Fast Lane

Last weekend, my friend Amanda and I ran a marathon. We made little gift bags for each other for before the race. Amanda gave me awesome goodies, like a "fuel belt" that keeps your race number on without pins, nut rolls (the perfect running snack), and special shoe laces for the triathlon we're doing in a couple of weeks. In Amanda's bag, I put trail mix, Icy-Hot, a PowerBar, nail polish (color: Fast Lane), Five Star Bars, and these stained glass Fisher Price little people I made for her:

The marathon was totally awesome. It was very long, and I would have liked to stop running at mile 20... or 15... or 5. But we kept going and we made it! I am so proud of us. I would never have finished (or started) if it weren't for Amanda.

The Morel of the Story

My sweet husband just finished a very challenging semester! He totally dominated Microbiology and Anatomy & Physiology. For a special congratulatory treat, I secretly bought his some morel mushrooms, a delicacy found in this area only for a few weeks out of the year. Karl cooked them up last night.

What if you had a "More More More" dinner party, where everything had "more" in its name? You could serve morel mushrooms, s'mores, morey eel, anything from Moorehead, Minnesota, and... what else??? It would be more-velous.

Starbucks has left me out in the cold

I'm not ashamed to admit that I love Starbucks frozen treats. You can find their ice cream at most grocery stores, and it is divine. But the thing is, they've discontinued some of their most delicious items. For example, when their ice creams first came out, they produced an amazing flavor called White Chocolate Latte. It was basically coffee-flavored ice cream with a white chocolate swirl. But that description doesn't come anywhere close to doing the flavor justice. It was like heaven in an ice cream container. The swirl was generous and flavorful, the ice cream was creamy with the perfect level of coffee flavoredness...

White Chocolate Latte, I'm sorry to inform you that you were discontinued several years ago, much to the public's (or at least my) dismay.

And then there were the frozen Frappuccino bars. Yum, yum, yum. The perfect summertime treat on a stick. Available in two flavors: straight up coffee, or coffee with a creamy mocha center. So good. But after searching every grocery store in Madison...


Frappuccino bars, I'm sorry to inform you that you have been discontinued.


And the thing is, there's nothing to replace these bars. Right now, Caribou Coffee is makes ice cream "nuggets," which are like squares of ice cream covered in chocolate. Messy and totally not as good as the Frap bars. Weight Watchers also makes a coffee-flavored frozen product, called Giant Latte Bars. They are okay, but when I want a treat, I want a treat, not a fake dessert with sugar substitute.

Lastly, a message to the remaining flavors of Starbucks ice cream available in cartons:


Starbucks ice cream, I'm sorry to inform you that you have been downsized. While you used to be available in generous quart sizes, you're now just a pint. Someone thought they were being really clever by making your carton look like a to-go coffee cup. I wouldn't call that clever, though... I'd call it a lame attempt to cover up stupid decisions.

My poor, poor feet

My friend/marathon partner, Amanda, came to Madison on Saturday. We ran 19.7 miles. I am so proud of us! I didn't think I would live through it. But I did. The marathon is just around the corner, and after our loooong run, I feel ready!