the ocean breathes salty

The last couple weeks have been tiring--on the weekends we've been camping and during the week we've been working (and getting ready to go camping).  This morning my alarm went off at 6:40am and again at 6:49.  Both times I turned it off and just lay there.  I knew I'd feel a lot better if I got up and went for a run but I convinced myself that I was simply too sleepy.  I also spent some time thinking about my dream which involved buying a mini golf course through an ad in an underground newspaper and setting up the holes under a couple feet of water.  The things that make sense in dreams . . .

Anyway, I didn't go back to sleep but I also didn't get out of bed to go to the gym.  Totally silly, I know.  I resolved to get in a run after work (something I had failed to do after hitting the snooze button the day before).

After work, the gym sounded just as unappealing as it had in the morning.  Outside though, the fog was rolling in and it was cool.  I realized I should just push myself out the door and down to the water.  I started out much faster than usual but I felt strong.  I ended up running 5.20 miles in 40 minutes.

I stopped about three miles in to take some photos (and also to catch my breath because I was afraid I couldn't keep up the pace if I didn't).  This is what I saw:

While I was running I was listening to this mix on shuffle.  There was the usual scenery--the San Lorenzo, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, the municipal wharf, West Cliff Drive with its big houses to one side and water dotted by surfers to the other, Light House Field, other runners in neon attire, couples on their evening strolls and dogs of various sizes pulling on leashes--mostly I was in my own head though.  The pace felt hard but it also felt sustainable.  I felt good (really good, even).

----

When it's 6 in the morning and your covers are warm from sleep, it's sometimes hard to remember why you run (even if you have a list in your head ready for such occasions).  I run for runs like tonight--for the stretches where I don't have to distract myself with puppies(!) and waves and gardens and pretty houses; the stretches where my surroundings turn into a blur and I couldn't tell you what song just played; the stretches where I know I'm pushing myself but I also know I have enough left in me to finish strong; I run for the stretches where I am in that moment, fully (even if that feeling only lasts for a mile or two). 

After tonight, I'm feeling motivated and refreshed and content.  Sometimes I need a run like this to get me going again.  After tonight, I'm looking forward to a weekend spent in Santa Cruz (and a race over the hill).  And to finally getting around to more posts (about camping! our anniversary! and more!).

(ps: you can see my run here.) 

She's a Dreamer

Some photos from last weekend:

B + C 1

B + C 2

B + C 3

Me, "Assessing" the Lighting *

Me, Take 2 *

Me + B (Included Only Because B is So Cute!) *

Oh Hey, Hydrangeas!

Hydrangeas and Holy Cross Church

I just had to take some photos of the local hydrangeas before they browned completely!

On an unrelated note, I'm currently obsessed with Pepperplate.  Over the weekend, I checked out several websites for organizing our favorite recipes and Pepperplate came out the winner (by a landslide).  It's much cleaner looking than a lot of the websites that I looked at and, while I only have 60 recipes entered (so far), I did not want to have to pay to continue the service if I went over a certain number of recipes.  I'm excited about this website's potential for meal planning, generating grocery lists and bookmarking new recipes that we like.  I will report back in a few and let you know how this affair pans out.  But  so far, it's a yay!

* Photos taken by C, edited by Me

From the Fourth

A couple of months ago my mom and I shared a piece of tres leches cake from the Haute Enchilada in Moss Landing.  It was my first tres leches experience and I was impressed.  So was my mom.  In May, she tried her hand at baking her own tres leches cake--following Martha Stewart's recipe.  The cake received rave reviews. 

Martha's cake is topped with whipped cream and seasonal fruit (like fresh berries) and it immediately came to mind when I started thinking about Fourth of July fare.  In the spirit of red, white and blue desserts, I picked out strawberries, blueberries and blackberries and arranged my berry toppings in the likeness of an American flag.  The cake was definitely tasty but it was a little on the dense side (and incredibly rich!).  Good thing I ran the Firecracker 10k on Fourth of July morning!

Below are a few photos from this year's Fourth:

C & Cake

Red, White and Blueberries

Fourth of July Spirit: Pre-Race and Post Cake Baking (photos from C's phone)               

This year we celebrated Independence Day by running a (hilly) 10k, dressing patriotically, baking and decorating a flag cake, grilling with friends and venturing down to Seabright beach to catch some of the (unauthorized) fireworks which are set off along the water.  I missed celebrating the Fourth on Whidbey Island but I couldn't really complain . . . Food, friends and fireworks--it was a pretty good day!  I hope everyone else had a Happy Fourth! 

A Very Special Announcement!

It's official . . . I'm going to be an aunt!  Below are some photos I took for my big(gest) sister's pregnancy announcement:

This weekend was unusually hot, and I think I may have strained my neck from lying on the sidewalk to take photos, but it was super fun to spend time with my sister and her husband, and I'm so happy to share in their very special announcement.  I'm over the moon excited for them!  Yay!

ps: Today marks one year on This Little Egge.  To my surprise, I averaged just over a post a week.  That being said, there were times I was very absent from this space.  Over this next year, I'm hoping to be more consistent.  I also want to keep trying new things.  This feels like just the beginning here.  It feels like the start of something.  I really have a whole lot to look forward to, and I can't wait to share some of those things with you.