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.

Keeping Pace.

Every time I run a race or start to get really into training for one I'm reminded of this quote from a Nike commercial:

"You are in a relationship with running. A love/hate relationship.

Running kicks you out of a warm cozy bed and into a cold hard world.

Everyday with running is a question of your commitment and running is not afraid to ask.

Yes my friend it is a constant balance.

A balance between joy and pain, work and play.... LOVE AND HATE!"

Thankfully my other relationships are not like this!

On June 3rd I completed my third half-marathon within 365 days. If you've been following my blog then you know this was supposed to be my attempt at the full marathon. After being a lazy bum and not committing myself to the long runs necessary for my body to survive 26.2 miles I decided to downgrade to the half-marathon. While I was a little disappointed with myself I'm glad I made the decision. After all, I still have until February 11, 2013 to reach my goal of 26.2 miles in my 26th year. I had a great race that day! Actually the best race of my life! Nothing to feel bad about at all! 

North Olympic Discover Trail Half-Marathon 2012 Race Recap:

Luckily I was able to take the day before the race off of work this year. I think that standing on my feet all day before attempting a big run like this hurts my time. Brian and I headed up in the afternoon and met my parents at our camping spot in Sequim. We ate a carb filled dinner of Spaghetti and garlic bread then awaited the arrival of Ryan and his girlfriend Madison.

Once again.... I have the greatest parents ever. 

S'mores were consumed! They are my favorite night-before-a-race snack! And.... well... maybe my favorite dessert as well!

The morning of the race I woke up to a text message from Nicole. 

It said:

"The best pace is a suicide pace, and today looks like a good day to die...." -Steve Prefontaine

 Pretty motivational huh?!

I'm not going to win any awards for being the fastest, but it is still always a good idea to have goals, otherwise you will never achieve the greatness you are capable of. The morning before the race Brian and I were chatting about how fast I would run that day. Since my last half-marathon time was 2:23:06 I said my goal would be 2:22. Brian said that if I finished in under 2:20 that he would run the full marathon with me on September 30, 2012 in Bellingham.

I am so thankful for the amazing support {team} system I have.

Before the race I was jittery and nervous. This seems to be my pre-race routine.

Yes my socks look silly. No I don't care. I'm in love with compression socks. I don't know if it is all in my head, but I really think that they help my calves during long runs. 

Ryan and Madison: pre-race.

Best boyfriend ever?! 

Yep, he even handed me redvines along the way!

I don't know why, but I get really hungry during long runs.

This will be an interesting thing for me to handle when my runs get longer than 13 miles.

That is why we train. It isn't just so our muscles get accustomed to the pounding they are going to take, but also so we know when to hydrate, eat and also how to not get bored!

Running this race again was awesome. The race sponsored support is fantastic. The trail is great. I love the vibe. I am glad though that this wasn't where I attempted the full. Remember my race recap from last year? {Yes I wore the same outfit and it was sunny that day!} The reason I'm glad it wasn't my full is because it has some very poorly placed hills. The worst of which would have come at mile 20. Yeah... Like I'm not already going to be struggling at mile 20! 

Ryan and I stayed together for the first couple of miles, then he decided to keep a faster pace. I was extremely happy with my pace! Almost every time I looked at my watch it said I was under 10 minute miles! I felt light and fast! Which are two things I've never felt before!

And guess what?!! 

Brian is going to be running that full-marathon with me in September!!

My time: 2:11:51

I cut off almost a minute a mile from my previous NOD1/2M time!

My pace: 10:04 

I feel really great about running right now. That's a good thing because it's time to get serious about this training program! 15 weeks until the marathon!