5.29.2012

Take a hike.

The husband and I got to spend our morning together today and decided we'd venture out and take advantage of some free entertainment we like to call the great outdoors. 
True, I should be training for the races we have coming up, but sometimes hiking up a mountainside smelling the crisp, fresh air while looking at all the beautiful wildflowers is so much more fun... 
("fun" being used loosely, here...)



 Attempting to take a "cool" pic.... 
... attempting...


 
Seashells in the mountains? Weird... 
 

 
Dare-Devil






 
If you look closely, you'll see a spider the exact color as the flower.
Coolest. find. Ever!


 
The bumble bees were out of control!





 
 Cutie :)



I'm sort of in denial that my summer is already a fourth of the way over, but today was a good way to celebrate the warm air and sunny skies. 
Here's to hoping the sun stays longer than not...

Happy day to you all!



5.23.2012

And it all pays off in the end...

As you probably know, 
lately there has been a lot of talk about "being healthy" 
in our neck of the woods.

We've become addicted to Greek yogurt
(23 g of protein and 0 g of fat per 1 C. 'nuff said.)
 


and have been experimenting with all kinds of "healthy" recipes... 

 Tilapia Piccata


(with tofu)


(Served with Cotija cheese we bought at the Mexican market.
Yum.) 


(So easy. SO worth it.)

(I'm telling you... you'd never even know it was tofu!)


(Plus cheese on a stick. Mmmm.)
(And my first attempt at corn dogs, 
which is why they are sort of lopsided.
Looks aside though, they tasted DELICIOUS!)


We've had a lot of fun making weird food concoctions 
by substituting healthy ingredients
(some tastier than others)
and spending many hours running together.

However, changing our lifestyle,
trying to get into better shape and training for the big race
has not been all fun and games...
With the boredom from the endless hours of running,
the achy knees,
the ornery outbursts as a result of exhaustion,
finding new "healthy" recipes
 and all the time spent preparing the meals,
everything has become a bit TEDIOUS!!

But.
Today, it all paid off.
 Because now that Jake finally broke down 
and bought himself a new wardrobe,
 my husband is
One.
SKINNY.
Dude.






And this is my blog, so I can brag if I want to
(you would brag, too, if it happened to you...)


So I just wanted to say that 
I am super proud of this guy. 
He sure has put in the work 
(SO. much. WORK!)
and he definitely deserves the payoff.

And here's the most PDA you're gonna get for a looong long time.
I love you, Jake. 
Good Jobby. :)

5.18.2012

Miracles do happen.

It's a miracle.
I've kept an organism alive for longer than a week.



This really is an achievement...
I can't even keep low-maintenance things alive.
Such as cacti.
I once killed a cactus within a few days.
A CACTUS.
(And you wonder why I am concerned about raising a child....)

It's been so fun to have a little garden to water each day.
And thank goodness for my hubby, because these plants would not be alive without him!
He inherited his mother's green thumb...






I, on the other hand, did not inherit any such skill...


My "I don't think I'm doing this right" face...


emphasized by the story of the time when I ripped off the bottom of the flower plant after Jake told me to "gently break up the roots."
I guess I missed the word gently.

And as you can see,



those purple flowers never really did adjust 
to their "limbs" being detached...
Oops.

On a less morbid note,
Many of my friends and family members 
have been doing a fine job at keeping things alive...
such as their CUTE babies!



 

Little Dreyva was such a doll. 


Literally... 
she weighed only 6 POUNDS!


 
Congrats, Seth and Lesli on your darling little angel!

And to Jod,
thanks for letting us come visit!
I was so happy to finally get to hold little G-baby.
Love the boy already!



Especially those chubby little cheeks.
What a stud!


5.03.2012

Throwback Thursday

Here is a fact that you may or may not know about me... 
I LOVE pictures. 
As in photographs that document the human existence. 
I love them. 
I could stare at a photo for hours, just studying the subject of the photo, the surroundings and every little detail that was captured by the camera... things that normal people don't care to notice. 
I just love the way a picture can capture a moment in time and make it last forever and I love putting myself in that moment of time, trying to imagine just exactly what was taking place. 
It's weird. 
But I like it.

Well, recently I got my laptop working after many long months of it sitting unused, and naturally, the first thing I did was roam through a couple folders of old photos. 
(I'm telling you... it's like pot to an addict's soul.) 
Since my laptop and I have been together for over 
five technological years 
(That has got to be equivalent to decades in human years!)
I have accumulated quite the collection of snapshots. 
For example, this little lovely...

Some of the best friends are the ones that have lasted through 
the good, the bad, AND the ugly, 
and these guys have definitely been with me through it all. 
I'm so grateful to have them! 

I'm also grateful for this friendship, 
which started at the ripe old age of 16.



Priceless, right?

I found this picture on an old camera that had been sitting in a cupboard for years. One day I picked it up and decided to see if it still worked. 
Low and behold, I found this guy on there. 
Best day of my life!

I mean seriously... 
look at the luscious locks that kid has got goin' on!! 
No wonder I fell for him on the first day of math class...

His friendship is definitely one that has changed my life forever.
Glad I have a picture to document it. :)