Welcome to G-Loser Land

And, when you have mishmosh to talk about, you save it for Friday and slap on a cute label....right?  Right.  Happy (almost) weekend!  What's going on with you this Happy St. Patty's day weekend?  We have some cool things going on.....well, they're cool in my little world....

Tomorrow is the annual Johnny's "Running of the Green" 5 miler in Rochacha.  I've run this race since 2007, and it's the traditional kickoff to "spring racing season" in our parts.  Since I've technically already done a few races this year, it's not a kickoff, but since I'm technically not "racing" this year, we'll call it a wash, right?  I have a personal 5 mile PR of 38:06 for this race back in 2009, and have no delusions about coming close to it this year.  Greg has told me I am under strict orders to run at my normal or slower pace and wear a damned heart rate monitor so I don't get ridiculous.  He's right.  So we'll just take the baby out for a leisurely strut in the snow tomorrow.  Damn you, winter.  Also worth noting- the Glaser's are not doing this event....the "Gloser's" are.  Whoever did the forms must have done a typo....for both of us??  At first we thought it was cool, then sounded out the different  ways to say Gloser.....damn.

I have an alien in my belly.  Oh wait, you knew that.  I know I keep saying it, but I'm pretty darned certain that this week reigns the end of normal pants for this preggo.  We've got the hair fubby working hard core in pants world, but I swear my belly is visibly expanding daily.  I know it's supposed to expand, but someone is in speed mode lately!!

In other news....it's Day Care time!  Greg and I had an appointment tonight with a local daycare in Gananda.  They are family run, but have all the state certs, which was really important to us.  They seem like awesome people, they keep log books of the baby's days, and also have curricula for the older babies, toddlers, and school aged kids, which is awesome.  All day care is expensive, but this one is a great deal more affordable than all of the other options we've researched, so I think this one's a keeper!  Woohoo!!

And....to round out random...we finally got our Tax "refund" today. I love it when you owe a certain amount for tax prep then manage to get almost exactly the same amount back....with our overage, we can buy one case of diapers or go out to dinner twice.  Chinese and pizza sound good right now :-P

And that's my life lately.  Random bits and pieces that make up the 24/7 pretty decently :-)  What's new with you?

Week 21: Chug a Lug

We're turning a corner, folks!  Baby is half baked!  Oh wait....that's not right.  Please don't take away my mommy card.....

Your Pregnancy: Week 21
Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.


As far as the martial arts go, I can tell you thats a fact.  My lil nugget is in full karate mode, and lets me know at least 5-6 times a day that the padded room I've provided is HELLO! not big enough.  It's pretty much the neatest thing ever though....not sure how I feel about being a punching bag, but knowing that your child is active and well is just beyond awesome. Either that or he/she is banging his head against a wall as I feed it more string cheese....hmmm....

Momma's Stats-week 21!

Belly expanding!

My Body:  Up 8.5 pounds.  My OB told me last week that I am basically the "poster child" for pregnancy and that I am doing perfectly for weight gain, tummy gain, and keeping myself and baby healthy.  She also told me to ignore people that nag on my lack of maternity pants tummy and activity level/weight gain.  Don't have to tell me twice :-P  All I need to know is that baby is doing well and I am a happy girl!  And baby g is a heartly lil one...weighing almost a pound and perfectly on track at 21 weeks gestation.  Pregnancy gold stars for Mommy, Daddy and baby too!
Cravings:  Citrus and String Cheese.  I like this craving.  Sweet, salty and savory.  This one might stay!
Aversions: Random upon random....Grain berry Cereal and crackers.  It;'s this brand of organic nosh that Tops sells...they had a super deal on it this week, so I stocked up....forgetting that the last time they had a super deal, it was November and I threw it up every time I ate them.  Well, the body didn't forget.  So Greg gets some cool organic crackers and cereal for the week...as long as I don't come within 500 yards of them.  No, I'm not kidding.

Sleep: One night of restlessness of active baby, but the rest has been good!  We seem to have been overloading our social calendar lately, which has been awesome, but I keep forgetting that it's tiring to grow a baby :-P  We only have one thing going on this weekend, and I will surely be stocking up on REST!

Baby Items Bought/Received: We got a honkin sweet deal on a changing table this week.  It was a gorgeous maple table I found on craigslist for only $20-and it came with the changing pad!  When we went to pick it up, the couple (grandparents) showed us their own private garage sale, and for an extra $15, we got a jumper, 3 light up motion toys, a radio, 6 books, a set of blocks, and 4 teethers.  Awesome deal!!

Best Baby Moment:Showing our friends and family our baby video was so awesome, as was my first convo with my cousin about my upcoming baby shower.  I'm getting really excited about everything!


Iron baby!: In utero travels for week 20....

Swimming: 2 miles
Biking: 80 miles
Running: 16 miles

Total = 98 miles
Cumulative Total = 203.3 miles...or basically....the baby has travelled to Albany.  We can do better :-P


The big question of the week....how much longer can we wear normal pants?  2 days?  1 week?  Any bets??

Thats Amore!

Beautiful weekend filled with love up here in New York.  Ahhh.  Life is such a wonderful blessing...and I need to remember that more often!  What more could I want than....
A weekend full of sun and sweater (NOT JACKET) weather
A wonderful snugglicious husband
An active, healthy, kicking baby
A 50 minute run OUTSIDE! without multiple layers...and running capris that still fit!
A great time with some family members we haven't seen in way too long
A scan gun adventure at Target and Kohls where multiple people congratulated Greg and I on our upcoming wedding (errr....maybe I should wear the fake belly next time!)
And food.  Delicious, homemade, wonderful dinners.  A traditional meatloaf.  A mushroom meatloaf (recipe soon!).  Roasted potatoes.  Pulled pork.  Peanut Butter brownies.  And my personal favorite, eggplant parm.
Now, this isn't to be confused with fried, breaded and oily eggplant parm that you can get at some restaurants.  Nah.  At casa Glaser, we like it fresh, simple, and light.  And simple, too.  Of course. 

Au naturale Eggplant Parm

1 medium eggplant, sliced into coins
1 cup tomato sauce
1 tbsp. garlic
1 tsp. parsley
2 cups spinach
1/2 cup skim mozzarella cheese


Slice up your eggplant and place on a baking tray.  Broil for 5 minutes, flip and repeat.  This draws the moisture out  of the veggie and makes it nice and firm, rather than a mushy mess.  Spray a round baking dish with olive oil spray, and layer half of eggplant slices, spinach, garlic, sauce, and cheese.  Repeat.  End with cheese.  Sprinkle parsley on top.  Bake at 400 degrees covered for 45 minutes, then uncover and broil for 5 minutes to brown the cheese.  Let set for 5 minutes, then serve warm.

Now....let's be real.  Veggies are great, but cheese makes the dish.  And I won't kid a kidder.  I ate the whole damn thing.  Hey, veggies are good for you, right? :-P  Love. love. this dish.  Super healthy, super filling, and old school Italian feel.  And that's amore.

What are you loving this weekend?

Baby G says Hi guys!!

Cause you all know I couldn't wait a week to post these!!

Baby G!  Heartrate strong at 145....looking good!!

String skull, all head parts accounted for!

Future soccer player....lil g kick!

Our beautiful baby....strong, healthy and ready to say hey guys!!

And now for a lil extra somethin.....

Let's get this party started!  In 20 weeks, of course...but it's a dance party in Mommy's tummy for sure :-)

Week 20: "Halfway" There!

It's a big week, folks!  I am now "officially" halfway there!  (well, we hope!)  I realize that's sort of laughable, as the first few weeks don't "count", and the last 20 are much, much different than the first 20.  It's kinda like saying after 6 hours that you're halfway through an Ironman....riiight.  Cause the last part of the bike and marathon are no big thang.  Regardless, in a race, as well as now, we chug along!  You'll be happy to know I am carb loading (lol, kinda) and prepping for this "race" as well as can be.  Yay!  So, what's up with my lil "fruit" this week?.....
Your Pregnancy: Week 20

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.) Size wise, the baby is the size of a cantaloupe!
He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

Holy heck.  I really can't believe there's a cantaloupe in my tummy!  I kinda look down and just go...where the heck is it?  But then I think about what I used to look like and....yeah.  I can believe it :-)  Big ultrasound this week....I can't wait to show you all new pictures!!

My Body: We're growing-both me and baby!  (Funny how that works, huh? ha).  Up 8 pounds this week, and just for fun, 7 inches in the waist since week 5.  Since I have heard (okay, a ridiculous amount) "Are you sure you're pregnant?  Really?" and way too much chatter about my weight....guys.  I swear I am.  I'm eating.  I'm gaining right along schedule.  It's all good.  In case you don't believe me...check it out....

Week 5- the day we found out!

Week 20-I'd say there's a somethin baking!!

Yeah. That's a baby.  Really :-)  It's all between my boobs and waistband.  Ohhhh Baby!

Cravings: I feel like we get little variations, but the root stays the same.  This week I am obsessed with string cheese (which was BOGO at Tops-score!) and pears.  Oh, nummy.  Ill cut up a big juicy pear and have a string cheese for an evening snack.  Delicious.  Sweet, salty, savory and covers all my bases.  Sweet!
Aversions: Peanut butter.  Really can't deal with it this week.  I still am not a fan of all the usual suspects, but this is the biggie this week.  It's funny, because apparently little g can "taste" what I feed it this week, and the food they suggest a taste for is bananas.  Sorry, kid.  You can get your potassium with some taters instead.
Sleep:  Pregnant women's dreams are the stuff of soap operas.  I am deeply ashamed to see some people that I know right now because of how they have appeared in my dreams!  Do I want to know what they mean?  Nah....not really. 
Baby Items Bought/Received: Finished off the registry (as of Friday, just a few more pieces to "nail down").  Greg and I went to a consignment sale this weekend that was kinda cool.  The prices were high, so we mostly scored $1 clothes that we rummaged around to find.  We got a turtle rattle and a few onesies (super adorable turtle and big clothes) and had a great time.

Nursery in progress "staged" -with a "dad" prop :-P

Best Baby Moment: Pretty sure this will be tomorrow-20 week ultrasound, baby! Also to note that I can feel the baby every day now.  It's most active at night, but I feel some niggles every once in awhile during the day!
Worries: I know that the evidence is there-feeling the baby, growing tummy, gaining weight....but it's still nerve wracking to know that it's been 11 weeks since we've "seen" the baby.  I am nervous for tomorrow like any momma is nervous-you always want to make sure things are okay and you won't know for sure until you see that little one on the screen!!
Iron baby!:  Here's a new one for us :-)  I've decided it will be fun to track and see how far baby g goes "in utero".  Each week, I'll total my swim bike and run miles up and then at the end....total them all to see how far they went!  Cool?  Cool.  I was sort of thinking of an "ironman a month" challenge, but I know I s/B/R more than that.  However, I don't really want to pigeonhole myself into certain distances...so where baby wants to go, baby goes.  Cool?  Cool.  So we've got 21(ish) week, based off the fact that I'll share last weeks numbers with you.....what do you think?  "Where" can my baby go in 21 weeks?
Here are week 19's numbers!
Swimming:  3.5 miles
Biking:  105 miles
Running:  10 miles
Total = 115.3 miles
Pretty steady week of "training" for my little one!

Stay tuned for baby pics in week 21.....can't wait to see this nugget!

A Bit of Soul Warming

All I want to know is....where in the heck is Spring?  C'mon now.  It's March.  In like a lion and all that, but really?  I've had enough of the fluffy stuff.  The biting wind.  The heater in the car.  Bring on the spring showers!  Bring on the thaw!  (Also, bring on the running outside without 7 layers weather!)
No dice?  Fine then.  Bring on the sweaters.  And the fuzzy blankets.  And the crockpot.  With homemade soup.  Cause that never gets old :-)  And when you want to pretend that you are somewhere warm while brewing that soup...go for a little southwestern flair.  Presto.  New Mexico in New York (I don't even know what that means, but it sounds good)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

3 chicken breasts
1 cup celery
1 cup tomato puree
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 med onion, diced
2 cups broccoli, chopped
1 cup corn
1 15 oz can black beans
1 tsp each:  pepper, salt, cumin
1 tsp. adobo seasoning
1 tsp. chopped garlic


Like any awesome crockpot soup, this thing is idiot proof.  Add in all the ingredients (yep, whole, raw chicken breasts too!) and simmer on low for 6-8 hours.  Remove chicken breasts and debone (I always use bone in-adds to the flavor of the soup!) and shred.  Return to low for 30 more minutes.

Optional add ins:  1 cup whole wheat elbows (add in last hour of cooking) or shredded Cheddar cheese (sprinkle before serving).

We served this for company during the hockey game and got a resounding 2 thumbs up.  Especially when dippin' chips are added in....hey, it's super healthy, why not make it fun, too?

Confessions of a Pregnant Triathlete

Weekend time!  It's a full one in the Glaser casa-a wonderful dinner date with a great "new" friend, a hockey party with some friends we haven;t seen in way too long! And a birthday party...whew!

Today, Greg and I hit up a consignment sale in Egypt (sounds exotic, doesn't it?  It's not-Egypt is 15 minutes from our house) and picked up a few fun baby clothes and toys, and also "staged" the nursery so it looks really nice (pics coming).  I also got a great 2 mile swim yesterday and a 20 mile ride today-run is tomorrow, Johnny's is two weeks away!
Speaking of "training"...I've been doing alot of thinking about that this week.  Obviously, right now I'm working out in line with my docs approval in just keeping active and healthy, which is exactly right.  It's nowhere near a "race geared" year-for obvious reasons!!  But this week, since I am on the list serv for Musselman (a great local race), I got to thinking about tri's....thus.....my rambling thoughts at this time....

Confessions of a (Pregnant) Triathlete

1.  Treadmill running sucks.  I've done a few outdoor runs, but the most of my winter runs have been indoors.  I've mostly done slower, easy runs, but sometimes I like to see what the ole belly can do in a tempo type run (yes, I do monitor heart rate and do not push myself.)  Still...I am living for spring, when the snow goes away and I can feel good on the roads again!  (Oh wait...then I'll need maternity shorts.  Never mind :-P)  Until then...back to the dreadmill.  Ugh.
2.  I find the reactions that vary from people about running and biking and swimming while pregnant quite amusing.  Look, I show when I swim.  And run.  Biking...is in my own basement, so it's pretty private.  Some people think it's cute.  Some guys try to race me in the pool (hint-if you sprint for 25 yards and then die out while I'm swimming a mile...you're doing it wrong).  Some people make comments about how I shouldn't be doing what I'm doing (hint-since I got the ok for my OB.....she knows more than you) and some people just kind of smile as I trot or glide by.  It's all good.
3.  Speaking of the bike....even though my bump is pretty small (but wait till the next pic-it's getting bigger!!)....aero is becoming increasingly less feasible for riding.  Nuh uh.  Just ain't happening.  I now feel for those toting beer bellies during Ironmans....there is nothing more annoying than the whup whup whup of your knees hitting your belly.  I know, I know #pregnancyproblems.  I'm over it already.  Just glad I can spin!
4. Even though I don't show in sweatshirts, and only minorly in work shirts...nothing makes you look more pregnant than a swimsuit!  If I had more body confidence I would post week 20 in a bathing suit.  But I don't.  So if you want swimsuit shots...check out sports illustrated.  Or get your lazy butt to the DFC and swim some laps with the preggo :-P
5.  Everyone has planned their 2013 season and is starting to train.  I am so jealous.  I have mine planned, too.  It goes something like....Run.  Bike.  Swim.  Walk.  Waddle.  Gain 25.  Do a 24 hour triathlon labor. Lose 8.  Lose 17 more.  Tri?  Late du?  Late half marathon?  Or not.  LOL.
6.  But...there is some awesome hope for my favorite tri if everything works out perfectly (like a 2% shot, but it's fun to think about!)  My favorite race is the middle of August.  Baby G is due 3rd week in July.  Hey, I was early.  Baby born a bit realy, easy birth, 6 weeks later =Sodus.  Boots is holding a spot for me in case I can race.  I love that man.  You should all go do his races-it's people like Yellow Jacket that remember their athletes that make the sport rock!  But hey, if I have to spectate, I can do that too.  I told Greg I wouldn't in 2005....but 2013 is different :-P
7.  With that said, I'm now onto planning 2014 season.  Who says there's a limit on how long you can plan?  I know plenty of triathletes that have a 5 year plan, and I have an 18 month plan.  Spring marathon?  Summer half Ironman?  Who knows?  But now I can play, and then hope that I can be a great mommy athlete come next year!  Who's gonna sponsor my BOB?  Lol.

8. Oh wait, I lied.  I do know about 2014.  With Greg's permission, I have one tri on my agenda as an A race for 2014.  Rev3 Cedar Point.  70.3.  Plus.....70.3.  Oh yeah, Ironman, I didn't stutter.  Let's dance.  2014, baby!