Blueberry Smiles

It seems like only yesterday, that I brought my furry 8-week old puppy home.  He was curious, full of energy, and just about the happiest little puppy out there.

this is baby Charlie and his favorite toy, “monkey”

Those first two weeks, I tested out six names on him.  He was “Oliver” for two days, “Henry” for another two, “Calvin” for a day, and so on.  Charlie had been my first choice all along, and it finally stuck.  It was so much fun to watch him grow that first year– who knew that dogs lose their baby teeth?!  He was so cute and toothless for a few weeks!

He grew and grew and since I don’t have kids yet, when his first birthday rolled around, I had fun making a big-ish deal about it, taking him for is favorite hike, and making him homemade dog food.

And now, somehow the days have passed, and he’s 4 today!

He’s still playful, still stubborn, still happy, and still a lot of fun.  Dog ownership is a lot of work, but he filled the right place in my life and I can’t imagine ever not having a dog again.

We had wedding mania to do on Saturday, but still tried to do fun dog-related things to “celebrate” his bday.  Jared hung out for him most of the time while I ran to my last dress fitting (yay!!) and then to a final walk-through with the wedding coordinator.

To celebrate his birthday this weekend, we took the birthday boy on several walks….    

He hiked with Jared.  And spent some time in the park with me.

Spoiled him with some grass-fed beef burgers.

And followed it up on Sunday with some time at the beach   It was hot and beautiful out today and the normally bare beach was so crowded!

And of course, spoiled our pup with extra belly rubs and kisses.

Dogs may not be human, but they sure are big parts of the family.

Also– fun fact– Ever wonder about dog years vs human years?

Turns out, it’s not really the 7 dog years for every calendar year.  Dogs grow very fast their first year.

Developmentally, by the time 365 years pass, they are like a 15 year old human.

By their second year, they are the equivalent to a 24 year old.  After that, it slows down a bit.
Charlie, who just turned 4 is more like a 32 year old! 

Aww, I don’t want my baby to get any older!

I hope we still have another 10+ years with him (a 14 year old pup is like an 82 year old  human….)  Check out this chart for more info on the dog years thing.

Happy Birthday, Charlie!! I don’t think he understood it was his bday, but hopefully he still enjoyed his walks, burgers, and beach time!

– Do you have a dog? Did you have one growing up?
– If you don’t have one– or even if you do– what’s your dream breed?
– Do you celebrate your dog’s birthday?  Do you believe the whole “dog years” thing?

Indulge me today while I recap how much fun I had at my bachelorette party

I’ve been wanting to recap my bachelorette party for the past 2 weeks! You guys, it was better than I even expected.  Just like it should be, I guess!  My sister and I planned it at a Napa Valley winery- Coppola- it’s a winery that also has an enormous, Vegas-like swimming pool for guests.  We’re so lucky to have amazing Napa Valley so close!  Wine, sun, pools, pool bar, and friends…I have been excited about it for weeks.

I got to my sister’s house around 8:45am for the carpool.  I was just laying on her bed hanging out while she finished getting ready when the doorbell rang.  Holy moly, it was the surprise of my life– in walks my bff from college (and bridesmaid)!  She lives in Jersey and I was totally okay with her not being able to come to the bachelorette– she supposedly had to work that day.

I wish I got a photo of the surprised look on my face!

But oh my goodness, she flew in the night before and wanted to surprise me.  YES, I was so surprised. I kept repeating, “No way!” over and over.  It was so awesome. I’m usually the worst person to surprise because I’m nosy and often find out beforehand.  But not this time- I was so legitimetly surprised!  It was such an amazing way to start the day.

My sister had decorated the car with all these cute “Bachlorette Party on the Loose” cheesy decorations.  It was so cute of her. No photos of it I guess

And she decked me out in bachelorette stuff too

We picked up 2 of my other friends and 5 of us headed up to Napa.  There was another car full of 5 girls on their way also.

And voila, an hour and 15 minutes later, we were at the winery!

We reserved cabines and lounge chairs and spent the first thirty minutes laying in the sun waiting for the other car to get there.  Then, we all went inside to wine taste.  We tasted a few reds and a few whites…and then the bartender was so nice, he gave us some pink champage as well!

No photos of wine tasting either apparently….I failed!

But we did get free pink champagne poolside too.  These little Sophia cans are so cute and really good!

Yes, Coppola winery is owned by “the” Coppola (Francis Ford Coppola) and there was memorabilia everywhere including severing of his Oscars and the desk from the Godfather movies! Really neat to see.

After wine tasting, it was almost 1pm and we were all starving.  We ordered food and drinks from the pool waitress.  I got a sandwich and this really yummy lemonade slushy cocktail that was perfect for the warm day. We got into our bathing suits and enjoyed the sun.

My sis made it so special for me and for all my friends (I lucked out in the Maid of Honor department!).  She got cups for all my friends filled with party favors and made a really cute “Bride” cup for me too.  I mostly drank water out of it, but it was fun.

I felt so special all day.  My other east coast friend made me a video and Jared made a few funny videos for me to watch too.  I felt so loved.

After lunch, we played some games.  My sis had asked Jared a series of questions and I had to answer.  If I got the answer wrong, I had to put a piece of bubble gum in my mouth.  Before I knew it, I had 12 pieces of bubble gum in there and was drooling and laughing!

My favorite answer of his was:

Q:  What is your favorite  of Rebecca’s bodyparts?
Jared’s A:  “Her left ring finger”   Haha, cute answer!

Then, my friends spoiled me with lingerie and I opened all my gifts.  Wow, I lucked out!  I honestly liked every single thing they gave me!  It was so sweet of them.

My sister made each friend sign an anniversary card and she will mail them out to Jared and I every month for the first year of our marriage. I thought that was such a cute idea.

After the games, we spent the next 3 or so hours swimming, lounging, and talking.  It was such a neat feeling to have many of my friends there, and all there for me!  I seriously had such a good time.

 

The pool closed at 6, so we all headed back into the cars and caravanned over to a restaurant for dinner.

I meant to go out afterwards- there was a fun 80s band playing- but I guess we’re all old! A full day of drinks and sun was enough and we were exhausted by the time dinner ended at 10pm or so….and instead of going out, I just hung out at my bff’s hotel and we passed out before midnight!  A good day! and loved the unexpected time spent with my college BFF

And now just 9 days until the celebration continues and the wedding is finally here!!

– Tell me about the last bachelorette party that you’ve been to!
– Have you ever been totally surprised?  Tell me about it! 
– Do you have any close friends that live across the country?  I have several
– What’s a fun bachelorette game you’ve played?  My sis isn’t engaged, but I know I’ll plan hers someday, so give me some other game ideas!

Hey guys!  I keep forgetting to tell you about my blog friend Cinnamon’s very neat Wednesday photo tip/assignment program.  She takes beautiful photos (check out her tulips!) so this is bound to be a very cool thing.

It’s Wednesday, which means WIAW, but I didn’t manage to photograph a full day of eats this past week.  Instead, I thought I’d just show you some of the mini meals and yummy things that have been passing through my mouth.

C is for cookie….

We bought some office supplies at work and with our purchase, they sent us a free tin of cookies.  They look a little like Famous Amos.  I’ve had a few things week…usually around 4pm when my stomach starts growling and I’m exhausted…..yum.

I’ve tried to keep my eats mostly healthy so I have plenty of energy this week.  Luckily, this week is much less “crazy bride” and much more “excited happy, but busy” bridal stuff.  11 days!  Seriously can’t wait.
So much for an exercise or recipe blog lately….I haven’t been writing about much of either of those things!  I haven’t been cooking much.  Jared’s been travelling and on a new training “diet” so he hasn’t needed me to cook anything and I’ve been either too stressed or busy to focus on a recipe and have just been winging it with meals.  It works for me.

I’ve been really into Mary’s her crackers and Starbucks iced green tea this week.  I somehow ate the whole box of crackers in 2 days. Oops.

I had Mary’s crackers with TJs turkey and a sparkling water for part of lunch.

I’ve had plenty of green juices.

Bananas too

And quinoa mixes

Cooked carrots (I’m into them lately) and steamed greens with coconut butter (still one my favorite combos).

And lots of other things that I just didn’t get a chance to take photos of….like salmon, smoothies, pb on rice cakes, etc.

 And exercise this week so far has consisted of swimming and dance classes.  The best way to de-stress!  And plenty of dog walks, of course

And in wedding news, Jared and I took another dance lesson.  We officially sent in our final numbers to the venue– we’re only at 107 so we succeeded in inviting the right amount of guests.  We chose to have a small wedding (we have large families so this is small in terms of how many friends we could invite), but the guest list was very very tough.  We’re working on the final schedules and I’ve started packing for the honeymoon.  It’s all feeling so real! Yippee!

There’s so much I want to tell you guys– all about  my bachelorette, about some neat wedding stuff, about some exercise stuff, some SF stuff, and more….and it’s all coming eventually, I promise!

Anyone want to do a guest post while I’m away on my honeymoon?  I’ll need to have them in by Wednesday 5/21 at 12noon….so it’s short notice, but if anyone is interested, let me know and I’ll try to fit you in!

– What has your exercise of choice been this week?
– What’s one food you’ve eaten a lot of this week?  (Me- Mary’s crackers and bananas)

I was lucky to spend yesterday with my immediate family in the City.  We had a blast.  Charlie was lucky enough to participate in everything we did too!  For today’s post, here is my Sunday, Mother’s Day in mostly photos:

Pink breakfast of champions

Cleaning and Trader Joes…the necessary but not so fun stuff to do on Sundays

Charlie soooo happy to see his Grandma

 A flower show

Time in the park….someone wants a hot dog too

A concert
A walk around the lake

Early dinner at “Gracias Madre,” a gourmet vegan Mexican restaurant

Tamales

And then some time on the couch before the best part of the day……
Jared came back from Cabo!  He’s sooo tan (and so tired!).  We took a walk around the neighborhood and up to the burger shop so he could eat dinner, chatted about his trip….and then it was late so the day came to an end.

– What did you do with your mom for mother’s day?
– Any vegan restaurants near you that you go to (even if you’re not vegan)?
– How many people in your immediate family?
– Are there free concerts anywhere near you?  (The ones in the park are every Sunday and they’re fun to go to)

We made it to Friday!! Very very thankful for that.

This week, despite a couple days of my weird bridal freakouts, was actually pretty good.  Fridays I recap the little things that stood out or made me happy, so here we go….

1) A hike at my happy spot.  On Thursday, I took Charlie for a hike after work at my very favorite trail in Marin-Phoenix Lake.  To get there, you have to drive through the town of Ross– with enormous, beautiful, peaceful houses– and once you reach the trail, it feels so far away from everything but oh so pretty.  Plus, it’s a perfect 4.4 mile loop that makes it easy to go after work.

No one is allowed in the water, so poor Charlie was hot and just itching to take a swim.  I’ll have to take him to the beach this weekend to make up for it.  An hour around the lake always makes me appreciate northern california.

2) Ghost, the movie, was on TV on Wednesday when I was at the gym.  I love that movie and haven’t seen it in ages! How funny is the scene where Whoopi Goldberg hears Patrick Swayze for the first time and freakouts?!  I was totally laughing on the treadmill.  It made my workout go by very quickly.

3)  This trail mix.  We brought it up to Napa for my bachelorette last weekend and left it in the car– of course, the chcoclate melted all over and it was gross….but by the next day, it was like a bag of all chocolate covered nuts and fruit. Delish!  I munched on it as snacks all week.

4)  Jared left yesterday for his bachelor party in Cabo yesterday and I am so excited for him to celebrate with a bunch of his guys.  Yes, I’m jealous that they’re on the beach drinking margaritas right now, but more so, I am just so so excited for him!  I got to have all my celebrating the past two weeks with showers and bachelorettes, but now it’s his turn!

5)  Ghiradelli with my college bff on Sunday! I need to recap this with my bachelorette party….because seeing her was the biggest surprise of my life…so look for my post on Monday.  On Sunday, we bummed around SF and wound up at Ghiradelli for a little sugar boost.  Any excuse to share a scoop of ghiradelli is a good one!

And that’s it for now!! TGIF!  I have very little on the agenda Saturday except for wedding errands and a big evening party to celebrate a friend’s husband’s graduation from med school….and Sunday mother’s day festivities.

Enjoy your weekend!

– Tell me something that made you happy this week!
– What TV show or movie recently helped you pass the time at the gym? 
– Do you have a hiking happy place?
– Do you have a busy or relaxing weekend ahead?

Today’s WIAW and my bridal freak out moment day!

But first, guess who has jumped on the green smoothie bandwagon?!

Clearly Jared hated posing for this photo and refused to look at the camera… But I needed evidence of him drinking something green!

 I thought it was impossible– he used to gag every time he saw me drinking one- but Jared has been requesting them all week.  He’s on a new health kick and dare I say, he’s actually starting to get addicted to them too!

Ok and now for the bridal freakout recap in combo with my Tuesday eats.  I guess it was bound to happen.  Yesterday, I had a full bridal stress freak out day.  Bundle of stress and emotions all day long.  At least I can laugh at my crazy self!  And hopefully it’s all out of my system now.  Before you judge me too much after reading this post, just know that a good night’s sleep works wonders and I feel much better today.

My breakfast. Delish, as always.

Yesterday morning, still in the, “I didn’t lose weight” silly stress mode, I spent two hours researching juice cleanses and became intensely determined to do the Blue Print Cleanse.  I even convinced Jared (which was surprisingly easy!) that we both should do a 3-day cleanse and that it was the best idea ever to spend $400 on it.

Yeah, my new big idea didn’t last long.  A few hours later, I was talking to my co-worker who did the cleanse last week  She said she was hungry and grouchy the whole time, it made her skin break out, and made her stomach worse, etc……and so I abandoned the cleanse idea….no need for any added grouchiness the week before my wedding!….and my “I’m going on a cleanse” rampage drifted away almost as quickly as it started.

Lunch! I left my homemade lunch on the counter (of course! it was one of “those” days). So instead of eating my tempeh and greens…I hightailed it to Whole Foods for greens, quinoa, and some tofu….plus more coffee

Then, my dad misplaced some of my wedding “supplies”– just some photo frames (we’re putting photos of our grandparents on their wedding days around the cake. ) I got into crazy stress mode and was so upset that he lost them, was convinced everything else I had sent to their house was lost too.  Crazy bride.  And of course, he found them an hour later.

Snack. Have you tried this flavor? YUMMM

And the worst freakout was after Jared picked up our wedding rings from the jeweler yesterday and brought them home.  I burst into a tearful anger when I saw mine because I thought it, “wasn’t what I asked for and didn’t match my engagement band” and who knows what else.  I even emailed the jeweler and the guy was so nice he told me to come in right away so he can fix it to whatever I want.  Well yeah…I woke up this morning and looked at in the light and liked it more and don’t want to deal with going back to the store so will probably keep it the way it is….but sheesh, I had a stress attack about it and poor Jared felt so bad that I didn’t like my ring.  Yikes.

Anyway…like I said, a good night’s sleep helped.

But no worries, there were some really good things that happened yesterday too!  My co-workers threw me a shower! 

It was so sweet and generous of them.  They’ve been so supportive through the whole wedding process, excited for me, let me share my planning stories with them, and made it special.  Since the wedding is small, I feel really guilty that I couldn’t invite them but they were still really sweet and we went out to celebrate after work yesterday.

Pink champagne (the best!)

They gave me such a cute gift!  It was a basket filled several bottles of champagne, wine and booze and on each bottle was a little poem specifying when to drink the bottle:

My mom joined us.  We ordered apps (no pics) of humus and pita and some seafood. 

And they brought out a special dessert!  Felt very lucky and it was a lot of fun.

Lemon and chocolate…yummm

For the rest of my WIAW eats, I snacked on some bites of salmon and nuts when I got home, but the mish mash of appetizers, champagne, and snacks equaled dinner.

And then we took the dog for a walk and I put my crazy self to bed!  You know what this day means?  Yoga, swimming, and sleeping are in my future.  Stress be-gone!

Happy WIAW!

– Tell me about your bridezilla moment?
– Do you hang out with your co-workers outside work?  Do work Happy Hours? 
– Have you ever convinced your family, SO, or friends to eat something they would never have tried on their own?

Well hello there, blog friends!  I’ve been a zombie the last day and a half recovering from my bachelorette weekend (fantastic-incredaballs-even better than I hoped!).  Plus, it’s no joke that the last 2.5 weeks before a wedding are crazy- yikes!  Things are good!  I really want to recap the bachelorette, but I don’t have photos yet, so instead, let’s rewind a bit back to my shower two weekends ago and I can show you a bit of my other special day.

First, a history lesson…

Ever wondered why it’s called a bridal “shower?”  When I was little, I used to picture women in the shower. lol.  I’m sure I’m not the only one.  I have been so curious that I looked it up and here’s why……

1) Martha Stewart Weddings says: Several centuries ago the daughter of a rich merchant fell in love with a poor young man.  The father disapproved so the townspeople “showered” her with gifts.

2) Wikipedia says: The history of the custom is rooted not necessarily for the provision of goods for the upcoming matrimonial home, but to provide goods and financial assistance to ensure the wedding may take place…. In the United States, bridal showers started in urban areas in the 1890s, mainly among the upper middle classes. By the 1930s, bridal showers had spread to rural America….The earliest use of this sense of the word in print may be in Michigan in 1904: “The ‘shower parties’ that through mistaken hospitality the wedded couple are forced to attend…” and may derive from the custom in Victorian times for the presents to be put inside a parasol, which when opened would “shower” the bride-to-be with gifts.

Cute!

My shower did not involve parasols, but it did involve a lot of love and a lot of gifts!  I decided to just have a family shower (with my best friend and my mom’s best friend included) and do another shower at my bachelorette with the rest of my friends.  It felt special to celebrate this milestone with a group that I have all gown up with.

My aunt and cousin hosted at a really pretty restaurant on the water.  We had a private room and the flowers were beautiful.

The florist even sent me a little corsage to wear.  Sweet!

My mom, sis, and I.  I wore white, cause when else do you get to wear white?!

The menu was delish– I got the arugla salad, salmon, and sorbet

We chatted, drank wine, toasted and laughed….until a few hours passed, Jared arrived, and we realized we hadn’t even opened gifts yet!

Let the opening begin! Wow, it was so much fun to open all the gifts. Felt like a kid on Christmas morning!  I got my kitchen aid mixer!!! (thanks, mom!)  I have no counter space to set it up yet– and will likely have to wait until we move in November to actually use it- but YEAH!!!

And of course, the real reason I registered for a rolling pin was so I could chase Jared with it

Haha, anyways, it was a fun day and I left on a high.  With all the months of stress and planning, this was the first start of the actual celebrating and it was great!  So grateful for all my fam and friends.

Debating whether I wanted to discuss this or not, but here goes…..

Weighty issues venting….remember when I first got engaged and claimed I was going to lose 7 pounds before the wedding?!  Yeah, well I’ve been eating well, exercising when I can, and trying to stay healthy….but I certainly haven’t lost that weight.  Probably haven’t lost ANY weight.  7 pounds was probably too much to lose and I’m okay with it for the most part– my body is where it wants to be– but I also don’t really understand why I did what I thought was right and didn’t tone up much at all.  Ugh.  In reality, I’m pretty sure my work-life is the culprit– commuting is so stressful, sitting on my ass hours on end is not healthy no matter how much you exercise on your time off….and stress from wedding sucks and makes me want to sit on the couch or do errands…..so anyways, I think my cellulite on my booty is up against a lot.  Just venting ’cause right now I feel disappointed.  I posted photos that were flattering at the shower, but would have preferred to feel healthier.  I might be the only bride that GAINS weight from wedding stress.  Oh well! I’m happy and excited and that’s all that counts.  I’ve learned from the past that when I’m not happy, I tend to lose a ton of weight– so at least that isn’t the problem now! ha. Being hard on ourselves gets us no-where.

Back to happy things….

– Are you going to any wedding showers in the next few months now that wedding season is here?
– Do you have a gift that you always get people?  I try to buy them baking supplies since I like to bake!
– Are there any terms that you wonder where they came from?  (Like a “shower” etc)
– Did you wear corsages at your prom?  That’s the last time I wore one!

See you guys tomorrow for WIAW!

It’s Friday!!! My bachelorette is this weekend and I cannot wait! We’re headed up to Napa to sit by the pool at a winery, drink wine (duh), and do all the fun bachelorette stuff.  My sis is my MOH and has been an awesome planner.  An 80s cover band just might be on the plans for the night.  So excited!  No joke that the month before the wedding gets crazy.  I have a billion things to do!  But still….May 26th can’t get here fast enough!

Okay, I skipped last week, but I’m back today with FRIDAY HAPPY HIGHLIGHTS post.  Here are some of the things that made me happy this week! (so we can skip the chaos and not so great things)

1)  My shower!  I still haven’t downloaded all the pics, but I had such a nice time.  My family was wonderful.  And I felt very very spoiled with all the gifts.  Jared came towards the end when we opened gifts and I enjoyed having him a part of it too.

Felt like prom, I even got a pretty corsage, haha. The flower centerpieces were really pretty…I’ll have to show them to you in another post!

2) Celebrating a co-worker’s birthday.  Any excuse for a cupcake is a good one in my book!  I got the “c” and I guess since I have 2 “c”‘s in my name, that is fitting.  Oh yum.

3)  Speaking of desserts– I entered a recipe in the Pillsbury Bake-off!  I have always wanted to participate (no idea why, sounds fun to me and was on my bucket list) so I’ve been spending the past couple weeks tweaking a new recipe (dessert, of course) and submitted it this week.  Yay!  I’ll stay positive, but know there were probably tens of thousands of entries.  If I happen to be a semi-finalist, will know on June 13th…and will tell you guys of course!

4) Baby geese!  There are about 20 new baby geese across the street from my office and they are adorable! I’m not such a fan of the adult geese, but the babies are very very cute.

5)  Sushi!  I didn’t feel like making my lunch much this week so bought it out, including yummy sushi.  Delish.

6) Warm weather.  We’re having another HEAT wave in Nor Cal.  It was close to 90 yesterday and even the City was warm enough to wear shorts and tshirts through the night….which almost never happens (especially in May).  Jared’s been in Denver all week for work, but was nice to have him home last night and we all three (Charlie too) went to the park to run around and be outside.  Ahhh,

Look how fast my boys can run! We were trying to tire Charlie out

Ahh, I really love writing these posts because it always leaves me feeling positive and like the week was really good.  Sometimes on Friday, I can get in the “I can’t wait a second longer for the week to be over,” but hey, not so bad this week!

btw– need to vent- people can be so rude!! At least 15 people didn’t even bother to send in their RSVP cards for the wedding.  This even includes professional event planners….which is so weird to me.  Why would they not know to send it in?  So odd.  I know it’s normal, but we were surprised.

Moving on…HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

– What’s something good that happened to you this week?
– Tell me about the best bachelorette party you’ve been to.

Hiiiii!! I played a little disappearing act the past few days…whoops.  I’ve been wanting to share photos from my shower (so.much.fun.) and tell you about some cool things going on, but not gonna happen today.  Sorry, guys.

BUT- I do have something funny and random to show you.  Jared found this while he was at the airport this week (He’s in Denver….poor guy is in the middle of their snowstorm and missing the SF heat wave!) and sent it to me.

I couldn’t resist sharing with you because it’s both ridiculous and kinda makes sense all the same time….and oh so “healthy living community” related.

Voila, the HAPIFORK. 

It’s a fork that encourages you to eat slowly by tracking your time between fork bites, total time it takes you to eat a meal, and the speed of your fork from the plate to your mouth.  It then loads them all into your phone or computer. 

They say that by keeping track electronically, you will start eating slower.

I’m not the most technically savvy person and I tend to shy away from new things like this and opt for the low-tech way (i.e….having a clock nearby), but tell me I’m not the only one that thinks this is soooo silly!  And besides, ONE fork for every meal? Or how many of these are you supposed to buy?!

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS CONCEPT?

Eating slowly is another story though and soooo important.  I know that I, for one, often eat too quickly and have to mindfully slow myself down.

Here are 4 ways why eating slowly is better for your health: source, source

• Numerous studies have found that people who eat fast are three times more likely to be obese than people who eat slowly.
• Eating slowly is good for digestion. This starts with chewing food more. Enzymes in saliva help break down the food, so it gets digested more easily and fully. The more chewing work you do, the less strain on your gut.
• Eating slowly prevents you from over-eating (or at least over-eating by as much). It takes the brain 15 or 20 minutes to recognize that the stomach is full.
• Bloating can occur when you add excess air to your stomach, causing your stomach  to feel larger or uncomfortable than it usually does. One of the problems with  eating quickly is that it introduces excess air into your digestive tract

3 ways to make yourself eat slower  source

(you know, if you don’t want to get a Hapifork and all…)

• Sit down when you eat. Turn off the tv or computer and pay attention to just the act of eating and enjoying a meal.
• Use smaller utensils (because you’ll eat less with every bite)
• Put down your utensils between bites.  Such an important habit!
• Count your chews!  It will take a little time to get in the habit of eating slower, but for one day, count your chews and make sure you chew 20x per bite.

I need to eat slower.  I had a GI appointment yesterday and he basically said that I just have to figure out what works for me and what doesn’t on my own to prevent stomach aches….so here we go with some more experimenting.  Eating slower certainly can’t hurt.

 Okay, so be honest–

–HAPIfork- ridiculous or a good idea? 
–Do you naturally eat slow or fast?  Do you have any “eat slow” tips?

Yesterday morning, Charlie and I ventured to Lands End for a morning hike.  I have my bridal shower today  (!!!) and he’ll be home alone for hours, so my goal on Saturday was to give him lots of exercise and to tire him out enough that he doesn’t mind that we’re gone a good chunk of the day.  I think it worked.  He’s still happily sleeping.

Lands End is a trail on the coast of SF, a big open space full of hiking trails (1-3 miles usually).  It’s been relatively untouched except for the trail building….but I like to think that this is what ALL of San Francisco looked like hundreds of years ago. 

I love that we’re able to disappear in nature within our city.

At the beginning of Lands End is the Sutro Bath “ruins.”  Sutro Baths used to be an ENORMOUS swimming pool in the 1920-40s.  I’m 4th generation San Franciscan (meaning my great-grandparents grew up here too), so my grandmother often told stories about swimming here.  Then, in the 50s/60s, they turned it into a huge ice skating rink.  My mom skated here and said it was so much fun.

It burned down so now it’s just ruins.  It’s a really fun spot to walk around in.  I hope they never get rid of it!

Charlie scopes it out

And then we started hiking.  It’s a twisty hike on a path, about 3 miles in total.  Even though we went pretty early (8am-ish), the path was still pretty crowded

Hey, look what pops out?!  And look how foggy it was!  Typical SF.

This kind of landscape especially makes me feel like San Francisco was once a lush, beautiful place…..hard to imagine with dirty pavement and so many big buildings nowadays!

My grandparents both died years and years ago….but I wish I could ask them more questions about what SF was like “way back when.”   I bet they’d have some good stories!

After our hike, we went down the block to the beach for the small dog Saturday beach walk.  This REALLY helped tire Charlie out.

He was a little weary of all the dogs.  And hey, that brown lab does not look like a “small dog.” haha.

And now to get ready for my shower!!

– Did your parents or grandparents grow up in the city/town you live in?
– Are there a lot of nature trails in your city?  What’s your favorite one?
– What do you think your town looked like hundreds of years ago?  Forest?  Prairie?  Lush or dry, etc? 
– Do anything outdoorsy this weekend yet?