Chad, Jessica, Jet and Aijiahlyn

Monday, June 30, 2008

The scoop, the skinny, the latest

I have honestly been wanting to post for a long time, but my camera isn't uploading pics to the computer, and I have tons of cool pics to go with the posts, but ol' well. Pics will come later.

The race. It was groovy. Chad's family and my dad came to support me. Awesome. I had made a killer playlist for my ipod to make the race really fun and pump me up, but when the race started and I pushed play, NO MUSIC!!!! We're talking Rocky soundtrack, killer oldies, and everything that makes me hit the burners. I kept fiddling with it for the first mile, but after that, I let it go. I had nothing to distract me from my loud breathing, my fatigued legs, or the thud of every step pounding the pavement. Lame! But, I was able to finish as the 3rd female overall. BOOYAH!

Travel. I went to visit my sister Nicole is Bellevue/Seattle. 'Twas fantastic. I LOVE TO TRAVEL. I love going new places, seeing new things, getting the feel of different places, eating different cuisines. The city was beautiful. It's like waterworld. Everything was surrounded by water, there were tons of fountains....seriously, fountains galore, I should have brought tons of pennies for wishing. It was awesome. Pike's Market, the Space Needle, Downtown Shops, Beautiful Parks, Tasty Food.....the pics will do more explaining. Bellevue is "growing like a weed" as Choles would say. Everything was so new, fresh, and modern. It was charming. So when I got home, it made me want to make my own place that way.

Home Improvement Projects. Chad and I have been working on this covered outdoor patio area in the backyard. We're almost done, and as every improvement project, it took longer than anticipated. But, it's looking great and we can't wait to hang out back there and eat yummy food.

I redid the dining room. It needed it. It just felt kinda dirty to me, I wasn't enjoying it, and every good cook needs a rockin' place to eat their food. Hello! So, paint it I did. For $30, it feels 100 times better. I also did some really sweet artwork. Oh my goodness, I love the dining room now. It feels more clean, more relaxing, and more sophisticated. When you work at home, it's important to enjoy your environment.....don'tcha think?

Cooking/Baking. I have officially developed a love for cooking. It rules! I love to work in the kitchen. I love trying new recipes. I'm dying to get better and better. I seriously want to go to culinary school. I love looking through recipes, watching cooking shows, chopping with my awesome knives, zesting, making a big mess in the kitchen, the smell of garlic roasting in olive oil, everything. I even like cleaning afterward....well, I don't love it, but I find a weird enjoyment in it. I just like using my hands and being in the kitchen and getting stuff done. Recently I made Chilean Empanadas.....MMmmmmm. Seriously, I couldn't stop eating them.....I need to half the recipe next time.

Okay, later.

10 comments:

E and J said...

I love that you also love to COOK! It's like my favorite pass time. Each time I make dinner I ask Jason if he'd pay money for it at a restaurant. If it's a no it gets cut from the menu. lol...At least your running 5k's in great time to burn off those calories!

Danielle said...

Hey- you are amazing for running like that! I highly reccommend the penut butter swirl brownies. They are to die for. LOVE them. Keep in mind though, you really do want them to be cooled completely before you eat them. Ummm....chocolate penut butter surprise is good too. Those are chocolate cookies with penut butter in the middle. So good. I think I just might like penut butter and chocolate, what do you think? ahha. I am just now realizing all my favorites of hers are like that. OH- one that's great is the thin mint girl scout cookies. That might not be good though because they melt easily. hmmm. Those are my favorites though! Good luck!

Karen K. said...

Wow. Congratulations on the race. How frustrating that you didn't have your music. But now you know how well you can do without it. Maybe you were supposed to feel all the pains... isn't there supposed to be a reason for everything and of course we're supposed to look for the good. ;) I love that you love to cook. I wish I did. It's ok. Maybe if I wasn't at work all day long. I just don't want to come home and try to figure stuff out. It doesn't relax me at all. When you get your camera working post pics of your dining room, etc. I love your enthusiasm. Thanks for posting.

AMY AND MIKEY said...

Hey- I'm at my grandmas so I don't have time to comment- BUT- I just wanted to respond to your comments- I'd love to teach you how to make wheat bread- it takes practice- what kind a mixer do you have? Bosch? Kitchen Aid? hand mixer? I will give you a call when I think of agood time and you can come over an dwe'll make wheat bread. love you!- and way to go on the running- that is amazing.

Justin + kelly said...

Jessica, Hi. so sorry, its been really crazy the last few weeks. I would love to tell you all about my triathlon, and what not to do, but it would probably be alot more than a comment box. email me and ill give you the low down! kellyaida@gmail.com
i could not recommend doing one more. they are so fun.

Karen K. said...

Hey Jessica. I don't have your email so hopefully you check your blog! We took Dexter to a kennel in Westfir. It was WONDERFUL! I think it's called Hillside Boarding Kennels. You can look it up on the internet. The owner called us to report on how Dex was doing, etc. etc. She lets them play, etc. etc. It was worth the drive out there. We took Dexter in advance and let him and us check it out. Just make sure your pup has his (her?) Bordetella vaccine and all the other shots are updated. Good luck and let me know if you check it out and what you think. I want to live out there. It is absolutely beautiful.

Hailey & Jared said...

Thanks Jess.... love you and wish that i could see you more often. We should get together and go see a movie or something! Love Ya

Hailey & Jared said...

Thanks Jess.... love you and wish that i could see you more often. We should get together and go see a movie or something! Love Ya

Matt and Christy said...

Hey, Jessica. Glad to hear that all is well. I love to cook, as well. I don't seem to get much time to be too creative, though! Kids will do that to you. We are going to be password protected. I f you want access, please send me your e-mail address and I will add it on the list. Thanks!
kiki37duck@yahoo.com

Sean and Steph said...

I get that I'm SUPER behind in the comment posting, but I wanted to say that I think you're AWESOME for doing so great in your 5k! And I completely agree, Bellevue is fantastic! I was up there in June for a half marathon and it was so beautiful! I especially loved the big mall area with all the sculptures and fountains right next to the park!
Thanks for keeping us up to date on your life, I love reading about it!

Steph