Camping in Port Townsend

A quick Edmonds/Kingston ferry, a wander through Fort Gamble, a few pics taken from the car, and we were on vacation time...
This last weekend was spent camping in Port Townsend, officially David's favorite city, and quickly becoming mine as well.
I love the architecture of downtown Port Townsend, and the city is so compact that you can easily walk anywhere, I really wish that we had brought our bikes!

Running update

Today, talking with my Mom during my lunch break, she told me that she has started running a minute at a time on her treadmill! I have to tell you, I am so impressed! She said 'if my daughter can do it, then I can too!' You go Mom, that is awesome! :)

This week in review

Writing down your life changes things somehow, makes you more aware of how you would like it to read, how you would like it to go.
I read quite a few blogs, people who have written books, become photographers, gardeners, or opened a restaurant - all things that they would have likely done without the blogging... but who knows?
How do you determine the origin of your accomplishment? Did you reach your goals by shear force of (your own) will, or was it magnified by faith from the ones you love?

I am a person who likes to please, likes to be appreciated, likes to exceed expectations.

This week I was dealt a rather crushing work place blow, and this criticism made me think of previous positions, given on faith, confidence that I would do well... and I did, maybe more so than any other position I have had since.

I have learned a lot about myself this week:
I like spending my morning doing crunches and push-ups rather than cleaning (despite the fact that I can only do 5 boy push-ups at a time!)
I allow myself to be distracted from my own goals too easily. (To compensate I bought a sketch book to make use of during lunch hours)
I love avocado on my scrambled eggs.
If you don't think that I want to work for you, then you are right. You don't want me to work for you, so I don't want to work for you.
... and smoked salmon will cure a deep craving for cheesy nachos.

Julie and Julia

One quick tidbit before I head off to work this morning - Go see Julie and Julia!
I feel like there has been a lot of press surrounding this movie; commercials, special book displays, even a huge article in the Glamor magazine I was reading in the gym.... and well, overplayed usually means bad in my book, but this movie was great!
I loved Meryl Streep's portrayal of Julia Child, cracked up when David spent the rest of the day saying 'helloooooo', loved that the movie stayed so close to the book, and loved that this was the first movie David and I have EVER seen in a theater! He hates previews, chick flicks and anything made after 1990 (I tease), but I was so excited to see this movie (after reading the book approximately 5 times), that he consented to a movie date, and afterward actually said he liked it! lol...
Anyway, I wasn't alone in my adoration, the movie crowd ranged young to very very old, everyone was laughing throughout the movie, and thanking the friend that brought them when leaving.

Goal update

I am sorry for the lack of baking, lack of recipes, I can only say that I have been battling with myself as my own worst enemy.
I am working hard on meeting a weight loss goal that I set for myself in April. Six months to loose 50 pounds. A goal that was made in effort to reduce my risk factors for breast cancer, to become healthier, happier, fast and fit! lol... I joke, but it bothers me that I have to check that one box. No one likes to submit to the squishing in the first place, why add an uncomfortable run in with an 'overweight' check box? No reason, there is no good reason, I'm telling you that now.
Only it is also difficult to focus so intently on weight loss. I wasn't crazy, I knew this was going to be a challenging goal, involving hours and hours and hours at the gym, but I like the gym. I like working hard, feeling that seance of satisfaction, making progress and rewarding myself with a trashy magazine and 20 minutes in the steam room.
I did not however anticipate the mental battle.
I cut out sugar, processed foods, and now breads and cereal. I know that seems like crazy talk, but really what it leaves is just real food. Meat, salad, eggs, yogurt, cheese, fruit, seafood, veggies; and yes the occasional turkey sandwich and milkshake at a baseball game.
I'm not perfect, but I am trying really hard to reach this goal.
More good news? A few months ago I was running up to 10 minutes straight, but then hurt my foot. Badly.
Plantar fasciitis, and I couldn't run at all. For months.
Add in some fancy fancy running shoes, and probably five months of healing time, and I am finally back into the running game. Two or three minutes at a time, four or five times in a row, stretching in between and trying to do a little more each time. We are making progress folks! :)
Anyway, the long and short of it is: no baking for awhile.
I have a fantastic boyfriend making me breakfast in bed each morning (talk about supporting goals! Holly Cow!), and I am trying to cut out the baking.
I will try to find some healthy recipes for you though, I promise.
:)

Zeitgeist Cafe and a ball game

Today we joined some friends at a Mariners game to celebrate our friend Julie's birthday. Not my cup of tea (I actually made David promise that we would never celebrate my birthday with a baseball game), but a nice afternoon in perfect weather, improved dramatically by a cheap and very tasty lunch at Zeitgeist Cafe.
I'm sorry for the lack of pictures, I did think of taking a pic of the food, but our plates were clean before I could pull out the camera!
David and I split a turkey panini (served with a side salad) and a vanilla latte for $10 and some change, and I loved this place! I loved the sandwich, loved the art on the walls, loved that there was space and tables, it was light and airy, but still warm and cozy; we both said given another location we would hang out here every day (yes, we do really drink coffee that often - it is an addiction I can only blame on my Seattle surroundings). :)
Anyway, if you are in the area for a game, or a visit to Elliot Bay Book Company, head over to Zeitgeist, it was tasty! :)

info:
Zeitgeist Cafe
171 S Jackson St
Seattle, WA 98104-2852
(206) 583-0497

Ground Up

Good Morning all!
I just finished Michael Idov's Ground Up, a story of a New York couple living off a semi-trust fund trying to make an honest living while running their dream Viennese coffee shop.
Now, you know I love all things coffee, so I was immediately intrigued by this book; thought I might learn a thing or two, David and I have certainly tossed the idea of starting our own coffee shop (book store, bakery, ice cream shop, gallery....) around. However, while I did like this often wordy, very dry novel based on the author's own experiences, I did not love it.
I just felt that he was trying to read like the New Yorker, trying to have more to say that he really did, and in the process lost much of the experiance.
...but you decide for yourself, let me know what you think if you read the book! :)

Silence Heart Nest, Fremont

David and I headed over to Fremont for the day, wandered around a bit and tried a new (to us) restaurant, Silence Heart Nest. We were drawn to the restaurant because it was PACKED, which I feel is a strong indication of tasty food! All of these people would not be waiting in line if the food was bad right?
Silence Heart Nest is a vegetarian restaurant, and though we are meat eaters, I was really in the mood for some tasty eggs or brunch related item.
We waited in line, our names on the list, butts on a handy bench outside, enjoying the people watching... were seated and tried chatting, but it was so noisy! We couldn't really talk much, tried to shout back and forth, but mostly just enjoyed the chatter around us.
I had a latte (fantastic foam, bland coffee) and the Texan Wrap (with eggs, black beans, salsa, guacamole, and sour cream - which was tasty!) served with home fries (cubed potatoes with herbs and maybe a bit of curry? I wish they had been crispy, they were kind of soggy and lack luster).
David had the Center of the Universe scramble (when asked if he liked it he said 'yeah', giving it a 5 out of 10).

The cons: It was LOUD, and it took a *really* long time for our food to arrive. We almost left before the food arrived it was that bad.
The pros: Pretty good food, I'm glad we hung in there (we were really hungry!) I would give my food a 6, resulting in an average score of 5.5 - above average right? :)

While waiting to pay for our food we devised a new game of rating restaurants.... this one scored a 3.75 (I voted a 4, David a 3.5), the noisy atmosphere and long wait outweighed my tasty wrap.

Info:
Silence Heart Nest
3508 Fremont Place N
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 633-5169

:) Do you guys have any good food recommendations?