This is another review round-up, since I have so many opinions that need sharing. I've been meaning to start twittering Micro Reviews when I try something I really like, but the name has been holding me back. I want to call them MicReviews (the schwa in the second syllable nicely bridges 'micro' and 'review', I thought), but I'm a bit ambivalent. If you say you like it, though, I'll go with it.

Anyway, onwards, towards the various foodstuffs I've tried lately and my very, very important opinions. Click through to the full post to read my reviews.

-- I had a really, really nice weekend. In fact, I pretty much achieved a perfect Saturday: I woke up, showered and got ready, went out to brunch at the Seward Cafe, sat around and chatted for four hours, drove to Edina to meet up with Rob (who's in town!) and Heather, and we drank coffee for quite a while. Heather had to head home, so Rob and I walked two doors down from the coffee shop, and I had falafel for dinner. That's a perfect Saturday. Eating and then sitting around having interesting conversation until it's time to eat again.

-- I ordered the buckwheat pancake with fruit and yogurt at the Seward Cafe. The last time I got it, the yogurt was in the middle of the pancake, with the carefully-sliced fruit artfully fanned out around it. I brought my SLR this time to get a better photo, but when I got my plate, the fruit and yogurt had been slung on top haphazardly. It made me laugh. It was outstandingly delicious, though.

-- On Sunday, I went to Half Price Books and found two Elvis Costello CDs for under $5 each (Spike and The Juliet Letters). I've amassed so many of his albums in such a short time recently that I haven't been able to fully appreciate them all; I've listened to Blood and Chocolate a couple of times all the way through, for example, but it hasn't really sunk in yet. It's the obsessive side of me kicking in (wanting to have every album I come across), but there are worse things to obsess about.

-- I've been exclusively using my Bialetti to make coffee in the mornings, but when Alex made the best coffee ever in her French press, I decided to give my own another chance. I've always followed the rule of using two tablespoons of grounds for every cup of coffee (which I think is technically considered to be six ounces of water, not eight) and using water that hasn't yet come to a boil. But yesterday (and again today), I dumped in three tablespoons and turned the kettle off as soon as it boiled. So good.

-- I do not like when Beany appears to be keenly watching something under the baseboard heater, as she was doing a moment ago. On a similar note, one of the guys in my acting class said he saw a rat in the school theater we gather at. A rat! I wish I would have seen it too.

-- Today I did my three-mile run outside. It was very grey and cloudy, and I had to run into the brisk wind during the first half, but I still finished just under my usual pace and didn't keel over, so it was a success. My first 5k of the season is on Saturday, and I'm excited! I even bought a copy of Runner's World (the UK edition, because the US issue was all about weight loss), which I will now return to reading.

Hello, friends! What a beautiful day it was -- an amazing week, really. I think we're supposed to get a couple days of inclement weather soon, but it's been warm (around 40F) and is supposed to stay that way, so I can't complain. I was outside with the cats this afternoon, and I realized I've probably never taken a picture of the (slightly crooked) weather vane on my garage. So now I have! I'm going to ramble on about running now...

I took a walk yesterday; I'm not really sure how far I went -- it took fifty minutes, but there was a fair amount of carefully navigating icy patches. With that and my outside run on Wednesday, my quads were still the tiniest bit sore this morning. Funny, that -- I never get tired legs from running on a treadmill, but tromping around outside obviously works them differently.

So I was a little bit nervous about my first long run in my 10k training schedule (technically, I started it last week, but the first 'long' run was three miles, which wasn't new to me). Especially since my 2.5 miles on Monday (on the treadmill) had felt sort of off. As if I were running with my upper body instead of my legs, if that makes any sense. But, despite my quads, I could tell as soon as I started running this morning that everything felt great. I finished my 3.5 miles feeling like there was still fuel in the tank, which is fantastic.

Having a definite training goal is nice -- I love having something to work towards. But it's also the tiniest bit stressful. I generally go pretty easy on myself, psychologically, when I get on the treadmill. I'll have a distance I'm aiming for, but I tend to say, 'But if I only do two miles [or whatever], that's okay, too.' I'll almost always still run the originally planned distance, but it's nice to have that out if I'm just not feeling that particular run. But now, with my long runs once a week, I feel like I have to make each one count. Never mind that I can always just try again the next day!

I'm really looking forward to running longer distances in the future. Quitting every summer has meant that I never really build up endurance, which also means that I've not really been able to improve my time -- and I'm pretty slow. So I want to run year-round from now on and try to make real progress. It's the only exercise I really enjoy, but I only enjoy it when I run regularly.

After today's successful run, I'm starting to see the sense in incorporating weight training for my legs. I'm going to brunch tomorrow morning, but I think I might hit the ladies-only gym afterward, bust out a quick mile on the treadmill, and then use the weight machines (it's less scary doing that with only ladies around, see). It's true -- I like this so much that I want to indulge in a semi-spontaneous trip to the gym.

One last note: I read something on the Runner's World website about the age-old question, 'Am I a runner or a jogger?' -- if you worry about the distinction, you're a runner.

Things I Love Thursday! Here's what I'm loving:

-- Remembering to keep brainless dinners in the cupboards. I couldn't decide what to have for dinner last night (because I'd already had my pile o' greens for lunch!), but my problem was solved when I realized there was a package of Tasty Bite's Bombay Potatoes hidden away. I cooked in some kale (because what isn't made better through the addition of kale?) and called it dinner. Easy peasy.

-- Running outside. Okay, it may be too early to say that I love it, but I took my two-mile (and a bit) run outside yesterday, and it went better than expected. I always feel like I'm moving so slowly when I'm running for real versus on the treadmill, but I actually shaved 40 seconds off my usual two-mile time. When I first started running, I did so exclusively on a treadmill until a couple of weeks before my 5k, and trying to run outside was killer. So I think I have a lingering fear of running 'for real' which maybe shouldn't apply as much anymore. I read something last night about running outdoors taking more muscle control, due to uneven surfaces, and that would definitely explain why my legs felt tired for the rest of the day, which almost never happens after a treadmill run. The best part, though? I was able to walk through my sunny neighborhood to cool down instead of a sweaty gym.

-- My wireless mouse. I realized earlier this week that the wireless Logitech keyboard and mouse that I used with my old PC (before the Torborg residence became all-Apple) were still in the basement and would work with my MacBook. Sweet relief. Using the laptop's trackpad for extended periods of time while proofreading gets to be painful, but having the mouse off to the side is much more comfortable. It only took me three years to figure this out.

-- VitaTop + cream cheese. I had an Apple Berry VitaTop with my salad for lunch, but instead of eating it plain, I sliced it into two layers, spread cream cheese on one, and then put it back together. Incredible!

-- A tidy home. When I started my whole 'overhaul' project, I stopped doing the fake tidying I usually engage in, where I stuff things in closets and cupboards to get them temporarily out of the way. But I've been busy lately and haven't had much time to dedicate towards properly organizing things, and I realized I just had to straighten the house out for the time being. The piano room and my bedroom have already been overhauled, so there's no stashing going on there, but the kitchen and guest room really benefited from some surface tidying. Whew.

So, a few weeks ago I received a package from Vitalicious for review -- and incredible assortment of their many VitaTop flavors and a box of the VitaBrownies. Vitalicious specializes in making baked treats (muffins, muffin-tops, brownies, etc) that all weigh in at 100 calories per serving and are pretty darn good for you, to boot.

I'd had a chance in the past to try the Deep Chocolate flavor of VitaTops, but the selection at a lot of my local stores is hit and miss, and I never seemed to be able to find the varieties I'm hoping for. Cue the arrival of the assortment from Vitalicious -- I was in heaven! I realized that I had the VitaBrownie in the picture above -- one of the first items I sampled from the box -- on February 23rd (because I date my images, not because my memory is that good!), and I almost couldn't believe it had only been just over a week! I feel like my secret stash of VitaTops has been with me forever, but maybe that's just because I keep going back to it. Vitalicious products are made to be stored in the freezer, which is awesome, because you can stock up (via their website!) and not worry about opening the package and having them go stale before you get a chance to finish them.

I don't eat muffins or muffin-tops or that sort of thing very often. Sometimes I get into a routine -- after baking a loaf of zucchini bread, say -- but baked goods don't actually play a huge role in my daily diet. But whether it's the VitaTops' size or just the fact that I like going through the (rapidly dwindling) collection in my freezer to pick a flavor, I've been 'sneaking' them into a lot of my meals recently. You know what goes really well with a pile of green veg (= most of my dinners, recently)? A bran VitaTop. Or I'll eat a smaller lunch and heat up one of the chocolate-y flavors afterward for a treat. Nom.

I haven't tried everything yet, of course, but I think the Banana Nut flavor might be my favorite -- it does NOT have that horrible, artificial flavor that many store-bought 'banana' foods do. I've also tried several of the bran varieties: CranBran, Raisin Bran, Blue(berry)Bran, and Apple Berry -- oh, maybe that's all the bran varieties! I told you I've been getting through them! They're very substantial-feeling as a side to a meal. I keep meaning to try spreading cream cheese or almond butter on one of these, because I am 98% sure that would be amazing. My only complaint in all this sampling I've been doing is that there was only one identifiable cranberry in the particular CranBran muffin-top I ate. Completely excusable, of course, because when you're mixing up muffin batter, there's bound to be a slightly unequal distribution of ingredients. But, you know, I mention it in an effort to be fair and balanced.

The chocolate flavors I've tried: Double Chocolate Dream, Fudgy Peanut Butter, Chocolate Mint, and Deep Chocolate. The particular Fudgy Peanut Butter muffin-top that I ate had an impressive cluster of peanut butter chips! I really liked all the flavors, though, especially the Chocolate Mint; the texture is dense and cake-y and satisfying. In fact, despite the fact that I pictured the VitaBrownie in this post, I think the chocolate VitaTops are actually more decadent-feeling (well, as decadent as 100 calories can be).

Whew, I didn't realize I had so much to say in this review! You can read all the details about the products and company here, but I think it's worth saying that I like the Vitalicious products because they taste good and are fun to eat, not because of a list of healthy attributes. That said, I would not be eating a muffin with my meal if it were 500 calories and had a day's worth of fat, etc.

I'm going to be very sad when my current supply runs out, mainly because the huge variety of flavors was so exciting -- luckily, the same sampler is available here! But if I had to choose three flavors to restock, I would go with Banana Nut, BlueBran, and Chocolate Mint. Maybe Double Chocolate Dream (because then I could put almond butter on it!). Have you tried VitaTops before? Do you like them?

-- Look at Beany, bravely trekking through the snow. The weather was SO nice today that I had to let her out. She didn't seem to take notice of the snow, but I suppose that was because she could pretty much just walk along on top of it. She also went up and down the back path a few times, until she realized she'd stepped in a puddle. This seems to be a cat thing: she was walking along the damp path, looked up ahead and noticed there was puddling, and then looked down to realize that she was already standing in water. Much distasteful lifting of paws and awkward rerouting ensued.

-- Speaking of thaws and the resulting puddles, late winter is just a bad time to get your car washed. I treated mine to a gas-station car wash that left it very shiny indeed, which meant that I had to drive on tip-toe all the way back home. That was yesterday, and when I went out to the supermarket today, an oncoming van splashed into a pothole and threw dirty water right across the hood of my car. Heart breaking! So even though I knew it was completely ridiculous, I grabbed a sponge, a bucket of soapy water, and a towel when I got home and wiped it off. Completely normal.

-- Also completely normal? That guy who was wearing short sleeves while chipping away ice from a parking lot today. That's how we do it in Minnesota!

-- I was setting up my automatic estimated tax payments today (I already filed my 2009 return ages ago and got my refund), and as I was filling in the amounts for my MN state income tax, I actually had a pang of, 'But that's not enough!' As in, how can that measly amount possibly cover my share of what it takes to keep the state running? Not that I have extra money to be paying them, but I did feel a bit bad. I should sponsor a loon* or something.

* That's the Minnesota state bird, in case you haven't brushed up on your MN trivia lately.

-- Recently, all my at-home dinner planning has gone like this: 'Okay, a huge pile of broccoli, asparagus, and kale. What goes with that?' Last night, I sauteed everything with onion, shiitake mushrooms, and a couple slices of fake bacon (and had a cranbran VitaTop on the side). Tonight I sauteed the green veg with onion, chickpeas, and black olives (with Ezekiel sesame toast on the side). I season everything with soy sauce, nutritional yeast, cumin, and chili powder. If I were allowed to use only two spices in cooking (not baking), I think they'd have to be chili powder and cumin. Until somebody else suggests something, in which case I'll change my mind.

-- Katie asked about the races I've entered. I've only ever run one 5k, which was the Race for Life in London. That was in 2006, and it was the reason I started running in the first place. I think I saw an ad for the race on the Tube and decided that it would be a good goal to aim for. I continued to run on a treadmill after that, although I stopped when I moved into my house. I joined the gym in December 2007, I think, and started running again, but then got plantar fasciitis and switched to yoga and elliptical for a long time. Last winter, I was determined to get back to running for real and enter races, but... I didn't. So right now is the first time that I'm back to routinely running 5k (3.1 miles) on the treadmill since 2006. Entering the races has definitely given my motivation a boost, especially since I'm now training for a 10k!

-- Yesterday, Alex hosted the be all and end all of Sunday brunches. Rainbow pancakes. With -- wait for it -- edible glitter. It's definitely bizarre (and awesome!) to eat something so vibrantly hued, but it really didn't take very much gel dye to color the pancake batter. Everybody's Sunday was enriched. And Alex, you should let me come over some time and take photos of your house. We can have a special house-tour entry.

-- You know what? I feel great. It's been sunny (well, not right now, because it's 11:30pm, but generally... during the day), I've been running, I'm on track with work, I have amusing friends, I get to wake up tomorrow and eat oatmeal and do a runner's yoga download. Things aren't too bad.