I've also notified all the winners of the Voskos yogurt coupon giveaway. Five people have accepted their prizes and five...evidently don't check their email that often. Victoria, Jennifer H, Thealogian, Julia, and Annie, check your email please.

Copyright Jennette Fulda. Read more at PastaQueen

Either my local Kroger exists in a time bubble that has been forced one month into the future, or the managers are missing the month of November in their wall calendars, because as we all know, it is far, far, far too soon to be putting up Christmas trees.

Copyright Jennette Fulda. Read more at PastaQueen

I will be flying to Baltimore at the end of March to speak at the first FitBloggin' conference, the brainchild of Roni of Roni's Weigh and Green Lite Bites and a zillion other projects that make you and I look like lazy layabouts. Since this is the first conference, attendees and speakers will really get a chance to set the tone and shape the event. It might turn into an annual thing if all goes well.

Registration is open and there are lots of other cool speakers attending. I plan on having a good time and I hope to see you there having fun too!

Copyright Jennette Fulda. Read more at PastaQueen

I did eventually look into these lists thingys, just so I'd know what everyone was talking about, and I can see how they would be useful. A Twitter list is a group of people you have put together under a particular label. Then you can go to the list page and read all the tweets from just those people. It is a good way for you to discover new Twitter folk you might want to follow who have similar interests as you. I'm not sure why they call them Twitter lists instead of Twitter groups. Whatever. I didn't name them.

What I find most interesting about this new feature is that you can see what public groups lists other people have put you on. Which means you get to see how other people see you and what labels they are slapping on your forehead. As of this moment, I have been but on 45 public lists, which you can see here.

• By far, most people have categorized me as "health" or "weight loss" or "diet" or "food." (Uh oh, please don't eat me!)
• Indiana bloggers have put me on a few "locals" or "Hoosiers" lists
• Some people have labeled me as "cool" and "sexy." (Right back at ya'!)
• I'm also on a few "women" lists or "blogger" lists or just "online" lists.
• Inexplicably, someone also put me on a "political" list, which has got to be an error on their part.
• One person labeled me as an "author" which I find very cool. Thanks!

I'll probably be checking my lists page in the future just to see how other people see me. It's interesting how it compares to how I see myself.

Copyright Jennette Fulda. Read more at PastaQueen

I enjoy a good footrace as much as anyone, and I did trek downtown to gawk at the freaks document the event for you guys, but my costume did not involve an umbrella or a rain slicker, so I decided it was best to sit this one out. Good thing too, because there were two people in pink pig outfits with "H1N1" written on their bodies who looked rather contagious. Between that and the wet leaves littered on the course path, I probably would have broken my neck and then developed pneumonia.

My bystander status meant that for the first time in my life I got to watch the start of a race instead of standing patiently at the back waiting for everyone else to move. Did you know they have people on bicycles leading the runners? I had no idea! I always thought that the lead runners had studied the course in advance as part of their rigorous training regimen to know which way to go. It looked rather fun to be leading a costumed pack of people through the dark. The locals taking an evening stroll down the canal sure did look surprised to see Spider-man and The Flash run by. Spider-man was outpacing The Flash too, which didn't seem right. (What do the comic book freaks have to say about this scenario? Could that really happen if The Flash were handicapped in some way?)

I enjoyed seeing everyone's costumes. I particularly like that moment when my mind makes the connection between how they're dressed and who they're supposed to be, like I'm figuring out a puzzle. There were about 200 people, but two-thirds of them were dressed like runners. I bet they were embarrassed that so many people were wearing the same costume as them! There probably would have been even more people if the weather had been nice. Here are some highlights if you need some costume ideas for next year:

Bacon and eggs! Cute costume, but I would be afraid of being eaten.

The Ghostbusters looked rather waterproof.

The crazy cat lady was my favorite outfit. In the background there is a guy in a green suit who was near the lead of the pack. What is he? A green screen?

Pac Man and one of those ghosts that try to eat Pac Man!

Other highlights included:

• A man and a woman dressed as mustard and ketchup bottles, with a kid dressed as a hot dog
• The seven dwarves (I only saw 4 who told us the other 3 were faster than them)
• The cast of the Mario Brothers game, including Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool and others. One of them was carrying a boombox that played the Mario theme
• Boy George, who also had a boombox, this one playing Boy George music
• A man in doctor's scrubs pushing a woman in a wheelchair. I admire her race strategy.
• A PC and Mac, like from the commercials
• Wayne and Garth
• Christmas presents with lights
• Indiana Jones

And what, pray tell, was I going to dress as?

Bzzz, bzzz! I was going to be a bumblebee and I was going to make some sort of joke about Flight of the Bumblebee. Alas it was not to bee, and it was just as well because I saw three other people dressed as bees, like they were all from the same hive. Bees don't fly in the rain though, which is why this little bee stayed under her umbrella.

Copyright Jennette Fulda. Read more at PastaQueen

PastaQueen reviews Voskos yogurt.

Disclaimer: Voskos sent me several coupons redeemable for their yogurt to write this review.

I didn't start a blog with the intention of soliciting emails from all the major yogurt manufacturers in America, but I'm pretty darn close to achieving that goal. (Am I on some secret yogurt mailing list?) I've tasted Fage and StonyBrook Farm and Yoplait offered to send me samples too, but I turned them down because I'm not into the high fructose corn syrup they use. This month Voskos sent me some coupons, so the only major brand I think I'm missing at this point is Dannon, which is ironic because that's the brand I buy most often.

Anyway! Since I reviewed the other yogurts, I thought it was only fair to give Voskos a go. I sampled several flavors of their Greek yogurt including the plain non-fat, plain original, honey vanilla bean, and blueberry.

As I expected, the plain flavors were too tart for my sweet tooth. However, if I mixed in some sweetener they were more palatable. The blueberry and honey vanilla bean were pretty good, but again, there was that tart flavor mixed in that I'm personally not a huge fan of, but I bet some of you would enjoy. The flavors are pre-mixed into the yogurt, so you don't have to spend time stirring them up. This also assures that the flavor is evenly distributed throughout the yogurt. According to their web site, they offer several other flavors of Greek Yogurt including exotic fig, wild strawberry, and greek honey. I didn't see any of those in the Whole Foods store near me where Voskos is sold, though the fig flavor sounds interesting.

You can find a store that sells Voskos here or just hit your local Whole Foods if you have one. If you are interested, you can also try your luck winning one of 10 coupons Voskos sent me for a free cup of their yogurt. To enter, leave a comment below naming a new yogurt flavor you would like to try. Feel free to be creative! You have until 11:59pm on November 2 to enter. I will draw ten winners randomly.

Don't forget, you can still enter the Pepperidge Farm $100 Visa card giveaway too if you haven't already, which is also open until November 2. Good luck!

Copyright Jennette Fulda. Read more at PastaQueen

I figure people freak out over their 30th birthday for two reasons: 1) They look at their lives and are unhappy with what they've accomplished or failed to accomplish. 2) They fear old age, illness and their ultimate mortality. As for number 1, I am pretty happy with what I've accomplished at this point in my life, so no worries there. As for number 2 - HA! Illness? Old age? We are old friends. We have drinks every Friday night together.

I am always befuddled when a 28-year-old friend of mine tells me, "I found a white hair today!" as if this is shocking information. I found my first white hair when I was 21, and my older brother started getting them in high school. You have a white hair when you're 28? You are way behind the curve my friend.

As for illness - ha, ha, ha! Sorry, give me a second to - ha, ha, HA! OMG, I have had more medical tests performed on me in the past two years than many people will undergo during their entire lives. I fear not illness and aging. Turning 30 won't bring me any closer to those problems. Turning 20 did that.

Copyright Jennette Fulda. Read more at PastaQueen

Today has been a rather BLAH day. I just now finally got up the will to reply to some of my emails that have been sitting in my "Respond To" folder for days. And that is only partly because I got my ass out of the house and drank a tall coffee at the Barnes & Noble cafe (although the barista always lets me know I can have a venti for only 22 more cents because he is an upseller his boss would be proud of). So I wonder, do I feel like this because of my headache? Is there something else wrong with me? Or does everyone have days like these? I don't know.

My usual techniques for coping with days like these is to exercise or get out of the house. I tried exercising, but my left leg started to hurt after 8 minutes, so I stopped because I want to be in good shape to run my race on Friday. The thought of doing anything physical sounds totally unappealing, but the thought of doing anything sounds totally unappealing, which means I probably really need to do something.

Life is so annoying like this. Plodding on day by day, never getting any easier. *sigh* At least I haven't binged on anything and I turned down the upselling barista's suggestion that I try something in their pasty case. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. That's all I can really wish for.

Copyright Jennette Fulda. Read more at PastaQueen

I went to the Circuit City Halloween store yesterday to look for a costume for the Run Like Hell race that is only a week away. It was odd to see rows of ghost masks and sexy nurse costumes lining the walls store, instead of the rows of flatscreen TVs that I remember. It was rather depressing to look at all the female costumes that featured skinny, provocative models on the labels, because it would be nice if you didn't have to be thin and busty to find a costume. I read the label for the hot, policewoman outfit which said the hat was included and thought to myself, "Are the boobs included too?" Then around the corner I discovered I could buy a pair of fake boobs if I needed them.

It was hard finding an outfit that would be warm and that I could also run 3 miles in, but I found something and tried it on in the makeshift dressing room. I think it looks delightful, but the 8-year-old girl who stumbled into my fitting room only reacted in shock and apology. I will post a picture of myself in my outfit next week after the run, but I'll let the anticipation build until then!

I took my package to the front register and wondered why this place was called Halloween Express when it took foreeeeeever to check out. I felt bad for the poor girl at the front register. She clearly was only going to be employed here for a month, she was the only person checking people out, and the credit card machine stopped working every time the phone rang. None of the other staff were any help, and I became increasingly anxious because the person in line behind me did not seem to understand the concept of appropriate personal space. I wondered why some of the other shoppers were bothering to look for costumes, because they were creepy enough without them. Then I paid and left, disappearing as quickly as the Halloween store soon will.

Copyright Jennette Fulda. Read more at PastaQueen

I didn't intend for this blog to suddenly become PastaQueen's book review bonanza, but that's how everything landed, so let's just go with it, ok? My friend, Stephanie O'Dea, who blogs at A Year of Slow Cooking just released her first cookbook, smartly titled Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking. Please note the usage of the word "slow cooker" and not "crockpot" which is a trademarked term that we will avoid for fear of litigation.

Steph sent me a copy of her book, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone, or rather kill half a peck of apples with one recipe.

I dug out my mother's slow cooker, which is literally older than I am, and grabbed nine apples from my freshly picked peck, to make the Apple Crisp recipe on page 402. This meant I got to use my favorite kitchen appliance, the apple slicer!

My knife skills are nothing to brag about, so I spent at least 15 minutes peeling the skin off of the apples, but once that was done it was very easy to literally throw this recipe together. I tossed all the ingredients into the slow cooker (not the crockpot!) and then cooked it on high for a little over two hours.

The result was a warm, yummy treat for a cool October afternoon. As a bonus, the apartment smelled really nice too.The recipe uses butter and brown sugar, so it's not exactly a low-calorie desert, but that's probably also why it tasted so good :) I did substitute the 1/4 cup of orange juice for Crystal Lite peach tea in a compulsive effort to cut calories and it turned out just fine.

I don't really like to cook, so I like the idea of dumping a lot of stuff into a slow cooker and having a finished meal a few hours later. I was also surprised by all the different types of food you can cook in a slow cooker, like desserts, lattes, and dip. There is a recipe for an egg, feta and mushroom breakfast casserole that I'm going to try out soon too.

You can buy the book on Amazon, or read more about it on Steph's book page.

Copyright Jennette Fulda. Read more at PastaQueen