When You Don't Have Wi-Fi

Do you realize what life might look like without access to the Internet at home? Do you know how bummed my guy is that we can't view the start of March Madness from our brand new couch and loveseat? Do you know how much money you'd spend at Starbucks, and the awkward moments that would follow, if you had to go there every time you needed to use more than just your mobile phone to get your mischief managed? 

This could easily be a rant about our experience with Comcast moving service from one home to another, but instead it's going to be a confession of the person you become without Wi-Fi or cable for 20 days and counting. 

You buy $3 movies from value bins and you watch them. Then you miss how funny movies used to be. We have bought/watched Dodgeball, Ferris Bueller's Day off, Coming to America, Monty Python and the Holy Grail and already owned some classics like Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 1, Best of SNL and Zoolander.

You 'hang out' at Starbucks but then the barista/local photographer wants to do some tasteful nude portraits with you to build their portfolio. It's awkward, and you realize you're spending way too much money for what Starbucks considers 'coffee'. You really just need their signal, and you may be better off just sitting on their patio and bringing your brew from home. 

You adult date with apartment neighbors you never got to know as you plan fun picnics at the park and watch the kids play with kites, bubbles and slides. And here you were worried they hated you as upstairs neighbors with your stompy footsteps the entire past year.

You cook more often, and you finally perfect your bacon-lattice meatloaf with your new convection oven. You learn what a warming drawer can do for your cooking game and you cherish the new freezer and its incredible storage.

You sit by your pool and dream about jumping into it when the weather heats up, but also talk about the weeds and the lawncare that home ownership is going to take. And start bargaining to do the indoor chores indefinitely to get you out of the weed pulling, because humidity.

You play board games and work on puzzles, and do projects around your new home together to continue making it yours. You sink your boyfriend's battleship and hate that he still knows Seinfeld trivia better than you. 

You go to bed earlier. You still wake up feeling groggy and sleepy-faced, but you find that all of a sudden it's not 'WHAT, it's 11pm?'. It's 'ha, can you believe it's only 8pm?'

You spend more time on each other. No explanation needed.

If it wasn't for March Madness and the Starbucks situation, I might like to keep having these Comcast issues for a while longer. It's reminded me of my life in Portland without a TV.

What would you start doing if you lost access to WiFi and cable temporarily?

Take Me Home

It's been difficult to keep this not-so-secret secret off of the internet. I've never been the best keeper of big news to myself so this was no simple feat. I've just had to keep my excitement limited to texts, emails, phone calls and hallway conversations. Maybe Snapchat too for those who follow.

We did it, we bought a house!

We saved our money, we moved out of an apartment for the last time, we're getting settled in and best of all is that we've done it together! 

I've been hinting at our plans to move to the trendy and walkable part of town with bars and nightlife, but that's not where we ended up. We looked, we really tried. We drove around and ate the food and loved the area. We just didn't love...it. We didn't love the schools, the space, the yard or the storage. We didn't love the maintenance. It wasn't the vision even if the vision was only for 3-5 years into the future.

In the middle of January, we set aside 60 minutes of quiet time to make a collaborative I-Want, You-Want, We-Want list. Thirty unique items were jotted down, including dark hardwood, granite kitchen, yard, pool, fireplace, natural lighting, pantry, garage, high ceilings, curb appeal, proximity, etc. After we reviewed the list something surprised us. We noticed we wanted suburbs, we wanted safety, we wanted new and low-maintenance, we wanted fresh and exciting, we wanted low sweat-equity and low stress investment. We wanted more and less at the same time.

Like all good things in life, it happened suddenly. I will always remember the moment I saw the listing newly published. I didn't even make it through half of the photos before passing my phone to Brian. We loved it and immediately wrote an email to our realtor. Within 10 hours we were in the house, looking around at the 1987 home that had new floors, new paint, new granite kitchen and master bathroom, 5 bedrooms and a bonus room and a two-car garage with storage and a great front yard, great backyard and a pool. Unbelievably, every single item on our I-Want, You-Want, We-Want list was met or has the opportunity to become that in the future. It was meant for us and our big scary view of the future.

Oh right, sorry I lost you at "pool", didn't I?

Now this is entirely too much house for just us two, but the good news is that we're looking forward to the future to fill that house with laughter, happiness, warmth and memories. And maybe more than 3-5 years at this location. 

It shows that there's always a reason to leave a little wiggle room in life to go the opposite direction of your crazy wild amazing plans. It's always going to be beautiful.

We just hilariously made it through our first February together and have a big month in March ahead to follow it up! Hang tight while we make this house a home in our own very special way. 

Here, Lately

It's been a minute since I showed up around here, but just believe that means I've been settling into the new year with a better me and a better plan for the future. With lists and goals and memories, oh my! 

Actually...

A week in excruciating pain from an abscessed molar, scary same-day emergency doctor visits in the wrong part of town because I'm still a little green around here, medication after medication to stop the pain, screaming myself awake in the middle of the night with a supportive boyfriend who helped through it all, a real appointment in a better neighborhood for the root canal, a full-body tremor reaction to the local anesthetic with epinephrine at the better neighborhood better dentist, some stressful memory (loss?) moments from the prescription medications, relief post-op, recurring pain after medication ran out, still a supportive and loving boyfriend through it all. 

A deep dive into IIFYM with a pro who's been doing it for a year now. Tracking the macronutrients of my food intake and balancing the good proteins, the good carbs and the good fats all together in a pretty puzzle. Finally understanding the importance of knowing 2oz and 4oz servings of meat. Learning patience in the precision of measuring in tablespoons, cups and grams. Giving Men's Health & Fitness magazines a try after growing tired of the ads found in the female versions worth the same money. Seeing those men's issues full of helpful tips, science-backed data, professionals and little fodder over 'what to wear to impress the guys' makes me wonder why I didn't think of this sooner.

A change in plans with what the future holds for our living situation, meaning thinking 5-10 years into the future rather than the 1-3 we've been visualizing. All the while trying the very hardest to focus on the right here, right now. The tender mornings, the blurred nights. A realtor! Mortgage talk! Have the will to remodel or rather move in for a little more money. Or go nuts and move into this house that would truly have me giggling every day at the trippy floors and YES rooms. Those walls have stories to tell, I'd love to live there and would convince my guy if it was closer within our price range. 

So that's what I've been up to. I suppose these are confessions worthy of a share with Kathy, Nadine, Sarah, Laura, Lauren, Alanna and .... ???

2,438 Miles

It feels taboo and inconsiderate to publish anything other than confessions on a Wednesday, but I know you'll understand when you realize that this post is about the 2,438 mile road trip to my new home with the love of my life. 

Eight days ago I woke up with an overwhelming sense of happiness. That morning I realized that it was zero sleeps until my long distance boyfriend was coming to Portland with a one-way ticket and was prepared to drive us away to my new home. It was also the last day eve at my dream company and it was a terrifying leap of faith into the distance.  Literally.

Packing up the essentials for my first three weeks and many goodbyes with my family meant that I left work on my final day without looking back, not even to see that swoosh I long ago wanted tattooed on my body. Not even to leave from my favorite waterfall exit. Not even to drink the Kool-aid once more. My sights were set on spending my last hours in Portland with the ones I love who love me back unconditionally. 

The planned route was simple enough. Portland to Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City to Denver. Denver all the way through Kansas and Missouri to St. Louis. St. Louis to Memphis. Home. This journey on the map was 2,400 miles not accounting for the actual addresses of the hotels and houses we stopped at along the way. 

I've known it all along, but I want to tell you that life with this man is fun. The hours, the miles, the money and the achy muscles were all worth the incredible memories we'll have of this start of our lives together. We kept the trip exciting with wagers on slug bugs we'd see, cuss words out of our mouths and money we'd spend. We gave kisses for yellow cars and pets for long stretches of road. We laughed hysterically over my inexperience with pumping gas, driving long distance, depositing money at a bank and just life in general that I haven't been exposed to. 

We sighed repeatedly over the wow-this-is-really-happening euphoria we both felt the entire trip. 

These sillies along with an amazing stay with Marisa and Noah in Denver, a few thousand bugs splattered on my car, two tumbleweeds bouncing along the interstate, a booming fireworks display, a Cardinals win, some real Southern dining and zero speeding tickets made this adventure an incredible start of our lives together.

Since I've been here, I've been a busy bear. I became a member at the local gym, have taken advantage of free barre classes at a brand new studio, found a Trader Joe's impostor called Sprouts Farmer's Market that I'm going to love, replaced my iPhone after a broken screen along the way, broke a window with a dart (I'm not allowed to throw from the kitchen anymore), washed my dirty car and started making the apartment a beautiful space where we can create more wonderful memories. 

Maybe the greatest thing since I've been here was the long FaceTime with my parents on our first night. Not only was it great to see them and hear their voices, but it was heartwarming to finally be on the same side of the FaceTime screen. 

I've only begun exploring but I think I'm going to fall in love with my new home. 

Why Staying in is Better

It was rainy and gloomy for most of the weekend here in Portland. I have no complaints because it allowed me to sleep in, to nap, to watch the entire Season 3 of Game of Thrones and to do very little housework. 

The only mini-complaint I do have is that I made plans and had to leave the house/put pants on. This wasn't too bad after-all considering that I got to witness the Portland Trail Blazers beat the mean 'ole Memphis Grizzlies for the first time this year AND was in bed before 9pm (win!).

For me the weekend has become 2.5 days and nights of pure me time. Time where I'm not on the clock, I'm not attached to my cell phone or my work email. I don't have to do my hair or 'put my face on'. The friends I talk to on the weekends don't care how put-together I come across. It's my absolute favorite, you guys are amazing. 

When I woke up on both Saturday and Sunday morning to texts from 11pm the night before, all I could do was laugh. Don't my friends know about my early bedtime on Fridays because the work week leaves me exhausted? Or that binge-watching an entire season of Game of Thrones would mean no extra time to go out or even meet my mom for coffee?

I'm a homebody at heart and my 26 year old less-worried-about-what-people-think self isn't sorry about it for a single minute.

This gif perfectly captures the way I feel. 

Now that you think I'm awkward and you'll never want to invite me to a party, here's a fun one sided argument for your entertainment:
+ "How to Cure a Hangover" is not in my google search history
+ More likely to get quality workouts in
+ No "cover charge" to hop in your own bed see what I did there?
+ Less likely to "drunk-eat" all of your weekend calorie budget
+ Weekends in have given birth to my new blog design and nerdy shortcuts at work
+ Beer from my fridge is already paid for, and I don't have to tip.
+ No heel-wearing walking injuries
+ What's a taxi?
+ No trying to remember if the new contact in your phone named "John - Weird Laugh" was cute or not
+ And the best of all, I believe that we mentioned above... "no pants".

What do you love about staying in? Or would you drag me off my couch and make me come play?

Why Don't We All Work From Home?

Isn't 2014 starting off with a bang? 

I mean we've made it through a week and I'm still going strong and have yet to make the mistake of dating something as 2013 or dating anything, amIright?. It's a real achievement, be proud of me guys!

This week I've been sending all kinds of Snaps about how awesome it is to still be laying in bed, with puppies, with pajamas on - until like 4pm. I started to think of all the reasons why working from home was amazing and thus a blog post was born. If I'm not lucky enough to be a stay at home mother someday, my next dream would be to work from home for all of the following reasons. 

J

:: Wake up at the same time you would normally arrive to work

:: Zero commute (this saves me close to 2 hours) and no fighting for parking

:: Music SO loud, all day, zero interruptions

:: Working in the kitchen = easy access to the pantry

:: Pajamas all day if I want in my well-worn flannels

:: Workout any time of the day - today I'm doing 100 jumps with a jump rope after every 5 emails I respond to. I'll keep a count!

:: I take an actual lunch break!

:: The fact that I just blogged in the morning before firing up the work computer

:: Multi-tasking to the max

:: Weekend chores during the daytime (laundry, dishes, vacuuming!)

:: Last but not least, these two girls have been giving me sympathy snuggles all week long.

Two more days of this bliss! Happy Thursday!

Wrap n' Roll

Wrapping up the week and rolling straight into the weekend, that's the name of the game! This week has flown by and I've also felt incredibly productive both at work and at home. I was able to run 4 weekdays (including this morning...which was a really early alarm for everyone), got a great amount of work done and was even able to sneak in a pedicure, a movie and some time with my Mr. Dan.

First of all, the half birthday celebrations yesterday were more than expected as always and I feel pampered, loved and fulfilled.

The day started out with Dan chauffeuring me into work in the rental mini-van, then returning to deliver me a extra big latte with extra big results, followed by a facebook frenzy of well wishes by friends, family and the sweet little sisters below - who are experts at photo editing #amIright?

The next wonderful thing that happened to me was this 'omg!' inducing lunch complete with meal-prepped grilled chicken, lettuce, 1/2 avocado and S.R.I.R.A.C.H.A. Dan was in charge of the sriracha 'drenching' on this one and sad to say it just didn't kick enough. Therefore, tomorrow's container leaves the chicken unrecognizable to the naked eye. #morespiceplz

At the end of the day after I had to put out a few tiny little fires at the workplace, Dan swooped me up and took US to get pedicures together in Beaverton. He loves taking me to get pedicures and he's the happiest guy I've ever seen sitting back in the massage chair, people touching his weary hairy feet and even a little nail polish. He may not be as appreciative of me getting photo evidence for the blog, but I think he and his clear-painted nails will get over it!

To wrap up the evening, this handsome guy whisked me away in our weekend rented mini van and we headed to Cinetopia for dinner and Great Gatsby. I was thrilled beyond belief as I saw a dear childhood friend of mine enter the theater just after me, and it was a great to giggle, chat and make 'let's see each other soon' plans with one another. In the meantime I'll work on finding old photos of our younger years for a Throwback Thursday, Gretchen!

When we returned home late, I was surprised to find that my parents had dropped off a chocolate cake, fresh raspberries, a gift card to our favorite java spot and a beautiful flower in a vase picked straight from the garden - all for the special day!

I have the greatest family, friends and boyfriend I could ever ask for. It's easy for my mind to be happy when there's so much positive energy flowing through my beautiful life.

This weekend I have a lot of solid blog (this one) and educational reading/viewing to dive into (like this!) - many peaceful running miles while Dan's off being important, and a whole amazing world around me to take in, one breath at a time!

Mother's Weekend

In case you missed it, last week's Throwback Thursday was all about my wonderful mother.

Today, we're going to talk about Mother's Day weekend and the wonderful time that Dan and I spent with the family.

First of all, I think something that captures my mom's loving personality is an update she posted to Facebook on mother's day:

She truly feels that her greatest accomplishment has been motherhood - which makes me all the more excited about how she will embrace being a grandmother.

NOT a hint - sorry friends, you're welcome Dan

Back to Mom's special day!

Sunday morning I set out for a nine mile run while Dan called his mom and thanked her for everything she's done as a mother. I got back home and he was mid-call with his dad, and I couldn't even recognize his voice. He was so far into sports-mode that I thought there was a Sportscenter announcer sitting in our media room. Boy's got another calling.

After cleaning up a little, we drove 20 minutes away with latte's for all of us in hand. We arrived to crazy puppy town and got the girls all hyped up before taking them on a boardwalk park walk while learning that Tiger Woods won yet again - Go Tiger!

These girls walked so well through the park and had nothing but smiles on their sweet little mugs. It's evident how much mom and dad both love these little girls - they are the luckiest puppies around!

We made it back from the walk and a gourmet meal was cooked up in no time! Our favorite mix of grilled chicken and sweet potato fries can make any meal whole - but even better and not pictured were the accompanying lettuce, salsa, greek yogurt and sisters snoozing at our feet.



The evening turned risky when we pulled out the crude card game (that I absolutely love): Cards Against Humanity

This past week the game with two expansion sets arrived on mom and dad's doorstep from brother Matt - and Dan and I were the lucky ones to test the waters with the parents.

I knew they'd warm up to the game after a while, but didn't realize that my dad would be responsible for some of the most hilarious, raunchy and blush-worthy combinations of cards I'd ever witnessed. After I saw some of the hands mom and dad were playing, Dan and I loosened up and actually played the same way we would have if we were surrounded by a group of peers. It was bliss.

Laughing until we cried, snorting, avoiding eye-contact; all indicators of a great time with the parents. Can't wait until Matt comes home and gets to join in on the fun!

What a wonderful day with mom, dad, the sisters and the comfort of home.

Week 18: Cohabitation

I'm so happy that Dan and I headed to the coast last weekend because we really haven't seen much of each other this week. We've both been so busy that when we do see each other it's dinner time, it's get-ready time or it's 'dont-bother-me-i'm-blogging-time'. Rough life

Before we get started with the week - check out the Bad Lip Reading for The AMC's The Walking Dead

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR4lLJu_-wE?feature=player_embedded&w=640&h=360]

...Dan says that's me at 2:45

Back at it -

House chores have fallen by the wayside and just yesterday we sorted week old mail into three important piles. The yours, mine, and 'how do we stop getting this...' piles are still sitting on the dining room table, but at least they've been sorted. Third time was a charm on loading / running the dishwasher as well. Soap was in, racks were loaded, but somehow there was no urgency in actually running the thing. Lastly, you know it's bad when you decide to just buy more athletic wear to stretch out the frequency of laundry loads rather than just find the time. Love the new sports bras though!

Enough about what we're doing wrong! How about what we've done right this week! Food related, obvi

1. Avocado + Sriracha Toast at the Coast

2. Costco trip turned into a belated Happy Birthday cake

3. Cinco de Mayo guacamole prep - yum! 

4. Post dinner-date with Brad and Brooke led us to ice cream

Dan wanted to make sure that I shared some of the cuteness from this weekend. Bella is an excellent snuggle-bug and my handsome Daniel was happy to take a nap on a hot day. Daniel is a favorite among the two golden sisters, they find it hard to leave his side when he's around.

Can you even believe that he and I have lived together for 18 weeks? I can't - it feels like much longer than that and I am so thrilled to call this house a home.

Enjoy your weekend and hug/call/cherish your mother!

Grill Time

A heat wave has hit Portland this past week and is honestly the warmest streak I can remember ever coming through our city this early in the Spring.

With arrival of the beautiful weather also comes a constant need for sunglasses, increased time spent outside in the evenings and naturally the inclination to invite some friends over and fire up your grill.

I am very fortunate to have grill-master Dan by my side who loves to put grill lines on anything and everything - but sometimes we can fall into a rut of doing the same thing over and over - like grilled chicken, burgers, veggies in tin-foil, etc.

This summer we are planning to step up our grill game and I wanted to share some recipes from Pinterest and other blogs that I'm dying to try out.

My hope is that you can find something you'd like to try too - and maybe share some of your own or your favorite recipes with me!

1. Pineapple Mango Tropical Chicken Skewers

2. Grilled Focaccia Bread

3. Jerk Chicken & Grilled Pineapple Salsa

4. Grilled Zucchini

Sorry, I know - I'm drooling too.

Happy grilling!

Unwind

Thanks for not throwing things at me on Friday for lamely re-directing you to another post that explained how I was feeling - a quality post just wasn't going to happen.

Some things that did happen on Friday:

• Scrambled and flustered practice-round presentation


• A slap in my own face for revealing how scrambled I felt to my team and manager


• Twenty minutes to myself to get game-time ready


• A solid, composed and confident presentation when it counted.


• A celebration patio beer with the team Except they got lunch too


• A surprise work-birthday party... followed by not much other work.


• Supergoose IPA in the sun while waiting for Dan to meet me at the theater


• Iron Man 3 (great flick!)


• Crashed hard when we got home at 10pm

Saturday morning Dan and I woke up early and refreshed. We quickly packed a bag (that held mostly our electronic devices) and hit the open road to meet up with my parents and little sisters at the coast.

The sun roof open and our sunglasses on the entire trip made us feel like it was mid-July. While the temperatures crept into the high 70's and the rays of the sun soaked into our skin we felt nothing but joy, relief and a youthful nostalgia of summer break. We talked more in that two hour car ride than we've talked in the last few months, and even though a good majority of it was about work - it felt great to listen to his voice, talk about ways we can help each other and get inside of each other's heads more than the usual "what do you want for dinner, how was your day, did you feed Tiger" conversations.

Unwinding for the weekend was the best thing we could have done for ourselves and definitely helped me with my 'be spontaneous' goal. As you can imagine, no additional work for the week was done for this blog, no work was done, no food prep was accomplished and we'll have to save our Costco trip for another day.

And I'm fine with that, because nothing can beat a sunset like this one.

April Summary

Whoa - reality check, it's still technically April? I think we've got some confusion around here, the weather has been gorgeous in Portland and that's not normally until June July if we're lucky.

Really though, with the change of seasons, my work focus being on the month of May and all that has gone on in my world it's difficult to face that tomorrow is the 1st of May. No complaints, just level setting with my mind because so much has happened this month.

April to me meant change, maturity and responsibility at work. It brought overwhelming success and pride that I'll never forget. It propelled me into overshooting my running goal of 100 miles by 16 miles - which is unheard of during such a busy month. 

I'm looking back to my April's Eight Great Goals and I seriously missed the mark on 6 of 8. I didn't think reasonably what craziness the month would bring and sadly there were a few things that were out of my control and even out of my scope of importance. Where we did have amazing success was with limiting latte intake - I am looking forward to keeping that in mind in the months that follow.

Even though I'm managing through falling under the line, we still had a great month and plenty of wonderful memories to show for it!

Yummy Eats

So much amazing food was enjoyed this month from date nights to weekend food prep:

Torta-Landia

Sweet Potato + Quinoa Stir Fry

Saburo's

Work Related

I realize that I talked a lot about work this month, and really because I spend most of my day living and breathing my work with so many positive things to show for it.

I've promised Dan and everyone in my life that the craziness will be over starting once the fourth quarter is over - which means another month!

Still there were some good posts that came out of the craziness and want a collection of them here:

Under the Bridge

How High?

Desk Love

Keep Running

Running Love

I got after so many miles this month and it really impacted my happiness.

I knew that running was more than just about meeting my goal when I was lacing up after 8pm at night, or logging ten milers even after hitting my goal. The weather has been so warm I've even been breaking a sweat early on in the run, and there's no better feeling.

Running for Days

30 Mile Weekend

Countdown: Tough Mudder

My Handsome Daniel

The one person who got the least of me this month was my wonderful boyfriend. We stopped carpooling due to my schedule, we only went on two runs together, he had a golf tournament that I didn't make it to and he did nothing but try to fix the world and make things easier on my life. He's my everything and I'm so thankful he's in love with me.

Week 14 Cohabitation

Week 15 Cohabitation

Golden Weekend

I'm so rested from this weekend - come at me, May!

Despite some car troubles for me (Thank you Dan, Dad, Mom, Sisters!) and some additional car troubles for Dan (Thank you, Austin!) we had a pretty nice birthday weekend for Dan.

He had his golf tournament both days so we didn't hit the town or get wild, but it was everything you'd want a weekend to be.

• I had some quality alone time with two 10 mile runs (20 total).


• I enjoyed a massage with miracle worker Maggie. 


• We relaxed with some NBA playoffs and enjoyed the beautiful sunlight coming through the windows and illuminating our home.

I even reacquianted with these friendly drinking fountains in the neighborhood: The Benson Bubbler

The biggest part of the weekend that I didn't like was being unable to drive to get the cake Dan really wanted for his birthday a sheet cake from Costco, so he had no cake at all.

Instead, here are the cakes from his last two birthdays we've spent together:

At least I learned!

He had all kinds of birthday love from friends and family on facebook and via phone calls - so overall he considered his special week day a success.

He especially loved the visits and gifts from the two little goldens that have stolen his heart:

Today in History - 4.24.1999

Hello everyone!

There's so many things we could chat about, like the weather, the new clothes I've bought lately {on sale!}, my job, what motivates me, my man, etc.

It almost crept past me but something reminded me of a decision I made 14 years ago that has significantly improved my life and my health.

Today, April 24th, marks 14 years since I've drank soda.

I could harp and harp on why soda is bad for you, here and here for example - but instead I'll talk about what pushed me to the decision and the many reasons I've stuck to it over the past 14 years.

I was in Seventh grade, 12 years old and incredibly focused on softball and the things that I could do to improve my game. As a team, we were working on the 'mental game' to strengthen our minds and work out our discipline, so we were encouraged to choose something to give up for a week. Instantly I knew what I wanted to give up, but would have to enlist some help from teammates and my very own family.

See, my brother had given up soda a year prior and had always boasted about it - and being the competitive little sister I decided to lead follow my own path. I also was not such a light consumer of the sugary beverage. We would go to fast food restaurants for convenience after practices + games and I would consistently order the biggest Dr. Pepper or Root Beer I could get my hands on. No fault of anyone's, just the health concerns of high soda consumption weren't public knowledge as they are today - so it was more about the bubbly bite I'd experience from an ice cold soda rather than the taste of it.

I recall the 'last supper' like it was yesterday. My dad and I left the practice in Beaverton and headed to the East side, but not before a pit stop at McDonald's to order a #2 (Two cheeseburgers) No Cheese, Ketchup Only with a Dr. Pepper to drink. I remember slowly sipping out of the straw, calculating what I was putting into my body and ultimately feeling sick as a result. The cup sat overnight on my nightstand, half full and eventually poured down the kitchen sink.

Realizing that I didn't want to finish my last one, I knew I had an easy road ahead to look forward to both with this commitment and many others that followed.

Weeks passed, months passed. I noticed myself feeling better, my teenage pores were clearing up kind of and I was full of healthy hydration {water} like I'd never been before. Soon it was six months later and there was no way I was going back - I'd come too far to ever put a drop to my lips again.

Since giving up soda I have:

• Saved a lot of $$


• Avoided a lot of extra and worthless calories


• Encouraged others to quit/limit their bad habits


• Found the will to give up French Fries (going on 13 years)


• Nodded my head to every health conscious reason to give up soda


• Much less fast food dining


• ...Saved a lot of $$

I don't nag or judge those who drink soda now, but I sure am happy that I don't crave the stuff.

I know that I'm a happier person because of this commitment and the endless personal strength I gained in experiencing success will serve me well for a lifetime.

Like I said, happy:



Just try it for a week, see how much better you feel!

Feel Good Weekend

This weekend was full of good vibes for the house.

Dan and I spent a good portion of Saturday making our home clean and happy. It's been a little while since we had a nice, deep clean - so we treated ourselves to a brand new Swiffer Wet Jet for the occasion.

Toilets were scrubbed, counters were scraped, three loads of laundry, two loads of dishes (mostly my tupperware) and even recycling/garbage duty.

More than just cleaning, we had some fun too!

As a result of cleaning, the pool table in the garage that has been covered with boxes since the move was unveiled, and we had a great time playing a few games with loud jams and competitive glances. The pool cue was an awesome gift from my brother for my birthday two years ago and I haven't given her enough time and attention.

We've been killing it at the burger game lately. This beauty below was a result of the weekend prior's food prep, fresh avocado & the perfect amount of sriracha topping. Dan is the grill master and anything I do never matches up. He's happy that I'm so dependent.

Salmon Burgers

{Costco Salmon Burgers + Thin wheat buns + Mozzarella + Avocado + Sriracha}

Feeling even better, we had a special visit from mom, dad, Bailey and Bella for some landscaping work (more house help). Dan was out golfing in preparation for  his tournament next weekend, but when he came home he was greeted with kisses, wags and puppy dog eyes galore!



What else am I missing... oh yeah - I Ran! duh

Saturday Morning: 5 quick miles with Dan

Sunday Morning: 12 refreshing miles solo - nothing but good tunes and my thoughts.

Since I've been awful this month about my morning runs / Nike Training Club Goals, I've self prescribed myself a few more miles over and beyond my 100 as motivation to get out in this week's forecast of sun and 70 degree weather.

How was your weekend?

30 Miles + Many Smiles

Another weekend come and gone, and everything about it was time well spent!

Flowers are blooming, birds are chirping and my mister was home all weekend - not working, not playing golf and not sleeping in. Bliss.

{Credit to my neighbors, beautiful flowers!}

More Running for Days

If you remember that last weekend I ran 20 miles you'd call me crazy for the goal I set for myself this weekend.

20 miles in two days was a worthy challenge, so I decided to shoot for 30 from Friday - Sunday to put myself where I need to be for the month.

• Friday 7:20 pm - 7 Miles


• Saturday 8:40 am – 11 Miles


• Sunday 9:20 am – 12 Miles

 Why would I set my goal at 30 miles in three days?

1. It reaffirms that I can do anything I set my mind to.

2. I've been worthless at getting mileage during the week and I see that trend continuing through the end of May.

3. Why not?

Eats

After my Saturday morning run, this is what I had waiting for me on the counter, piping hot:

{Eggs + Avocados + Jalapenos + Mozzarella}

{Poor Man's Mimosa: Light or Wheat beer topped off with Orange Juice}

Dan is becoming quite the contributor to the magic made in the kitchen and I couldn't be happier. The rumors are that he's been known to live off of Mac n' Hot Dogs - which proves that he's had to really step up his game to keep the woman in his life happy. Thanks, dear!

Special Visitor

We had a special visit from Tanna (Happy Birthday week!) and Olive on Saturday and they were happy to meet Dan for the first time. It wasn't the usual girl-chatty catch up sessions Tanna and I are used to, but we are looking forward to some warmer weather where we can get take walks in the park and take adorable photos of miss Olive feeding ducks at the pond.

Onto the Next

Sorry, Tiger Woods - you didn't reclaim the green jacket but I hear you've still got years and years ahead of you before you retire. Next time. We're still happy to have a son named after you.

Is it weird that I was excited to get to my desk this morning? I have a suspicious feeling that this is going to be another quality week for myself and my team.

Week 14: Cohabitation

I think this is the space where I can gloat that I tied for first place in my Men's NCAA Bracket pool and beat Dan by at least 10 picks. It's too bad I didn't have a wager on my selections because I'd be looking for ways to spend some hot cash right about now.

Okay, I can't begin this post ragging on Dan, he's had a hard week. He's been sleeping in till noon, staying up past 1am and staying in his pajamas to watch the pre, post, mid, live and iPad updated coverage of the Masters. This sums up his week from home:

Again, kidding! He has really earned this week off over the past few months and I couldn't be more of an advocate for days off here and there for the both of us.

If we rewind to the beginning of the week, it was necessary that we go out to the movies on Monday night before our Cinetopia groupon vouchers were going to expire. Near and dear to him in the theaters was Evil Dead - so against my better judgment I agreed and endured a gory night made tolerable only by a Subway sunrise melt, a bucket of popcorn, comfortable seats and the hand-holding I was offered by a very-into-the-movie Dan.

1. Subway dinner pre-movie

2. Tickets + popcorn voucher for Monday night showing of Evil Dead

3. Empty theater = dibs on our favorite seats

4. Tuesday night surprise - my white stallion with a latte delivery!!

Wednesday turned into a late night for both of us with his Intramural basketball game and some lingering work duties. I opted to go for a run in the crisp evening air, and he made certain that a well rounded dinner would be ready on the table upon my sweaty return.

Spaghetti + Sauce + Chicken Sausage + Asparagus makes for a very solid post workout meal!

5. Got home at 8pm and laced up for a run!

6. Returned from the 5 mile run and had a handsome man working away in the kitchen

7. Grilled asparagus... he's seriously the best!

8. To top it off - he bought me flowers at work as part of the Bloomfest fundraiser.

Lastly you see those beautiful flowers, he got them for me through the Easter Seals Bloomfest fundraiser and they have been putting a smile on my face since they arrived to my work building on Thursday.

You can really tell how the week has been as I was woken up from a deep reclined couch sleep last night with an unfinished blog and a drafted work email open on my screen. I'm looking forward to the weekend and doing nothing but running and being with my sweetheart.

What are you up to?