Sorry, It's Been a While

Not too much to report. I have been trying to get back into the swing of school after being in the clinic and then having 2 months off. Okay, I am already rounding into week 6 of this semester (out of 15), but sitting in class all day has not been easy after I have had the taste of what the real world is like. 

This semester has been way less stressful than normal. I don't know if it's because it is easier or I just don't have the will to stress any more. With that, I am excited to be out in the clinic in a few short months.

Here are some highlights between group projects, sleep, and exercise:

New roomie

A little bit of delicious beer

Hawks vs. Niner's game

Learning how to shoot a gun (and getting burnt from the casings)

Go Hawks!

Super Bowl Win!

Seattle for a week!

Friends and birthday parties!

I hope the start of your new year has been great!

Wedding Weekend Part 1

Last weekend was a magical weekend:) I got hitched! The event officially started on Wednesday December 11th when multiple out of town guests arrived in Seattle. Thursday morning, after all i's were dotted and t's were crossed, the caravan headed up North to the great country of Canada. Thursday night involved eating and drinking at our favorite German restaurant in Harrison Hot Springs and cards against humanity.

Friday was a little more hectic. 1) because it was only one day away from my wedding and 2) because we had to change hotels and getting into our room took forever. The day was beautiful though.

Friday night was the rehearsal dinner. It was held at a restaurant called Morgan's Bistro. We have never eaten there before because they are usually closed in the winter, but they happened to be open and able to take a very large group. Morgan's Bistro did a wonderful job attending to over 40 people, making delicious meals, and setting a romantic ambience.

Needless to say, we had a lot of fun. On top of that, it was my brother's 24th birthday (lucky Friday the 13th), so of course, we had to sing him happy birthday.

The dinner ran late, but we still managed to head over to a pub to meet the rest of our out of town guests.

Chris and I went to bed (later than I had hoped) excited and nervous for the events of the next day...

That Was a Hot One

Here is a little (late) update on my Labor Day Weekend.


It technically started last Thursday night when I met some Seattle friends who were in town to run the Disneyland half for dinner at Gabby's in Old Town. Third time is the charm, the food was even better than last time I ate there, plus the company was fabulous. It was totally worth going to bed late! A week ago Friday was a little tough, but I did have the opportunity to take a long nap when I got home from work before picking my mom up from the airport. Oh yes, apparently my mother is making it a tradition to come down to visit on Labor day. It may just be a 2 year thing because I will definitely be back in Washington at this time next year. Friday night was relaxing. My mom and I just chatted and went to bed (relatively) early.
Saturday of Labor Day weekend we woke up at a leisurely hour, made breakfast and headed up to LA to meet with some friends which entailed shopping for wedding jewelry, chocolate, amazing food, a drag show, and catching up. That is the synopsis, here are some more details.
I have mentioned this jewelry in a past blog post, but Bonnie (our friend who we visited) makes jewelry that I may have purchased  as wedding jewelry and maybe a little something else (not for the wedding) for me. I am not going to show you what I bought for the wedding, but you can check out her website and try to guess what I might have bought (or buy something for yourself)...Love and Piece Jewelry. I will show you the earrings I bought (oops)
On Sunday, before heading back to Orange, we went to West Hollywood for brunch. We ended up going to Hamburger Mary's where they were currently having Drag Brunch.
Monday morning, which included not working (since it was a holiday), my mom and I went down to Newport Beach and ran along the back bay.
What do you do to deal with the heat?

Another wonderful thing that occurred last Saturday night was this…

Yes, that is an 11lb chocolate bar. No I did not eat the whole thing.

Drag brunch is exactly what it sounds like. A drag show while you eat brunch. I actually had a burger (hey the place is called Hamburger Mary's) while listening to the wonderful "Whitney Houston" and  a little Disney's Pocahontas. It was fabulous!

 It was a beautiful day, but definitely a little too hot for my liking. You can tell by the glisten on our bodies. After the run and before my mother had to leave, we walked around Balboa Island. Here is what we saw.

 A woman trying not to get sun burned (but looking ridiculous)

Someone who obviously did not listen to their parent's when they said it was time to go in after the 4th of July. 

This has been the weather lately…

And this is how I have been dealing with it...

Apparently I melt when the temperature hits over 90 deg. This is why I am a true Seattle Girl!

Memorial Day Weekend!

My itinerary over Memorial Weekend:
Friday afternoon marked the beginning of my Weekend fun. A few of us had bought a Groupon for 2 months unlimited membership at Rock City Climbing in Anaheim, so on Friday after our cadaver lab we headed over for our first climb.

Photo Credit: Leslie Lam

It was really fun and a great work out. I could feel my forearms like I have never felt them before. I have rock climbed before, but never for over an hour. And yes, I was completely sore the next two days, but it was so worth it.

Late Friday night, I flew home to Seattle. I landed around 11pm where Christopher picked me up, with a flower on the front seat, and we headed out to Capital Hill to a cute little bar called Poco Wine and Spirits. We ordered a glass of Kinker Brick Zinfandel that was absolutely delicious! The bar also offered great service and has a cute ambiance.

My rose waiting for me in the Car at the airport.

The next morning Chris and I were going to drive up to Bellingham, but because of the I-5 bridge collapse we decided to stay in town and have a Seattle day. So Chris, Andrew (who was also in town), Shelly, and my parents all headed out to Pike Place market where I purchased my usuals: honey sticks and Jelly fruit rolls. After enduring the crowds at the market, we decided to check out the spice store down the street. On the way, we happened upon a little wine tasting room called Masquerade Wines. It is actually based out of Bellingham, but they have a tasting room below the market. We sipped delicious red and white wines and bought their Syrah before heading to the spice market.

Sunday morning, Chris and I headed over to his parents house to celebrate my birthday. Which birthday is this you ask? Well my birthday isn't for another week, but it will be my 30th birthday. We had a lovely brunch with Chris's parents at the Club House in Tam o Shanter on the golf course and then discussed wedding stuff (my new favorite topic). The time flew by and we had to rush home because we were heading out to Palisades to celebrate my 30th and Shelly's 25th birthday with my parents. The restaurant was fabulous.

Photo Credit: Shelly Short

Enjoying my delicious dessert

A little dark, but Chris and I in front of the Seattle backdrop. 

Dinner was amazing spanning from the wine to the service to the food to the company.

My parents dropped Shelly, Chris and I off at a bar on Capital Hill so we could meet up with some friends. It was an intimate group, but the company was fantastic.

Monday, I woke up when my internal clock told me to wake up (I may or may not have been drunk the night before) and my mom and I ran 9 miles from Leschi to Seward and back. We though we were only going to run 8, but to our surprise (and it is always a good one), we did an extra mile. The temperature was perfect, but it did drizzle the entire time, so I was a little wet by the time we got back into the car. The only reason this was an issue is because we were meeting up with the family for lunch. We went to Goldberg's in Factoria where I ordered a Reuben Sandwich. It was amazing, but since it was so big and I could not order a half, I was forced to take the other half back to California with me which I did enjoy for lunch the next day. 

Monday night I flew home and landed in Orange around 10pm. Tuesday was spent in class, enjoying my second half of my sandwich (people were jealous of it) and going rock climbing again followed by a yoga class later that evening. I will say that I am happy I went climbing and did yoga, but my upper extremities and upper back are a tad bit sore. Totally worth it.

What did you do this Memorial Weekend?

Race Recap - 27th Half Marathon Completed!

This weekend was a great weekend. It started out with me picking up my wedding dress! I bought my dress at a trunk sale in Rancho Cucamonga which is about 40 mins North East of where I currently live. I recruited a few friends to drive out there with me to pick it up. After picking it up with a large smile on my face, my dress carefully placed in the trunk, we stopped at a restaurant to "celebrate" with sangria. 

Lauren, Kelsey, and Jenny enjoying the delicious Sangria!

Hummus trio we enjoyed with our drinks

Later that night, my mom flew into town. She was down visiting to a) see me and b) run the OC half marathon. She arrived at 9pm and we both decided that we were a little hungry and thirsty. We decided on a restaurant in Old Town Orange called Gabbi's. It is an amazing Mexican restaurant that I have been to once before and have thoroughly enjoyed both times.

We ordered Pisco Sours and veggie tacos as our late night snack.

The pisco sour

Etta enjoying the warm weather and her Pisco Sour

Our delicious tacos with plantains

Saturday morning my mom and I had a leisurely morning, went to the expo to pick up our bibs for the race, ate a lovely lunch at Rutabegorz in Old Town Orange and made sure to give our legs plenty of rest. At geriatric dinner time (5:15pm), my mom and I headed to a restaurant in Irvine called Prego. We wanted to make sure that the food settled in our stomachs before we went to bed and since we had to be up at 3am the next morning, we went to bed really early. The dinner was fabulous. My mom and I ordered a glass of Syrah from Cline Cellars (a Sonoma winery), asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, a pear and goat cheese salad, and we split a pasta with sausage and mushrooms. We were happy and full.

We came home, set up our race gear, and went to bed around 10pm.

My stuff all ready for the morning

I got a really good nights sleep and woke up almost bright tailed the next morning when my alarm went off at 3:15am.

The OC half marathon (and marathon) is a point to point race, which means it starts and ends in different places. The race started somewhere in Newport Beach, but ended at the OC Fair Grounds in Costa Mesa, so you park there and they bus you to the starting line. Our shuttle time was set for 4:45am. We didn't want to worry about being late and/or missing the bus, so we left my house at 4am and arrived at the fair grounds around 4:20am. This was a smart idea, because when we were on the shuttle to the start line, we noticed a long line of cars getting off at the exit to park. I have experienced this before and ended up being an hour late to the race start which isn't a good way to start a race.

My mom and I at the start line around 5:30am

The race was really fun. I believe about 9,500 people did the half and 1,500 did the full, but the way they organized it, I never felt like I was crowded by people and I was able to run at my own pace the entire time. The course is beautiful and pretty flat. I think there is about 200ft of elevation, but the hills are very manageable and there were ample water stops along the way. The temperature was a pleasant 50 to 60 degrees so I didn't stop at all the water stations.

I finished the race in a little over 2 hours. I was not trying to PR,  just finish. I felt great the entire race and felt even better when I crossed the finish line of my 27th half marathon and received this wonderful medal.

I have to decide on my next 3 half marathons to run by the end of the year. It all depends on where I get placed in my clinical rotation next semester. Does anyone have any suggestion of wonderful races in Southern California or the Seattle area from now until December?