I've had an EPIPHANY!!

No, not only that...

But that I'm really horrible at continuous blogging...

I get really great for a stretch...and then I fall off the wagon....

And I don't just take a small break...I go a loooonnnngggg time!

The last update was pre Hawaiian vacation aka Ironman Kona!!  That was Oct 2012...it's now April 2013...seriously...so much life lived since then.  So here is my feeble attempt to catch up and get on a better foot.  But with some adjustments, revelations and confessions. 

I'm not ever going to be a great blogger...I have 3 jobs, 2 kids, and a crazy life.  But I will continue to try my best...but my best may not be extremely regular.  I love to cook, I love to eat, I love to swim/bike/run, I love my job as a nurse.  I want to blog about it all...not in an effort to be all "I love me" about it but an effort to remember...to possibly help others in any and all of those areas...and in a effort to process my life on "paper" if you will.  I've always loved to write and it's like small version of therapy.  If you want to read, read...if you don't I won't even know anyway :)

So here it is...a catch up more in pictures than in words...because it's been a beautiful ride so far and I'm excited for what the future holds...

First...HAWAII!!  We spent 2 blissful weeks on the Big Island...swimming, running, snorkeling, tanning, exploring...and most importantly being present for the greatest triathlon around...the Ironman World Championships in Kona.  It.  Was.  Epic.

 

Kids and I after a hard morning of snorkeling

 

Kiddos rocking the Wattie Ink W after the Underpants Run

 

Pre Ironman Med Tent

 

Holy Big Honu

 

Hard to top a Kona sunset

 

Family luau

 

 

Next up in the land of big updates is all the amazing work I've been privileged to do as a flight nurse....it's an opportunity I never imagined I'd have but I've been sooooooo blessed to do it!  I've gone (I'm sure I'm missing some and these are in no particular order) to Palm Springs, Blythe, Seattle, Las Vegas, Anchorage, Adak, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Vancouver, Edmonton, Wisconsin, Denver, Cold Bay, and I'm sure a few more...some were for a moment...others were at least overnight...and it's been the experience of a lifetime.  I'm so excited to see where else this job takes me...but here are some pics along the way...

 

 

Outside Edmonton in mighty chilly weather!

 

 

Trying to look over the pilot's shoulders at Mt. Rainier

 

Even the training is cool!

 

The last big update comes courtesy of the Navy.  I've been privileged to already have some amazing experiences in my career in the Nurse Corps.  The best to date was my two weeks spent in "boot camp" also known as Direct Commission Officer Indoctrination Course in Newport, Rhode Island.  It was truly a life changing experience and I could never hope to sum it up in words....so some pictures will have to do...

 

 

With my amazing, fabulous roommate, Mikel.

 

 

Our one day of freedom after being snowed in by Nemo (the affectionate name the locals gave the blizzard that hit us hard!).

 

With the roomie again and my local SD girl Stephanie

 

 

My room for 2 weeks...pretty plush, huh?

 

 

Shoveling snow is oh so fun!

 

 

 I had to try....

 

So anyway, there it all is...a massive update in a small way.

 

Here's what's coming up....

 

First I leave Saturday (in 2 days) for 9 days of field training with the Marines to do some expeditionary field medicine....should be quite an experience to say the least.

 

Then once home it's onto another challenge...the Whole 30 challenge that you can read up on here...wanna join in on the fun?  I'm staring April 15th along with a few other friends who want to improve their health too...the more the merrier!  And yes, I know it's not vegan...but if you'll refer back here you see that I have only ever tweaked my diet for health reasons...and this is yet another step along the way of using myself as a guinea pig...it's science, right?? 

 

Lastly on tap for me is my return back to long course racing...I've registered once again for Barb's race...I've tried it once before and I aim to try it again...and do it bigger and better...watch out...

 

I think that's about all I can cram in one blog post since I'm getting slightly crossed eyed...hope I didn't bore you to pieces and I swear to be a bit better at this, even if it's only a mobile update!  Until then...

 

 

XOXO

 

Jackie

Playing Catch Up

Soooooo....you may have noticed it's been a while...like 4 months worth of a while.  But to be fair, I've been a bit busy.  Let's see...hubby came home from deployment (yay!), raced 3 sprint tris, hubby made Chief (double yay!), kids have been on summer break, went on a mini vacation...ummm...that may be about it.  So needlss to say I've been neglectful.  But all of these happenings in my life were awesome!!  Here are a few pics to prove it.

Homecoming USS Carl Vinson 2012

The Long Road Home (or back to Petaluma, CA anyway)

I swam, biked, and ran my way into a 7th, 1st, and 5th place finish at my races!

Spent lots of QT with my two little hooligans

So there you go...my summer in review.  Not that it wasn't important, I just don't think I can truly capture it in words, so I'm not going to try.

I have also been spending loads of time cooking. 

You may remember I went mostly vegan a while back...and that severely limited my choices (or so I thought).  This choice forced me to open my culinary horizons and really get my hands dirty in the kitchen.  It also forced me to buy 2 cute new aprons.

It may also be contributing to my wino habit, but hey...such is life!  So anyway...where was I?  Oh yeah....food!  So I've been playing around with recipes...following awesome food blogs (see them all on the right!)...and now I feel like I'm ready to join the club.  You see, as a vegan/gluten free/endurance athlete, I have needs (shush your dirty minds).  I need calories!  I need my food to taste good!  I need it to be healthy and fuel me through long runs, rides, and swims.  I'm gearing up to do Oriflamme 50K again in April (told you I had a course to avenge) and I need food that will carry me through.  Last year I wasn't getting the calories I needed and subsequently dropped too much weight.  But I'm paying attention now...I know what I'm doing and I have the tools to bring me there (plus I'm uber inspired by this book). 

Here goes nothing!  I'm hungry and I'm ready to step up to the challenge...bring on the food!  I know there will be some duds along the way (this is where I'm grateful for my family of taste testers...and possibly my dogs if things go really wrong).  But I'm hoping that some really great meals, snacks, and such will come out of this too. 

I'm starting Monday with a full 3 day juice/smoothie cleanse (yeah, I'll be blogging about it)...then it's onto the real work.  Along the way I'm going to keep following my friends (aka amazing food bloggers), because they know what they are doing and are seriously cooking up some amazing eats!

So I raise a glass in toast to this adventure and whatever it may bring!  Cheers!