Ahhhh, the beach.... Like a lot of people on the planet, it's definitely one of my happy places. This weekend I was able to get to the beach two days in a row! On Friday, my hubby convinced me to take an hour work break at lunchtime to head to the beach with him. There had been an insane amount of anchovies in the water the day before - apparently the largest school of northern anchovy seen in local waters in 30 years: (source) Wow right?! There are so many anchovies it looks like an oil slick. Adam had gone surfing and swam amongst them the day before and said it was really cool. We were hoping the fish would still be around, but they had moved on by Friday afternoon. I'm not going to lie, if they were still there I probably would have been a little freaked out swimming in the ... [Read More]
beach
Fruit Bowls, Bird Poop, Tennis, Oh My! Weekend Recap
Hi friends! You can probably tell from my post title that I'm lacking some wittiness at the moment, but I keep having such fun weekends, so I'm back again this Monday sharing a recap of my last few days. My weekend kicked off with my cousin Michelle coming into town to stay at my place on Friday night. First we went for a short yet sweaty evening hike with Harley.... ...and then went to a Mexican restaurant called Norte to grab some dinner. I ordered a plate with a veggie tostada, rice, beans and an avocado taco. It was my first time dining at Norte, and I would definitely go back sometime. I thought it had pretty good food and a nice outdoor dining area, plus it's right next to the beach in Carlsbad. Now that I've moved to the northern side of San Diego County, Michelle (who lives ... [Read More]
The Basil Thief
Hi friends! Hope you had/are having a wonderful weekend. Mine has been a lot of fun, and it's not quite over yet! I think that True Blood episodes make Sunday nights a little bit more fun. :) Here are some snapshots of my weekend: I broke my weeklong hiatus from dairy with an even more awesome grilled cheese than I made last week: fried zucchini + cheddar + avocado + tomato [from my own plant] + horseradish mustard on whole wheat = deliciousness. Since it was ungodly hot in my town this weekend, my hubby and I headed to the beach to cool off. We hit a lot of traffic on the way there and were wondering if going to the coast was a good move, but then we got to the beach in Monterey and it was perfect weather there - totally worth it. After beachin' it, we went into town to ... [Read More]
Moving on Up to the Bay Area
Hi friends, long time no talk. We have a lot to catch up on! Life has been, shall we say, chaotic the past week... and I'm now officially a Bay Area resident! Between setting up the move, working, finding time to enjoy my last few days in San Diego and the friends I've made there, exercising, and packing, I was going nonstop. I felt like there weren't enough hours in the day! One of the many things I had to prepare for during the move was driving up to Nor Cal with Harley. My dog is quite possibly the worst canine to be in a car with. She continuously whines a very high-pitched screech, insists on putting the window down with her paw (regardless of the temperature), and then when I lock it, freaks out until I put it down for her. She also likes to jump from the front to backseat ... [Read More]
A Few Sights from the Dog Beach Today
“A person can learn a lot from a dog, even a loopy one like ours. Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart. He taught me to appreciate the simple things -- a walk in the woods, a fresh snowfall, a nap in a shaft of winter sunlight. And as he grew old and achy, he taught me about optimism in the face of adversity. Mostly, he taught me about friendship and selflessness and, above all else, unwavering loyalty.” - John Grogan, Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog "There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face." - B. Williams ... [Read More]
Dog Beach Date + A New Biking PR
Love this quote. Speaking of moving, today I hit a new biking PR. Let's get one thing straight, I'm no avid cyclist. I think mountain biking is a lot of fun, but most of the cycling I do is on a stationary bike at my gym to get the cardio portion of my workout in. I've mentioned in previous posts that recently we got new, more high tech bikes, and I'm having fun setting distance goals when I do longer rides. I began alternating the resistance every other mile, keeping my heart rate between 60-65% for a mile, then upping the level to bike at 70-80% of my max heart rate for a mile. At first, I just wanted to get to 15 miles. Then it became 20. Next I hit 25. And today, I went past that to 26.2. I got to 26, and then thought, hmm why not go an extra .2 in honor of the marathon I have no ... [Read More]