Favorite Places with my Favorite Girl!

Finally reunited.

It has been too long since I've seen this girl! We met when I was in Cali for PA school and it was instant love! She is probably the most inspirational person I've ever met. If you haven't read her blog, please read it now. Daily laughs, touching stories, and running motivation. And you can't forget the pictures of her adorable daughter! 

Our day started off bright and early with a much needed run through the beautiful canyons. Cool fall breeze, beautiful sunrise, and great friends. Her adorable friend Rachelle joined us and it made me want to move to Utah so I could run with these two every day. 

Cutest running friends ever. 

After the run Brooke and I had some quality time reading Elmo. I miss this little girl so much! 

Our adventure continued at the park where Brooke showed off her skills:

1.) Walking like a pro

2.) Swinging all on her own! 

A day doesn't start off any better than that. And that was only 10 am.  Janae then took me to two of her favorite places in Utah: Slurp and Cafe Rio.   She explained to that Slurp is the place to go for a drink in Utah.  They have all sorts of different sodas, ice cones, and coffee/tea that you get to add delicious flavors to.  That plus homemade bakery treats and ice cream = I can see how this place would get addicting.

Since I didn't get my fill of Cafe Rio on Saturday with my family... we went again!  It's probably a good thing we don't have one in Alaska, because this food is just too good.  Way. Too. Good.

With full bellies, we drove to Salt Lake City for a little sightseeing and shopping.  I had never been to Temple Square, so Janae gave me the royal tour!  It is one of the most magnificent places ever.  

We shopped for a while after our sightseeing, but baby told me I had to eat froyo, so Janae reluctantly gave in and we went to Yogurtland for an afternoon snack.  Don't judge my pumpkin spice/red velvet cake/macadamia nut/fudge brownie combo. You can't explain the tastebuds sometimes.  They want what they want.

The best way to end a perfect day?  Another trip to Trader Joes.

My sister is a saint and is letting me borrow a duffel bag to bring back to Alaska, so I had to fill it with things like this.

Cookie butter?  Don't mind if I do.

It was hard to say goodbye to Janae, but hopefully we'll get to see each other some time soon!  

A Running Tour of Santa Cruz

Today was the best day.  I know I say that a lot, but today really was the best day.  Janae and I took it upon ourselves to visit Santa Cruz on what happened to be the most beautiful day in history.  Sunny, blue skies, and a light breeze.  

We wanted to do a run together on the beach, but we were torn because we also wanted to see the entire city.  (And by see the entire city, we mean stop at all of the Candy stores).  The perfect solution?  A running tour of Santa Cruz, complete with stops for pictures, seal viewing, candy and ice cream. 

We started out by running to the Wharf.   

I'm not sure if this was a usual occurrence, but there were tons of seals hanging out just asking for their pictures to be taken!  It was so much fun to see them splashing around.  

We then ran to the boardwalk and looked at all of the fun rides and amusement park foods.  I learned that they are now frying things like Bacon and Twinkies.  A perfect solution to the nationwide obesity epidemic, don't you think? ;)

Downtown Santa Cruz is lined with all sorts of fun restaurants, like this one:

We were sad to discover that all of the foods weren't cooked with Chocolate. A bit of a misnomer if you ask me.  If anyone knows of such a restaurant, please let me know.

Then came the fun.  Candy stores...

And $1 scoop ice cream.  I mean, can you turn that down?  Sometimes a lactose-intolerant girl has to live on the edge.  

Brooke was jealous of my treat.

Janae had been talking about a place that serves the best Fish'n'Chips in the world, so we drove up the coast to a cozy little town called Davenport.  It is situated across from a deserted, beautiful beach.

Love this little girl.

There are about 4 buildings that comprise this town, but the important one was Whale City Bakery and Grill:

We split the order which turned out to be just right.  I wish the picture did it justice.  Moist, flaky, buttery fish in a perfectly crisp coating.  Homemade fries were the perfect match.

Jake gets here tomorrow for graduation on Saturday, so I'm excited to take another road trip to Davenport for more deliciousness.  

If any of you have favorite San Francisco Bay area restaurants/day trips that Jake and I should do before leaving in 2 weeks.... please let me know!

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In case you didn't get enough puppy love yesterday, I wanted to share the cutest video ever that I took while visiting him.  I brought him a toy to play with and let's just say... he liked it.

So adorable. Only a little while longer until he gets to come home with Jake and I!  

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Yogurtland Bliss.

Today I did one of the most gratifying things I have ever done.

I placed a trash bag full of notes, binders, and flashcards in the recycling bin.

I was reluctant to get rid of so many painstakingly written notes that have been my world for so long, but it was time. Don't get me wrong, I'm still keeping 4 boxes of PA school notes that I'll probably never look at again... but you have to start somewhere.  :) In a few months when I am in Alaska and ready to get rid of more notes, you are all welcome to a huge bonfire at our house!

After saying goodbye to a few trees worth of notes (P.S. Mother Nature... I'm really sorry!), I met up with my favorite girls, Janae and Brooke.  We got some sun and let Brooke splash us in the pool.  It was amazing!

Watching Brooke worked up our appetite, so we did what Janae and I do best.  Froyo.

Yogurtland deliciousness.

Janae and I have big plans next week which will include the beach, Fish'n'chips, and running together. Cannot wait!

Pedicures in Santana Row!

If you're a runner, you'll understand what I mean when I say "runner's feet."  Between gigantic callouses, chronic blisters, and chipped/missing toenails... they're not exactly the most beautiful things in the world.  So what's a good solution?  Scare a poor aesthetician and get a pedicure!  There's nothing like covering them up with pretty nail polish to make you feel more normal :)  It had been too long since I'd seen Janae and little miss Brooke, so we met up in the beautiful Santana Row for pedicures.

Brooke really wanted to get hers done too, but she decided to read her book instead.  I've decided that getting a pedicure is way more fun when an 8 month old is there to entertain you!

How can you resist this face?  She is adorable.

Neon pink toe nails?  I think yes.

After some much-needed pampering and lots of laughing, we explored the shops of Santana Row and dreamed of a day we could both spend our life savings at stores like Lululemon and Anthropologie.

FYI: Brooke is my new BFF. So is her Momma.

Especially because she laughs at all my jokes.

I don't want to talk about the fact that I have to leave such amazing friends in just one month.  Luckily Janae and I have plenty of adventures planned for after I get back from Boston!

Speaking of Boston,  I should probably finish packing because I am getting picked up by a lovely shuttle at the reasonable hour of 3:15AM... in just 6 hours!

Get ready to see some cheesy photos of Jake and I in the near future...  :)

PANCE, Froyo with HRG, and Boston...

Let's have a little chat about how scared I am for my national board exam aka the PANCE (Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam).   

300 questions

13 organ systems (Cardiovascular, Pulmonology, Infectious Disease, etc.)

5 hours of torture 

All for the affordable cost of $500.  

No pressure, right?  The general consensus from everyone I talk to is that I will walk away from the test feeling like I've failed, but will likely pass.  Eek!  Keep me in your thoughts as I keep cramming my brain full of information!

This is my favorite tip from the board review course I took:

"C it is!"

During my mid-day break from studying yesterday, I met up with my fave girls, Janae and Brooke (her adorable daughter).  She is probably the nicest and most fun girl ever and I am devastated that I only have one month to hang out with her and talk for hours.

We went on a nice long walk in the beautiful Cali sunshine... just what I needed to give my brain a break.  

She is also slightly addicted to running, and shares the same passion for Froyo toppings that I do, so we went to a magical place called Yogurtland.  It took us each around 8-9 samples to determine the ideal yogurt flavor combination, after which I think we were both a little full...  but that didn't stop me from enjoying every bite of my oreo-boba-cheesecake bites-capn' crunch-mochi-fruity pebble masterpiece (tastes way better than that sounds...haha).  

Janae is getting over an injury, and since my injury is still being a pain in my butt (literally...it's glute pain! :( ), we have a date on Friday to run in her pool!  I've missed my pool running adventures, so it should be fun to do it with someone.  My injury was about 100% healed, then I ran the 17 miler 2 weeks ago and flared up my right sciatic nerve which sends pain into my glute.  I can run 8-9 miles without pain, but after that the pain starts to come back just enough that I don't want to push it.   The problem stems from irritation when I'm sitting and as much as I'd love to not sit for 10 hours/day, I have this silly little test to study for.  

Boston Marathon is two weeks from yesterday, and I'm on the fence as to whether I will run it or not.  I've realized that the most important thing to me at the moment is being injury-free and somehow I don't think running 26.2 miles is the appropriate therapy for an injury.  In the ideal world, I would just run the 8 or 9 miles and walk the rest, but I don't think I'd be able to cut myself off when I see all of the other runners around me!  (Actually, I take that back.  In an ideal world I wouldn't be injured, haha!).  There are many races in Alaska that I'd like to run this summer and I don't want to ruin that either.  Any advice?  Wisdom?  

Either way, I will be going to Boston to see JAKE (finally, it's been four months now!), my parents, my cousins/aunts/uncles, and Grandpa. 

This is how excited I am to see my hubby!

And the good news is that I already qualified for Boston Marathon again next year at St. George Marathon last fall!  So either way, I hope Boston will be happening in the near future... :)

Best Morning Ever!

I got to meet the greatest girl ever today.  The Hungry Runner Girl, aka Janae Jacobs, has been an inspiration to me for the past 9 months or so since I started reading her blog HERE.  If you haven't read her blog, as soon as you read it you will probably forget mine exists and fall in love with hers.  Just don't forget about me, okay? :) She has the cutest little daughter, Brooke, and an amazing husband named Billy.  She and irunlikeagirl arranged a running meet-up in Palo Alto and I decided I would come and meet her!

Love the Hungry Runner Girl!

It was a great run with new friends followed by a delicious breakfast at Joanie's Cafe.  It was exactly what I needed after a long week of finals and studying.

Excuse my squinty-ness.
Apparently they sell these things that provide eye protection- I should probably look into that.

It took me approximately 20 minutes to decide on the perfect omelette combo. Decision: Omelette with mushrooms, spinach, onions, and ARTICHOKE HEARTS. Side of Sourdough bread = heaven.

Mmmmm

If you look closely in this picture, little Brooke has on Nike running shorts and matching shoes.  This outfit alone is enough of a reason for me to have kids.  A mini-running buddy?  Yes, please!

So adorable!

Brooke decided to take pictures of herself with my iPhone!

After getting home and much procrastination, I started practicing practicum skills so that Tuesday goes smoothly!  Anyone want to come over and be my practice patient?  I'll pay you with Starburst Jelly Beans!  And if you're especially good patient, you may even get some Cadbury Mini Eggs.  (Does anyone else have a huge weakness for those?!) 

Speaking of Cadbury Mini Eggs, I found this recipe online... I will be making those this week.  

Oatmeal Cookies with Cadbury Mini Eggs

Last random but VERY exciting news of the day... I got my graduation gown, cap, and stole this week!  It's finally starting to feel real that I will be graduating in just 6 weeks from TODAY!

Pretty neat Stanford Tradition!

 Have an AMAZING weekend!