I took the long way home this weekend and walked all throughout this beautiful city…
Then I took a walk to my gym…
Then a walk around my neighborhood…
and I ended my weekend with a walk to my kitchen…
Banana Ice Cream!!!
Blend one frozen banana, with a tablespoon of your favorite nut butter and a splash of almond milk.
The past few days have been filled with delicious food – some prepared at the hands of others and some cooked chez moi.
The weekend was busy with good friends and adventures including,
some sushi
(Going out for sushi is never complete unless I get to enjoy a seaweed salad as well)
Some homemade cocktails
(a few beautiful views found their way into my weekend as well)
Views from the Land’s End Trail in San Francisco
A childhood indulgence to get me through Monday
some sun and a good read to nourish my body and soul on my lunch break
And a heartwarming Sunday dinner of wine, spaghetti squash and chicken
I marinated some chicken breasts in a plastic bag for a few hours with balsamic dressing and then cooked it in the oven. While the chicken was cooking I poked the squash with a knife several times over and then cooked it in the microwave until the outside became squishy to the touch. Then mixed the chicken, some broccoli and the shredded squash together with some pepper and a small bit of smart balance – yum!
What have you been eating?
Dear Blogging World,
I apologize for my absence. It was not on purpose, nor were there any feelings of malice behind my leave, life just got in the way. That is not a good excuse as you are part of my daily living, but please forgive me for straying for so long.
Ok, ok. Yes, I failed to blog one post this week, but sometimes life happens and my fingers are just too tired to lift themselves from key to key after all that I am dealing with – work, emotional health, physical strength, responsibilities at home…
So I’m back after a mini-hiatus and ready to post away.
Unfortunately I have no new exciting recipes to share with all of you, but after some experimenting tonight I will have a new meal creation for all of you to try.
My workouts are going well at the gym. In between spinning and pilates classes I have been walking on the treadmill and doing the following core exercise I found on Pinterest.
For me it’s hard to go to the gym and get in a good workout if I’m not taking a class where an instructor yells at me to push it harder. But I have found that finding routines online and printing them out to bring with me to the gym gives me a basis for completing a decent workout. Of course there are times where I stare at the paper and laugh refusing to do the last few sets because I’m ready to leave the gym, but most of the time I am able to find my inner gym instructor and do that last set of crunches and find the strength to do those last 5 push ups.
Do you find workouts online and actually follow through and do them?
Please pass any good ones along!
Now I’m off to enjoy a Sunday pilates class and bask in the beautiful spring like weather with a hike. But don’t worry I’ll leave enough energy to get cooking in the kitchen later 
Living in the Bay Area is something special. I have said it a lot: Here and Here and Here. But where can you enjoy the whirring liveliness of the city and then drive less than an hour and be surrounded by the serene beauty of nature.
With some out-of-towners in toe, we spent the day in Napa Valley enjoying the view, the tastes of aged grape juice and some laughs.
Who wouldn’t want to end the day with some glasses of bubbly!?
Another thing that I have learned to appreciate and take more advantage of are the exercise classes offered at my YMCA. I have been trying to do as many spin classes as I can get to during the week, and this weekend I went to a spin class on Saturday and Sunday. Without long runs in my mix of workouts I find that I need to really be guided to get a good workout in and what better way to build up that cardio then with shouting instructors and spinning pedals?
After an hour in the saddle I leave knowing that I have worked hard, burned some calories and strengthened my muscles. It’s also a great way to practice my posture and use my core to control my body and leg movements.
Unfortunately I will be traveling for work soon and I will not have access to a spin bike, let alone a spin class, but to maintain my exercise routines I will be taking advantage of the wonders of the internet and printing out some at-home workouts.
It always pays off to take a moment and look around at the resources that you have right at your finger tips.
What will you take advantage of today?
It would be lovely to dip my toes in the warm lapping waters of the Caribbean right now, but unfortunately I do not have the money or the time to escape on that kind of weekend adventure. I can, however, explore the Bay Area and all it has to offer with the wonder and awe of a tourist.
I have lived in San Francisco for 2 and half years now and the people, scenery and atmosphere never gets old. This weekend my parents came to visit and we traversed the city and surrounding towns with the wide eyes of foreigners. There are always new places to explore and beauties to stumble upon including,
delicious food
stores with a view
and scenic lookouts
If you are in need of an escape just look to your backyard and turn over one stone you have never noticed before. I’m sure there is a neighborhood you have not visited, a building you never realized was of historic importance or even a patch of land you have never taken the time to appreciate. So go out and enjoy your Sunday discovering all the adventures right in front of you!
365 days ago I started this blog.
It was supposed to chronicle my journey as a runner and my healthy (and not so healthy) habits. And while running was a major part of this daily publication for many months, running took a major back seat to many other life events that happened this year.
Some of the wonderful highlights include,
Vacationing in Anguilla with the family
Welcoming a cat into our family
And of course with the good comes the not as good including,
This year has been a tough one, full of unexpected changes and numerous challenges. With each turn my weaknesses have been exposed, but more importantly, my true strength has found its way to the surface. 2012 will be a year I never forget for the good and the bad, and I am excited and energized for the year to come.
I am determined to get in the best athletic shape that I can in order to start running again by the summer, I will continue to grow my career, my friends and family will see me more often and I will take on new challenges with a new found confidence.
I wish everyone success, happiness and health in 2013!
Happy New Year!
This weekend was full of adventures starting with some long walks around the city and then, yup, a swim in the bay!
It might be December, but that did not stop me from suiting up in a wet suit, strapping on two swim caps and loading up on body glide. I have been working hard in the pool and when a friend asked me to join her in the bay I couldn’t deny myself a chance to be an official San Francisco resident.
I was prepared for the worst, but I was pleasantly surprised when I walked in the water I didn’t go into shock and my teeth never started chattering. It was certainly cold, but I felt comfortable enough to swim and even just stand around.
I probably swam for about half an hour for a total of a mile, with lots of stops to rest. I had walked a lot earlier in the day, but the cold, slight current and excitement of being in open water definitely brought on fatigue faster than in the pool.
It was quite an accomplishment to swim in the bay and I am excited to try it again in the coming weekends. My goal is to swim a farther distance without having to stop so often, but I will be happy if I can just stay in for half an hour like the first time.
It feels great to check off an item on my bucket list!
Have you every had a chance to swim in open water?
Any tips?
Look at what I’m wearing!!
This might be a rental, but I am fully committed to swimming in the bay this weekend.
Stay tuned for details about my next plunge…
Happy Friday!
What adventures are you going on this weekend?
If you don’t live in the Bay Area you may not have heard that we had tons of rain, causing lots of flooding. The rain was amazingly loud and the wind was so strong. It’s hard to believe that I snapped this picture of the bright clear sky only hours after 3 days of rain.
Rain always calls for a warm meal so I started this veggie soup in the crockpot at the beginning of the day. I simply chopped up a whole bunch of veggies and tossed them in the pot with some broth, water and spices.
I used garlic, salt, pepper, curry and oregano.
I was not in love with the flavor and decided that it needed a sweet layer, so I grabbed some agave and voila! Soup I want to eat
I blended everything together with my immersion blender and topped it with some chives and crunchy garlic.
After sitting over night I’m sure the flavors blended even more, so leftovers are going to be yummy.
Then, in usual Sunday fashion, it was time to snuggle in with kitty.
I hope you all enjoyed your weekends, rain or shine!
Do you see this pile of bacon!?
Yesterday morning some friends and I had front row seats to this mound of meat while enjoying a delicious brunch at Plow.
I had an incredible plate of eggs. But if you are heading here any time soon the lemon ricotta pancakes are where it’s at! Yes I stole one dairy filled bite 
With full stomaches we embarked on an afternoon of short films hosted by Lunafest. Check it out to see if these films by women, about women, for women are playing near you. All of the films were fantastic and it was just enough time in the theater to make room for more food.
This time a homemade feast complete with hummus from scratch (recipes to follow).
