New Year, New Chapter

Well this is awkward.

I’ve been gone for a bit. Two whole holidays went by and I didn’t even check in to discuss my lack of exercise and abundance of indulgences. I apologize.

And as I contemplated all the different ways to post about how nice it was to hang with the fam, sneak in some Jillian dvds during my stay in Small Town, USA, declared salad detox as soon as I got home, and snuck one or two drinks too many over New Years, I had an epiphany.

Ok, fine. Epiphany seems way too epic.

I had a deep thought.

Ok, fine. I was thinking.

Yes, thinking. For at least a fleeting moment.

- I’m not training for anything. Or even signed up for a race yet.
- Work rumors are that January and February are going to be slammed. After writing for a full 8 hours every day, the last thing I want to do is look at a computer screen at home. Or at least look at a computer screen and be productive. Facebooking doesn’t count.
- A lot of my free time has been spent with a person of interest. And although I sometimes enjoyed poking fun at bad first dates in the past, I’d rather not jinx myself by discussing something that’s going well. Plus my mom reads this. Let’s be serious, guys.

So here we are. I have nothing I want to write about at the moment.

We could drag this out a little longer with random posts that have nothing to do with anything of interest. Or maybe a few meaningless surveys or lists that you don’t really care to read, but would anyway out of the kindness of your hearts (you guys are super sweet like that).

But why waste your time and mine?

So I’ll get to the point. This is what we call a hiatus. A break for Miss Amy. Maybe I’ll check in from time to time. Maybe I’ll be back in full force in a month or so. I’m not sure. The element of surprise seems fun.

Until then, feel free to follow my snark on twitter (@amysrandomness). Or instagram (same handle).

Soooo…. Happy 2013, everyone!

Excuse me while I go now to eat egg whites and salad all day and plan out the next week of working off the excess that was New Years Eve/Day.

Peace out, kids. I’ll see ya soon.

Called Out

Ok, I get it.

I haven’t posted much recently. You know it’s bad when fellow bloggers start calling you out on it.  Sorry, Paige.

However, here I am!

And thanks for all the well wishes on the back and sympathy for my pathetic inability to go down a flight of stairs correctly. Handrails are there for a reason, guys. Use them.

Anyway, throughout the rest of the week, my fear of having actually serious injuring myself waned and it seems I’m just a wee bit tender in the lower back region. So I’m comfortable starting up the routine again, but staying off of strength training for a little while longer.

I’m not upset about this. We all know how I feel about using weights. Gross.

By Thursday night, it was decided I could totally go back to my normal morning routine and hit the gym on Friday morning to make friends again with the elliptical.

Friday morning came around. And after four days of sleeping in, why take my chances?  I went for the fifth and swore to make it in today, instead.

I would have felt bad about it, but was instead in an obnoxiously perky mood. Let’s blame overcaffeination that wasn’t necessary because I was extremely well-rested. And the fact that my employer announced we were allowed to wear jeans to work through the end of the holidays.

For an announcement like this to make me literally get up and do a happy dance, it’s clear my life is only average.

Anyway, some of the Chicago Running Girlies decided to congregate with our version of a holiday party (yeah- running is involved), so that is where I’m off to at the moment. Since I wanted to ease back into the working out thing, I sadly decided it would be safer to elliptical my morning away before meeting up with them post-run. Safety first. Blah.

And because you never go to a party empty-handed, I had a mini-marathon baking night with an old coworker last night in preparation.

Snickerdoodles with a white chocolate center and chubby hubby truffles. Excuse the truffles, they need tweaking. However, I don’t even love cinnamon that much and totally went gaga over the snickerdoodles. You should make them. Like yesterday.

We decided to double recipes just to make sure our respective significant others could receive an equal sugar rush. Because the way to a man’s heart is obviously baked goods and steak.

And we all know I don’t know how to make steak.

Happy Saturday, everyone. I cannot think of a way to express my sadness over the current events, but I will say hug everyone a little tighter and treasure the company of those around you. Holiday love. Make it happen.

 

A Month Left

Oh hey there, everyone!

Since it’s now December, and instead of just concerning myself with everyday stressors, I’m also now taking on the holidays and “oh yeah, those new years resolutions” and the sinking feeling that comes with them.

For a good laugh, let’s see how I’ve been doing:

1. Cook some sort of fish. I never have. For some reason or another, it freaks me out.

I totally did this. I’m too lazy to hunt down the post, but it was a salmon filet from Trader Joe’s and it turned out mediocre. It didn’t kill me. So it still counts.

2. Go on vacation somewhere. Did this last year by hitting Vegas. Twice if you count the bachelorette I attended there, too. Enjoyed myself a little too much. Need to make taking time off to travel a regular thing…

I took a few extended weekends. Does that count? There was a trip to Washington DC and Boston with the sister wives. A wedding weekend in Indianapolis. A race in Geneva, Wisconsin. Maybe if you merge them all together, it counts? Almost win.

3. Beat my 8k time. It was so frustrating to have a goal of breaking 40 minutes and to finish my last 8k in 40:00:00. Now the question is, who’s doing it with me???

I did not do one 8k this year. Not one. However, I PR’d with a new 5k and half marathon time. We’ll call it another almost win.

4. Figure out my new iPhone. This could take all year. Tech savvy I am not…

I love love love my iphone. And I sort of hate myself for it because I feel so cliché. But it’s true. I love it. And I’m getting better. Win.

5. Bake with yeast. I’m more of a fan of the quick bread variety. Yeast seems like a temperamental ingredient. However, if I really do want to claim to be a “baker”, I should probably grow a pair and man up.

I have not done this. Yet. I still have almost a month. And this seems much more likely to happen than the 8k thing…

6. Run two more half marathons. Thought I had figured out which ones I’d be doing. Now I’m not so sure. Either way, two decent ones shouldn’t be hard to find.

I ran 3, bitches!  The Chi Town Half Marathon where I was totally miserable with stomach cramps. The Chicago Half Marathon where I PR’d like a boss. And the ZOOMA Half Marathon that was one giant hill. BOOM.

7. Master the crow pose in yoga. Not that I’m planning on being a yoga master any time soon, I don’t really even enjoy it, but I bet the crow pose would be an impressive party trick…

I have done yoga maybe twice this entire year. And it was Jillian Michaels yoga. So you decide if that counts. I do not see this happening. I should really just give up. I hate yoga and need to admit it.

8. See a Chicago Bulls game. I heart basketball. The Bulls are my favorite NBA team. Why hasn’t this happened yet?

Took my brother for his birthday. Two birds with one stone kind of deal. WIN!

9. Eat more cookies. It may be hard to beat my consumption from last year. But I’m willing to try.

I’d call this a toss-up. Probably didn’t bake more… but that doesn’t mean consumption was down…

10. Marry a Prince. Kate Middleton did it. Why can’t I?

Well… I’m still in my budget friendly apartment in Chicago, so this clearly did not happen. I’m not so upset about it. Prince Harry seems like a handful who can’t keep his clothes on. What a hot mess. And I’m dating someone who I like better anyway. Win.

All in all, I’m proud of my accomplishments. Especially since the list was practically forgotten about a week after it was written…

Happy Friday, folks!

Sometimes… (Round 2)

…I can’t help but be completely enthralled in the NASCAR race being watched by my friendly seatmate on the commuter train. I didn’t even understand what was going on, but it lulled me to a nice state of relaxation as I stared at the cars going around and around and around and around- oh there I go again….

…when I make an honest effort to clean, I only make it worse. Like when just a weeeee bit of pledge was used to assist in dusting the spiraling staircase to my room. Walking down said stairs in my knee highs will be the death of me. You heard it here first.

… I’ll attempt to get a head start to all of my errands by going to Target at 8:30 in the morning. “Ma’m, it’s Sunday. We don’t sell liquor until 11 on Sundays.” Sigh. Nothing like being judged first thing in the morning.

…I’ll insist on loading up on veggies and being über healthy at the beginning of the day:in order to load up on the roomie’s crockpot creation of loaded baked potato soup at the end of the day.

Perfect Sunday family dinner. And I didn’t even have to do anything.

…it’s truly unsettling to see signs like this. Because I just don’t understand who could not love that song. It makes me weep for the patrons of this mystery bar.

…it’s a struggle to force myself to break out the Christmas decorations. But when we’re done, it’s always worth it.This is the reason we will have glitter on EVERYTHING until at least May.

…I don’t really want to get up at an ungodly hour to go to the gym. But after some quality time with the elliptical and stairmill, my booty feels much better about life in general.

…it’s ok to wish away the week when all I can think about is HOW EXCITED I am for a holiday pub crawl this weekend. So, let’s hurry up and get through this Monday, shall we?

Laters, kids!

Leftover Week

A conversation via google chat:

Lauren: I have exciting news!
Me: ?
Lauren: I get double Thanksgiving leftovers this year.

At this point, I thought she was just rubbing it in that she was getting even MORE turkey to my none. I did my best to not call her a jerk right away.

Me: That’s awesome! Leftovers from grandma are the best!
Lauren: Yes. So that’s why I’m getting double. Because she said to “give some to your poor friend Amy who doesn’t get Thanksgiving at home this year.”

My friends are not jerks. I take that back. They’re the cutest things ever.

Thanks to a fondness of running, eating, wine, gossiping about boys, and book club, Lauren and I have been hanging out on the regular.

Because really… what else is there in life?

We decided to do a swap. I, of course, graciously accepted the Thanksgiving food made with love and packed by Lauren’s g’ma and mom.

They even sent individual packets of butter… everyone go “awwww”

And, in turn, I invited Lauren over for a mini friendsgiving to close out Thanksgiving weekend.

Seemed like a fair trade. Or close. Being as how my cooking skills are limited, I may have come out ahead. But who’s really counting?

All I know is…

…I have good friends. And they have families who know how to throw down in the kitchen.

This is why I haven’t had to cook pretty much all week.

And this is why I’ve been busy running over 4 miles every morning this week.

Worth it.

The end of the leftovers are being consumed for lunch today.

Who wants to cook for me next?

On Being Thankful…

It is THAT time of year again.

To give thanks.

Because apparently it’s not important to do so except for this one day out of the year. Which is tomorrow. In case the name didn’t give it away.

Which is fine. It gives me a year to think about a list of things I should probably say “thank you” for.

And aren’t you so lucky? Here it is!

1. Warming stations at the train stop. It’s getting cold out there, peeps.
2. Lady GaGa chillin’ out on producing more singles. Overplayed. Overhyped. That’s all I have to say about that. Adele- please take note.
3. My new job. Not only do I love being in the health industry, I spend about 4 hours less on the phone every day. This lessens the threat of dealing with the complete jerks and the chin zits haven’t been around for ages. Double win!
4. Jason Segel. I know you’re dating someone. So am I. Oh what could have been… But my heart will go on. Much like Celine Dion’s.
5. Trader Joe’s selling boxed wines. My Friday nights at home with the roomie just got UPGRADED.
6. Google. So my mom doesn’t have to ask a million questions about the guy I’m dating. She can now figure it out in super creepy and devious ways on her own time. Also, let’s do a special shout out to Google Maps/Transit as we discuss the miracle of modern technology. Without you, I’d be lost 3 times a week at a minimum.
7. Victoria’s Secret. Keeping my girls in check since 2004. Why I didn’t switch over sooner, I’ll never know.
8. Chicagoland. Thank you, dear city and surrounding suburbs, for introducing me to many things I love: friends, people who are practically family, a wonderful job, running, BYOB restaurants, and 3-5am bars.  Also, it’s important to note here, Chicago has also made me that much more appreciative of the time I do get to spend with family and friends back in Missouri. This is my big ball of love” part of the list.

Let’s hold a minute… I think I heard people gagging/vomiting…

Ok… we ready to continue?  Cool.

9. Cookies. Why do you have to always be so delicious?
10. Michael Kors. You make every day a little more pretty. How do you do it?
11. Pandora. You get me through runs. You get me through the weirdest of commutes on the el/metra. You keep me from listening to people hack relentlessly or eat abnormally loudly in the cubes. You. Are. Wonderful.
12. Whoever came up with Static Guard.
13. World Peace.

Oh wait… we’re still working on that one?

Ok. Maybe next year…

That’s all I’ve got for now. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Please stop and enjoy the time with family and friends. It’s much more limited than we’ll ever realize.

Also, travel safe. Eat your weight in stuffing. And maybe hug a few people.

It is the holidays, after all.

Almost Made It…

Oh right… this is a pic of my new hair color, if you’re still interested…

My friend Laura came to visit this weekend.

On Saturday, while getting ready to go to a party, she made mention of how she enjoys Chicago visits because she knows it’ll be a relatively healthy weekend when she spends it with me.

I patted myself on the back for that one.

Veggies and humus were the snacks on hand.

After spending Friday night in, we got up early to workout.

Laura may or may not have wanted to work on building her mileage for a destination half marathon we hope to do together next summer.

I may or many not have just really wanted to look good in my skinny jeans that night.

To each their own.

We did everything else right, too.

Chicken and veggies for lunch.

A long walk along Michigan Avenue to take in the Christmas light festivities.

Choosing to eat in vs. deep-fried bar food.

Drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated between drinks at the bar on Saturday night.

Club soda as a mixer instead of sugar-filled soda.

All smart choices.

We did so well.

I even skipped out on the late night 2am chow time. Which is a rare occurrence, if we’re being completely honest.

After Laura left, I continued the long walk trend in the nice weather for a couple of hours.

But then…

I guess it was food envy from when the rest of the crazy kids got mexican the night before.

That styrofoam carry out container was licked clean.

Skinny jeans be damned.

Not Thinking

As my personal and work lives both continue to be a whirlwind of activity, when I finally am left to myself, it seems I prefer doing things that don’t require any actual brain activity.

Like catching up on my DVR. The long list of unwatched shows gives me serious anxiety.

Or when working out. I’ve been dull. Jillian has guided me along the process once or twice a week, which is greatly appreciated. And after discussing all the joys of running outside, I’ve surrendered to the Chicago weather and have been a zombie on the treadmill/stairs/elliptical all week.

This morning I actively tried to combat boredom with speed intervals, but it’s clear there are no races in my near future. Which is a good thing. My heaving after approximately 4 miles of speedwork is disturbing.

Mental note: add race searches to the list of things to look into next week during Thanksgiving break.

That and cooking.

Wait… what’s that again?

Don’t fret- I’m still eating well. This boy I know keeps acting like he enjoys my company around dinner time. Which reminds me- I think there should always be mirrors in booths of places that serve ribs.

Just sayin’.

And even if I’m still picking dried BBQ sauce out from under my fingernails, it’s good this is happening, other than the immediate benefit of my mood being elevated when he’s around. I mean… if we weren’t going out, every meal I have would look like this:

Which is similar to every other meal I’ve had for the last… uh… two weeks?

I swear even the people working at the grocery store have recognized and are now smirking at either my disgusting “grocery shopping” sweats, or my recent eating habits.

Which I personally find offensive. What’s so wrong with wanting to be comfy while being a responsible consumer and purchasing wine and deli sandwiches… everyday…?

Nevermind. Answered my own question.

Let’s pretend I’m just making room for Thanksgiving.

And just so my mother isn’t nervous I’m spending Thanksgiving in front of the television by myself with a turkey lean cuisine…

Apparently the shindig I’m attending is a big deal. I even have my own customized name plate for the occasion.

Fancy!

And until then… moooooore deli!

Happy Friday, kids. Get silly. And have the pizza delivery number in your phone before heading out to the bars. It’s easier that way.

KBYE!

Lingering Halloween Celebrations

I hope everyone had a good Halloween!

After dressing up twice over the weekend, I had no motivation to come up with anything for the office yesterday.

Plus, as I said before, we had a pretty awesome costume-filled weekend. Which is still a relatively new concept for me. Halloween was on my mom’s shit list for a long time.

With both of my parents being notorious teachers in our high school, turns out we were a major target for the good ol’ “let’s to toilet paper a house!” prank.

However, to be fair, maybe we were also asking for it. Growing in our front yard was a 20-year-old tree (or something like that). It surely SCREAMED “decorate me with common household items! Throw food staples at me!”

I still don’t know how people got a trash can up in it one year when we were out of town.

Hats off to you crazy tricksters on that one.

Anyway…

I didn’t really need to celebrate the holiday yesterday in order to throw myself into massive sugar coma.

We had birthday celebrations to take care of around here.

And cupcakes are way better than candy corn. Don’t even try to argue.

Especially when I now know they can be made just two at a time. Mind blown.

Someone give me a reason to make another pair of cupcakes today. Please…

Halloween Weekend Randomness

Not that long ago, the roomie and I had issues trying to figure out what to be for the most important holiday of the year. Well… one of the important ones. Depends who you ask.

But while shopping one afternoon in a desperate last attempt, she pulled out a pair of metallic blue tights and asked, “what can we do with these?”

Challenge accepted.

Sure, neither of us have read Cat in the Hat in the last decade. Minor detail.

Another minor detail? We hope to have no trick-or-treaters as we do not have any candy in the house.

Please don’t think we’re hateful. Our place is sort of off the beaten path and I’m pretty sure we didn’t get one knock last year.

But it’s true- no candy.

Let’s just hope they don’t think I’ll be giving up any of the Tastykakes that Kace, my former blogger bud, sent me.

MINE. DON’T TOUCH.

They were the best surprise ever when I came home on Thursday night.

We’re not going to talk about how many I can consume in the course of an entire Sunday. We’re also not going to talk about the laziness that occurred on said Sunday.

Or maybe we will. The only time I even bothered to leave the house was to walk to Whole Foods to pick up dinner. It was clearly not going to make itself and, at the time, it made total sense to pay over twice as much for the premade stuff instead of just buying a can. I was even too lazy for the microwave. Which ended up getting used anyway because the overpriced soup was cold by the time I got home.

Fail on so many levels. #FirstWorldProblems

Naturally I sulked about it before going to bed an hour and a half early.

T’was a good weekend, though, full of good friends, an excess of good drinks, and a boy who is yet to run for the hills (I’m just as speechless about it as you are).

The weekend exhaustion hangover on Monday was worth it.

Now… if only we could get through the dreaded Tuesday…