Moving onnnn!

Since I'll be done classes in June and Sam is working up in Alpine, we've decided that we are ready to get  the heck out of Provo and move closer to family and work.
When we posted our apartment online, I was shocked at how much response we got.  I've been getting anywhere from 3-10 calls or texts every day since we posted it!  It sure has helped me keep the house clean knowing that people are coming by almost every day to secretly judge my housekeeping skills the apartment.
As we started our own apartment search, I was looking desperately for a place that would allow me to have a dog.  I've been dying to get a big ol' running buddy.  Unfortunately, I learned that finding an apartment within our modest student budget was really difficult- and essentially impossible if you were planning on having a big hair drooly dog as well.  I have come to terms with the fact that a dog just isn't happening right now :( However, this did open up more apartment options to not have that criteria in the mix.
The first place we really liked was in American Fork. It was small but in a good neighborhood and crazy inexpensive.  We applied, and after waiting a week to hear a response, I got a mass text saying that it was going to be rented out to somebody else. Dang! Rejection!
Before we had applied for the AF place, Sam had gone and looked at a place in Alpine.  He said it was nice, so after our sad rejection we decided to go up and both take a look.  As we got closer to the house, I started getting more and more excited.  It is a super precious house on a super precious lane (not road. Lane) with super precious children frolicking about.  As we walked up to the house, I noticed that there were chickens next to the house just wandering around in a chickeny way.  The lady took us to the apartment, which is in the basement with a separate entrance, and I liked what I saw! I tried to turn on the charm, flashed some ankle (thanks to a suggestion from Sean), and we talked with the couple for a while, just getting to know each other.  I asked (a little too excitedly) if the chickens were theirs. They were, indeed!  Then the husband started telling me about how they had been raising emus for years and this past year they had finally hatched their own chicks. This is probably what my face looked like:

fyi, I'm on campus and some girl is sitting across from me at the table probably judging me.

Anyway, we really liked the apartment, the people, and the location so we gave them our references and headed on our merry way.

(Sidenote: We went and saw The Avengers that night, which was FANTASTIC. We also went bowling, and Sam did better without bumpers than I did with them.)

Finally, we got the call saying that they would like for us to rent from them! Woohoo!! Then later that day I had somebody scheduled to come see our apartment, and after the tour they said that they want the place, and were wanting to move in around the same time we were leaving. Perfect.

We're very grateful that we were able to find a great place to live, as well as sell our contract!

And that is my very long story about finding an apartment that could have been told in two sentences.

Frankenstein's monster.

And by "Frankenstein's monster", I mean that I had to get hooked up to an electric current to "come alive" today.  Is that a weak connection? Maybe.
I had another chiropractor appointment today.  First he destroyed me with his hands.  Then he stabbed with some needles.  Then he stabbed with more needles, and hooked up an electric current to them.  I don't think I have a very accurate concept of pain due to all those years of slamming my head body into other people and various other activities, because I guess he turned it up waaaay high before I considered it a "strong" pain feeling. Then he turned it down a tad, and left me there for 15 minutes.  Let's just say that electroacupuncture isn't the best feeling.  At first it was okay, but then it got a whole lot worse (probably because I kept tensing up).  Finally the nurse came in and took it off, wiped off some blood, and sent me on my merry way.  Unfortunately Sam had the truck today, so I had to ride my bike home, which didn't help much either!  It's going to be sore for a while!
I'm very glad to have such a good chiropractor, though.  He thinks that I'll be able to start working my lower body in maybe two more visits, and that might even include running.  My fingers are crossed.  Sometimes I'm not a huge fan of going on a run, to be honest, but now that I don't have it anymore I sure miss it!
Anyway, that's the update.   Next time he's going to look at my knee some more, which has been messed up since early high school.

Oh, and I get to wear this dealio for a while too:

Fancy pedicure toe-thinger?

A very sad tale.

I've been having some problems with my hip the past few weeks.  It pops when I walk, and is extremely painful when I walk more than half a mile, or run at all.  That doesn't mesh well with marathon training.  On Friday I went to a chiropractor who specialized in sports injuries.  Long story short, I'm out for running for at least a month and can't do any sort exercise involving my lower body for at least two weeks.  What does this mean?  Well, I'll be doing a lot of upper body and core work for the next month.  It also means that I have to sell my marathon race bib.  Even if my hip was ok to run by then (which it probably wouldn't be), I wouldn't have sufficient training to not likely jack myself up more.  It also means I might not be able to do the Ragnar that was supposed to be the week after the marathon, or pace the half marathon the week after that.  Let's just say that I'm not a happy camper.  When I've been putting in 50+ miles of running a week to be ready for an event, only to get injured a month before and not be able to do it, it's really disappointing.  The half I was going to race in July is going to suffer too.  I was expecting a PR on that course.  I was also expecting a PR on this marathon course.  My little secret is that I have been training to qualify for Boston this year (you have to run a certain time-- 3:35 in my case-- on a qualified marathon course to even be able to register).  I would have been able to pull off a 3:45 or 3:40 at this race if all went well, and then hopefully the 3:35 in my September marathon.  With missing this much "conditioning" to start training for the September marathon, I can't see that attempt safely succeeding.

The shoes I ordered pre-injury that are coming tomorrow, but I now can't wear for a while :(

Anyway, I'm really sad and angry that I'm missing my marathon and pacing the half, as well as possibly missing Ragnar, a half PR, and qualifying for Boston.  The plus side is that with proper treatment I will some day be back to where I was-- just not as quickly as I wish.
Anyway, there's my explanation for why there won't be as many race recaps this year.  I guess I'll just have to make up for it next year.

All grown up and taking on the world.

Well that's it for now, folks-- Sam is graduated, and I'll be done in June!  On the one hand, it feels like I've been in university for forever, but it also feels like time just flew by. 

Flashback:

Right before my freshman year

kindergarten!

first day of life?

What does the future hold?  We've got big plans, but for now Sam is working and I'm finishing up my last two classes (and fighting the senioritis that has grown exponentially since I have already done the cap and gown deal and even if I barely pass my last two classes my GPA won't change.  I should still do some more learnin' though, eh?).

A Cafe Rio Collaboration

There are a lot of different Cafe Rio "copycat" recipes out there on the interwebs.  So I did a little lot of looking around to find the most common, most highly rated, or just plain best looking versions of our favourite Cafe Rio dishes.  If you haven't had Cafe Rio, make sure you hit one up if you're ever near one! In my opinion, the best thing is a Sweet Pork Salad with black beans and lime cilantro rice.  The Sweet Pork Burrito with medium sauce and black beans takes a close second.  With the recipes below, you can makes either!  If making your own tortillas seems like overkill, I recommend at least buying uncooked ones and cooking them in a skillet before you put your food together :)

Sweet Pork Barbacoa

• 5-6 lbs pork ribs or pork roast
• 1L coke or Dr. Pepper (not diet! We tried both coke and DP, and I can't tell the difference. You don't use all of it, so cans work too, but liters are usually cheaper)
• 1c brown sugar
• 1/2c white sugar
• 1 clove garlic
• 7oz can chilies in adobo sauce
• 6oz red enchilada sauce (I used medium)
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne

Put the pork, 1/2c of the brown sugar, 2c pop, and enough water to cover the pork halfway in a crockpot and cook on low overnight. In the morning, drain the liquid, and trim and shred the pork.

Remove the chilies from the adobo sauce. Rinse with some pop to get all of the sauce off.  Discard the chilies and combine the sauce with the rest of the sugar, garlic, enchilada sauce, spices, pork, and enough pop to mostly cover the meat.  Cook on low for several more hours (at least long enough to finish cooking, but the longer you cook it the more tender the meat is.  We just leave it in the pot until church is over/the rest of the food is ready :)  If it seems too watery, cook for 30 minutes uncovered to evaporate some liquid.  Serve with a slotted spoon.

Note: This works with chicken too, but you don't need to marinade it! Just cook the chicken with the 1/2c brown sugar, pop, and water for a few hours, and then drain/shred/cook with the other ingredients for an hour or two. 

Cilantro Lime Rice

• 1 cup uncooked rice
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 15oz chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 cup water
• 1T lime juice
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2T fresh chopped cilantro
• 1/4t cumin

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan.  Cook garlic slightly.  Add rice, 1t lime juice, broth, and water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat.  Cook on low for 15-20 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Combine 1T lime juice, sugar, cilantro, and cumin and pur over cooked rice, fluffing with a fork.

Cilantro Black Beans

• 1tsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4c minced onion
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 can black beans
• 1 1/4c tomato juice
• 1T fresh chopped cilantro

Heat olive oil in a large skillet.  Cook onion, garlic, and cumin.  Add remaining ingredients. Cook on low until heated through.

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

• 1 packet traditional ranch dressing mix
• 1c mayo
• 1c buttermilk
• 2 tomatillos, husked and minced
• 2T fresh cilantro
• 1 clove garlic
• 1T lime juice
• 1T onion
• 1/8t chili powder

Combine all ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use. 

Tortillas

• 3c flour
• 2t baking powder
• 1t salt
• 4T shortening
• about 1 1/4c warm water

Mix dry ingredients.  Cut in the fat.  Add water gradually until dough is soft but not sticky.  Knead for several minutes. Break into 8 equal sized balls.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit about 10 minutes.  Roll very thin (about as thin as you can get it!) and cook on both sides in a cast iron skillet on medium high heat.

Serve with chopped lettuce, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, shredded cheese, or whatever else you want.  

This is the only picture I have in Cafe Rio.  Baines and I were having a moment after the Holi festival back in 2012. 

Silly things.

• Sometimes when I talk about running/races on facebook statuses or on my blog, I feel like there is just an awkward silence of "what the heck is wrong with you?" because nobody says anything. Or they say "what the heck is wrong with you?".
• I am incapable of singing/listening to All Creatures of Our God and King without thinking about Mr. Bean. 
• Our house is cleanest on the days I have to work on papers or study for tests (an excellent form of procrastination because you can actually trick yourself into believing that it's something important enough to procrastinate with).
• I also paint my nails most often on days I'm supposed to be doing homework.

If this hand looks bad, you should see the other one
(the one I painted with the non-dominant hand)

• I HATE some of the things I see pinned on pinterest-- specifically, some of the fitness/exercise/weight loss related things.  I know people just mindlessly pin hundreds of things, but I hope people know that some of it is total BS. Here are a few of the ones that really get under my skin:

• There is no such thing as "spot reduction".  Ex: 5 easy moves to give you skinny thighs quick! You can build muscle in specific places, but you can't lose fat in specific places. No matter how many crunches you do, your stomach will not get smaller.  You have to lose fat to "unveil" muscle, and the places you lose fat/how easy it is to lose fat/how quickly you lose fat is different for everyone.  My thighs hold on to fat, and I would probably have to be at a dangerously low weight for them to be "skinny" because I will first lose all of my fat from my upper body first.  Some people will forever have tummy fat.  Or upper arm fat. And it's normal (and healthy and ok) to have fat.
• "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels".  This is a quote from a model who was in the depths of an eating disorder at the time she said that.  The connotation seems to be eating vs. appearance, food is bad, you shouldn't enjoy food, or some other disordered thinking that is not true.
• Foods that are calorie dense aren't necessarily unhealthy. Foods that are low calorie are not necessarily healthy. For example, peanut butter is not evil.  It's very calorie dense and has a relatively large amount of fat in it, yes, but it's fantastic in moderation.  With a piece of toast and banana? Pre-run meal superstar.  An entire jar eaten on a box of oreos? Maybe not the best.  Then you have those 100 calorie snack packs and everyone thinks they're fantastic because they're "only 100 calories"! Welp, you can make your very own 100 calorie snack packs of solid Crisco if you put it in the right portion sizes.
• Of course you will lose weight if all you do is drink lemon juice and vinegar and water for three days.  Then you'll start eating food again and gain it all back.
• I have extremely horrible allergies right now, and I'm really drugged up, and I'm really sorry if I offended anyone with the above pinterest talk (because I know people are really passionate about pinterest).
• Sorry for pinning dogs all the time.  I can't help myself.  Like I mentioned before, I browse petfinder.com on a regular basis and I have a collection of my dream dogs to torture myself with because I can't have one right now ;)
• I have proof that I'm really out of it over allergies/drugs and the like.  On Saturday night I was feeling super crappy and had a hard time falling asleep.  Sam was long gone before I finally conked out.  The next morning Sam got up before me and found our huge crock pot full of soup.  I guess I had gotten up while in a druggy/sleepy state and made a ton of soup.  With a LOT of mushrooms in it.  It was decent.  I'm just glad it wasn't super fantastic because I would be ticked if I couldn't remember how I made it. 

The time I made soup in my sleep,
AKA: the time I wasted a lot of vegetables.

The Line Up

April 21st- Salt Lake City Marathon (pacing, half)

June 9th- Utah Valley Marathon

June 15-16th- Ragnar Relay

June 23rd- AF Canyon (pacing, half)

July 7th- Hobbler Canyon Half

September 15th- Top of Utah Marathon

There may be more pacing opportunities added in there (hopefully), and obviously I need to find something for May and August ;D  Last year I race 4 halves and 1 full, and paced 1 half.  This year (so far) I have 2 full races, 1 half race, 3 halves to pace (1 done already), and a relay.  I'm thinking  of racing more halves, but only if I come across the right ones.

I wish I could say (like everyone else) that I'm totally loving this warm weather, but the early spring brought early allergies, infections, and illness.  I'm kind of a walking stumbling gong show, which has put a kink in my training.  Everything hurts in that achy, tired sort of way (Also I fell on the stairs and jacked up my knee and foot). I have my fingers crossed that the early onset of the bad kind of Spring Fever also means it will be an early passing.  I do like feeling the sun and all, though.  And I'm always a happy camper when the summer produce is in season. 

Another exciting April event is graduation!  Sam is getting his degree in business/HR, which is very exciting.  My parents are also coming down to visit and see him walk. I already posted this news on facebook, but I'm going to be done soon too!  We thought I wouldn't be able to graduate until December at the earliest (along with 8 classes and an internship), which really wasn't working with our plans.  I went and talked to one of the BYU advisers about options, and we figured out a way for me to be done classes in June. 6 months early, and with only 3 classes?  YES, PLEASE!  I might get to walk next month too, but it depends on if my ceremony is at the same time as Sam's (and I'd rather be at his than mine, haha).  

And just to make this post more interesting, here is a picture of what I want for a graduation present:

I may or may not check petfinder.com daily to browse through potential running buddies.  Unfortunately we still live in a silly apartment that doesn't even allow fish, but a girl can dream, right?   

PS: Is it normal that at least 4 nights a week I have dreams about people trying to kill me?  It's exhausting.