That's a lot of food.

Yesterday we celebrated Callen's 2nd birthday. So you can imagine that it was a great day to start documenting my eating habits.

Breakfast! Whole wheat blueberry pancakes with morning star farms veggie sausages.

I didn't eat everything on my plate!

I was famished.... Pancakes don't really stick with you.

Lunch! Snack attack.

BBQ for dinner. Salmon burger, baked beans, roasted veggies and cheesy potatoes.

Yummy sangria!! 

What's a birthday with dessert?! 

So that's what I ate.... Now a moment to reminisce about how old my little nephew is getting!

Callen: Day one

Callen:Year one.

Callen: Year Two.

The years are just flying by. Next thing I know I'll be at his college graduation!! 

Remember all Those Food Photos?

How do you keep yourself accountable? I know a lot of people who can create goals for themselves and accomplish them without having to tell the whole world about it. I'm just not one of those people. If I'm setting a goal, I need everyone to know about it and ask how my progress is going. Sometimes I still don't reach my goals (you know... 100 books in 365 days) but if people know about it, then I'm definitely going to try a little harder to achieve the goal.

That brings me to a conversation I had last night with Brian, after a dinner of pepperoni pizza and beer, we started talking about how well we eat. He told me he thinks he eats healthy, then I pointed out that counting marinara sauce and iceberg lettuce as the vegetables you ate in a day is not the healthiest. I'm not doing much better, now that I've incorporated meat into my diet I've been consuming bacon more than I should! Basically we decided we needed to try harder to make better choices for meals. I've been seriously slacking lately with meal planning and just overall healthiness. I think it is common for runners to believe they can eat whatever they want because they burn so many calories, but eating healthy isn't just about staying slim. I want to feel healthy and refreshed by food again.... not tired and sluggish.

Remember when I used to take photos of EVERYTHING I ATE in a day? Well I'm bringing that back. Starting tomorrow I'm going to begin posting my food diary again. It's really the only way for me to visualize how well I'm treating my body. This will also be an opportunity for me to get back to creative cooking and also a jump start to taking more photos. The only downside is that it's really weird to take photos of the food you eat when you're out at dinner or at someone's home. So for now, let's set this as a goal for the rest of the month, a little over a week. Then I'll see if I've improved or if it just proves to be really embarrassing posting all the crappy food I eat!

This Week.

The other day I saw this on pinterest:

I tend to like these types of messages that put everything into perspective.

So here is a photo blog with some of the things that made me really happy this week :)

Pedicures with two of my oldest friends.

Brewing beer with my Dad.

Eating healthy food that makes me feel good!

Checking something off my to do list that has been there forever!
There used to be a poster up on this wall, now it is filled with photos I've taken over the years and two quote blocks from my Mom.

Getting flowers from my boyfriend for our sixth month anniversary.

Getting all dressed up and going to a snazzy dinner in Seattle.

And if I had a photo of myself running from this week I'd add that too!

I'm feeling very connected with running right now.

I'm actually starting my training program!!!! 

Monday I ran ten miles and yesterday I signed up for the full marathon!

The Garden of Elisa.

Things are certainly blooming around these parts.

I personally think we could use a lot more sun and a lot less rain! 

Maybe if I make a promise to water my garden really really well.... then the rain will stop?!

Really, I'll do it!

 I'm really loving how my garden is looking this year!

And the guy who mows my lawn :)

 I really think these snapdragons might be one of my favorite flowers!

I'm having trouble with a couple of the varieties I planted. I'm confused because the soil is the same and they get basically the same amount of water.

Either the snails/pests are a problem or the plants I bought at Walmart just aren't the same quality as the ones I got from the nursery! 

Growing up my Mom always had Fuschia plants.

And every year a bird would nest in one of those hanging baskets.

I've had a hanging Fuschia every year I've lived in this house...

And this year a bird built a nest  in it!

So neat right?

Well... sort of.

It makes watering/pruning/enjoying the plant a little nerve racking!

There is nothing that gets my heart pumping quite like being dive-bombed by a squawking bird!

 This is my peony from last year.

It came back!

That in itself is a miracle.

But wait....

Peonies are supposed to have beautiful flowers right?!

What the heck!? 

Possibly the soil is too acidic or not acid enough?

Where are the blooms?!

 Something else that came back from last year?!!

My blueberry plants!!!

 Although it looks like there are a few blossoms....

I'm just happy it is still living!

 Some of my favorite plants in my yard are the ones that just pop up on their own!

 There seems to be lots of blooms on my strawberry plants....

I'm hoping we get some warm weather so they turn into fruit!

 That warm weather is also needed for my tomatoes to turn red!

 Look at my peas!!!

They are growing and beginning to latch on to the bamboo I placed for them to climb!

 Bees love lavender.

 This is one of my favorite things.... Last year I put a lot of the dirt from my pots in this spot... 

And this year some snapdragons started growing!

So there is a garden update. 

I had a lot of fun taking all of these photos.

Taking out the DSLR is always more fun then my point and shoot or my camera phone.

Even if it isn't as convenient!

Makes me want to make it more of a priority.