Friday, February 25, 2011

I believe there are angels among us!

Today’s photo was taken on New Year’s Eve 2011. My BFF Britney, her hubby Randy and his BFF Skyler and myself enjoyed a really simple evening. We went to dinner, played games, watched movies and played in the snow and had some delightful hot cocoa. In this photo you see Britney and I with our NYE party hats and noise makers making snow angels. It just proves that there really are angels among us, right?!?!


Thursday, February 24, 2011

It's getting hot in herre!

It’s 7:30 on Wednesday night and I’m so excited for a little Bikram yoga! It’s been about 1 ½ years since I’ve been able to practice and I’m still worried about my knee. My partner in crime for the night Christy arrives shortly after me, she’s never been and I’m very excited to introduce her to this wonderful workout. We spend a few minutes catching up on life and our adventures, then it’s time for class to begin.

As we walk into the room I’m immediately slapped in the face with the stench of body odor mixed with the heat. It only takes a few moments to feel back at home, and quite frankly the heat is a wonderful break from the cold, Utah climate. We find our spot in the back of the room and do some mild stretching while we wait for our instructor.

The room is getting really full and almost everyone seems as if they’re “regulars” to the class. It’s always interesting watching the people that come to these classes. There are the hippies that love everyone who are just looking for a peaceful 90 minutes. There are the meat heads who I think just want a reason to look in their almost naked bodies in the mirrors while helping to elongate their muscles. Every class there is always a few older, slightly creepy men wearing their speedo’s, but hey they’re working out so that’s great. Everyone is so different, but tied together with this wonderful experience.

Running a few minutes late our instructor walks in and starts rushing us through the breathing exercises due to her own tardiness. We then begin the class. In the past when I’ve done this class the lights have been off and it’s been very serene but that was not the case this time. The fluorescent lights were on and I felt more like I was in an aerobics class with the instructor barking orders at us. Even with the unusual change the class was still great…

About 15 minutes into the class I started to get nauseated from the CafĂ© Rio I had for lunch… What lousy timing, I wasn’t able to do all the poses for the full time in fear that I would lose my lunch…. Literally! 26 poses and 2 breathing exercises later it was over. It’s such a rush walking out of the hot, musty room into the lobby where it’s only about 70-80 degrees. I was so relaxed and had so much energy. Christy loved the class too and I’m so happy I was able to introduce her to it.

What a fabulous night AND I get to check “ take a yoga class” off of my Dirty 30 List!!!! WOOHOO

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Cool Runnings!

I hate running! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…. I HATE RUNNING… Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system let me say that I’m trying really hard to like/love running… I really want to be a good runner one day. I’ve been training for this 5k that I’m running in April, I know it’s only 3.1 miles but with my medical history that’s a lot! Anyhow so far I’ve trained up to 2 miles only 1.1 miles to go YAHOO! I’ve also dropped my time down by 4 minutes since I started a couple of weeks ago. Next week I’ll start running 2.5 miles with a 0.5 mile cool down. All of this I’ve been doing in my old cross trainers. I’ve known I need to get better running shoes but I’ve just been lazy, my current shoes are good but just not the best for running.

So I’ve been doing some research for the last couple of days and I came across Vibram, FiveFinger shoes…. I’ve seen these shoes before, but I thought they were mostly for water activities. I had no idea they were running shoes. I read a ton of reviews and here are what people have said:

1. They’re really hard to put on at first.
2. You trip a lot when you first start wearing them.
3. They’re the best running shoe ever.
4. Once you get used to them you’ll never want to wear another running shoe.

Personally I just think they look fun and the fact they can be worn for running, hiking and water sports just make them sound even better. So last night I headed out to REI and I tried some on…. They were really hard to put on but immediately I thought they were the right shoe for me. So I gave in and bought the weird looking things, knowing I’ll get a lot of strange looks at the gym and park. I got home and put them on, it was much easier this time, maybe because there wasn’t 97 people looking at me funny. Wow they felt great! I did some chores around the house and my feet felt awesome. It’s just like being barefoot but with extra griping abilities. I definitely felt that they gave me a much needed pep in my step, I didn’t want to take them off when I went to bed… Don’t worry I did.

I’ve been sick for the last few days so I haven’t been able to test them yet but I’m very much looking forward to it. Here my friends is a photo of these spectacular shoes!!!


Wednesday, February 16, 2011

North Carolina or Bust!

Hello! So I’ve been slightly M.I.A. but that’s only because I was out of town for a week for work and I’ve been trying to catch up on life and work since I’ve been home. Let me tell you about my trip to Raleigh, North Carolina…..

February 7, 2011 – My alarm is set for 4:00am, I’m already packed but I need to be at the airport by 5:30 and I’m always paranoid I’ll forget things before I travel. I however can’t sleep so I wake up at 3:00am which gives me plenty of time to read, get ready and have a bite to eat. I decide I might as well head to the airport a little early in hopes to beat the lines. I had already printed my boarding pass but I needed to check my bag and go through security. I was super happy I got there early because the security line took me about an hour…. Which sucked already, then I realized that I could have gone through the express line because of my priority ticket, which made it super suck!!! Anyhow I was the first person to board the plane so I got my window seat up front. Off to my first stop… Vegas baby! I had a short layover so I decided to play the slots and lost a whole $2… Then I decided to stop… off to N.C.

I arrived about 5:30 in the evening and headed to my hotel, it was a 2 mile drive however I got lost so it turned out to be about a 10 mile drive…. I checked into my room took a quick shower and realized I was starving. Just as I was putting my hair up my phone rings. It was an old friend Derek Bailey who now lives in N.C. he was hungry as well and was only 10 minutes away from my hotel… Crap!!! I have to look cute in 10 minutes?! I hadn’t seen him in over a year and we have a big history together so I didn’t want to look like I just jumped out of the shower. Luckily I hadn’t washed my hair and it was still curly enough that I was able to pull off looking decent… not cute just decent. He picked me up and it was so good to see him. We went to a local chicken wings place and decided to get a wing sampler. We had to pick 5 different flavors, so we picked 4 that sounded good and of course we had to try the spiciest one on the menu…. The Bravehart… Let me tell ya, it was HOT!!!! At first taste it was sweet and we were both confused, then the heat started to kick in, our eyes were watering, faces red and noses were running… It was like WHOA!!! After dinner we went for ice cream. It was a good and fun reunion. I was spent so I then went to bed.

The following morning I was on my way to the office when I drove past a swamp! Holy cow they have swamps?! I really wanted a picture but I thought there could easily be alligators and snakes so I didn’t dare.. The office was beautiful and my co-workers Kari, Si, Cheryl and Slava were fantastic. I felt so welcomed and happy to be there. In that first day I learned so much from each of them. We had a nice Italian lunch and then more training.



That evening Derek was taking me to meet some of his friends. So I went to his place where I met Trevor, originally from Georgia and he was hilarious. Together we drove to an area called Chapel Hill, it reminded me of Main Street Park City simply because of the old yet hip and chic shops and restaurants. Such a cute area I loved it. We went to a sushi place where we met 2 more friends Ryan and Chad, these guys train with Derek for Iron Man races. Ryan is currently a nurse but is also pre-med and Chad is an eye doctor. Good food and good company. After dinner Derek and Trevor took me on a city tour. We went into Downtown Raleigh and to an area called North Hill (I think) we were going to catch a flick but the latest movies had already started. Then we decided to go bowling, but I didn’t have socks…. So we went and saw the Strivectin offices instead. Up top it was a great view of the city. I was please to learn that there were no alligators in N.C. and that any snakes would be hibernating!

On my way to work the next morning I got my picture of a swamp! So exciting!!! I learned that one of the ladies at the office believes that her late husband is trying to contact her through aliens… interesting. I learned a lot of great things for work but they are boring so I won’t get into any details there. They really wanted to take me to try Carolina BBQ which is vinegar based so that’s what we did for lunch. I ate my whole meal the local way chopped bbq sandwich, fries with vinegar on top and sweet tea. All in all it was good except for the tea…




I was sent home from work early so I decided to visit Duke University, or at least Duke Chapel. I was so beautiful and peaceful. The campus was full of life since there was a big basketball game against N.C. that night. I wish I could have spent more time there.









That night I picked Derek up for dinner and he was so excited to take me to his favorite place… He couldn’t wait for me to try Carolina BBQ…… I didn’t have the heart to tell him I had already tried it. So I prepared myself to try it all again for the second, first time. He took me to a place called the Pit which was super ghetto on the outside but very nice and trendy inside. He ordered us fried green tomatoes, 3 types of meat to try the BBQ sauce on, cheese grits, mac & cheese, sweet potato fries, coleslaw and hush puppies… Oh my word it was soooo much food! All of which was amazing. We both felt guilty and sad that we couldn’t finish it. Not only did we try the Carolina BBQ but we also were able to try Memphis BBQ which is molasses and tomato based. I have to say the Carolina BBQ wins! After dinner we went to see Shimmer Wall it was so neat. It’s a giant wall that is silver and has a black design of trees and stuff on it, they project different colors of lights and when the wind blows it causes it to “shimmer” I can’t really explain it but it was super rad. We also witnesses a lady stuck in a parking garage trying to lift the bar so she could drive out, comedy… pure comedy! Then we just went to his place and played games for a while.





Thursday I went to the office did the last of my training with the girls, then headed to the airport to pick up one of colleagues who was flying in from Memphis to meet me and show me some things. On the way to the airport I got lost and ended up at the National Guard base were they searched me and my car before letting me get on my way. Holly and I went to lunch she’s fantastic! This woman is brilliant! She has 3 degrees, a PhD in medical technology, a masters in both architecture and microbiology. She’s lived all over the world and reminds me of someone that should be on a safari. Spending the afternoon with here was great, I learned so much and it was awesome to build a friendship with her. That night Derek and I went to dinner then to see a documentary, Hood to Coast. Was a great film, so inspiring, I had to hold tears back several times. This film got every emotion out of me. We then went back to his place to have a re-match with our games before we said goodbye.

It was a great week for so many reasons: beautiful state, wonderful people, words that needed to be said were said, uncontrolled laughing, the ability to learn… I was amazing! Back to real life!!!

Friday, February 4, 2011

Where ma gurlz at?!


I have to say…. I love this picture! We have Jill, Mary, Dawn and myself. These ladies amaze! We were driving to Liquid Joes to see the Heavy Metal Gods, which is always a blast. It was one of those silly girls nights where you just act stupid and laugh and laugh…. I miss nights like these, with ma gurlz!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

That's my girl!!!

So this is baby Olyvia, I love her!!! Her dad Trevor is one of my best buds. She’s almost 2 but this picture was taken when she was just a couple of weeks old. I was hanging with her cute mom Karla and I was making fun of her dad, when she gave “her first dirty look.” I could not stop laughing, I had to take a picture and text it to Trevor so he would know her true feelings about him!


Wednesday, February 2, 2011

A day in Austin = happy Kristi

Last summer I had the chance to go to San Antonio for work. I flew in on Sunday morning, I’ve always wanted to visit Austin, TX and it’s only an hourish away from San Antonio I made the trek to Austin Sunday afternoon. Austin was amazing, I could easily and happily live there.

A good friend of mine and his cute wife are living there so we all went to dinner at a fantasticly cute place, this place had no indoor seating just a gigantic tree which all of the tables were under, quirky and cute which is just my style. Then we went to Congress Bridge/park area which is right outside of downtown Austin. The view of the skyline was beautiful! We stood on the bridge and as the sun went down thousands of bats that live under the bridge took flight off into the night. It was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever had the chance to see! The best thing about the bats is that they fly around the city and eat all of the blasted mosquitoes, how rad is that!

Anyhow after the bats we went to the legendary 6th street. This is a place I’ve always wanted to visit. What is 6th street you might ask… Let me explain…. Austin is known as the “live music capital of the world” and for the last 25 years they have hosted a huge music event called South By South West (SXSW) it’s kind of like sundance for music. 100’s of bands show up to play and the city is packed. I’ve always wanted to go experience this but I’m yet to make the trip. Anyhow, 6th street is where the magic happens, it’s an entire area that’s a huge bar district. If I were still a drinker I would have been in heaven. So that’s where this picture was taken under the street sign at the best part of 6th Street. Being that it was a Sunday night it wasn’t super busy which meant we were able to just walk around and see all the cheesy and fun themed bars and hear some sweet tunes. Then back to San Antonio I went. I wish I could have spent more time in good ole Austin!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

One day I want to be like Martha.... I need to keep practicing!

So I really want to be like Martha Stewart one day minus the jail time. However I rarely take the time to do crafty, cute things. I’ve been trying lately and here’s one of the things I’ve come up with…. Hopefully I’ll get better one day!

This is the diaper cake I made for my friend Missy’s baby shower, it was really easy it only took me about 15 minutes. Which is good because I was running really late. Next time I make one of these I definitely want to spend a little more time.




I’m also a fan of cooking, however in this case I was only preparing as it was a RAW inspired meal. My friend from church really wanted to try some of my favorite raw foods. I should have put these in cute cups or something for presentation purposes but oh well maybe next time. Here’s the recipe for my tabouli I don’t remember what exactly I put in the fruit salad right now… I suck!

Fruit Salad




Tabouli
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch parsley
2 tomatoes
1-2 avocados
1 lemon
½ cup sliced almonds
Honey

Easiest raw meal ever, simply chop the cilantro and parsley. Dice the tomatoes and avocado. Mix cilantro, parsley, tomatoes, avocados and almonds together. Squeeze the juice of the lemon over the top and add some honey to help everything stick together. Mix it up and wa-la it’s ready to serve. I personally like to eat this as a lettuce wrap, however it’s also good on crackers or by itself. Plus you can switch it up and add cucumbers or other seasonings to change the flavors.



And finally my visiting teaching partner and I made cupcakes!!! It was her family recipe and they were yummy!

Come on ride the train!

Today’s photo was taken a few years ago in either Heber or Midway, Utah. Candice and I went to a tribal Indian pow wow. It was way fun. We got to watch the tribal dancing, the kids were super cute to watch. Then we took a stroll through the towns Midway and Heber. Candice and I used to go on random adventures all the time... Good memories!