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