Seattle Stevie

I've been pretty focused on running and working out lately. I had my half marathon a few weeks ago and have another one coming up in a month, so I've been running fairly consistently. I've also been doing quite a bit of strength training on the side to build some nice muscle tone. I'm starting to see some progress, albeit slow, but I thought I'd share what's been working for me.

ALTERNATE


I like to alternate my workouts every other day. Some days I'll run and do weights/strength training, but usually I just do one or the other. It helps me to know that "today is a running day" or "tomorrow I'm doing weights". I don't know why that works for me, it just does.


CHANGE IT UP


I get bored doing the same exercises, going on the same runs, day after day. I have to mix it up or else I go crazy. I have a decent assortment of workout DVDs from which I choose, which keeps me (and my muscles) from getting bored.

Some of my favorites:

• Eating more earlier in the day instead of eating a huge meal at night. We tend to eat dinner pretty late, so I'm eating less at dinner and more at breakfast and lunch.

• Limiting alcohol intake. We're going out to eat/drink less often and we're limiting the amount we drink at home as well. 

• Planning ahead. With the recent meal planning I've been doing (thank you all SO MUCH for your suggestions!), we have a well-stocked fridge and pantry. We have leftovers from previous meals and tons of healthy snacks. This keeps me from mindlessly snacking on empty calories during the day. I also keep a ziploc bag of raw nuts and dried fruit in my purse for when I'm out and about.

Today is The Scientist's thirty-third birthday. We celebrated over the weekend by having friends over for dinner on Friday night, a day of wine tasting with a big group of friends yesterday, and will celebrate tonight with a big family dinner.

Today also marks the one year anniversary of our engagement! And now our wedding is just about three months away. Amazing how time flies.

Happy birthday, my love! I look forward to many more celebrations in the years to come.

In an effort to save money for the wedding (and hopefully lose some unwanted pounds), The Scientist and I have made a pact to not dine out for the next three months. We've added a few exceptions, such as special occasions (birthdays, friends from out of town, etc.), but other than that we will be eating all of our meals at home until the end of August.

Along with this pact, we're working on creating a meal plan so we can prepare meals in advance and shop for a couple weeks all at once instead of making almost daily trips to the grocery store. So far we've come up with meals for two weeks. A few of the meals are standards that we make pretty regularly, but I've been searching the internet for new recipes to add to our repertoire. We both love to cook so it's been fun to gather new ideas.

We're already pretty close to our wedding savings goal, but this pact will give us an extra cushion for unforeseen expenses, and may even carry over into our honeymoon fund!

The internet is filled with endless cooking blogs, recipe sites, nutrition resources, etc. It would be impossible for me to go through every single one. This is where YOU come in.

Tell me, what are some of your favorite sites for finding new recipes and cooking tips? What are some of your favorite meals to prepare at home? Do you have any tips for meal planning?

I tend to not make many plans very far in advance. I like to be spontaneous and I enjoy my alone time. I get a little anxious when I have too many things "on the books". Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love spending time with my friends and family, but I always need time to just chill.

The next eleventy million weeks of my life are booked solid. Many of the events on my calendar will be fun, joyous occasions - showers, weddings, birthday parties, trips, MY OWN WEDDING - but I can't help but feel exhausted already!

This happens pretty much every year. Summer is always a busy time and calendars fill up quickly. But instead of focusing on how busy things will be, I am shifting my focus toward being thankful and excited. Thankful that we have incredible friends to spend time with. Excited for the chance to be a part of such special occasions like weddings and baby showers.

It's going to be one of the busiest summers on record, but it's also going to be one of the most memorable. And I want to do my best to enjoy it!

The weather here in Seattle is starting to warm up, which has me anxiously awaiting the official arrival of summer. What's not to love about summer? Outdoor happy hours, soaking up the sun at the beach, barbecues...and one of my favorite things, summer beauty and makeup products!

I tend to wear less makeup in the summer, but I still love stocking up on my seasonal favorites. I usually stay away from powdered makeup during the summer and gravitate toward lighter, more shimmery products to give me that sun-kissed look.

Here are a few of my favorites:

LIP STAINS


I wear lip stains year round, but they are especially great for the summer. It gives your lips great color but without the fuss of actual lipstick. I love Cover Girl's Outlast Lip Stain in "Everbloom Kiss". It's perfectly pink and looks great with slightly rosy cheeks. Adding some clear gloss on top gives it some extra shimmer.

I'm a few days late but I wanted to recap last Saturday's Cinco de Mayo Half-Marathon! This was my second half (first was here), so going into it I had a pretty good idea what to expect.

The two days before the race I did a lot of stretching, a lot of hydrating, and a lot of carb-loading. The night before the race my race partner, Megan, and I fueled up on a delicious spaghetti dinner. I relaxed at home the rest of the evening and even enjoyed two small glasses of wine (while continuing to drink tons of water, too).

I never sleep well the night before a big event (does someone want to send some Ambien my way for the night before my wedding?!), but I tried to relax and get as much sleep as my body would let me - which wasn't much. I got up at 6:30 on Saturday, ate a small breakfast, and headed out the door with Megan at 7 am.

We got to the race venue pretty early, which was great. We found parking immediately, picked up our bibs and swag bags, had plenty of time to hang out, drink water, stretch, and just take in the atmosphere - one of my favorite parts about organized races is the amazing positive energy in the air!

The race started at 9:05 and we were off! Megan and I ran the first 2.5 miles together, then she went off ahead of me. She was much more prepared and is generally a faster runner than I am, so we hadn't planned on running the entire race together, which was fine.

The first three miles totally sucked. The first three miles always suck for me. It takes some time for my body to really get into a groove, and I hit that groove at mile 3 where the first water station was. After that, I felt great. The course was awesome. It was almost completely flat and went along a small, two-lane road for most of the way. And it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. I did stop along the way to take a few pictures. I couldn't resist!


I was sore for a few days afterward, but am feeling great now and ready to start training extra hard for my next half-marathon in June! I can't wait to run the Rock n' Roll again!

Many of my favorite bloggers post a weekly Friday roundup of some of their favorite internet finds throughout the week. I found some great posts this week and wanted to share them!

Geraldine, aka The Everywhereist, is one of my favorite local bloggers. But I use the word "local" rather loosely because she spends much of her time traveling the world and blogging about it. She's hilarious and witty, takes beautiful photos, and she and her husband are too cute for words. This week she posted some awesome tips that she has cultivated during her travels. A must read!

My second half-marathon ever is this weekend, and Amber's second full marathon is this weekend as well! She wrote about some of her favorite training gear that's worth checking out whether you're a seasoned runner or just a beginner.

I don't usually run with music because I have a difficult time pacing myself from song to song. But I found this absolutely fascinating and added many of the songs to a running playlist that I may just start using regularly.

f you live in Seattle, chances are you've come across this Tumblr account. It's my new favorite.

E had some really wonderful thoughts about blogging and writing this week (and while you're there, check out some of her posts and pictures from a recent whirlwind trip back east)!

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend! Anyone celebrating Cinco de Mayo? I'll definitely be indulging in a cerveza or two after my race!