Catching up from the weekend? Check out some fun things I shared:

• A Special Announcement (also the week’s FFF Features)
• 10K Race Recap (smashed my goal time!)
• Self-Love Reflection of the Week: Forgiving Yourself

PS – Last call for anyone interested in the spin-off on my Strengths Out Loud post. Email me a photo to go along with the strength(s) you gave in the comments or that you want to say out loud and proud!

Saturday night Peter and I had the chance to go out for a date to celebrate our four year wedding anniversary.

We played like a happy couple. I actually got in a dress. Peter wore cologne. It was like our first dates all over again. 😉

Actually, it really was. We hit up The Cheesecake Factory since it holds special memories as where we went to dinner the night we became “official”.

Plus, I love this restaurant. I guess it should come as no surprise I love a restaurant that will inevitably end with an epic dessert. You know me too well.

We grabbed a table outside to have a little bit more of a quieter atmosphere.

The two of us can still talk forever about all sorts of things. Communication is key in any successful relationship, right? We talked about the various crazy dreaming ideas I keep having pop in my head, things Peter wants to accomplish on the house, the kids (because we can’t ever leave them fully behind), our upcoming vacation, and people watching. We love people watching.

Then, it came time for the food. I still had quite the appetite from the race earlier in the day so I ate a bunch of the tasty complimentary bread.

It took me awhile to decide on my dinner because the extensive menu had so many things that sounded amazing. I finally settled on two appetizers as my dinner – the ahi tuna tempura roll appetizer…

…and the French Country salad which included mixed greens, fresh beets, goat cheese, and pecans in a balsamic vinaigrette.

The flavor combos of each dish were completely different, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t decide and each was phenomenal. I left with a very satisfied belly and some cheesecake to go. Please don’t judge when I tell you we planned ahead and brought a cooler to stash our cheesecake while we went to a movie. Oh, yes we did. We had to save our cheesecake to enjoy for when our bellies had room. The 2 hour length of a movie = the perfect amount of time to make room for dessert.

We had a deal for Fandango to use up so decided to tack a movie on to our date. It took a little convincing to get Peter to agree to Bridesmaids, but I knew I wanted to see this movie after hearing so many rave reviews on its hilarity. Reviews = confirmed. It really was so funny. We laughed the entire movie!

Good ole belly laughs worked off our dinner, so we ended the night at home with our cheesecake. A slice of the red velvet and the Reese’s peanut butter cheesecakes to share. Be still my heart. Be still.

I almost shed a tear at the knowledge that it will likely be another year before I get to enjoy their cheesecake again. Fortunately I know there will be many more anniversaries…which means many more special annual trips to Cheesecake Factory.

• Do you have any restaurants that have a special memory for you?
• Do you like Cheesecake Factory? What is your favorite thing to order if so?

Holla for Thursday!!! And all the new faces I keep seeing popping up around here in the comments. Hi, friends! 🙂

This week keeps going at the speed of light! It also keeps getting better and better. Things keep turning out better than expected. Like my speed work run on Tuesday. Or getting lots of things accomplished which I expected to cause a ton of stress. Or receiving exciting news I did not expect to get. Or when a random dinner pulls together tastier than I could have hoped.

I shall call this little masterpiece “Rainbow White Bean Salad” for its colorful variety. So simple – aka open, chop, mix, and toss a bunch of random whatever. So flavorful – aka lots of fresh goodness going on in that bowl. So Tina – aka filling and good for a budget.

Rainbow White Bean Salad (for 2)

• 1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
• 6 oz artichoke hearts, chopped
• 1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 small red onion, diced
• 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced small
• 1/2 large cucumber, chopped
• 1 T minced garlic
• 2 T olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon

Simply combine all the ingredients. Stir to combine. Allow to chill until ready to eat. I love summer food. Why can’t winter food come together this easily? Oh, yea. You have to actually cook. Blech.

Now that I have enticed you all with beans at breakfast time, I shall move on to other things rattling around in my brain. Like my race on Saturday and the question I currently bat back and forth in the tennis courts of my mind. To Garmin or NOT to Garmin?

I love my little run toy. It does wonders for me during training runs. It allows me to just go without having to plan out every bit of my route. It helps me learn more about my pacing. It guides me during things like tempo runs where I have a goal pace. Yet, as this is my first 10K and I mainly have the goal to finish strong (which hopefully involves a sub 1:00 time), I’m considering running the race without my little pal.

I want to see how simply trusting my body and just going works out for me in a race setting. I wonder if trying to focus on my pace by keeping up with Mr. G could actually hinder me during a race. Right now I lean toward going without it to see how it plays out and if it would be something I enjoy for future races. I want to trust my training and trust my body. I guess in my mind all I can do on race day is get out there and run. Hopefully I have learned enough to race smartly and finish strong.

• If you run races, how closely do you track your pace?
• What is your favorite thing about summer food?