Wind city weekend fun

Hey guys!

How was everybody's weekend? Mine was sure busy and a whole lot of fun! The family took a little road trip to Chicago! A few main reasons...
- mom and dad were flying in from Brazil to spend some time here with us!
- running the Chicago rock n' roll half marathon (first in Chicago and third overall)
- shopping at the miracle mile (should that be on top of the list?)

We drove to Chicago Friday to meet with my parents and hang out. I went to pick up my race packet that afternoon and check out the fitness expo. This was my biggest race yet, so it was pretty cool to see that big of an expo with so many different vendors and lots of things to do.

And yes, I spent some time on that booth! I've been wanting to get a sparkly headband for a while, and that was my chance to get one! I mean... three!

Bib in hands and ready to go, we headed to the navy pier. It is a neat little place by the water with a bunch of shops, restaurants, entertainment and boat rides.

Derek just loves the movie, so we had to stop at the restaurant! And Holly had to try it on my headbands just to make sure they stay on place during the race!

Taking advantage of granpa and grandma being here, me and Derek were able to spend a little us time while they took Holly back to the room. We enjoyed a couple adult beverages and jammed with the band at the beer garden!

Next day we enjoyed some sight seeing around the city along with some shopping. Millenium park is just an awesome place with lots to do!



Isn't she the cutest little tourist?

There was this huge open lawn with a stage at the park that have all different kinds of activities. And of course, when we were there, ZUMBA was on! I had to go break down some moves! Mom and Holly joined in... so fun!

Holly got her exercise with hula hooping

We just had a blast as a family!

The weekend was just perfect. And of course, Sunday was the big race day, which is coming on the blog tomorrow! :)

What's one of your favorite cities to visit?













I'm back!!!!

Hey guys!

It's been a while, huh.... let's just say we took a little break from the wonderful world of blogging. Summers can get quite busy!

As you all know, me and Amy started the blog, it was something we wanted to do together. All the ideas and thoughts we put into the blog definitely brought us close together as friends. I couldn't have picked anybody I wanted to do this with!

I just love her!

However, Amy is a very busy girl! With the summer quickly getting to an end (sad but true!), she is in the middle of writing her thesis and getting things ready for her classroom in the fall. Preparing a class for 20 something first graders cannot be an easy task...

So she decided to quit blogging for now and I will be taking over by myself from now on! It will be a challenge that I am willing to take!

I look forward to start writing about my own journey handling a job, a toddler (entering terrible twos), continuing my raw food adventure, handling food allergies (more on that tomorrow!), staying fit, running... wow, I COULD go on and on, but you get the idea!

And of course, when Amy is ready to come back, the blog will be here waiting for her!!!

Thanks for reading and until next time!

Julia

Weekends, Wine, Friends and Food

I am a big fan of weekends packed full of excitement!  This past weekend fell under that category.  Julia and I were able to get away, let loose, and enjoy ourselves!  We traveled up north to Traverse City for a weekend full of bachelorette festivities. 

We started off our weekend with these beautiful views.........

Which inevitably leads to this........... 

If you live in Michigan or plan on visiting this great state,  make sure to do a little wine tasting in Traverse City.  The wine is great and the views are exquisite!!!

 

When it comes to wine I am not an expert by any means, but I know a good wine when I taste it!!! I prefer sweet white wines so my choices didn't stem far from Rieslings and fruit based wines. 

After all the wine it was time to dine....... 

We decided on North Peak Brewery which ended up being a great choice for everyone!  The menu has something for everyone! 

My favorites......

Chicken Quesadillas

Wild Mushroom Pizza with Chicken

Greek Pizza

We ended the weekend with some drinks and dancing!!!

 



Love this picture but not sure how to fix the orientation....



Raw diet day 1

Happy Monday!

How was the weekend? We sure had a great time at our friend's bachelorette weekend! Post about that coming soon!

Well, as we have been talking about, me and Amy decided to go on a raw food diet as one of our summer goals. And we started today, so I'm going to show you my first day going completely raw.

I found out very quickly that is going to take a lot of preparation and planning ahead, specially with a daughter and a husband to feed. I spent a big part of Sunday afternoon making a week menu and preparing a grocery list. We had the chance to go to an awesome health food market during the week so we stock up with some goodies that we needed to get started.

Everything was organized and ready to go!

For breakfast I found a great smoothie recipe that was super easy and very filling. Mint chocolate chip smoothie.

It kinda looked like a cookies and cream shake! That is definitely going to the favorites!!!

I did get really hungry around 11, so I snacked on some grapes and prepared my lunch around noon.

This was just amazing! I have some leftover pesto and it will be a repeat for lunch tomorrow! Carrot and zucchini pasta with walnut pesto with tomatoes and olives. We got this cool little peeler that peels the veggie into spaghetti strips. I thought about a spiralizer, but this one is much cheaper, fits in my drawer and it serves it purpose!

After a long walk with a friend and before zumba I was ready for a pick me up snack. I've been into smoothies and juices lately, I guess!

Berry coconut smoothie. It was good, but I don't know if I'm crazy about it. I used half of a banana and I didn't like it on this particular smoothie. Maybe I'll try without the nana next time! Any suggestions???

I know is going to take me a few weeks to get used to not eating animal protein and more filling foods. By the time I got home I was starving and it took me a lot of effort to not open the pantry and go to town! I ate some grapes and make a nice salad.

I'm loving it how pretty my food is looking! I made a spinach salad with apples, walnuts, red onions and a warm maple cinnamon vinaigrette. It was delicious, but I was still hungry after. I needed something extra after teaching zumba and doing insanity back to back.

I had the other half of the apple with raw almond butter and a few more grapes.

I felt really good throughout the day, and didn't feel super full like I was feeling before so  would say it was a successfully raw day! I need to find dinner recipes that pack a heavier punch to fill me up.

--------------------------------

It is pouring here right now, so it's time to lay in bed and listen to the storm!!!

Until next time. Stay healthy and raw! :)

Julia

Half Marathon recap

Hey guys!

I hope you are having a great week so far. The weather here in Michigan has been awesome, so no complaints here!

I know is Thursday and I am just now writing about my half this past weekend. Just been so busy didn't have time. But here it is, better later than never I guess! :)

I had my second half marathon this past weekend, and it was a great experience!

The race started at 8am, which I was a little worried about the weather being too hot. But being by the water, it was much cooler than I thought and the wind was going strong.

Once we started, the weather was just THE perfect running weather for me. I was loving it! Half a mile through the race, I glanced at my garmin for a quick pace check and guess what... DEAD.... AGAIN... not a happy camper. (has anybody had this problem with a garmin?). It has to be the inside battery, I need to have it checked.

Well, I really couldn't let it ruin my race, I did have 13 miles to go. So I just let it go and went with my instincts based on how I fell. I was keeping a pretty good time based on the miles check, and then... we hit the trails! We were on trail run for about 2 miles, and it was so much fun! It was full of hills and fluffy sand lots of branches. I definitely fell a slow down of pace. At the end of the trail there was this huge dune drop which covered my shoes with sand!

Off to the pavement we were and I was glad! I was kept a decent pace and fell pretty consistent throughout despite the hilly course. After a hill on mile 12 I was so ready for the finish line!

Official time 1:49:31. No PR this time, but I was pleased with my time! It is always so good to finish and see this little face waiting for me! Even though she doesn't look too happy!



WIAW Snack Attack

Happy Wednesday! Half way to the weekend!!! I am looking forward to Saturday, it's our good friend Amy's bachelorette weekend! We are going to a cool little town nearby to hit some wineries and have a great time!

I will be taking over the blog this week since Amy is super busy! She is finishing with teaching and is writing her thesis, so since I don't have neither on my plate (just a busy toddler!) I will be writing the posts until she is ready to breathe again.

On to WIAW snack attack, shall we? Thanks Jen from Peas and Crayons for hosting!

Today I was in snack mode! I don't know if it was because I woke up super early (5:20am!) to sneak a run in that threw my schedule off, but I fell hungry more than usual in the morning. I had my usual English muffin with almond butter breakfast, and was running out of my granola, so decided to try a new recipe...

Almond butter granola from Julie at Peanut Butter fingers. It couldn't be simpler and super fast!. I added chopped almonds for extra crunch. Just perfect!

I love adding granola to greek yogurt and some fruit. It makes the perfect afternoon snack to get me through my fitness classes and insanity!

 

Pineapple has been my latest choice with the yogurt and granola.

Farmer's market here in town is getting better, with more produce, which is exciting (being in a small town we get excited over little things!). This week I found these...





Sorry I didn't take a picture, so I just got this one out of Pinterest! It is amazing the difference a really fresh organic strawberry can make! Juice and super sweet, totally different from the one at the grocery store. I just put them in a bowl and left at the fridge for snacking. Great after dinner, and the munchkin loves them too!

Moving to lunch... being from Brazil, the staple food there is rice and beans. Meaning most households will have it every day. At my house there was rice and beans with some source of protein, vegetables and a green salad. It's kinda the way it was. I wasn't a huge fan, couldn't eat it every day, like my sister. But I still like it, and about once every couple of weeks I make it for myself and the fam!

I use dry beans I brought last time I was home and use the pressure cooker, but it's just pinto beans. I cooked a chicken sausage together and top it with brown rice. It is just so good, and a complete meal. I roasted some broccoli as well.

This week I tried a new vegetable. Jicama! I was surprised with its mild flavor, but strangely good! Because it doesn't have a lot of flavor, I used the salad dressing to jazz it up and it sure did the trick!

Salad with jicama, mangoes, strawberries and walnuts! I made a maple vinaigrette which was perfect with the salad. The jicama has almost the texture of an apple which gave a little crunch with the walnuts. Now I need to look for more jicama recipes!

That's it for tonight! Tomorrow will be my half race recap!

Have you tried a new vegetable lately??



Girls on the Run is so Much FUN!!!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to run in one of my favorite races...  The annual Girls on the Run 5k!!!!  It's put on every year by a bunch of outstanding volunteers, and welcomes girls of all ages to participate in a 5k just for them.  To put it mildly, I LOVED it.  In fact I do every year!

My girls are up front ready to warm up before the race. 

 I've been a GOTR coach for 8 years now!!!! I've coached sisters, cousins, girls of all different sizes and abilities. 

Our first attempt at a 5k- 12 laps around the school track.....I'm so glad we get to participate in a real 5k race!!!!

My first season as a coach was a definite learning experience.  To say I had a tough group would be putting it mildly.  IT was an uphill battle all the way!  But as the season wore on we found strength in each other and grew  both as individuals and as a team.  Since then the have flown by.....each year I learn a little bit more about myself and grow just a little more. 

I must say this season's team tops the rest!  I had a dynamic group of girls, 3rd -6th grade who were self motivated and couldn't wait to get out on the track and get in some miles. And by get in some miles I mean RUN.  This rarely is the case, most girls are satisfied with walking and the occasional jog. 

Girls on the Run is so much more than running...... It helps young girls find their inner strength and beauty.  It pushes them to do more and be more.  It challenges them to make better choices to improve their physical, mental and emotional health.  It is all that and more.  The bonding experiences that arise are unbelievable.  We truly are sisters with a common goal!

"The only requirement of having a dream is believing in it." 

Molly Barker (founder of Girls on the Run)

 For those of you who are passionate about running or want to inspire young women.  Being a GOTR coach is the next step!!!!

The Fit Spoon ~ Amy