Earth Day!!

Today is Earth Day! I hope everyone was more concious about the our lovely planet! I try to do my part by using reusable grocery bags, packing my lunch in tupperware, recycling at home, and taking quick showers! :)
Speaking of our planet, I have my first paper for school due this Saturday. If we relate a current event to our text we get extra credit points. I have chosen to write about the recent discovery of the Atlantic garbage patch. I was aware of the Pacific garbage patch... the size of TEXAS!!



And was pretty disappointed to learn another large mass of trash was developing in the Atlantic Ocean. I have a feeling the paper will be an easy one to hash out. :) :)
In other news, I had a very eventful weekend. Went to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival!



And then camped at Deception Pass. Sunday was a beautiful day and we were able to get in quite a bit of hiking. We saw so much wildlife... bald eagles, seals, otters, starfish.. and I got some sun! Yay for summer!



Jay and I are getting better about being prepared and I made atleast TEN sandwiches for our adventurous weekend. No need to eat out! And packed my homemade hummus with pretzels and carrots. I also grabbed a big bag of trail mix, I love chocolate!
It's been a pretty eventful week at work, some news that will create lots of change... and I'm hopeful that it's in a good way. No reason to discuss it in detail on here, but the times they are a changing.
I've also been struggling with my right hamstring.. STILL!!!! I made an appointment to visit with a Sports Medicine doctor next week, because this is getting out of control. The 'tension' is moving down into my knee. :( However, I did do some extensive stretching last night that helped things.
Also last night I was VERY successful with making some spaghetti squash!



Mixed it up with a can of diced Mexican?? tomatos, sauteed zucchini, onion, and bell peppers. Very yummy! And leftovers are DA BOMB!



Tomorrow is Friday!! I'll be back with some recipe ideas for meal planning next week!!

TAKE CARE>>

Kelly Katheryn

Speed of Sound

Hello! It's already Wednesday! And my day at the office is coming to an end!
The day goes by so quickly. I almost forget what I had for breakfast...
But then I remember the delicious Cinnamon Kashi cereal and chopped up banana!! I picked up a box of Kashi cereal because I had a $1.00 off coupon and I'm getting a bit sick of hot oatmeal.. probably because it's getting nice outside!!
I managed to get a 94% on my math test last night!! Woohooo! And waded through my Geography homework today. Not too bad. It's an online course and my report card reflects the average for the class... I'm doing considerably better than I thought! :)
We managed to make it to the gym last night after my math class and got my lift on! Tonight, Jay and I planned a date to meet up again!
For lunch, I finally got to eat my spinach and strawberry salad with an AH-mazing bagel sandwich. I love bagels. :)



So I'm off to lift it up. Then make spring rolls and peanut sauce!!! I'll try and remember to take pictures.

Take care,

Kelly Katheryn

Feelin' Better

Hey All!
Glad to be feeling better after my little bout with a cold! I had some serious sniffles and major coughing! But, glad to say I'm past the whole nose like a faucet thing and moving on!
Had an amazing weekend! Played some Age of Empires III on Friday night after some SERIOUS grocery shopping! Yay! Picked up a tennis racket and hit the courts on Saturday afternoon. It was such a beautiful day.
Jay went out and celebrated a friend's birthday by going to a concert Saturday night. Which worked out well.. I ended up watching the Sounders game on TV with a friend and then doing my math homework!
Speaking of homework.. School isn't as daunting as I thought it would be. I'm taking my first Math class tonight and feeling pretty comfortable. Geography is painfully boring, but I will manage to survive! Cha-ching! :)
While watching the Sounders game, I needed something to fuel me after my tennis match!



I cannot believe I have never had this kind! It was nothing short of amazing!! Sunday was a pretty chill day which was vital to my recovery from the hacking, sneezing, and sniffling! I made some carrot soup



and watched.. four episodes?? of Lost! It is getting so intense! We're almost done with Season 2. I realize I'm behind. :) Along side that tasty bowl of soup was some Truscuit crackers. Delish! I may or may not have snacked on some Juju fish.
Well now Jay has caught the bug I had.. so it's off to do my math test and then play nurse! He's such a thankful patient it will be easy!

Take care,

Kelly Katheryn

PS.. Totally failing this meditation thing, unless you count the ten minutes before I fall asleep???

Ch Ch Changes

Happy Wednesday!
I've got a bit of a sore throat today. :( But tea and LOTS of water are helping me deal with that!
So Jay and I decided that we were going to quit our gym membership to cut back on some expenses. My apartment has a full gym that we can work out at when we want the free weights/treadmill type of experience. Our last day for our gym membership is April 30th! And since we haven't really worked out since the beginning of March, we decided that we would take full advantage of our gym until it expires. So on Monday I started some weight training and yesterday I actually got on the treadmill and ran. Nothing crazy. I'm sure I pulled my hamstring training for my 5K at the beginning of March. So I walked 5 minutes, ran 10 minutes, walked 5 minutes, ran 10 minutes, and cooled down with an additional 5 minutes. Before I ran I warmed up withe a 20 minutes hill climb on the elliptical machine. It was fabulous! Jay was still lifting when I got done working out, so I cooled down with some light stretching.
I also started school last week. This is a huge transition for me. I never knew what I wanted to do when I graduated from high school, so I never went to college. Well now that I've figured out what would make me happy as a career path, I decided to get myself educated! :) It was a bit overwhelming last week and I was kind of weighed down with homework last night, but I was able to buckle down after the gym last night and I'm feeling much better about my math class. Ahhhh the benefits of working out! :D
To recap on some eats, I've been rocking a lovely salad. And instead of adding dressing I put in feta cheese. The flavor of this cheese was enough to complete the salad and made for a very yummy lunch! With tomato soup! :)



I think that grapefruits are in season as well this time of year, because there was a 5 for $1 deal that we scored on Sunday night! I got some neat grapefruit spoons from Women's Fitness and was trying 'em out that morning. I think I would rather just peel my grapefruit like and orange and enjoy! To eat their own I guess!!



Also a sweet sale item from Safeway was this Pomtea. I've never tried and Pom juice, but have heard alot about it's benefits. Let me tell you this was DELISH!



And lastly, I finally got most of my music uploaded onto my computer. And while working away I snacked! Hummus and pretzels addict right here! So fantastic!



I'm off to read about of the Chelsea Handler book, Are You There Vodka?! It's been a light, funny read so far. And yes I finished Eat, Love, Pray. I enjoyed it so much I had a copyed mailed to my mother. :) Check it out if you haven't!!

Have a super Wednesday!
Kelly Katheryn

Eating to Live vs. Living to Eat

Hey Gang!
Made it to another Friday! The day has flown by. Turns out I'm really boring with what I eat. I mean I could eat leftovers all week! And did! Spaghetti and meatballs for four days???!
So I thought I would touch on in issue I'm working on getting a better understanding of: eating to live vs living to eat. Of course everyone needs to eat! That's not what I am talking about here. I'm talking about eating all the time, compulsively. Reaching into that bag of pretzels, handful after handful, until the whole thing is gone. Day after day. Eating because we're bored, tired, stressed, angry, sad.. for any reason other than being hungry.
I know I'm guilty of it.
And I find it maddening when I do!
I am normally gone from 6:50 in the morning until anywhere from 6:30-9:30 at night on the weekdays. With a long commute and then going to the gym after I get back into town from work, it can make for a long day. And almost compulsively, I always eat when I get home. Now, when I was working out 4-5 days a week that was necessary. You need to fuel your body, but since I took a couple weeks off to let my hamstring heal it is not necessary. Yet I find it to still be in my daily habit. And I think it's because I like to relax and cooking or preparing food is a very relaxing hobby for me. However, I need to start eating to live. When I'm training for a race I need to eat like it! Now that I'm just staying active and healthy, I need to eat like that too. I need to quit acting like my only hobby is eating (living to eat) and start doing things when I get home at night.
With my schedule slowing down, I will have more time to be mindful of my decisions. Rushing all the time will need to stop. And with my lastest goal, courtesy of Eat Pray Love, of daily meditation, I think these are all practical and easy things to do!!
Hope everyone has a great weekend! It's a friend's birthday party tomorrow! And I plan on getting together and going for a jog with another friend! Plus I finally get to hang out with Jay!! He's been busy with the launch of his business, but he's all mine for the weekend! :)

Take care,
Kelly Katheryn

Something New

Hello Hello!!

Another Wednesday is upon us! Yay! And it flew by!
It's been another busy week! (Aren't they always??) I started school this week for the first time since highschool.. about four years ago. Already four assignments! But it turns out once I actually sat down and started doing the course work it's not actually as daunting as I thought it would be. Kind of made me feel productive! I have a pretty relaxed job environment and being able to work on my homework while at my job is going to be a huge bonus! While I worked on my geography homework, I munched on some strawberries.



I got an awesome deal on them and now I have a boatload! Lucky me I love them!
Delish!

I also had a doctor's appointment yesterday afternoon (everything is going to be a-o-k!) which almost made me late for my first day of class! I was a SPEED walker to catch the bus from downtown Seattle to my campus! Fortunately, I was only five minutes late and was able to catch up on everything going on. Math will be a challenge, but I guess I knew that before the class even started! To help ease the pain of the first day, they had cookies at the front door. I cherished one that was amazingly soft. Then did some grocery shopping with Jay, my boyfriend. He's adorable and had called me up yesterday afternoon while he was at the store because he missed me and wanted my help!! Talk about being appreciated!! :)

So I'm off work in a few! And I've been staring at this all day!!!



So I cannot wait to get outside and enjoy some sunshine! I've got a book to return to the library and I'll use the 1 and a half mile walk as some cardio for the day. And with my goals in mind, I'm doing some strength training again tonight! Jay and I did go to the gym on Monday evening. So tonight I will lift again! Consistency is key!

Hope everyone had a great day!!

Take care,
Kelly Katheryn

Any fresh produce come into season where you are that you have an over abundance of to relish in??

Double Whammy!

Happy Monday All!
The week started off nicely with my favorite breakfast!! Oatmeal! Jay and I went grocery shopping last night and I grabbed some oats. Added in half of a banana with some peanut butter and I was good to go til noon!
Sorry I was MIA all weekend long.. I was cat sitting for friend while she was off vacationing in Hawaii!!! It's nice to be home and get back into a routine. March has been an INSANELY busy month. Now that April is just a few days away, I feel like it's a good time to assess some new goals and focus on myself for a bit. You ever need to do that?? I get caught up in life and tend to put somethings on the back burner, ie 8 hours of sleep, not drinking soda, and other trivial things. :)
So with that said, here are April's goals!

1. Focus on Strength Training
2. Get 8 Hours of Sleep
3. Meditate to Relieve Stress (10 minutes?)

I like how these goals look and they fit in with things I've been thinking about since I ran in the St. Patty's Day Dash. I strained my right hamstring while training and never took the time off until these past couple weeks. Well, now I am having a tough time getting back into the routine of working out. Since I will start training for my half marathon at the end of June, I'm going to focus on strength training for now. It will be a nice change of pace and hopefully keep me motivated! While reading the book Eat, Pray, Love I have started to gain a better understanding of meditation and feel that I could make personal gains from just 10 minutes a day. So that's a little back history of my new goals!
Tonight I've got shoulders, biceps, and triceps on the line up! Will likely include some ab work..
Now for some eats. I stocked up on cantaloupe and strawberries yesterday. I've been snacking on them like crazy.



And I made up some SPICY meatballs and spaghetti last night. It was even better as leftovers today. Yum!



Hope everyone is having a great Monday!

Take care,
Kelly Katheryn

36,241!!

That was the number of people at the first game of the season for the Seattle Sounders!!
And I was one of the completely drenched people! It was so much fun!



But first things first... I started my day off with some toast and pb and banana again! Such a filling combo!



The day went surprisingly fast while at work and before you know it, it was lunch time! I made myself another 'manwich.' I don't mind leftovers. As long as I'm not eating the same thing throughout the same day. Plus I've got a couple more containers left.. I'm planning on pawning one off on Jay! That filled me right up. I got off work a bit early to head downtown and meet up with our friends, Kelli and Edgar and Jay. So right before I left work, I had a yogurt. I knew we were probably not going to be having something to eat before the game! That held me over as I walked downtown. After meeting up with the gang we walked over to Occidental Park, which is where the march begins before every Sounders game. It was hopping! Drew Carey, yes from the Price is Right!, gave a pep talked and we marched to Qwest Stadium!





As we walked along there were companies handing out free stuff.. 2010 Census, Subaru, Monster.. I signed up to win a Subaru because I LOVE THEM! And also grabbed a Monster shot, just for fun! ;)



It was actually pretty tasty. I don't normally do the whole energy drink thing, but atleast it wasn't in a can the size of my forearm!
90 minutes went by faster than excepted, especially with pouring rain at times! And after the game all we wanted was a beer. I munched on sweet potato french fries and fish sticks(?!!) while sipping a Pyramid hefenwiesen. And after all the excitement, I slept like a rock.

Whew! What a post! It's finally Friday!! Hope everyone has a great afternoon! Any plans for the weekend??

Sherlock Holmes is in the two dollar movie theater, so I'm thinking it's a date night with my love!

Ciao!
Kelly Katheryn

PS.. I don't own a camera so these are courtesy of my crackberry! Someday though!

Motivize Me!

Hey!! Finally over that hump!
Wednesday is winding down. It was a b-e-a-utiful day here in Seattle! Sunshine in all its glory. Yes, the sun does shine in Seattle!
So I woke up to lovely sunrise and made myself some toast with some peanut butter and cut up half of a banana to top it. My second day on the job and I'm lacking some photos, but it was fab. I tried my hand at some iced coffee to go with it. Delish!
The morning FLEW by and before I knew it my tummy was grrrowling!
Jay and I had made a trip to Safeway the other night and found a super deal on some Manwich sauce. :) I femmed mine up a bit by toasting my whole wheat bread, laid a bed of spinach, spread out my Manwich meat, and topped with shredded carrots and purple cabbage! It was pretty tasty!

After said sammy, I was craving something sweet. So I had some yumberry grapefruit yogurt. Yum indeed!
My friend had ordered me the book Eat, Pray, Love and I reached Pray today. I've really struggled with yoga and meditation because of my lack of focus. The first few chapters really opened my eyes to a whole new approach to meditation and practicing yoga! I cannot recommend this book enough! And seriously looking forward to the movie!!
Around 3:30 this afternoon I started feeling snacky and sliced up a Golden Delicious Apple!! My fav! That held me over until supper where I fixed up some Turkey Chili. I added in some corn and sour cream for good measure. Tortilla chips helped me scoop up a big bowl and now I'm watching America's Next Top Model. Wowzers. Drama. To help me deal, I am snacking on a Kit Kat bar. Haven't had one of these in years. Very comforting.

I've got a date with some weights at 9!! Hoping to get motivized and start working out again. Took two weeks off after my 5K cuz I pulled my hamstring... but I need to get back into the swing of things!!
Good Night!!

Kelly Katheryn

What foods do you find comfort in??
I'm going to go with chocolate and ice cream!! So amazing!

My First Rodeo

Hey!!
So being an avid blog reader, I've decided to create my own personal space on the internet! Thus the creation of the Pursuit of Fabulous! So this is my first rodeo with posting! :)
I plan on blogging about my journey as I seek out the perfect balance of working out and eating right! I currently work full time and will start school next week to get my BA in nutrition science! I started getting back into long distance running this spring. Just last week I completed the St. Patty's Day Dash in Seattle!


It was such a great experience I came into work the next week and signed up for the Eugene Women's Half Marathon, my first one!! It's about six months away! Plenty of time to prepare! Right? ;)


I like keeping busy and here to support me through the mayhem is my loving boyfriend, Jay! He's my best friend and I feel so blessed to have him in my life!
I also became an aunt this past year and feel very close to my family! I believe that family should be your stronghold and I know that the relationship I have with my siblings and parents will get me through anything!
I look forward to sharing my journey and plan on continuing to learn about food and fitness from all you other bloggers!!

Take Care!

Kelly Katheryn