my bathroom.

5. My boss sent me this email and I thought it was so interesting:

God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body! God's Pharmacy! Amazing!
A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye.. And YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries

Oranges , Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

What is something interested you heard this week?