The Beginning

Eat. I love food. I love to cook and I love to eat. I have a pretty big collection of cookbooks that I love to pour over from time to time. I judge a trip by the meals we eat and I love the adventure of trying new foods.

Pray. I had a friend once describe me as a "seeker". I don't know if it was meant as a compliment, but I took it as one. I think this life is about exploring and discovering our spirituality and our connection to everything.

Run. This is my newest passion. I was introduced to running a long time ago, but I've found a new love for it in the past year. Not only do I love to run because of how it makes me feel, but I find that it makes the other two things (Eating and Praying) even more wonderful.

So, why blog about these things? Honestly, I'm not sure yet. I just know that I've really wanted to start writing, and these are the three things that are usually at the front of my mind these days. Where the heck are your kids and husband in the name of this blog, you say? Well, during most moments of the day, they are my entire life. But, running has taught me that to be able to give to them, I have to give to myself. The three things listed above (Eat. Pray. Run.) fill me up. So, I'm going to keep making room for them in my life, and then I'm going to tell you about it.

Some other (interesting?) things about me:

• I can be pretty freakin sarcastic. I actually love sarcasm quite a bit (kind of a strange thing to love, eh?), but I try to keep it in check since I know not everybody shares my affinity for it. Whatever.
  
• I'm an only child. My husband sometimes eludes to the fact that this may make me a little bit self-centered and unable to go with the flow when things don't go exactly as I've planned them to go in my head. (Whatever.)


• I'm a control-freak. (see above)
  
• I love being outside and doing pretty much anything in nature. I think running is an amazing way to connect (Pray.) with your surroundings and don't consider a trip/vacation complete unless I've gotten to run there. I think that's how you can really know a place.
  

With respect to the last bulleted point, I recently had a few amazing runs during a trip we took to southern California. I got to run with one of my best friends from high school alongside the beach in Carlsbad. The sun was bright and warm, the air was cool and clean, and I got to spend some real time with a wonderful friend, who I don't get to see very much since she now lives in London. It was pretty near perfect. And, not only did we get to enjoy a wonderful run together, but then an amazing meal. We had brunch at The Naked Cafe. If you're ever in Carlsbad, California and want to have the perfect after-run brunch, you must go here. If I'd been blogging then, I would've taken some pictures of the pesto scrambled eggs, grilled zucchini and perfect latte I had that morning. It was incredible. Then, a few days later, I got to go on another run with a friend of mine who I've only really gotten to know over the past five years. She and her husband (a childhood friend of my husband) and their two little girls live in Ocean Beach, which is an amazing, eclectic, beach community with a ton of personality and soul. She and I got to go for a run along Sunset Cliffs~a breathtakingly beautiful place. Talk about being filled up. That's something I've recently realized about running: it clears and opens up your mind which, I think, clears and opens up a space for God to enter in. Hence, I think running is a truly spiritual thing. (I also like to fill the openness with cookies. But, that's another post entirely.)

So, I guess I'm gonna keep eating, praying and running and hope it takes me somewhere fun on this blog. Here's to a new adventure!