Who is bad at blogging ....

In a little plane while B is the pilot! It was his anniversary present!

Hello! My name is Julie - you may not remember me because I have not blogged in forever ... but I do exist!

As you know if you have read any previous posts... I am not the best at taking daily pictures, but lets do a little recap of life.

One big thing to update you on - I ran the Detroit Marathon!
It was a great race - amazing weather, well organized, beautiful, flat, and just pretty darn enjoyable. I got a PR (personal record), which means I have run 9 marathons and it was my fastest time! I had really consistent times throughout the whole race, so I was pretty proud and just felt really good about the race as a whole.
So good in fact ... that I drank a large glass of champagne!

My only picture of marathon weekend ... priorities?

I would recommend the Detroit marathon (or especially the half marathon) to anyone. Just picture this ... going over the Ambassador Bridge to Canada as the sun is rising ... just awesome! 

Other updates ... I am still taking my Human Anatomy and Physiology course and doing well. I have to admit, I have a pretty easy teacher, so this semester is not too overwhelming. Come back to me this summer when I am cramming Organic Chemistry into 8 weeks! 

Another HUGE update .... Yosey turned 1! She is growing up soooo fast! 

We celebrated with a birthday appropriate scarf, "pupcakes", a few fun gifts, and a play date with her best doggie friend! I think she had a good day and I hope she felt as loved as she is =)

 Now ... why I have I not been blogging ... and what is the future of this blog ... 

  

I can lie to you and say I have been pretty busy trying to balance work, school, family, and traveling ... but that would be a lie and I hate using the busy excuse. I have had time to blog ... I just have not done it. 

Blogging is confusing and I just cannot figure out the direction I want to take this blog. If I want this blog to be filled with tips and tricks for living a healthy lifestyle and I want strangers to come and do my workouts and try my recipes ... well that is really hard. I think that is the direction I would love to take this blog, but I cannot do it justice at this point in my life. 

I could just have this blog be a journal of my life .... and I LOVE reading blogs like this ... but when I go to sit down to write about my weekend or life, I feel really self absorbed and I wonder who is actually interested in hearing about my 11 mile run (other than my loving mom who loves when I blog about my life =)

Therefore, I am going to keep this blog ... and if I have an awesome workout to share or I remember to take pictures when making butternut squash pasta - I will pop on and share it with the world! But for now I am taking a hiatus. 

Do I regret starting this endeavor - absolutely not! I have really enjoyed figuring out the technology side of the blog and thinking up posts - and I have always wanted to take the leap and I am proud of myself for doing it. 

Thanks for reading!!!

Who is tapering ...

Taper time!

My marathon is next Sunday .... so I have entered the love/hate time that is called the taper.

Taper time is suppose to be great because you are decreasing mileage which means more sleep, less soreness, and simply just more time ... but taper time messes with your mind!

I have trained for this marathon for months ... but for the next week, no specific run or mileage can help me run a better race ... so I just have to sit and wait. I have no control anymore ...and that is hard because I want to try and do everything I can to improve my race ... but at this point, I can't really do much!

I am in love with the above "Checklist" ... I have run 8 marathons and I have experienced every point in that above checklist personally!

• Phantom pains - Days before most of my races, I SWEAR I have a stress fracture ... I may have even gone to the doctor to have an x-ray before a race because I was positive something was wrong!
• SO HUNGRY - Yupp ... I am running 2 miles a day ... but I am always wanting to snack!
• I am SLOW - I have had some amazing morning running partners over the years, and I always think the week before a marathon that our pace is so fast and my legs feel so heavy! 
• Moody ... I remember the night before my first marathon, B came over to eat with me and I was a mess. I was mean to him, and then just randomly started crying and he had to make the whole meal. 

The point of this list is to let you know that you are normal. If you are tapering and are positive that you broke your foot and also can't keep your eyes open ... you are normal! It is all part of the process AND it shows how hard you have worked in your training. All of the crazy side effects of tapering show that running this marathon is a BIG deal ... and it is more than a race!

SO .... trust in your training .... take a deep breath ....and be proud of yourself for working so hard!!

Who went to San Fran ...

 

Hello everyone! 

I am soooo excited to write this blog post -- because it means I get to relive an AMAZING vacation!

Last year in December, one of my best friends decided to pack all her bags and leave the Midwest (sadly - probably forever....) and take an amazing job opportunity in California. I have not seen her since she moved ... therefore, my other best friend (from Indiana) and I decided it was time for a reunion and we ventured out to San Fran for a fun-filled girls weekend!

Emily (California) and I met on the cross country team at DePauw University, and Lizzy (Indiana) was in our sorority and we all lived together our senior year of college (epic!). Emily and Lizzy were both in my wedding and Emily and I were both in Lizzy's wedding. We are a threesome ... and I love it!

Back to the trip ...

Lizzy and I landed late on Wednesday evening (that 3 hour time change sucks...), but woke up for a day filled exploring San Fran on Thursday! 

We took a 3 hour walking tour of the Castro and Mission districts - which was so entertaining and fun!

I would recommend Wild San Fran Walking Tours to anyone - http://www.wildsftours.com/ 

They give you a lot of history and local information, and they kind of "force" you to get to know others on the tour - which made it very interactive and fun! We had people on our tour from all over the World.

Castro District was interesting!

Thursday evening we took a train to San Jose (which is where Emily lives and works), and we got to see Emily's town and house. It was a laid back evening, which was needed to catch up on sleep and recharge for the jam packed days ahead! 

On Friday we got to peek into Emily's life and tour around her work and around San Jose. Emily works at Specialized Bike Company - which means she has connections and was able to get us pedal assist bikes to ride around San Jose. 

What are pedal assist bikes you ask? Well ...when you pedal, the bike gives you an "extra" oomph - and you can go really fast and you do not really have to work hard at all! I got up to 30 mph! 

We rode the bikes around San Jose and then parked them to hike up a mountain! We went on the Toro hike, and got some great views of the Valley. When you vacation with my best friends ... you never stop moving, and are always active! The best way to explore a new place!

It was pretty steep! 

At the summit - you have to take a selfie!

 

After the amazing hike and bike riding, we headed into San Fran for the rest of the weekend (and took a pit stop in Palo Alto to drive through Stanford).

On Friday evening we went to a Giants baseball game. I LOVE live baseball - give me some nachos,  a cold beer, and my best friends ... I am a happy lady!

Saturday was my favorite day of the trip! So much time outside and such amazing weather and views! Since my body was still on East Coast time, I woke up nice and early and squeezed in a longer run ... best. run.ever! I got to run across the Golden Gate Bridge and all along the waterfront of San Fran. Let me just say - the Golden Gate Bridge never gets old!

After a filling breakfast, we packed into Emily's car and headed over the bridge to a State Park in Marin County for a 7.5 mile hike. We only had to drive about 20 minute, but I felt like I was hiking in Europe. It was incredible - I love cliffs meeting water!

One of the highlights of the hike was conquering a fear and climbing up this big rock .... this picture does not do it justice - it was big and scary to cross over a little make shift bridge =)

 To make this perfect hike even more perfect - we stopped halfway through the hike and had lunch at the cutest English pub (The Pelican Inn) that felt like a hidden gem. A cold cider was the most refreshing thing I have ever tasted! 

 

                                               

Saturday was such an active day, and I loved every second of it! We ended the evening with more activity ... dancing to Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off" =) 

You cannot got to San Fran without venturing to wine county, so on Sunday we drove to Sonoma and went to Chateau St. Jean. It was the perfect afternoon ... relaxing, filled with snacks, smiles, and photo shoots. 

I took the red eye flight home on Sunday evening ... which was not my brightest idea because I was a walking zombie on Monday at work and in class ... but it was totally worth it! 

The trip was amazing, and it was soooo good to catch up with my two best friends (and make new friends). We all decided it cannot be a year until our next reunion ... but this trip recharged us all. 

To summarize this post:

- Visit San Fran in September  (amazing weather)

- Text or Call your best friends ... they are so important! 

Have you ever had a girl's getaway? What is the best vacation you have been on recently?

Foodie Pen Pal Reveal Day!

Hello Everyone!

Sorry I kind of fell off the blog for a week or so ... I was juggling a few things and the blog ball got dropped. Last week I had two Human Anatomy tests and a work presentation and then I left for a long weekend in San Fransisco with my 2 best friends! 

More on the trip soon (pictures!!!) - but I wanted to pop in today for FOODIE PEN PAL REVEAL DAY!

 

I have posted about Foodie Pen Pal before, but in case you missed it .... 

Foodie Pen Pal program that Lindsay from the blog The Lean Green Bean started back in 2011.

The general concept is that once you sign up on Lindsay's site - you get connected with a "pen pal" from anywhere across the United States and you communicate a bit over email to get to know each other and then you send each other a package that can include homemade baked goodies, local delicious food items, and/or just some of your favorite products! It is such a fun way to meet someone new and try new products from across the US! You do not have to be a blogger to participate (I did when I was not a blogger), but it also a cool way for fellow foodie bloggers to connect.

There are more logistically details over on Lindsay site - so go to www.theleangreenbean.com/foodie-penpals

This month I got paired with Karen from New York City and from the blog RUN WRIGHT!

She is a fellow runner and she sent me an AWESOME box! 

 

Karen was so creative and sent me a whole bunch of different nuts and berries all wrapped up in cheesecloth and tied with a cute ribbon AND - because we all need chocolate, she sent me a huge dark chocolate bar that I took to work and eat for little afternoon pick me up! 

Included in the nuts were:

- Goji Berries - I have never tried them before, but I actually loved them - and they are a super food!

- Pistachios - Yumm! Enough said ... so good!

- Salted Almonds - Great healthy snack! 

- Sunflower seeds - These were not roasted, so a little different than I am use to ...

- Filberts - Unsalted, but still good!

- Pumpkin seeds 

I really really loved this box! I think I am going to copy off of her for my next box, because sometimes when I get a lot of bigger things to send to my pen pal, the shipping can get really costly  ... but all of her delicious things fit into a small box! 

Such a fun and healthy box!

 If you want to try something new and fun ... sign up for FOODIE PEN PAL!!

Five Things Friday 9.19.14

It is Friday Friday! I have had a lot of work dinners this week (including tonight), so I am excited for the weekend to relax a little and catch up with B!

I wanted to participate in Clare's Five Things Friday post because they are just so much fun to write up! Love reflecting on the week and also I forget sometimes how much fun Pinterest can be, so here is ....


Five Things I Ate:

• Lemon cake for my birthday! 

• My mom made one of my favorite lemon cakes and I snacked on it throughout the week. It is ridiculously easy to make and low in calories (but not really good for you because very processed ... but hey, it is dessert!). All you do is take a box of lemon cake mix, and take 12 ounces of Diet 7up and mix them together and bake them for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees. Don't forget to top it with lots and lots of cool whip!

• Dark Chocolate Covered Cherries! 
  
• Another birthday treat from B! I LOVE dark chocolate and Michigan is the cherry capital... so dark chocolate covered cherries are a Michigan treat! Also, I am very proud to say this bag lasted over a week - I savored them!

•   Homemade Stir-Fry
• It is our last week of our CSA (sad), but we had a lot of great veggies, so I decided to throw everything together and make chicken stir fry over brown rice for dinner

•  Pork Roast 
• I like to use the slow cooker on evenings when I have class because then B will have dinner ready for him when he gets home. This week I got a pork roast from Trader Joe's and made a simple sauce and cooked it in the slow cooker ... tasty! 

•   Boring pre-plated reception dinners
• I had two big dinners for work this week ... which means rubbery chicken ...

Five Workouts:
Workouts are always a little boring currently because it centers around running ... it was a high mileage week.

• Monday - 9 miles  - legs were tight from my race on Saturday
• Tuesday - 6 miles 
• Wednesday - WORKOUT  - 6 X 800 meters  - legs were still a little tight, so not my fastest, and SO glad I had company (thanks Laura!)
• Thursday - Off day ... love sleeping in on Thursdays!!
• Friday - 10 miles 

Hoping for a good 20 mile long run tomorrow!! Fingers crossed.

Five Things I Pinned:

1) Such a cool idea!

Source

2) I love salty sweet  - so these look amazing!!

Source

3) I know Christmas is still far away ... but never too soon to be thinking about traditions!

Source

 4) I have to have a cute puppy picture!! This is actually practical because they get in to so much as a puppy! haha

 5) In honor of seeing my best friends next week in Cali!

Five Things Making me Happy:

• I am going to admit it ... Taylor Swift's new song called Shake it Off ... makes me happy! Love dancing to it with Yosey in the mornings! If you have not seen the video, you should watch it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfWlot6h_JM

• NEXT WEEK I AM GOING TO CALIFORNIA TO SEE MY BEST FRIENDS!!!! Cannot wait!

• My sister in law got engaged recently and I love getting a peak at a little bit of the wedding talk. I am also going to be a part of planning an engagement party. My event planning side is pumped. 

•  Weekend plans involve B getting to fly an airplane and me in the backseat! For our anniversary I got B a discovery flight lesson and we are finally going to use it this Saturday
  

• Weekend plans also involve going to an apple orchard!! Fall is here! 
  

Weekend plans also involve studying because I have my first written exam on Monday and a big lab quiz on Tuesday ... that is not part of my Five Things ....

What is something you ate this week? Or something that makes you happy??

Who is sharing small victories!

Good Morning Blogging world!

Cheers to Wednesday and to the middle of the week!

I am popping in today to discuss celebrating small victories. We are all very "busy" people (busy is in quotes because I think our society glorifies being busy - but that is a subject for another post!)  - but we are so busy getting through our "to do" lists, and setting new goals - that sometimes we forget to stop and celebrate the small victories.

I know we need to work hard and stay focused, but I think stopping to acknowledge and give ourselves a pat on the back for all of the amazing things we are doing everyday helps keep us motivated to keep working towards the big goal!

Therefore - what are some of your small victories??

I want to give you a high five for all of the awesome things you are doing!

Here are some small victories I want to celebrate:

• Doing speed workouts once a week! 
• In my past marathon training, I normally just focus on getting in daily runs and the long run, but I have been doing some speed workouts and I am really enjoying the challenge!
• Getting a 100% on my first lab quiz in my Human Anatomy lab
• Only 20 points, but it was a big confidence booster!
• Meal planning for Monday and Tuesdays and having food for me and Brandon!
• I have to rush to my Human Anatomy class on Monday and Tuesday evenings - but I have tried to think ahead and make a bigger meal on Sundays or Mondays - so that Brandon and I have leftovers to eat. 
• I was nervous that once my classes started, I was going to become a "bad wife" and never make dinner or do laundry or clean ... but I feel like I have been able to multi-task and still stay relatively on top of house things. 
•  Getting through my birthday week without binge eating any desserts!
• Don't you worry - I had my fair share of desserts ... but I never went completely overboard.
•  Starting to clean out my closet
• I have been putting this task off forever - but I sent in a big bag of clothes to this online resale shop called ThredUp, I will let you know if I get any money back! I have more sorting and clean to do ... but I started!
•  Not signing up for StitchFix (yet ...)
• I have seen so many good reviews of StitchFix on other blogs, and I am sure the clothes service is amazing -- but I currently do not need a lot of new clothes, so I have not signed up even though I have been VERY tempted!
• Writing thank you notes for some amazing birthday gifts
• (If you have not received one yet ... it is coming =) 

I may still have 6+ years left of classes before I become an official Registered Dietitian, and I may never run under a 3:25 marathon .... but I am trying to work hard towards those big goals and more ... but I am glad I stop to enjoy the small everyday victories along the way!

Share your victories!!!

Mute Monday 9.15.14

What did I do this weekend you ask?? 

I hope these pictures help tell the story! (but I still need to get better at taking pictures ... anyone have any tips at remembering to take pictures?)

Birthday Flowers

15K Race for the birthday - we all got PRs and it was a perfect racing day!

Parents came to visit and we had to take them to the BIG HOUSE!

Michigan half time shows are always entertaining! 200 year celebration of the Star Spangled Banner

I forgot to take pictures at dinner ... but if you are from Ann Arbor and see this bag of leftovers, you know it was tasty! Zingerman's is an amazing local brand of businesses and we went to Zingerman's Roadhouse

Momma made me a cake, so I made my birthday wish and blew out the candles ... can't tell my wish!

Amazing Saturday ... but back to reality Sunday afternoon ... studying ...

Sunday night is prep night ... making homemade tomato sauce for the week!