Watching My Stories.

Staying home from school sick when I was little meant setting up camp on the couch and watching tv. Nothing has changed! I stayed in bed until 9:30 (which is late for me! It felt like noon!) then moved to the couch for a quality daytime tv session. When I was little I would watch some Matlock or some classic shows like Happy Days... but mostly I watched the soaps! My favorite was General Hospital, but All My children was a close second (I also had a summer of being obsessed with Days of our Lives). Today I learned (while watching The View) that All My Kids is being cancelled! Sure I haven't regularly watched daytime tv since High School.... but I'm still sort of devastated! I really enjoy the fact that I can click on every few years and know pretty much exactly what is going on and who all the characters are!

I wish this was the sort of sickness where I lose my appetite... No such luck.

The Sun was out for a minute! It would have been a long day inside if it were sunny all day long.

Trying to eat well balanced meals... lots of vitamins and healthy fats.
Tuna salad, Spinach mix, and whole wheat bread.
Avocado makes a pretty great spread on bread!

I wanted a cookie and got granola.

I'm going to be gone all weekend so I'm trying to use up all my veggies!
I think I might fail.

Cayenne Coated Cauliflower with Spicy Tofu
1 head of Cauliflower cut into florets
1 1/2 C Defrosted peas
Several sprays of Olive Oil (from a misto)
pinch of salt & pepper
1/4 t Cayenne powder (or to taste)
1 T minced garlic

Coat the Cauliflower and with rest of the mix.
Spread on cookie sheet leave room for tofu.

For the Tofu:
1/2 Block of tofu pressed of water.
1/8 C Soy sauce
1T ketchup
1t apple cider vinegar
Pepper

Soak Extra Firm Tofu in mix for about 5 minutes.

Spray a spot for tofu on cookie sheet

Bake for about 30 minutes
Makes a great side dish, or a salad topper!

Granola is better than ice cream right?!
Something about not feeling well makes me love rich comforting food.

I'm finally reading 'The Help.' It has been on my shelf for far too long! The movie is coming out and I must read it before then! Exciting weekend ahead of me (Must feel 100%)! Tomorrow after work I leave for Seattle! Shopping, Movies, Tasty Food, Girl Talk, Musicals, Hiking....Oh My! Not sure I'll be blogging again until Sunday!

Also... 25 days until my race! I had to reschedule my PT appointment for today.... eeeeekk Terrible time to get sick and snacky! I need a good run to keep myself confident!

Vitamin C.

I'm sick and tired.... 

Why I'm tired after a four hour nap is beyond me. 

If there is one thing I've learned in life its that if you don't slow down.... eventually your body will slow ya down. 

I hate not feeling well.

I like catching up on Grey's Anatomy.

I like drinking Smoothies.

Frozen berries make for a great throat soother!

Butternut squash is a good source of Vitamin C!

I like eating soup.

I like taking naps.

I don't like missing work.

I don't like feeling terrible.

I wish someone would bring me some popsicles...

Wish I could have run today! But getting off the couch was enough of a workout!

Plastered.

Today I got plastered. Not the alcoholic kind.... The foot molding kind. I found out that my insurance will cover custom orthotics! After the great results I've experienced with the cheap ones, I wanted something that would last me for a long time. Something that would get me through future races. So today they plastered my feet up! I wont get them for two weeks so unfortunately I wont have broken my feet in enough to wear them for this half-marathon, but they will last for seven years (I see future races in my future)!

Today I was completely off... I put on my shoes to go to work and realized right before I left that they were from two different pairs of shoes! At work it got even worse! I'm all sorts of discombobulated (really proud of myself that I spelled that word right the first time!) So off to bed I go....

Egg mixed into my oats! Much more filling!

Packed up lunch!
Snacks of carrot, pretzels, apple and an english muffin! 

When I work late I'm always starving when  I get home!
I made a quick salad of Tofurkey Beer Brat salad with Sorghum Bread!

Mom's Day.

"Sometimes life is hard. That's when its good to have a mom." -Ten year old 

That's the quote that was on the front of the card I gave my Mom yesterday. I told her that is an understatement. Its always good to have a Mom! Especially one as great and wonderful as my mom is! She is ALWAYS there for me. As someone to talk to, catch my tears, and just hangout with. I'm so happy that we have such a close relationship!

So yesterday I celebrated the best Mom in the whole world!

As is tradition: I headed on over to my parent's house to make her some breakfast in bed!
I always decimate any kitchen I cook in.

Ever since I was little I've used this book as a reference for French Toast.
Even though I have the recipe memorized, its a little bit nostalgia
(and maybe a little bit.... don't forget the vanilla again!)

Sorghum Sandwich bread from the Gluten Free Bakery!
Caramelized bananas and berries!

Ready for delivery!
Mom said the breakfasts have improved tremendously from when I was little!

I drizzled some sunflower seed butter on top!
Yum! Such a different nutty taste.

After breakfast we headed to Port Gamble to walk around the shops.

Sort of amazing that we never go down there since it is literally 10 minutes away.
Such a cute little town!

Such a great Mother-Daughter Day!

This is where I'm going to have my next birthday party!
They do Murder Mystery Tea Parties!

If the weather would just start looking up... I would have to say we lived in the best place in the world.

Larabars aren't my favorite, but I like how simple the ingredients are.
Dates, Peanuts and salt.

Dad Met us @ Pho for lunch!
I don't know why I never thought to bring my Mom here before, she loves chinese food so of course she would like Vietnamese food! 

Delicious bottle of Chianti. 

After all that noodle soup I wasn't too hungry, but this
Roasted peacan, pear and beet salad was tasty!
We ate at Sogno Di Vigno and the service was actually good for a change.

Carly's Mother Day picture :)

Kids and Mom! Missing my oldest brother!

Grandma and Callen!

How about some cute family shots?!

So cute!

After letting my food settle, I ran on the treadmill for 6.5 miles!!!! I'm back to my pre-injury milage I think! It felt good, but I can't really imagine that being my halfway mark... yikes!

Seeing things in 2D.

I love Saturdays... They mean Farmer's Market! I took mental pictures all afternoon because I lent my point and shoot to Carly for the day and left my big honkin' camera at home. I didn't really need anything at the market today, but had a great time walking around with my Mom and life-long friend Ashley. It sort of reminded me of when we were little and my Mom would take us with her shopping. 

Today the was the market's 4th annual wellness festival. It had booths from local wellness centers, and information booths. One of the booths was dedicated to Gluten Free info. We picked up some free samples and pamphlets. Then walked on over to my Mom's favorite tent... The Gluten Free Bakery! (I'll admit I like it an awful lot too! They have vegan cookies!) They were out of the millet english muffins we went for so our next stop was to their actual bakery and store just up the street. They have a mini market with some great options for gluten free and whole food eating. I picked up some pretzels and palm sugar... I have a recipe in mind! I guess they hope to one day add a cafe to the bakery. I have a feeling they would serve great food, but the location of the bakery is pretty terrible.

Vegan and Gluten Free mini pizza!  

After the Bakery we went to lunch at a newer mexican restaurant in town.
The lady thought I was crazy when I ordered a quesadilla with no cheese...
To be fair though it had spinach, beans and pico de gallo and guac on the side.
Usually Mexican food makes me feel too full, but this made for a perfect light lunch.
I'm liking this no cheese thing.

After lunch we went up to a plant sale up the street from my house.
It turns out the Clear Creek Nursery is going to be turning a vacant lot into an extension of their nursery.
The new area is also going to feature fresh fruits and vegetable from the eastern side of the state!
This is within walking distance from my house!
Fresh and local! Love it!

Girls night with Katy!

She came over for dinner and I made my favorite soup!
Yummy Squash and White Bean.

After dinner we went and saw THOR (I felt like I had to capitalize all those letters).
We saw it in 3D.
In my personal opinion... 3D is overrated.
The movie was great though.
I love me some superhero action.
My Mom was right... the guy who plays Thor... is "hot" :)

Magic Bullet.

I may have a problem... I'm addicted to Peanut/Almond butter (I would probably add hazelnut and cashew if I let myself buy). I have seriously been putting it on everything lately! Oatmeal, toast, apples, celery, dates, and my finger to name a few! 

Funny thing happened when I woke up today, my left leg hurt more than my right one (opposite of the usual)... seems that I might need a touch of a tune up on my insoles, but still promising! I feel sort of like right now I'm just trying to get to June 5th, but in the back of my head I'm still trying to figure out what comes after race day. Maybe I'll have to drastically cut back my running? 

I didn't leave enough PB in there so overnight oats were less than stellar this morning!
Funny that my coworker didn't ask me why I was eating PB for breakfast... I think everyone is getting used to me being an odd eater.

Lunch was a mishmash of kale with the last of my farmer's market spinach, avocado and whichever veggies I grabbed first this morning!
I'm trying to get back to not having any processed food in my house... so I gotta eat it!

Since I was out of PB and Spinach I had to make a run to the store.
There seems to be about 4 foods that I HAVE to have in my house at all times.
Peanut Butter
Bananas
Lettuce
Milk (Soy these days)
This one is from the bulk foods section!
Made fresh! So tasty.

Sometimes I feel like a little kid....
But I think those kids are on to something!

My newest addition to my kitchen!
An easter present! 

I tested it out with an egg salad recipe from it's manual.
I think I didn't follow understand the recipe because the celery didn't get chopped up at all!
I spooned around it, but I think I have much to learn about the Magic Bullet!
Any tips? Or maybe I'll just stay up late one night to watch the infomercial!

The combo was still good minus the celery!
Tomorrow morning I'm testing it on some blended oats!

Are there any foods that you can't live without?!

A Little Support Please!

It turns out that is all a girl really needs. When it comes to most things in life... but especially when it comes to running!

Today I tested out my new insoles. I was more than nervous. Seems like before every run nowadays I get a bit jittery. My biggest worry is pain, what if I get far away from my house and it hurts so much I can't run anymore? The next biggest thing that makes me nervous is the feeling of defeat I get when I'm unable to run as far as I would like. So today when I tested out my new insoles I went the safe route and ran the treadmill. The first half mile or so was a little touch and go, but once I loosened up I felt pretty darn good! I may have blisters on my arches from where they rub on their new supports, but totally worth it! My legs felt good! I ran 5.25 miles, which is the longest I've run since being injured. It was slow... I mean slow as molasses on a winters day slow.... 11 minute miles, but they were steady. I would be happy to run 12 minute miles if it meant completing 13.1 miles on June 5th. I needed this run, I feel light and full of energy and happiness! Hoping that tomorrow I wake up without pain!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I celebrated with a salad and Spanish class! Anything that includes avocado, salsa, fake chicken, corn and tortillas means Mexican to me! I wish I had had a Corona (I'm not as much fun as I was in college)!