Santa Runs Tacoma- Part 1

You may have noticed that I have a countdown going for the Santa Runs Tacoma 5K Race. (Unless you are viewing this from Reader, in which case its there... trust me.)

This will be my first race. In fact, I'm brand new to running... Even in school, I was the kid who walked during P.E. runs and flipped my gym teacher the bird if they complained.. I think I ran once, got that pain in my sides, screamed "EFF THIS!" and never tried again.

I've officially practiced running twice now, where I run the length of a block, then switch to walking, back to running, repeat. Last night was super-uber-dooper proud that I finished my session by running a full 1k without stopping to walk. I felt really well, did 3.01 miles and then ran out of time (otherwise I'd have kept going!). I'll keep practicing until I can run the full length without stopping, then will work on getting a competitive time.

The race is Dec 18th. Here is the course:


The kids want to do the 1k kid's course so they can win a present from Santa's bag, so I see some practice days for them too. >:)

They have a costume contest too. I DO love dressing up (any excuse to look like a dork just gets me all giddy!). But it will be mid-December and I really want to remain practical. (sorry Scotty, no naughty elf for you) My sister is a craft guru and has volunteered (forced into slave labor) to help make up the costume for me. :)

My hubby is a huge Android enthusiast/evangelist. And the next release expected is called 'gingerbread', so it suddenly clear that I would be an Android Gingerbread girl. I found a brown hoodie, leggings, and stuffs, then went to doodling... here is what I came up with so far:

I wanted the white stripe on the seams for the gingerbread icing effect.

I'll update more as we get closer to race day.

How to Juice a Fruit at Work

Hurray, my first 'How to' I feel like such a genius for figuring this out too.

I picked up a few mini lemons on my way to work. Lemons are great because you can use them on salads, in your tea, make sugar-free lemonade when you're sick of plain water... (and this time of year they are CHEAP!)

But how do you squeeze the juice out without getting lemon squirts in the eye, or having your hands smell like lemon all day?

Simple- Just watch.

What you will need:Lemon, knife, plastic baggie, pent-up rage.

1. Take your cheap plastic that your work provides in the lunch room and make lemon wedges.

2. Cram the lemon wedges into the baggie

3. Let out your frustrations to soften them up a little. (I highly suggest you massage them instead of pounding them like the Incredible Hulk or else the ziplock may pop open and you will have made a lemon rocket instead of juice)

4. Use the edge of your nail or the blunt end of the plastic knife to dig the pulp out (You can skip this stip if you aren't a crazy pulp monger like me)

5. If the bag is as full as mine and hard to manage, pull out the naked wedges.


And there you have it! The lemon juice of 1 mini-lemon!

Farmer's Market

Here in Washington, our farmer's market continues well into the fall, rain or shine. We just go from weekly markets to monthly or bi-monthly. There is one close to home in the Proctor District of Tacoma.


Thumbs up to beets the size of my head!

I saw these girls and thought of Murphy at Carrots n Cake.

Buying potatoes for dinner

Bought some honey from blackberries, had an herby/spicy aftertaste that was satisfying.


mmmm, plums


My sister bought some foccacia, I think

Scotty picked out a treat

OMG CUPCAKES!!1!



Tiny candy shop about the size of your typical bathroom

This was my sister's first time visiting a farmer's market (aside from the famous Pike Place in Seattle)

Taste Review: Fuyu Persimmon

I'm going to keep this short & (not so) sweet...

On my bike trip into work, I stopped by the Metropolitan Market and got a few things to go with my lung- Salad & Bagel. I needed some tomato, then I saw this little thingie that looked like a tomato called a fuyu persimmon. I've never had one, so grabbed it for a mid-day snack.


Enter, the persimmon:

Its cute, looks like an orange tomato with an elf hat on. (hey, I'm getting festive here...)

The label on the bottom said to eat like an apple. Google suggested using a spoon and eat it like pudding.

I DO like pudding... so I cut the persimmon in half. I'm sure I cut it the wrong way.


Spoon didn't work, I guess it wasn't ripe enough, so I ate it like an apple.


By. God... this is the worst tasting thing I've ever eaten. The texture is slimy, the taste isn't sweet, its more like a mix of squash, eggplant and slight hint of ginger. After about half of it, my gag reflex was setting in and I could feel my throat closing in... I made it 2/3rds of the way and began to panic so I just threw the nasty thing away...

I can see this could taste good with the right recipe:
Combine:
1 fuyu persimmon
2 heaping cups of brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
5 sticks of dynamite

catch fire, hide in a bunker approximately 4 seconds until mixture is thoughouly exploded, go find something else.

writer with a capital W

I love experiencing new 'first's
First time trying a new food, first time trying a new sport or exercise, first time visiting a new place, the list goes on.. The experience of trying something new gives me a rush. It can be clumsy and awkward at times, and whether or not I enjoyed it, I can still add it to my list of experiences.

Last night, I attended my first book signing. (forgive me, I didn't bring my purse and didn't buy a book...) The event took place at a local university and it was two books by Shauna James Ahern, also known as Gluten Free Girl.

She has two books which she spoke about: Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef: A Love Story with 100 Tempting Recipes and Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food That Loves Me Back...& How You Can Too

Most of the people in attendance were either English students of the college or similarly have celiac disease. I am neither. I came with the intention of learning (from another blogger) where she finds inspiration for writing in her blog. Lets be honest, there are health & fitness blogs too numerous to count. Most will have similar content.

Her answer was quite simple. She sits down with a blank slate (but maybe with a vague idea or topic), then lets the writing come from her heart. Can it really be that simple? Will it interest readers and get me more hits?

Yes, it's that simple. I'm not writing to 'be a writer'. With a capital "W" as Shauna put it. I never even began my blog hoping to get lots of readers or attention so I wonder why it entered my mind... I'm not a writer (failed English all through highschool-I'm sure it shows), I just seem to enjoy keeping track of my experiences.

This is my journey. The purpose of my blog began as a way to document the steps I'm taking in beginning an active lifestyle. So long as I get out in the world and try something new, I will always feel that refreshing rush which inspired me to keep an ongoing document. I can come here and write from my heart. These are my memoirs of living life, if it interests anyone to read, then great- I love the exchange of ideas and similar experience readers may share in the comments.

I love experiencing new 'first's
Last night, I experienced my first book signing and my first time trying gluten-free baking.


^I saw the little yellow round thing and ate it whole... yeah, that's butter...

I Joined a Bowling League...

I'm not a bowler, but I do enjoy the game. My sister and her husband are on a team and needed another player for the so I signed up. I enjoy that I get to do something active and gets me out of the house at least once a week.

On Sunday, we took the kids for practice.

They had a blast and Little Duder kicked their butts (he had help)


Afterwards, we went to my sister's house to watch football and munch on chips & ugly dip (probably the tastiest yet unhealthiest concoction known to man)
Oh, and taught the kiddos Battleship



Monday nights are League night. I know very little about the game to be honest, so with new stats and rules in league, I just grabbed on to my little sis's coattails and was along for the ride.
One of our teammates didn't show, so we had a floater join for the day. A floater is a player who isn't on a team, so they fill in on any team for the missing player. This guy was GOOOD- he threw 7 strikes in a row then finished with a 258 score.

My brother-in-law grew up around bowling, so he is a natural.

He carries 3 bowling balls with him. Each one is weighted different so he can change the curve and spin. I want to compare the reasoning of it to golf, but its not the same as me throwing a 9-iron down the lane.

I was told that "If I were to pick a day to play poorly, this would be the day" Reason for it: to establish my handicap. So if I sandbag, my handicap would be lower and I can finish the league strong... Do I follow advise well? Nope. My first game ended up being my best score of all time... 113. I think before that, my highest was 86 or so. (Told ya I'm not a bowler) At the end of the night, I had a 95.6 AVG.

They bring cutest-baby with them to games and of course he is still perfect and doesn't cry or throw fits.

Seeing my sister and her husband at the bowling alley is similar to seeing me at The Ram. Everyone knows them there- EVERYONE. 24 lanes with 5 people on each= a lot of love. People were hugging, high-fiving the people they competed with, laughing, throwing back drinks, and passing the baby around. We almost lost him a few times.

Then there is me, no one knows me. But everyone knows me. huh? My sis and I got the 'twin-sideshow' reaction all day. Being shy, it was hard having people study our faces in wonderment, but it was also rather funny to see the reactions.

We have a few theories on why I played my best last night, because its certainly not because I practiced the day before...
Theory 1: Feeling the competitive pressure of being around seasoned players
Theory 2:

Wedding Planning Part 1- Ceremony & Reception Location Ideas

Saturday, we had an opportunity to view a couple places to hold our wedding and reception. We agreed on one sentimental requirement: Has to be in Tacoma (This is where we became a family)

For the reception, we are pretty well set on having it at C.I. Shennanigans.
The Pros:
Its beautiful, very little to no decorating or setup required

It has a magificent view of the waterfront, Mt. Rainer, The Ram (our hangout), and my work


Has a bar that will feature all of our favorites from The Ram Big Horn Brewery next door.


The cons:
Price. This place is fancy-smancy and and has a high price tag. But... we may get the cost lowered if we negotiate properly. We already give the company a lot of our patronage over at the bar and are well liked and known by everyone.


I'm undecided on a spot for the wedding itself. Or a date for the wedding... I need to make a bunch of calls and find the availability of these places. I wanted a date in April because April 14th is when Scotty and I began dating and its in a month where we don't have birthdays. If April doesn't work, we will try for July, but then it will be hard for my mom to attend as it gets into her busy season for work...

Some ideas include:

Point Defiance Rose Garden
Pros:
Its absolutely beautiful, its an iconic Tacoma location that is very elegant.


Cons:
*Only available begining in June so my target of April would be out of the question.
*Its in a very public park and there would be all sorts of people looking in.
*Its a very popular wedding spot and they usually book up to a year in advance
*Outdoors only. April showers bring May flowers...

There is an indoor pagoda that can be rented for ceremonies at the park as well, but its a bit too themed. My sister had a beautiful traditional Japanese wedding and I don't want to be in a cheesy, untraditional pagoda for mine.


Titlow Beach Lodge
Scotty wasn't sold on this location because technically its in University Place, but I hope to research it more and maybe sell him on it.

Pros
*Very affordable.
*I'll have to double check this one, but I hear it has a view of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
*This is what I've seen of the interior

Cons
*In University Place
*Their outdated website says its fully booked until June.


Union Station
Can we say "Over-the-top"?


Marble floors and wall, Tacoma History gallore, enough space for 1200 people, unique glass art by Dale Chihuly... This is a take-your-breath-away location.
Cons
*No parking that I know of, guests would have to park somewhere else and either walk or ride the street car to get to the wedding.
*I'm trying hard to find another con, but am distracted by the beauty...


Tacoma Baptist Seminary
We took a walk here not too long ago, it only a few blocks from our home.

There are options for outside or inside. We saw the outside and its very antique. And has a very impressive view of the water from atop the hill.


The interior feels too churchy for me... but this is an option for us. This is also the only venue that has an 'all inclusive' price.



I'd like to get an idea about an average cost people have for their weddings. I'm normally a very frugal person, but my mom is fighting me on it and trying to get me to go all out on her dime... I'm still very hesitant, even though its not going to be my money on the ceremony.