the goods: sunny lunchtimes

the weather in boise, idaho was gorgeous today.  i ate my turkey sandwich, banana, and honey mustard potato chips (i know, drive a stake through my heart-- or gut, as the case may be here) in my car.  it was actually so warm that i started sweating... i mean "glistening"... so i moved outdoors.




some scenery that i pointed out to rosie, my iphone.




and i ended up on the sidewalk, pondering the meaning of life-- and how i seriously regretted those potato chips.

not the worst year

2010, you're over!

here are 10 things I love about you:

1. becoming comfortable with who I am. I'm kind of strange, but I hope someday that someone will find these qualities endearing instead of neurotic-- or perhaps a healthy combination of the two terms. I mean, who could possibly pass up a girl wearing these fleecy gems?








2. not expanding my playlist artists. some things are just not worth changing.









3. losing 3.5 years' weight in less than 6 months. how did I do it, you ask? eat right and exercise. according to the numbers, I lost 17% of my body weight and averaged over 200 calories per day burned offby exercise. Jillian Michaels would be so proud. goodbye, size 4! I hope to never see you again.









4. Rosie, my iPhone, became my technology bff. I love her truly-- I accept her flaws, show off her goods, and sleep next to her every night.









5. blogging. public oversharing has never felt so cathartic, productive, and egotistical. thank you, readers.

6. expanding my sushi palate. eel is still my favorite.























7. overuse of my go-to mirror shot. I have a cell phone camera and am not afraid to flaunt my narcissism!























8. after almost a year as a part-time floating pharmacy technician, I landed a steady gig at another store so I could give up the vagrant lifestyle. splitting my week between two pharmacies that are vastly different from each other has been a true blessing. I was feeling pretty down about my job mid-year, but a few pep talks and a change in scenery has helped my attitude immensely.









9. riding my pedal bike, jogging around a track field, and remembering sweating publically is not as bad as I think it is. well. sort of. at least I got some good pictures out of my embarassing encounters with the world.









10. creating memories with others and trying to return the favor.









... and the beat goes on.

new: hour of power

golds gym style.

-15 min treadmill
-15 min bike
-15 min combo stair stepper/elliptical
-15 min elliptical

(actually i spent almost 17 minutes on the bike... I got wrapped up in "the mentalist." that Simon Baker.)

-508 calories burned
-7.1 miles accomplished

and my cranberry-pomegranate juice with vanilla whey powder is the most delicious dessert I've had in a while.

i feel really good about my workouts since re-joining a gym. it's not hard work-- I can watch tv and socialize and burn off my daytime food sins (like the southwest-style chicken and dumplings soup at subway today... frickin awesome). today's new workout challenge is one I will likely repeat. 15 minutes per machine goes by so much faster than 30-45 on a single machine.

now for some edamame and antiques roadshow.

new: B2B

in junior high, I hated two things: menstruating and "running the mile" in PE. I think a good mile time for me was something like 14 or 15 minutes. maybe even 20. sweating was just so, like, not kewl and skinny was, like, so gr8.

well, I still think sweating is yucky. however, so is feeling like a blobby chunk of cottage cheese with flesh. the scale says I've lost 21 lbs since June, and with newfound confidence comes a sense of athleticism and duty to display these solid beastly thighs. and ta-da, today I ran my first 5k race: barber to Boise, although the 5k actually looped through just Boise.

my pre-race self-portrait.






the race was quick. I started out frustrated, weaving through strollers and children in tutus. (now, I think a tutu would have been fabulous. then, I thought, "MOVE YOUR FLUFFY TAFFETA OR LOSE IT!") I made it past the 1 mile mark, still at a solid jog, and I heard a girl say, "1.33!" (miles), checked my watch and saw it had been about 12 minutes and I immediately thought, Frick, i'm going to burn out.

I walked five times between the halfway point and the finish line, was beaten by an 11-year-old in a grass skirt (the shame), but finished with a time of 31:44. I think my thought process during the final lap around Bronco Stadium was, "sweatpancakessweatpainpancakesowwwwPANCAKES..."

then I ate my victory food with a 50ish-yrs old friendly couple who finished in under 20 minutes. good for them, I hope I am still as fit and in love when I'm 50.





then I remembered why I should have ridden my bike today after reaching my car. stupid hybrid piece of crap, I hope you rot in a junkyard next to toasters and curling irons.

nap time.

summer day 88

I checked in on my little brother today (my parents are out of town) and thought we were going to ride our bikes to happy hour at smoky mountain. found him playing halo and could not be wrenched away from the tv screen. so I went alone. not surprising, all things considered.





yes, this is real--my mom feels compelled to remind my brother to close the freezer door.

at least I got some fresh garden onions out of my trip.





even though I washed my hands 3 times, I can still smell onion. I better stop smelling my fingers though. people might get the wrong impression.

summer day 78

beautiful day in eagle.




lead to an impromptu solo 6ish mile bike ride on my mom's new schwinn.






hung out at heritage park after sulking because I didn't have a bike lock and therefore couldn't get starbucks.






enjoyed some quiet time cruising around my old stomping grounds. felt good to breathe some fresh air. as c once stated, "girls don't sweat; they glisten."






and then I indulged in some nachos and hummus and garden tomatoes for the BSU game. another great day.

summer day 60

rafting day! main fork of the payette. lots of fun. mostly, Amy paddled and I dodged water. strange seeing the world from the river's perspective. oh, my shoes were a big hit with the 8 and almost-six year old girls in the raft who kept smelling coconut.

next summer, Amy and I will try out the north fork...more rapids and less downtime. this is motivation to work on upper body strength. can't wait.

summer day 21

this is how I started my day with a purring kitty on my tummy.





this is how I ended my day, sweating every milliliter of fluid from every pore of my body. painful as it was, I ran a 11:28 minute mile. and then some.

I think that deserves a kitty snuggle.