Liver Life Challenge

If you follow me on Twitter or know me in real life, it is no big secret I have been fundraising for the American Liver Foundation.  You may have also come across my fundraising story on other wonderful CLE blogs.  CLEgal finds me inspirational.  Julie helped spread the word asking for support.  Amanda has a personal connection to my fundraising efforts.  Heather summed up how motivating running with a team can be.  As I often have said, I have two goals for the Disney Marathon and only one I can achieve on my own.  I have been training hard since late October to achieve my goal of beating my Towpath time of 4:24:11.  Saturday morning I will be braving whatever Mother Nature has in store and running 22 miles, my last really long training run before the full 26.2 on January 8th.    

Goal #2 can only be achieve through the help of others.  I am committed to raising $3400.  I would first like to thank everyone who already has generously donated.  I appreciate every penny that has been raised for Liver Life Challenge through your kind sponsorship.  Thank you to those who came out for karaoke night back in November and to those who came by Barnes and Noble last week to my gift wrapping table.  (side note on gift wrapping: If you are looking for a wrapper, let me know!!).  Even with all of these efforts, I am still quite a ways from reaching my goal.  So how can you help??

1. The easiest is visiting my fundraising page and clicking on "Sponsor me".  Just think, a donation of $26.20 breaks down to a dollar per mile I run.

2.  Looking for the perfect Christmas gift for that chef in your life?  Through Wednesday, 15% of all Pampered Chef items purchased here with me (Stephanie Hovan) as the host will go towards Liver Life Challenge.  Contact me for more information.

3.  This may be the most fun way.  I have set up a college bowl pick'em group.  Think March Madness only college football.  The winner will receive a $25 gift card to a LOCAL restaurant of your choice.  Entering is as simple as a $20 donation if you have not previously donated or a $5 donation if you already have.  Once I receive an email confirmation of your donation, I will send you the group info.  The deadline to do so is Friday, December 16.

Photo from wikipedia

As I mentioned before, I cannot fully express my gratitude for everyone who already had helped.  I cannot wait to run through Disney on January 8 knowing this marathon is helping the over 3 million Americans who are battling liver diseases.  Also, a huge thanks to Katrina for getting me involved with Liver Life Challenge and being an awesome fundraising coordinator!

Until next time...follow your heart, fulfill your hunger!

And the winner is...

Happy Monday everyone!  I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend filled with good food, family, friends, and holiday cheer!  I would LOVE to say good football too but yeah, well, no comment.

And the lucky winner of the Dolce Gusto Piccolo is...

 #24 Brad!!  Congrats!  

Thanks to all who entered.  I would also like to thank everyone who has donated so far to my Liver Life Challenge fundraising effort.  I can only achieve one of my two goals on my own, that being running my second marathon.

Until next time...follow your heart, fulfill your hunger!

Dolce Gusto Warms My Heart!

First of all, thank you for all of the positive comments on my last post.   I am really excited to get back into blogging once again and hopefully I can keep up with it better.

Back in September, Allison invited me and some other awesome Cleveland bloggers to Greenhouse Tavern for Nescafé's Cleveland Foodie Feed Up to introduce their Dolce Gusto product line.  We also were treated to a demo by Chef Sawyer and enjoyed some of my GHT favorites, including the chicken wing confit.

Chef Sawyer preparing beef tartare

Yum!

The Dolce Gusto product line offers various single cup coffee machines and a wide variety of capsule flavors.  As a thank you for attending the Foodie Feed Up, I was given the Piccolo machine and two boxes of capsules.  Personally, I love the cappuccino and have made myself my own pumpkin spiced treats this fall.  The single cup option is wonderful for a a little caffeine pick me up when you do not want to make a regular pot of coffee.  Also, with the holiday season, Dolce Gusto machines make great gifts.  Aside from searching the stores and ordering on line, Christmas will come a little early for one lucky Hungry in Cleveland reader!  I was given one Piccolo machine to give away.  The deadline to enter is Sunday at 11:59 p.m.  Winner will be announced Monday, November 28.  There are two ways to enter.

1. Comment on this post telling me your favorite holiday coffee drink.
2. Tweet the following "@HungryInCLE and @DolceGustoUS warm my heart!  I want to win a Piccolo here: http://bit.ly/tT5YCP"

Win me!

Also, please remember I will be running 26.2 miles in Disney World a member of the American Liver Foundation's Liver Life Challenge team!  Please help me achieve one of my two goals!

Until next time...follow your heart, fulfill your hunger!

**Disclaimer: I was invited to attend the Cleveland Foodie Feed Up by Allison in September.  At this event I was given a Piccolo Dolce Gusto machine to take home.  Later, Allison reached out to me to give one away here.**  

My Best Days Are Ahead of Me!

Loved this cake!  Wonder what will be on 27??

Once again, I am back from a blogging hiatus.  Alot has happened since I last posted, some good some bad.  One thing I have learned (yet again) is I must be more open about what is really going on inside.  I never really have been one for making New Year's resolutions but I do have an ever growing bucket list.  Sunday is my birthday which kicks off my favorite week of the year.  Seriously, my birthday, then Thanksgiving (ultimate food holiday), then Black Friday (biggest shopping day of the year).  I could not have been born during a more appropriate week.  I have read quite a few ___ at ____ "birthday resolution" lists lately which made me think, why not.   I realize some of these I already have been working on, some I have complete control over, and others I have to do my best and leave it up to God.  So here it is in no particular order, Steph's 27 at 27.  Enjoy!

1. Run 4 marathons.  Already signed up for Disney in January and Cleveland in May.
2. Take a fun, creative class. (cake decorating, creative writing, ballroom dancing...)
3. Ragnar with the #DirtyRunner team!!!!
4. Make more time for those I truly love and mean the world to me.
5. Find a new job
6. Road trip with the Tribe.  Every season I say I will go to an away game and never end up doing it.
7. Reach my $3400 Liver Life Challenge fundraising goal. (*hint*hint*cough*cough*nudge*)
8. Do the Warrior Dash
9. Do something every day to make me happy.  It can be as simple as going for a run, giving into ice cream, or buying a new pair of shoes.
10. Buy a house/condo
11. Get back into yoga
12. Finally get my passport
13. Get a puppy
14. Make Nana's chicken paprikash.  I have put off attempting this for way too long.
15. Finish the Tour de Bruell.  Yeah, this past year I only made it to one restaurant.
16. Actually finish books I started reading.
17. Be a better blogger
18. Be more responsible and everything that entails.
19. Continue to eat healthy while every now and then treating myself within moderation.
20. Watch the sunset over Lake Erie
21. Go to the Ohio Wineries.  As shameful as it is to admit, I have never been.
22. Volunteer more.
23. Find a softball team to play on this spring/summer.
24. Go to a Notre Dame football game.  It has been too long since I have been in Notre Dame Stadium.
25. Host a clambake.  Again, every fall I want to do it and never get around to it.
26. Go to the Southern Tier brewery.
27. Overall, be the best me I can be!  

Until next time...follow your heart, fulfill your hunger!

Cluing into Fulfilling My Hunger

I know I have not written on here much lately, but when Amanda from Clue into Cleveland reached out asking for guest bloggers, I happily agreed to help her.  I met Amanda at an Ohio Blogging Association meetup and we quickly connected through our mutual love of the TV show Castle.  Since then, we have become kickball teammates, attend many of the same events, and have become friends in real life.  Here's a brief recap of how I fulfilled my hunger throughout summer 2011!

Hunger Fulfilled: Summer 2011

#DirtyRunners post Buckeye Half (stolen from Jess)

Also, if you have missed other guests posts I have written, check out Why? Tremont on Why? CLE and Foodie on the Run on Poise in Parma.

Until next time...follow your heart, fulfill your hunger!

Pierogies, Parallax, and Two-A-Days

So initially I wasn't going to write this post because I was not pleased at first with the end result.  However, I am the type of person who loves turning a negative into a positive and that is what I did.

As many of you probably have read, this past Saturday was the July meetup of the Cleveland Chapter of the Ohio Blogging Association.  We were participating in the Parma Area Relay for Life "Run for the Pierogies 5K."  Lately I have been determined to run a sub-25 5K at a 8:00 pace.  Saturday seemed like the perfect day to do so.  The course was for the most part flat and it's always motivating to see so many friendly faces on race day!  And, there were pierogies at the finish line.  What more could a foodie/runner ask for?

Photo from the OBA Facebook page.
CLEgal, Morgan, Courtney, Alicia, Jess, Kali, Steph
not pictured here: Ryan, Molly, and Amanda

I woke up a little more excited for this race then most other 5Ks.  I was very happy when I got into my car at felt mild temps and little to no humidity.  If I only knew what Mother Nature was planning as the morning progressed.  After picking up my packet and finding everyone, I noticed something...hello humidity!  I was not going to let it get into my head though.  I found a place towards the front/middle of the pack, set the iPod and watch, and took off as soon as the bell rang.  I did the first mile in 7:55 which on a non-humid day would have been PR pace.  However, by the time we reached the water stop at the half way point, I knew that second loop was not going to be pretty.  I was starting to feel fatigued and starting to slightly cramp.  Just I was ready to give up and walk a bit, slightly past mile 2 or so, Kali caught up with me and we made sure we both finished the race together!  After crossing the finish line, I quickly grabbed water and found shade.  I felt so lightheaded and the thought of food was not appealing at all.  No pierogies for me.  I even did not feel up to joining the other bloggers for brunch as originally planned.  I felt defeated.         

Since I was in Parma, I figured a stop at Honey Hut would cheer me up.  Even after waiting in the parking lot for them to open, I opted to take my Blackberry Chocolate Chip home for later (sidenote:  It is delish and a limited time flavor).  All I wanted was water and a do-over of the race.  By 5:00, I was still in a mood but finally regained my appetite.  The bf and I headed down to Tremont for dinner at Parallax.  Finally checking off stop #1 on my Tour de Bruell put me in a much better mood.  I went with the Japanese Udon noodles since  we also decided to go for a late night run too.  (Blogger fail, no picture).  Everything about this dish, even the melts in your mouth pork belly, brought a smile to my face.  The noodles were not too heavy and they were the perfect way to enjoy the soup which pleased my excess of umami receptors.  For dessert, the sorbet trio (mango, blueberry, and raspberry) was the perfect palate cleanser for a hot July evening.

Two or so hours later with our dinners properly digested, we took to the streets of Lakewood for a late night run.  By this time, the sun had gone down and the humidity was greatly reduced.  Maybe it was the feeling of revenge I wanted or maybe it was the determination to prove something to myself, but that 4.75 miles was one of the best runs I have had in quite sometime.  I really wish I timed it too.  I need to figure out how I can work a two-a-day run into my schedule now.  Monday morning also brought a pleasant surprise for me.  Despite my bad time and the humidity, I managed to finish 11th in my age group out of 36.  Another 5K goal I have is to be in the top 10 for my age group. One passion driving another passion.  I really will run for food.

Until next time...follow your heart, fulfill your hunger!   

Where I've Been and Where I am Going

"As we drive along this road called life, occasionally a gal will find herself a little lost.  And when that happens, I guess she has to let go of the coulda, shoulda, woulda, buckle up and just keep going." ~Carrie Bradshaw


This quote from "Sex and the City" pretty much sums up my feelings towards blogging and such the last month or so.  I found myself lost and struggling to set myself apart from all the other great blogs out there.  In the past month, I have been to many fun events, ate alot of great food, and had some crazy culinary adventures.  However, as I was writing these up, I realized something was lacking.  Heart.  I end each post with "Follow your heart...fulfill your hunger" which I have adapted as the motto or tagline or whatever for this blog.  Writing and posting something that lacks heart is just not acceptable for me.  Blogging should not feel like a job or an obligation.  It takes the heart out of it.

I am here to share my love of Cleveland and love of food with my own personal twist.  I have two rules:
1: Give credit where credit is due
2: Fulfill my hunger to share my passions with you

There may be an occasional non-food related post every now and then but I will never forget the main concept of this blog.  Hopefully, a little more of ME comes through in my posts too.  It is time to go back to passions and inspirations which make me WANT to blog.  I guess this could be considered my "Declaration of Blogger Independence" in the spirit of Fourth of July.  Have a great weekend friends!  Enjoy the food, beer, fireworks, friends, family, picnics, baseball, and just being free!

Until next time...follow your heart, fulfill your hunger!