petting zoo.

we celebrated a friend turning 2 years old a couple of weeks ago and she had the cutest farm-themed birthday party! vera got to meet/pet lots of baby animals for the first time and despite our expressions, we had so much fun.

the most i've ever ran in my life.

i decided to take a camera with me to the gym yesterday. i was talking with a friend about how i have a mental block at 5 miles and how i just felt like i wouldn't be able to do the 10k because of that. i took her up on the challenge to go ahead and run it just to prove it to myself. and then i ran a little extra for a boo-ya effect. that's an official runner's term.

and this is how pretty i look afterwards.

the best part of my day.

bath time is so much fun now that she's sitting. we are loving this stage!

little v sits.

she is changing and growing and doing something new every day. so fun!

stickers.

bought these fun stickers a few weeks ago and i just got them in the mail. they are dishwasher safe, so i can stick them on her cups, toys, bottles, diaper bag, etc. it's official. i'm a mom. i'm buying labels for my kid's stuff.

don't tell drill sergeant gamez!

circa 2002

i've started incorporating weight training into my workout. lots of reps, low weight. wanting to build long, lean, toned muscles..not bulk. and man oh man, am i sore today. but it feels good. i'm going to body pump at my gym, where i can follow an instructor in a class since i don't know anything about weight lifting. we did push-ups, too. it's been about 7 years since i had a reason to do push-ups so i probably haven't done a single one since. and i'm embarrassed to admit this, but i did GIRL push-ups!! yes, my knees were on the ground. everyone else was doing it. :) i remember being able to bust out a ton of push-ups. they were never my favorite, but i could do them. that's not the case anymore. but i'll get there. until then though, don't tell anyone.

p.s. women drill sergeants are the WORST!

st. patty's day trick & meal

a super easy meal: pan-seared lamb chops tossed with lemon juice and zest. grilled asparagus. quinoa with peas and mint. being festive with a little green in our food.

catching some zzz's.

she's found her fingers and i love it that she can comfort herself now. she's not such a fan of the plug (pacifier) anymore. it's always the same two fingers, too.

don't eat anything your grandma wouldn't recognize as food.

i am planning a menu for a friday night dinner party at our house with some friends. what i love about this group of people is that they ain''t skerd of eating real food. and by that i mean butter, cream, and sugar. i cook often for people who eat low-fat and low-carb. if you're one of them, God bless you. but perhaps you're more like me who is an equal opportunity eater and believes all foods were created equal. everything in moderation is my motto. i don't mess with the fake stuff. splenda? what the crap is that? don't even get me started on margarine. i'd rather know exactly what is going into my body and where it came from. "don't eat anything your grandmother wouldn't recognize as food" is one of the best pieces of advice that i've heard. it really makes shopping for food pretty simple.

all this being said, i can't say i never eat processed foods, but i try to just say no for the most part. i won't deny that there are some tasty quick foods out there, but it usually turns me off when i look at the ingredient list and it contains what looks like a paragraph of words i can't even pronounce.

how we met.

i'm in the process of writing and illustrating a book for my present and future children. it is the story of how their parents met and fell in love.

have you seen magazine publications before that when you get to the end of the magazine and flip it over, you can flip through more pictures and ads 'backwards'? well, that gave me the idea for chris to write and illustrate the same story, but from his point of view.

reading with the spine to the left will be "mom's story" and reading with the spine on the right will be "dad's story." when it's finished i will definitely post some pics of our fun project.

oh no she didn't.

while in target this afternoon, i overheard a mom calling for her daughter. whose name was molasses.

greatest. headline. ever.

stolen from here.

top 5.

i have a lot of favorites, let's be honest. especially when it comes to food, it's hard to pick sides so we're breaking it down and getting specific. we're talking restaurants in south austin. here we go...

1) tarka the paneer is where it's at.
2) madam mam's anything and everything with a thai tea, please.
3) evangeline cafe avocado po'boy
4) buenos aires cafe empanadas rock
5) torchy's tacos damn good tacos

her 4 month pics.

i got together with a friend about a month ago so she could capture vera on camera. we ended up deciding to reschedule since she wasn't in a very good mood. here's a few from that smile-less day.

memories.

the last 2 weeks i have been running 20 miles/week. my runs usually look something like this: mon-5, tue-4, wed-3, thurs-2, fri-3, sat-4. i like to taper my runs because mentally i'm finding that if i know what i'm in for, i can prepare myself and be in the mode for a long run versus a short one. i did 2 miles today and didn't even break a sweat. it was weird. i'm still getting used to this and find it funny that i'm so into it.
a few memories i have about running...

1) pt in the army. cadences. yelling. not sounding off loud enough so our whole platoon had to roll in the sand afterwords. the sweat made it stick something fierce.

2) running in high school at night while my mom followed me in the car with the lights shining for my path.

3) running with my friend, joe, who saved his own life by running away from the civil war in liberia. for real.

4) putting the girls on lockdown with 3 sports bras.

5) training with the boys soccer team since i was the manager my freshman year. that didn't stick for long.

6) running at purdue to 'shane and shane'.

a vocal morning.

click here to hear her chatter.

sweety pie.

this too shall pass.

found these links on a friend's blog. worth the watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJKythlXAIY

somebody hold me back.

i absolutely cannot tolerate racism. there is nothing more stupid in this world. it makes me so angry when i see people acting or speaking rudely toward others and for it, i just want to kick them. but repaying violence with violence isn't too smart either. that's my bold, but brief thought of the day.

a very hungry 'pillar party.

i just got an order for this cake, which will be super fun to make.
sweet carter is turning 1!

bug.

not too old.

having recently become capable of doing something i never thought i could do and do well (run), it has made me think about pursuing other things in life that i've only dreamed of doing, such as learning to play piano or speak another language fluently. in my head i use the excuse that i am too old already to start fresh at something and become really good at it, but i think that's a cop-out. 25 is not too old. 80 is not too old. i don't want to live life holding myself back from trying new things. i am learning that truly, all things are possible with God.