Recently

Currently I'm 18 weeks and overall feeling really good. Some days are better than others but I really can't complain and I'm excited for what's to come!

Random, 18 week outtake 

I ran 10 miles the past two weekends and feeling good. I'm hoping to run 12 miles (and the longest I intend to run until the half marathon) this weekend. Would like to maintain between 8-12 miles as my long run mileage. I took my first spin class and enjoyed it. I was able to go my own pace and rest when I needed but it makes me feel stronger and hope it will help with my return. I'm still adjusting to my rapidly changing body and suddenly having a real pregnant belly. It's very fun but I am constantly in awe of how quickly the changes happen!

I'm tired a lot but luckily I seem to have the 2nd trimester energy because I'm feeling more normal most of the time. I try to get things done when I can and not feel guilty when I lay around and sleep. I have lately been incredibly lacking any motivation to clean, organize or decorate which is definitely slowing down the finishing phase of our remodel. Hopefully I'll have more energy for this project soon because I know I'll want to have it done before June!

16 weeks

I'm currently stressing and obsessing about my plan for 2013 memory keeping for our family. I've looked at a lot of different ideas and narrowed down to two different methods. If you know me at all then you know I have to have consistency in my projects and I'm a huge perfectionist. I can't start anything unless I'm certain things are right...which is why I haven't started this project yet :) Hopefully I'll have my photos organized digitally by the end of this week (a huge 2013 goal) and I can start to tackle this project.

17 weeks

Totally random, I just thought they were cute

I'm eating ALOT, struggling to cook all our meals at home and tending to eat out more, but trying new things to expand baby's palate (Indian food last weekend!) For the first time in weeks I planned a weekly menu and put it up on our chalkboard. Until now it seemed that I didn't have the energy to take on this usual weekly task.

Cravings:

16 Weeks: ranch dressing and veggies, ketchup and fries and pasta with alfredo sauce

17 Weeks: hint of lime potato chips, chocolate ice cream

18 Weeks: Food in general but really anything spicy and pizza

18 weeks

I am REALLY looking forward to tomorrow and finding out what we are having. I think this is the third most anticipated and waited for day, third only behind the day I saw those two pink lines and the day I finally hold our little babe in my arms! I'm so excited about planning our little one's nursery and beginning to talk about names and getting to do some shopping! I can't wait to share if we'll be buying hair bows or bow ties in the future :)

Running with Baby

I get a lot of questions about my running now that I'm pregnant so I thought I'd talk about my opinions on running while pregnant. First and foremost, YES, I am most definitely still running and plan to continue until the day I go into labor! My doctor supports my plan and encourages me to continue running, however if he ever does tell me for the health and safety of my baby or myself then I will absolutely stop running. Hopefully that won't happen.

Running is certainly different and definitely harder, however I still love and need running in my life! Exercise is not harmful for baby and can only benefit mom for both labor and the task of carrying a little one for nine months. I plan to do everything I can to be strong and healthy throughout these times. I've heard some people say that you shouldn't get your heart rate higher than a certain point. While it's certainly different for every woman, my doctor has told me that there is no need to worry about being above/below a certain number, but just being aware of my body and knowing when I'm feeling good and when I've pushed too hard. I've always been very aware of how my body feels while running and done a lot of my pacing by feel. It's no different now, which is great!

The important thing to remember when I talk about running while pregnant is that I ran ALOT before I was pregnant and I was a fairly good and experienced runner. So, while it may seem to a non-runner that I'm running a crazy amount while pregnant, the reality is that I've cut WAAAAY back. It's all relative to what I did before! No speed work, tempo runs or pacing on long runs. I run by feel and I don't stress about pace. If it feels hard I slow down or walk. I try to run 3-4 times per week for a total of about 15-20 miles, sometimes less. My average marathon pace before pregnancy was 8 min/mile or faster. I couldn't imagine maintaining that pace for half a mile now! I'm averaging anywhere between 9:45-11 min/miles now, even on short runs. I'm ok with a run being only 20 minutes (that was a warmup before!) My heart rate stays pretty even but if I feel like I'm breathing hard I stop for a walk and stretch break.

Have I mentioned that I love knowing I ran marathon #10 with a baby on board? Even though I didn't know I was pregnant yet, looking back on that marathon makes me smile. And, I'm really convinced that's why I bombed the last 6 miles...ugh, not my finest running moment. I guess I'll never know if I was ready to run the pace I was running and baby made things hard at the end or I wasn't conditioned enough to maintain the pace for longer than 20 miles. Oh well...either way things worked out just perfect. I still managed a 3:29, qualified for Boston again (and hope to run in 2014) and I've got a little one on the way. Perfect!

While 2013 is certainly going to be different than most years, I still have goals and plans for my running. During pregnancy my goals are to run strong and maintain my weekly mileage while staying injury free. I'm challenging myself to include stretching and using the foam roller as part of my daily routine as well as keeping up weights and core workouts a few times a week to stay strong. Since it's winter (and WAY to cold to ride outside) I have also set the goal to attend at least one spin class per week. I'm honestly not very motivated to swim so we'll see if I can ever get excited about getting to the pool. My goals postpartum are to return to running both healthy and motivated. While I know I'll be eager to get back out there I have set the goal of being patient with myself and allow my body to dictate the pace of my return, plus I want to find a healthy balance in my life with a little one. Once I am back to a regular running routine again I hope to train for a FUN marathon in the fall while enjoying running with baby and then start training hard in hopes of a marathon PR in 2014.

2013 Goals

Every year I like to set goals for myself, both personally and professionally. Below are my goals from 2012. I feel fairly good about what I was able to accomplish this past year, but definitely didn't get to everything on the list. 2012 was a great year but I know that 2013 is going to be the best yet! I'm very much looking forward to what this year has in store, most especially the arrival of our little one, but I have many things I would like to do to prepare our lives and just to make myself a better person before June. I feel a little overwhelmed squeezing in all of my 2013 goals (plus the leftovers from 2012) into barely 6 months, but I'm excited for the challenge. Hopefully putting my goals out there will help me to stick with them! 

My GOALS 2012

Become more focused with work and my business

Blog twice a week on a regular basis

Avoid "death by hard drive" of my personal photography
Spend more time (whether in person or on the phone) with friends - don't allow my great relationships with friends to fall away

Allow myself to learn more and grow; don't be afraid to take risks and do scary things to grow
Continue working towards confidence in my own personal style of photography and confidence in myself and my abilities as a photographer

*I feel like these I did not complete or I need to continue working on in the new year. 

Warren Home Renovation 2012: make the house I live in feel like OUR HOME

*As of today we are about 95% finished with our home remodel. I LOVE IT!!

Find and attend a conference or learning opportunity to grow myself and my business (WPPI Conference)
*I'm attending WPPI 2012
Run a sub-3:30 marathon
*I ran 3:29:35 at the Houston Marathon, January 15, 2012
Enjoy every moment (even the mile 25 moments) of running the Boston Marathon for the first time

*I loved every minute, even the post-marathon insane chafing! I can't wait to run again in 2014!

*Yay way to go!!

RUN HAPPY!

BE HAPPY!

Allow God to guide my life and accept His presence more in my life

Cook more new recipes and try more new ingredients all with the goal of eating healthfully and wholesome foods to strengthen our bodies
Cook more asian influenced meals on a regular basis
Eat and think of food in a more body-conscious way, consider food as a fuel for my health

*These are goals that I will continue to work on throughout 2013 since they are ongoing

My GOALS 2013

STRONG: my word of the year

ORGANIZATION

  -The house

    -Set things up so that I can maintain what I do. Create living systems that are realistic for who we are as a family.

    -Closet/Office/Kitchen/Living/Nursery

  -Photos:

    -Create an organized system for photographs so that I feel better shooting more but can DO more with my photos

    -Print and display photos on a more regular basis

  -De-clutter

  -Create routine and systems

GETTING THINGS DONE

  -Set goals

  -Get stuff done

  -Follow up

  -Make things happen

HOME

  -Finish the remodel and decorate the house

  -Photograph the results of the remodel and new decorations and share here. 

  -Host a party for friends to see all our hard work and the results!

BABY

Prepare:

  -Read and learn about what is to come

  -Plan photography and life documentation for baby

  -Prepare, paint and design nursery

  -Plan for baby gear/purchases

ME 

  -Read two books a month - combination of business and fun books

PERSONAL PHOTOGRAPHY

  -52 Week photo project 

  -Do something creative with photography every week that is just for me and not client related

  -Shoot more film

  -Document life and start working on a scrapbook/memory book system: whether it be an album or a plan for    creating blurb-style books each month/year

RUNNING

-Continue happy and safely running during pregnancy. While I won't be setting any time goals for my running this year I want to maintain running throughout my pregnancy, keep my body strong and healthy and return to running even stronger for the second half of the year. 

Goals during pregnancy:

  -Maintain steady weekly mileage

  -Stay injury free

  -Make stretching (and even yoga...gasp!) a part of my regular workout routine

  -Enjoy running and be ok with my new speed

  -Run the Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon

Goals postpartum:

  -Run strong

  -Be patient with my body and my return if it is not as fast as I imagined

  -Learn to balance my new baby priorities with running

  -Enjoy running with baby

  -Run 30 miles for my 30th birthday on September 14th

  -Run a marathon in fall/winter 2013 for FUN

  -Start training hard in the fall with the goal of new PRs and a spring marathon in 2014

MY BUSINESS

Overall branding of my business for 2013 to take HWP to a new level, this includes:

  -Website, blog, logo redesign

  -New paper products

  -Creating a cohesive vision for my company that includes a mission statement

  -Spend time thinking about what makes my business unique and special, what I like and who I am as a business owner so I can start conveying that in my brand

  -Organizational systems within my business that will make my life easier

  -Create a workflow

  -Offer more to clients in 2013

  -Narrow down my focus and put my efforts there

  -Continue shooting for me and staying creative

Oh Baby!

I've been trying to start this post a hundred times and just never have the right words to say. Finally, I realized I would never know the perfect way to talk about our exciting news so I'm just going to say it. 

We're having a baby!  

We found out mid-October and it's been amazing ever since! I'm so incredibly happy and excited. These ultrasound photos were taken at my 13 week appointment; it was so wonderful to see my little one bouncing around in there looking great. I can't even describe the love I already feel for this little one!

 I had a run a marathon the week before we found out, so I thought nothing of it when I was a couple days late and my tiredness was appropriately attributed to running a fast marathon. I finally decided to take a test. Seeing those two lines was such a shock; I couldn't even believe it at first! 

We are having a BABY and baby has already ran a marathon, pretty cool!

I was really nervous the first few weeks until we got to see our little bean in there. The next few weeks passed in a blur of exhaustion and nausea. It's incredible how quickly my body has changed as this little one grows inside me! I'm happy to still be running, although much slower and fewer miles per week, but I feel good continuing to exercise and I know it's good! I'm now 15 weeks, our little one is the size of a naval orange and growing quickly and so am I! I can't believe the changes my body is going through.

We are looking forward to many fun weeks and months ahead on this wonderful journey. In just a few short weeks we will find out the gender and hopefully soon I will feel some movement, I cannot wait! After a long absence here on this blog, I plan to update regularly and share how things are going along the way.

Cookie Project: Pistachio + Dark Chocolate Salted Cookies

Well, things are going ok here. Summer is winding down and I feel like very little I wanted got done actually got done. Our remodel has not made any progress for almost three weeks which is super frustrating. I hate the state of our house right now. I feel like I have to put off my decorating, organizing  not to mention cleaning plans for the house. I love our new wood floor but can't really enjoy it since the house is torn apart and progress is at a standstill. 

Will is hurt pretty badly and can't run while my running is finally feeling better again and I'm slightly motivated for my next marathon. I am attempting to stick to a plan and feeling mostly ok about it. I ran a 5k this past Saturday that left me frustrated with myself. I did not run well and can't explain why. I had a great 15 mile long run yesterday and a fun bike ride, so I'm feeling moderately good about my running. When other things aren't working well I tend to rely on my running to give me a sense of self confidence so when my running isn't going great I feel very low. We're hoping to get Will's bike this week so he can start riding with me and get some cardio and exercise since he cannot run. 

I LOVE cookies and baking continues to make me happy and I have began to realize that finding happiness isn't about some magical bolt of lighting coming out of the sky and making me happy, it's about doing little things that make me happy and make me who I am. Cooking, baking and photographing are those little things and it's important to make time for that.

Spending time with Will makes life so much better. I love him so much. He helped me shell all these pistachios for these cookies and he makes me feel better about myself when I'm sad or things don't go well (like my race). As I write this he is doing the laundry. I am a very lucky girl :)

These cookies turned out great and tasted awesome, although I do feel like I overcooked them a little bit and so they were pretty crunchy. I got worried that they were undercooked so I left them in the oven for an extra couple minutes and it was a bit too much. The pistachio was the perfect complement to the dark chocolate and despite being a bit crunchy, no one complained about the taste and they didn't last long!

Pistachio + Dark Chocolate Salted Cookies

Recipe from Joy the Baker

Makes about 24 cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips

1 cup shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped

Kosher salt for topping

Place rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars together until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes.   Add the egg and beat in for about 1 minute.  Add vanilla extract and beat to incorporate.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.  Add the mixture all at once to the butter mixture.  Beat on low speed until just incorporated.  Finally mix in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Dollop or scoop cookie dough by the 2 tablespoonful onto prepared baking tins.  Leave about 2 inches of room between each cookie.  Sprinkle generously with smoked sea salt.

Bake cookies for 18 minutes, or until just golden brown.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Cookie Project: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip

I love cookies. Seriously, love them. And as much as I love eating them, I love baking them even more. So, awhile back I decided to start a Cookie Project, inspired by Elise and her incredible blog and her bread and pizza projects. Seriously, I love reading about her life and try to have just a teeny bit of her enthusiasm and creativity in mine. But, back to the project. COOKIES! Yum. Everyone loves a good cookie, right? I've been compiling an array of recipes to try and put my own spin on. I want to make all the classics and try some creative and different cookies that I haven't made before. Also, I'm planning to make my childhood favorites that my Mom and Grandma made for us when we were kids.

This cookie starts my journey through a world full of delightful and yummy cookie recipes! Hope you enjoy them with me and feel free to suggest any other kinds of cookies. I tend to stick to my safety net of chocolate chip varieties but I'm really trying to branch out and try new things and test the limits of "cookie". I'll definitely be including healthy cookie options too. Because while everyone loves a good cookie, it's not realistic to sit around eating cookies all day and I love to experiment with cookies that can serve as energy boosters in a healthy way and still be tasty.

This oatmeal chocolate chip cookies was delicious and everything I was hoping for. Sweet, but not too much so with a good chewy outside and soft inside and a variety of textures with the addition of the pecans. I will be making these again since the ingredients are all things I keep on hand and they were super easy to throw together. And, they didn't last long either. Between me, my husband and my baking buddy Brooke they were gone in two days!

OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES (adapted from Pixelated Crumb)

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups (6 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups (3 3/4 ounces) old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup toasted pecans, chopped
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), slightly softened
• 1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

1. Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another medium bowl, mix together toasted pecans, oats, and chocolate chips.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together butter and sugar until no lumps remain, about 1 minute. Add the egg and vanilla, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula if necessary and mix for about 30 seconds. On low-speed, slowly add the flour mixture until just combined. Then turn off the mixer and fold in the oats and cherry mixture with a rubber spatula.
4. Roll dough into 1/4-inch balls and place on the baking sheet, lightly flattening each ball to 1-inch thickness. Place the balls 2 1/2 inches apart on the cookies sheets.
5. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 20-22 minutes, rotating the cookie sheet halfway through, until cookies are medium brown and the edges are set. Don't worry, the cookies will appear a little underbaked in the middle.
6. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Happiness

I missed out on the 12 on the 12th so I thought I would 

share what's bringing happiness to my life right now.  Photographs truly make me happy.