Monthly Archives: November 2016

• Early Morning Confessions

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on November 28, 2016

  1. I ran my first 5K race since 2012. I run the 5K distance all the time, but I once told myself it was a waste of money to pay for one as a race. Fast forward to Thanksgiving 2016 – I ate those words because just the thought of a 10K winded me.

  

  I still managed a 9:42 pace though. I’ll take it.

  2. My pre race meal consisted of an entire package of tofu. I don’t recommend that, the GI struggle was so real.

  3. Thanksgiving was all kinds of marvelous. My angelic mother and I made a raw pumpkin pie that is so decadent I’m still nursing it five days later. Who lets pie last five days!?

  

  4. Christmas music has been playing in my car since before Thanksgiving. I have no shame.

  5. I’m on a solid whole foods kick and loving it. I’ve been trying to ditch terrible eating habits for months now.

  

  

  

  6. I’ve been tearing though cruciferous vegetables and jars of peanut butter. That combo is enough to do some damage to the ozone layer due to all the methane I’ve produced.

  7. I worked on black Friday, which is fine by me. I don’t partake in the shopping madness and already had three days in a row off. It was bizarre being in such a large building with so few people. The 8th floor cafe was closed and I had the entire lobby to myself.

  

  8. I’ve dipped my toes back in to the rivers of coffee. I limit my intake to no more than 10 oz, and water it down significantly, but I’m thrilled to be slowly drinking it again after months away.

  9. I continue to be charmed by the holiday vibes of the workplace. Thanks for being awesome Starbucks.

  

  10. I’ve been indulging in “self care” lately. By that I mean I’ve been getting massages twice a month because it makes me happy. I even went as far as getting a pedicure with a girlfriend last weekend. I don’t get pedicures…but I wear sandals year round and my feet were looking pretty rough.

  The last time I got a pedicure was April of 2012. You can read my experience here. I don’t dare get a mani/pedi combo EVER again.

  Q: What’s your confession?

  

  | 64 Comments Tagged Confessions, Plant Based, Race, Running, Starbucks, Thanksgiving, Vegan

• S-NOOOOO

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on November 24, 2016

  My hiking adventures are coming to a stand still. Not permanently, but I can’t say I’m a fan of the snow and the white blanket of death is upon us.

  

  

  He loved it. I did not. Snow was not expected when we ventured to the mountains last week, but neither was getting stuck in the mud. The weather was dreary, but that’s not enough to stop me from an adventure. The plan was to explore a new trail, but plans quickly changed.

  The gravel road to the planned trail head was in terrible condition. We’re talking multiple mini lake like potholes, and soft mushy earth. This spells disaster when driving a car not equipped for the mountains. Fear swept through my body the entire time we attempted to find the trail head, fear we wouldn’t get past the mini lakes, fear we would glissade in the soft earth losing control of the vehicle and plummeting down the narrow side of the mountain, and fear the car would get stuck.

  Then, the latter happened. 

  

  After ten-ish minutes of heightened driving, the car got stuck in the mud. Momentary panic passed through our bodies, and after a few pedal to the metal attempts we were able to slip and slide out of the mud. We decided it was best to go to a trail we knew would be less sketch. With Jesus music blasting, and only a few external screams (with many, many internal screams) we made it back to the main road.

  Praise. 

  A tried and true trail, Mount Zion is not a difficult climb. 4.6 miles RT and a mere 1300′ gain, with the max elevation at 4274′. Typically I find that snow hits around 4500′ and above, but I stand corrected. Among all the snow was an abundance of Usnea, aka Old Man’s Beard. Known for its effects against certain bacterium, it can be used to fight sore throats, skin infections, inflammation, and more.

  So we ate some, because why not? 

  

  and yet, he’s wearing shorts.

  Quick and to the point, this trail provided just the right amount of burn. The snow covered the top completely (more so than in these photos), but there was only about an inch. Nothing we couldn’t trudge through. Any higher in elevation and a change of shoes would have been necessary. I begrudgingly accepted that winter is here.

  One perk of winter – my Friday evening commute, which gives me the below view. 

  

  We shall see how many more hikes I attempt above 4k’ this winter. Never say never.

  Q: Do you like snow? 

  

  | 70 Comments Tagged Hike, Mount Zion, PNW, Winter

• What I Learned in California

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on November 15, 2016

  As I recap my recent travels to California this past week, I’d like to share my latest learning’s. Knowledge is power after all. Here we go.

  1. Shoving all your stuff into one medium sized back pack while traveling makes the transition from one state to another SO.MUCH.SMOOTHER. I’ve been using this bag for week longs trips for a few years now. Minimalism = less stress.

  

  2. Driving on the freeways of California are not nearly as terrifying as I anticipated. I even managed to keep up with the locals. 80 is the new 60.

  3. California continues to KILL IT with the vegan eats. If I were a rodent I would never leave the dumpsters behind the below restaurants.

  

  Peace Pies – San Diego

  

  Peace Pies – San Diego

  

  Native Foods – Carlsbad

  

  Native Foods – Carlsbad

  

  Choice Superfood Bar & Juicery – San Diego

  5. I love Washington. This isn’t new, but I’m always reminded when I travel away from my home state why I love it so much. The fresh air is unbeatable. Thank you trees, keep trapping toxins in your trunks.

  6. I learned what the Santa Ana winds are. Aka abnormal heat waves. Running at 7:30pm, in the dark, and it was 80 degrees!

  

  7. I’m not as anti social as I thought. I made a gaggle of new friend this weekend. It was swell. This helped me appreciate my alone time when I got home. #recharge.

  8. Trails in California are not like trails in Washington. They have their own kind of uniqueness, but nothing compares to the peaks in my area. Tried to hike multiple (baby/under 2k’ elevation) mountains, but due to above mentioned Santa Ana, fire warnings were high.

  Managed one adventure in the mountains to watch the sunrise.

  

  

  9. Toilets are not always porcelain. I went to a restaurant with all black toilets and they made my bum feel extra fancy. Pinky up.

  10. Running on the beach is no joke. No joke at all. I’m no road runner, but my pace slowed from a 10min/mile to a TWELVE minute mile (and some change) once I found my feet in the sand. Was great.

  

  11. Two more people told me I look like Ashley Judd. Puts my tally over ten people now. I’m thinking about quitting my job and moving to Vegas to be a stand in wax statue for Ashley.

  12. I really, really, really don’t like makeup, but I do like fancy hair. Being a bridesmaid means you get fancy hair and ten pounds of make up. I had more make up on my face in one night then I typically have in one year. I’m still washing it off three days later.

  

  

  

  

  More wedding photos and shenanigans to come. 

  Q: Fancy hair, or fancy face? Definitely hair. I really want to chop mine off so it’s short like these photos. 

  | 61 Comments Tagged Ashley Judd, California, Hiking, Running, Vegan, Wedding

• Navigating November

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on November 7, 2016

  With the blink of an eye here we are on November 7th. I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween, I stayed home and handed out handfuls of candy to needy children. I did wear black and orange striped tights to work on Halloween — tights that belonged to my sister, my significantly shorter than me sister, they ripped. In an uncomfortable location.

  I hated my commute that day. 

  

  Just because jack o lantern season is over doesn’t meant it’s time to put the pumpkins away. I found a place that honors October, November, and December all in one spot. We’re talking pumpkins in the front, Christmas tree’s in the back.

  When your seasons start to blur together.

  

  

  OK, I got my pumpkin patch fix for the year. Moving on.

  Work

  Work has been good, I’m finally at the point where I don’t feel new in my role. This is my first Christmas in the corporate building and they don’t mess around when it comes to celebrations.

  

  Play

  I managed three hikes last week. I’m trying to get them squeezed in before the white sheets of death plague us. I don’t like snow, I’m a Grinch.

  

  

  Don’t get excited, he’s my coworker.

  

  I’m severely out of shape, but can still manage to trudge along on some of the steeper hikes. The more out of breath I am the more of a reminder that I’m not moving enough lately. I’m the most out of shape (and heaviest) I’ve been in years, but the best part about starting at the bottom is there is no where to go but up.

  

  Eat

  Chipotle slapped me with the good karma stick yesterday and gave me so much guac, I surely had the equivalent of at least an entire avocado. Part of it was still in tact. Yes.

  

  I tried a new to me vegan place on the island. I’ve walked past it many times, but never bought a meal until now. It made my face all kinds of hot, but it was worth it.

  

  Life

  I recently watched Leonardo DiCaprio’s documentary Before the Flood. I was enamored by the way he brought this piece to life with information from a myriad of sources. I believe climate change is real, and the devastation that we are causing to this planet is mind blowing. Even if you don’t believe in the science, I encourage you to watch.

  Even if you don’t believe this is happening, if you have a soul you must realize the damage being done to the earth in order to gather fossil fuels, the devastation to our forests (which house the trees to filter the air we breathe!) to make way for new buildings, and the extinction of rainforests that house many species. 

  No change is too small to help reverse atmospheric CO2 emission from fossil fuel use and forest/land destruction. I originally adapted a plant based diet for ethical reasons, however I cannot help but believe this lifestyle to be immensely beneficial for the planet. Factory farms (specifically cattle) produce ungodly amounts of methane (CH4) gas. According to Leo’s film, every molecule of CH4 is the equivalent of 23 molecules of CO2. Insane. 

  I encourage you to think about what small change you can make today to help restore decades of damage. 

  Wednesday I fly off to California for this girls wedding. I’m not sure what shenanigans I’ll get myself into with my free time, but you already know it’ll be posted here sometime the following week. Happy Monday – do something nice for someone else today, and let’s reduce those carbon footprints one step at a time!

  

  Seen on my commute.

  Q: What are your thoughts on global warming? All views welcomed here. 

  

  | 47 Comments Tagged Explore, Hike, Life, Vegan

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• Contact: blissfulbritt@yahoo.com

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