L'hôtel de Lisa

Since last weekend was a long weekend, I took advantage and went to see Lisa in Charlotte. If you read her blog, you know she has been missing her home city of Minneapolis, so we thought a little get together and some girl time would be just the ticket.

You may have read the news last week? Charlotte was having a "bit" of bad weather and the airport was cancelling flights in and out like crazy. However, on Friday morning when I flew out of San Francisco, it was all systems go. Our flight was full and I was one of the last people on the plane, so when they said there would not be room for carry on bags, I dutifully checked mine.

I arrived to Detroit and turned on my phone. "Your flight from Detroit to Charlotte has been cancelled."

Darn it.

I called the Delta hotline, while at the same time checking out the departures board. There was only one other flight to Charlotte and it was overbooked and it was scheduled to leave about 20 minutes ago. There were flights to a couple of cities about 150 miles away from Charlotte, but they were all booked. The only flight left was to Raleigh. I secured the Raleigh ticket and went to the counter of the prior flight to try to see if I could get onto the earlier one by chance. There were so many people there and I waited at the help desk until they were almost all the way boarded, so I never thought I would get on. However, I got to the desk and the lady said my name was already on the list! I asked about my bag and she said there was no way it was going to be on the plane with me. I didn't care; I was on the plane!

Luckily Lisa is the same size as me, because in the next 48 hours, I had to borrow a lot of stuff! It was like being in a hotel; I had a toothbrush and jammies and everything! It was better than staying at the Westin. However, we didn't let a little thing like lost luggage slow us down. On Friday, we had Lentil Enchiladas and a really good corn, bean and avocado salad (which also was a very good chip dipper). They were delicious and thank goodness we both like spicy food, because the jalapenos were a nice addition (and kick) to the dish.

Saturday we had planned on an outdoor run, but due to the recent snow, we were forced to do a treadmill run. I had to borrow Lisa's shoes so we took turns. It was a long treadmill run and I was really glad to be done. Soon after, we headed out to Asheville where our first stop was the Biltmore.

Biltmore

This was home to George Vanderbilt and is the largest home in the USA. It has something like 250 rooms and over 40 bathrooms. It was fun to explore the grounds, even though it was pretty cold and the gardens were not at their best. However, there was a really cool greenhouse full of exotic plants, including hundreds of orchids. We did an audio tour of the inside of the house, which was fascinating and includes a bowling alley and indoor pool, as well as a really interesting servants quarters.

Downtown Asheville

Next stop was downtown Asheville, where our first stop was The Gourmet Chip Company, where we got homemade potato chips with goat cheese, rosemary, thyme and sea salt. They were so good! Next we headed to Tupelo Honey for some down home southern food and some local craft beers! My favorite things there were easily the homemade biscuit and the Green Man IPA.

I recommend the Parisian

And if that wasn't enough, we decided to pop on down to French Broad Chocolates for some dark chocolate ganache hot chocolate and a coconut macaroon chocolate brownie.

source

The next morning while Lisa was at church, I wandered around and took some photos. Asheville is a cute little town, that is nicknamed "the Berkeley of North Carolina". While I am not sure it's exactly like Berkeley, I can see where the name comes from. There are a ton of fun places to eat, lots of local coffee shops and a small town, rustic vibe, along with a plethora of gluten free and vegan options.

Downtown Asheville

After brunch at Cafe 64, which had serve yourself, all you can drink coffee (I am a total fan!) we headed back toward Charlotte, with a quick stop for a hike at Crowder's Mountain. Afterward, she took me to one of her favorite food spots where we got fish tacos and I tried another local brew. We headed home for some Super G on the tube and ended the day with a couple of medals for the USA, and some Dove dark chocolate squares. You can't get much better than that.

Crowders

All too soon, it was time to go home! We had a chilly morning run and then I was back on the plane heading for the West Coast. It seemed like I wasn't even there for very long but we sure packed a lot of fun (and eating!) into the weekend.

Have you ever been to North Carolina? What did you do for the long weekend? What's your favorite Olympic sport? 

Edited to add: You can read Lisa's recap here. 

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Wine and Love (7)

Remember Wine & Love? Nora used to host this, but she has since stopped doing it. However, she is getting married soon and so I though I would honor her by doing her old meme! Congrats Nora! I am sure as I write this she is running around like a chicken with her head cut off, trying to get all those last minute organizational things done!

In case you forgot, because it has been a while, this is where you recap what has been going on in your life that makes you whine/need a glass of wine vs what you love!

Wine: 

* Dogs, or perhaps I should say dog owners. I am not afraid of getting hit by a car, but I am worried that my running accident will involve a dog. People don't watch what their dogs are doing!

* Lack of sleep. It's my own fault. I have chosen to hang out with friends, read, or eat instead of sleeping. But sometimes it hits me hard in the middle of the day.

* People at work who talk about how busy they always are, but then I catch them doing Sudoku at their desk.

* The animal who is eating my zucchinis. Get your grubby paws (and teeth) off of my salad!! I can't figure out what it is..squirrel? Mouse?

nibble nibble

* Omaha Steaks. I bought my brother some as a Christmas gift last year, and now they keep calling me and sending me crap and emailing me. Go away! Stop calling me! Grrr. 

Love: 

* Evening runs! They have been cool and great and even though it's been dark much of the time, I am not hating it! 

* I went to a Giants game on Tuesday night. I was just sitting there minding my own business when 4 of my cousins and my Aunt and Uncle showed up unexpectedly. None of us knew that the other would be there! In a stadium of 45 thousand people, that's quite a coincidence!

* Chocolate Zucchini Muffins! The last time I made them, I added carrots too! Yum!

* Tomatoes! From the vine.

* Foggy mornings that burn off into sunny, crisp days.

* New running friends.

* My brother and his running. He puts his Garmin stats online, so I have been stalking him quietly. He is up to a 10k and is doing it in under an hour! I am so proud of him!

What's making you whine? What do you love? Have you ever unexpectedly bumped into a friend in a strange place?

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In Running News

Happy Labor Day! I hope you get today off and are enjoying it! I have finally gotten some errands done that have been on my To Do list for ages! This weekend I also participated in the Mommy Run Fast Labor Day Virtual 5 and 10 mile race. Laura, of MRF, is a Texas runner, spin teacher and mom who has some great recipes! I especially love, and have made several times, her Garbanzo Brownies and her Apple Oat Cookies. You can find all of her recipes here.

On Saturday, I ran the 10 miler. I did two loops around the lake, which is a little over 3 miles. That, coupled with the 1.5 miles each way from my house to the lake equaled out to a nice round 10. I procrastinated this run and did not do it until about noon, but luckily the day was not too hot. However, the lake was crowded with people, which reminded me that I need to go earlier if that is where my route is. I finished this run with a time of 1:22:45, which is an 8:17 average. After the race, I went to a baseball game and ate nachos and beer. Post race carb loading is the best!

On Sunday, I ran the 5 miler. I went with a friend to the lake, walked around once with her for a warmup, then ran around once and then ran back home to complete 5 miles. I finished in 41:31, which is, you guessed it, an 8:17 average. You can't get much more consistent than that! I did not take any photos either day, which is too bad, because it was beautiful out!

Also, I found out my registration date for Boston. It's September 14th! Here's hoping that there are not already 25,000 people in line ahead of me. You probably already know how they do the registration, but in case you don't, they let people who qualified by 20 minutes or more go first, on the 10th. Then, those who met the standards by 10 minutes or more go on the 12th. Then on the 14th, anyone who met the standards by 5 minutes or more (me!) get a chance. If you qualified by :01 - 4:59, you get to register on the 17th. However, if all the slots are filled by your registration date, you don't get in. So, keep your fingers crossed for me that there were not a lot of really fast people this year.

Last but not least, the winner of the book giveaway is... Steph The Book Worm. Thanks everyone for participating! Steph, email me your address so I can send the book your way!

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Liebster

A while back Elle gave me the Liebster award. Liebster is a German word, which means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome. What an honor! 

The rules are that each person must post 11 things about themselves, then answer the questions the tagger sent for them, plus create 11 questions for the people they’ve tagged to answer. You are supposed to tag people afterward. 

First, here are my 11 things. 

1. I don't think there is a fruit I don't like. If you were to ask my what my least favorite is, I would probably say pomegranate, but not because I don't like the flavor; I just don't like all the little seeds. They are weird. 

2. Speaking of fruit, currently in my house we have no less the 12 different kinds. Strawberry, blueberry, plum, pluot, watermelon, apple, orange, peach, nectarine, fig, cherry, lemon and grape. I love summer.

3. Regarding what I just said, I will be happy that summer is over because then my friends and I will have more time to hang out. Summer is always so busy with weddings and birthdays and family obligations. I usually spend more time with friends in Spring and Fall. Hurray for Fall.

4. I have never been kite surfing, but would like to try it.

5. I have hiked to the top of Mt. Whitney and Mt. Shasta. Shasta is lower, but was more difficult. 

The summit of Mt. Shasta -- 14,179 ft --  June 2009

6. I have never been to Montana. Or Idaho. Both are on my list! I drove through Utah, Colorado and Wyoming, but would like to go back and see more of them too!

7. In order to travel everywhere on my list, I need someone to donate a million dollars to my cause. Any takers?

8. I like cats more than I like dogs. However, the hair from either really turns me off. I hate hair.

9. I am a neat freak. I have to make my bed every day, no matter what. I also don't like leaving any dishes in the sink. Coming home to a clean house is so welcoming to me. (see: above comments about hair)

10. I dislike it when people are late and/or flakey. I find it disrespectful.

11. I would rather text, write a letter or email than talk on the phone.

Here are the questions Elle asked us: 

1.  What is your favorite season?  Why? My favorite season is probably Fall. Although it's a margin of .000002 from the other three. I love them all. Why? Fall is crisp and it has that certain smell to the air. Winter is Christmas and family and silent snowy days. Spring is green and new and crisp and bright. Summer is long warm days and friends and outdoors and water and sun!

2.  What is the most exotic place you have visited? I am not sure what "exotic" means, but I think Southeast Asia is pretty cool. I love all the old architecture in Thailand and Indonesia and Malaysia. It's so different from ours. There are other places that are nice but I wouldn't call them "exotic".

3.  Do you have pets?  What kind? Oops, I guess I kind of answered this one above. No. The hair, remember?

4.  What is your favorite way to unwind? If I am stressed, I usually go for a run or bake. If I just feel like relaxing, I read or water the garden or stare at the tomatoes to see how much bigger they have gotten since yesterday. 

5.  Do you have any food issues?  Special dietary needs? No, thank goodness. 

6.  Favorite snack? I usually snack on fruit (see number 2 in the first list), but if I am feeling like something naughty, it's probably going to be cheez-its. Or those nachos from the ball park with the grossly delicious fake cheese.

7.  Favorite flowers? Anything colorful!

8.  Have you ever met any other bloggers? Yes. I have met several and they have all been great!

9.  Do your real life friends and family members read your blog?  Do they know about it? Yes. They don't comment though. They are all lurkers.

10.  How do you celebrate your birthday? I don't really do a huge thing. It's usually right around Mother's Day, so we do a duel get together for that. This year my brother took me out to one of my favorite San Francisco restaurants! 

San Francisco pre-dinner birthday walk

 
11.   What motivates you to exercise and eat well?  Vanity?  Health?  Performance? ALL of the above. 

Well, I am not going to tag anyone, but why don't you answer one (or all) of these questions in the comments (unless you want to post it on your blog; that works too!) 

1. What special talent do you have? 

2. What was your most embarrassing moment? 

3. If you could eat one thing, anything, right now without having to make it or pay for it or suffer calorie consequences or indigestion, what would it be?  

4. Which is your favorite Bob: the builder, the happy painter, or Barker?

5. What is your favorite and why: lake, river, ocean, stream? 

6. How do you feel about earrings on men? 

7. If you could alter one body part, what would it be? 

8. If you met the Dalai Lama, what would you say to him?  

9. Would you rather be able to breathe under water or to fly? 

10. How do you take your coffee? 

11. Name a hero in your life and tell me why they are your hero. 

Have a great week!

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Monday Misc

- The other day I met up with Jill and B for a couple of drinks and some chatter. We had a bunch of great conversations, one of which was the fact that Jill did not put on pants and I was wearing a sports bra. B was of the mind that we should have both tried harder to look presentable, but I was happy that Jill and I were of the same mind set. I guess what I am trying to say is that most bloggers I have met have been exactly how they seemed like they would be from their blogs. Thank goodness. I hope that I am the same!

- Speaking of other bloggers, I don't think I mentioned S & R. I have probably talked about them before, since they were the ones who gave us the tent. We met this couple while traveling in Malawi a couple of years ago. They were nice and fun and we ended up hanging out together for a few days before parting ways. We have kept in touch and VOILA, last week they had a wedding to go to in Santa Cruz and they came and stayed with us and we had a great time! This is why I love travel. You meet people that are kindred spirits. You invite them to come and stay with you and you MEAN IT! It's great.

- I don't have TV at home. No TV. No cable. No satellite. I like it this way. This is not strange to me. I grew up without TV and never really got into the habit of watching TV as a way to wind down. Don't talk to me about Gilligan's Island. I know there is a hot girl and a sailor, but I am not sure about the rest of the show. A lot of people find this weird. I find it weird that we have gotten so used to having TV that it seems strange NOT to have one. I am not saying that if you do have one and/or watch it that there is anything wrong with that. I am not saying that I don't watch Top Chef from time to time. I am just saying that there is a lot of crap on TV these days and I don't want to get sucked into it. And I would, because I DO have an addictive personality. So I just avoid it all together.

- I have not felt like running lately. I still want to run, but I don't really want to do the work. I want the effect I get from running, because afterward I always feel great, but I am feeling super, SUPER lazy and unmotivated these days. I think I hit a tiny training wall. Luckily last week was a step back week, so hopefully I will start this week off on the right foot!

- Right now for book club, we are reading Cutting for Stone. I am about half way through. So far, so good! Have you read it? What do you think? No spoilers!

How was your weekend? Do you ever meet up again with people from  your travels? What about blog friends? Do they seem the way they portray on their blogs?

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Foodie Pen Pal Reveal: June

This month' was a little hectic, as I moved at the beginning of June and had a busy few weeks in which I was moving boxes, picking stuff up from the old place, buying things and getting used to the new place. So having a foodie pen pal box come from "out of the blue" was awesome. I didn't have to think too much about what to buy, food-wise!

This month, my foodie pen pal / snack angel was Melissa from Treats With a Twist. I think she and I would be great friends in real life, since she likes to take her favorite treats and give them a healthy twist, which I like to do as well. She is also very friendly and positive and she picks great snacks!

 Food included: Maple Vanilla Coffee, Justin's Nut Butter, Dried Tropical Fruit Mix, Clif Bar Gary's Panforte, Dinstuhl's Assorted Truffles, Peanut Butter Oatmeal Square and Blueberry Covered Pretzels

My favorite? The dried tropical fruit and nut mix.

Kiwi, Mango, Papaya, Coconut, Pineapple, Macadamia nuts and Cashews. 

It is SO GOOD. Much better than candy!

I had a good time trying all the snacks. The coffee was just flavored enough without being overpowering. The Gary's Panforte was a new Clif flavor for me, even though they are made only a few miles away from my house. The blueberry pretzels were surprisingly great. Mr. Lovely tried to eat them all so I had to hide them from him (yes, I do that sometimes). 

Thanks to Lindsay at the Lean Green Bean for hosting. If anyone wants to do it, and it's a great way to discover new treats, go and check out her blog! 

Have you ever done a food swap? Have you ever tried the dried tropical fruit and nut mix?

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Foodie Reveal: May

This month I thought it would be fun to participate in Lindsay's Foodie Pen Pal program. It's pretty easy; you just sign up. On the 5th of the month you find out who you are buying for and who is buying for you! You have 10 days to get to know them and figure out if they have any food restrictions or preferences before you have to send your box! It's a great way to try new things and to meet new friends!

The person who picked me was Andria. She is my kind of girl: a runner, a user of strange pantry items and a lover of red wine and dark chocolate. She did a great job picking out items for my box! You can tell she put a lot of thought into it and paid attention to what I said I liked and disliked!

The Loot

1. Dark Chocolate Bar: I used this to make the Garbanzo Brownies and I think that it had a huge (positive) influence in the way they taste! Of course I tried some beforehand and it was delicious! 80% cacao! Yum. Andria did such a good job of picking not only things I love, but this chocolate is also fair traded and organic, which is an added bonus.

2. Homemade Maple Oat Muffins: These were so good I ate them all in about two days. Well I didn't want them to go bad!

3. Lara Bars: She didn't even know it, but these are my favorite (or maybe she snooped on my blog)! I love trying new ones, so the Blueberry was a nice treat!

4. Spicy mix: This was gone after the first day, since I took it with me to my parent's house and together we pretty much demolished it!

5. Coffee: YUM. French Roast? Even better! Another local treasure!

6. Justins Nut Butters: I have never tried these, as they tend to be a bit expensive, but have always wanted to! I love peanut and almond butters and since I travel/move around a lot, this size is perfect!

7. Spicy Curry Mix: I am saving this for a curried tofu dish I want to make! I love curries and trying new things when cooking, so I am excited to try it out! 

Thanks again Andria! You can also go over to Amber's to see what I sent to MY foodie pen pal! 

Have you ever tried any of these items? What is your favorite Nutrition bar? Have you ever had a pen pal, foodie or otherwise?

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My Lottery

You have probably already heard a lot about the Find Your Strong project that Saucony is doing. Each week, they ask you to submit a photo or a quote or a ritual...something that inspires you to keep running. You can do it too; today is the last day to submit your photo for week 5 (your favorite sites on your run), and tomorrow there will be a new challenge for week 6.

The reason I bring this up is because I submitted one of my favorite running quotes for week 2 and I won! I won a new pair of Saucony Kinvaras. The Kinvara is a lightweight minimal shoe with a low heel drop. I received them in the mail the other day. I have never tried a minimal shoe before and am looking forward to their maiden voyage. I have read a little bit online about it and know that I will start slow at first, but other than that, I am not sure what to expect. You will hear back from me on that a bit later.

Not exactly my favorite colors, but not as ugly as I thought it would be! :)

But wait. There's more. I think I probably should have bought a lottery ticket when the jackpot was so high back a few weeks ago. Did you know that I have never bought a lottery ticket before? I should have that week because last month was a very lucky month for me. On top of winning the Kinvara, I also received:

- The Nature Box from Carrie: I have been rationing the goods, but so far am loving the pistachios, which are one of my favorite nuts and a really nice treat, especially these ones which are seasoned with salt and black pepper, so they have a bit of a kick! However, I am not sure the package is worth the $20/month price tag. In my box: currants, pistachios, dried pears, trail mix and pumpkin seeds.

- Dahlicious Lassi from Toni: I have not tried this yet, because I haven't found any stores near me that have it. But I will try it when I get the chance. It looks so good!

- Profoot Insoles and Moleskin from Marcia: I haven't used these yet, but plan to use them in my hiking boots, where they are much needed. And the moleskin has gone into my running bag just in case!

- 8 Pack of Peanut Butter Gu from Strava: I had to run 100 miles in a month to get this one, so it technically wasn't a "freebie" but I will count it as a win. Also, I have never tried PB flavored Gu. It sounds interesting. I wonder if I can make sandwiches out of it.

- Mystery Box from XLMIC: She said something about a sausage. I think there will also be some Nuun and other sports recovery bars/drinks etc.

Thanks to all my fellow bloggers for hosting these giveaways and allowing me to try fun new things that I may not be adventurous enough to try on my own! Have I mentioned how cool running bloggers are? No? Well, let me reiterate. Running bloggers are VERY cool.

"You don't get better at running hills by walking them". (this was one of the other winning running quotes for week 2, and my favorite out of the bunch!)

Do you enter contests? What's the best thing you have ever won? Have you tried any of the above products?

**I won all these products fair and square. Nobody asked me to say anything regarding any of them. All opinions are my own. 

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What a Week

It's been a while since I've done a Week in Review post! I love doing them, since it's a great way for me to remember what I did throughout the week. I am surprised at how putting it together on a list makes me seem so much more productive sometimes! Not that I am not, but it just reminds me of what I DID do, rather than making me worry about what I did not.

Last Sunday, I went with a friend for a run and then brunch. The place we went to for brunch had really great food and bottomless mimosas, made with fresh fruit juice. The waiter comes around with a pitcher and in order to try the next kind (there were about 20) you have to down the one you have. Sure, the glasses are only 6 oz, but they add up!

 What started out as an innocent Sunday morning brunch....

See those teeny, tiny glasses? 

...ended up as Dance Party USA. 

Hey. There was Madonna.

And 2 Live Crew.

It rained a lot this week. 

View from the back porch.

The sun did peek out from time to time, enough so I could catch up on my

reading,

coffee drinking,

and sunshine loving.

That coffee cup holds about a third of the pot. 

I love it.

I also learned that "Cher" hair is back in style. 

Um, ladies, I have had that hair for the last 30 years. 

Well I guess you have to be "in style" once every 30 years.

Note the insert. 

It says "Don't go overboard.  Leave a little body. Poker straight hair is not always flattering"

Yeah. Like I said. 30 years.

I made a couple of care packages for my loved ones.

And this is why I believe in Karma...

The VERY SAME DAY...I received two blog prizes in the mail! 

A Nature Box that I won from Carrie. 

And Profoot insoles that I won from Marcia.

Heads up people. Do you love boxes?

Or organizing? 

Or organizing with boxes? 

Target special = $1 each! 

This weekend I went running, went grocery shopping and cooked up a storm.

Two kinds of chili.

And a pan of brownies. 

I did not eat this entire thing by myself. 

Only the entire edge part. 

The middle got cut out and made into...

 

These! Brownie Balls! 

Not quite the same as the cake pops I made last time, but close.

 

I had to try one. It was pretty darn good. Except that I really didn't need it. 

After I licked the batter spoon. 

And the bowl. 

And ate all the edges of the brownies. 

And all the leftover melting chocolates.

I feel sick. 

How was your week? Have you ever had bottomless mimosas? Be honest, how much of the brownie pan can you eat in one sitting?

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Twenty-One Things

Kathy at Just Keep Running tagged me in the 21 Random Things tag, and I have been working on it for over a month. Do you know how hard it is to think of 21 random things about yourself!? That you have not already shared over the last 6 years? Yeah. It's hard.

CHILDHOOD:

{1} My mother is from Back East. My father was born and raised in California about 8 miles from where they live now. This makes for an interesting "how they met" story. The first attempt was to hook my mom up with my Uncle, but she fell for my Dad instead. My Dad liked her, even though she made gummy noodles. They got pregnant right away. Along came me. The End.

{2} That's not really the end. I grew up in the mountains, near a river. I was pretty much allowed to run free. That's the good thing about living in the boonies. I also never had (and still don't have) cable TV.

A typical summer at home

{3} The bad thing is that sometimes random people who are not so great pick you up and accidentally drop you. Yes, I was dropped on my head as a child. And I turned out FINE! a;lktjpoigugh!!

{4} I also rode the short bus to school. Since we were so far from town, the big bus couldn't come all that way, so there was a separate smaller bus that picked up the people that were really far away and then took them to a main bus stop where we would meet the big bus.

{5} I played baseball, soccer and was on ski team in High School. Ski team was the best. We had meets on Mondays, so we got out of school!

All Stars Baseball 1990

{6} In High School we had a "nutrition break" from 10 o'clock to 10:15 or something like that. I don't think I ever ate anything nutritious during this time. It was just an excuse to hang out with friends, eat nutty buddies and drink cokes. Nutrition -- schmootrition.

{7} I didn't usually bring my lunch to school. My parents would give me $2/day and I would save it up until I could buy a lot of nutty buddies. I guess I've always been a saver. You have to prioritize, man!

TWENTIES:

{8} I went to school at Sac State, where my major was Pre-Physical Therapy. I then switched to San Francisco, where they called it "Kinesiology", which I think sounds much more professional. And people don't really know what the word means, so that must be good, right?

{9} I worked at Nordstrom for 8 years. First I sold coffee, then I sold shoes, then I managed people who sold shoes (and I BOUGHT a lot of shoes). As much as the corporate BS sometimes got to me, it was a great place to work when I was in school. They worked around my schedule and paid my way through college!

{10} My first trip abroad was to France, where I worked at a grocery store for two months during the summer. You should have seen me trying to get a "price check on register 3"! Speaking French was hard, and it was even harder over the phone! They had an acronym for me to remember at the register: SBAM: Sourire (smile), Bonjour, Au Revoir, Monsieur/Madam.

{11} My favorite thing to do on my day off was to hang out at Dolores Park with a book, looking at the skyline of the city and watching the gays rub banana oil on each other. No joke.

View from Dolores Park

{12} My first apartment in San Francisco was a sublet and was shared with three other people, none of whom I had met before. We had a house cleaning schedule. Only three of us actually followed it. The fourth, who was a boy, ended up being my closest friend.

{13} I was a pescatarian for about 15 years.

{14} I used to have over 20 houseplants, which I loved. I gave them away in order to travel to Europe and I never got them back. I don't have a place for them so it's okay. They are in a good place.

NOW:

{15} I can speak Spanish. Not very well, but I can get by. Especially if the subject is food, lodging or transportation. That is what traveling does; you only learn "traveling Spanish". Actually I am better at writing and reading it than I am at speaking it.

{16} I have never had braces.

{17} If I could eat one food for the rest of my life, it might be Mexican food.

Mexican food in...Missouri

{18} I have had surgery 4 times.

{19} In the past 7 years, I have been "home" about 8 months. The rest of the time I am working somewhere else or traveling for fun somewhere else.

{20} My go to outfit used to be black on black. I had to wear suits to work every day, so it was easier. Now I am starting to embrace colors, but I think it comes from being able to dress much more casually at work. If I had to wear a suit again, I would probably be back to black again.

{21} I can't stand having fingernails. I don't bite them, but I keep them cut VERY short. I hate having them hang over my fingers. I also never paint them becuase I start chipping the paint off after a while. I guess I have a fingernail fetish.

Whew! That's Twenty-One! So, if you are bored or need something to post about, feel free to join in or add some in the comments! If you are reading this, you are tagged!

Do you have any fetishes, fingernail or otherwise? Did you ever get dropped as a kid? Do you speak a foreign language?

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Shhh, It's a Secret

A while back, I signed up for a blogger gift exchange at Run With Jill. Just in time for Christmas, I received my gift in the mail! My secret Santa, Kim, must have peeked at my blog, because she got me exactly what I needed!

First, she got me this great necklace made of a scrabble tile with my initial on the front and a world on the back. Perfect for me, since I love to travel AND play Scrabble! How did she know?

And an Amazon gift card! Which I totally asked for on my wish list. I can't decide whether to buy a book or this!

I went and checked out her site, Life in the Twin Lane, and she seems like a great girl. Not only did she find the perfect gifts, but she is training for several races, is a reader AND quoted Tommy Boy on her blog. So Thanks Kim! 

If you want to see what I got my Secret person, you can read all about it on her site!

Did you do any gift exchanges this year? How do you exchange gifts with your family? Do you give everyone gifts, pick names, or only give the kids gifts?

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Women Run The Cities: Part II

As I mentioned in this post, I had a wonderful time last weekend with Lisa in the beautiful city of Minneapolis. But we didn't just eat and see the sights. One of the things that I went to visit for was the Women Run the Cities 10 Mile Race, located in Minnehaha Park.

The night before I set out all my gear. Those striped things are either leg warmers or arm warmers, and were one of the free things we got when we signed up. The race was (shoe) chip timed. The race I had the weekend before was chip timed, but the chip was on my bib, which was super convenient.

This time there was no funnel cake carb loading, just a nice dinner of chicken and pasta, cooked by Lisa and served with a beautiful salad and lots and lots of water. Before the race, as always, I had to pee and not-surprisingly, I also had to go again around mile one. I have a pea sized bladder. It's ridiculous.

Aside from Lisa and I, we also met up with Raquelita, who lives a couple of hours away. She and her husband were really nice! And then we were off! This race was great, it went along the sides of the Mississippi river and was along a tree lined road. There were a few hills, one really big one around mile 4 and one around mile 7. The weather was about 44 degrees when we started but warmed up into the 50s during the race.

I finished first and then ran to the car to get the camera so I could take photos of the girls coming in.

Here is Lisa.

Here we are afterwards. 

Here is Raquelita. 

Afterwards, we went to Victors 1959 Cafe for brunch and some great Cuban food! We also bored Raquelits's husband to death had some great conversations about running, traveling, books and life! These girls were great and it was nice to finally meet up with them! I felt like we had known each other for years.

For those non-runners, you can look away now. Runners, here are my stats:

Total Miles: 10
Total time: 1:23:36 (according to Garmin)
Average of: 8:22/mile
Place overall: 140/1050
I was 14 minutes behind the 1st place girl in my age group and 20 minutes behind the first place overall. That means I need to run at least a 6:22 mile to win next time. YEAH RIGHT!

I felt good the entire time. I always try to keep up with someone who is a little faster than I want to really go. In this case, I was trying to keep it under an 8:30 pace. The first mile was packed with people and so most of it was spent dodging and weaving. Finally around mile 2, the course freed up and I was able to get into a steady pace. It went well until I was running mile 7 and I thought that I only had one mile left and when I got to the 8 mile marker, I was a little disappointed. My right hip and butt cheek were really starting to seize up by then. However, I just pretended I was doing a Yasso and my last mile was actually my fastest (7:55).

All in all, this was a good race. I would recommend it to anyone. OH, I almost forgot to tell you guys. I have never run a 10 mile race before, so this was also my 10 Miler PR! It sure is nice when it's your first time; you ALWAYS PR on your first time!

You may also want to read:
Raquelita's Race Report
Lisa's Race Report 
My Races and Places Page: Other runs I have done. 

One other thing. I JUST signed up for THIS Marathon. It's 10 weeks away. Do you guys think I can be ready by then? I can already run 13 miles. I figured I may as well just keep adding on, rather than trying to start from the beginning next year. However, it is going to be dark a lot (and cold) during my training times. What do you think? Is it do-able? 

What races did you run this weekend? How did you do? Have you ever run a marathon? Was the training intense?

Don't forget to go over to Jills and check out the other Fitness Friday posts!

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Women Run The Cities: Part I

Last weekend I went to visit a fellow blogger, Lisa, who lives in Minneapolis. We had a great time walking around the city, over the bridges, back over the bridges, under the bridges, over the river and through the woods.

I knew I would like Lisa (as if I had had any doubts) when she asked if I wanted an apple. When I said yes, she said, "let me grab the apple slicer". I was thinking, "Apple slicer? Isn't that called a KNIFE?" (this girl is batty, people) And then.... VOILA!

Awesome. The girl has gadgets. Everyone needs one of these! 

P.S. This is a Honeycrisp apple, which is native to MN. 

 Lisa, who had a bit of a cold, was still an awesome host. She took me all over the city. First we went to the Guthrie for a view of the Stone Arch Bridge. Good name, huh? I guess somebody just called it like they saw it!

Here we are. Yes we color coordinated on purpose! If you ever need someone who knows how to put the self timer on the camera and get a photo of practically nothing, I am your man. The stone arch bridge is somewhere behind that bannister.

We went to the farmers market, where they had lots of fun veggies. We also got to see a cooking demonstration while sitting in the sun (it was a chilly 44ish when we were outside) drinking coffee. Now THAT is my kind of day.

I had to get a scone from the best place in MN to buy pastries. This was what Lisa said many people had told her, but she didn't know firsthand, since she can't have gluten. Yum! I could have had one of each of these pastries!

And then we went and bought some bratwurst for lunch from Kramarczuk's.  We picked a jalapeno and cheese brat and a wild rice (MN specialty) brat. We cooked those up and served them with a salad and rosemary potatoes. Lisa made sure I didn't go hungry while staying with her.

I wanted to do this, which is to ride around the city drinking and pedaling. But we had other things to do. 

Like...take a walk next to the river. 

And eat Gelato.

We also spent time walking over the Stone Arch Bridge, taking photos, walking around downtown, drinking coffee, eating guacamole and browsing the bookstore. 

So yes, as you can see, we did the things I love most: walking, taking in the sights and, most importantly... EATING. Lisa must have named another half dozen restaurants that I will need to go to next time I come to visit. But there is always too little time and too much to do!

Lisa was a great host and we had a great time. Now I'm trying to convince her (and anyone else who wants) to come to San Francisco so I can return the favor. It sure is fun going to visit people and it's nice to have a local to show you around! 

I wasn't just there to stuff my face though. Tune in on Friday when I talk about the 10 mile race that we ran on Sunday!

What did you do this weekend? Have you been to Minneapolis? Have you ever crossed the Mississippi on foot?

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