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My original plan was to try the new smoothie recipe for breakfast yesterday morning, but then I remembered that it was Wednesday morning which meant it was one of my running days. That’s right. I said running days.

As part of my commitment to a healthier, sweatier me in 2011, I started the Couch to 5K training program last week. I’d been contemplating it for several weeks because I knew I needed to come up with a workout alternative to the 30 Day Shred since I was on the verge of unplugging the DVR and throwing it through the T.V. screen if I had to listen to Jillian taunt me one more time about the fact I’ll never have abs that look like green sports bra girl.

And, secretly, there’s always been a part of me that would like to be a runner. The only thing that’s held me back all these years is the whole part that involves the running, but I’ve always been a huge fan of the clothing and accessories and the way legitimate runners say cool things like, “I ran a nine minute mile in my last 10K” or “I’m thinking about doing the half next year”. Because clearly they don’t even need to specify they mean a half marathon. It’s implied by the Nike sensor on their running shoes and the JUST DO IT emblazoned across their t-shirt.

So when I began to hear people talk about the Couch to 5K program, I was intrigued. Mainly because I have the couch part DOWN FLAT. I looked it up on the internet and decided it sounded within the realm of my possibilities. The only concern I had was how I was going to be able to run, possibly throw up from the exercise and keep track of my one minute of running alternated with the two minutes of walking for thirty minutes. It seemed like I might need some special kind of Ironman watch and timers and this is why I’ve never been a runner. Besides all the running.

Then I realized there certainly had to be a Couch to 5K app on my phone and so I searched for it and THERE IT WAS because Steve Jobs will not rest until every aspect of our life is controlled and managed by Apple. All I have to do is make myself put on my running shoes and it does all the work for me. Except the actual running. But there is a nice lady who lives inside my phone that says, “It’s time to run now!” and “It’s time to walk now!” and “You’re halfway done!” When it’s all over she congratulates me and it means the world to me to have her support.

Of course you and I both know that I’m going to hate her by next week and will become the crazy lady running down the road, trying not to throw up while yelling, “QUIT TELLING ME WHAT TO DO! YOU’RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!” into my phone.

If you’re wondering what any of this has to do with a tofu smoothie, you’re not alone.

I can’t eat anything before I run in the morning because THE HEAT, MY WORD THE HEAT so I decided I’d wait until I got home and cooled down to make the smoothie. Then I remembered that I was meeting my friend, Jennifer, at Starbucks, and I needed to shower and get dressed instead of experimenting with tofu. I also needed to figure out a way to get my face to quit glowing bright red. I don’t know why it turns so red, but I look like an angry cartoon character for at least an hour after I run.

Anyway, after Starbucks I ran in Hobby Lobby because I need some kind of fall centerpiece for my dining room table (I didn’t find anything. I don’t know what I’m looking for.) and then I went to Target for reasons I can’t recall but it ended with me buying a pair of camo leggings and a great long-sleeve t-shirt that I might be able to wear if it ever drops below 104 degrees.

(I’m sorry for all the pointless details. I could go on and on with the pointless details of my day. In fact, I just did. I stopped for gas. And thought about getting my car washed. And ran the dishwasher twice because the soap didn’t come out of the the dispenser the first time. It’s all fascinating.)

When I got back to the house around lunchtime, I decided that nothing would be better than a smoothie with tofu in it for lunch. So I began to dump all the ingredients into the blender. Then I opened up the tofu, didn’t realize it was packed in water, and made a huge mess all over the countertops and the floor. And then I thought about how that kind of thing never happens with bacon or pretzel M&Ms.

But I decided to forgive the tofu and made my smoothie. It was delicious. I’ll be making another one tomorrow. And the next day.

And maybe the day after that.

In fact, given my propensity for sucking all the life and joy out of a food by eating it until I can’t stand to even think about it, I’ll probably make one daily for the next three months. And then the smoothie will be dead to me.

In case you’d like to try one for yourself, you can find the recipe right here.

Well, clearly I need to take a tip from Paul Harvey and tell y’all the rest of the story from yesterday’s post about Lee.

We invited her to our wedding but she was in very poor health and told me she just wasn’t going to be able to make it. Right after we got married, P’s mom moved into my old apartment at Village Oaks because she had recently sold P’s childhood home and hadn’t found a new house yet. She’d been living with P in our townhome in the days leading up to the wedding and so we just switched places. Little did she know she’d be living in Village Oaks for the next year.

She also didn’t know that a new neighbor had moved in below me who liked to have very loud fights with his girlfriend, which led to my mother-in-law having to resist the daily temptation to catch this young girl in the courtyard, shake her by the shoulders and say, “MOVE ON, SISTER. HE’S BAD NEWS.”

Anyway, Lee adopted my mother-in-law as her new best friend and they talked daily until Lee’s health became too bad for her to live alone and she moved out of town to be closer to her daughter and ultimately passed away.

And that’s the rest of the story.

With a few more details than you probably really care about thrown in for no extra charge.

In other news, look what I bought at the store yesterday.

It’s like I don’t even recognize myself in the mirror.

What happened to that sweet girl who craved nothing more than Fritos and bean dip not even two weeks ago?

I’ll tell you what happened. She realized she is a mere eleven months away from her 40th birthday and maybe it’s time to think about health and fitness.

At least for the next few weeks.

Apparently you can put tofu in a smoothie and it tastes good and adds in protein to get you through the day. I’ll let you know tomorrow if any of that is actually true.

I have fifty dollars that says it’s not going to be as tasty as bacon and eggs with a side of blueberry pancakes.

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Post 4 for the Kellogg’s $100 gift card giveaway is posted over on my giveaway page. Click on over for the chance to win $100.

File this under better late than never. You can click over to my Giveaways page to see the winners of Bethany Dillon’s new CD Stop and Listen.

Yesterday was a big day full of lots of adventure and activity. In fact, I was so tired that I went in to lay with Caroline while she went to sleep last night and Gulley came in and woke me up an hour later. What can I say? The zoo makes me tired.

We started the day with some tattoos.

Rode public transportation which was a great reminder to me of why I am not a fan of public transportation.

It would be fine except for all the people.

Then we made it to the Dallas Zoo. Everyone warned us that the Forth Worth Zoo was so much better than the Dallas Zoo, but we didn’t feel like driving an hour to Forth Worth so we took our chances with the allegedly far inferior Dallas Zoo.

It totally paid off because the kids got to see penguins and a gorilla, both of which cannot be found at the San Antonio Zoo.

Other than that, they rode the carousel and we saw a bunch of birds. I am convinced that birds are basically zoo filler. It’s basically a cheap way to provide something else for people to look at with minimal investment. Why pay to ship in a tiger or a hippo when you can just put some brightly colored pigeons in a “natural habitat” and call it an exhibit?

After paying $8.00 for a zoo cheeseburger that Caroline didn’t eat and realizing the temperature had reached 101 degrees, we decided it was time to take our lives in our hands and hop back on the DART system to get back home.

Later, we headed to the pool to meet our dear friend, Hite, for some swimming and the hopes of flat wearing the kids out so they’d go to bed at a decent hour.

Unfortunately, somebody’s kid decided she needed to go to the bathroom after ten minutes at the pool so we left in search of a restroom and ended up at a neighborhood park with a splash pad.

And after a full day of activities and fun, we all still love each other.

We’ll even share towels.

At least until we get in a big argument over whose turn it is to sit in the “way back” of Hite’s car and it all turns ugly. Fortunately there is no photographic evidence of this unfortunate turn of events.

It’s time to announce the first winner in the GoodNites Bedtime Moments contest. Click over to my giveaways page to see who won and to find out how you could win a tote bag full of cool stuff or even a $2,000 bedroom makeover.