A to Z survery

Saw this survey on Janetha's blog and thought it looked fun! Here goes.

A is for age: 24! Actually had to think about that one...when we were kids we told everyone we met proudly how old we were. Now it almost never gets asked.

B is for breakfast today: I had my usual pre work breakfast to get the day going. Iced coffee, half milk and half coffee with some toast with pb and honey on the side.

C is for currently craving: Tacos, chips and salsa, sushi, Coke Icee, a back massage, a vacation.

D is for dinner tonight: Fajitas! SO I can get a few of those cravings out of the way.



E is for favorite type of exercise: Used to be soccer and that still is my first exercise love, however nowadays I mostly run, spin, swim, walk, and the occasional Pilates class. I would love to find a good soccer league for the summer.



F is for an irrational fear: So many...one in particular is that my feet are going to go through the bottom of the floors in a car, especially on road trips. I have no idea where this came from but it always scared me a kid and occasionally now.

G is for gross food: Squishy foods like soggy bread, yogurt, pudding, jello, bananas...I think I am slowing getting over this but I still will not eat anything that tastes like banana. Also, I will not tough veal, duck, deer, and some kinds of fish.

H is for hometown: Lawrence, Indiana which is a suburb of Indianapolis. Great place to grow up and raise a family for sure. I loved that I grew up in Indiana and I miss it everyday.

I is for something important: My family and Mickey are the most important things to me, you cannot take anything with you when you go so the things most important to me are memories and people and experiences.

J is for current favorite jam: Music or food? Jam for toast or crackers I love most all jams...grape, strawberry, blackberry. Music wise, my current jams are Outtasight, Gotye and Fun. But I love so many different kinds of music the list could go on and on!

K is for kids: None yet.

L is for current location: Boca Raton, FL. For those of you who may not know where Boca Raton is it is in South Florida 20 minutes north of Ft. Lauderdale, and 45 minutes north of Miami. Just for refernce this is the view from our balcony...so beautiufl here



M is for the most recent way you spent money: Last night I bought a case of beer on the way to Mickey's hockey game.

N is for something you need: Right now? I'm good.

O is for occupation: This is my last week working at the resort I've been working with for three years. Next work I start in a call center at a city job.

P is for pet peeve: Answering your cell phone in the car when there are other around, same with elevator and restaurant. Chewing food with your mouth open. Also, disrespect and gossiping.

Q is for a quote: "I run because I can."

R is for random fact about you: I am the oldest of five kids. Not so uncommon so another random fact about is that I met my current boyfriend when we were both working at an overnight summer camp in Pennsylvania even thought neither of us are from there. Here is a picture of us from that summer.

S is for favorite healthy snack: Mini pepper and hummus.

T is for favorite treat: I love to bake, so I would have to say some sort of baked good. I got a donut pan from Bed Bath and Beyond recently and I love it! Very fun and the cakes come out so tasty, (even though its just boxed cupcake mix)...tastes better for some reason when it's in the shape of a donut!



U is for something that makes you unique: There is no one like me!

V is for favorite vegetable: Peppers and cauliflower, I also have developed a crush on mushrooms recently.

W is for today’s workout: None! eeps

X is for X-rays you’ve had: Senior year of high I had a third degree sprain on my ankle, also some xrays at the dentist office.

Y is for yesterday’s highlight: Yesterday I worked with my favorite co-worker, then dinner of curry cauliflower peas mushrooms, grilled chicken and rice. After dinner I made a few errands then watched Mickey is the playoffs for his hockey men's league. All in all not a bad Monday!

Z is for your time zone: Eastern.

Play along if you want! I would love to hear your answer for any of the letters in the comments!

Gator Ultra Trail 10k Race Recap

This is what I wrote on Daily Mile the day after this race...

My first 10k race! and a trail race to boot! Two first for me on Saturday. This was a fantastic, fun, hard, confidence boosting experience. I hate to get mushy about a race but it was so so satisfying to see and feel so great and know it was because of all the work I put in to train for this race. I never walked. I passed multiple people and never got passed, no stomach problems and actually felt hydrated the whole time. The Camel Bak helped with that! :)

I did wear thinner socks though and I got two baby blisters, nothing crazy. I wish I would have worn sunscreen and bug spray too since we were running through the woods around a lake. But other than that I had a great time!



New pdr, new (automatic) pr, first time running a trail race or on a trail at all for that matter...I am still on a high from this beautiful race.




Picture of my muddy legs resting after the race.



6.49 miles
01:13:35 time
11:23 pace
4th in my age group, 17th female, 38th overall out of about 60 people.


Trophies for the overall winners, so creative right!?


The only bad part for me was waking up so early and driving an hour to Stuart where the race was being held. Driving home after with sore legs was kind of bothersome as well but I was in such a good mood that I didn't care as much.


I would 100% recommend participating in an event put on by Green Paw Adventures, the company who hosted the Gator Ultra. They were kind, courteous, very organized, and you could tell the really cared about hosting a great race. The course was very well marked. We got a very nice long sleeve technical tee that is even women's fit! Snacks and heed were provided for runners participating in the 30k, 50k and 100k.


My favorite thing about the race was the family feel. I never felt out of place even though I was by myself and knew no one. Most of the people there knew someone else or had family running. We piled chairs and coolers around the finish line which was also the turn around point for the people running further than the 10k. I sat for almost an hour after I finished to cheer on runners and talk to people.

Iphone Food Pictures of 2011

Vegetable spring rolls, recipe from Oh Dear Drea.

Vegan stuffed shells, recipe from Eat, Live, Run.

Curry roasted cauliflower with peas, recipe from Can You Stay for Dinner. Homemade bolognese sauce.

Homemade minestrone. BBQ ribs, corn and baked potato.

Sushi from our favorite local sushi place to celebrate our 3rd anniversary. Before and after.

Double chocolate cookies with white chocolate chips. ABS pasta for minestrone.

Fish tacos with slaw. Slow cooker Asian pork with bok choy and noodles.

I realize it has been 2012 for awhile but I am trying to clear off some pictures from my phone. Here are a few of my favorite food pictures from last year. Most made by me, some not.

As you can see I do find lots of inspiration from blogs and other places online. The pictures are generally what convinces me to try a recipe though. I think that is why I always wanted to photograph my own meals, especially the most delicious ones! Easier to remember and reflect on.

A year of culinary experiments, new flavors, ingredients and techniques, lots of pictures and fun...

25 Things By My 25th Birthday

1. Run three more races. (2 down for 2012, three to go by September!)

2. Register for a half marathon and start training....eeek!

3. Take a vacation with Mickey. Just the two of us.

4. Move. Ugg....but we need more room and Mickey really wants a garage.

5. Continue meal planning and try to get grocery bill down even more.

6. Once car is paid off I want to open a savings and set up a direct deposit for that account.

7. Once I get accepted to college I want to enroll, hopefully fall if not summer. (2 years left!)

8. Determine major.

9. Start saving for a new computer. I currently use Mickey's when he is not using it but I really really want my own. I can't blog anymore from work so I want a setup at home to continue.

10. Sew three new things.

11. Finish my sweetheart quilt.

12. Work on a plan or schedule for settling and calming myself down at the end of the day. No more sleepless nights please!

13. Continue paying off credit card consistently. Would like to pay it all off by my birthday!

14. Try 5 new recipes....actually make that 10.

15. Transfer Iphone pictures and camera pictures to external hardrive, then delete them from the devices.

16. Dentist.

17. Doctor.

18. Plan something romantic for our four year anniversary.

19. Buy plane ticket for Dad to visit for Father's Day. (Cannot wait for this one!)

20. New job? At least look and work towards something new and more productive. There is not much more growth in my current position.

21. I would love to start weight lifting more regularly.

22. Yoga! Try it once at least. I have no idea why I have this irrational fear of group exercise classes...of wait, its because I have social anxiety. Work on that too.

23. Try something completely new that I may think I will not like.

24. Blog at least once a week or five times a month, I think this is reasonable.

25. Remember to love unconditionally, especially myself.

*Just a couple things to remember to work on and do sometimes this year.

**Picture I found online awhile ago online, can't find the source though so if it is yours please let me know so I can give credit!

11 Randoms

I wasn't officially "tagged" by any one blogger to do this I just saw it on SUAR's blog and thought it looked fun!

Here are the rules:

1. Post these rules.
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
3. answer the questions set for you in their post.
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5. Go to their blog and tell them you've tagged them.

Random Things About Me

1. I never knew what any of these words meant before reading blogs: quinoa, nutritional yeast, (how to eat a) pomegranate, msg, vegan, saute, braise...
2. I love even numbers and numbers ending in 5, because if you double them it equals an even number. I will always turn my volume on the tv in my car to an even number without even thinking about it.
3. I have two younger sisters, two younger brothers, (used to have) two dogs, two parents, two grandparents...and one aunt.
4. I lived in Indianapolis, IN until I was 21.
5. I met my current boyfriend working at an overnight summer camp in the Poconos in PA in 2008. He taught hockey and I taught soccer. After camp ended we traveled together then after a month at home in Indy I decided to move to NH to live with him! Scary and exciting, I know.
6. When I was in high school my best friend Danielle would give me a Disney Stitch doll for every birthday and gift giving holiday. I had quite a collection. I still have a soft spot for the cute little guy.
7. Before moving to South Florida I had never been south of Orlando.
8. My first car was a Jeep Cherokee that I shared with my younger brother.
9. I got to name my younger sister...I chose Faline, which is the female deer in Bambi because I loved the movie. Her name is Paige Faline. I think it was so special to include me in the naming process...I think if my kids are old enough I will include them as well.
10. I played travel soccer through college and then one year of soccer in college. All four of my siblings are incredibly talented soccer players and actually put me to shame.
11. I enjoy peace, quiet, solitude, and reflection. I think that's why I enjoy running so much now.

SUAR's Questions for Me (My answers in purple)

1. In five words or less, tell me your most embarrassing moment. Cell phone password was poop. 2. What is one habit you need to break? Biting my nails...working on it!
3. What is your favorite book of all time? I grew up on Garfield and Calvin and Hobbes so that's what I'm going with.
4. Have you ever cheated on a test or a partner? Yes
5. If you weren't doing your current job, what would be your profession? Teacher, Coach, Camp Counselor, Artist, Librarian
6. Do you think Bob Harper is gay? Who is Bob Harper and should I care if he is gay??? HA
7. What is the best compliment you have ever received? Mature, artistic, kind, smart...
8. Would you rather be able to run further or faster? I think further...I think speed would come
9. What food gives you gas? Beans, dairy and anything fried
10. Ever done a cleanse or had a colonic? Nope
11. What is your dream marathon? Honolulu, Poconos, one in Canada?

My Questions for Anyone Who Would Like to Participate!

1. What is your dream vacation location?
2. What is your favorite color?
3. Dream job?
4. Number of siblings?
5. Favorite recipe....looking forward to this answer! I can always use inspiration.
6. How do you plan your meals for the week?
7. What is your favorite way to stay active?
8. All time favorite kids movie?
9. High school extracurricular activities?
10. Celebrity crush...girl or boy!
11. Tell something about yourself that not many people know.