We Made It!

Remember this post????  Well, a year later and we finally made it to Lette and we're in love.  These little treats are super expensive, but super swoon worthy.  The coolest part about getting these little guys was that to get here my mom and her friend ran the Pasadena 5k with me this year.  Thank goodness it was only a 5k... I just don't have it in me to run those crazy long distances like I did before.  The LA Marathon is coming up and then after that I'm retiring, haha.  I think I will focus on making glorious signs to cheer all my running mates on instead.

    

One Fun Run!

The Color Me Rad 5K Run was... well, RAD ("An abbreviation of 'radical'--a term made popular by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Still primarily used by people on the West Coast who find words like 'cool', 'awesome', and 'tight' to be tired and overused; 'rad' is generally considered to be a much higher praise than the aforementioned superlatives. Also used as a general expression of awe.").  I love art and I love running, so this was pretty much the ultimate event for me!  Getting covered in bright colors and getting to run with friends was just what I needed.  The "after run fun" was great as well.  If you have never experienced a Color Me Rad Run... do it!!!  I just can't put into words how much fun it was, so I'll channel my inner Garey Busey and use this acronym instead.  The Color M e Rad Run is so fun because Colorful Outfits Look Obviously Rad, Making Everything Really Awesome, Duh!  So, go here and register for one already, duh! 

Fight Nights!

Here is your analogy for today:

Sweetened condensed milk IS TO my favorite ingredient to cook with right now AS dulce de leche IS TO my favorite treat to eat right now.

I was in lala land for awhile there when it came to dulce de leche. I had heard of it before, but never really understood it until... I was getting ready for UFC 144. Of course we were rooting for Ben "Smooth" Henderson and this fight night called for something special. Since the fights were in Japan I googled Japanese candy/desserts, but didn't find anything I thought I could make. I decided to go with something Brazilian, since I was going to watch the fights with friends from Bakersfield Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I then came across the super fun Dulce Delight and her youtube channel. She introduced me to sweetened condensed milk and it changed my life. For about a month all I wanted to do was make Brigadeiros for people.

So, even though I haven't mastered a Japanese dessert yet... there was still a happy ending. I learned all about dulce de leche, Benson won, and I didn't screw up any pots or plates making this candy!!! win, Win, WIN situation!

But... the most "winning" part of all this is that we actually got to meet Ben Henderson!!! He is such a great person and definitely deserves all the success that has been coming his way.

MORE(no) MUSIC!

It feels like it has been forever since I have done anything crafty because I have been swamped with teaching, school, running, and organizing Donate Life events in town. Usually I would have had multiple meltdowns by now, but I've only had one and I'm pretty sure that it's because I discovered the music of Reynaldo Moreno. Every time I listen to one of his songs I feel the creative vibes that I have been missing. I have been loving the YouTube videos and they keep me company during my many hours in front of the computer. His messages are so positive and that's my main focus these days. One of my favorite quotes is by Leo Tolstoy and it states, "If you want to be happy, be." Creating is obviously something that makes me happy, but in the last year (after my dad's lung transplants) I discovered that what makes me truly happy is meeting people and living life with them. When I reflect on my life this past year, I am in awe with the people God has brought into it and how they are the ones who make my outlook so positive.

This past weekend I ran my first marathon in Arizona! About a year ago I set a goal to run a marathon in Arizona (St. Joseph's Hospital) and in LA (UCLA) where I would dedicate a mile to people who have helped my family during this journey. For part of my training I ran the Vegas 1/2 marathon in December. It was there we met the creators of One Blow K.O. who live in Arizona. They invited my mom and I to an event at The Lab this past race weekend and we got to meet Reynaldo Moreno, Ben Henderson, and Efrain Escudero. FYI... my family loves MMA (Ben is one of our favorite fighters) so this was pretty amazing for us. We also got to enjoy Bueno Burgers with such down-to-earth people. I'm pretty sure fate is the reason we connected with these people and I am beyond thankful.

So... I'm here to spread the love by sharing all these great people with you!

Daily Mile!

It has been such a long time since I have done a Secret Santa and when I saw the chance to participate on Daily Mile I quickly signed up. It was so much fun! My gift came all the way from Raleigh, NC and I sent mine to Folsom, CA!

One

I LOVE Brandy Melville and soon there will be a whole blog post regarding why, but until then you will have to settle for the Number #1 countdown from them... the upcycled Christmas bow! I love this! We all need to add a cute finishing touch to a gift and this is perfect.

I have tons of running/sports magazines around and decided they would be the perfect selections for the bows. Just to be clear... I DID NOT cut up the Competitor magazines!!! Instead, I used the cover of an ESPN magazine. I would never cut up my Competitor magazines, especially the Apolo Issue! He is my favorite athlete ever and I will forever owe the person who sent me the copy Dewars chews. :)

Two

So, this countdown isn't finished yet and neither is wrapping all our Christmas gifts. So, in honor of multitasking, we made DIY wrapping paper. What does this have to do with running??? Well, we used a potato stamp and one of my all time favorites at an aid station is salted, boiled potatoes. We actually had to cheat and use and apple because we didn't have a potato, but apples are good for runners to eat as well, so it counts! The great Mr. Kate inspired this project.

Three

Another favorite of ours is Native Foods! We have a ton of LA favorites now that that's pretty much our second home. And... one of the best things about Native Foods is that it's VEGAN and delicious! I would love to work there. Hire me, please! Everything is good especially their drinks. Runners need to stay hydrated, so for number three we tried making watermelon water sweetened with Agave. It's definitely not as good as getting it from Native Foods, but it will do for the next week before we visit LA again.