Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

One of my newest favorites, Andrew Belle sings Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas...

Only one more week until I go home! Yayyy!

fortune cookie says...

"Nothing is better than the riches of a sound body"

Funny. Thanks fortune cookie-I am well aware of this fact right now.

In other news, my doctor gave me the OK to run my last race to qualify for the NYRR 9+1 program for the New York Marathon next year before giving me the dreaded boot (Dec 21-mark your calendars). So while I won't be running in Rome I will be running the NY marathon next year!! YAY!! I am excited/nervous for this last run-it's 9 miles in the park. Eeeeek. Kind of a big jump from my 5 mile run last weekend. But I will finish-regardless of whether I run, walk, or crawl.

I'm putting together a playlist of my most favorite songs for this run but am in need of some good new music...any suggestions anyone?

stress fractured

well. the diagnosis is in. and my foot is in fact stress fractured. what does this mean? no miami half marathon. no rome marathon. a very snazzy and stylish boot (read terrible walking cast velcro-strapped boot) for 3 weeks. and 6 weeks off of running completely.

needless to say. today was a less than great day.

HBBC Week 2

Here are what the stats look like for week 2. My foot has seriously been acting up-my doctor and PT think it may be a stress fracture. Cue freak out here...I have been taking it easy during the week so I can at least get my long runs in on the weekends. I went in for an MRI yesterday. First MRI ever! Kind of an adventure. I don't think I have held that still for so long, ever. I should find out the results tomorrow or Thursday. Eeeek!

Anyways...HBBC week 2 round up:
Mon: 1 hr of power dance-4 points
Tues: 1 hr of weight lifting-3 points
Grand total: 7 points!

HBBC: Week 1

I'm participating in the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge this year! It's a blogger challenge to stay active and healthy during the holidays. I think it will be a fun way to keep me motivated and working out through December!

Here is my point breakdown for the first week:

HBBC button: 2 points
Race to Deliver: 4 miles (4 points)
Spin class: 40 minutes (4 points)
Prospect Park Turkey Trot: 5 miles (5 points)
Turkey bowl football game: 1 hour (4 points)

Weekend Update!

It was a lovely weekend in NYC last weekend. The weather was PERFECT!! I almost needed to pull out the sundresses again it was so warm! I wish the weather would stay like that forever. I am dreading the cold, terribleness that is winter...

Friday:
Friday afternoon around 3pm my manager came over and told me that I could finish what I was working on next week and take off. She didn't need to tell me twice-I was out of there in a flash. The weather was sunny and cool-perfect weather for a mid-afternoon run! I ran just 3 miles along the river and it was so wonderful!

After my run, I decided to bake. Ages and ages ago my ward did a charity auction for the tsumani relief in Japan. I auctioned off a month's worth of homemade cookies and have yet to pay up. I finally baked batch #1-Sea salt chocolate chip cookies. SO yummy! And after a week with no treats/sweets, they tasted even better!

There was an NYC singles conference going on this weekend and Friday was the opening fireside. Elder Nash spoke and it was actually really good! After the fireside, scary movie month continued with a showing of Scream. Scream is a little bit more funny than scary-to see that guy running around with that mask and that funny black outfit. I actually fell asleep half way through so we have yet to finish it!

Saturday:
The conference continued on Saturday with workshops and a lunch. Saturday afternoon we split up into groups and went on various excursions around the city. I was supposed to lead the Highline walking tour but they didn't need me so I joined the group heading over to the Met. We walked through the park-which was so lovely. I haven't had a leisurely park walk in a while!

View of the Bethesda fountain!

Usually when I go to the Met it's either winter or it's raining, so I've never been able to go on the roof. Saturday was the perfect day for finally visiting the roof! It's really cool up there, you can see fun skyline views and the treetops in the park. They have some cool sculptures up there and a bar. It's a fun little spot to hang out! After hanging out on the roof a bit, I went and hung out in my favorite spot in the museum-the room with the ancient Egyptian temple surrounded by water. I LOVE that place. I have got to get to Egypt one of these days! I spent the rest of the afternoon walking back through the park and hanging out outside. It was just too nice to not be inside!

Saturday night my friend Rachel threw a favorite things party. It was really fun!! Everyone brought a fun favorite thing for a gift exchange. We just hung out, ate delicious treats, and got to see everyone's favorite things. Such a fun idea for a girls get-together! I got this really cool dry shampoo, which is now my newest favorite thing-anything to let me get a little more sleep in the mornings!

Sunday:

I lounged in bed forever on Sunday which was so wonderful! Lately I have been up earlier on the weekends than I am during the week. Eeeek! It felt really good to just lounge a bit. 

Sunday afternoon was filled with church, a linger longer, another walk through the park, and a nap!

Sunday night my friend Angela made a bunch of us a delicious Brazilian dinner. I need to expand my cooking horizon and learn how to cook new things! After Brazilian dinner, I headed down to Caroline and Steph's for a little rooftop s'mores fun. Again, perfect night to be outside. We won't have many nights like that left so might as well make the most of it!!

It was a nice, low-key weekend. And as usual, it went by WAY too fast!

The Friday Five: Round 2

It's time for another Friday Five!

1. What I'm reading...

Still reading Memoirs of Cleopatra and still loving it. Thank goodness for the Kindle. The book is almost 1000 pages and there's no way I'd be hauling that thing around in my purse! Caesar was just murdered...bring on Marc Anothony!!

2. What I'm listening to...

I have a new favorite song. I listen to it at least 5 times a day and may dance in my chair while I'm listening...

3. What I'm watching...

We decided to get cable back so I've been watching Boy Meets World and What I Like About You as I get ready in the morning. I just love those cheesy shows! Who didn't love Corey, Topanga, and Shawn?!

4. What I'm eating...

TACOS!!!! Tuesday was National Taco Day so of course Jen and I had to celebrate by going to La Esquina and getting their delicious tacos and corn. I love tacos so much-I could seriously eat them every day for the rest of my life and be happy!

5. What I'm pinning...

Again, still not into pinning, but from reading blogs, I have seen a TON of delicious pumpkin things that other people have found from pinterest. I found some pumpkin at Trader Joe's yesterday so I'll be trying out a delish pumpkin recipe this weekend! YUM!

What are your Friday Five?!

It's official..

...I signed up for my SECOND MARATHON!!!!!

Registration is complete-I am in! Plane tickets are purchased.

18 March 2012

The course: awesome-you run past all of the wonderful things in Rome

The food: um hello? carb loading in Italy? yes please!! Gelato as an after race treat? yum!!

Training starts November 1st!! I could not be more excited!!!

Weekend Update!

**I started writing this on Monday when it was more applicable, but didn't get to finish until today...ooops...

It was a really nice weekend. Slow, quiet, and relaxing. I love conference weekend. It seems like it always comes along right when I am needing it!

Friday-
Went and saw Fast Five in IMAX! Ha ha ha! I got an email from AMC saying they were showing select movies in IMAX for only $7!! That is almost as cheap as a morning movie! And forget ever seeing a normal IMAX movie for this price. It was the perfect rainy Friday night activity. And who doesn't love a little bit of Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, and the Rock to start the weekend off right?

Saturday-

Started with morning with a little race in Central Park. I decided a month or so ago that I want to run the NYC Marathon in 2012. The NYRR has this program that if you run 9 races and volunteer at 1 in the calendar year, you automatically get into the marathon the next year. Since I decided to do this with 4 months left in the year, I am going to be running a slew of races in the next few months to get my 9 races in. Saturday morning was the Norway Run-a nice 1.7 mile run of the lower loop of the park. They had a half marathon option-2 loops of the park, but I am not anywhere near trained for that and 2 loops of the park sounds like the most boring route of all time. After my run, I went to spin class and spun my little heart out. I just love spin so much!!

Saturday afternoon was occupied with conference. I LOVE conference weekend. It's so nice to just stay holed up in the house, in pajamas, watching the leaders of our church and listening to their guidance and counsel.

Saturday evening Jane and I went to the Russian/Turkish baths in the East Village! It was actually a lot of fun. They have a bunch of different saunas and steam rooms. You just hang out and chat. I feel like everywhere I go is freezing-work, my apartment, the subway (they still have the air conditioners on!) so it was nice to just hang out and be warm. I definitely want to go back-especially during the cold winter months!

Sunday-

Sunday was full of food and conference. It was Ashley's birthday so we did a pre-conference brunch. It was SO delicious-Karen did an amazing job with the food. I made a quiche which was also yummy-I love quiche. And actually all brunch food in general. 

Brunch was followed by conference, a between conference nap, and then more conference.

Sunday night we had some people over for dinner. I bought a crockpot (eeek! so excited!) so for the crock pot's maiden voyage we made Cafe Rio pork and had pork tacos. The maiden voyage was a success. Dinner was a lot of fun. It was a good, random group of people and the food was delish!

That is about it for my weekend update. It was a good, relaxing weekend!!

The Friday Five: First Attempt

I saw this on another blog and thought it might be fun so here it goes!

1. What I'm reading...

The Memoirs of Cleopatra...a historical fiction book all about Cleopatra and ancient Egypt. I am so fascinated by all of it! Great book to make the 40 min commute to and from Brooklyn just speed by.

2. What I'm listening to...

This morning it was ABBA!! Nothing like some great 70s Europop to get the morning started!

3. What I'm watching...

Felicity! Thank you Netflix for finally getting the entire series on instant watch. Poor Felicity is such a crazy cakes-but I am loving watching all of the Felicity-Ben-Noel drama unfold again!

4. What I'm eating...

Far too many treats! Being out at the client site and having candy and treats at my fingertips is WAY too dangerous. I need to get back to my no treat eating again!! AND conference weekend food! Yum!

5. What I'm pinning...

I haven't caught onto the pinterest craze yet...eeeeek.

What are your Friday Five?!?

Spotted: Tate Donovan on the Upper West Side

They are filming Gossip Girl! a couple blocks up from my apartment. Andrea was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Ed Westwick (Chuck Bass) last night. Me and sister took the long way to the subway this morning hoping to catch him again. Unfortunately they were just getting stuff set up but we did see Mr. Jimmy Cooper sitting on a stoop having breakfast!! I couldn't snap a picture without being crazy papparazzi-like, but it was definitely him!

My new bike!!

I love love love spin class so for a while I have been wanting a road bike. Well, I finally got with it and decided to get one. I got it right around the height of my marathon training so I've only ridden it a couple of times. Real road biking is sure different from spinning-from the clipping in and out, to the gears, to having to maneuver around other bikers, people, dogs, streetlights, etc. I'm so excited to get into real riding and to be a real biker!!

My inagural bike ride. Please notice my awesome biking outfit and also that it matches my bike. Ha ha ha. We rode down from my house to battery park and then over to Shake Shack for a celebratory dinner.

The view of the sunset over Jersey City from Battery Park

Me, Anita, Preston, and Eric-posing with our bikes near battery park.



This is a scary picture of me. Eeek! Andrea and I went for a morning ride in the park and I used my clip in shoes for the first time. After I finally got clipped in, I couldn't clip out! I definitely tipped over on my bike, feet still attached to the pedals, in front of a big group of tourists. Totally scraped up my elbow, my knee, and bruised my palm (who even knew that was possible?!?). I felt like a 5 year old-who falls off of their bike when they are in their 20s?!? At least everyone in the park got some entertainment that day...

Me, Eric, Anita, James and Elise at the entrace to the park after a Saturday morning bike ride. This was my first time on my bike since falling off a few weeks before. I will admit that I was nervous about using those silly shoes again. Thankfully one fall was all it took and I'm happy to report that I rode the entire park (terrifying hills and all) AND I didn't fall off at the end. Ha ha ha! I'm excited for cooler weather and longer rides!!



July 2011

How on earth is it August already?!? This summer is just FLYING by and I'm not ready for it to end yet! Eeek! I had grand intentions of taking a photo a day every day in July and being great at posting them for a whole month of summertime fun. And then that definitely didn't happen. Oops.

July was a great month! I took the first 2 weeks off from work which was so wonderful. I had a lovely 4th of July weekend in the city complete with a family party, trip out to Long Beach, and watching the Macy's Fireworks from a friend's awesome rooftop.



Me and my grandmother!



BBQ time on the roof!



Our view of the fireworks over the Hudson



Then it was home to SLC to hang out with the fam for a week and a half and for my friend Tawni's wedding (which I didn't take any photos of. boo.) Home was SO great. I spent some time in Park City at our time share with the padres, ate lots of Cafe Rio, saw friends I hadn't seen for like 2 years, had a daddy-daughter golf date with my dad, Caroline and her dad, Hiked the Y with sister, celebrated Megan's birthday with her, and crashed the parents' empty-nester dinner. It was sure hard to come back to work...

YUM! So happy to have Rio again!



Allison, Me, and Lara-we were lucky enough to all be in SLC at the same time for one day!



Daddy-Daughter golf time! Considering I hadn't golfed in about 2 years, I did pretty decent...



Caroline and I with our signature pose-we have 10 years worth of photos doing this same pose

Me and Sister on our way up Y mountain! There is a reason I only did that once in college

Me, Jennica, Camilla and Megan

The rest of the month was fine. Nothing to crazy-work, hanging out, birthday dinners, going to the beach, etc. It has been a great summer in the city! One more month to live it up!!

I'm a marathoner!!

Last weekend was quite the weekend! It was finally time for the Mayor's Marathon in Anchorage Alaska!! Way back in February I joined Deloitte's Team in Training team and signed up to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society while training to run my very first marathon!! Well, after four and a half months of training, including training runs in Central Park, Iceland, the basement of my hotel in Mexico (apparently it's not safe to be running about the city?), North Carolina, and the bridges of NYC, all of my hard work paid off!

I flew up to Alaska on Thursday 16 June and met up with the rest of the NYC TNT group. We spent Thursday and Friday exploring the city (more like small town) of Anchorage Alaska. Some highlights included a trolley tour of the city, crazy Alaskans all over the place, eating delicious halibut, salmon, and reindeer sausage (not that wonderful...poor Rudolph), sunshine all day and well into the night, and a love affair with an incredible black mink fur coat (seriously LOVED the coat and it fit like a dream! obviously it was made for me!).

(the Anchorage city skyline behind the trees)

(me and a reindeer sausage...mehr. not that fabulous, despite my excited face)

(THE COAT. my one true Alaskan love!)

Obviously the main event of the weekend was the race. I had laid out my race outfit, fuel, shoes, etc the night before and woke up excited and surprisingly not nervous at all! There were buses at the hotel to take us to the marathon start line. We got there a few hours early so we had time to hang out, eat breakfast, get our last bits of rest in. It was a very small race-all of us fit into a little section of a high school parking lot. Quite a change from the NY road runners races of 10,000+ people! Around 7:30 we finally lined up in the starting coral and by 8am we were on our way! It was almost surreal that I was actually running the marathon!

(Amanda, Me, Jenny, and Nick at the starting line!)

The course was really beautiful. For the first part we ran along the highway, which sounds terrible, but it was not busy at all and the surroundings were really pretty. We ran past a cool river and a really green foresty area. I ran the first 10 miles without music which is a little bit unusual. I usually have to have my music but the energy of the people around me and the beautiful scenery kept me entertained. Around mile 7 we left the nice paved road for a wide, rocky, gravely road called the Tank Trail. I think it's called the Tank Trail because actual army tranks train on it? Not quite sure. The tank trail was not my favorite but not the horror situation I had imagined it to be. We ran on that trail for 5 or 6 miles then turned into an actual wooded trail-as in a hiking, one lane trail. Again, I was super nervous about the trail but it actually turned out to be better than the tank trail because it was not rocky. Finalemente around mile 16 we were done with the trails and back on paved ground! I had a tiny moment around mile 17 at the bottom of a large hill but I told myself to suck it up and keep going-I still had 9 miles to go!

(me and the river-about 4 miles in)

(the tank trail)

(the hiking path)

I make my race playlists according to the mileage. Everyone had said that miles 18-24ish are the worst so I saved all my best songs for that playlist. It was seriously a lifesave and got me through those miles! Around mile 20 I started to actually feel really good and kept a pretty good pace. I still haven't loaded my garmin stats so I'm interested to see all of my splits! The course after mile 20 was nice-we ran through some parks and on paved trails through the woods. We ran around this really pretty lake. Around mile 25 my ipod died! AH! I was so glad that I went without it the first 10ish miles because that would've been so terrible if it had died around mile 16. Also, around mile 25.5 there was an enormous hill. Rude and rude. I think I literally stopped and said out loud "are you kidding me?!?" Our TNT coaches were there and got me up and over the hill. And then just like that, the finish line was right there! I ran strong to the finish and ended with a smile on my face!

(me shortly after finishing! 26.2 miles!!)

All in all I had a really great time. The course was beautiful. The weather was great. And I had fun running!! It was fun being there with TNT and a group of friends, all running for the same cause. A HUGE thank you to all who donated to LLS in support of my race!! Seriously, you are so great. And if you didn't donate and still want do-good news! You still can!!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/nyc/anchor11/emasihdas

(me at the finish backdrop with my medal!)

Now that the race is over, it's time to start thinking about my next one...Rome 2012...Here I come!!!

Spotted: Glenn Close on the UWS

Spotted on 73rd bewteen Broadway and Amsterdam, on my way to work (late of course)

A Night with Elton

So Wednesday morning as I was riding the subway to work, reading the Metro, I came across an interesting article. It talked about the Tribeca Film Festival and events that were going on to celebrate the opening of the festival. Well, one of the events of opening night was a showing of the documentary The Union followed by a performance by Sir Elton John! Even better news-he was playing right in the World Financial Center (where I work) and anyone could get tickets! When I got into the office I told my coworkers and after convincing them that I was not making it up, a group of us decided to take a field trip during work to see if we could get tickets.

We waited in line for longer than anticipated, but we ended up getting in! YAY!! Excitment was in the air the rest of the afternoon as we anxiously awaited Elton time!! They showed the movie outside by the water.Thankfully it was not raining but it was colder than cold, and I was unprepared to spend an entire evening outside so I froze my face off. The movie was interesting- it talked about Elton and Leon Russell (who I had never heard of) and their colaboration for their recent album. By the end of the movie, I was freezing and anxious for it to be over.

When EJ came on and started singing though, it was worth it! He started off with Tiny Dancer, one of my favorites. Then played an interesting rendition of Rocket Man, a few songs from his new album, I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues, and ended with Your Song, one of my favorites. He is such a great performer and is so amazing on the piano! I am convinced that I must see a full Elton concert. It was a great night and definitely worth the wait in the cold!!

This is a photo of the screen-we were kind of far away but you can see tiny live Elton in the bottom left corner...ha ha

Weekend Recap

I had a wonderful, busy weekend at home (one in which I took zero photos. oops). Thanks Deloitte for sponsoring my trip!! Let me just say that I hate flying. I hate sitting in those seats and watching the airplane on the map creep across the country slower than slow. I get too antsy to read, to bored to watch TV. So I end up just sitting there, wishing I could fall asleep, or urging the plane to go faster. To top things off, on this flight I was sitting in the row in front of the exit row which meant my seat did not recline! Ah! I survived the flight and got into UT around 11.

Saturday:

• I ran the Salt Lake 10 miler! More to come on that race...
• Went to visit my Abuelita and helped get her house ready for my Aunt Patty who is moving to UT from Colombia!
• Quick shower/conference/after race nap
• Shopping with sister! I made it out without purchasing anything. Yay me!
• Cafe Rio-definitely a must while at home
• Michael Jackson Just Dance with the fam. SO FUNNY watching the parents play

Sunday:

• Delicious breakfast cooked by my mamma-she made bacon. YUM.
• Conference time
• Delicious dinner cooked by my mamma (the weekend involved a lot of eating)
• Dessert night with some of my favorite Utah friends-It's always so fun to see them when I'm in town! I have such great friends-I am so lucky!
• Trip down to Provo to spend the night at sister's place. So strange to be back in Provo and back at BYU off-campus housing. What?!? This entire building is just full of girls? Strange.

Monday:

• Paid a visit to my old favorite spin class!! It was so great-and totally worth waking up at 5am for. Camilla posted a great summary of Todd's spin class on her blog here.
• Ran errands with Mamma
• Trip #2 to Cafe Rio. Still so delicious.
• Nap time!
• Deloitte Final Four event at Sundance (the reason I got to go to UT in the first place)-It was so funny to be on the other side of the whole recruiting thing. I saw a lot of old accounting friends, BYU professors, and even the people who interviewed me for my internship at Deloitte!
• Back to SLC to pack and rush to the airport. Made it just in time to get in line to get on the plane.
• Bumpiest, most turbulent plane ride ever. And on the landing we hit the ground so hard I thought we had crash landed (my judgement may have been impaired in my sleepy state...)

It was a really great couple days at home! I only wish that I had been able to be there longer!!

NYC Half Marathon Finisher!! (a few weeks late but better late than never right?)

I did it! I finished the NYC Half Marathon!! I actually had a really great race. The NYC half is a fun one. You run a loop and a half of central park, then run down 7th Avenue through Times Square, and then finish the run by running down the West Side Highway along the Hudson to downtown NYC.

It was the first half that I have run in 2 years so I was a little bit nervous. The longest training run that I had done previous was 8 miles so 13.1 miles felt like a big jump. Of course I bought a new running outfit. Ha. Unfortunately, in purchasing my new outfit I overestimated how warm it would be outside and ended up wearing my black jacket over it.

(Yes, this is me at 5:30 am self portraiting in Andrea's room)



After a breakfast of half a banana and half of an english muffin with peanut butter I headed out my door to catch a cab to the start line. My cab driver was very chatty and wanted to know all about the race. He also told me that I didn't sleep enough and probably wouldn't be able to finish! Thanks buddy. Ha. I got to my starting corral and had about 45 min until the race started. Don't worry that it was 37 degrees at the start line. I have never been so anxious to start running!

I love races! I love the energy of everyone around you and the excitement in the air. I was so glad that it was not raining and even though it was freezing, it was looking like it would be a nice day. It was fun to see the crowd, see what other people were wearing, and just to see all the different kinds of people that were running. The NYC Half Marathon had about 10,000 participants-people from all around the world. So fun!

The running itself was actually fun. The first couple miles are always the hardest for me. I have to give myself major pep talks for most of the first few miles and then after that I get into the groove and can keep going. My dear friend Jane was there to cheer me on right before the terrible hills at the north end of the park. Goodness, I need to practice running hills because I hate them so much. Thankfully we only ran the hills once and the rest of the course was flat/slightly downhill. Anita and Julia were cheering for me around mile 8 with fun, colorful signs. My dad, Aunt Camille and cousin Chris greeted me around mile 12-one more mile to go! Then I saw Anita and Julia again right before the finish line.

It felt so great to finish!! It was barely faster than my slowest half time but I felt really great at the end as opposed to feeing like I was going to die like I have in my other races. I had a great time running and it was so fun to have so many friendly faces along the way! I have such fantastic friends!! I got my foil blanket thing and my medal (the most important part) and met up with Anita, Julia, Jen, Russ and Eric. We all made our way over to the WFC to meet up with the fam and then headed towards the subway.

Friends all made their way to church/naptime and me and the fam went to brunch at Good. I had my traditional after race tacos and my much anticipated Diet Coke (I had given up all carbonation and candy for the 2.5 months before the race)! All-in-all it was a great race and I had a good time!! Can't wait to run another!

I'm coming home!

See you tonight SLC!

Funny Kitten Can't Jump

I kind of had a less than wonderful day today. But this video never ceases to make me laugh...and yes. I just might be becoming one of those crazy cat people. Oh well. Watch it a few times-it will make you laugh too. Love it.

5k disasters

Today with my running group we had a 5k race. I didn't really run it at race pace mostly because I don't want to overdo anything for Sunday. And partly because I was so tired and just not in the mood to run today. Couple that with the fact that my garmin died part way through my run and the fact that I was dressed for 35 degree weather when it was about 50 degrees out-it was just not the best run. Which makes me NERVOUS for Sunday! If I'm not having a great time running a 5k, how on earth am I going to do 10 more miles on top of that?!? Eeeeek!

The next couple of days will be spent pumping myself up for Sunday, creating a fantastic race day playlist, and dreaming of that diet coke I'm going to drink when I finish. Ha.

I'm coming home!!!!

Just got word that I get to go to a Deloitte recruiting event at BYU!!

That means-I'M COMING HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am the most excited to spend a weekend at home with the fam

-and even better-

courtesy of Deloitte!

YAY!

3.14159

Happy Pi Day! I didn't realize it was Pi day the end of the day. So I did nothing to celebrate. No pie eating. No thinking about Pi. Nothing. Oops. There's always next year I suppose.

I have been reading people blog about their pies they made today in honor of Pi. I think these are my favorite. How cute are mini pot pies?!? Everything on that blog looks so delicious-I can't wait to try some of the recipes!

NYC Half Marathon in One Week!!!

This photo was taken after I finished my first half marathon in April 2008. In one week I am running the NYC Half Marathon!! The last time I ran a half was in 2009...eeek! I am actually really excited for the race! It's a great course-through Central Park, Times Square, and down the West Side Highway. I did an 8 mile run yesterday with my Alaska Marathon Training Group (longest training run I've done...oops. Haven't been the most diligent at training) and it felt good. We did 4 miles up the West Side Highway and 4 miles back. The 4 miles back were BRUTAL because we were running against the wind but nonetheless we finished strong and I am not sore today! Can't wait to run those 13.1 miles on Sunday!!

Iceland!!

I am the worst at blogging. Oops. I spent President's Day weekend in Iceland with 8 friends. I LOVED it! We had such a fab trip-I liked Reykjavic much more than I thought I would. We compiled all of our pictures and we had over 1100 photos of our 4 day vacation. Eeek. Somehow we whittled it down to the 200 best shots.

Check them out in our Iceland facebook album...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2021809&id=3501738

2011 Resolutions!

I love New Year! I love New Years Eve-counting down to ring in the New Year. I love the chance to examine my life and set new goals. Unfortunately, last year, I did not do a very good job with any of my New Years Resolutions. I think part of the problem was I wrote them in a spreadsheet (yes, I may or may not have a spreadsheet entitled "my life according to a spreadsheet"-I am a nerdy accountant) and then kind of forgot about them.

This year I have a renewed energy for making and keeping my resolutions. I made eleven resolutions to celebrate 2011. (PS-my birthday is 1.11.11-kind of cool right?)

I thought I'd share some of my favorite resolutions...

• Run 750 miles this year: I have been reading a handful of running blogs and they've inspired me. Once upon a time, I enjoyed running. I think it took about 2 months of training for my first half marathon before I actually enjoyed it, but I did start to love it. I kind of fell off the running band wagon after moving here, but I really want to climb back on. I'm two weeks into my NYC Half training and have to keep reminding myself that it took a few months to get into running again. I think it will be fun to have the goal of 750 miles to work towards and keep me motivated!
• Cook at least one new recipe a month: I love to cook and definitely don't do as much of it as I would like in my bite size kitchen. I want to expand my cooking repertoire and learn some fun, delicious new recipes!
• Read one book a month: I need to read more. End of story.
• Hand write in my journal at least once a week
• Send more letters, birthday cards, thank you notes, etc.: who doesn't love getting actual, hand written mail right??

I'm excited about these and excited about what 2011 holds!!!