SIGNING UP FOR A 10K

For my 25th Year Challenge, I wanted to incorporate some kind of fitness and health activity. I have always enjoyed being active (minus that 8 month summer in Arizona!) and outdoors. I love the feeling of a long day spent outside and coming home to slightly pink cheeks and new freckles on my skin. Living here in San Diego has provided us countless opportunities to be outside a lot & exercising. A walk on the bay, a bike ride on the board walk, or even walking the hilly zoo has us out and about about 4-5 days a week. This past weekend, Derek and I decided to reward our good behavior of exercising with some new work out clothes and signing up for a race. At first, Derek had this look in his eyes of, "Let's run a MARATHON!" Woah, boy. Simmer down. We then jumped down to a 5K. "Yeah, that sounds more like it!" we thought. The next day, we found a race that corresponds with the McKenzie family reunion in Idaho this July and told the family we would be running. We were excited, and then the comments started. "Do the 10K with us! It's not much farther! We did it last year!" So, of course.... we get sucked in. We started thinking along those lines. "Yeah, we can do this. We've got this. We are strong!" Well, that was a week ago. Are we a little sore? Yep. Is it hard? You betcha. Do we want to quit? Sometimes. But the great thing about this is, we are learning and growing. SLOWLY. But still learning and growing. Just like the race of life, sometimes we have to give ourselves those little pep talks. 

"I can do this. I've got this. I am strong." 

LET THE MADNESS BEGIN

Every year, Derek and I fill out our March Madness brackets in hopes of beating each other out for the hefty (ha ha) amount of $40. I have beat him every. single. year. since we have been married. And I am sure to let EVERYONE know. We are big Duke fans over here and definitely favor our Blue Devils very highly, and this year I knew Jabari Parker could take us to the final two. This year, with the introduction of the Yahoo! Billion Dollar Bracket, the stakes are even higher. I'm even in a bracket with all men from the ward. I gotta represent the double XX chromosome and fight for all my female ladies out there. You better believe we both entered and are holding our good luck charms extra tight. One can hope, right? 

THE BECCA SALAD

So, I love salad. Specifically, salad with dark, rich, leafy greens. Don't give me that ice berg crud. I want the good stuff. All of my salads stem from this "base" if you can call it that, and has been named by Derek as "The Becca Salad".We live off salads in the summer-- I vow not to turn my oven on from June-September. That probably stemmed from those years in Arizona, but it's a strict policy in the Smith house. But salad-- just cool, crisp, light-- I could go on and on about how easy and delicious they make for a late summer dinner. So, take those dark greens and you must, MUST pair them with sharp red onion. From there, add whatever you like. I have variations of strawberries, Gorgonzola & walnuts. Another twist is avocado, bacon, Parmesan, pears & a creamy raspberry vinaigrette. This time around, I used feta, grapes, toasted almonds & poppy seed dressing. Just call me a bunny rabbit because I cannot get enough of these greens. 

BALBOA PARK

A definite "must see" in San Diego is the beautiful and exciting Balboa Park. It is home to beautiful architecture, museums, play houses, the famous San Diego Zoo, and much more. Last weekend the weather was perfect; a bit overcast with a cool breeze. We shot over to the park to visit the zoo for a few hours, but the membership line was wrapped around the entrance twice over. Instead, we kept walking and explored the grounds a bit more. The eclectic mix of visitors alone is entertainment enough; college students lounging on the grass, street performers, dogs of all sizes, preachers, teachers, candlestick makers (just kidding). We parked ourselves behind the Museum of Man (above) in the newest addition to the park known as Globe Theater for some afternoon snacks. We decided that the upcoming show of "Into the Woods" is a definite must on our summer to-do list this year. It was an enjoyable detour before heading into the zoo to check out some real wild animals.