June’s Eight Great Goals

I know you’re all excited to hear about how my weekend away went, but you’ll have to be patient as we work through establishing June’s Eight Great Goals and tomorrow’s informational and inspiring TED Talk Tuesday.

No song, no dance – let’s just get down to business (mainly because our flight was delayed and I’m running on fumes this morning!)

1. Earlywork only 5 times this month.

Since April 1^st I’ve been showing up to work at 6am for more time in my day to get work done, more concentration, more productivity and more output. While I wouldn’t change the progress I made it also lead to less sleep, less patience at home, less carpooling and less balance. I will use up three of these days automatically today, tomorrow and Wednesday – but after that I’m driving in with my baby.

2. Lift Weights.

Whether that means training club classes, in my room after a run or even body weight work (squats, push-ups, lunges, etc) I want to build up some muscle to turn it into a revved up metabolism.

3. Call (actually call) Friends and Family.

I have an aversion to making phone calls and I need to get past it. There’s something about awkward silence that makes me feel socially inadequate and I’d like to change that. I’ve really changed my relationships in business by being fearless over the phone and I could transfer that to my personal life.

4. Meal Schedule.

Last weekend’s purposeful food prep for a Dan-free week got me excited about having a breakfast, lunch and dinner already figured out without having to consult my partner. Two can still play that game, and the way we can synchronize is by planning together.

5. Wait For Dinner.

A horrible habit of mine is to get home and immediately open all the cupboards, drawers and fridge. Terribly impatient for dinner, I mindlessly put away 100-200 worthless calories that would be better served through fro-yo after dinner or a soothing glass of wine while writing my blog.

6. Daily Doubles.

This goal and goal #2 go hand in hand, as I’ll finish a long 5-10 mile run and no longer have the need to do additional activity through the day. It’s okay to work out twice in one day and will encourage that second session of the day to be strength or balance focused.

7. Schedule Time Off.

Enough said. I’ve earned it.

8. Eat Lunch Away From My Desk.

Eating lunch at my desk is an activity I’ve become used to. Easy and productive aren’t good enough reasons to find myself wolfing down a salad, fitting more than I can into my mouth and allowing my grilled chicken to get cold while my lettuce becomes room temperature. I’m going to grab my Tupperware and head out onto the patio this month. Watch me!

Come back tomorrow for a TED talk about something Dan and I did way too much yesterday travelling across the country.

April Summary

Whoa – reality check, it’s still technically April? I think we’ve got some confusion around here, the weather has been gorgeous in Portland and that’s not normally until June July if we’re lucky.

Really though, with the change of seasons, my work focus being on the month of May and all that has gone on in my world it’s difficult to face that tomorrow is the 1st of May. No complaints, just level setting with my mind because so much has happened this month.

April to me meant change, maturity and responsibility at work. It brought overwhelming success and pride that I’ll never forget. It propelled me into overshooting my running goal of 100 miles by 16 miles – which is unheard of during such a busy month. 

I’m looking back to my April’s Eight Great Goals and I seriously missed the mark on 6 of 8. I didn’t think reasonably what craziness the month would bring and sadly there were a few things that were out of my control and even out of my scope of importance. Where we did have amazing success was with limiting latte intake – I am looking forward to keeping that in mind in the months that follow.

Even though I’m managing through falling under the line, we still had a great month and plenty of wonderful memories to show for it!

Yummy Eats

So much amazing food was enjoyed this month from date nights to weekend food prep:

Torta-Landia

Sweet Potato + Quinoa Stir Fry

Saburo’s

Work Related

I realize that I talked a lot about work this month, and really because I spend most of my day living and breathing my work with so many positive things to show for it.

I’ve promised Dan and everyone in my life that the craziness will be over starting once the fourth quarter is over – which means another month!

Still there were some good posts that came out of the craziness and want a collection of them here:

Under the Bridge

How High?

Desk Love

Keep Running

Running Love

I got after so many miles this month and it really impacted my happiness.

I knew that running was more than just about meeting my goal when I was lacing up after 8pm at night, or logging ten milers even after hitting my goal. The weather has been so warm I’ve even been breaking a sweat early on in the run, and there’s no better feeling.

Running for Days

30 Mile Weekend

Countdown: Tough Mudder

My Handsome Daniel

The one person who got the least of me this month was my wonderful boyfriend. We stopped carpooling due to my schedule, we only went on two runs together, he had a golf tournament that I didn’t make it to and he did nothing but try to fix the world and make things easier on my life. He’s my everything and I’m so thankful he’s in love with me.

Week 14 Cohabitation

Week 15 Cohabitation

Feel Good Weekend

This weekend was full of good vibes for the house.

Dan and I spent a good portion of Saturday making our home clean and happy. It’s been a little while since we had a nice, deep clean – so we treated ourselves to a brand new Swiffer Wet Jet for the occasion.

Toilets were scrubbed, counters were scraped, three loads of laundry, two loads of dishes (mostly my tupperware) and even recycling/garbage duty.

More than just cleaning, we had some fun too!

As a result of cleaning, the pool table in the garage that has been covered with boxes since the move was unveiled, and we had a great time playing a few games with loud jams and competitive glances. The pool cue was an awesome gift from my brother for my birthday two years ago and I haven’t given her enough time and attention.

We’ve been killing it at the burger game lately. This beauty below was a result of the weekend prior’s food prep, fresh avocado & the perfect amount of sriracha topping. Dan is the grill master and anything I do never matches up. He’s happy that I’m so dependent.

Salmon Burgers

{Costco Salmon Burgers + Thin wheat buns + Mozzarella + Avocado + Sriracha}

Feeling even better, we had a special visit from mom, dad, Bailey and Bella for some landscaping work (more house help). Dan was out golfing in preparation for  his tournament next weekend, but when he came home he was greeted with kisses, wags and puppy dog eyes galore!

What else am I missing… oh yeah – I Ran! duh

Saturday Morning: 5 quick miles with Dan

Sunday Morning: 12 refreshing miles solo – nothing but good tunes and my thoughts.

Since I’ve been awful this month about my morning runs / Nike Training Club Goals, I’ve self prescribed myself a few more miles over and beyond my 100 as motivation to get out in this week’s forecast of sun and 70 degree weather.

How was your weekend?

Countdown: Tough Mudder

Today marks 2 months to the day until we embark on another Tough Mudder adventure.

Tough Mudder events are 10-12 mile obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces that test your strength and stamina while forcing you to work together as a team and to finish strong, despite electric shock, freezing cold water and plenty of mud to go around.

Last year Brooke, Brad and I headed up to the Whistler Olympic Park in June to experience our first event and somehow we felt foolish enough to sign up and pay again to participate in a venue closer to home – Fossil, OR. This time around we were able to sucker Dan and a few other poor souls into facing the certain blood, sweat and tears waiting for us in Fossil this summer.

To give you a taste of what we’re up against, watch the latest hype video shared on Tough Mudder’s Facebook Page.

Quoting the site, we are supposed to “expect a hefty dose of mud, ice, fire, and electric shocks to test whether or not we’re tough enough to earn the coveted orange headband and an ice cold Dos Equis at the finish line.”

So far we’ve been doing the usual training, including long runs, body weight workouts and a #dirtyhairdontcare attitude, but this training schedule will ramp up significantly to prep for the next 60 days.

I guess first we need to find a hotel, don’t we?

If you want to check out my take-aways from last year, visit one of the very first posts ever written on this site.

Wish us luck with the rest of training!

30 Miles + Many Smiles

Another weekend come and gone, and everything about it was time well spent!

Flowers are blooming, birds are chirping and my mister was home all weekend – not working, not playing golf and not sleeping in. Bliss.

{Credit to my neighbors, beautiful flowers!}

More Running for Days

If you remember that last weekend I ran 20 miles you’d call me crazy for the goal I set for myself this weekend.

20 miles in two days was a worthy challenge, so I decided to shoot for 30 from Friday – Sunday to put myself where I need to be for the month.

• Friday 7:20 pm – 7 Miles
• Saturday 8:40 am – 11 Miles
• Sunday 9:20 am – 12 Miles

 Why would I set my goal at 30 miles in three days?

1. It reaffirms that I can do anything I set my mind to.

2. I’ve been worthless at getting mileage during the week and I see that trend continuing through the end of May.

3. Why not?

Eats

After my Saturday morning run, this is what I had waiting for me on the counter, piping hot:

{Eggs + Avocados + Jalapenos + Mozzarella}

{Poor Man’s Mimosa: Light or Wheat beer topped off with Orange Juice}

Dan is becoming quite the contributor to the magic made in the kitchen and I couldn’t be happier. The rumors are that he’s been known to live off of Mac n’ Hot Dogs – which proves that he’s had to really step up his game to keep the woman in his life happy. Thanks, dear!

Special Visitor

We had a special visit from Tanna (Happy Birthday week!) and Olive on Saturday and they were happy to meet Dan for the first time. It wasn’t the usual girl-chatty catch up sessions Tanna and I are used to, but we are looking forward to some warmer weather where we can get take walks in the park and take adorable photos of miss Olive feeding ducks at the pond.

Onto the Next

Sorry, Tiger Woods – you didn’t reclaim the green jacket but I hear you’ve still got years and years ahead of you before you retire. Next time. We’re still happy to have a son named after you.

Is it weird that I was excited to get to my desk this morning? I have a suspicious feeling that this is going to be another quality week for myself and my team.

Accountability Check

Well how did that happen?

We are 10 days into April and I can’t help but notice that I’ve been slacking above and beyond with my Eight Great Goals.

One of the main reasons I love blogging is that I have the opportunity to share and speak my mind – and also that I have an outlet to get my goals, thoughts and passions down on paper out in the open via the world wide web. Since those thoughts and goals are out, how’s about a little Accountability check?

Let’s begin with the fitness goals:

• There’s only six more NTC classes I could make it to and my goal is to be at six. There’s some serious pressure on me now to go when I’m able to go rather than try to fit a square peg into a round hole. Wish me luck.
• This week was the time where I was supposed to knock out many of my morning runs, and have opted to go in early to work instead. While my mind feels great about the work I can accomplish in the dark morning hours before the morning rush comes in, I still crave those morning workouts and the way they leave me feeling afterward.
• Dan and I have not gone for a walk after dinner yet – not even once. Weather isn’t an excuse either because we both have wonderful jackets that support the pesky Portland rain.
• I’m only at 23 miles for my 100 miles/month running goal – but that was achieved from only three days of running. I’ve got the energy and I’ve got the time!

On Food goals:

• I’ve written down maybe three full days of what I’ve eaten, and not always immediately or thoughtfully for the purpose of learning. This changes today.
• I’m at 3 (of 7) latte’s consumed, once was free, one was with Dan in the morning and one was an evening surprise from Dan.

Feels like Spring goals:

• I’ve been okay at having flowers in the home and at my desk. There’s plenty out in the garden and apparently I’m supposed to expect a “surprise” delivery on Thursday! 
• Landscaping at home will take place the first weekend day it’s not 70% + chance of rain.

Dan goals:

• After the Masters tournament this weekend I can bet you that Dan and I will be heading to the driving range to get my goal of hitting a ball 50 yards in the air out of the way. I’m going to shock him and accomplish it on my first try.
• Still working out what I can get and do for my Daniel to make his golden birthday memorable. I want to make his day special!

Phew – that feels so much better to own up to my dirt and non-progress toward these goals. Us bloggers aren’t perfect.

Thanks for listening – try this honest cleansing for yourself!

Running for Days

Happy Monday, you weekend warriors!

I seriously enjoyed this weekend not because it was lazy, but because I got things done. I was so productive and accomplished much of what was on my growing To Do list. I guess the hurry up and get work done week carried over into the weekend. I’m not even mad.

Let’s start with how things looked running-wise, since I spent nearly 4 hours at it –

• Saturday 8:45 am – 10 Miles
• Saturday 3pm – 5 Miles with Dan
• Sunday 12:30pm – 5 Miles

I know you’re thinking two-a-days on Saturday is a little overkill, but it was much needed after the prior 6 days of only logging three speed-work miles. My mind needs those long runs to hash out thoughts, ideas, rants and creativity. To make everything better, the weather was clear and sun even poked through the clouds! Sure I’m a little sore, but Dan is the best at working out the kinks and I’m looking forward to a full day of standing at my desk today.

The remainder of Saturday was delightful as I was able to read the 148 blogs that were lingering from the week, enjoy two extra entertainingly competitive NCAA men’s games, and spend the afternoon with a weary and overworked Dan.

For the evening he was invited to a Timber’s game, so I made the most of my evening as a bachelorette and enjoyed brews in bed.

I think I know which one I would have enjoyed more!

Sunday was just as wonderful with ultimately not waking up until noon. Agenda included a quick rain-on / rain-off run, Dan and I went to Costco to grab lunch samples our weekend food prep staples and knocked out some quality meal prep to be shared later this week. I was impressed by how quickly and easily Dan jumped in to help out and was thankful because it cut down on the normal time by half. Salmon burgers, chicken, quinoa, veggies, you name it – they’re all there and neatly tucked away in tupperware containers on the second shelf of the fridge.

Extra exciting was getting a visit from mom and dad last night with an invite to dinner at one of our favorites – Original Taco House!

This morning was rough getting ready for another early 6am work start especially since Dan was sleeping soundly with no plans of waking until 10am. At least he’s promised to have dinner ready and on the table for me every night this week!

Easter Weekend

This past weekend was unbelievably gorgeous in Portland and I fear that this week of spring sunshine will come and go – not to return until July like many spring/summer transitions here in the Northwest.

To kick off the weekend Dan and I joined Brad and Brooke for the Hoppity Hops 5k that circled the Willamette River along the Eastbank esplanade and back around with views of the Saturday Market and lots of puppies…45 to be exact! Dan and I like counting puppies on our runs – hate us yet?

It was probably the fastest I’ve seen Dan hustle on our runs together and I can admit that I was picking up my usual pace too. Brad was goofing off with an ‘easy’ pace for him and Brooke was right in line. Dan and I are going to have to put in some hard work to get to where we need to be for our big Tough Mudder 2013 race in June.

After the race Dan had a tee time on the West side, so he kicked me to the curb somewhere between home and the freeway by my request and wasn’t a minute late. My afternoon was a little different in that I ran the 3.4 miles home to round me out to 100.5 running miles in March. It also gave me the opportunity to count 30 more puppies and enjoy a relaxing afternoon home alone to catch up on reading blogs, watch my bracket remain in the #1 spot and begin some food prep for the week ahead.

Saturday evening we had plans to stay at mom and dad’s house and met them home at the same time as they had returned from the coast. I’ve always enjoyed how casual Easter is in my family and this was the perfect example of that fact. Lazy evening with BBQ – falling asleep on the couch – being woken up by ice cream cones and puppies. I wish every evening looked like this.

Easter morning we woke up to the sound of puppies upstairs … Okay, actually I woke up and nudged Dan for about 45 minutes telling him to listen for the puppies upstairs. They got more ZZzz’s than we did.

As soon as they shot out of their kennels they raced down the stairs outside our door and before I knew it there was a puppy pile on the bed, rays of sunlight beaming through the window and a kind of memory that won’t be going away for some time.

The rest of Easter Day we played, talked, ate and played some more. I’ll stop here and let the photos speak for me:

We had a sleepy growing sister around!

Oh, did anyone get pranked yesterday?

April’s Eight Great Goals

If you were anywhere near Portland this weekend you already know how great I’m going to say my Easter weekend was. So that’s a story I’ll save for a different day – Tomorrow if you’re lucky

Today our focus here is on April and looking forward to what it may bring.

First of all, it definitely will bring a lot of smoothies.

The trick? Toss any fresh fruits or veggies into a blender, add protein, sample, pour and watch that smile on your face grow! Some pinspiration for other smoothie drinkers here.

More pressure will be on us at work, coming upon the end of the fiscal year in 60 days and needed to be on my A game non-stop. This hustle at work will make the days go by faster and clearly will make the weekends more valuable. I plan on spending a lot of time doing what I enjoy and making certain that Dan and I are having fun together when he’s not out teeing it up on the weekends and whenever the sun decides to poke out from behind the clouds.

Eight Great Goals

1. Always have fresh flowers in the house and at my desk. There’s beautiful daffodils in my backyard that I’ve been clipping and looking at in my home – so I want to make sure that I am always changing it up, keeping it fresh, and getting signs of spring everyday of the month.

2. Keep a food diary where I write down every last crumb that I consume – I’ve heard that can help to keep you more aware of what you’re putting into your body and ultimately help you to make better choices in dire moments of snacking and hunger.

3. It is a little sad that we have anxiety about setting this goal and it might sound like too many for you – but Dan and I like stopping for latte’s in the morning on the way to work… really like. This month we are only going to have seven latte’s each and hopefully can save a little money in the process.

4. Landscaping fun at our house to get everything beautiful and groomed for the summer. There’s old plants to uproot, weeding to be done, raking of leaves that have fallen and plenty to keep us busy.

5. After dinner in the evening if the weather is dry Dan and I are going to put our walking shoes on and go count puppies in the neighborhood rather than watch re-runs or the 5th inning from our reclining chairs.

6. For the 6th goal, I’d like to run at least six times in the morning before work. Pack my outfit and lay out my clothes the night before, get up early, drive to work, run, shower, and be well prepared for my day. This should be easy to do next week especially as Dan won’t be carpooling with me due to his 9 day vacation – so that’s why the goal goes above and beyond what I can accomplish in one week alone. I also need to go to six NTC sessions this month – it’s been a few weeks since I’ve attended.

7. Dan’s birthday is coming up this month and I’d like to make his 28 on the 28th a special one. He will be representing his golf league on that day thanks to his victory last year so I’ll have to find ways to work around it. However, I don’t think he can imagine a better way to spend his day on the course hitting the links!

8. Oops – Dan chiming in here… “Your last goal should be to hit a golf ball 50 yards (in the air)”. Looks like we’re going to the driving range!

April is normally one of my favorite days of the year to get my prank on, so we will see what I get into with my family, my co-workers and of course – Dan! I expect to see several “fake” engagements on my facebook feed so just know that I’m ready for you!

Thanks for hanging around another month – look forward to hearing about the sunny weekend tomorrow!

Week 11: Cohabitation

Did everyone fill out a March Madness bracket?

I did, along with Dan, and don’t have any money on the line for my picks {read: guesses}. As I edit this, we both have 13/16 picks correct and didn’t even consult one another in the draft process. We both haven’t paid enough attention to any sports seasons this fall/winter to really “care” and the only thing we watched loyally and without distraction has been The Walking Dead and The Biggest Loser.

Going in blind to the bracket creation process really relieved a lot of the stress and worry about scenario play-outs that I would have experienced if I even knew the school colors of my selections. I know nothing except seed and I was able to call the Oregon upset over Oklahoma state, much like many of my native Oregonian co-workers.

I didn’t get much running in this week but when I was able to I had a clear mind along with me. So clear that I finally took a moment to capture and share this stretch that always puts a smile on my face. Go home, sidewalk! You’re drunk!

Speaking of feeling a little wobbly, Dan and I have found a new favorite location if we’re ever arriving in the neighborhood early on a Monday through Friday. Last weekend we learned that there were margarita’s for $1.99 at La Carreta on weekdays from 4-6pm so on Thursday night when we were passing through at 5:27 he suggested that we stop. As soon as we bellied up to the bar to watch an UNLV upset we were able to squeeze a few limes into a few margaritas and call it a good night.

This was a great week for Dan (and Batman) because if you didn’t know any better you’d think this was my boyfriend from his facebook photo. He’s in love with this combination of two of his favorite things besides me and golf – Batman and Nike. I can see this living in our home someday soon – have any preferred vendors who would make an amazing poster, canvas transfer out of this one? I’m thinking CostCo.

Dan had a lot of time on his hands this week as he planned to take Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off from work. A co-worker became sick and rather than allowing their newest teammate to be left alone, he volunteered to swap out Wednesday’s day off for Friday instead so that he could attend granny’s funeral and be there to support me and my family. I was really proud of decision, not only for the family circumstances but also for his integrity to help out a co-worker in need. He always reassures me of what a good, kind and caring heart he has.

The funeral service for granny is this afternoon at 1pm and I’m lucky to have a manager who is flexible and understanding of how important it is for me to attend. As she turns it into a labor of love, mom was on point to arrange beautiful flowers for the service. Pink, granny’s favorite color, will surround her in her last moments in the church before she descends into the ground for eternal sleep.

Thanks again for all of your support this week – we are really looking forward to being surrounded by family and love this afternoon and the entire weekend.