While You Were Out...

While I was away from the blogging world this week I was….

Drinking coffee in the beautiful weather…..

Hiking with girlfriends…..

Spending some quality time with Specks…..

And, missing my fiancée!!

Cody has been out of town for EIGHT days.  He finally comes home tonight and I couldn't be more ecstatic. It's been pretty rough being 3,000miles away from Cody (and every one of my family members) for the last week.  I tried to fill my time with friends and some substitute teaching at a local preschool. But, Saturday evening the flu hit me like a ton of bricks.  So, for the last four days I have been confined to the couch.  Finally, I am feeling a little bit better today but still not 100%.  I think I can muster up enough energy to tackle Cody in the airport though :)

Questions: 
How do you kill time when your spouse is out of town? 
Getting the flu in the summertime, awful or what? Ugh. 

Hiking Eagle Beach

Hiking is one of my favorite activities, especially in incredibly beautiful weather.  I knew when I saw the forecast for Saturday (highs in the 80's) that I needed to plan a hiking expedition.  So, we made it a girls day and I hit the trails with two of my friends and our pups for a 3-hour hike.

Beginning of the trail. 

We started on a trail Out The Road (where the road in Juneau ends) that leads to a great beach, aptly called Eagle Beach. The sign at the beginning of the trail simply read, "Primitive Trail."  And, they weren't kidding.  While parts of it were maintained, like the picture above, other times we were tromping through weeds that reached my waist. We ended up getting a little off-trail and walking along the beach for a period of time.  We sat in the sand and took a rest after about 1.5 hours to refuel and water the dogs.  Perfect!

 Lavender plants that we had to tromp through to reach the beach. 

Snow-capped peaks in the summer. 

Specks & I stopped for a rest on the beach. 

All in all, the hike was beautiful and I couldn't have asked for more perfect weather.  We've really been having perfect summer weather the last three weeks.  Temperatures in the 70's and ample sun.  It has been perfect for physical activity outdoors.  I will typically hike no matter the weather (sun, rain, snow, wind, etc) but this near-perfect stuff we have been getting has given me a new appreciation for Alaska Summers and the hiking season.

We made it! 

I hope all of you are getting out and hiking, biking, kayaking, or any other physical activity while we have this amazing weather.  Even you Lower-48ers should be getting out and enjoying your summer weather (despite the heat).  Enjoy it while we have it!


Questions: 
Do you like to hike? 
If so, where are your favorite places to go? 
Are you enjoying your summer weather? 

Running Weather

This week we are expecting PERFECT WEATHER! Weather this good is a rarity here in Alaska. Where's the rain?  Where's the snow? Where's the frost? Ok, so there is one day with the possibility for rain.  But, in SE Alaska this kind of weather is just amazing.

That being said, I am back in my running grove, which is ideal for this amazing weather.  I am still not running for long periods of time but I am managing between 20-30minutes.  It has been perfect and by supplementing with yoga, strength training, and hoop dance I am really getting a full body workout everyday.  Workouts are good.  Weather is good.  Life is good.  Enjoy this awesome view from my regular running route :)

Questions: 
Do you run the same path everyday? 
If not, how often do you switch it up? 

Meatless Monday #2: Weekly Eats

This week I decided that I was going to do a collection of meatless eats to celebrate this wondrous weekly holiday.  Since I always eat vegetarian, I figured there was no better way to honor the meatless holiday than a collection of super simple veggie eats.  Enjoy :)

Three Cheese & Tomato Tarts: Basically pizza but cooked to be much crispier (thinner crust) and made without tomato sauce (substitute ricotta or greek yogurt for the sauce).

Stir-Fry Noodles: It's all in the name.  Use some noodles, crisp them up with some tasty veggies and some Bragg's or soy/stir-fry sauce of your choice.

Crock-Pot Roasted Veggies: Vegetables chopped and cooked for 5-7 hours on low.  Just add 1/4cup of water and season.

Breaded & Baked Tofu: Bread some tofu with nutritional yeast and seasonings of your choice.  Preheat oven to 400 and bake for 30 minutes (or until crispy).

Hope you all will help my out and celebrate this weekly tradition.  If you haven't before, try out one of these easy treats that I posted today.  All of these recipes take under and hour and require minimal prep work.  Happy eating!

Questions: 
What is your favorite way to prepare tofu? 
How often do you go meatless? 

Reviewing My 2013 Resolutions

In 2013 I made some lofty New Year's Resolutions.  Maybe a bit too lofty?  You can check out the link  here and see exactly what my reasonings were behind choosing these specific goals.  Since it is June, the halfway point, I wanted to review my goals and evaluate if I had/had not completed any of them. So, here is the list.

1.) Re-Start Couch to 5k: I have been doing this program again!  However, I have been doing it only about 2x per week, which isn't how the program was intended.  I am doing it with a mix of yoga, hiking, and walking though so I feel like my exercising goal is happening, just in a different way.

Cooling down after a jog on the beach. 

2.) Recycle: Check! Cody and I are now recycling glass, cardboard, and aluminum (basically Cody's soda cans and our group effort collection of adult beverages).  Our next goal will be to take on plastic and paper :)

Our new bins! 

3.) Plant a Garden: Check! Well, sort of.  It snowed until the beginning of May this year so my garden got started a little bit later than intended and is much smaller than my original plan.  But, it did get started! Pictures to come at a later date :)

4.) Give Back To The Community: FAIL! I haven't done much giving back to my community.  During Family Night's at my school I was on standby for childcare, which really is part of my job, so I don't think it counts but at least it is something (kind of).

5.) Plan My Wedding: Umm…I think we decided on July 2014 as opposed to June 2014. Does that count? I did find a couple dresses that I liked and looked at a couple venues too.  But, not much progress has occurred. Then again, I am not much of a wedding person.

6.) Spend More Quality Time With Cody: Check! Ever since Cody switched jobs we have spent a lot of real quality (out having fun/one-on-one) time together! Since we both work in the school district and work the same schedule/hours this has naturally improved without a ton of effort on our part. Basically, we have tons of time to goof off and do things like this….

Umm….need a little help? 

7.) Write Letters to My Family: I have sent TWO rounds of postcards.  Not a huge amount of progress but at least I have made the effort.  I probably would have sent more but my mail gets returned to me all them time and it is a huge hassle.  The Alaska mail system totally blows.

So, there you have it! A wrap-up of my goals for 2013.  Not a huge amount of triumph but I have at least made some progress. I think I have decided that instead of doing yearly goals I am going to switch to doing monthly goals for myself.  I got the idea from the blog Peace Love & Oats (check it out!).  Doing monthly goals is just WAY more realistic.  I am more of a short-term planner and year-long goals never seem to pan out for me. Check in on July 1st for my first set of monthly goals!

Questions: 
Do you make yearly goals? 
If so, do you stick with them? 
If not, do you make monthly goals?

The End Of The Road

This weekend Cody and I did something that we have been meaning to do since the first day that we arrived in Juneau…we drove to where the road ends!

The mountains at low-tide. 

The road actually ends in Juneau at two different spots, North Douglas and "Out the Road".  We have driven to where the road ends on Douglas Island (our home base) a ton of times because it is only a ten minute drive from our house.  But, the area of Juneau actually known as "Out The Road" goes quite a bit further into the wilderness and is where they intend to connect Juneau to other parts of Alaska by road in the future.  This area goes about 30extra miles to be exact (ish) and in the complete opposite direction of Douglas Island.  The drive took about 60minutes (each way) from our house so it was a bit of a trek by Juneau standards. There wasn't any indication that the road was ending (imagine my surprise).  But, after skidding my car down a narrow dirt road and realizing I was no longer on a "road" and indeed headed into the unknown I decided to backtrack a bit and park about 1/2 mile back at an outlook.  We hiked the rest of the way down to see what there was to see where the road to civilization ended.

Strolling on the beach with my pup.  

This was the perfect end to our weekend.  It was beautiful, relaxing, and we still got a little exercise worked into our daily routine (for both us and the doggy).  We live in such a beautiful place.  It never ceases to amaze me that I can walk out my front door and stick my feet in waters from the Gulf of Alaska or climb a mountain that is part of the Alaska Boundary Range.  Realizing how luck we are to have the opportunity to live in such an amazing place for a few years has really made me appreciate life and all of its adventures :)

Questions: 
Do you live somewhere that allows you to go on hiking expeditions? 
Would you ever consider living in Alaska? Why or why not? 
If so, where would you want to live? 

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think :)

Meatless Monday #1

Everyday is meatless in my world.  However, I know many of you are interested in the Meatless Monday craze.  I hope that both my fellow vegetarians/vegans and my meat-loving friends and family can try out this weekly holiday.  It can have such an awesome impact, not only environmentally, but on the lives of animals as well.  Check out the awesome links that tell you more about Meatless Monday here and here.

This weeks recipe is aimed at my non-vegan friends, family, and readers.  Typically, I go vegan on Meatless Monday (support of the true veggie community).  But, I figured I would start all of you out easy with something that still appealed to that meat-y loving side of you ;)  This weeks recipe comes to me from the Hungry Hungry Hippie blog.  I saw the recipe posted this weekend, attempted it (with modified ingredients), and fell deeply in love.  So, I thought some of you might enjoy it as well (and check out the blog because it is one of my favorites).  

Egg & Kale Salad

1 bunch of kale leaves (salad amount)
2 large eggs
1tbs of olive oil
Optional: garlic, onions, other veggies

Directions: Add olive oil to a medium-sized skillet.  Turn burner on med-high.  Put onions, garlic, or any other desired veggies into the warmed skillet and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes.  Then, place the chopped kale leaves into the skillet.  Crack two eggs on top of the kale (do not break the yolks).  Place a lid on the skillet and allow it to cook (no stirring) until the eggs have turned white (over-easy).  Place the contents of the entire skillet on your plate.  Voila!

Note: I served mine with a side of rice for added yummy-ness.  I ended up eating it for dinner but I really think it could be eaten at any time of the day!  Also, this ended up being ALOT of food for me.  I probably could have eaten half of this and been perfectly content.  If you have a smaller appetite/portion intake, I suggest sharing half of it with a friend :)

Questions:
Do you observe Meatless Monday? 
If so, what started you on the craze?
If not, would you consider trying it out?  Why or why not?