Hama Hama Oyster Rama

Some friends and I went to the Hama Hama Oyster Farm opening day on Saturday. We (mostly they) foraged for oysters and dug for clams. By day's end, I'd only procured about 5 clams total and ate one raw oyster (yuck). It was a fun little adventure though.

Street Style

Credit.

5 Things

Happy Monday, lovelies. 5 things to be thankful for.

1. Catching up with my beautiful friend Kristin last week for happy hour and a play (which I still need to review)!

2. My friend Brandon's totally awesome, all-white 80s themed 30th birthday party (with an open bar) on Friday night; even though I paid for it all day on Saturday. Aryln and I in our white.

3. My very good childhood friend, Ira, and his wife, Mai, had their baby on Sunday. They live in Japan, but I hope to visit them soon and meet the baby. They named her Sierra. He sent me a couple pics from his iPad - she's too cute.

4. Arlyn and I ran an 8K race called Beat the Bridge on Sunday morning in the pouring down Seattle rain. I really did not want to go - but I also did not want to let my friend down who was already at Husky Stadium ready to run! We ran it in 44:27 with an average pace of 8:57. We're both training for the 1/2 in June so it was a good little race to get our feet wet; literally!

5. I've been feeling better this week about everything that's happened over the past few months. Time to let old wounds heal.

I'd Wear That: Stripes on Stripes

Stripe on stipe love. Credit.

Stripes

Here is a (not very good) pic of my friend Ann and me from that Nautical Themed party I mentioned the other week. I went with a simple striped mini dress, red belt, white wedges and sparkly anchor earrings (though sadly you can't see them in this pic).


I also tried the Sally Hansen Nail Strips again - I know, I know - but they were sparkly and looked fun. They are still peeling off today, but they are an acceptable thing to do for a special occasion I've decided.

Running Update

I am running 7 miles tomorrow. It will be the farthest I've ever run in one stretch in my entire life. Sounds crazy, but it's true. I was never much of a long distance runner.

Some things I've been thinking about since embarking on this journey. I registered for the race on February 28th, just a little over two months ago. Since then I've worked my way up to six miles from zero, running on average about 2-3 times a week. There are weeks I wanted to run more, but the weather wasn't cooperating or social stuff got in the way. My pace is still pretty slow, about a 10 minute mile, but I've mainly been focusing on building up the mileage. I figure I'll try to go a little faster once I reach the 10 mile run. My goal is to run three times a week going forward.

One area I've yet to focus on much is the cross/strength training aspect of the training guide I've been using. I should be building upper body strength and varying my exercises; must get to the pool and lift some weights ASAP. I have tried to incorporate more stretching however since I was having a lot of calf pain earlier on in the program.

That said, I'm feeling pretty good. If I can get up to 10 miles by the end of the month I think I'll feel adequately prepared for the race on June 25th.

I've been running with my Nike + iPod contraption and it records the runs.

From a fashion standpoint, good socks that keep your feet dry and underwear that don't ride up are essential. You want to be as comfortable as possible when running. The littlest things can distract you when you're using "mind over matter" out there, so I am constantly thinking of things that will make it easier to focus on the task at hand and not on holding gadgets, pulling shorts down, ect.

This cute recap of a half marathon is all the more inspiring.

Happy running!

Product Review: Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips

Not in love.

I seldom polish my nails other than with some clear Nutra Nail, but after reading all the rave reviews online for Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips I decided to shell out the $9 for them at Target. The prospect of not having to wait for the polish to dry and it supposedly lasting up to 10 days sold me. I chose a color called Raise a Glass which turned out to be a shimmery gold.

First thing to note, the application of these things take time. If you don't have at least 30 minutes, don't start. I kind of rushed my left hand and it did not look as good as the right. However, I also think this is just like painting your nails - one hand always looks better than the other if you are doing them yourself. Second thing, the strips don't exactly fit the nail. You can file them around the edge and trim the sides with the cuticle stick, but some just wound up kinda off. Third, as of this morning they started to lift, which led me to start peeling and picking them off. Do not do this! I can already see the damage to my nails from essentially pulling stickers off of them. The proper way to remove them is supposed to be with nail polish remover; I will try this method to get the remnants off tonight.

I applied the nail strips Friday night and as of Monday come noon, they are 75% off. I will not be buying these again. If you have the time and patience, just paint your nails the good old fashioned way. A $9 bottle of polish will get you a lot more wear!

May Goals

Why not make some?

1. Run more. My 1/2 marathon training is going, but it's not as going as I'd like it to be. The weather is somewhat to blame. I just can't bring myself to run in the rain after work, but I might have to bite the bullet soon. My goal is to run 10 miles comfortably by the end of the month. The 1/2 is on June 25th.

2. Read some everyday. I stayed up half the night on Saturday finishing Olive Kitteridge for book club on Sunday. If I read some everyday, even just for 20 minutes, I could get more shut eye. Which brings me to goal #3.

3. Get more shut eye. Self explanatory. zzzzzzzzzzzz

4. Buy a new laptop. I tend to put off expensive electronic purchases until, well, forever. I still have not purchased a new T.V. my parents gave me the money to buy for Christmas two years ago.

5. Write more. My other blog has been lacking these days.

Do you have any goals for the month?