Flash Drive Found!

The last two weeks have been busy! I've been trying to update with what has been going on, but I misplaced my flash drive to update our running distance so I've been slow to post. I finally hunted it down tonight and increased our running distance by 38 miles since my last post!

We have fished, watched our first polo match, biked on the bike path (a lot!!), baked some amazing cookie brownies, and of course run!

This summer we have had a lot of Ahi so we were really excited when we caught this 40ish pound Ono! It was so big didn't even fit in the cooler!

A recent new addiction for me has been Pinterest. I can always find time to pin, and I came across a recipe for the brownies below. They were so good! I can't wait to make them again. I'll definitely be sharing the recipe! Super easy too!

 We were invited to watch our first Polo Match and really enjoyed it. I think I actually enjoyed the champagne more, but I can't seem to remember now :)

I wish I could capture the smell of the bike path! The flowers and fruit trees are so fragrant!  No matter what is going on, it puts a smile on my face. 

 

And the last thing I've been doing in all my spare time is reading! I stumbled upon a lot of kindle books recently so I've been keeping my self busy. My guilty pleasure? The Hunger Games! Speaking of which, I should probably go and start the third book!

Good Night!

Not even half way

Saturday was a big day for us! Our runs during the week are going great! We can easily fit in an hour long run without a problem. Or even better, two days a week we only have to run 3 miles. Of course we all look forward to the weekend but I'm beginning to change my mind! We know with the long runs we need to have a plan in order for us to keep our training moving in the right direction. So, on Saturday after Rush landed (He sat in First Class so I don't think it was a bad flight for him!) we went to base and started our 12 mile run. Yes, no mistake in typing....12 miles. For us it's the longest distance we have run and I didn't think it would be too bad.  I miscalculated how long we would run and with about a quarter left, I realized it! I didn't have much of a choice anyway because I was determined to finish!  I'm happy to have it behind us but I realize our weekend runs will keep getting longer! We are starting week 8 of our training today and so far my body is feeling fine. No knee problems or aches...hopefully it stays that way!


                                     Here is our after running picture...I was exhausted!!!
             But if anyone is worried(Han), I promised we stopped to hydrate and have a snack :)

                                        
                    Our poor feet after 12 miles...I can't imagine 26.2! I hope you like my slipper tan! 
                                 That is what happens when you do everything in slippers!

On a completely different topic, our fruit trees are going off! The papaya tree is continuously producing fruit for us and I can't keep up! I'm giving them away as quickly as possible! This is our first lime off the baby tree below. It has been this size for about 3 months and I finally picked it. I guess it is just small! Our avocado trees are ready to picked and I think today might be the day! We have been waiting for this day for over a year! I can not tell you how excited I am to have our own avocado trees!!

To finish an already amazing weekend, some of friends went fishing yesterday and caught an Ahi! It was 140lbs!!! Can you guess what we had for dinner?

I'm out of hiding!

I don't know how so much time has passed!! I wish I could say I was on some exotic island without an internet connection, but I have a feeling you might know that isn't the truth. My posts stopped once I arrived back on Oahu. Spending time with Rush and working on our home were so my top priorities so I put everything else to the side. We were able to to accomplish a lot of work and our home is feeling like it's almost complete. 

Rush and Guy digging holes with the Auger.

This fence was a huge project! We put in over 260 feet of fence so it was very time consuming! It is done now and our little compound is great.

Here is another recent project. I repainted our nightstands, and I love how they turned out! It's definitely a bright color but it turned out great!

We also were able to take a little visit to see our best friends in St. Louis...Hannah, Kenny and Evan! Earlier this year we became Evan's Godparents and we couldn't be more excited. We love that kid so much! It's hard to be so far away. He is growing so quickly and doing really well. I love hearing him talk and repeat everything you say. You can't help but laugh all the time when you are around him. 

Our family photo

Puzzle Time!

Being on vacation gave me plenty of time to be in the kitchen so I had a blast trying new recipes. I'll eventually get around to posting them but for now here are a few pictures of one of the easiest and somewhat healthy desserts! Obviously it's a little healthy when you don't completely overload your banana (like Rush!). We took small bananas, slit them down the middle and added toppings. Peanut butter chips, milk chocolate chips, almonds, marshmallows, and peanut butter.  Am I missing anything?

We also had to make a stop in St. Louis! I love Trader Joe's and miss not having one close by. I have my necessities that I have to pick up so we made a quick stop during one of the gnarliest storms I have seen in awhile. But don't worry, the following morning we were woken up nice and early to the tornado siren. The storms kept rolling in so we enjoyed some time together in the basement! Of course that meant movie time with Evan! We hung out and watched The Lion King :)

We followed up the night with my first Dark and Stormy. Thanks for introducing me to this drink Hannah! 

                   Here are few more pictures from our visit...Rush taking a turn on Rody!

 And now Evan having fun with Uncle Rush before the movie started at the Drive-In Movie Theater!

 

Last but not least we have an announcement! It looks like we are training for our first marathon! We have decided to do the DMZ Peace Marathon in September. We have talked about it for years and figured this would be a great opportunity for us. How many people can say they have run near the DMZ?? Our runs have been going really well and even though I stopped keeping track, I can assure you my mileage keeps going up. This is from a couple of weekends ago...9 Miles done!  We are doing 12 this weekend so hopefully it goes well!

I've missed blogging so I'll be back more often! Check back soon :)

One Bridge Down

26 more to go! I decided to go out for a nice long run today (7 miles is long for me!) and decided to go in a random direction.  The great thing about running around town on the weekend is it isn't too busy so you don't have to worry about dodging people everywhere you turn.

I haven't mentioned it before, but one thing that is great about this city is how safe it really is all the time. People let their small kids walk around and use the subway by themselves, the girls leave their wallets and purses on the table if they get up to go to the restroom and people just leave their keys in their motorcycles!  It's hard to see in the picture below, but no one even tries to steal the Papa Johns mopeds!

Running around a new city is always a great way to see the sights. I can't wait to get back out there!

Lotus Lantern Festival 2011

Happy Birthday Buddha!

Today was a huge celebration for Buddha's Birthday. The Lotus Lantern Festival is held every year here in Insadong. I'm so excited we were able to be a part of it and experience the festivities. Our morning was standard which of course means buckwheat bakes and a few errands!

*Side note--The BEST granola came in today and I can't wait to have it tomorrow! I'm so excited! Thank you Michele's Granola!

We hoped on the Subway and headed down to get the afternoon started. We knew we wanted to grab lunch in Insadong so we wondered around until we were both starving and couldn't wait any longer. We were really boring and went to a Cafe to grab something quick.

After our veggie sandwiches it was time to head back out. Insadong is an artsy area with many pottery and painting shops. It has a lot of tradition Korean artifacts so it's always interesting to see. The Lantern Parade wasn't starting until dusk so after all the walking, someone needed a refreshing beer or two to keep him going.

This was the bar we stopped to for drinks. I thought the sign was pretty funny. I love advertisements here!

We were early enough to make it to the front row of the parade and stayed to see tons of lanterns and people celebrating the holiday. I found this description of the Festival from a Korean Website 

"The Yeon Deung Hoe is a traditional Korean folk festival that began in the Goryeo Period (918 - 1392) as the Lotus Lantern Assembly (Yeondeunghoe) and continued in the Joseon Dynasty (1392 - 1910) as the Lantern Celebration (Kwandeung-nori). According to Buddhist beliefs, the act of lighting a lotus-shaped lantern will light up the dark parts of one's soul. By doing this, the evil and flawed parts of one's soul are stripped away leaving only a clean slate to start anew. Lanterns are also lit to dispel the darkness that is in the world, symbolizing one's hope for a wiser and more compassionate society. "

It was fun be surrounded by happy, cheering people. The lanterns were incredible to see and can't wait to see what our next adventure will be here in Seoul. I have a ton of pictures I'll be posting tomorrow so check back!

Beginning to End

Here is my day from start to finish in pictures.

 

I turned and empty boring jar into...

 

Steel Cut Oats with PB&J, Chia Seeds and Banana!

And headed to Osan for a quick trip with Rush. Most important stop was the music store!

And in the distance we saw something that looked very familiar

 

A Hickam Bird! A crew from Rush's old Squadron came out so we had dinner with them. I'm so excited to get back and start flying in Hawaii!

And to prove that Rush does eat fast food I had to take this picture. I know everyone thinks I don't let him, but that isn't true!!!

And the most random pictures of the day go to the bus station at Osan. I mean who really needs a whole bag of cough drops or lollipops? Or even a large bottle of lotion?

 

Did you say you needed aftershave? Don't worry, they have that too!

We had a really good day and I'm happy we made the trip down to Osan. It never disappoints but I'm always happy to get back home to Seoul. Tomorrow is one of the biggest festival's here and I can't wait to go and check it out. Just as everyone on the East Coast is getting up, we are headed to bed! Good Night