Ellensburg

We have some friends! And, not only do we have friends, we actually went and hung out with them for Labor Day weekend. Dan and Tamarah Parker, and their two little girls all invited us to their grandparent's home in Ellensburg, WA. For those of you who don't have a clue where it is, which is probably most of you, it's close to Yakima. If that still isn't ringing any bells, think middle-of-nowhere, WA. It's actually quite pretty. Dan's grandparents have a house with some property out there, and it was sort of a halfway point between Portland, and Spokane (where they live), so we met up there.
We had a blast with them. There was a state fair complete with a rodeo (who knew short shorts and tall cowboy boots was the thing?!?), rides, funnel cakes and SCONES. There were fruit trees with ripening peaches and apples. There was a Model A car, and a WWII jeep to be driven. There were blackberries to be picked and made into jam. It was just a charming weekend.

At the state fair. We didn't realize we were in the senior citizen lounge until it was too late. But come on, the ONLY place that had shade was reserved for the older generation? Total ageism.

This is my favorite dress. Only worn on special occasions.

Yeah, we rode in this...

This jeep really was driven around during WWII.

Aw, so cute.

Janie had just woken up. That isn't so much the weird part. How the heck do you fall asleep riding a 70 yr old jeep on mountain trails?!?

The blackberries we picked.

The jam we made. We still froze a TON of blackberries though. Didn't even come close to using them all.

Millie turned one!! Happy birthday! Remnants of the cupcake are scattered about.

This is the town of Roslyn, but this mural was in a show or something awhile back about a small town in Alaska...? We went to the town for their famous pizza place. Yum!

 We had a fantastic time. Brad wants fruit trees.

One year of fabulousness: August 27, 2012

Monday, August 27, 2012, marked a great and historic day. This day we celebrate the day Bradley McNeil Johnson made the best decision of his life by marrying Jennifer Beth Jackson (me).

Brad went to clinical and I had work, but we were able to celebrate that evening by going out to dinner. We didn't even use our phones (except to take pictures) the whole night. It was lovely.

This is actually on the day of our wedding. We didn't dress up like this and pose with a wedding bouquet on our anniversary. That would be kinda cheesy. And weird. But! I totally still fit in the dress.

 We did exchange a couple gifts and stuff. Our trip to Mexico was our big thing. The thing is, Brad is so nice to me all the time, that every day feels like we are celebrating something. I really got lucky with this one. He is kind and considerate, makes me laugh, works hard, and I feel like he puts me first. We are pretty darn happy. And he's cute. It's ok. You can be jealous. ;)
Thanks for marrying me, Bradicus! And, you're welcome.

Evidence...

...that I'm a nice person.

Lookie what I did!! I made delicious clam chowder (even I thought it was delicious, and I'm a little slow to give out the compliments where clam is involved), salad, and orange julius! I even made that bouquet of fake flowers you see there in the background. It was a surprised for Brad, and I'm pretty sure that was like our 11 month anniversary or something... not sure. Actually, I think it was just because I'm stinkin' nice.

Heaven's sake!

I did it. I took a long break from blogging. Not on purpose. There are a combination of reasons, that I could list, but I won't. Ok, I will list one: I haven't had the gumption required to download, edit, and organize the pictures I want to share. The funny thing is, the longer you wait, the more daunting the task seems to get. So, might as well get to it!

Let's talk Mexico.

This is the first time we went, courtesy of my mother and father (well, and Brad bought the tickets I think) in 2011. At this point we were engaged, and look how young we are!!!

We went this year in June during one of Brad's breaks from school. It was our one last hoorah before clinical days, kids, student loans and reality had to hit, so off we went! I guess it was also to celebrate our one year anniversary a little early. 
We met a fun couple from Beaverton, OR in the clear, warm, beautiful ocean one day. We were trying to dodge some tropical fish, and the plethora of Europeans, and happened to bump into a couple of Oregonites, Amber and Peter. We started chatting, and figured out we happened to not only be from the same country, but the same CITY even (pretty much). So, we spent the remaining days of our vacation hanging out with them. They had been there every year since they were married (4 I think) and really knew the ropes. They showed us the cool snorkeling places, got us a fishing tour for cheap, took some cute pictures of us, and even lent us some snorkel gear at Akumal to see some giant turtles.

And here we are again, one year later. Seriously, so OLD.

So, Mexico was a good time. We went to an all-inclusive resort, which made things very simple. It was on the PERFECT beach. It is one of the resorts that are outside the actual city of Cancun, and more nestled in the jungle. We saw some fun little animals every day on the stroll from our room to the breakfast restaurant. If you feed them, they actually climb up onto you. They are not scared if food is involved. We had hot sunny weather most of the time we were there, but did happen to be right in the middle of a tropical storm for a couple of days. We read, and tanned, and swam in the ocean and the pool. We went snorkeling, running, sea-kayaking, wave-runnering, catamaraning, and fishing. Oh. And we ate and drank (non-alcoholic beverages) a LOT. Brad also made friends with 2-3 waiters because he speaks Spanish. And tips. In fact, one of our waiters noticed we kept eating mangoes, and had his wife go to the store and buy us a few really big ones. He was pretty cool.

 Amber and Peter. These people, I swear, are part fish. Peter dropped their camera into the depths of the ocean, and Amber dove into the water after it, without goggles, and retrieved it before it was lost forever. I was impressed.

We were supposed to act like we like each other...? Anyway, looks like paradise, no?

This little pond was on our way to the lobby from our building. That dense jungle surrounded us on all but one side, and that side had an ocean.

Here are the little guys that were always begging for food!

Presh. They had 3 hot tubs, cool, warm, and hot. During the two days it rained, we spent a lot of time in the hot hot tub.

Wittle Wabbit!

Sun...rise? Yep, rise. Wait. Yes. Sunrise.

I actually was nibbled by a fish while in Mexico. This experience changed me.

Our fisherman guide!! He caught that grouper, and then I reeled it in.

Our grouper about 30 minutes later. Circle of life, people. Don't hate.

Sea turtle. Duh.

And another.

Water aerobics. Can I just say, after a week there, I NEVER want to hear another Shakira song again?

Aw... :)

Dinner one night. The one time I did my make-up while there.

At the airport going home. I don't know why he is smiling.

Getting home was tricky. You see, our flight was delayed about 45 minutes when we arrived at the airport. However, since it looked like we would still be able to make our connecting flight, the airport didn't switch us to a different flight. By the time we went through security, etc, our flight had been delayed another hour. Then it was delayed another hour. By the time we got on the plane to Denver, there was no way we were going to make our connection. I was freaking out because, I HAD to be at work the next day. And Brad had clinical, but I didn't care about that as much as work. I'm selfish like that. Anyway, by the grace of God and a little help from the elements, our next flight happened to be delayed TOO. Completely unrelated reasons. The first flight, there were some technical difficulties (some light on the dash wouldn't go off) and the second flight was delayed because of a storm! Long story short, we ran through customs, security, and to our gate right as they were boarding our plane!!! We were soooooo lucky!

I went to work the next day, and wished I was in Denver.

Lessons learned, post marathon

So, I was pretty excited and proud of myself after having run that crazy long distance of 26.2 miles. I thought I had conquered the world, which of course is not true. The funny thing about running a race, or any doing anything competitively, I suppose, is you are surrounded by people who are doing and have done exactly what you just did, AND they probably are doing or did it better. So, in a way that's good, because it's motivating and you can set new standards and expectations on yourself and continue to improve. But it's bad because you can't just say, "Well, I did what I said I would do. Cool. I'm good." It's bad because now you have set the bar higher in your life, and you have to keep working. No one warned me of that.
So, I got all pumped and motivated post race to go CRAZY with getting up in the mornings and going running, and going to classes 4 days a week at the gym that included yoga and weight training. I decided to cut back a ton on the bad things in my diet, and add a variety of healthful foods. And I was going to clock at least 30 miles a week. I was ready to become, well, awesome. 

Day 1 of being awesome: Monday post race, I had rested well since Wednesday, so I got up early in the morning, was super productive, went to work, then ran 5 miles in less than 45 min, then did yoga. BOO-yah. Awesome.

Day 2 of being awesome: Tuesday the plan was to get up at 5:00am and go to a class for strength training. Forgot (perhaps on purpose) to set my alarm. No matter, I can still run my 5 miles and be awesome. After work, I ran my 5 miles, and was pretty awesome.

Day 3 of being awesome: Well this day I was supposed to go to work, run 5 miles, then do yoga. I decided to take a rest day. My shins hurt a bit. I took my Friday rest day on Wednesday instead. Don't worry. I'll make up for it later. I'm still awesome.

Day 4 of being awesome. Missed the workout session at the gym at 5:00am again. It was a rough day. I ran 3 miles in 78 degree weather, and it felt like 10. Miles, not degrees. The awesomeness is spreading a bit thin at this point.

Day 5 of being awesome: It's Friday. I'm not doing squat. Brad, take me on a date! (It was awesome, but I am not being super awesome).

Day 6 of being awesome: Goal at the beginning of the week was to run 5 miles Monday through Thursday, rest Friday, then run 10 on Saturday. Awesome right? Well, I ran 8 miles, of terrific hills, but again, I am 9 miles short this week. Not so awesome, but acceptably so. Next week will be different.

Day 7 of being awesome: Sunday doesn't require awesomeness, but I will say this: I did not eat very healthfully. So. Off to a good start.

Days 8-12 of being awesome: Did yoga once.

The lessons I learned by not running or working out for nearly a week are these: I feel AWESOME. Haha, just kidding. But really, I did take the week off, and started out feeling a leetle bit guilty, but eventually just told myself to take a real break. Just for a week.
At the end of this week, I have decided, I miss running. I miss work. I miss pushing myself. I miss taking care of my body in the way I know works for me. I don't feel super awesome, at least, not in the way I do when I set a goal and accomplish it. I started to actually have less energy, less motivation, less patience with myself and others.
I realized I like trying to improve, and setting goals, and doing difficult things.
I realized I must have, somewhere within those weeks and weeks of training, begun to like running. I became a freak.

And that, is AWESOME.

The Second on the Fourth

So, remember that one time I made a New Year's resolution to run a marathon?
On the Fourth of July this year, I ran my second marathon.

This is Martha, my friend from work, and I. Martha and I kept each other on track, training-wise, and we ran our 20 miler together.

Heather, my sister-in-law trained in Utah and drove up to run the race as well. This was her first marathon, and she ran her first 10k a year ago exactly! She totally beat me.

This is a 75 year old passing us. Yup. That's rough. 

Did you notice I'm wearing red, white, and blue? Happy birthday, America. 

This is the farthest distance Martha had ever run to this point. Of course, every step after it was further, but hey. Can't be stoppin' every step of the way, no matter how much you want to.

Orion, Martha's husband is on the left. Brad is taking the pictures the whole time, and also on a bike. He woke up with me, drove us all to the marathon, and rode his bike the entire way, supporting us like crazy. But not the annoying kind of support, where someone who isn't running tells you to run faster. He was perfect just cheering me on, and giving me as much space as I needed.

This lady was a hoot. She ran the last mile with us, after having run a half marathon. Just to cheer us on. 

Yay! Mile 26!!

And the finish line.

Heather ran even though she was sick to her stomach the entire way. I'm impressed. Ashlee, my sister-in-law was there at the finish line taking pictures. She even gave me a cute necklace at the end that had 26.2 on it. So sweet.

It was great to cross the finish line. 

Should I do another one?

Girls weekend!

I must say, I miss my friends and family in Utah and elsewhere. But, living in Portland has some incredible advantages. Three, specifically, are Kristin, Sarah, and Ashley, my high school friends! They all live within pretty reasonable distance, and so we get together periodically to escape the toils and tribulations of reality to be in the perfect bliss of one another's company. Ha, nah, reality isn't a tribulation, but their company is always much anticipated. Love these chicas!

We went to The Screen Door restaurant for dinner, which was fun, and very Portland. And by "very Portland," I mean Southern food, so I guess the fact that it's trendy is Portland... People start lining up 45 minutes before the doors to this place open. The food was overall pretty good. I like their breakfast better, though. It's really just for the experience. I don't think I ever had hush puppies or collard greens before that night! Collard greens: Not my fave.

We then went on a hunt for a bathroom along 23rd street in Portland, which was fun. We went by some cool shops, and I found a lip gloss that I really wanted to buy! One question I have for all the store owners out there: Do you, when you have people ask to use the bathroom from off the street who are clearly not there to shop, just tell them, "Oh, yeah, we have a bathroom, but someone's in it right now," regardless of whether or not that is true? That happened at least 3 times where we waited for 5 minutes at least, and no one came out. That's pretty tricky. 

We then went and stood in another line and waited for some famous ice cream. This place, Salt and Straw, is pretty famous. Always has a line out the door, even on rainy days, and even OPRAH liked one of the flavors on her "favorite things" or whatever. She has bad taste, actually. She liked the olive oil flavored one, and it was gross. Anyway, they have salted caramel, gooey brownie, snickerdoodle, almond brittle with salted ganache, honey strawberry balsamic vinegar with cracked pepper, bleu cheese and pear, and even bone marrow. They make all their ice cream in store with local ingredients. So Portland. So fun. 

The next day we went to Ashley's home for breakfast. It was maybe the best part of the whole weekend! She made these round pancakes called Ebelskivers, and she made eggs. It was all so good. 

Outside Screen Door (Cell phone picture from Sarah)

The Line: Note, the umbrellas. I'm actually surprised there were umbrellas, as it was only lightly sprinkling, and we are in the Northwest. Must be tourists.

Such a good place. Highly recommend it. Even if you don't love the flavors, it's cool that they're all so weird.

Sarah, Ashley, Kristin, and I.

Us at Ash's house (stole the pic from Ash).