It's Been a While

A little while ago I decided to take a few days off from blogging...

oops.

To be honest, I didn't have a lot to share and no one like a boring blog, right?

Right.

So, now here I am with a few thoughts. 

RUNNING

...has been difficult.  Not that I haven't had the motivation, but my right foot - which I injured a few years ago - has been acting up big time.  The side, my Achilles; it feels like it's the whole thing.  I've now run three times since the 1/2 marathon - each time, just 3-4 miles.  I'm finally coming to the conclusion that I should probably go see a doctor of some sort.  SO annoying!!!  But I guess I'd rather get it figured out than end up with a boot on it.

that is a sideways thumb. not a thumb up. not a thumb down

FITNESS

The pro about not running so much is that I've been able to go to my favorite workout classes more often.  Circuit training is still my favorite, and I believe, the most effective, but I've been frequenting Bodypump and Turbokick as well.  It feels great to be able to push my muscles to fatigue without worrying about how my legs will carry me through a long run the next day. 

LOVE

 

Guess who finally purchased wedding photos????????

Me!!!  Yes it's been 10 months since our wedding and yes, these are the first prints I've ordered for our own home.  What can I say, I don't do well without deadlines .

First things first - notice anything weird about our mantel?

no??

How about now?

These two lovely ladies have been in my home for longer than I'd like to admit.  I saw this frame at World Market one day and knew it was the perfect fit for our living room.  Filling it, however, didn't happen so fast. 

Though I originally wanted a wedding photo that was very subtle like this one...

..the pink tones were just not a fit for our red fireplace.  To the bedroom it will go.

 

We definitely found a winner though.

We both love this one and are so happy to finally have a piece of our favorite day in our living room!

And now for a change in topic without a good transition.

Turns out Trader Joes finally learned how to read our minds.

 Pre-packaged Kale!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why yes, I would like my Kale Cut, Cleaned & Ready to Cook!!

Seriously folks, this is big news.  I love kale and for some reason will let the silly chore of cutting/de-veining it get in the way of my kale chips.  Dumb,  I know, but sometimes I am lazy okay?



Husband Lunch Date at Whole Foods

Good Girl!

Bad Girl!

Chicken Fried Tofu.. i had to try it 5 peices

Good Girl!

It's like the "fried" never happened...

Good Husband :)

Mid-Week Meltdown

I'm not really having a meltdown; I just couldn't think of another title.


I am suffering from a case of the mid-week blahs though.  If there are any runners out there reading this (one of my many many readers) please let me know if this happens to you.  I feel like I was so darn prepared for the half marathon, but then it just kind of came & went.  SO much fun the day of - and afterward during our brunch & beer time- but now, just.. blah. 
Enough of the blahs though; how about a random little recap of the last week's eats & treats tratsies.

First up - The Rock & Roll 1/2

Jif's Mom & two sisters were sweet enough to drive over from Yakima to cheer us on.  So, along with them and our fellow runners, Mandi & Dad, we had a condo full of people for our pre-run dinner.

However random, it was such a great group of people to spend the evening with.  Along with good food and good wine, there were good stories and a lot of laughter.

The Chef:

Jillian!  Not only does she cook people; she runs too. 

The next day we ran!

Dad, myself and Jillian

It was such a pretty morning for a run.  We learned a huge lesson though - people lie about their timing waves.  Since we are relatively slow runners at 10min/miles, we put ourselves toward the end of the waves.  Big mistake.  For the first 5 miles of the race we were weaving in and out of walkers and runners much slower than us.  Makes sense then, why my knee and foot started to hurt pretty badly around mile 8.  Oh well , lesson learned.

Other than that, the run was great.  Pretty and very flat, it was a good course for beginners. 

 

Most of you know what comes next...

 Brunch!!

which Jillian dominated

And next on the Saturday agenda, something we've been talking about for quite some time....

yup

Jillian, Mandi, Janae and I all got the same.  Birds of a feather flock together..  Cheesy?  Yes.  Super special day with my best friends?  Absolutely! 


Not to be outdone, another favorite joined the party..

Miss Jackie likes birds too!

 I know I've told you how great I am at weekends, but this one topped the charts for sure.  

Especially because it ended with this:

Love him!

 

Well friends, it is now 11:00pm and I need sleep more than I need to finish this blog post.  I'm pretty sure it's getting to be a little obnoxiously long anyway.

Part two of Eats & Treats Tratsies to come tomorrow.

peace

A Few Things

1.  I got new jeans and they may change my life. 

2.  I am still addicted to my cereal concoctions

 

3.  I've decided that croutons in salad don't count as useless carbs because they are too small.

 

 

4.  I'm happy that it's not supposed to rain tomorrow so that our 1/2 marathon doesn't turn out like our 10 mile run.

yucky rain

5.  I'm pretty sure that the Dad will still have an "after-running-outfit" like this:

it's the sandals that really make it

6.  I can't wait to begin this weekend's festivities!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Talk Soon :)

Micole & Kelly

...are married!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the bride and me

our group of girls from Central - so much fun!

Congrats again you two!

Friday Favorites

Hi friends.  It's been a while since we've done a Friday Favorites over here at Tratsie, so I thought i was about time.


1.  I Phone 4

My husband brought it home for me and what can I say, I've always loved a good bandwagon!
I'm a little addicted right now.. I know for most reading this I'm years late on this one, but i just can't seem to stop killing pigs with my angry birds.  Fun times. 



2.  My new favorite breakfast/dinner

 In the bowl:
- Go lean crunch cereal
- Heritage whole grain flakes
- Unsweetened Almond milk
- Blueberries
- Coconut butter
- Sunflowerseed butter

I'm thinking some may consider nut butters on cereal kind of gross but it is oh so very good.  I've been having it for dinner lately and I know I should be having greens & protein instead, but I'm giving myself until the 1/2 to eat whatever dinner my body is craving and this seems to be it. 
Please try it and tell me if I am crazy or not.. I'm honestly interested in knowing


3.  My New Watch

Well to be fair, it's not exactly mine...  but The Secret says I just need to think about it a lot and then it will come, so perhaps this time next week it will be. 

Before seeing this guy I hadn't really been into the whole gold watch thing - at least the newer looking ones, but turns out I just needed it to be a square face.  Who knew? 

4.  Life as We Know It - The Soundtrack

Jiff, Lucas and I watched this last night and though the movie itself was an only an okay/cute flick, the soundtrack really stood out to me.  You better believe I'll be I tunes-ing this one up on my new phone.

"You Know I'm No Good"
Amy Winehouse

"Your Touch"
The Black Keys

"Tidal Wave"
Josh Kelley

"Love Is Endless"
Mozella

"Creep"
Written by C. Greenwood, J. Greenwood, A. Hammond, M. Hazlewood, E. O'Brien, P. Selway and T. Yorke

"Just Breathe"
Pearl Jam

"Something In Common"
Free Energy

"Pump It Up"
The Hotrats

"Three More Days"
 Ray LaMontagne

"The Tale Of The Sun And The Moon"
Eric Herman

"Missing You"
 Will Sasso

"For You Now"
Bruno Merz

"Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye"
Roberta Flack

"Sweet Child O' Mine"
Taken By Trees

"All I Ever Wanted"
Faith Hill

5.  My friend Micole!!

Micole and Kelly are getting married tomorrow and I'm so excited to share their special day with them!  Congrats you two!!!!

What May Be the Best Find of the Year

Remember how I mentioned our little Sunday Funday adventure to Theo's Chocolate factory??

Well I just happened to come home with a container of these little gems..

The nice guy who worked there was certain I wouldn't like them but boy was he wrong!  I couldn't stop snacking on them while there, so I thought it only appropriate to pay for some of my own.
For anyone who might not be familiar with this superfood - yes superfood people - it's good to know going in that it doesn't taste like chocolate.  Sure there's the familiar coco smell and flavor hidden in there somewhere, but they're not not sweetened at all & there is absolutely no cream or milk added either.  Just 100% Cocoa (as noted on above picture).
It's difficult to explain without you trying them yourself, but I love the crunch texture and I LOVE the health benefits. It has more antioxidant flavonoids than any food tested so far, including blueberries, red wine, and black and green teas. 
Sprinkled on overnight oats or a delish green smoothie?? Perfection!

 Smoothie dumped into almost empty sunflower seed butter jar??? Seriously delicious. 

 I know it may not look appitizig but it is!  You see green but I promise you don't taste it. 

Yum. 

Has anyone else tried Cocoa Nibs??? What did you think?