Hot Men + Cats

That title should have gotten your attention, and it's a good thing because I don't have much to say today....

all I want to say is...

...you can thank me for THIS later.

Weekend Recap

It's Monday morning again, how did that happen?  I'm good with it though, that means I am getting even closer to my last day at the hospital.

We had a quiet weekend around here, which was definitely welcomed, especially since the next few weekends are going to be a blur.  Friday night, Mark and I had dinner with my parents at their house.  Dinner included some killer margarita's and marble cake...always a winning combination.

I got up really early on Saturday to get my long run in before I went to get a facial while Mark was golfing.  I am totally in love with this headband, it has been a lifesaver with my new haircut!

We were pretty lazy for the rest of the day, which was unseasonably cold.  The weather made me just want to lay on the couch and watch movies...so we did that.  We've been working on watching the Harry Potter movies, since Mark and I never saw them.  We watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, another winner.

Sunday morning started with taking Shay out for a little jog before driving down to Mankato.  We met Mark's family down there to celebrate his Grandma's birthday, she turned 95 yesterday!  And she looks great too, doesn't she?!

After lunch, we stopped at a cute little winery on the way home.  We sampled a few of their wines and sat out on their gorgeous patio.  This was such a nice place!  I can't say we loved the wine, but the setting was amazing!

We ended the weekend with another movie.  This time we watched one of Mark's favorite movies and a classic that I had never seen before- Pulp Fiction.  Ask me how I made it to 28 without ever seeing this?  I have no idea, but I am glad to have finally seen it!

Now, let's get on with the week...

Health & Fitness Friday: Half Marathons and Bikini Problems

I can't even tell you how happy I am that today is FRIDAY!  If you read my post on Wednesday, you know that means that after today, I only have 6 more days working at this hospital!  Yaahooo!!

Also, THANK YOU to everyone for their input on my yoga business....the ovewhelming choice was for One Light Yoga, which make my decision pretty easy :)  Now I just have to get the ball rolling with making an LLC and a website...anyone know of a good web designer??

Alright, lets talk fitness. 

I did my 11 mile run last weekend which went better than expected.  I was more than ready to be done by the time it ended, but I felt pretty good that I did it.  This is how my weekly workouts have looked:

Saturday- 11 miles

Sunday- Rest

Monday- Yoga

Tuesday- 2 miles

Wednesday- 3 miles

Thursday- Rest

Friday- I plan on 3 miles tonight

Saturday- The plan 8 miles

Sunday-  The plan is to go for a walk & Yoga

I'm only doing 8 miles this weekend because I registered for the Minnesota Half Marathon, which is next Saturday. I like to have an easier week before a race, so 8 miles should be sufficient. I'm already nervous though...ugh.

Other than that, not much is new on the health and fitness front.  I finally found a bathing suit that I found acceptable a few weeks ago, but I have only worn it once, and not with any other people.  Still working on my confidence level on that one.  I know I talk a lot about body image and support other people in accepting their bodies...but it continues to be a struggle to accept my own appearance sometime.  Why does that have to be so hard? 

Anyway, I hope everyone has a happy and healthy weekend :)

I need your input!

In order to be a legitimate yoga teacher, I need to make myself an LLC.  Yoga teachers are independent contractors at the studios they teach at, and most of them have their own websites that give information about their background and their teaching schedule, as well as options for individual lessons. I've been playing around with some possible names for my LLC and website, but I thought I would test them out on you guys first.  I thought about just calling it Katie Hall Yoga, which is one of the options, but people also don't know who I am and I want a name that will attract potential students. I want your honest feedback...if you were looking for a teacher or studio, which name/design would you be most drawn to?  These aren't "final" designs or anything...I just made them on my phone, I'd probably need an actual web designer to help me out for the real thing!



The word Santosha means acceptance and contentment in Sanskrit



Let me know which one you like the most!!

My BIG News!

I have 2 very exciting things to share with you too!  Some of you know this already, but I was hired to start teaching yoga at a studio in Minneapolis!  I'll be starting shortly at Yoga Sanctuary and I am so excited about it!  I took a class there a few weeks ago and loved the vibe, so I contacted the owner who invited me to come in for one of her classes and to chat.  Turns out, we have some crazy connections that go back to when I was in high school!  Yoga Sanctuary is a beautiful little studio located in the basement of Solomon's Porch, which is "A holistic, missional, Christian community" but Yoga Sanctuary is not affiliated with any religion and welcomes all people, though it does recognize that yoga is a spiritual practice for a lot of people.  It's so crazy, because I used to hang out at Solomon's Porch all the time when I was in high school.  Back then, it was located in a loft space in the Linden Hills neighborhood in Minneapolis.  It was this cool open room full of old couches with a drum set and stage set up.  I hung out with a pretty musical/artistic group and we used to all hang out there at night playing music...seems like so long ago now!

Anyway, I am now on their subbing list- so I will be filling in if a teacher can't make it to their class.  I am also going to be teaching at 9:15 on Sunday mornings for the Karma/Donation class. A few teachers rotate in this class, but I will let you know when I am teaching if you want to come!  Of course, I would love to see some of my lovely readers there!

I thought this little sentiment was appropriate for both pieces of news that I have for you.  I have decided to make a big change that will certainly add to my happiness.  Yesterday, around 1pm, I walked into my boss's office (at Hennepin County Medical Center) and gave my 2 weeks notice.  After spending 3 years in inpatient psychiatry here, my last day here will be August 5th.  I am going to miss some parts of this job, but I am really happy that I will be working only with eating disorders at Melrose and teaching yoga from now on. 

I am very grateful to be able to make these changes, I feel so luck that I get to do something I love for a living. What are you thankful for today?  Share with all of us by visiting Steph and linking up!

Strawberry Aperol Sorbet

I really can't take any credit for this recipe at all.  All I can say is that I discovered Aperol when we were in Austria, and it changed my life.  The second I read this recipe in the latest Martha Stewart Living, I knew I had to make it.

A little background on Aperol.  When Mark and I were in Salzburg, I noticed that virtually every woman was drinking the same thing, but it wasn't a drink that I could identify by looking at.  It looked sort of like orangey-iced tea in a wine glass.  After a few failed attempts at ordering drinks that I thought were the right one, I resorted to a totally normal solution.  Eavesdropping.  I made sure to listen to the ladies at the table next to me as they ordered, and I finally heard the magic words- APEROL SPRITZ.  I had no idea what aperol was, but I knew it was good.  Turns out its a bitter orange and rhubarb aperitif.  I should probably do an entire post on the aperol spritz cocktail, stay tuned lovelies.

Back to business.

Martha Stewart's recipe for Strawberry Aperol Sorbet is one of the best sorbets I've ever had.  It's so simple, 4 ingredients and super fast to make.  Make it now! Right now! Unless you're pregnant, in which case I am really sorry that you are missing this and I will personally make you some and deliver it to you upon the birth of your child.

When I say this is easy, I mean easy.  All you need to do is blend one pound of strawberries with 1/2 cup of sugar.

Stir in the zest from 1 orange and 1/3 cup of Aperol.  Confession- I used 1/2 cup.  Don't judge.  I also skipped the part of the recipe that told me to chill this all in a bowl for an hour before throwing it in the ice cream maker- I really didn't see the point.  Straight into the ice cream maker it went.  It only took about 15 minutes to reach the right consistency, but I had to "check" it several times, you know...just to make sure.

Pour the sorbet into a frozen loaf pan, cover, and store in the freezer.

Try to not eat it all in one sitting.  You're going to want to enjoy this for a few nights.  Trust me.

Try this recipe and all the other tasty meals and treats shared on Ashley and Jessica's link up!  Happy Taste of Tuesday everyone!

Yoga Class CANCELLED!

Due to the rain this morning in Minneapolis, we will have to reschedule our yoga class. 

It is absolutely pouring at my house right now and I can't imagine our park in Minneapolis is any different.

Check back here soon for a new date, I am thinking maybe a Wednesday or Thursday evening.  Happy Hour yoga?!

Please pass this on to anyone who was planning to go!!

Torchlight 5k recap!

Happy Friday everyone!!  It's finally the weekend again and I couldn't be happier about that!  I am leaving work a little early today, so this is going to be short and sweet so I can get everything done!

I ran the Torchlight 5k in Minneapolis on Wednesday with these lovely ladies:

Kate (in the middle) also brought her husband to run this year.  My sister and her friend were there too, so we all met up at the start and then found each other after the race for the after-party.

It has been super hot here all week.  Before the race, my car said it was 95!  I think the official temperature was 93, but whatever it was, it was HOT! And really humid too!!  This is always a fun race to run though and I am glad that we went for it!  The Torchlight 5k is part of the Minneapolis Aquatennial celebration that happens every summer,  it takes place down the same streets at the Torchlight Parade, which starts right after the race.  It is sort of a logistical nightmare, but we had a good game plan and it all work out flawlessly! 

I am proud that I actually ran the whole way in this heat!  It would have been really easy to walk, but running with my running buddies and in a crowd always makes me push myself a little harder.  We started out at a pretty normal pace and were able to maintain that throughout the first 3 miles.  Once we were on the Stone Arch Bridge, we sped it up a little bit.  This race is always deceptive because you think the finish line is at the end of the bridge, but its actually quite a bit further down and around a corner.  It gets me everytime!

I finished right next to my friend Katie, and we both pretty much collapsed on the ground for a few minutes afterward.  Then we went in search of popsicles.  After the rest of our crew finished, we went in search of the good stuff...the free beer.

My time ended up being 29:05, which I thought was pretttty good for the heat!  I am actually quite inpressed that we did it in under 30 minutes!  Thanks for running with me, ladies!!

And as always, link up your weekly fitness report with Jen for Health and Fitness Friday!!

Reminder!

Hey everyone!  I just want to remind you to come to the MN Blogger yoga class that I am teaching this coming Sunday at 10am!  All of the info can be found here. 

Remember to bring water and a yoga mat!  If you don't have a yoga mat, let me know...I have a few extras.

I'll bring some tasty treats for after class...if you're lucky I'll even bake something myself! Probably muffins or something.

Don't worry if you have no experience.  There will be a lot of this:

And none of this:

See you on Sunday!!

Wednesday Gratitude: Running Buddies

I am running the Torchlight 5k tonight in Minneapolis and it is shaping up to be quite the hot and humid evening here!  Last time I ran this race, it had to be postponed to a later date due to the heat- lets hope that doesn't happen again!

Since it's Wednesday, and Steph started this awesome little Wednesday Gratitude initiative, I thought I had better tell you about my running buddies!  I've been running local 5k races with my friends Katie and Kate (yeah, thats not confusing at all) for the last several years.  This is our 3rd Torchlight run together! (I missed it last year because of my hip surgery.)  We've run many other races together though the years though...here is a little trip down memory lane...

Torchlight 5k, 2009

Time to Fly 5k, 2009

Securian Frozen 5k, 2010

Torchlight 5k, 2011 (read the recap here.)

These two make doing races so much fun!  We don't get together and run unless it is for an event, but I am always reminded of how much it helps to have friends to run with! I pretty much always run alone, so it is really nice to have some conversation along the way!  Of course, the Twin Cities running circuit is pretty great too, so many fun races and events to try! Check back on Friday for a recap of the race!

Tropical Fruit Salad

When I say that I love the way Banana Boat sunscreen and tanning oil smells, who knows what I'm talking about?? If you know, then you will love this salad.  It tastes the way that Banana Boat should. By the way, no sunscreen tastes good.  I know this much.

This recipe for Tropical Fruit Salad is absolutely amazing!  I made it twice the other week...seriously.  And I ate it all SO FAST.  It is suuuuper simple too.   Especially because I bought prepackaged coconut flakes instead of cracking open my own coconut.  Ain't nobody got time for that. 

Also, who knows how to crack open a coconut.  I sure as heck don't.

Anywho, back to business.  In order to prepare this delicious little escape to the islands...do as I say and:

Cut open a papaya.  This has got to be the weirdest fruit ever and the seeds really gross me out, but these are actually super easy to cut up into little cubes.  Do that.

Same with the mango and the pineapple (which isn't pictured):

Rough chop some coconut flakes, I didn't measure, but this is the amount I used:

Cut up a some banana just before serving.  I brought this to work for lunch all week long and used 1 banana for each serving.

The only thing that could possibly make this salad better is some rum, the beach, and some more rum.  I can't picture anyone not liking this.  Unless they don't like fruit, that would be a problem.  Or coconut, in which case I would call them cocoNUTS- see what I did there?

Go make it, you won't be sorry!  Also, make sure you check out the other recipes that are posted for Taste of Tuesday!  They can all be found by visiting either Ashley or Jessica.

Weekend in Pictures

My computer is acting super weird, so in order to prevent me from losing my mind on Monday morning, I'm just going to put up some pictures from the weekend. 

Friday afternoon spent at the pool!

Game night! 

After 10 miles on Saturday, was supposed to go 11...eh.

We walked around the sculpture garden on Saturday afternoon, we wanted to play the mini golf course at the Walker Art Center, but the wait was 2 hours!

We decided to head to St. Paul for dinner and got Mexican food at La Cucaracha, my favorite!!

Sunday was spent on the St. Croix River having brunch with Mark's family. I didn't take any pictures, but his cousins, aunt, and uncle were all visiting from Maryland, so we went on a riverboat cruise with them.  It was definitely a fun way to spend a Sunday!

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!!

Health and Fitness Friday!

Time for the weekly fit report!  I love writing this, mostly because it means that its FRIDAY, but mostly I love the ladies in Jen's linkup.  If you need some extra motivation, head on over there and I promise you will get some!

Last weekend I had a 10 mile run, which was longer than any run I have done since the Chicago Marathon.  I got up to 9 miles last time before my hip started to give me problems, but so far so good for now!  I haven't had any hip pain in the last week at all.  

I have an 11 miler planned for tomorrow and I am already looking forward to it being over.  That might sound like I don't enjoy training, but don't get me wrong, I do love running- its just that the long run is so dang hard for me.  I always start worrying about it days in advance, and I usually do ok during the run, but I just love the feeling I get afterwards.  Minus the aching legs, sore back, and fatigue that sets in.

Other than running, I have been doing some yoga at home at at a new studio that I found.  I am trying to get myself into at least 1 class at a bunch of different studios before I beg ask them to hire me.  

In other health related news, I got my first chemical peel earlier this week.  I have been seeing the same lady for facials for about 6 months now and she is so amazing.  I have hyper-pigmentation spots on my face that have bothered me for years, and we are finally now starting to make a difference!  I wish I would have taken a "before" picture, but stay tuned for my "after" results in a few weeks- we are doing a cycle of 3 peels.

Hope everyone has a fun, safe, and healthy weekend!

Best Eating Disorder Blogs

I recently came across this article on Healthline.com about eating disorder blogs and I wanted to share.  I'm not really sure about some of the blogs on this list, they don't seem to be getting quite at the topic, and a few aren't actually blogs, just websites with resources- but I do really like a few of them.  The first one, Does Every Woman Have An Eating Disorder?, gets at the point that I have come more and more to believe.  I also recommend checking out this one and this one.

If you are worried about your relationship with food, weight, and body image, take this short test here.  

I see the influences of "eating-disorder-thinking" all over the place, especially now that I've been working at a treatment center for the past year.  One of my very least favorites was the Special-K campaign, "What Will You Gain When You Lose?" I can think of lots of things you will lose and very few that you will gain if you starve yourself, binge, purge, obsess...etc.  Thankfully, they seem to have a new campaign, Nourish, and while it still advertises the low calorie count, at least they are advocating eating RIGHT, not LESS.

I still can't wrap my head around calling a TV show "Extreme Weight Loss" even though I know the people on the show need to lose weight.  Couldn't they at least focus on health instead of on the number on the scale though?  I'm not sure what I'd rename it...any ideas?

I'm not immune at all to negative body image, fat talk, worrying about calories, size, numbers...etc.  I just think its important to realize when these thoughts start taking over your life.  I am well aware of the times it has gotten out of hand for me, and I work hard everyday to replace my thoughts and behaviors with ones that support health.  If you need help, there are plenty of options out there and I'd love to point you in the right direction.

Blogger Yoga Class!

Blogger Yoga!

When: July 21, 10:00 am

Where: Kenwood Park, Minneapolis (directions here.)

Who: You! Feel free to bring friends!

Other details:  I will meet you near the tennis courts and then we can find a good flat spot for our class.  They are easy to spot, if you are looking at Lake of the Isle Lutheran Church from the parkway, just keep looking to the right and you will see them :)  Make sure to bring some water with you as it will be hot!  I will bring some snacks for afterwards!

Hopefully we have good weather, check my blog if there is rain!

Please let me know in the comments if you plan to come!  

Green Gazpacho!

Before I get started with this Taste of Tuesday recipe, I want to announce the next Blogger Yoga class!  The class will be at 10am on July 21 near Lake of the Isles.  I hope a lot of you can make it, this is really the only day I can do it so I'm sorry if it doesn't work for you! Check back tomorrow for more details!!

With that said, it is now time to talk about food!  If you aren't already sharing your recipes with Ashley and Jessica, hop on that bandwagon! 

The past week has been suuuuper hot in MN, which of course is a welcomed change from our dreadful winter/spring. One of my favorite summer meals is gazpacho, and I am always trying new recipes for it!  I had a great green gazpacho from Whole Foods the other week,  so I tried to recreate it  with this recipe here....not sure it is quite the same, but it will do! I made a few changes to the recipe, so pay attention!

First, chop one small onion, a green bell pepper (seeds removed) and 2 cucumbers (seeds also removed.)

Throw them in a food processor and combine until they are almost pureed.  Add cilantro and parsley. I pretty much doubled the amount from the original recipe because I love these flavors.

Add 2 tbsp of EVOO, 1 avocado, 1 cup of water and lemon juice.  I used the entire lemon from this, which is different from the recipe.  Season with salt. Puree until smooth.

  Chill in the fridge for a few hours so its super cold. Enjoy!

I just got some good bread to serve this with to round out the meal.  It's so easy to make and it makes enough for me to have it a few more times this week!  Mark liked it, but he's not as into vegetables and cold soup as I am, so I will probably be the one finishing it!

4th of July Weekend

Is it just me, or did last week seem super weird?  Having Thursday off for the 4th, then working Friday, then having a weekend, it got me all messed up.  It seems like a really long weekend to recap, but I'll see if can get it all in here.  Mark and I had a little bonfire on Wednesday night since it wasn't a "school night."  We made s'mores...and I demonstrated how to roast the perfect marshmallow.  Here is a little tutorial on that...

1. Slowly rotate the marshmallow about 5 inches above the flame.

2. Watch for it to turn golden-brown.

3. Insert directed in flame, catch it on fire, and blow it out.

4. Eat.

Yes, I really do like them like that.  I have a weird preference for burnt foods.  Also, our 80 lb. dog truly underestimates his size.

On the 4th of July, I got up and went for a little 3 mile run.  Then I headed over to Lake Harriet to walk with my friend Sonja.  We went to Bread & Pickle afterwards and shared some yummy snacks.  It was a really fun way to spend the morning!  Mark and I golfed 9 holes with my parents at Interlachen in the afternoon.  There was a cook-out going on too, so we had dinner before the fireworks were set off.  We didn't stay to watch the fireworks though because we both had to be up early for work the next day.

We really didn't do anything on Friday after work, we were both wiped out and I had my long run the next day.  On Saturday, I got up early and headed over the Minneapolis lakes to run.  I ran around Lake Calhoun, Lake of the Isles, and Lake Harriet, which is 10 miles in total.  I was pretty tired afterward, but managed to rally and head out the Excelsior Brewing Co.  The beer was pretty good, I had the Big Blonde Ale and Mark got the Bridge Jumper SPA.  We ended up trading though, because we both preferred what the other had gotten.  We walked over to Maynards from there and shared some food before heading home and calling it a night in front of the TV.

Sunday was another fun but exhausting day!  We pretty much spent all morning cleaning and doing stuff in the yard. At noon, we headed over to Interlachen to golf again. We met up with my parents, my dad's business partner and wife, and their daughter and her husband.  The guys all played together and us ladies played right behind them.  It was a super hot day for 18 holes, but we managed.  I played ok, much better than Friday though. We all had dinner together afterward, and Mark and I were asleep by 9:30.

I can't believe that the 4th of July is already over and before we know it, it will be August!  So crazy!  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend and are not too depressed about it being over!