a whole lot of cuteness!!

i have been so busy with thanksgiving and editing photos, i have been slack on posting.  here are a few pictures from a recent photo shoot i did.  this little girl is one of my favorites to photograph.  there ought to be a warning label on the following photos....she is just so darn cute....i can not get enough of her.

from the beginning

this family has been with me from the beginning.  i can remember when this precious sweet girl was born.  my how the time flies.  this little girl {loves} her brother.  everything he did, she did too.  she is not afraid of {anything}.  these are just a few moments i captured of the two of them.

these next two are probably my favorites of the day:)!

Salomi with aged gouda and crackers

both jj and i had a super long weekend.  i had a few photo shoots, meetings and family events.  jj tagged along to all but then snuck off to the shed to work on a secret thing for what i hope to be an amazing well thought out anniversary gift:):). 

sunday keeps us pretty busy with cooking for the week.  in a previous post, we discussed smoking a turkey and using that for sandwiches.  this week, we boiled a chicken and made a very large bowl of chicken salad.  everyone has their own way of making chicken salad, so i didn't include our recipe.  but i am saving the chicken broth for a yet to be determined occasion.  i find chicken broth in place of water makes {just about} anything taste good. 

because it was such a busy weekend and i was kind of over cooking, we had a mouthwatering treat...not even remotely good for you....but oh so delightful.  we had this yummy trio on sunday as an appetizer before our yummy tomato and cheddar soup.  i won't take credit for any of it.  earthfare made this delish din din.  it was quick and easy...just heat it up!!!

race to end women's cancers

recently jj and i visited our nations capital to participate in an 8k race to end women's cancers.  it ended up being a {mini} africa reunion.  some of the peeps we met while climbing kilimanjaro came to dc to run with team teal diva.  i am humbled and honored.  it was so much fun catching up and re-visiting stories from the trip {the experience}.

we stayed up a little later than we probably should have because we were having so much fun catching up...many glasses of wine later...we were off to sleep.  the next morning after eating a bagel, drinking a gatorade/water and taking my daily allowance of advil to help the hangover, we were off to the race.  here is our fabulous team {not pictured are our very good friends benjy and arinn but they were there in full spirit}.

pictured from left to right is deborah, mickey, lisa, myself, jj and scott

Lisa lost her mom to ovarian cancer and is a chemotherapy nurse in boston...wow! scott and his wife deborah live in nc and were on the climb helping raise funds and awareness for clean water.  we all bonded with each of our reasons for climbing and the fact that we all made it.

leading up to the race, jj had {maybe} run like 3 times all together and none of which was a consistent mile.  i was running 3 miles pretty consistently, but i had not gotten up to 4 or 5.  i kind of just thought...well, i will walk if i need to.  scott is an iron man and his wife deborah is a cross fit instructor.  they lead the team.  mickey and lisa had intended to walk because {like jj} had not trained really.  mickey ran with jj and lisa ran with me.  and as it turned out jj and mickey did awesome and while he did walk some he finished the race {ahead of me}.  i did great too...lisa and i actually ran the entire time.  

i don't know if jj has found his running legs, but he wants to do another run with me...maybe a 5k.  we will see.

the rest of the trip {the rest of the day} could not have been better. spending time together with a group of people you shared such an amazing and intimate experience with is an unbelievable feeling.  And I am so very proud of jj for his unconditional love and support.

surprise myself

not even a month after treatment, i decided to run an 8k trail run...not the best decision i have ever made. i think my time was 1 hour and 45 minutes or maybe even 2 hours.  i had a large team of supporters and a sister who stayed with me the whole way.  looking back i can not believe i did this.  i was fresh out of treatment and wanted to prove cancer had not taken over my life...that i had control.  this was day 1 of learning i need to slow down, listen to my body and don't over do.

since my cancer treatment ended, i have a desire to be healthier and push myself to do things i would {probably} not have done before.  i have had a desire to run a 1/2 marathon, complete a long distance bike race from the {nc} mountains to the coast and participate in a triathlon sprint.  i have learned that i am a lot slower than i used to be.  that is not an excuse.  i have learned to pace myself.  it is ok to be slow.  over time, i have improved greatly and by listening to my body, i have actually not gotten frustrated and have stuck with it.  this was in the spring of 2010...later that year, i took a running class.  i was able to get up to 3 miles through the class and actually completed a few 5k's with my sister in 2011.  i was on track to cross off the 1/2 marathon.  but then plans changed.

i never had the intention of climbing mt kilimanjaro, that was a suggestion made by a friend.  but i am beyond glad i did it and i am forever changed by it.  after climbing, i took a few months off from exercising all together.  knowing i needed and wanted to get back into my track of completing my 1/2 marathon, i slowly started back up in the spring of 2012.  i hate running or exercising {period} when it is hot outside, so i took the summer off.  i started back up again with one goal in mind...run the diva 1/2 marathon in april 2013.

so i started back up slow again.  this time i alternate my running with a cross fit type of class {fight gone mad}.  it is unbelievable how much this has improved my endurance.

i ran a race in winston-salem recently in support of a friend and fellow survivor {katie} and was so surprised at how well i did.  i hadn't yet trained back up to 3 miles.  that day, i not only ran 3 miles, but did so in my best time yet.  here is a picture of katie and i.

next up {race to end women's cancer} in dc....an 8k....that is 5 miles.

iron anniversary gifts for 6 years

do any of you follow the anniversary gifts by year thing?  well jj and i do and while it can be fun and creative, it is also hard at times.  we are celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary and the gift is {iron}.  i have searched {google} all over the place for super cool and creative ideas.  most of what i found dealt with iron maiden {the band}, a golf club or an actual iron {really?}.

if you are like me, i like to give a well thought out gift...one that shows i went the extra mile.  i like giving gifts that not everyone will have.  here are a few ideas i found that are unique and off the cuff a bit (these are simply ideas i found to be different after hours of searching).  if you don't find any ideas that you love here perhaps it will get you thinking outside the box a little.  good luck:)

i know what you are thinking....wth? but it really brings together a fabulous look and combines the traditional gift of iron with the modern gift of wood.

the above is made from horseshoes and the company has a variety of things they can create.  you can combine initials or whatever.  horseshoes are said to bring good luck:)!

this is a vintage pencil sharpener made from cast iron and perfect for the office

iron man cuff links

i don't know if a guy would love this but i sure would:)!

Gibeon Iron Meteorite Cuff links

bottle openers in the shape of tools

an iron puzzle....in this {easy} scenario you must figure out how to release the heart.  there are more puzzles to choose from and they can get pretty difficult.

whole foods...not the grocery store:)

jj has been going back and forth to the doctor because he has had some issues with blood pressure, etc.  today he went and was told he had high blood pressure and was prescribed medicine....yuck:(.  we were trying to avoid that. i picked up some magazines that have a few recipes on cooking whole foods and making it through the holidays eating healthy, whole foods.

we have cut out a lot of sodium and processed foods from our diet anyway, but there is always room for improvement.  the specialist told him he needed to lay off of red meat....bummer.  red meat is a biggie.  we love it! so i went by the grocery store {home economist} and picked up some salmon, asparagus and carrots.

i seasoned the salmon with freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, lemon juice and freshly chopped basil.  we cut up the carrots and tossed them in a tablespoon of EVOO, freshly ground black pepper and sea salt.  It turned out to be pretty good.

White Chili

ok so this was my very first time making white chili. my friend at work gave me an off the cuff recipe. i went by a local grocery store {home economist} and picked up a few ingredients.  i bought a whole chicken, poblano peppers, heavy whipping cream, organic white navy beans and ingredients to make cornbread.  i boiled the chicken and created a stock.  i let the chicken boil for a while, took the chicken out of the stock and then added the meat from the chicken back into the stock.  i added the poblano peppers, chili powder, garlic powder, sea salt, white pepper and a yellow onion.  i let that cook for a good while {90 minutes} and then added the beans and heavy whipping cream.  it was really good, but i think i could have gone a little heavier with the chili powder.  just a little bland and a little runny, but all thing that can be fixed.  it was really good and a great finish to a chilly day:)!

1st Annual Teal Masquerade

 Recently my friend Elaine and Float Pool Bar hosted an event for Teal Diva.  It was so much fun!!!  It was a Teal Masquerade for charity. People came dressed up in costumes and all sorts of fun masks.  I rented my costume and paired it with a super cute pair of teal glitter converse.  The staff got so into it. Morris Costumes donated masks and decorations, a local decal shop donated signs with the Teal Diva logo...there was so many wonderful things about this event.  The most exciting was how supportive The Blake Hotel was in every facet.

This is truly an event we hope to have annually.  Thank you to everyone who showed up in support.