Happy Earth Day

Posted in Day to Day, Lunch, Randomness, Running, Snacks by

Happy Earth Day!

Today was such a beautiful day I decided to celebrate Earth Day outside! It got up to the low 70′s here, so I just had to spend the day in this beautiful weather. This morning I woke up and took the big one on a 4 mile run.

IMG_2268The run went pretty well even though it didn’t feel like it during. We ran the first mile along the beach, and boy was that rough! I have never ran along the beach before and just after that first mile my legs were on fire. Since I knew we needed to get in 4 miles for my training plan, I decided to take the rest of the run to the street. 3 miles later we were back home with huge smiles on both of our faces.

I went light on lunch today with a toasted peanut butter sandwich for a little bit of protein, and a yummy broccoli salad with tomatoes, carrots, avocado and balsamic dressing. Filled me up good!

IMG_2270After lunch I took my Earth Day love to the beach! I took a couple of magazines and hit the sand like it was my job. There were a ton of people out today even with it being a Monday. I guess everyone had the same plan as I did for today. Even the seagulls wanted to hang out!

IMG_2273After about an hour I was toast, so I headed back to the house for a cool down snack.

IMG_2274I found these yummy snacks at Whole Foods the last time I was there, and fell in love immediately. Jolly Llama Squeezups are dairy free, gluten-free, fat-free, and all of that with NO GMOs! I will for sure be getting some more the next time I go to Whole Foods.

Questions of the Day

How did you celebrate Earth Day?

Have you ever tried running on the beach? Yay or Nay?

 

 

 

 

Bailey’s 3rd Birthday

Posted in Day to Day, Lunch, Randomness by

Today was Bailey’s 3rd birthday and we spent it at the beach! She was not quite a fan, so we didn’t stay for long. Today was an absolute beautiful day out, so everyone plus their friends were at the beach. She didn’t much like that and worried that someone was going to attack me the whole time. She is a good guard dog, but sometimes she is TOO good.

IMG_2260My day hasn’t really been too exciting. I finished putting together the rest of our Ikea furniture, so it will be ready whenever we get our mattresses.

IMG_2257After I finished that I took a nap-a-rooney, because lets face it, it’s not a lazy Sunday without a long nap in the middle of the day. After a nap I had a quick meal of Annie Chun’s Teriyaki Noodle Bowl. It was quick and delish!

IMG_0298After lunch I took the kids on a walk on the beach. Like I said earlier, Bailey was not a fan, but Bosley was in love. He loves everything and everyone at the beach. He just sat with me and watched the waves. He is my kinda beach goer.

IMG_2261At some point I laid down and he insisted on laying on top of me and licking my face.

IMG_2262Some might find this weird, but I loved it! After we got home Bosley got comfy and so did I!

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So Delicious really knows how to make some yummy ice cream! Don’t worry, I plan on eating lots of veggies for dinner! It all evens out, right? =)

Questions of the Day

What did you do on your lazy Sunday?

What is your favorite thing to do at the beach?

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 miler with a Sea Lion View

Posted in Day to Day, Lunch, Randomness, Recipes, Running by

Hello Hello!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Saturday! I have been very productive today and I am now exhausted because of it. I just spent some quality time with the couch in between some laundry and boy did it feel great!

I started out my day as a first class handyman, and put together our new Ikea guest bedroom set. I must say for doing it by myself it is… safe, and maybe a little pretty too! =)

IMG_2248Only thing missing now is that comfy little mattress to go right on top. Ikea sent all of my furniture correctly, except the thing I really needed the most. A mattress to sleep on. So I have been couch surfing since I got here and will be for another week or so. Sigh.

After everything was in working order I decided to get in my long run for my training plan this week. 10 miles! I was actually dreading it today (hence the putting together of furniture), but kicked my butt into gear around 11 and hit the pavement. It was a beautiful day today! The weather was perfect with just enough wind to cool you down when you really need it. I ran 5 miles up the coast and then turned around. I stopped and walked and talked to the hubby along the way, but other than that it was a decent run. While I was out I saw some gawkers along the coast and decided to join. I’m sure glad I did because I got to see this lovely specimen!

IMG_2252I was so excited to see a sea lion in it’s natural habitat! I have never seen one outside of the zoo before, so this was a huge deal for me. Luckily I didn’t freak out too much and scare the crowd or sea lion away.

After my run I was famished, so I beelined to the kitchen for Amy’s Gluten Free/Dairy Free Mac and Cheese microwave meal, and a broccoli salad. Toward the end of my run I was really craving veggies, so the salad was a must! I filled up the bowl with broccoli (duh!), avocado (double duh!), tomato, and carrots. I tossed it with some yummy balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Delish! No picture though because I inhaled it the second it was ready.

I was pretty boring the rest of the day, doing laundry and running a couple of errands, but I always have time for this cutie!

IMG_2253She is obsessed with snuggling with towels. She is so cute though I let her get away with it!

Have a nice night and see ya tomorrow!

Questions of the Day?

What do you let your pet get away with because they are cute?

What animals were you or would you be most excited to see up close in nature?

I’m Back!

Posted in Day to Day, Randomness, Lunch, Dinner, Travel, Running by

Good Morning!

I’m finally back from a long span without internet. It was very tough, but I did get a lot done! I have been putting furniture together, running on the beach, and exploring my new home. I think today I will just do a photo dump since it has been so long since we last talked. Enjoy!

IMG_0266I have been eating a ton of Subway lately! I’m going to turn into Jarred soon!IMG_2213First run in Monterey! It felt so good to get a run in after sitting in a car for so long.IMG_2244Our new furniture from Ikea! Got some fun new pillows from Target to match the funky lamp I bought from a gal on craigslist.
IMG_2199Wearing my blue and yellow race shirt in honor of the Boston victims. I couldn’t even believe that people could do this when I heard what had happened. How can someone be so heartless?IMG_2218Bosley is officially a beach dog now. We went for a walk on the beach, and he didn’t want to leave!

IMG_2175Getting closer to Monterey! This is when I knew I would love it here.
IMG_2176 IMG_2183Home! Every time I see this view I have to remind myself that this is not a vacation, this is now my home. It still boggles my mind that this is us now!IMG_2196First Monterey sunset. Beautiful!IMG_2215Finds from the Monterey Farmer’s Market. Every Tuesday downtown they close off a street for the market. It was awesome and I can’t wait for next Tuesday. Best strawberries I have ever had in my life! I almost died!
IMG_2161Driving through the hills of California. So scary, but beautiful!
DSCN1563Getting a tan at Joshua Tree!
_DSC0028_2They can’t decide if they want to be desert babies or beach babies.
DSCN1583We made it all the way through Joshua Tree and the dogs were in heaven! We will have to make a trip back for sure!

Well today will be spent doing laundry and setting up more furniture. Today is also my long run for my half marathon training program. I need to do 10 miles and I was at first worried that I wouldn’t be able to do it alone, but a group of us are meeting to do a Run for Boston this evening. I will get to run with a group of people for a great cause. I can’t wait! Everyone have a great day, and get out there and run for those who no longer can!

 

Question of the day

Are you running with a group for Boston this weekend?

 

Deming to Beaumont

Posted in Breakfast, Day to Day, Dinner, Lunch, Randomness, Travel by

I started this morning out with a yummy peanut butter crunchy granola bar and an orange juice. I slept fine and when I woke up this morning none of my goods were stolen, so that was a plus! I hit the road right away and started my journey to California…gangsta style. =)

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It is yet again another beautiful day! I love seeing the gorgeous blue sky with all the mountains. It really is a whole different world from Indiana.

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I made it to Arizona in no time at all!

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We made a quick pit stop at a rest stop just off the interstate. With rocks like these I almost gave up on driving to go for a quick hike!

Our first actual stop was in Tucson. We are hoping that we will be stationed here one day, so I stopped in to see what’s up with Tucson. It is beautiful and the Subway was fantastic! That’s really all I had time to see, but it was truly a life changing experience! I mean look at that ‘wich!

IMG_0266Don’t you just wanna move to Tucson ASAP!?!? ;) I made a quick lunch stop for a veggie on wheat with AVOCADO!, spinach, lettuce, tomato, green peppers, and LOTS of pickles. Yum-o!

After lunch we continued our adventure right on into Cali!

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It’s of course beautiful here too. I just love getting to road trip it across the states. It really makes me realize how much I was missing living in Indiana. Lovin’ it!

I finally made it to my hotel just in time to feed my grumbling tummy. For dinner I heated up another microwave meal. Tonight was Annie Chun’s Teriyaki Noodle Bowl.

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It was quick, easy to make, and delicious! I was still left feeling a little hungry, so I made a peanut butter sandwich as well.

I was planning on doing my daily ab workout tonight in my hotel, but it is pretty gross here, so I am using tonight as my rest day and will continue tomorrow.

I’m off to bed early tonight to hopefully get some good sleep for my last long journey tomorrow. I will be seeing Joshua Tree in the morning and then ending my day in Santa Nella, CA. The hotel I’m in tonight isn’t the best, so let’s hope this isn’t my last post!

 

Question of the Day

What are your favorite road trip snacks?

 

 

 

San Antonio to Deming

Posted in Day to Day, Dinner, Randomness, Running, Snacks, Travel, Workouts by

I have been swamped with things the past couple of days and feel terrible about not posting yesterday! Yesterday wasn’t too exciting anyways since all I did was get ready for the move.

The few things that I did make time for was my ab workout and a 5 mile run on base. The weather was beautiful, but a little too hot for my liking. I can’t wait to get to Monterey where the weather is perfect running weather. Well at least it is in my book. Here is yesterday’s ab workout.

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I may have read the worksheet wrong and instead did 60 sit ups, 66 crunches, 40s plank, and 24 push ups. Not sure how it happened, but it was painful with a capital P! Totally worth it though when I lifted up my shirt at the end and saw a peep of abs. They ARE under there somewhere!

Here is today’s workout. I will be doing it exactly as prescribed this time! =)

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This morning I woke up early and packed the dogs into the car and left San Antonio. I was sad to go, mostly because I’m leaving behind my hubby for 2 weeks, but I’m so ready to be in Monterey. I wish I could magically appear there though because driving for 9 hours a day is not the most exciting job on earth. More power to those truck drivers who do this as a career! They have to be cray cray!

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I stopped periodically throughout the trip to get gas and let the dogs use the restroom, but other than that we made great time! This morning my GPS said I would get to  Deming at 5:46pm and I got here at 5:15pm! I love when I beat the GPS, it’s like I won an imaginary game that we were playing each other. Anyone else feel the same way?

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The trip to Deming was beautiful! It was a gorgeous day and I really didn’t run into any traffic until I got to El Paso. Perfect conditions for setting the cruise and turning up the music just loud enough to drown out the sound of my own singing.

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Look at that scenery! Nothing like Indiana!

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Once I finally got to the hotel I was pooped and starving! I brought a few microwavable meals with me since being vegan on a road trip is tricky. As if it is only on road trips! Tonight I tried Dr. McDougall’s Pad Thai Noodle microwave meal.

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It is vegan and gluten-free, which is an added bonus! I don’t stick to a solid gluten-free diet, but if I have the option I try to get gluten-free items. The meal was good, but it left me wanting more, so I snacked on some Stacy’s Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips. It wasn’t the healthiest meal I have ever had, but still not bad for road tripping it.

 

Now off to bed now to get some much needed sleep before tomorrow’s journey to Beaumont, CA.

 

Questions of the Day

Do you enjoy driving long distances?

Do you ever try to beat your GPS time of arrival?

 

 

Formal Hiking

Posted in Day to Day, Dinner, Randomness, Running, Workouts by

Last night we met Ben’s aunt Sally for dinner at Panera. She lives in Austin, so we all wanted to meet up before we leave for California.

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This is one of the best pictures of Bailey I have ever taken. She usually looks away or makes a crazy face. I snuck this one and I don’t think she knew she was in it. Hence the great picture!

Dinner was delicious! Even though I just had the classic salad, their balsamic dressing is to die for. I have taste tested many balsamic dressings and their’s is a winner in my book! I didn’t get a picture, because let’s be honest, I’m not trying to look crazy at a dinner with the hubby’s family. My family on the other hand I would have had pictures of everyone’s meal. After a nice dinner we departed, but still had some time for hanging off base, so I took Ben to see the dog park that I have been taking the puppies too lately. It also has a pretty hiking area around a fishing pond.

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Of course we had to see! As you can see I was dressed pretty appropriately for the situation.

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My shoes were like camo! This was a plus because there are snakes everywhere! Better to be hidden than bitten!

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I did pretty well on the hike, but I think from now on I will stick to a less formal attire for hiking. Not because it’s easier, but because I hate being the most formal person at the party.

This morning has been pretty slow. I had decided to do my 9 mile training run today instead of Friday, because of my trip, but when I woke up it was gloomy out. Not sure if the weather will turn around today, but I may just try to run it anyways. It needs to get done so it shall!

I just finished the ab workout for today as well. It is getting tougher, but still doable! If you want to get in on some sore ab action do the workout below.

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And if you are OCD like me and can’t stop on odd numbers you should do 48 crunches, 22 push ups, and a 36s plank. But if you’re normal then there is nothing to worry about! =)

Question of the Day

What is your favorite salad dressing?

Do you have any weird workout quirks?

 

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