Our 1st Wedding Tasting!

Yesterday Sean and I went to our first wedding tasting!  My parents came with us and we all had a blast!  Our fabulous wedding coordinator also met up with us...I absolutely love her!

It was a very cool set up.  The evening was basically a mock-wedding: cocktail hour followed by dinner.  We began with tray passed hors d’eouvres during cocktail hour.  All were absolutely scrumptious – coconut shrimp, beef wellington in a puff pastry, chicken spring rolls with a peanut sauce, crab cakes, etc.   A couple of them, however, were large and during cocktail hour we want a yummy that is one or two bites.  The ones we decided on are mac-n-cheese lollisticks (mac-n-cheese is Sean’s and my favorite food, well for me ANYTHING with cheese really, but definitely mac), and crab cakes...YUM!!

  

After the “cocktail hour” we were escorted into their “reception room” where the food was served buffet style in silver chafing dishes.  Here are some of the delicious courses we tasted:
- Wild cherry salad with macadamia nuts
- Mediterranean chicken with mushrooms and artichoke hearts
- Zucchini lime chicken with a lime zest beurre blanc sauce
- Vegetarian rotolo (almost like a veggie pie in a pastry-like pasta...quite delish!)
- Filet mignon with three sauces

Sean and I decided to split the courses so we could maximize space on our plate!  For example, he chose two chicken dishes and I chose the other two and we shared.

After a decadent and downright scrumptious dinner tasting, they brought out the cake samples!  There were eight to taste and we did the same sharing thing we did during dinner…Sean had four and I had four and we shared.  They were DIVINE!  We definitely gravitated towards some more than others (i.e. white cake with peanut butter filling…peanut butter is another thing we both absolutely LOVE and can’t get enough of).  We will have a multi-tier cake and have for the most part decided on the cake and filling for each tier!  We’re both super excited!!!

We had so much fun at the tasting and choosing the courses we want and don’t want served at our wedding.  It made us even more excited to get married (if that’s even possible!)!!!


Lots of love :)

Saturday's 5K + 1st Wedding Tasting!!!

This Saturday I’m running the Seal Beach 5K with two of my best friends.  Last year Lisa and I ran the 10K, but this year we decided to go with the 5K since neither of us have been running as much as we were this time last year.  For me, this race is not about “racing” but about going out and having a fun run with two people I love!  I’m not looking to PR (I need to work back up to my current PR of 30:04 at LB Turkey Trot 2010), but it should provide a good sense of where I’m at now and how hard I need to work to achieve a PR.  It’s just going to be FUN!!!!



On a wedding-related note, Sean and I are meeting with our caterer tonight for a preliminary tasting!  Of course closer to our BIG DAY we’ll do another tasting to narrow down and choose our entrée options.  Oo the fun yum stuff (food and wine!)!  I know it’s going to be a blast!  Delicious food with the best company!  <3

Happy Wednesday!

Building my base with a plan!

Yesterday I found myself toying with the idea of running Long Beach again, even though my focus is not on longer races this year. I started thinking about running the LB ½ again for redemption, because I TOTALLY hit the wall last year (I did finish though!). Worst.Race.Ever. But then my vivid imagination ran wild with that idea and I started thinking about running the full! I thought about it to the point where I actually built a training plan…a full fledged full marathon training plan. Hmm.


Reality soon sank in when I saw some midweek runs of 8+ miles. I don’t have that kind of time. Between working 40-70 hours a week and going to grad school 6 hours a week + allotting an additional 8-10 hours of studying, my “extra” time is quite limited. My free time right now is mostly spent planning Sean’s and my beautiful wedding (we just got our invitation proofs today and they are G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S!!!), then getting some runs in and working out with my trainer, and maybe hanging out with the fam and friends. Where would I fit a midweek 10-miler in?! I wouldn’t.


I realized what was behind this drive (aside from the fact that I indeed want to and WILL run a fully mary one day) and why I built a training plan for something I won’t do until next year (did I say that out loud? ;) ) Well, here it is: I realized I’m the kind of person who needs a training plan. I need a goal, something to work towards. Without a goal I’m just moving. I want to be moving towards something. It keeps my running on schedule with all the busy aspects of my life. It helps me focus and stay focused. With that said, I built myself a nice little plan for the next couple months. It’s what I call my “base-building” plan:

I have a couple 5K’s coming down the pipeline, two of which I mentioned here, and I just signed up for the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundations Cinco de Mayo 5K on May 1st which will be super fun! I’m also planning on running the Palos Verde 5K then cheering on Kristy, Penny, and Lauren as they run the half marathon!

Do you follow a running schedule or just go with the flow and run?

Sibling Run + Congrats to LA Marathoners!

This weekend was incredible windy (winds up to 70mph!) and very rainy. Sunday morning, my bro and I decided to get a run in when the rain ceased for a bit. When we started it was wet outside but had stopped raining, and incredibly windy. There were many times along our run where gusts of wind almost stopped us in our tracks, literally. It was cold and took me a good mile to warm up and then I felt great. Then around mile 1.5 a torrential downpour hit us, and coupled with the wind it was coming at us full force, horizontally, and it was COLD! But we pushed through!


My bro paced me and pushed me to stay around a 10-11 min mile (my comfy zone is 11-12, probably slower now since I haven’t run more than 2 miles in a LONG time). We ended up running just over 4 miles in the rain and mostly against the wind, and sprinting the last bit of it. It was great running with my bro because he pushed me just enough to be a out of my comfort zone and not too much to the point of pain and injury. After our run we stretched and made a big batch of scrambled eggs. That totally hit the spot. I can’t wait until my bro is home from law school so we can run together more!

On another note, I want to congratulate EVERYONE who ran the LA Marathon this weekend! You guys had tough conditions and you persevered! Definitely respectable and totally admirable. And congrats to my friends Kristy and Jay for completing and their FIRST FULL MARATHONS!! Way to go guys!

How were your weekend runs?

<3 Mags

Happy St. Patrick's Day! + Another 5K!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Today I will be celebrating my Irish heritage with work all day and night class.  Perhaps after class we'll grab a green beer :)

And I have another 5K on the books!

My company is sponsoring a local 5K on April 9th and graciously waived the fees for employees.
A 5K?  For free?  OKAY!  You don’t need to ask me twice!  I immediately signed up and now I’m running the Seal Beach 5K on April 2nd and the Saints on the Run 5K on April 9!
Heck, maybe I should find two more the following weekends since I’m already on a roll.  If anyone knows of any 5Ks in the OC/LA area on April 16/23/30, let me know :)

That’s all for now. Happy St. Paddy's Day, and Run happy!

Three Exciting Things!

There’s so much going on that I don’t know where to begin! I could probably write a long essay, so instead I am going to bullet today’s post and spare you the headache :)



1.  As I mentioned in my last post, Sean and I bought a house!!!!! We are so excited!!! It’s actually quite a cool story, and one I will tell later. Sorry guys. But I will tell you this...we are remodeling the kitchen and redecorating, so I’d rather wait until it’s done and I can share before and after pictures.


2.  Our wedding date can’t come soon enough! All the big things are done (dress, venue, photographer/videographer, florist, DJ, invitations, caterer, honeymoon)! We are so pumped!!!


3.  On the running front, I signed up for the Disneyland 1/2 marathon in September! This will be my only long race, because a) I don't have much time to train and b) I want to focus on the shorter distances. I do want to run this race though because Sean and I ran the DisneyWorld 1/2 in January, and running Disneyland will complete the "Coast to Coast" challenge!


Happy Tuesday!!
Mags

Happy Fat Tuesday!

Happy Fat Tuesday!!!!

Fat Tuesday refers to the "practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday" (Wikipedia), which is tomorrow!

Tonight I won’t be celebrating Fat Tuesday with the indulgence of “richer, fatty foods” but rather with meeting my interior designer at my fiancé’s and my new house! We bought a house! Weeee!!! I’ll share more in another post down the road ;)
So what I am doing for Lent this year?

Last year I added meditation to my daily routine. In the past, I have given things up like alcohol (and during college no less!), sweets, etc. This year I am combining giving something up with adding something into my routine.

This year for Lent, I will abstain from:
1. Coffee (I usually have an espresso in the morning)
2. Chips (I don’t have a sweet tooth, but my lack of sweet tooth manifests in salt-craving form, i.e. chips!)

In addition to abstaining from both coffee and chips, I will:
• Run 3 days/week
• Cross train with my trainer 2 times/week
• Commit to at least 20 minutes a day of walking/running/cardio (even on “rest” days)
• Clean out my closet and donate clothes
• Clean out my bookshelf and donate books to the Library
• Add more vegetables to my diet (I already eat a lot, but I could eat more)
• Read a book for pleasure (this becomes a challenge with work & grad school)
• Donate $$$ to fight breast cancer
• Not shop online


Have a happy and safe Fat Tuesday, and happy Lent-ing!

<3

A couple 5Ks around the corner

Earlier in the week I signed up for the Seal Beach Run.  I ran it last year with Lisa (my Maid of Honor!) and we had a blast!  It’s not far from my house so last year we rode our bikes to the start line, ran the 10K, and rode home.  It was fabulous!  We are running again this year, but instead signed up for the 5K.

A couple weeks ago I finally wrote about my 2011 running goals which is to "stop and smell the roses" – enjoy the year and focus on shorter distances like 5Ks and 10Ks.  Needless to say I’m really excited to have a race on the calendar and with my MOH no less!  And I think her hubby (I was his best man in their wedding!) will join us on the run as well!



I’m also contemplating whether or not I should run the Angels 5K.  I ran it last year and loved it because runners get to run the bases at Angels Stadium and I'm a big Angels fan!  It was awesome!  I'm still not sure, so we’ll see…I’ll probably end up doing it :)

What are some races you have coming up?

A Peak At Our Save-the-Dates!

Yesterday morning I posted a few engagement pictures. I left one of my favorites out because I felt it deserves a little explaining…


A month and a half ago, my Grammie passed away. When I was going through pictures I found one of my favorites that I’d forgotten about. It’s a picture of my Grammie and her husband, my grandfather (he died before I was born), in 1959 at a State Park (I think in either Iowa or South Dakota).

I think it’s one of the cutest pictures I've ever seen. So when Sean and I were down in Laguna I really wanted to find a park sign and recreate this photo.


As we were walking back from the beach we saw a small park and alas, a park sign! Sean and I hopped over the bushes and this gem was taken:

We absolutely LOVE this picture and will be using it for our Save-the-Dates. Well, not exactly this one. For anyone who knows me and my fiance, we are always smiling, laughing, and being goofy! So we took this one too:

This one will be our Save-the-Date, and my cousin who took the photos has photo shopped our wedding information into the park sign. It looks fantastic! We couldn’t be happier, and I know Grammie is very happy and smiling down on us :)


On the running front (as this is a running blog!), I have nothing to report. Today is a rest day! I’m going into work early today because I’m leaving early to pick out our kitchen cabinets for our house!!! Weeeee!!!!!!!!!!! La vie est bonne :)

Happy Wednesday!

Engagement Photos! Just a few :)

A couple weeks ago, Sean and I took engagement pictures.  My cousin who is a brilliant film editor in Hollywood (Juno, Up In The Air, Love Happens, No Strings Attached) is getting into photography and was kind enough to take our photos for us.  His wife is very creative too, and together they made an awesome team.  Sean and I wanted something casual since our wedding is going to be more formal, so we decided to cruise down to one of the many little tucked away beaches in Laguna Beach.  It was a gorgeous day, and we had so much fun!  There were a ton of pictures taken, but here are a few of my favs :)

I love this man and I can't wait to marry him in 9 months!!


On the running front, this morning I went for a 30 minute run.  I woke up and didn't feel like venturing out into the 40 degree weather, so instead I hit the treadmill for some intervals.  It felt great and I made sure to push myself harder at the end....gotta build those negative splits right?! 


Happy March everyone!!!