Thursday Randomness

Ok, I know it’s been a while. Let’s not be all awkward about it.

But don’t think of it as a decrease in blogging. Think of it as an increase in my social calendar activity.

Glass half full, yes?

And as proof that I haven’t just been super lazy (ok, so there’s that, too), here’s what’s been going on around my ‘hood:

Dinner with my friend Annie:

Seasons 52 is a neat place in the suburbs where every menu item is under 475 calories.

Cool concept. And you’d be amazed how expansive the menu is for such a restriction in calories for typical restaurant fare.

We needed the girl talk session and I personally needed a pretty low-key night due to the volunteering experience I was signed up for the next morning.

I think we all remember how I felt about that.

Afterwards, I went straight to Oz Park- a destination on my list of things to do that I was finally able to drag someone along to see.

An old coworker humored me as we walked through the spot in Lincoln Park and caught up on each other’s lives.

The 8-year-old in me nerded out.

Ok fine, the 27-year-old in me did, too.

We also swung through the zoo.

Because you can’t be that close to the zoo and not go. Don’t be silly.

Then there’s always more dinner to be had with even more friends.  And being as how I seem to have a friend who’s a boy who happens to live next to some of my girlfriends, I get to see them all at once.

And also become very familiar with the metra.

Which can get weird when you’re one of maybe 2-3 people left in the car (or, as seen above, the last person) and one guy across the aisle seems to be taking pictures of you on his phone.

But it beats being crammed onto the el and smelling the coffee breath of the 5-6 people you’re surrounded by.

Anyway… something shiny… what?

Mon joined me Monday night at a hole in the wall near our old apartment complex.

It’s maddening we never went there before I moved. I had a sandwich, fries, and a bit of a buzz for just over $10.

Yeah. $10.

Which is good. Because I had to fit painting my hair into the budget.

Processing…

The summer sun did a number on the color of my hair. And I was bored and feeling impulsive.

So yeah… it’s not you. It’s me. I’ve been busy.

Let’s try to make this work. We’ve come this far. And I love you. I just need some space sometimes.

Please cue some Al Green, “Let’s Stay Together”.

Happy Thursday, kids.

Reunited At Last

Something has been missing for the last month or two.

Sure, I’ve been living my life. Doing my thing. Keeping busy. Staying social.

But something has been missing.

Oh yeah… it’s THIS girl:

Mon decided fish tacos where the way to go. And a side of lobster bisque. She had a whole nautical theme going on…

Oh heeeey, Mon! I found you!

That’s right, it’s been far too long since this girl and I had a night out on the town. We’ve both been busy doing this, that, or the other, and it’s been over a month since we’ve had a proper “hang out”.

So after Mon accepted a new job this week, we decided to put an end to this nonsense and go out for a proper celebration!

For future reference, when I say “proper celebration”, I mean consumption of food and drinks.

Not sure if it was the bacon or the pretzel roll that swayed my final decision to go with their chicken sandwich?

We checked out Emmett’s Brewing Company- a brewery and restaurant near my old stomping grounds.

Ironically, we split a bottle of wine versus check out the beer selection. Brewery visit fail.

And when I say “old stomping grounds”, I mean in the vicinity of where I lived for two years and right across the street from one of my favorite bars-

Durty Nellie’s! Our celebration coincided nicely with the Rod Tuffcurls and The Benchpress show going on.

Our favorite cover band. So convenient.

What’s not convenient is how uncomfortable my heels got after 3 hours of dancing. At the end, I questioned which would be worse- continuing to stay in the platform heels or having my feet touch the floor of the bar.

I stayed in those heels. But I wasn’t happy about it.

The dancing easily counted as my physical activity on Friday. The rest from the gym was necessary. And so was the rocking out to their version of my happy song, “500 Miles”.

It made the late night drive thru that much more satisfying.

And the sleeping in that much more great.

My most comfortable way to lay on a couch. I like to prop my feet up over the top. Weird. And not very ladylike….

It has been decided Mon and I should probably never spend that much time apart again. It’s probably not overwhelming for us, but we’re just looking out for everyone else around us.

You’re welcome.

Excuse me while I go pour more coffee and properly sprawl out on the couch again for a while.

Just don’t tell my mom you caught me with my feet on the furniture. It IS Mother’s Day, afterall…

Walking Off the Weekend

Snowstorms in the southwest. Multiple massive tornados in the heartland. And a heat wave in Illinois.

What is going on!?!?

I won’t complain. No way. The weather has been nothing short of glorious.But am I the only one waiting for the ball to drop?

Until it does, this chick is keeping her mouth shut and enjoying it. Because it was only about 2 years ago when I was running the Shamrock Shuffle in temps barely about freezing with snow/sleet in the air.

Yes. Mouth shut, Amy.

My brother left super early on Sunday, so after a few more hours of recovering from shenanigans the day before, I made the journey out of the city to meet up with two of my favorite ladies of suburbia!Monica and Annie! The last time the three of us had all been together was shortly before Christmas. Unacceptable. Off to the forest preserve we went for a long walk/gossip session.

We hit a fork in the road immediately. Short trail or long trail?

“I could totally do the long one (a little over 7 miles) today. I feel great!”
“It’s so pretty out- I have the time. Let’s do it!”
“Let’s do this! Woo hooo! It’s soooo nice! La la la…”

By mile 6, I was noticeably quiet. Annie’s hips were aching. And Mon was surprised her face hadn’t melted completely off yet.

How old are we? 75?

Obviously we’re not quite acclimated to the 80-degree weather just yet. And 7 miles at the end of a full weekend of events may have been a wee bit ambitious for all of us. Different muscles are used when it comes to walking vs. running. My body let me know this afterwards.

Ah well. We finished and only had one or two near death experiences with cyclists whizzing by. We call that a triumph and celebrate appropriately.Annie also invited us to her house for dinner afterwards. Good thing- it’s possible I would have hit up drive thru out of sheer laziness on the way home, otherwise. So Annie slaved away in the kitchen as Mon and I sprawled out on her floor like two hot messes.

Without a doubt, our dinner was well-deserved. And delicious.Bonus points for being 10x prettier than anything to come out of my kitchen.

With a full weekend of events, it’s safe to say Monday morning came ridiculously early. And with a solid 7-mile walk the day before, I opted to sleep in a little and just do a few free weights via Jillian Michaels.

Sometimes I make smart decisions. This was totally one of them.

I only hope we get in a few more Sunday Fundays like this before the humidity and summer heat take over. I could use the “detox walks”.

And the home cooked meals. If we’re being honest…

Double Date

Sometimes I’m a player.

I know. Hard core Amy up in these parts. Love ‘em and leave ‘em. But what’s a girl like me supposed to do? I love them both and they both know what I like. We got all sweaty at one date. The other was spent refueling with cheap drinks.

Weirdly enough, they know about each other. And are totally cool with it.

Clearly they know there’s enough Amy to go around.

Of course they do. Because they’re two of my friends. And going out on dates with them is way easier than actual dating. Because they don’t really care what I look like and there’s no awkward end of the night involved. Win.

The first was with Annie as a guest at her gym. She called last week after a new class she attended called R.I.P.P.E.D.. I’m not sure what all the abbreviations are, but it involves 50 minutes of stretching, plyometrics, cardio, kickboxing, arms, and whatever else will get your heart rate up.

This is my summary of events:

1. It’s quite obvious I haven’t been in a group exercise class for at least 5 years. Awkward.
2. I can’t kickbox to save my life. Or really do any move that involves more than 4 or 5 steps. The calorie burn during that section was pretty low because I was too busy laughing at myself in the mirror. Again- awkward.
3. My triceps have been super ignored. This was already known, but when the instructor kept making us “pulse” at ever move during the arms section? It’s a wonder my entire arm didn’t just fall off completely. Which, looking back, may have hurt less.

All in all, even with my awkward ways, it was fun to do my cross training with Annie. Definitely a switch-up in the routine- which was welcomed. Yay for date night at the gym!

Afterwards, I drove my tired butt over to Gatsby’s Pub- one of the hole-in-the-walls Mon and I frequented when we were still neighbors. Cheap beer, cheap food, and quiet enough on a Monday night for us to freely conversate about everything we’ve been up to in the last month (Wait- month? We really need to start hanging out more. What have I been doing?!?!).

Maybe it was the cheap beer, or the mindless gossip, or the hour of strength training that just happened, but I was just as surprised as Mon was when it was time to order and I blurted out “steak quesadilla please!”What?

Here’s the thing. I went through a phase in high school where I wouldn’t eat beef. Really ironic, considering my dad is a cattle farmer. Maybe this was my way of rebelling as a teenager? Strange on all accounts.

Anyway, I warmed back up to the idea of hamburgers and such (who wouldn’t?), but steak was something I never developed a craving for again. Probably a texture thing?

And I don’t see myself ever really ordering a big t-bone anytime soon. But sometimes strips of it in a dish like this with cheese and guac? You’d do it, too…

Alright kids, wish me luck on my journey home tonight. Rain/snow/freezing rain is happening all day. Sounds about right. It is Tuesday, afterall…