This was probably the best way ever to spend Brooke’s nap time.  There is just something about a new J Crew catalogue that puts me in a really good mood.  

I am beginning to get really jealous about Billy’s new job.  They took him to a fancy Vietnamese restaurant for lunch and then had a bowling party after work.   He made sure to wear his compression socks to help him recover from two tough games of bowling.

Brooke and I would have gone bowling but instead we had a girls night to go to that had been planned for a while.

The theme was to bring something delicious that your mom makes (in honor of Mother’s Day this month).

Win-win for me because chicken rolls are something that my mom makes and it is something I have been craving for weeks:

I love my mom’s handwriting.

The finished product.  I didn’t have croutons to top the rolls with so instead I used bread crumbs and some italian seasoning.  

Someone was a little spoiled with foot massages.

The plate of everyone’s favorite things that their moms make.  Salad, potatoes, chicken fingers, wild rice mixture and my mom’s rolls.

The dessert that stole my heart.

It was none of our birthdays but we put candles in the cake anyway because it just felt right.

Brooke never took a binky so she is confused as to why other babies want one so she always pulls it out of their mouths.

Now that she can crawl and stand she is always on the move but there was a time last night where she just sat and stared at the other baby.

I think it is safe to say that Brooke had a really grand time at girls night.

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What is something that your mom makes that you absolutely love and makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?

Favorite kind of M&M’s?  Dark chocolate, regular, peanut, peanut butter, coconut, pretzel, crispy?

What day is your birthday?  Anyone have a May birthday?

Before I went out on my run this morning I of course had to check all 50 social media websites that I am obsessed with.   While on Facebook I saw this from the Brooks page.  

(By the way, her book A Life Without Limits is amazing!!!)

This morning I had another stroller run.  It was tough.  I have no idea how I used to be able to run 15 miles with the jogging stroller because now it makes me tired after just .34 miles.  Throughout the run when I wanted to quit I just thought about that Chrissie quote.  It worked and I finished the run.  How did people motivate themselves to run when they didn’t feel like running before facebook/instagram/twitter/blogs?

After the run I did Runner’s Core level 3.  Level 3 is no joke.  It says it is just a ‘core’ video but somehow every single muscle in my whole body is sore.  Brooke loves to join in.

In case you were wondering about Brooke’s outfit…. it is because it was a little bit colder this morning and this was the only long sleeved shirt and long pants that fit her that I could find.    Maybe she will start a baby trend or something with this outfit.   

My sister passes down a lot of knowledge to me.  She did it again and introduced me to this salad dressing that is yogurt based and absolutely incredible.

That dressing was used on my packed salad that I took to go eat at Bangs Friend’s work.  I also brought goldfish, an apple and a smoothie.  I am kind of picky about my smoothies.  I don’t add vegetables to them (because I enjoy eating vegetables other ways) and I don’t use ice because I want it to be extra creamy.  This smoothie just had frozen fruit (raspberries, blueberries and blackberries), half a banana, milk, a chobani yogurt and after I blend it I put it back in the freezer for a while because I love it extra cold.

Me, Bangs and 1/3rd of Brooke’s face.

I am thinking I might be going back to a few treadmill runs a week (the stroller makes my IT Band flare up a little bit and Billy works crazy hours now) and so I was doing my research on what shows I want to watch while I run.  I came across the Best Food Ever…. this episode was Bodacious Bakeries and I am THIIIIIISSSSSS close to waking up Brooke from her nap and making her go to a bakery with me.  If you are a foodie, you will like this show.  

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Would you consider yourself a ‘foodie’?  Do you watch food shows?

What are your typical smoothie ingredients?  Do you put spinach, kale etc. in your smoothies?

Ever ran pushing a jogging stroller?  Thoughts!!!

I am in desperate need of some book recommendations!! What are you reading or what is something that you recently read and loved?

Can you guess which side of Brooke’s head she was napping on?

Curly on one side and straight on the other.  While Brooke has been getting better from being sick she has been sleeping for crazy amounts of time and these pictures were after her three hour nap yesterday.  Please expect to see my suitcases in photos on the blog over the next few weeks because unpacking is so not fun so I procrastinate doing it as long as possible.

Billy texted me yesterday to be ready when he got home with fancy clothes on because it was time to go out and celebrate his first day of work/me being home/finishing the first year of law school.  I don’t own fancy clothes so that just meant I finally took a shower (ahem….6 pm) and put on something other than my Run Happy shirt.   (Brooke was staring at Pinkberry in the below picture… seriously, it was across the street and she couldn’t take her eyes off of it)

Billy had gone to Left Bank before for a school thing and I was insanely jealous so last night he took me there so I could test it out.  Verdict= delicious.

We started off with mussels in a garlic butter sauce.   I treated the garlic butter sauce in the bowl like a soup and ate it with a spoon.

Once upon a time when I was a waitress at a sushi restaurant they had seared tuna on their menu.  For a few months I ordered the tuna EVERY SINGLE shift because I was so in love with it so when I saw it on the menu last night I had to get it.  It was amazing and it came with avocado, anchovies, hard boiled eggs and 15 different vegetables (don’t ask me to name them because I didn’t even know that there were 15 different kinds of vegetables).

The table next to us ordered these divine things and I saw them and could not stop thinking about them.  

I feel like I deserve an award or a plaque or something to recognize the fact that I selflessly allowed Billy to have a few bites of it.

After dinner we went over to see Bangs Friend.  3 weeks without her.  Once again, way too long.

Speaking of three weeks, I am wearing my retainer for the first time in 3 weeks and it feels like my teeth are going to fall out.

Did you have braces?  How long?  Retainer?

Seared tuna: Yay or Nay?

So…. this is random but I might be having to transition into being an early evening runner…. who else runs in the early evening?  Thoughts!!!

Ever work at a restaurant?  Which one?

-Happy Sumo, Los Hermanos, Magelby’s, Brick Oven, Juice Press and Fazolis.

Obviously the number one reason I was excited to come home to California was to see Billy but the second reason was because I knew I had a package from Brooks waiting for me.

I have run in the Infiniti Short II for a while now and absolutely love them and how comfortable they are but seriously the colors they offer just get more and more fun.  This was my first time trying out the EZT II Bold Run Happy top and it is a new favorite. It is super soft and light and keeps you dry:)  It says that it is treated with an antimicrobial agent which helps to fight odor and wash clean (answer to my ((and probably Billy’s)) prayers).  I love racerback tops and I love that it is loose around the stomach but not too loose.  

Workout was a spin class (I really missed my spinees) and then my first stroller run in weeks once Brooke woke up.

We did 4 miles on MY trail.  I get very possessive about my favorite running spots.  

And then we played in the grass for a while.

In case you were wondering about what Billy was living off of while I was gone…. the only things in the fridge/freezer were ridiculous amounts of juice and pellegrinos and corn dogs in the freezer.  

So I bought the whole store.  I always buy a lot of fruits and vegetables but every time I go to the store I have to pick up ice cream.  It is a must.  Can you spy the mint chocolate chip?  The pickles and watermelon were definitely impulse buys.

 Bill (remember he is going by Bill now when we talk about his work stuff because he is such a professional) wanted to show you guys his office.  Seriously, he is so fancy now and his bosses took him out to dumplings for lunch.  They better invite me and Brooke next time.

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Bay Area peeps!! Check out THIS awesome 5k!!  Check out the Kids Sportz USA too!

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What did you wear on your last run?  (Don’t forget colors and brands too!)

Do you have ice cream in your freezer right now?  Do you normally?

Use one word to describe your day so far…

Get ready for the Cliff Notes version of The Hungry Runner Girl today because somebody named Southwest decided it would be a great idea to delay my plane and so I am writing this way too late at night.

My SIL and I tried desperately to get them to take a cousin picture sitting nicely together like THIS ONE but it was not our lucky day.  We set them all down on the bottom stair next to each other and within 5 seconds they were like this:

The sweet SIL (she is one of those people that when you are with her you think a million times about how you want to be like her because she is so patiend/kind/awesome/funny/amazing/talented) drove me up to the airport.  Good thing she packed me treats to get me through that very hard time in my life that I had to wait for my plain. 

I have polka dot jeans now.  I kind of love them.

For the first hour of the flight she was just playing with toys and whatever else she could find…

And the second hour of the flight she was in the biggest cuddle mood which I gladly took advantage of.

Yesterday Brooke went on her SIXTEENTH AIRPLANE.  Girlfriend is a world traveler at the age of 9 months.

The sweet sweet reunion.  It was almost too good to be true.

And to celebrate Billy finishing his finals we went to his favorite restaurant…..

He starts his internship TODAY… he is a busy man.  Brooke and I have important things to do like teach spin (okay, she won’t be coming to that) and going to Costco to restock my sad lonely fridge.  

What is on your agenda today?

Is your fridge stocked or in need of groceries?

Fill me in on what race you are doing next…. I need to live through your life because it feels like I haven’t raced in a very long time:)

This picture is going to tell you a few things about me.

1. I am weird for taking pictures of myself while I am running.

2.  I DIDN’T WEAR SUNGLASSES and my eyes burned the entire time so I kept them closed.  As I was walking out the door to run I remembered my sunglasses were upstairs and I was too lazy to go get them which is ironic because I was about to go out for a run….

3.  It was really hot outside.

After the run my coach has me doing 4 x 10 squats and lunges and then level three of Runner’s Core.

At 9:45 a.m. this morning I begged my SIL to go get pretzels with me.  Since I knew it was my last day here I definitely needed one.  It is so cool because this particular place makes them when you order them… they aren’t sitting around for hours before you eat them and that is why they are so good.

While I was in the store getting our pretzels they were giving out FREEEEEE sandwiches.  They are trying to promote their new line of sandwiches and were giving them out for free.  Since we had 2 adults and 3 kids they gave us 5 sandwiches!

I was just a little beyond excited about the situation.   Don’t act like you don’t wear sweat pants when it is 90 degrees outside too. 

The beautiful parmesan happiness.  (PS don’t worry… fixing my nails is already on my list of things to do when I get home).

And the free sandwiches.

I am kind of mad about two things from my trip to Arizona.

1.  I didn’t go get soft pretzels every day that I was here.

2.  We didn’t master the ‘all three kids napping at the exact same time so that we can watch Chopped’ thing until my second to last day here.

In approximately 4 hours and 28 minutes I will be with my bestest friend Billy.  Three weeks is way too long.  We decided this is the last time we can do a full three weeks away during his finals…. from here on out 1.5 weeks is my max amount of time away from him.

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If you could choose to live in any state that you wanted… where would you choose to live?

Favorite carbohydrate lately?

-Large soft pretzels.

Tell me about 3 things about yourself…. I think this is going to be really fun so I think you should do it.

Many prayers to the people of Oklahoma!

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I have made it on to Buzzfeed. Another goal on my Life Goal List accomplished.

They have a post about the 40 Best Worst Runner Costumes and that is me hanging out in the back in my piñata costume. Now the forty hours I spent making that costume is all worth it.

Did you hear about this incredible 16 year old? Alana Hadley is the top 16 year old long-distance runner in the country and is training for the Cleveland Marathon! She is shooting for a TWO HOUR and FORTY MINUTE MARATHON! She has average 15 miles a day for the last 7 weeks. ***edited to add she ran a 2:58 this last weekend!!!!

Wowzers!

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Yesterday afternoon was spent hanging out together eating strawberries, watching an episode of Chopped while the kids napped and I am pretty sure I napped at some point but I can’t remember. My short term memory is struggling but luckily I take a picture of everything we do so then I can kind of remember what we did.

I got to meet more blog friends like Beth!!!

And Lara (met her fiancé at her running group, so cool!), Kristine and Lisa. Meeting new friends that are just as obsessed with running as I am is my favorite part about blogging.

Brooke thinks it is hilarious to put her hand in her mouth right as we are taking a picture just because she knows I want her to smile instead.

Take it from me, chocolate and gummy bears really do taste good together. I am the most indecisive person in the world so this way I didn’t have to make any tough decisions at the toppings bar (plus there were a lot of people behind me in line and I felt bad doing my normal ‘stand in front of the toppings for ten minutes stressing out over making the best decision’ thing).

Speaking of chocolate… I need this shirt.

And to continue on with this random tangent, I love the title of this ice cream and need to try it some day.

We got home at about nine and had dinner after dessert, just the way I like it. We had the same dinner as Sunday night because it was just that good. The fact that Brooke loves salmon as much as she does means a lot to me.

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Have you ever ran a race in costume? What did you wear?

How young is too young to be running a marathon? Any thoughts about this?

How old were you when you first started running? How old were you when you did your first race?

-12 & 21