Mark’s [5-ingredient] Guacamole

First of all, meet my brother:

Don’t let his face fool you… he loves me.

I wouldn’t say he’s a health food advocate (ok, not really at all. Although his wife does keep him in line.) but when our family got together, he announced he’d be making his “world famous guacamole” for us. Obviously, I was excited because 1. I love guacamole and 2. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my brother make anything but popcorn and macaroni and cheese.

He picked out his ingredients, and started chopping things up in the kitchen.

It was only a few moments after he put the bowl on the table, when we all went crazy for it. It’s some seriously delicious stuff, and it’s also simple enough to be added to the “5-ingredients or less” recipe list!

Mark’s World Famous Guacamole

• 4 avocados
• 1/2 purple onion
• 1 lime
• 1 jalapeno
• salt

He scooped out the flesh of the guacamole, and mashed it all up. Then he diced the onion and the jalapeno. For our family, he only added half the jalapeno, but on his own, I’m sure he throws it all in. (My brother and I share a love of hot sauce.) Then he just squeezed in the juice from the lime, and added salt to taste. So easy, but so delicious.

 

This recipe is so simple, but so delicious. I have no idea why people think guacamole has to be complicated. I’ll definitely be recreating this at home soon.

And now, I’m heading out for a run with Brittany! I’m more excised than usual, since it’s finally cool enough for me to wear my new Lululemon running capris 🙂

It feels good to be starting the week off with a run! (Even though morning runs generally only happen if I have someone holding me accountable…)

Are you a guacamole lover like me, or do you prefer salsa?

New & Exciting Goal!

I was a little scared to actually announce this as a goal, because once I announce it… I feel like I have to do it. But that’s good, right? (I think it’s called accountability…)

I just signed up for the Richmond half-marathon in November!

I’ve always wanted to try running a half marathon, since the longest distance I’ve done so far is 10K.

As for a training plan, I’m planning on loosely following this plan from Fitness magazine.

But I have a few important imperatives:

• I refuse to decline social events for “training” – I’m not an Olympian. I don’t have to give up fun for running.
• I will not get out of bed before 8am on a weekend, unless I’m in the mood to do so, which I won’t be, ever.
• I will not let running dictate my diet. I’ll eat when I’m hungry, I’ll stop when I’m full. None of that craziness.

So I think I’ll call this the “How To Run A Half Marathon And Still Have A Life” plan.

 

One last thing, time to announce the winner of the Nasoya Giveaway! (I can’t figure out how to paste in the Random Number Generator picture… but it was #89!)

Congrats, to Min of Savor the Rainbow! E-mail me your shipping info, and I’ll have Nasoya send out your prize pack!

Alright, who has some tips for me?

Tripping & Packing

Tripping: Of the sidewalk variety. And of the road variety.

Wednesday evening, I finally worked up the motivation to go for a run. I grabbed my work phone (since I was waiting for an e-mail) and ran out the door. I got about a mile from my house, and glanced down at my phone to check and see if I had an e-mail. That’s when I tripped over the random cliff in the sidewalk.

Faceplant.

There was a lot of blood. I won’t post the picture, because it’s gross, but if you follow me on twitter, you probably saw the aftermath. I actually didn’t feel that bad at first, and I jogged the rest of the way home. I walked around the fan with some friends, and then after a couple of hours, I realized my knee was super swollen, and I couldn’t really bend my leg. Sweet.

I’m mostly just disappointed that I won’t be able to work out for awhile. Then again, it’s not that bad of timing, since I’ll be in a car for most of the weekend.

Eric and I will be road tripping from Virginia to Dallas on Saturday & Sunday.

I’m pretty excited to see the great state of Texas! What I’m not excited about, is packing.

I’m actually really bad at packing. I bring things I don’t need, I forget things I do need. I just throw everything in a suitcase, and then I can’t find things unless I literally empty out my whole suitcase… it’s bad. And since I have to go in a truck from Virginia to Texas, a plane from Dallas to Ohio, and a Yaris from Ohio to Virginia… I need to pack light.

So I did some research, planned it out, and packed my heart out.

Here’s what went in the suitcase:

• Clothes- 4 dresses, 2 pairs of shorts, 3 sets of workout clothes, 1 swimsuit, 3 t-shirts, 3 blouses, 1 pair of cropped pants, 2 summer scarves, lots of underoos.
• Shoes- limited myself to 1 pair of sandals, 1 pair of flats, and 1 pair of heels. (Then I wore my running shoes, since those take up the most space.)
• Makeup- instead of packing full sizes like I normally do, I picked up the essentials at CVS. These are also perfect for packing to the gym.
• Jewelry- A girl’s gotta accessorize…

In my giant purse, Ill pack my Macbook, Camera, Kindle, journal, phones, chargers, & snacks. (Obviously.)

Road Trip Friendly Snacks:

I’m not always a fan of what’s available on the road, so these snacks should keep me from getting too grouchy in the passengers seat 😉

What’s the one thing you always forget when you’re packing?