Updates!

Phew! It's been a busy summer so far! So busy that I haven't blogged in over a month and I haven't gone running in 2 weeks! (whoops.......... there goes my training schedule!)

I actually had (and still have?) pain in my left calf. It only hurts when I press on it though, is that good or bad?? I thought staying off of it would improve how it felt, and it has, but it hasn't gone completely away.

It didn't stop me from running my very first 10k a few weeks ago, though! I ran in A Most Excellent Race which supported The Achievement Center's Camp Cheerful. What a great cause! Annnnnnnnnnnnd I finished the race in .... 51:49!!!! YESSS how awesome is that!!! Wow was I excited :) B signed up to walk the 5k and I was so proud of him for running part of it!!

Since the race I only ran 4 miles, though. Part of it is due to the calf pain, but the other part is because of this damned heat wave!! What's that all about?? It is waayyy too hot if you're not planning on running at the butt-crack of dawn to beat the heat. Even running in the evening is rough because it takes so long to cool down outside! Sooo I've been doing other things like.. uh.. well not working out, that's for sure!

Here's a photo montage of what you missed...

Wow! Look how huge the plants have gotten since the last picture I posted! Crazy! (It actually looks even CRAZIER now!)

B and I went with a couple friends to CMA's Summer Solstice party. It was a blast! ANNNDDD Dim and Dem Sum was serving FREE tacos. YUM.

MMMM smoothie, I love you.

Hydrangeas are so cool. I love how the color of the blossoms depend on the acidity of the soil. Pretty neat! Not sure how to change it, though.

Baby roma tomatoes! I can't wait to eat you, nom nom nom.

B helped me to organize our spice cabinet! Look how freaking cute those jars are! Hmm.. I'm a little low on garlic powder.. I must remedy that!

Mmmm smooooooooooothie..

I love our roses! They smell AMAZING!

Close up of my beauties.

I think these are gerbera daisies? Something like that. They rock my world.

And there you have it! A quick look into the world of Julie. I'd like to promise that I will be a good blogger and keep up with the posts, but summer is just crazy! AHHH.

B and I are actually going to Chicago on Thursday for the Pitchfork Music Festival. I'm so excited! Although, I'm not sure what I'm more excited for.. the festival or CHICAGO STYLE HOT DOGS AND PIZZA!!! nom nom nom.

Alrighty, I gotta get to work! Have an awesome day!

Veggie Garden!!

Ta-da!

After months and months of waiting around and planning, we finally completed our veggie garden!! It took a lot of work and effort, but hopefully that will pay off when we get to harvest the goods!

We planted 8 tomato plants (YUM!), 1 zucchini plant, 1 pickling cucumber plant (this was actually an accident, I'm not going to attempt pickling), 1 normal cucumber plant (so far they look the same to me..), and 3 bell pepper plants (RIP red bell pepper plant.. I will be replacing you this weekend)

In addition to those plants, I also planted some seeds: carrots, lima beans, beets, and green onions. I have a small spot left that I'm not sure what to do with. Maybe more beets or lima beans! Or hot peppers? Or lettuce? HMM.

Building a raised garden bed from scratch was pretty fun, but a lot of work. After building the frame, we needed DIRT! I ordered 2 yards of a garden bed mix which had topsoil, sand and leaf humus.





The challenge was getting this



into this



She didn't help, but she looks cute, so we weren't mad.



We started shoveling the dirt directly into the garden with snow shovels. Hey, we're still basically new homeowners. We aren't expected to have real shovels, right?



Halfway through, we decided it might be a good idea to test out the wheel barrow that the previous owners left. Sure, it was a little rusty, and sat outside the whole time we've lived her, but I was sure it would still work.

But then this happened



Then this



Oh well.. we finished it by hand and it turned out great!



Cute little tomato plants!



More tomato plants



And zucchini, cucumber and bell pepper plants!



This was actually last Sunday. The plants are getting much bigger! I saw a tiny flower emerging on one of the tomato plants. MMM

Is it the weekend yet?

Here's a run down of why today sucks:

Stayed up until 2:30am trying to finish some work, but couldn't figure it out
Still haven't figured it out
My coworkers had to postpone the build until it's working
While watering my plants, I yanked the hose over too far and it flew across the garden and killed 1, maybe 2, bell pepper plants
I have a huge knot in my calf muscle
While icing it, I gave myself frost bite
It's not even Friday

BUTTTTTTTT in about an hour and a half, B and I and a couple friends are going to Ohio City for Be a Nomad! I FINALLY get to try Dim and Den Sum and see what the fuss is all about! They're going to be serving sloppy joe tacos and buffalo sausage. Sounds good to me! There are going to be a bunch of other food carts/trucks there as well. The festivities are put on by Cleveland Public Art.

If you haven't heard of Dim and Den Sum, it's a gourmet food truck that drives around the greater Cleveland area feeding the masses.

Niagara-on-the-Lake

For Memorial Day weekend, B and I went to Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario. If you haven't heard of it, which I hadn't before we went, it's about 30 minutes north of Niagara Falls. And it's gorgeous.

There are wineries and vineyards everywhere.







We couldn't have asked for better weather for the weekend! Look at those blue skies!

During the month of May, the wineries in the area participate in the Wine and Herb Festival. A ticket to the festival allows you to sample one wine at each of the 22 wineries. In addition to the wine, each winery selects an herb that they must feature in a food pairing to match the wine.

The food pairings were delicious. We had steamed asparagus with a cilantro pesto, pulled pork sammiches with bbq sauce, a spicy gazpacho, grilled shrimp over spanish rice.. and the list goes on. MMMM..

The wine was really tasty as well. I love wine, but I'm not exactly a wine snob. After awhile they all started to taste the same. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I definitely can't tell you whether the wine has been aged in oak barrels versus stainless steel with oak chips, or if it has the flavor of dark berries and smells like plums. That didn't dissuade B and I from buying 6 bottles! Wahoo!



We stayed in a cute little cottage while we were there. I think it was built in 1890 or something crazy like that. It says it on the sign, but I'm too lazy to see if I can decipher it.



Ahh.. I wish I could go back. So relaxing. Speaking of relaxing.. I should probably get to bed. It's almost 2:30am, yikes!

ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Almost forgot the obligatory cat photo.. this cat was soaking up the sunshine outside of one of the wineries. Of course I had to go pet it and see if it was friendly. It was not and my scratches are healing up nicely, hah! Cute, though!



And, goodnight!

Whoops..

Wow, it's been a busy 2 weeks! Over the past 2 weeks I traveled to Canada and back, ran 23 miles, went to a couple yoga classes, tried a spinning (!!!) class, and planted a garden! Phew! I'm tired just thinking about all of that! Even Jez is tired. She's quite the fluffy beast.



Monday was the start of my 5th week of training! I can't believe it's been a whole month already! Although, I can't say that I've been sticking to the schedule 100% of the time. I have been running 3-4 days a week instead of a solid 4 and cross training about 1 time a week. I'm going to step it up this week though and get in all 6 of my workouts!

Ugh, my left calf has been sore for the past couple of days. Sore isn't really accurate.. it feels like there's a huge knot in my leg. I need to get one of those magic massage sticks! And no, I still haven't gotten new shoes yet .. shame shame.

I'm getting extremely bored with my running routes lately. I have the same basic route for each of my runs. I'll just run out a little farther if the distance calls for it. Same terrain, same houses to gawk at.

Speaking of houses.. B and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary in our house! YAY!! WAHOOOO!!! We cracked open a bottle of bubbly for the event and consumed some not so oven fresh Georgio's pizza. Perfection. I can't believe it's already been a year. It feels like just yesterday that we took the plunge and bought our house and moved in together, awwwwwww.



While in Canada on Memorial Day weekend, we went on a wine tour and visited about 20 wineries. Here's a view from one of the wineries in Niagara-on-the-Lake.. gorgeous! More on this later!



I suppose it's time to get to work!

Smile!

I ran another 3 miles yesterday. I waited practically all day for the weather to cool down. I finally went running when it hit 81 (I think the high was 86??). Surprisingly it didn't feel all that hot. There was even a nice breeze!

Whenever I pass someone up when I'm running, I always try to say hi or smile. I absolutely love it when people smile back! It lifts my spirits, especially if I'm having a hard time on that particular run, and puts me in a better mood for the rest of my run.

I think today I'm going to attend a yoga class and run my 4 miles tomorrow. I've decided that my legs don't like it when I run 3 days in a row, like the schedule calls for. I felt good on my run yesterday, but afterwards I had to stretch stretch STRETCH my legs. They are a little stiff today. I think I COULD run, but it might not be a good idea. (Until I at least get new shoes... which I should have done weeks ago! Sorry, I'm lazy...)

Speaking of stretching, I think the Half Pigeon Pose is my new favorite. It really stretches out your IT band and hammies. Check it out if you don't know it.

Time to do some work! Enjoy the awesome weather outside!

Blank Slate

Hopefully soon this awesome raised garden bed that B built for me will be filled with dirt and ready for VEGGIE PLANTS! Right now all I can do is imagine what I'm going to plant inside of its borders. Tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, green onions, peppers, cucumbers, basil, more tomatoes, carrots, radishes, mmmmm, potatoes! turnips! asparagus! AHH! Think of all the possibilities!! I can't wait! :)