MOVING!

I've moved my blog!

My new home is City Girl Tumblr ! Come follow me there on all of my adventures!

Gadget Queen

It all started with my Kitchen Aid Mixer and now it has spiraled out of control.  Next I bought a food processor which helped with making homemade pie crusts and will definitely be used to make homemade pesto and other culinary dishes .  Now I just acquired this little puppy: AN ICE CREAM MAKER! I have wanted one for so long and this one was rated really well on Amazon and so I can't wait to get it and make my own ice cream/frozen yogurt.  With this I will also need to get a membership to my local gym because this is going to be dangerous!

Goodbye...

My sad toe

RIP Alana's Toenail 1/19/2011

This morning as I was getting dressed I inadvertently said goodbye to my darling toenail on my right foot.  It was quick, and apparently had been coming for some time.  As you can see there's been some blood, and I had planned on going from a run this week but I am little nervous about it so I think I am going to hold off.  I think also means it's time for some new running shoes.....

Long Weekend

I am super excited for the long weekend! RSlo is going away camping tomorrow morning and I am thrilled to be spending time with my girls! There will be kayaking, picnic lunches, wine tasting, and some culinary adventures throughout the weekend.  I will be tackling Korean BBQ for Saturday night dinner, and I will be channeling the great Julia Child and making a  Roast Chicken for Sunday dinner.  I plan on taking lots of pictures and share how everything turns out!  

Happy New Year

2010 was a really exciting year in which I felt I wasn't afraid to take risks and push myself to do things that made scared me.  I traveled across the country seeing friends and family on a summer roadtrip, joined a fabulous bookclub where I got to meet some amazing women and enjoy reading wonderful books,  studied for and took the dreaded LSAT, and trained and ran my first marathon! This has been a good year filled with highs and lows but I am happy to start a new year that I have no doubt will be filled with more adventures, challenges, and opportunities for me to learn and grow! Here are some of my resolutions for 2011:

1. Read more books and watch less tv! I watch entirely too much crappy tv so I have found that I am reading more with my Kindle anyway so now it's time to cut back on my television usage.
2. FIND A JOB! I decided that I don't want to go to law school and that I actually love the field that I work in, so this spring will be spent looking for a new job.
3. Enjoy my time in California! With looking for a new job, the reality that I will be leaving California in June is setting in more and more, so I want to enjoy my time in the state and visit lots of my friends that live all across the state.
4. Cook more! 2010 found me discovering a passion for cooking and baking and so I want to do more of it! I want to tackle more challenging recipes and just have fun in the kitchen.   
5. Shop less! I need to save money, that's all.  

HAPPY NEW YEAR! HERE'S TO A GREAT 2011! 

Hibernating for the Winter

The time is approaching for me to make my yearly pilgrimage back to the cold, snowy, wintery East Coast for the Holidays.  I'll be in NYC for a week and then Indiana for 5 days.  Being in California for 3 years my body has become wimpy and can't stand the cold, so for most of my time East I spend my days curled up in pajamas reading.  I am very selective about where I go and what I do when I venture out into the chilly weather but I do spend a lot of time catching up on my reading which I love.  With the addition of my Kindle I imagine that I will power through several books while staying warm and toasty inside.  Here is my list of books thus far:

1. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins- I'm currently reading the Hunger Games which is the first book and I am already hooked! This will be book 2 of the 3 book series and I bet I will get through this one and Mockingjay which is the final book 
2. My Life in France by Julia Child- The captivating story of Julia Child’s years in France, where she fell in love with French food and found her true calling. I love French food and am dying to go to France so this book should hold me over for a while until I save enough money. 
3. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood- This was the book for my last book club meeting and I didn't really even start it so I am going to sit down and finish it.   
 

Any other suggestions???

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Once again my birthday was here and went away.  This year it was a lot more relaxing.  I took the day off, got a mani/pedi and didn't do anything too crazy or planned out.  I had a bday dinner with RSlo at our favorite restaurant and the next night RSlo made me an amazing dinner at home.  He made Beef Bourguignon and it was incredible. 

Both my RA's and my friend Kari made me red velvet cake so I've got lots of cake and this weekend I am going to tackle making an apple pie.  Overall I had a wonderful day and this year my goal is not get bogged down by the small stuff and to do more cooking and baking!

Nike Womens Marathon

I DID IT! I ran my first full marathon.  I still sometimes look back on the day in shock and awe that I was able to accomplish it.

For me running the race was a emotional experience, I was entranced with the 20,000 runners that showed up to race day and inspired by all of the women that ran alongside me.

Race start was 7am and RSlo, my good friend Kari and I got there at 6:30 am and stretched and warmed up .  It took me about 15 minutes to get up to the starting line and by the time I was up there I was ready to go and start running.  The first half of the race was super packed because all 20,000 were running the same course throughout San Francisco and the full and half marathon course split at Mile 11 and that's where it became a lot easier to run.   Here are my highlights during my 26.2 

Mile 3- I saw my friend Karla! She and I had been talking a lot about the race (she was doing the half) but we were realistic that with so many people running we would likely not see each other.  But as I was running in Fisherman's Wharf someone tugged my shorts and it was Karla! I was so excited and happy to see her.  We didn't chat for long but wished each other well and kept going! 

Mile 4- This was the first time I saw RSlo and Kari, they were able to take my long sleeve shirt.  They had a little adventure themselves as when they went to get the car out of the overnight parking garage they realized they couldn't until 9am!! I was due to reach mile 4 at 8 am, so they had to take a taxi to mile 4 and then cab it back to the start line.  Kari was adorable when she explained this to me, because she was really calm and I think she didn't want to freak me out.  

Mile 9- There were oranges!!! When you're running water and gatorade are nice, but the juice from the orange slices we got there were refreshing and the sugar provided a lot of energy.  There was a little boy holding a tray of oranges and he was the cutest little thing ever.  In addition to oranges I was able to grab a banana which helped a lot since I was cramping up in my stomach.  Almost immediately after I ate the banana the cramp was gone.  

Mile 11- the full and half marathon course separated.  Thank the lord! There were less people doing the full so I didn't have to navigate through people.  

Mile 12- My friend Kari is a redhead and when I saw her red hair at mile 12 I was hurting.  All of the aid stations by then were always inundated with people so I had been skipping some of them to avoid the crowd and I was starting to get dehydrated.  It also didn't help that I had downed a salt packet (it helps replenish electrolytes).  I was nervous that my muscles were going to begin to cramp up.  Kari began running and she had some orange slices for me and she was able to stop at the aid stations and pick up water for me while I continued to run.  She was with me when I ran through the 13.1 the halfway mark of the race, and was supportive. 

Mile 15- here I saw Rslo and my other friend Christy and her hubby Mike.  They were holding a sign that said "you do best", Kari told me that my RA's made the sign for me and I immediately starting crying.  I was really happy to have the sign and see my friends supporting me.  

Mile 20- Kari met me back on the course and by this point the race became mental for me.  I knew that I had 6 miles to go and that was really nothing compared to the 20 I had just run, but it would also mean that I had another hour of running to do!  Having Kari there really helped a lot. Kari came on to run and I noticed she had a sign on her back, the sign said "the race does not always go to the swift but to those that keep on running".  Anytime Kari was in front of me I read the sign and pushed myself more.  Kari had signs taped on the front of her.  She had emailed my friends and co-workers and had them write supportive notes to me.  She had 19 notes so she read 3 every mile.  This was one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for me and I was emotional hearing the words of my friends but also that Kari would spend time putting this together.  The notes really did help me through the end of the race as it reminded me that there were people rooting for me and wanting me to succeed and accomplish this goal. There were moments when I REALLY wanted to stop and walk as I watched others around me do so but these notes pushed me onward and forward.  I am forever grateful to Kari.

Mile 25 & 26- So the closer I got to the end, the more the race sucked.  I knew I was almost there, but I wasn't quite there yet.  By the time I got to 26 I had to say goodbye to Kari as they only let runners with bibs run the last .2. I could see out of the corner of my eye that Kari was continuing to run and I knew that this was the end and I had to pick up the pace. After every training run I sprinted at the end and this wasn't going to be any different.  My finishing time was 4:32:02.  RSlo was the first person I saw at the finish line and we hugged and I lost it.  4 months of training was complete and I had done it! Not to mention I got that lovely blue box.  A girl couldn't ask for a better day! 

I sometimes still can't believe I did it.  I am immensely proud of myself and it was such a rewarding experience.  I have to say that I could not have done it without the support of my friends and family.  My friends Kristy and Kari did endless training runs with me and gave me lots of wisdom and advice.  Rslo although a non-believer in the beginning always massaged my legs after long runs.  My mom always asked me about my runs and told me she was proud of me.  My friends Josh and Ali helped me find a 12 mile run when we visited them this summer in Nashville.  Thanks for believing in me! 

Less than 1 percent of the US population has ever run a marathon and I am so proud to be a part that of elite group.  People ask me if I will run another one and I am not sure yet, and I am learning to never say never.  But for now I am going to relish in this accomplishment!

It's Almost Here!!

In six days I will be running my first full marathon.  It's finally here!! 5 months of training all pays off.  My goal is to run my race in under 4 hours and 30 minutes and I feel ready that I can accomplish it. I am so excited for this race which is something I have never felt before in any of the half marathons I have done.

This final week of training has me running no more than 3 miles in each run and I will even get to do the elliptical machine at the gym which is my very favorite.  I got up to 20 miles a couple of weeks ago and although it was a bit of a rough run (we were experiencing a heat wave here in CA, and so it was not fun running in the hot weather) I made it through and I feel strong and prepared for the race.  I head up to the Bay area on Friday-I'm staying with a friend on Friday night and then up to SF on Saturday to check into my hotel, roam around the city, and check in for the race.  A good friend of mine will be running the last 6 miles with me as I anticipate those will be the hardest of the race and RSlo and a couple of my friends will be traveling around the city and seeing me at different mile points.  I really can't believe I am doing this! I will be sure to blog about the experience post race.  

I am also excited for this little lovely box I will get at the end of the race. 

The Best Anniversary gift ever!

I am in love....

RSlo got me this bad boy for our anniversary.  If you've been following my blog you know that it has been my DREAM to have a KitchenAid Mixer.  I love baking and my little electric mixer just hasn't been cutting it for all the tasty treats I like to make.  My jaw dropped when I found out this is what I was getting and let me tell you, I sit in my living room and stare at this amazing machine.  I am going to use it tomorrow to make cinnamon bread for RSlo since he will be back from Indiana.  We haven't seen each other for 2 weeks so it will be nice to have him back, but I am not going to lie, knowing that I was getting this mixer helped me cope with him being gone.  I have a wonderful bf!

3 years...

Disneyland- 11/2009

RSlo and I will be celebrating our 3 year anniversary on Sunday! My goodness I can't believe it's been this long, I still remember him calling me the night we decided to start dating and us talking for a while and then realizing that during the entire conversation he was standing in front of the dumpster near my my apartment building! Since then we always refer to our anniversary as "Dumpster Day".  I love him very much and he really is my best friend and I always enjoy being around him.  He's my biggest cheerleader and I've grown and learned so much being with him these past 3 years. 

Sadly we won't be together on Sunday since he is in Indiana with his family right now.  I'll be thinking of him a lot on Sunday and I can't wait until he gets back and we can celebrate together!

Stay in the positive

Thinking positive thoughts this week....

Hope you all will too...

Happenings

I'm in the midst of RA training, which is exhausting and fun all at the time same time! I love my RA's and I am looking forward to the year!

Heading to Vegas for a bachelorette party Saturday morning! Leaving RSlo at home while I paint the town red with my friends. 

My 16 mile run was amazing, I felt invincible, powerful and excited for my marathon!


 Will post updates on my many adventures throughout the next couple of weeks!

It's Amazing...

how you can run 9 miles over the weekend and feel like you are on top of the world and then run 6 miles a couple of days later and feel like you want to die....

On another note, I have incorporated swimming into my training routine.  I'll swim on days when I am supposed to cross train which is twice a week.  I had been not doing anything so I think swimming will only be positive.

Next up 16 miles on Saturday... yikes!

Diary of a Runner

Saturday I ran 14 miles, my longest run yet.  Here are the highlights:

• Running at 6:40 am you tend to see lots of creepers so I tried to stay alert.
• It drizzled for most of the run (not sure what's up with the weather when I run long distances).
• Miles 13 and 14 were the roughest, I had to keep telling myself I could finish.
• I ran out of water miles 13 and 14...
• I was surprisingly not as sore as I thought I would be the next day. 

Every long run gives me anxiety since it's distances I have yet to ever run.  While I am happy with where I am, I realize I still have a long way to go before race day and that scares me.  I also need to think about changing my diet, it wouldn't hurt for me to be a little healthier.

Pizza Night

When we got back from our trip RSlo and I decided to have a pizza night.  We bought a pizza stone at Target and got all the ingredients for pizza at Trader Joes. We each were responsible for a pizza and we put on music and made our pizzas.  It was fun to cook together and it was nice to be eating at home.  Before I took off on the trip I got a new oven so I was excited to be using it for our pizza.

RSlo making his bbq sauce 

Making my pizza- you can tell I was excited 

Rslo used to work in a pizzeria- he was showing off 

My finished product 

Rslo's pizza

The pizza's were delicious! Both had good flavors and we enough for lunch the next day.  After dinner we headed over to a friend's apartment for drinks and to see many of our friends we hadn't seen all summer.  It's been nice being back here in California!

Road Trip

My first road trip is completed! I had a fantastic time and it was nice having RSlo as my travel companion.  After Nashville we drove to Memphis and stayed over night.  I don't know that Memphis is going to be on my list of favorite cities but we did get to go to the Civil Rights Museum which was constructed next to the Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King was assasinated.  We spent about 2 hours in the museum reading about the history of civil rights in this country as well as the events surrounding Dr. King's death.  We were also able to see the room that Dr. King during his trip in Memphis when he was assassinated.  You can also walk across the street and see the room where it is believed that James Earl Ray sat when he shot MLK.  It was all really powerful and a great way to spend an afternoon.  In the evening we headed out to the Beale Street which is the Bourbon Street of Memphis.  There are a lot of bars and restaurants and  there is a lot of live music to see.  We ended up heading to BB Kings jazz club and listening to music which was nice since it was inside and air conditioned.  Memphis was blazing HOT.  It was close to 100 degrees during the day and cooled down to maybe 80 degrees in the evening.  We were melting but we had a great time.

We headed to New Orleans following Memphis and this was my most favorite place of the whole trip.  It was also really hot there but that didn't stop us from going out and enjoying the food, culture, and music of New Orleans.  From Bourbon Street, to Rebirth Brass Band, to jazz clubs we made the most of time in the Big Easy and lived it up!  I kept saying that I would live in New Orleans and RSlo agreed with me so who knows maybe that will be the next place we move to! 

Maple Leaf Bar where we saw the Rebirth Brass Band

On the trolley heading back from the bar

RSlo made a new friend with the conductor 

We had fun in the stores looking for gifts for our family 

So Handsome 

The room where this was taken was where this was signed

My favorite place in New Orleans! 

Beignets and Cafe Au Lait the perfect afternoon snack 

behind us is the Mississippi River 

Bourbon Street! 

After we left New Orleans we had a long haul for the next two days in an attempt to get to Las Vegas.  We left New Orleans at lunchtime and we got to Dallas where we stopped for dinner and then pushed on to Amarillo where we stopped for the night.  We slept in the car in the parking lot of a Walmart  (classy I know) but surprisingly it wasn't bad and actually comfortable.  The next day we kept driving and stopped in Albuquerque for lunch and then in Flagstaff for dinner.  We went out and enjoyed Flagstaff for the evening and it's a pretty cool town.  It was the first Friday and the town had an outdoor movie going on and many of the downtown establishments had drinks and appetizers, it was fun to walk around and see.  We spent another night in the car  (we looked up hotels but it was too expensive), this time not so comfortable as the last and by then I was ready to get to Vegas where we had a hotel and I could shower and be comfortable.  Vegas was not all that I expected it to be, and to be honest I wasn't impressed.  I'm not a big drinker anyway so the allure of drinking until you puke was not enticing and I don't gamble so I wasn't doing that.  We had a great dinner on the strip and walked around and then called it a night.  I am glad that I was able to go and see but it left me feeling "eh".  The next afternoon we had lunch in Vegas and that hauled the 7 hour trip back home.  I was happy to finally be home and not living out of suitcase.  We got home and celebrated the end of our trip with a movie night. We rented Invictus got snacks and drinks and enjoyed being back.  It's been nice having time back with out work but it is slowly ending as we begin work again tomorrow and the craziness of prepping for students to return ensues.  I also need to kick law school applications into high gear, which means finishing my personal statement and finalizing my list of schools.  But for now I will lounge and be lazy and organize my pictures from the trip.

Hoover Dam on our way to Vegas 

There's a bit of history for you 

Vegas! 

Bellagio Hotel 

The ending of our trip 

Water Show 

Last lunch in Vegas, he went out with a bang 

Summer Adventures Part II

I am finally back in California!!! I had an awesome vacation and it was so much fun seeing friends! I was bad about posting pictures so now I have some to put up and share!

NYC 

I grew up about 5 blocks from here 

It rained at the game 

We spent the day with my lovely mom! 

Indiana 

Had lunch with my friends from grad school, who I hadn't seen in 2 years! 

We went to the County Fair and I got to pet all of the animals, I was in heaven

The piggys were spooning 

Nashville 

Fitting that we saw this in Nashville (RSlo's hometown is French Lick, IN)

We went to a Blues Bar in Nashville to hear really great music 

Alie and Josh- Josh and RSlo have known each other since they were born and Alie is his lovely wife. They are really awesome friends 

Memphis 

National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis 

The Lorraine Motel where MLK was shot

When in the south you must have southern food 

BB Kings jazz club in Beale Street 

Diary of a Runner

Yesterday I did my longest run of yet...12 miles.  Today I am a little sore but feeling very accomplished.  We are in Nashville staying in with good friends and I knew I had to do a long run while we were there and I was worried about running in the heat so I got up at 6 am on Saturday morning and got down to the run.  I even slept in my running clothes to make sure it was easy to crawl out of bed and get on the road.  My plan was to do 6 miles out and 6 miles back to the house and it was easy enough that I ran down one road all the way there.  The first half was smooth, I had regularly run 6 miles so it didn't feel like anything I hadn't done before.  I recently bought a fuel belt so I had water when I needed it and I have a playlist for running on my Ipod.

The second half of the run is where things got interesting.  No sooner than did I turn around to start the second half did the rain come. Not a little drizzle, this was full on rain!  I thought about stopping, but I was reminded of my friend Kristy who once told me that if it rained during my race I would continue to run so I should run in the rain during my training runs.  She had a great point so I stuck it out and ran.  The only thing that was a little uncomfortable was that my pants were heavier since they were cotton and were soaked.  There were moments when I really wanted to stop but I pushed through.  Towards the last mile of the run, a white car drove by me and I realized it was RSlo! I thought he would have still been sleeping by the time I got back from my run, but he hadn't realized that I gotten up earlier to run so he was surprised that I was so close to being done. It was nice to have him there and right at the end of the run he was standing in front of the house and I was exhausted by then (and it didn't help there was a small hill I had to run up), so I simply focused on his tie-dye shirt all the way until the end.  I did the run in 2 hours exactly, which I was so proud of and I am glad that I pushed myself to do it!

I am super happy about my run.  I am getting into runs now which will be more that I have ever done before so every long run is a little daunting but I am staying motivated and positive.  I also need to start downloading more music because my playlist is only 2 hours long, and these longer runs will take a lot more time.

Summer Adventures Part I

I write this sitting in the living room of RSlo's parents home in French Lick, Indiana (it's a small town whose claim to fame is being the home of Larry Bird- the Celtics player).  We got in this afternoon after our fun filled time in NYC.  We met up in NYC, me coming from Boston where I had a fantastic time with my good friend from grad school Lauren.  We ate good food, watched Inception, (phenomenal movie if you haven't seen it) and just caught up on our lives post grad school.  We hadn't seen each other in two years so we had a lot of catching up to do.  From there I hopped on the Greyhound bus down to NYC (which took me back to my college days, since this was always my mode of transportation when going home) and experienced quintessential NYC summer: hot, humid, and increasingly disgusting the moment you stepped into a subway station.  RSlo and I went to a Yankee game on Friday night and got caught in a huge rainstorm in the middle of the 5th inning.  We were convinced the game would be rained out but by the time we got back to our apartment the game had restarted. The Yankees ended up winning 7-1.  At least the rain cooled off the heat. 

Saturday we headed to Long Island for an enagagement party for two of my good friends Karen and Josh. RSlo was a champ about the whole thing not knowing anyone except the couple who was getting married, but managed to befriend the fiance of the maid of honor and chatted with him the entire afternoon.  It was nice to see college friends and catch up although once again it was SUPER humid and hot.  Sadly I forgot to take pictures at the party especially since I had on a really cute dress and managed to do my hair really nice and makeup was done right.  I always like to capture those moments. 

The rest of our time was spent dodging the rain that came on Sunday and catching up with friends and my family.  We spent Sunday  evening having dinner with my mom and walking around the city.  I swear I notice that I am turning into my mom more and more with her quirks, facial expressions, and sarcasm.  The trip was super quick and we found ourselves leaving this morning for Indiana.  We're here in Indiana  until Friday.  I love spending time here because I really do get to relax and unwind.  I sleep a lot, read books and eat really well.  We're going to see some of RSlo's friends and go back to our alma mater and visit our mentors that are still there.  Before RSlo I didn't think I would visit Indiana at all after graduating and now I find myself coming back yearly and loving it. 

Next post I promise to include this pictures I have taken thus far.  I will try to be dilligent and post as often as possible.