Taking The Long Way Home

Kim and Lauren are a mother/daughter team, training to run the Disneyland Half Marathon in September of 2012. Kim, the the 50-something mom is vegan, and is training at the literally breathtaking altitude of 7,000 feet in Taos, NM. She has never been any kind of athlete before. Lauren, the 20-something daughter, is mostly vegetarian, and is doing her training in Seattle, WA. Running isn't new to her, but distance running is. This weekly blog, written by both of them, documents the journey, and hopefully, will inspire a few others to follow a dream, do something that's harder than they ever imagined they'd do on purpose, and enjoy the entire journey. Find all the entries by entering "Kim and Lauren" in the "search this blog" box to the left. Kim: Last Friday I "ran" 9 miles, and felt amazingly good afterwards. My perceived problem at the moment though, is that I'm still doing a lot more walking than running. So I've switched gears this...

My very own recipe for Tofu Chilaquiles with Mexican Mole Sauce , originally posted on my other blog, PositivelyVegan , is featured on the Food page of BlogHer today! This makes me very happy!

Kim and Lauren are a mother/daughter team, training to run the Disneyland Half Marathon in September of 2012. Kim, the the 50-something mom is vegan, and is training at the literally breathtaking altitude of 7,000 feet in Taos, NM. She has never been any kind of athlete before. Lauren, the 20-something daughter, is mostly vegetarian, and is doing her training in Seattle, WA. Running isn't new to her, but distance running is. This weekly blog, written by both of them, documents the journey, and hopefully, will inspire a few others to follow a dream, do something that's harder than they ever imagined they'd do on purpose, and enjoy the entire journey. Find all the entries by entering "Kim and Lauren" in the "search this blog" box to the left. Kim: Some days this is just... really hard. I am not a natural runner, or if I once was, as a kid maybe, I've forgotten everything I knew. I'm learning it all again, and I'm willing and eager to learn....

A quick look around here will tell you I've made some changes. It's what I do. Change things. I know it confuses some people, and upsets others. But as the saying goes, If nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies.  I was on the verge of ending this particular blog, thinking it had served it's purpose, but Lauren talked me out of it, reminding me that everything I do is part of the journey, part of the long way home. She's right, the little smartie. And what I figured out is that the blog is the blog, and the beads are the beads, and each one needs its own home. So I built a new website for the beads, and moved them to their new digs over the weekend. The website address is, as always, www.kimmiles.com . The BeadShop is linked from there on its own little tab that takes you straight to the BigCartel shop I've been using all along. That part didn't really change at all, but the route to it did change slightly. You'll figure it out, I have no d...

Kim and Lauren are a mother/daughter team, training to run the Disneyland Half Marathon in September of 2012. Kim, the the 50-something mom is vegan, and is training at the literally breathtaking altitude of 7,000 feet in Taos, NM. She has never been any kind of athlete before. Lauren, the 20-something daughter, is mostly vegetarian, and is doing her training in Seattle, WA. Running isn't new to her, but distance running is. This weekly blog, written by both of them, documents the journey, and hopefully, will inspire a few others to follow a dream, do something that's harder than they ever imagined they'd do on purpose, and enjoy the entire journey. Find all the entries by entering "Kim and Lauren" in the "search this blog" box to the left. Kim : First, brief apologies for being late this week. Lauren is moving, and I've been in Santa Fe for a little Bead Fest break. We have a loose plan to blog each Wednesday, but we also know we have to stay fl...

Kim and Lauren are a mother/daughter team, training to run the Disneyland Half Marathon in September of 2012. Kim, the the 50-something mom is vegan, and is training at the literally breathtaking altitude of 7,000 feet in Taos, NM. She has never been any kind of athlete before. Lauren, the 20-something daughter, is mostly vegetarian, and is doing her training in Seattle, WA. Running isn't new to her, but distance running is. This weekly blog, written by both of them, documents the journey, and hopefully, will inspire a few others to follow a dream, do something that's harder than they ever imagined they'd do on purpose, and enjoy the entire journey. Find all the entries by entering "Kim and Lauren" in the "search this blog" box to the left. Kim: This week my knees are happy again, so I'm back to testing some running. I've been reading a lot about form, and the difference between old school "heel striking" and mid-foot or forefoot st...

It's only March, but here comes April! I have two big things occupying my attention right now, the half marathon in September, and cooking school next month! It's coming up fast, and I'm super excited. I'm attending the  10 Day Vegan Fusion Cuisine Cooking Immersion  in Seattle, plus three extra days of teacher training. I'm a good cook now, but I'm looking forward to being great , and to sharing what I know through blogging and teaching. I got a message from my friend Joan yesterday, saying she had a vegan coming to visit (oh my!), and did I have any suggestions on what to feed her. Of course I did! And she also gave me a great idea for a class I could teach. Something along the lines of How to Feed a Vegan , for people who are not vegan themselves, but want to know what to feed their vegan friends and relatives when they come for a visit, or just for dinner. I know from experience that we throw most of the dinner parties around here, because our friends don...

I broke both of my favorite bowls last night. Both of them. In one swift move. I had stacked them together to take them to the kitchen, and was puling a fork out from between them, so they wouldn't teeter and... break. Ironic. Stupid. I actually cried over broken bowls, but hey, I liked them a lot. It's not like they're rare or irreplaceable. Nothing around here is. Nothing in my care will ever become vintage. Some things might become "wabi sabi," as in used, well worn, loved, perfect in their imperfection. A chipped teacup that's still useful is wabi sabi. A bowl with one side missing is just broken. I have sent my grandmother's wedding glasses to my sister, who will keep them safe, and probably never use them. I've put other delicate family heirlooms in storage, carefully wrapped and padded, and look forward to dumping them on my children. My bowls are broken because I loved them enough to use them. In a way, I feel good about that. The thing is...