Saturday, November 28, 2009

Get in mah belly!

I went home for Thanksgiving (well, technically I'm still home, since I leave tomorrow morning and I am typing this from my room at my mom's home)...but we have been filling our bellies with delicious food left and right:


After only eating a yogurt during the day, this is what my Thanksgiving dinner plate looked like...I did not hold back!


Foie Gras...apparently it's from a special farm in France (in-law relatives are French) that's now closed, so this is one-of-a-kind...so I felt bad to say that it did not match my palate (but it really didn't):


Then we ate at Gaan the other night...a tiny hole-in-the wall sushi restaurant:


Maguro trio:


R's favorite...tako (aka octopus)...too bad he didn't come with!:


Oh yes, kobe beef sashimi...(although to be honest, I think the one we ate at Sushi Ota was much better):


One of my all-time fave's...negitoro (fatty tuna):


Then my mother and I ate breakfast at Tango Contemporary Cafe, where I satisfied my craving for corned beef hash and potatoes (and coffee!!!):


Today for lunch we ate at Hank's Haute Dog, per my request. I had originally wanted to go there to try the lobster haute dog, but apparently it's a daily special that's only offered on FRIDAYS...darn. There's always next time!

The spread...Chicago-style haute dog with the works, Chorizo haute dog, Truffle MacNCheese, Duck fat fries, and onion rings (of course!):


Here are the closeups...

Truffle MacNCheese:


Oh the wonderful Duck Fat Fries...all fries should be made with duck fat. Trust me.


Onion rings...yum


My chorizo haute dog...(clever spelling isn't it?). It was just a tad spicy, topped with caramelized onions, fresh cilantro, and dijon mustard:


There's always room for my in mah belly!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Scarfs and crafts



I really shouldn't be knitting, but I did. It's getting cold (by my standards at least), and I like wearing scarfs! And I like knitting...it helps me to relax.

I finished this one tonight...long and skinny. I guess its not totally finished yet since I am planning on embroidering something (to be determined) on the ends...the lighting in our living room is strange, so you can't really tell, but the scarf is like a salmon pink color.

My coworker's husband is coming home from deployment next month and she asked her family and friends to each write a small blurb or do something so that she can stick it on a banner that her and her kids are making...this is what I made:



The flag flips up to a short message from us (R, me, and Luci)...I think what she's doing is a great idea...I can't wait to see the finished product after her daughters tack everyone else's notes/pictures on the banner.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Silas' Baby Blanket

Our good friend is having her very first baby in 2-3 weeks (OMG!!!)...so I've been madly trying to finish her son's baby blanket. (Um, I started this project back in APRIL and life got in the way)

But, I finally finished tonight...hooray! I love the creamy avocado color...at the time I started the blanket 7 months ago, I didn't know the sex of the baby so I figured green was a neutral color. It was a new pattern I followed, and I think it came out like how it was supposed to...maybe if I can find time again I will make one for our house too, but it will have to be supersized. :)



Uhhh, I have no idea how to take 'professional' pictures of my crafts yo!

Monday, November 16, 2009

Words of Wisdom...

"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission"

-Eleanor Roosevelt

What's cookin' good lookin'?

Been trying to be more adventurous in our dinner meals lately...I guess we both got to the point where our standard go-to weekday dinner meals got kind of boring...they're still tasty, but we just wanted a little change of pace.

Last night, I made spicy tuna tacos...it's not really a taco when you think about it since it's in a baked gyoza shell. Made some homemade spicy tuna, mixed in some tomato and avocado chunks, and placed that spicy goodness on top of some shredded lettuce inside of the gyoza shell/"taco".

Spicy tuna taco:



Okay, so if you don't like raw fish and/or seaweed, then this might not be for you...but if you do like all of the above, then you should try it. I think it's great 'party food' since it's small, portable and utensil-free.

Tonight I made stuffed bell peppers and cajun-style sweet potato fries...also made a batch with just cracked pepper on them too. R, the bf, seemed to like the cajun-style sweet potato fries better (read: he polished them all off!). We didn't use any dipping sauce for the fries, since the flavor in the potato itself combined with the seasoning was enough. I topped the stuffed bell peppers (which was made out of about 1/4 cup ground beef (which is optional), zucchini, yellow squash, onion, garlic and mini bell peppers all diced and sauteed and seasoned) with some cheese before baking. These came out quite tasty too...

Stuffed bell peppers:



Sweet potato fries:




Our tummy's are very content :)

Sunday, November 15, 2009

I popped my cherry...




The half marathon cherry that is.

Up until the age of 5, I had spent 10 days every month in the hospital because of my severe asthma. I have a vivid memory of when I was six, and my dad took me jogging with him around the school track in Hawaii...I couldn't even finish 1/2 of 1 lap around the track because of said asthma.

And today, today I finished my very first half marathon...13.1 miles...in 2hrs 8 minutes and 20 seconds. It was not easy, far from it, but I am very happy that I finished. It's something that I never dreamed of doing, even when I was in junior high and high school on the cross-country & track team (those races were only 2 miles). It was just too long...(well okay, it is still long...)

I had to get up at 4am this morning, because of the limited race site parking...the race didn't start till 7:30! It was freezing (okay, like 49 degrees in the morning) and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get my muscles loose.

Prior to the start of the race I found the 2hr15min race pacer leader (good looking dude by the way), and decided that I should try to stick with them for as long as I could. Started the race promptly at 7:30am...down residential roads in Coronado. There were a kajillion people and you had to be crafty to be able to avoid stomping and tripping on the other runners.

The first 3 miles weren't difficult...in my mind I naively thought, Oh, this isn't too bad! I can do this! By this time, I left the 2hr15min pace group and broke out on my own. I decided I could pace myself by listening to my own breath.

Then it started heating up...the sun was glaring in my face...and there was Hwy 75. Just one long strip of hwy and you could see down the entire miles and miles of road. That's when your mind starts thinking, shit that's a long ways to go! I was still feeling good at this point in time, but I regretted not bringing my camel pack with me (I had assumed that I'd be hydrated enough with the aid stations along the way). By this point in the race people had started spreading out and some people were already walking. Passed by a few of the challenged athletes (they were kids who were paraplegic or missing limbs and were on hand bicycles or running on prosthetics) and it was inspiring to see them give it their all. I said, self, if these kids aren't giving up, you can't either.

Passed by mile 5, and then my mind started taunting me...saying, you have EIGHT miles to go. EIGHT?!?!?! That's like another 80 minutes of running! Nevertheless, I kept on putting one foot down after the other, step by step and kept chugging along. I kept an eye on my watch, and I was still keeping a decent pace at this point...

Miles 6-9 blended in together and I turned my mind off and focused on the backs of the people in front of me...saw a few people stop running to go off to the side of the road to take a leak...found that amusing. Saw a golden retriever running with his owner(uh, and the dog/owner dynamic duo was running faster than me by the way)

Then I hit Mile 10...treacherous mile 10. Somewhere back on Mile 6 or 7 the tongue on my right shoe started digging into the top of my foot in a weird way. It was more irritating then painful, but when I reached Mile 10 it started becoming painful...it almost felt like it was bruising my foot (it didn't). And I could feel the lactic acid building up in my quads...I kept pushing through though...and at this point I did stop to retie my shoe and walk out some of the soreness in my legs...but I kept it at a minimum because I was determined to stay on pace with my goal. I was so tired, and my mind tried to tell me stop running so many times. It tried to tell me to slow down so that I could run with the pace group again...I almost listened and gave in...but then I remembered my other post about how distance running is about overcoming your mind and about how my other runner friends told me it's mind over matter...I couldn't let myself give up like that. I fought past my mind trying to get me to give up. I was surrounded by people who were in the same position as me, and I didn't see them give up, so I couldn't let myself do that either. Three more miles! Three more miles!

Miles 11 and 12 seemed like the longest 2 miles I have ever ran. My legs felt like lead. It was even hotter than before. I was thirsty but I didn't want to tank water because I was afraid I would get a massive sidepain right at the end of the race. It didn't help that I saw people sitting in their homes (it ran alongside residential homes) drinking icy cold beers. Cruel cruel onlookers...But the instant I passed the 12 mile marker, I told myself ONE MORE MILE.

I dug deep. I made myself forget about the heaviness in my legs (and boy oh boy they felt heavy)...and I started thinking about running past the finish line and the glorious nap that I will be taking this afternoon. I picked up the pace, said words of encouragement to the people that were walking when I past them and told myself outloud "Almost there. You can do this." (I find that it helps when I do this...but I probably look insane) Turned a corner and there it was, about 1/4 mile away...but I could see it...The Finish Line. The minute I saw the glorious finish line, my body forgot about the lactic acid buildup in my legs and it let me really pick up the pace to the finish line. I finished strong, but I forgot to smile at the camera.

My first half was a great experience...I see areas where I can improve my running now though. And I am amazed at what one can do if you push past the mental wall that you put up for yourself. I'm looking forward to the next one...

Friday, November 13, 2009

Fabulous Friday



"Let me take it off!!!"


On another note, I'm so nervous about Sunday!!! Just thinking about it is making my stomach churn. My goal is to cross the finish line happy.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Some things that end up in my tummy...

Drunken Noodles with tofu and veggies from Amarin Thai




Drunken Noodles with tofu and veggies from Amarin Thai

Broccoli

Sunday, November 8, 2009




It’s not only in how they are raised, but in how they are owned.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

My very first...

piece of Misa Jewelry! One of my very best friends from Hawaii makes jewelry for a living...which you can see here: http://www.misajewelry.com/

Tres chic...and I finally got my very first piece (Vega Collection: Vega Plain Stacking Bands)...I plan on gradually adding to my collection...you should too!





Friday, November 6, 2009

Fabulous Friday




She's probably thinking...Man I have a tough life, but someone's got to do it.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

One step at a time...

I've recently taken up running again...well, I say recently, but it's actually been more like since July (after having taken a long long break). I think I've finally figured it out. Today while on my 6-mi run it finally occurred to me that long distance running is 80% mental will. I've finally been able to win the battle against my mind telling me that I can't run more than 4 miles at once without stopping. In fact, a couple weekends ago I ran 11-miles alone on a Sunday morning...3 months ago I couldn't even run 3 miles by myself without wanting to stop like every 5 minutes. I ran cross-country and track for 6 years while in junior high and high school and even then with that amount of training, 6 miles felt like torture and now it feels, well, good...