Currently: June

Current Book - Lucy Sullivan's Getting Married -- Marian Keyes (it's a total chick flick book but it's a fast easy read, which is what I need)

Current Running Path - Okay well this was on June first, but I am counting it as "current".

 

Beach running in West Bay

Current Drink - Iced tea with lots of lemon 

Current Excitement - Weekends! The next few are full of friends, running,  hiking, travel and fun! 

Current fashion trend - I see a lot of these chain earrings around lately. 

Current Favorite Blog/Website - I did a history search and some of my top visited pages are...Gmail, Yelp and Reader. I guess I should buy stock in Google!  

Current Garden Item - Green beans and radishes! Not enough to really do much with but they are still good! We also have some green tomatoes! I can't wait for their ripeness! 

Current Love - Long days! I sometimes don't realize it but it's already past 9, which is officially my bed time, but lately I have not even been feeling as tired! 

Current Food - Avocados, cherries, melons

Current Indulgence - I had pizza and coke for lunch yesterday! It's not often I have that but it was brought in for us since we are doing training. They were both pretty good but the coke leaves a weird taste in my mouth that I don't love.  

Currently Pondering - Why no matter how often I scrub the (white tile) floor, it always looks like nobody ever cleans it. Note to self: NEVER use white grout. It becomes grey/brown grout in no time flat. 

Current Mood - Good. Really good. I'm about to burst into, "the hills are alive..." in a minute.

Current New Find - Probar chews and bars. I got them as a free sample, which sometimes doesn't work out that great, but these are really good! 

Current Outfit - Just kidding! This isn't me, but I had to post it. When I went to the Bottlerock music festival, a lot of people were wearing these shorts. A LOT! With the butt cheeks and everything! And if you look close enough (if you dare) you can also see her leopard undies. If you want more pics, I have more. My brother and I had a good time playing "spot the butt cheek shorts" or the "who can take the most inappropriate photos at the festival" game (yes we are weird. Whatever).

 

Current Peeve - Bus drivers who speed, switch lanes a lot and make comments (or swear) at the other drivers. Chill out, yo. You have dozens of lives in your hands. 

 

Current Song - ...Put your hands up...turn around...


 

Current Triumph - A new PR! More about that later! 

 

Current TV Show -  North America on Discovery Channel

Current Wish-List - crampons and an ice axe

Currently Delaying - (this is a long list...) writing thank you notes, fixing the sprinkler system, taking a load to Goodwill, doing a tune up on the bike... there are more; I am embarrassed to admit...

What are you currently delaying (is it as many things as I am)? Do you play embarrassing fun games with your friends/family when you are in good people watching areas or on long trips? 

Then and Now: June

Goodbye June! No matter what year it is, June is a month full of birthdays, trips to places with mountains and trees, time with family and friends and lots of fun summer activities. Here we have, once again, June 2011 vs 2012, the who, the what and the where!

The Who:

In 2011, I spent time with my family in CA and coworkers in Missouri. In 2012, I have mostly hung out with Mr. Lovely, but also got to hang out in Oregon with these lovely ladies!

2011: Family time!

2012: Mr Lovely and the Lovely ladies

The What:

Books:
2011: 2 / 2012: 8

Having done a lot of travel in June, I had plenty of time to read on the bus, plane or train. Some of my favorites from this month were: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. The Book Challenge is going well, as I have not bought ONE book this year! For more book reviews, check out my Bookshelf page.

Miles:

2011: 5.5 / 2012: 205

This month sets a new miles per month PR for me. I think living in Santa Cruz, as well as vacationing in Oregon, are both conducive to wanting to be outside and loving to run! I also had a few extra runs with a friend who is trying to get back into a workout routine, so I ran with her on a couple of my normal rest days. Notice that before I was showing up with all zeros for mileage for the previous month. This month marks the first month of my getting back into running last year! I had two runs last June, a 2.5 mile and a 3 mile run, both at a pace of about 9:45.

Races:
2011: 0 / 2012: 1

I only had one race this month, which was the See Jane Run Half Marathon in Alameda. This was my 6th of 12 in 2012 races and was a new PR!

The Where:

Last year I spent a lot of time doing some repair work at home, as well as working in Missouri. My time this year was spent between Oakland, San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Oregon!

2011: California and Missouri

2012: Santa Cruz, Oregon, Oakland, San Francisco

The verdict? June is great! I love summer and can see that June definitely brings more time outdoors and with friends and family! You can't beat that!
 
What were you doing in June last year? Are you doing anything differently than you were last year?

Foodie Pen Pal Reveal: June

This month' was a little hectic, as I moved at the beginning of June and had a busy few weeks in which I was moving boxes, picking stuff up from the old place, buying things and getting used to the new place. So having a foodie pen pal box come from "out of the blue" was awesome. I didn't have to think too much about what to buy, food-wise!

This month, my foodie pen pal / snack angel was Melissa from Treats With a Twist. I think she and I would be great friends in real life, since she likes to take her favorite treats and give them a healthy twist, which I like to do as well. She is also very friendly and positive and she picks great snacks!

 Food included: Maple Vanilla Coffee, Justin's Nut Butter, Dried Tropical Fruit Mix, Clif Bar Gary's Panforte, Dinstuhl's Assorted Truffles, Peanut Butter Oatmeal Square and Blueberry Covered Pretzels

My favorite? The dried tropical fruit and nut mix.

Kiwi, Mango, Papaya, Coconut, Pineapple, Macadamia nuts and Cashews. 

It is SO GOOD. Much better than candy!

I had a good time trying all the snacks. The coffee was just flavored enough without being overpowering. The Gary's Panforte was a new Clif flavor for me, even though they are made only a few miles away from my house. The blueberry pretzels were surprisingly great. Mr. Lovely tried to eat them all so I had to hide them from him (yes, I do that sometimes). 

Thanks to Lindsay at the Lean Green Bean for hosting. If anyone wants to do it, and it's a great way to discover new treats, go and check out her blog! 

Have you ever done a food swap? Have you ever tried the dried tropical fruit and nut mix?

Currently: June

Current Book - The Night Circus -- Erin Morgenstern  (so far, I am LOVING it) 

Current Celebrity Crush - Ibrahim Afellay from the Dutch National team. I know, he looks young, but he is 26, so I am not rocking the cradle too badly. He's a great athlete. I find that very attractive.

  

Current Drink -  Coffee w/ vanilla creamer.

Current Excitement -  I found a thrift store near my house with 50% off. You would think that would mean they just double the price and then give you "half off" but it's really cheap. I got an REI dry wicking hiking shirt for $1.50! 

Current fashion trend - For my birthday, I received some new running shorts. I am not sure if they are fashionable. You decide. 

Current Favorite Blog/Website - I am really loving Nilsa's blog lately. She brings up so many great points and backs them up with great writing. Also check out her list of trends that she "missed out" on. 

Current Favorite Film -  Spaceballs. Another classic. 

Curent Food - Cherries. I ate about a pound of them today. 

Current Guilty Pleasure - Ice cream. 2 times in one day on Sunday. 

Current Indulgence - Going to the beach. I went twice yesterday. Not to sunbathe but just for a walk. It was great. 

Current Mood - sick, blah, bleh

Current New Find - Running on East Cliff Drive

Current Outfit - Jeans, sweater and sneakers (yes, I put on pants today!) 

Current Peeve - People who leave trash on the beach. Really, people? 

Current Song - It's an old one, but this She Wants Revenge song really gets me going. 

Current Triumph - Under a 7:30 pace for my last half marathon. 

Current TV Show - Nothing. (See above re guilty pleasure)

Current Wish-List - A new car (mine is back in the shop...again)

Currently Delaying - Running. I don't feel good. I want to run, but I don't want to at the same time. 

What's currently going on in your life? Are you fashionable? Have you watched any of the Euro cup?