why I run

Because sometimes, I just can.not. resist the cookie display. Trader Joe’s has had these cookies on display front and center for a few weeks now. I’ve been so so strong , resisting the urge to put a box in my basket…until today.

As soon as I got in my car I opened the box. I couldn’t wait. So yeah, that’s why I run. That’s why I ran 10 miles last Sunday, 8.5 miles yesterday, and why I will be sure to get my butt out there tomorrow for another run.

If you don’t know what these cookies are, I would not recommend trying them. Once you taste them, you might not be able to resist them either.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

birthday weekend

On Saturday I said farewell to my golden year and welcomed my 29^th year, also known as the last birthday in my 20’s. It was a weekend filled with reasons to celebrate. Not only was it my birthday, but it also marked 6 months of marriage, 1 year since we got engaged, and my parent’s 33^rd wedding anniversary. And yes, of course, Prince William and Kate’s 1 year wedding anniversary as well! How could you forget that wedding or her gorgeous gown?!

To kick off the celebratory weekend, Luke and I met in Healdsburg Friday after work for dinner at Dry Creek Kitchen. We got there a few minutes before our reservation so we walked around the square and hopped into Williamson Wines tasting room for a quick wine and cheese tasting. Next time you are in Healdsburg, go there! Seriously. They pair every tasting with a small bite of cheese = amazing. Plus, they make you feel so special. Not only did they pull some strings and get our dinner reservation pushed back so we could finish our tasting, but they also surprised us with two glasses of champagne when we got to Dry Creek Kitchen. Side note: Luke and I actually met Sam Williamson (son of owners) on our wedding night at a bar in downtown Healdsburg. I’m not so sure he remembered meeting us, but he enjoyed the story and was glad we came and visited their tasting room.

Dry Creek Kitchen dinner. Chef’s Tasting Menu. Six courses. Two glasses of champagne. One bottle of wine. Three hour meal.

Cheers!

This bad boy was rated #1 wine of 2011 by Wine Spectator. What a special treat to have with our dinner!

The menu

First course

Another course

Another course

Luke's dessert

Katrina's dessert

Sunday we joined the JAMERS hiking group for a beautiful hike out in Point Reyes National Seashore. My parents and sister joined us as well on the 7 mile Muddy Hollow trail loop. The weather was spectacular for a hike along the coast. After the hike we all gathered at the visitor center and the men cooked up some fresh oysters on the bbq.

Fresh oysters

 

Kristin relaxing after the hike

33 years of marriage and going strong!

I’m not sure if it was the strenuous hike Carol led us on or being out in the sun all day or the massive amounts of food and beer we all consumed after the hike, but by 4:00 pm we were all pretty tired! We dragged ourselves back to Sebastopol to celebrate my birthday with cake and presents! 

It's not a birthday in this family without cheetos!

Yes indeed - 29 and feeling fine

Wow girl, that's a lot of candles!

Thank you to all my family and friends who made my birthday weekend so wonderful. Cheers to a great year ahead!





Apple Blossom

This past Saturday, our little town of Sebastopol held its annual Apple Blossom Parade. Saturday was by far the hottest day of the week, and probably the hottest day of the year as well, reaching 80 degrees by 10 am. I can remember quite a few times it rained on parade day so this gorgeously hot weather was pretty remarkable and made for a beautiful day. This parade holds a very special place in my heart. I was in band from middle school through high school and marched in the parade every year. Yes, I was a band nerd and damn proud of it! Even now, watching the Twin Hills Middle School and Analy High School bands march down Main Street sends chills through my body and makes me so proud to have been part of such a great music program.

This year my mom entered her gardening business, Cathy’s Corner, into the parade and my sister and I walked with her as the official sign carriers. This was my mom’s first time in the parade and by the big smile on her face, I would guess probably not her last.

Heading to the start of the parade

Getting ready to start!

The sign

So many people lining the street

Cathy of Cathy's Corner

Walking down Main Street

The three ladies

Dad wanted in on the action!

Dad and Mom at the end of the parade

Luke came out to see what his town's parade was all about

What's a parade without a horse wearing pants and a sun hat?

Easter Weekend

The first full weekend of April was a busy one. Saturday morning was my half marathon in San Rafael, then we were off to San Jose for a family party, and on Sunday we celebrated Easter and my dad’s 59^th birthday.

Let me tell you about my race. As you know, I wasn’t able to train much for this run so I really had no idea how it would go. Normally I like to try to either run or drive the course beforehand or at least run the last 1-2 miles of the course so I’m somewhat familiar with it. Well, none of those things happened so when I showed up at China Camp State Park at 6:35 Saturday morning, I didn’t even know where the race started. Everything turned out better than I could have ever hoped. The weather could not have been more perfect , the course was really fun with about 7 miles of roads and 6 miles of beautiful single track trails, and by some small miracle, all the aches and pains that I had experienced in my training runs never showed up. I started the run with the mentality of go out and have a fun run, don’t worry about time, all that matters is you are out here doing it. Well, that went out the window about two minutes after the race started and my competitive juices started kicking in. The course was by far the most hilly half marathon I have ever run so I knew there was no shot of getting a personal record time, but I really wanted to beat 2 hours.

My bib

My time - so happy to make it under 2 hours

Post race portrait

I was on such a runner’s high when I finished. I felt like I was floating on air, so damn happy that my body cooperated and got me across that finish line and that the race was behind me and I could enjoy the rest of my Easter weekend!

Family shot down at Chris and Michelle's house warming

Sunday, after Easter Sunday mass, Luke and I met my parents at the French Garden restaurant in Sebastopol for an Easter brunch buffet. Mmmm that was good. When we couldn’t eat another bite, we rolled ourselves back to my parent’s house to celebrate my dad’s 59^th birthday. Both my brother and sister were home and it was nice to all be together.

It was also nice meeting my parent's new chicks! Aren't they just the cutest?

Jimmy took some pictures of Kristin for her vet school graduation announcement and they were so good, I asked him to take some pictures of me too J These are my favorite two pictures of Kristin:

Congratulations Dr. Conover. Vet school graduate in a few short weeks! We are all so proud of you!

Jimmy was taking a picture of Luke and me when look who else wanted to be in the picture…

Luke and I with our actual black dog

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend.

march

Wow, where did the month of March go? It flew right by that’s for sure! It finally started snowing in Tahoe (thank you March Miracle) so we’ve been trying to capitalize on the snow and make the most of our season passes. I looked back at the calendar and realized we spent 4 out of the last 5 weekends in Tahoe. Oh, that’s where March went!

I haven’t been very good about bringing my camera along and taking pictures of our experiences (like when we stayed in Boomtown in Reno when Truckee was booked solid – now that was some good people watching!), but I did snap a few on our very snowy weekend over St. Patrick’s day. That weekend was probably the biggest storm of the season. The weather forecasts showed the storm hitting hard Friday night and we were worried hwy 80 would be closed Saturday morning so we hit the road Friday after work, hoping to beat the storm. I’m not sure we beat the storm, but 7 ½ hours later, we made it to Tahoe (drive normally takes 3 ½ hours for some comparison).

Slow and rainy drive up to Tahoe

We made it to Tahoe and had to put on chains in the Squaw Valley parking lot to go the last 1/2 mile to our lodging.

Snowy unplowed road into Olympic Village Inn, but we made it thanks to Luke's amazing driving skills!

Saturday morning, blue bird day

The crowds waiting to load KT-22

Winter wonderland

Happy St. Paddy's day from OVI

Sunday afternoon, hwy 80 was not moving so we hopped on Donner Pass Road. Much more enjoyable than fighting the traffic on 80. 

In case you are wondering, it is still Lent. Another week and a half to go. How am I doing with my Lenten promise of no sweets? Well, let’s just say I made chocolate chip cookies on Monday. You can judge me if you want, or you can come over and eat a chocolate chip cookie with me. It’s up to you.

The month of April is looking to be another busy month! I signed up for a half marathon months ago and I can hardly believe it is next weekend already! Eeek! I’m not feeling very prepared for this one, so we’ll see how it goes. Between the cold, dark, and rainy days we’ve been having and all our weekend trips to Tahoe, I haven’t put in as many hours pounding the pavement as I normally would. Hoping my skiing legs will get me to the finish line.

Happy Spring to you!

Fat Tuesday

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. Most of you know that I try to give up chocolate/sweets each year for Lent and this year is no exception. I hope to actually succeed this year and make it through the next 40 days without sweets. But that is tomorrow….today is Fat Tuesday so let the indulgence begin.