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I stopped at the produce stand to buy some fruit. I have been craving fruit and veggies all week!

The raspberries barely made it home. I sort of ate a lot of them before I got home. For lunch I cooked some more soup.

Rosemary Chicken with White Beans and Bacon = 220 calories. It was pretty good. The chicken chunks were a little too big for me to eat but I liked the soup.

I barely toasted half a bagel (so it was warm but still a little soft) and spread some light cream cheese on it.

It took me forever to eat that half bagel. I have to chew very slowly. This whole situation has pointed out to me that I eat way too fast normally.

QUESTION: Are you a fast eater? How do you slow yourself down?

The lunch should keep me from getting sick from the antibiotics. Later, I’ll eat the rest of these beauties:

Spending the afternoon relaxing, healing, sucking down water, and watching episodes of “Weeds.” This weekend is The Bite of Oregon. I had wanted to go experience it, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.

QUESTION: What are your weekend plans? Anything fun going on?

For dinner last night I tried to eat some real food and was pretty successful. Michael blackened some salmon again (it was soft enough for me to eat) and we steamed some veggies. I overcooked the veggies so they weren’t crunchy at all. I was able to eat with no problem, so that’s good.

I topped the veggies with some Goddess Dressing (broccoli and sliced baby carrots).

It was nice being able to eat real food. I can’t wait for this drama to be done with.

I also got a package in the mail yesterday that cheered me up a little. My Bondi Band!

It’s purple with white writing (even if the picture doesn’t look it). I love it. I’m glad I got that saying on it. It’s totally me. I run because I like to, because I like that my body can do it…but I let’s be honest. I also love cheesecake and pizza. I also got a decal for my car:

It’s kind of goofy, but I like it.

I spoke with my dentist this morning. I decided to stay home from work today and take it easy. Last night was ROUGH. I was in so much pain I was crying. And my threshold for pain is pretty high. I have numerous tattoos. I RUN. I’m training for an insane relay race. I can TAKE PAIN. But this tooth is bringing me down! My dentist is prescribing me some antibiotics. That’s usually a last resort for me because I hate taking them. I hate the side effects, I hate the way I feel on them. But I’m desperate at this point and Hood to Coast is in 21 days. I need to be on my game!

Hood to Coast Relay: In 21 Days!!!!

I think the “scandal” happened in 2009 but I firmly believe it’s an ongoing problem in media. This pictures sparks two conversations for me.

First, why is it okay to photo-shop model so much that they look like they are dying? She’s grotesquely skinny–deathlike in my opinion.

Second, are we still susceptible in this day and age to feel like we need to aspire to that above image? Or do we as smart women think, “That’s photo-shopped.” And move on?

So the scandal was that Ralph Lauren photo-shopped an ad making the model above disgustingly skinny. Notice how her head is larger than her pelvis? Um…don’t think our bodies are suppose to look like that!

A spokesman for Ralph Lauren said : “‘For over 42 years, we have built a brand based on quality and integrity. After further investigation, we have learned that we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman’s body. We have addressed the problem and going forward will take every precaution to ensure that the calibre of our artwork represents our brand appropriately.”

Hmm. Fancy words. No real fault being admitted, though.

My visceral response to seeing pictures like that is “Vile.”

Although…Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein are notorious for having anorexic-looking models that have no boobs, no hips, no curves.

And on the same subject…how do men feel when they see the pumped up male models selling jeans but showing off insanely large arm muscles? I KNOW I have a few male readers out there…give me your opinion!

It doesn’t make good business sense to photo-shop at all. The ads are there to sell a company’s clothing. Wouldn’t the average woman be more likely to purchase an article of clothing represented attractively on a normal sized model? Normal meaning like a Size 8 or a Size 10. Or even a 12. I think size 12/14 is the new “average.”

My opinion? I may be talking into the wind on this subject matter but as a person who SHOPS for clothes that fit MY body, I am more apt to go to stores that have real ads. I’ve been at both ends of the spectrum: Lane Bryant AND The Gap. I’ve been obese, and skinny.

As a skinny person who used to be obese and NEVER thought I’d EVER be skinny…I would longingly gaze at skinny people wearing cute clothes and think, “I would be so happy if I was her size.”

Now that I AM “her” size…I am less concerned about being skinny and more concerned about being fit. I’d much rather look like this:

Than the anorexic Calvin Klein model above.

What do you think is more attractive? A fit, lean, muscular body like this:

Or No Curves. No Hips. No Boobs like this:

Eeew eeew eeew!

QUESTION: What do you think about these pictures?

Since I haven’t been able to eat much, I was starving. My stomach felt hollow and grumbly. Michael made the ravioli and put pesto on it. I ate the 1 serving and was still so hungry. He made me a second serving. I was okay for calories so I wasn’t too worried.

It was tasty and I was able to eat them.

While I ate my ravioli, we watched last night’s Top Chef episode. Anyone else see it? I don’t want to ruin it for anyone…

Last week was a bit of a controversial episode. One of the contestants, Alex, allegedly stole another contestant’s pea puree! I was so shocked. I’ve never liked Alex on the show and that sealed the deal for me. Not only did the editing imply that Alex stole the puree, he WON that week’s competition. With the pea puree.

Last night’s episode was about ethnic cuisine. The “Quick Challenge” was cool. The chefs had to create Ethiopian dishes. I happen to love Ethiopian food, so that was a cool challenge. I won’t talk about the rest of the episode in case I spoil it for other people!

QUESTION: What did you think about the “pea puree” scandal?

Oaks Park is a great park that I always forget about. It’s so close to our house, too. I brought my book, a blanket and some water. I walked around the park a little bit to check it out first.

Sellwood Park is right on the Willamette River, too. The weather was absolutely perfect for sitting in the park. I spread out the blanket and sat down to relax and unwind.

The sun wasn’t too hot. There was a beautiful view of the river. I watched the waterskiiers, people boating up and down the river. There was a peaceful breeze too. It was pretty much the best spot in Portland.

I read my Sookie Stackhouse book and just listened to the lapping waves on the beach.

I quickly got distracted from my book, though. I realized I was in a dog park and I got distracted watching all the dogs play. They were hilarious! There were no fights and the dogs all played together like they were best friends.

Then I saw these two bears!

They were HUGE! I have no idea what breed of dog they were. One of them came over to say hi to me.

There were a bunch of different dogs that came to visit me where I was sitting. I decided to give up on the book and just watch the puppies.

I stayed at the park for about an hour and a half and then headed home. Michael was so sweet and took care of me.

Especially in the two hour long work meeting this morning. I was dragging ass. I DEFINITELY did not feel up to running. To be honest, I’ve never NOT wanted to run more than today. Then I started to think about it.

• I’m exhausted and running on 4 hours of sleep = excellent simulation of how I will be able to run in Hood to Coast completely sleep deprived.
• I need to practice running a few times close together– again to simulate Hood to Coast and having my 3 Legs about 10 hours apart.
• I ran last night at 8:30pm with the plan to run again today at lunch. I needed to just suck it up.

So I made a compromise. I decided to run in the gym in my office instead of the 4 mile loop I usually do.

The GOOD thing about running the Esplanade Loop is that I am committed to running the entire thing. You’re kinda stuck on the other side of the river if you decide to be lazy. So I am never lazy. But I find that when I run the track, or run the treadmill, I don’t have that same staying power and I tend to get bored easily.

Today I ran on the treadmill in the gym. It was nice, I had the gym all to myself and it was a peaceful run. Amazingly enough I was NOT a zombie once I started running!!

I ran at a fast pace, felt light on my feet, felt suddenly energized. I did about 30 minutes on the treadmill at that pace and then did a bunch of work with the jump rope and ab ball:

I felt pretty fantastic. And the best news? My legs felt awesome! No stiffness, no soreness, nothing! I was fully prepared to be slow and sore from last night’s run and I wasn’t.

I still can’t get over how awesome of a workout that jump rope is! It’s baffling but I was running at a fast pace on the treadmill and my heart rate never maxed out like it did with the jump rope!

The outcome? I feel pretty awesome after my workout. Energized. Happier. Stronger. Excited about Hood to Coast!

Today’s Stats:

Time: 38:24

Calories Burned:  352

Miles Run: 2.25

Activities: Treadmill, jump rope, ab ball

Feeling pretty darn good about my workout right now.

QUESTION: Do you have a new workout that you’ve discovered and love?

July Goals:

1. Heal! Be 100%.

2. Make Sun Tea.

3. Train for Hood to Coast.

4. Have a picnic.

5. Try Trail running for the first time.

I suppose I’ve technically been training for Hood to Coast with every single workout I do (even workouts that don’t involve running)….but for the most part, I accomplished nothing in July. My July Goals SHOULD have been:

1. Heal.

2. Survive House Guest-Palooza.

3. Finish installing the kitchen floor.

4. Train for Hood To Coast.

If those had been my goals, I think I’d be in better shape right now. So in light of that, I’m going to be very easy with my goals for August:

August Goals

1. TRAIN FOR HOOD TO COAST.

2. Survive Hood to Coast.

3. ENJOY Hood to Coast.

4. Recover from Hood to Coast.

Noticing a theme here?

QUESTION: What are you goals for August?

We met at the Night Light Lounge in SE Portland, off Clinton Street. It’s a funky little part of town and neither of us had ever been there. They had a really nice outdoor patio! We sat outside for a good 3 hours or so talking and drinking.

I had 2 beers (Hopworks IPA). She ordered some fries. I tried to eat a few but couldn’t really chew.

What happens when you barely eat anything all day, eat only soup, and then have two beers?

Yeah I got pretty buzzed. It felt good though. It distracted me from the pain and discomfort. After Happy Hour, I took her home and saw their wedding album from last month. It looked really nice.

I stopped at the grocery store to get soft, mushy food I could eat.

Thank you for all the suggestions! I got yogurt, pudding, soup and ice cream. There was one ice cream I almost bought until I saw the calories! I almost fell over in shock.

That tiny little ice cream cup that fit in my hand was 310 calories!!!

Ooooof!!! I put that back and got a raspberry ice cream that was 110 calories. That’s more my speed.

I had planned on going for a run Tuesday. My Hood to Coast training begins this week and while I was uncomfortable with my tooth I decided that my tooth shouldn’t interfere with running. Training must go on!

I will admit that drinking beer and then going running is probably not the brightest idea but I was no where near drunk. It had been a few hours and the buzz was gone.

I ran the half mile or so to the nearby track and did 2 miles around the track without walking or stopping. My legs felt like they weren’t a part of my body! I was pretty fast.

It was starting to get dark so I ran home to have my soup for dinner and go to bed.

Run Stats:

Time: 32:40

Distance: A little over 3 miles

Calories Burned: 373

It was a fast little run and I felt good. Stretched. Foam Roller. Soup for dinner!

I really love this soup. It’s yummy and really low in calories.

I added some shredded Colby Jack cheese and light sour cream. I skipped the tortilla chips I usually add (nothing crunchy!). Dinner was about 110 calories + the calories for the cheese and sour cream.

I did NOT sleep much last night. The pain pills I got were pretty worthless. I was uncomfortable and upset and I think I finally fell asleep after 1am. That doesn’t make me a happy camper this morning.

I steamed a bunch of broccoli. I’ve been craving veggies with all the eating out lately.

It was nice eating food I’m used to again. We had part of a tomato left over and Michael sliced it up and sprinkled some salt on it. I topped the broccoli with Goddess Dressing.

Michael felt like the salmon was overdone and had too much blackening on it but I thought everything tasted pretty good. I usually don’t like tomatoes except on BLTs or burgers (or in ketchup form) but adding the salt to the slices made a huge difference.

My evening was spent reading a new library book:

And working on a project I will soon reveal. I had another sliver of fudge and a glass of milk for dessert.

Fast forward to Tuesday morning. My tooth has been bothering me for over a month now. I was able to get in to see the dentist and he told me I has to have a root canal. Of course I hadn’t eaten lunch BEFORE the dentist, so I was starving by the time I got out of there. I see a lot of soup in my future.

I got home from the dentist/pharmacy and made soup for lunch. I thought I had a creamy can of soup in the pantry but Mrs. Grass’s Soup was all I found. That’s okay because I happen to love Mrs. Grass’s soup.

Nothing like eating soup in the middle of summer!

QUESTION: Any food suggestions for me while I heal from my root canal?

Instead of our usual Sunday Steak Night, we decided to do bratwursts instead–mostly because we both had steak on Friday night and Michael had steak for breakfast. I was good with that; especially since Michael and Jeremy cooked dinner.

Michael boiled the brats before grilling them and Jeremy did his special trick for corn on the cob.

This time, Jeremy used butter and added chili pepper. It was a great addition!

Dinner turned out really good and not only that–it was COOKED FROM HOME! It was so nice to prepare our own food and eat normal portions.

I am grateful for the opportunity to go out to dinner with Michael’s family. I am also grateful for enjoying food prepared BY Michael. I skipped having a beer with dinner. It’s almost habit now. A habit I *really* don’t need! I drank water instead and decided my splurge would be dessert.

If you remember, I bought fudge from the beach this weekend.

I had half a glass of nonfat milk with a small piece of fudge (Chocolate Peanut Butter).

I also bought another treat for myself: Bondi Band! I’ve been wanting one for awhile now and I finally broke down and ordered one. I can’t wait to get it! I’ve been needing a new headband for running and I think I got a cute one.

QUESTION: Do you have a Bondi Band? Which one did you get?

For breakfast Monday morning, Michael created a half bagel sandwich. Half a bagel (130 calories) with a little light cream cheese, sliced turkey sausage and 1.5 scrambled eggs. It’s a little higher in calories than what I normally have for breakfast but it was tasty.

It’s also a good breakfast for days that I will run at lunch.

It’s a restaurant in Sellwood that seems to always have a packed restaurant. Since it was so early, we were able to get a table immediately. I got coffee and they brought scones with applesauce to the table. It was fantastic.

I wanted some eggs because it had been awhile since I had my usual breakfast. I got the omelet with Canadian Bacon, sausage, spinach and goat cheese. It was AMAZING! One of the best breakfasts I’ve had in a long time. The service was great too. I really enjoyed my experience at Hash and will definitely return to try other things.

My omelet came with fresh fruit (watermelon and blueberries) and brioche toast with freshly made raspberry jam.

I told Michael we need to recreate my omelet sometime. The crumbled Canadian Bacon and goat cheese were a fantastic combo. Originally the omelet came with truffle cheese but I asked for the goat cheese instead since I’m not a fan of mushrooms. The word “truffle” just turned me off. The goat cheese, however, went perfectly with it.

Michael got the steak, hash and poached egg dish and he said it was one of the best breakfasts he’s had in a long time too.

After breakfast I went to the pool for the first time in about a week.

It was such a wonderful, relaxing swim! I felt great in the pool and then I spent a long time in the steam room relaxing. It felt good to almost get back to “normal” after a whirlwind of house guests, trips, day trips, and lots of eating out. Jeremy is here for another week before heading back to Ireland.

I really enjoyed having Michael’s family visit. I like them a lot and always have a great time with them. Texas women definitely have a “look” and I will admit that I felt like a big, frumpy cow next to them. It was a little uncomfortable…I’m a really casual dresser. I try to be feminine and try to wear skirts and dresses when going out, but I definitely don’t have a “look”. I also feel like I’ve gained 20 pounds in the last 5 days of over-eating. NOT looking forward to the August Weigh-In.

It’s also a fantastic workout. Just walking for a few hours, I felt it in my calves and ankles. It felt really good.

Growing up, my family used to drive from Seattle south to the Oregon Coast for our vacations almost every year. I have a lot of really happy memories about the beach and as a kid spent hours walking the beach by myself, reading in the sand, and playing with cousins.

When we were at the Coast, I saw a few people running the beach. I’ve never tried running on the beach. One time I ran up a sand dune and injured my Achilles heel! That was not good. But the one thing I noticed was that the runners were all running down right at the water line. I think the sand is more stable there and I bet running on the beach is much easier on the joints.

QUESTION: Have you ever run on the beach? What did you think?

After spending the day in Cannon Beach, we drove back to Portland to go to dinner for the last time as a group before the family went home. I made reservations for Cafe Castagna because I had enjoyed the food so much last time I was there.

I did not have a great experience at Cafe Castagna Saturday night–which was really disappointing. First, they gave away our dinner reservations. I was pretty upset about that. The hostess was apologetic but it was still ridiculous. I had called ahead and said we were running about 10 minutes late and to please hold the table. Yea, they didn’t hold the table. We only had to wait about 10 more minutes to get a table but still, it was a big mistake.

Next, the waitress we had was AWFUL. She had the personality of a wet blanket, didn’t crack a smile the entire time, was impossible to flag down and just downright rude. I was sooo embarrassed. I had made the reservations because I loved the food last time I was there. After dinner I called and spoke to the owner of the restaurant to complain. She was really nice and apologetic and said she’d send Michael and I gift certificate. I’m not too happy about the experience and even with a gift certificate, it might be awhile before I go back.

Other than that, the food was really excellent. Everyone enjoyed their meals. I ordered the Hungarian Goulash with Polenta and carrots. I’d been craving it since the last time I was there. It was just as delicious this time!

I nursed one vodka tonic the entire evening. I just wasn’t into eating out anymore. I’m grateful for the wonderful dinners we had and the fun experiences, but I was just burned out on restaurants and drinking–and food honestly! It will be really nice to get back to normal….

I skipped dessert. Like I said, I was sort of sick of food at this point. I watched Jeremy eat his dessert instead. He ordered the espresso with a scoop of ice cream in it. He said it was decadent and good.

QUESTION: Have you ever called to complain about poor service or bad food at a restaurant?