My First Rocky Mountain Dinner Invite!!!

Running Towards a Half - Update

So I'm happy to report that my week and a bit of Dr. imposed downtime has come to an end. Aside from a mile here or there and 2.4 miles on Friday I've kept running towards a minimum. I've also been super careful to adhere to my Dr. prescribed exercises and stretches. Have to keep my muscle and knees happy. :o)

By my calculations I am now slightly beyond 3 months out from my half. Which means tomorrow I will start my 12 week Novice Half Marathon Training Program. I'm really hoping my body will hold up enough for me to get through all the weeks without any further injury breaks. Wish me luck!!

I've also decided to start working out more as a whole. You see I've noticed my weight creeping up since I started work last November and I am NOT at all happy about this. When I lived in Victoria I walked everywhere, worked out hours everyday, and was generally more active. Now I drive everywhere, live in a non-walking friendly city, and work out significantly less.

No more.

Mark my words. I'm going back to the way things were. I'm going to sweat my way into my former physique. I liked being as fit as I was before I became a lawyer. And I'm determined to get back there!!!

Towards that end tonight I did a couple of go arounds of SELF magazines "8 Minute to Slim" boot camp style workout. Although I buy SELF and SHAPE all the time this is my first time doing one of their routines. I had my doubts but I have to confess that by the end of my circuits I was drenched in sweat!!!! I then topped this all off with Rodney Yee's Power Yoga: Flexibility. Not bad for a lazy Sunday evening. :o)

Tomorrow's schedule calls for stretch and strengthening but I think I will also head out for a 2 mile run in the morning.


Weekend Recap

I had a wonderful weekend bloggies! Today was a relaxing day spent with the fiance and yesterday we scored our first ever dinner invite here in the Rockies. We were so psyched and it was such a lovely evening!!!!!

But let's start at the beginning.

On Saturday I woke up a bit late and headed out to the local farmer's market. It was my first time going to this particular one and I was happy to see a fairly good turnout.


There were a good number of stalls featuring crafts, fresh baked goods, South African meat snacks, plants, and sausages. Unfortunately there was not much in the way of veggies. I think it's too early on but August should be perfect. I'm looking forward to the heirloom tomatoes I'm told will be coming then!!!

All morning long and I was out and about doing errands. And I have to confess the only thing I ate was a cookie courtesy of some young kids that had set up a stand. Most people were by-passing them and I was determined to show my support.


I was quite impressed with the cookie. Usually I find most cookies too dense or too sweet but this one was just perfect. In fact I think I may become a regular supporter of those little kids! :oP

I didn't make it home until 2pm by which point I was starving marvin!!! I quickly whipped a quick meal together based on whatever I could find in my fridge. Mostly I was trying to avoid cooking anything as it was just way too hot!


I loaded my plates with a sliced nectarine, half a WW pita, some cherries, two falafel balls (I only ate one), some olives, and yellow zucchini. It really hit the spot. Not too heavy and it still left plenty of room for the amazing dinner that was to come!!!!

You see one of my co-workers (she's cool beans and has even run Boston!) invited the fiance and I over for dinner. She's not from this area either so I think she's also eager to develop a bit of a social scene. I was in charge of appetizers.

You'll have to believe me that I prepared a lovely platter full of strawberries, olives, WW multi-grain baguettes, and cherries. Of course we were kind of hungry and wolfed everything down right away. I only remembered to take a picture after mostly everything was done! Ooops!


I also contributed a lovely salad made up of slices of fresh tomatoes, basil, pearls of fresh mozzarella cheese, a bit of sea salt, lovely extra virgin olive oil, and a drizzle of aged balsamic. It was delicious and perfect for a summer meal!


Our wonderful host had prepared quite a spread made up of bbq wild Coho salmon:


A beautiful mixed berry pie she made herself!! YUM!


There were also some beautiful oven roasted potatoes:


Some beautiful grilled veggies:


Not to mention the juicy steak:


It was an amazing spread!!!! And my servings of this delicious feast looked something like this:


I didn't have more meat and frankly didn't taste the salmon but I did double up on the veggies on my next go around. They were by far my favourite part of the meal! :o)

Oh and did I mention I washed all of this down with some amazing South African wine? It was seriously good!!!!


By the time I ate my slice of pie I was a happy camper indeed! The pastry was perfectly flaky and the berries set just so . . . Le sigh!


I went to sleep absolutely happy! Not only because of the wonderful eats but because it was really nice to have experienced our first dinner invite in the Rocky Mountains. I'm not going to front - being out here has been somewhat lonely. We've found the community to be very insular and dinners like the one on Saturday night (not to mention rafting on Canada Day) go a long way towards making us feel welcome! :o)

As far as today it was a rather quiet day. There wasn't much by way of eats since we don't tend to eat very much when it gets really hot (we just nibble on fruit here and there). But the highlight of our day was a mid-afternoon outing.

Rather than eat our lunch at home we decided to pack some goodies up and head to a local park. We sat ourselves by the side of the small lake and enjoyed the breeze, the sound of the leaves rustling, and the baby ducks swimming nearby.


Our eats included a spicy hummus that turned out to be a big hit, some mixed olives, pita bread, and chorizo that I purchased at the farmer's market:


For dessert we feasted on a homemade fruit salad featuring blueberries, strawberries, and wonderfully ripe mangoes! Delish!!


It was a good day bloggies! And a wonderful weekend on the whole. Very relaxing. Just the way I like it! :o)

I'm not completely ready for the week to begin. I do wish my weekend lasted a day longer but it's all good! Especially because I'm heading on a vacation in a a couple of weeks. Yup - another one!!! lol

This time I'm going to Cabo - I got a crazy deal on a tricked out all suite hotel. I'll tell you about that soon. I'll also wrap up the recap of my last Mexico trip and giveaway the little souvenir I brought back for you guys.

But for now - it's bed time! Nighty night!!!