Rants, Recipes, and Running

This past weekend was spent on the beaches of Miami enjoying a much needed girls trip with my mom, 2 sisters, and 2 sister-in-laws. My heart is so full, and my face-muscles sore from all the laughter! Originally I wasn't going to be able to do this trip due to a lack of PTO, but I somehow managed to eek this out one! I am so blessed. We stayed right on the water on South Beach. The weekend was the perfect mix of shopping, exploring, and lounging on the beach. We ate some amazing food and made amazing memories. We got in Wednesday evening . After getting unpacked, a few of us went straight to the ocean to dip our feet in. Then we walked across the street to a little bar and enjoyed our 1st cocktail of the trip . Thursday morning, Lisa and I woke up early and headed out for a run! Well, "early" in terms of vacation ;). Although humid, the running was amazing in Miami! Miles and miles of beach-side running paths! INCREDIBLE people watching. ;)     Next we to...

It's been quite some time since I've updated the world with a "currently" post. Here are my current "currently's": Reading : Follow You Home - I found it on my Kindle, and it seemed like a good "Halloween read". It's kind of horrifying. But I can't put it down! Thinking : About all that has to be done in the upcoming months - 2 moves in 9 months, another career change. 5 moves in 2 years total, if you really want to get down and dirty. It makes my head hurt when I think about it at this point.... Frustrated : That I cannot have a wife who can clean my house, laundry, grocery shopping. Life has been super busy - and my evenings are spent doing big jobs such as de-cluttering, painting base-boards, cleaning ceiling fans and vents to prepare for selling our house. I need a wife ;) This is a 1st world problem, I acknowledge this. Feeling : Annoyed with the forecast of triple digits this week. It's mid October. 100 degrees need...

It has been almost 2 months, and I'm finally getting to my review post. Better late than never right? I must say the Hawaii trip was the best vacation to date Ryan and I have taken. We started in Kaui, and then hopped over to Oahu. Let's start with Kauai! One of the perks of how much Ryan travels, is he gets some SUPER perks from National. So we got this little hot-rod to escort us around Kauai!     We stayed at a hotel on the East side of the Island our 1st night. We headed straight for a walk on the beach. Actually...Ryan spent the 1st half hour in a 90 degree hotel room (AC wasn't turned on!), logging into work and school. I was not loving that...   But then we headed to the beach!!   Pictured below was a sacred area of the island. After much exploring, we realized those rocks "tombstones".   Here is a panoramic view of the Kauai from the east view! Gorgeous! Our 1st night was pretty low key, as we had a BIG HIKE ...

I am totally copy-catting my sister today. But anyone who knew us growing up, now this is not a "new" behavior for me. ;) I always was her shadow. I've toned it down a bit over the years.... But I saw all the exciting things she has to look forward to in October, and it got me excited about my month too! October 2-3: I am heading on my 1st "work trip" ever! I know some may snicker at this, as traveling is part of their daily job. But in nursing, it's not every day you get to fly across the country. I also want to clarify - that I realize traveling for your job is not "fun", and becomes quite exhausting. But being the wife of the one who's out of town every other week....I am really excited to be the one who's leaving town for a few days ;) I'll be heading to Arlington, VA for a IPF Conference (that's Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis). I've been invited to serve on the team as an "ambassador", and give my input from ...

So if you've followed my blog, you'd learn that I've done the triathlon's kind of backwards. I started with a sprint tri. I then progressed to an Half Iron Man. And last weekend I did an Olympic Tri.   Usually people don't "dive" into the HIM until they feel "semi" experienced with triathlons! But I crave crazy.   Now after completing these 3 distances, I must say the Olympic Distance is amazing! It is long enough to feed my crazy. But it's short enough that I can push myself and not feel like dying afterwards!   I can drink the free "post race Michelob Ultra" ;)   Because I'm not vomiting.   (After my HIM, I was hunched over vomiting post race. For a long time.)   I have to say this race was one of the most fun races I've ever done! Just such a good weekend. I'll let the pictures tell you my story.....       Here is my bed as I packed for the race. There is so much stuff to pack for a tr...

I have been a bit absent from my blog lately. And I keep trying to sit down to do a Hawaii Recap post, but haven't been able  to get the pictures together to do that. But I promise that will be coming soon! Instead I think I'll give a generalized recap of life as it is. Mid July, Ryan decided to revisit of dream of his that has persisted since he was about 9 years old - to become an F-16 fighter pilot. On August 4 he turned 28, which is the cut-off year for applying for this position. Once you turn 30, they no longer train pilots to fly '16's. He also has been balancing a full time engineering career, with a part time flying career with the Air Force that puts him working 14-20 days in a row sometimes. That's not a really "long term" approach to living a happy and fulfilled life. He has grown a lot of gray hairs over the past year, and he's only 28! So to the drawing board we went. And decided it would be best he pursues this lifelong dream. ...

I have been very absent from this blog lately! Where do I even begin... Here's what I've been up to! Training : I have a race on my horizon, at last! I've decided to do the Tempe AZ Lifetime Olympic Triathlon in September. I have 4 other friends that are doing it as well, so it will be a good excuse for a "girls weekend". I'm not following a specific training plan. I still like to try lifting weights at least 2 times/week. I've found from triathlons in the past (for me), it is most important to make running a priority. In a triathlon, you're running when you're the most tired. For those of you not aware, an Olympic tri is a 0.9 mile swim, 25 mile bike, and a 6.2 mile run! I've been terrible about swimming this time around. I'm so scared of getting an ear infection, and I seem to have a hard time getting my butt in that pool! Dreaming : About our upcoming Hawaii vacation! We have been planning this for about 1 year, so I am so ...