Chocolate Covered Almonds and PR's in March

Yep, March is the month of chocolate covered almonds...it's official. Official in my book is good enough for me! It so happened this past weekend while visiting Tammy, we had a girls night: this in our terms means chocolate and a movie.

We watched Chicago, my first time, and ate salted dark chocolate and dark chocolate covered almonds. I think I ate almost the entire bag of Dove almonds, but Tammy didn't know that until later. After the movie, we put our indulgences away in the cupboard, and just when Tammy was saying "We didn't do that much damage-----" she picked up the almost empty bag of chocolate almonds. HA! I couldn't help it, they were just too good.

Anyways, this chocolate craving is only temporary...so I say. But really, I started this post a few weeks ago and I am not craving chocolate covered almonds anymore. I am not sure if it was because I lost my appetite while I got a weekend cold, or if I simply ate too many.

Aside from curbing my addiction, I'd like to say that it may have helped me race faster!? Probably not, for my harder workouts and smarter racing probably did the trick. Today was the second outdoor track meet of the 2011 season at Pacific Lutheran University.

It was POURING rain, but as I write this post tonight it is a clear night. The rain helped fill the water pit for the steeple, (okay I'm being exaggerating). There were twelve women in the race, which is a great number for we usually have 4-6 racers each meet. I previewed the heat sheet a few days before the race, getting to scope out the competition. I was seeded second, and the first seed wasn't too far away; I knew this would be a great race.

The race started and I was on her heels, I could tell she had faults in her jumps (especially the water jump) so I wanted to take advantage of this. She ended up falling a few laps in, which I definitely took advantage of! There was no way in hell that she was going to catch up to me. I felt that I should have gone faster with a few laps left, but I ended up finishing the race with a new personal record, and winning my first college race. :) My previous pr was set last year in May, and today I broke it by almost ten seconds. I know there is so much more opportunity in my race, to work on and to propel forward. I am excited for the coming months, and next weekend we are at U of O!

Diggin' it,
Kayla

32 degrees and Sunny: Time to Run

I woke up just before seven and checked the weather to find out that it was 32 degrees out. I didn't believe it, so I looked outside. Yet that didn't do me any good because it was sunny...looks can be deceiving. Anyways, I threw on my warm running clothes to meet up with my teammates for our recovery run at Green Lake. Natty and I ran the zoo loop and Green Lake together, which was a great time of companionship. Stories flow when you're doing a recovery run, especially if it's a beautiful sunny morning in Seattle, I love it.

What a great start of my day. Who knew that college running would open so many doors of gratitude? I was talking with Natty about how I "fell in love with running" once I joined cross country two Falls ago. It wasn't that I hated running beforehand, but I was more in love with competing (hurdles specifically). I didn't actually like the running aspect. It was the open, muddy, rugged, intense trails that I fell in love with, it was the teammates and consistent hard work, it was the new found wonders of this world, and it was the re-learning of my body and life as a runner. Natty, brilliant as she is, went on to say that running truly is like a relationship. Some days you are fighting against it, and other days you are celebrating with it. You work hard, while worrying about it and how it affects you. Some days you dread it, but you always, always love it.

Practicing gratitude,
~K

Recipes I Stole from Tammy

Hey All,

So I'm going to compile all these crazy insane yummy recipes I've learned over the past six years from a great friend Tammy Brennan, into a fun recipe book. The title in the making is "Recipes I Stole from Tammy". I probably will start off by purchasing one of those cool journals from Barnes & Noble, and then later when I have quite a mouthful, I will try and make it into something more. Here is tonight's recipe I made, and forgive the mistakes (Tammy hasn't read over it yet).



Recipes for my Recipe Book:

The Recipes I Stole from Tammy

________________________________________
Chicken Gnocchi Soup:

Ingredients: Add as desired

olive oil
boneless chicken breasts (3x, but more or less to desired)
onion chopped (1 small)
garlic (2 cloves of garlic minced)
carrots (1 large carrot chopped)
celery (2 stalks)
-
2 chicken stocks Wolfgang Puck
salt + pepper+ red crushed pepper flakes
-
half + half
frozen peas
kale, spinach, or both
1 Gnocchi

-and I think that’s it, but call Tammy to make sure J

Directions:

1. Saute the first group of ingredients in a pot not in a frying pan (that way you only have to use one pot instead of two). Saute until the chicken is cooked.

2. Add the second group of ingredients and boil for roughly 30 minutes (this lets all the flavors soak in and make it delectable!)

3. After 30 minutes, add the third group of ingredients to a desired amount. You know the gnocchi is done when the float to the top.

4. If it needs thickening, add some cornstarch.

5. Taste it to see if you are missing something, like more red pepper flakes.

6. Serve pippin’ hot with crushed pepper on top.

7. When finished, you realize you want more, so why the heck not. We swam today, let’s have another bowl and ice cream for dessert.

Fall from October to Thankful in November

Today is Saturday, a crisp bright day in November. Alongside the wonderful colors of the leaves, the mornings and nights are becoming what feels like Fall... cold! The great outdoors are giving me goose-bumps already, but I guess it's true we are half-way through November. It's surely time for scarves, hats, boots and leggings...oh at hot brown drank (hot cocoa that is). This past week has been recently chilly, and snow is on the radar. I went to cheer my teammates on at the XC Regional Meet in Bellingham, WA and let me just say...I was not prepared for SNOW. Yes, ladies and gentleman, I was wearing converse and my toes froze. I think they still are a bit angry at me.

Anyways, the purpose of this blog entry was to remind myself of what it means to live and to love. Day in and day out I do not fully appreciate what life has to offer, particularly those who are my family and friends. Writing this is somewhat of a coping method.

My grandfather, Papa, passed away on Sunday October 10th, 2010. He had been sick for many years with a plethora of complications, from congestive heart failure to diabetes...and not to mention love sickness; my lovely Grandma Darlene passed away over ten years ago from breast cancer and an enlarged heart. Do we all put too much stress on ourselves, and each other, so much that our own heart muscle objects? Sadly, yes.

I went out for a Sunday long run, enjoying my day and loving the sunshine. Yet it is an interesting thing, for on my way home I thought about death and how people would react to my death or how I would react to others death. I brushed it off, asking myself why I was even thinking about that. Well when I got home, I looked at my phone and realized I had a dozen missed calls. Somewhat unusual, I called my Mom back right away, and my younger sister answered the phone crying telling me Papa died. Tears came to my eyes immediately, I hung up and ran upstairs. I couldn't believe it. My Papa I talked to a few weeks ago, telling him how much my roommate and I love his jam and that I made his special banana blueberry pies. My Papa who would try to go to every swim and track meet with Roger to cheer me on. My Papa who celebrated family more than anyone I know, and understood the truth in people. My Papa whose cologne I can still smell, for it always lingered after our hugs. My Papa who I loved so much. I called Roger next, and when he answered the tone and urgency of his voice made me cry even harder. All he said was "Kayla", and I already knew what he was going to say... I could barely get a word out. "I'm sorry". Roger loved Papa like Papa loved Roger, and it was so special. He was so special. Papa always had the wisdom and I truly looked up to him.

After Papa's death, it took me a while to refocus on school. I didn't realize how hard it would be to cope. I figured that I was fine, and it was not really bothering me. Yet I noticed it was difficult to focus on easy tasks and my running wasn't up to par. Sometimes things take time, and that is okay.

Three weeks later, it was Halloween. One of my great friends from childhood and I were celebrating together. We made breakfast and dressed accordingly, and just as we were ready to head out, she got a phone call. Her Mom was in critical condition and she had to leave. Her Aunts picked her up to drive to the hospital. I grew up knowing her Mom and love her so much. Our freshman year of college we all went to the U-village and went shopping, we had a great time, but I didn't realize that would be the last time I would see her. My friend had the opportunity to see her Mom one last time when she visited the hospital. I didn't realize, nor do I think anyone else did, that she would pass away so soon. She was diagnosed with acute leukemia and passed away the next day.

It is difficult to understand, and you have to be accepting in all meaning. Your heart aches in a way much different than any feeling you've ever felt. And now even though there is a person physically missing in your life, you have to remember to keep them in your heart forever. I've also learned that you grieve with other people, and you are not alone. There are people who reach out to you when you are the weak one, even if you try not to be. We have to be thankful for those people, for everyone in your life because each one is meaningful and beautiful.

Thanksgiving holiday is approaching in a few days, and my goal is to express gratitude to those I love and am thankful for in the best way; spending time with the love of my life, his family, my family, and our friends will fill my heart with joy and give me hope...as well as fill my hunger with amazing food.


To lives well lived,
Kayla

p.s. The photo above was taken last year with two
of the greatest guys (Roger, Papa, Me: Thanksgiving 2009)

Sprained Phalanges with 4K Left to Go

Hey there world,
Today is Sunday, a day when we all would love to be lazy and relax, but truly know it's a day for finishing up school work that is due for the coming week. I am here in Pikes Place Market, getting ready for a long day of school work. Don't get me wrong, I am not dreading it, but rather excited for it. Odd I know, but this quarter will be one full of enlightenment and fun topics to discuss.

In my last blog I mentioned our team had a race this weekend. We left Friday morning for Salem, and simply had a great time of fellowship and racing. A majority of the women raced well, minus one in particular...me. It was a 5k, and towards the beginning of the race a girl in an orange uniform came up from behind our pack, elbows swinging, at completely cut me off and tripped me. It was all too quick to process, but all I knew was my hands were really hurting and I was thrown off course. I realize you're supposed to let things go and keep your head in the race, but sometimes you get lost. I knew my fingers were either sprained or broken, but I was able to keep racing for I hadn't injured anything major (like a knee or ankle, thankfully). I was pissed. At the girl who rudely pushed me out, but also at myself because I didn't race well. I've let it go though, for there are more opportunities for me to do my best, especially later on when I am rested from workouts. The finish was on the track, roughly 300meters. Remembering back to my sprinting days, I passed at least five people. This finish gave me hope and made me smile and forget the race. After the race, I noticed my right quadriceps were aching with an intense pain when I applied pressure. I figure my right leg was the main helper in getting my body back up after my fall.

Today I am typing slow and with my left hand and only one finger from my right hand. It's tough stuff, but it could be worse. I am thankful it was only my hand. Yet I haven't gone on my long run yet, because I'm not sure if it would be better to rest or not. Oh and if you're wondering about the cool photo at the top, our team perfected that photo at our team retreat when we were at the campfire. Sweet. It was cool to see our team so excited about simple things, especially excited and having fun was our legendary coach and runner Doris Heritage.

Welp, time to get down to business with reading and schoolwork. Tully's will keep me occupied with a ginger peach tea and free wifi.

With a "slice of humble pie"

Kayla

First Week of Classes and Other Funtivities

Wow, senior year has come so quickly!!! (Well basically, I have two quarters of student teaching next fall and winter and then I'll be able to graduate then). So far, I have had three of four classes for the quarter.

I'm taking Applied Exercise Science, Topics in Secondary Education, Christian Scriptures, and then my senior capstone research class (which lasts all year). I am quite excited about Applied Ex. Sci. because we have a new professor this year!! The previous instructor simply lacked major aspects in his teaching and relationship to the students. Our new professor is from Ireland, is an ultra-marathoner with his wife, and is super excited about teaching our class and bettering the program. The entire class was super pumped, and wished that he was our professor for our entire college career, rather than only our last year.

Anyways, cross country has been going well too. My 6k time is already a minute faster than my best time last year! We're racing this weekend in Salem, OR. at the Willamette Invite, which will be very competitive and exciting!!

Roger and I had our 5 year anniversary last week, the 17th, and we had a blast!! I was able to score four tickets to the Mariners game (we were going to see if his Dad and brother could come, but it ended up being just the two of us). At the game, we were sitting right near home base and the dugout!! It was so much fun, and it was also Roger's first pro game! We also went to the movies, we saw Easy A. The movie ended up being a lot better than we thought, and we laughed a ton. :) I made him a scrapbook for his gifty, and I have to say it was pretty cool!!

Also, the chickens are doing well. We've been letting them hang out in the back yard, and they are loving the dirt baths. Fun little chicks.

Time to read and then yoga with the team!

Kayla

Chickens??!

Why yes indeed...we have chickens. My roommate Katja and our friend Phillip got this crazy idea about a week ago. They had some extra time last week and started building a coop, I mean a chicken castle, even before we knew for sure we were getting chickens. We are living in a new town home in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, with a lovely yard and perfect back area for chickens. We sent a delightful email to our landlord, stating that we wanted to enhance our environmental consciousness and advocacy for green living...and what more could we want than chickens of course!? We waited a few days, playing phone tag, until we finally had the opportunity to speak with him. He was worried about the smell in general, but since he had 17 chickens and we only have three, we feel we can keep it clean and smell to a limit! He also asked about the neighbors, but we assured him that we just asked and they were dying for us to get zee chickens! And finally he sId the words we were waiting for, "Yes! But I reserve the right to say that we're going to have fried chicken tonight." haha, well lets hope that doesn't happen!

So the next day we put the newly designed and constructed chicken castle into the back patio, and it fits snuggly like it was meant to be! One day later we are buying chickens from a man on craigslist who lived in the middle of nowhere...Orting, Washington that is of course. :) As we were almost there, we turned off into a one lane road, which eventually became unpaved, and all we see is this massive logging truck coming our way! Boy was that a laugh! When we arrived to the farm, there were horses, cows, and chickens galore! We were invited into the chicken run, which by the way had some feces that did NOT belong to chickens, and picked out our favorite chickens. We decided on: black ostroloupe, rhode island red, and a cuckoo maran. They are beautiful, and I hope they love their new home!

Anyways, we have one older chicken who is already laying. We were unsure whether she would lay today because of the move, but viola! After i came home from work i found a lovely light brown egg waiting for me! It wasn't in the laying box, but rather it was sort of in the middle of the coop. Hopefully they will learn to lay in the box, that way the eggs to not get damaged. The egg today had a small puncture at the top, nothing major, i just think one of the chickens may have stepped on it. Either way, it is still exciting to get our first egg! We will post pictures soon!

Cuckoo,
Kayla
Katja
And Phil too