Weekend of the Sweet Tooth

Well.

Football really let me down this weekend. Looks like I’ll be sending Kacy some loot for Oklahoma’s win against Mizzou.

Meh. But for the record, since we were up against the 1st ranked team, we held our own for a good portion of the game. Whatev.

And I didn’t get to see one minute of the Bears game due to delays at the airport and the stupid tiny bars not playing it.

At least the Cards didn’t let me down…We’re one behind Atlanta for the wild card spot. Don’t let me down, boys!

I went to the game and dinner with my whole fam to celebrate my mom and dad’s 33rd wedding anniversary.

Even if he’s about a foot taller than me and we’re completely different complexions, it looks like my lil’ bro and I have the same crooked smile. And mannerisms.

Turns out we may actually be related afterall…Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

We had a casual dinner in downtown St. Louis together the night before the game.You can take the girl out of Chicago… but not the Chicago out of the girl. Love my Goose Island beer…

The beer was a nice change-up from the two chocolate martinis I consumed upon arriving in St. Louis. My male friend picked me up and took me straight to a Chocolate Bar before taking me to the hotel to meet up with my parents.

Clearly he knows me well.And because I was flying, it was a little impossible for me to bake for my parents. However, my mom loves baking, too, and made sure to have a little chocolate cake ready for us at the hotel after dinner.

Score.

Seems to be a full weekend of excess, if we’re being honest. Saturday was spent at a bar watching Mizzou try their hardest, and Sunday was spent at Crown Candy Kitchen. My male friend took me there, again, because he knows all too well about the sweet tooth I have.If that’s not pure bliss, I don’t know what is.

He sat back and watched my attempts to devour this monster sundae that was topped with candied pecans, caramel, hot fudge and whipped cream.

I tried oh so hard.Even with his help, I failed.

Sadness.

But man… that ice cream was goooooooood.

And I shall think about it tonight as I get back on the treadmill for the first time since last week. There was a serious urge to go last night after my flight came in, but after various airport delays (seriously- this ALWAYS happens to me), all that happened after I got back home was collapsing on my couch and catching up with dvr.

Priorities, you know.

Weekend Essentials

Oh hi there.

Happy Friday!

I’m getting through a short day and am off to catch a flight to St. Louis for the weekend!

Today is my parent’s wedding anniversary, so to celebrate, the fam is congregating in STL for quality family time. And good food. And baseball. Because how else would you celebrate? Duh.

Also, I’m going to be spending one night with a few good friends. Otherwise known as a good time to fit some shenanigans into my trip.

It’s an all-around fun-filled weekend, folks.

And although it’s a short trip, there’s a lot to remember when packing. Such as:

1. My St. Louis Cardinals hoodie. Not quite sure if anyone else is paying attention (oh heeeeeey football season!), but my boys have suddenly decided to get their act together for quite the wild card race. Which makes our trip to the game this Saturday that much more exciting! Go Cards!

2. Mizzou shirt. This is an important one, too. Because after the Cardinals game with the fam, I’m trekking over to see my BFF’s and watch the Mizzou vs. Oklahoma game. I get that we’re sorta not ranked and Oklahoma is sorta in 1st place. So what? Can we talk about last year’s upset win against them? Because I will if you want to…

Another reason why this is a big deal is I have a little bet going against Kacy. We’ve been trash talking the last two weeks and things are getting heated. Someone’s going to end up getting an awesome gift in the mail. And that someone better be ME!

3. Bears gear. This is where I’m frustrated. Who schedules a flight in the middle of the big game against our rival, the Packers? Apparently this girl. Shame. However, I will be hunting down the game in an airport bar and hopefully catching the end of it by the time I get back (short flight).

Either way, I should have known better.

And geez- talk about a big weekend of sports!

One thing I’m not bringing?

Running shoes.

We’re too busy this weekend. And it’s like a mini-vacation. We’re calling it a rest weekend and my regularly scheduled routine will resume on Monday.

Or Sunday night- if we’re being honest. Because I’m weird like that.

Laters!

Family Weekend

Hello there.

It’s safe to say family weekend wore me down.

Being as how they only make it up once or twice a year, it’s assumed that we pack as much stuff in as we possibly can. That includes both sight-seeing and food (starting with my dad’s birthday cake from earlier, of course).

Oh the food…

Anyway, here’s a quick rundown of what I’ve been up to:

1. Favorite spot of the weekend? This house:Recognize it? It’s the Home Alone house! That movie is hands down one of my family’s favorites. It’s watched no less than 5 times in December. And usually once or twice in the summer just as a refresher.

I cannot stress it enough- we LOVE that movie.

2. My deep dish quota for the year has been filled. It may not be very “Chicagoan”, but I’m definitely a thin crust girl. All the way. So usually I only have stuffed when people are in town visiting. And what can I say? July has been full of out-of-towners…We went to Giordano’s (one of my top 3 spots) and got the large. There are still 2 pieces leftover waiting to be consumed in my refrigerator.

Not sure if I can do it. Seriously.

3. Because the summer heat took it down a few notches, we were more able to be outside and enjoy the scenery…Along with nerding out about baking, I’m just a Chicago nut in general. Combine that with my mom being a retired history teacher, and you understand why the Architecture and Skyline cruises are one of our preferred touristy things to go do.

4. An unofficial thing I showed my family about the city is how much we walk. Because the thought of having to drive anywhere in the city makes me shudder. I’m too cheap to cab it everywhere. And even if I take the el, it’s a few blocks away. So yes. I walk. Everywhere.

My mom and I even took a recreational 2-mile stroll before everyone else was up and moving on Saturday morning. This ended with the skies opening up and us coming back home soaked and looking like wet dogs. As a side note, this is also an occurrence that happened to me last night as I attempted to do more than just nap on my couch after everyone left. Lame.

5. Saturday was also the day I made breakfast! My parents said we could just go out for it, but we were eating out all weekend and I sort of love having people to cook for. They were probably just nervous of what I’d end up serving, but I kept it pretty simple:Breakfast pizza! I assured my parents it was just a spin on traditional breakfast casserole- just a little less egg-y. The crust was whole wheat pizza crust from Trader Joe’s that was thrown in the oven like normal. At about half way through, I pulled it out and piled on the ground sausage, black olives (only on half because my dad and I are the only ones who share the love for them) and cheese. I used 3 eggs to pour over the top of everything. Should have been a little more careful- it spilled over the sides a bit. Whoopsie.

The pizza was good. And they ate it, so I guess that says something? But next time, I’d add more chili pepper flakes to give it a kick. Even in the AM I prefer it spicy. Ya hear that, boys?

6. The one breakfast/brunch we did out was at Lou Mitchell’s.They handed milk duds to my mom and I when we walked in. Apparently they do this with all the ladies and children.

Who knew milk duds were part of a balanced breakfast? Mine were stashed for later being as how I was dead set on putting myself into french toast food coma. The mission was a success and part of the reason my entire afternoon (even with the sunshine outside) was spent sleeping off the weekend’s activities on my couch.

All in all, a successful family weekend.So glad my family came over the weekend! Since I moved up to Chicago, it’s been difficult to fit visits into the schedule (a lot of that has to do with the 8-hour drive it takes to get to and from), but we always make the most of it!

Guess it’s my turn to make the trip next….

Oy.

Time to go refill on coffee.

Happy Monday, kids!

A Typical Easter

Hello all! As you read this, I am most likely on a highway somewhere between Mid-Missouri and Chicago. Again.

I could probably drive the route with my eyes closed. Which may or may not be any different than driving it in thunderstorms and tornado warnings…

Anyhoo, it was a great couple days back in my humble little hometown.

There were workouts with Jillian (The Shred was picked both times over Yoga Meltdown and No More Trouble Zones- mostly because I wanted the cardio factor). There was an afternoon walk with my mom. The sun did decide to peek around the clouds for a couple of hours and we jumped on the chance to get a little vitamin D in our otherwise cloudy weekend. And then there was the workout of lifting the Easter basket.Over and over again.

And yes, my contribution to the Easter festivities was Goose Island. Typical.

At least my dad enjoyed it.

There was also the food.

Oh my goodness the food.

Have I ever mentioned how I don’t like ham? It’s weird- I’m a fan of everything pork (hellooooo bacon!) but ham is not my thing. So my mom decided it also made sense to make a full turkey. With the ham.It’s like Thanksgiving and Easter all rolled into one!

No complaints. Except from my stomach when it was about to burst at the seams after dessert.Remember how we talked about our dessert “go-to”? These are my mom’s. Coconut Cream Crunch and Almond Joy Cake. Obviously I needed multiple servings of both this weekend.

Screw the candy. This is where it’s at…

Actually, I take that back. I’ll take the candy, too. 

Don’t think I just sat back and let my mom feed me the ENTIRE time. For Easter brunch, we all seem to join in on the fun.

My brother didn’t really lend a hand to the cooking like everyone else did, but someone needed to take the blurry pictures. Typical.

Anyhoo, after three solid days of catching up with various hometown friends and family, I’m a happy girl. With a happy tummy. And happy yoga pants. Happy yoga pants that should probably be worn for the next few days.

Can we classify them as business casual?

I’m not just being sent home with candy (weeeee!) and leftovers (yay!), either. As a product of a farming family, I’m also being sent home with a couple of pounds of sausage, ground beef, steak and pork loin.

Typical.

This is why there is a cooler in the trunk of my car 24/7.

And also why I’ll be firing up the Google in the next few weeks to find recipes and, um, how to properly cook a pork loin.

What? I think this is why I end up having so many meatless days- not only am I too cheap to buy meat, I’m also too lazy to learn how to prepare it…

Whoops. What a dapper bunch we are.

I insisted on taking pictures outside this time. My brother and I never stop to make fun of how many pictures we have in front of the family room entertainment center. I could create an album. It would be a hundred pictures of various outfits and slow height growth (or in my brother’s case, rapid height growth).

But then it started to rain. Again.Typical.

Have a great Monday! Wish me luck that this drive back to the Chi isn’t nearly as treacherous as the drive out…

Eatin’ Pants

Merry Christmas everyone!

I’m up early today. Probably even up earlier than most kids. For two reasons.  One is because the Christmas lights on our house shine through my window, whereas I’m used to total darkness (black suede curtains make my apartment bedroom a cave even in the middle of the afternoon).  And the other reason would be is I’m trying to secure the downstairs television for a workout before others are up and moving.

I live by myself and I’m not used to sharing.

Oh and I was totally right about my mom making a whole new batch of sugar cookies for the family to ice once we were all there:She had barely set the cookies and was off and running trying to make sure she could ice as many green trees as possible.

The family tradition (on my dad’s side) is to always to go mass and have dinner afterwards.

So here we are looking nice:These pictures are taken after church and you’ve gotta be quick.  Because there are about 5 minutes before people change into more comfortable clothes.

Otherwise known as puttin’ on your eatin’ pants. We keep Christmas dinner pretty casual around here.My obsession with “overnight salad” is very real.  I think people also call it 7-layer salad?  Either way.  I’ve had it twice already since I’ve been home and will most likely have it two more times before I leave tomorrow.

My aunt always goes for a turkey leg:I have no idea how she does it.  When eating, I don’t have the time or patience for such things.  :p

This is also the reason I don’t do boneless wing, buy nuts still in the shell, or seldomly bother with lobster.

My contribution to the table this year:Because someone had to.

Anyways, like I said, I need to actually go claim the tv for myself so I can secure a proper workout before we do the present thing and the brunch thing and the family thing and the more food thing and the friends thing…  whew.

Plus the little piece of pecan pie I may or may not have had with breakfast needs to be burned off.

Not that I’m concerned about it.  But I’d like to try and make room for more if at all possible.

Enjoy your family time!

Hey Ma…

Happy weekend everyone!  Was it just me or was that one of the slowest work weeks of all time?

Either way, I’m excited to finally have some rest and relaxation.  And most importantly, get some quality time in with the parental unit who came up to visit while my cousin runs the Chicago Marathon:Hey ma!

As I was uploading this pic, I said, “hey mom, I like this picture.  It turned out well.”

She inspected it (after pulling out her glasses of course) and said, “eh.  I guess I look alright for an old lady.”

Psht.  Now I know where I get my critical eye from…

She and two of my aunts roadtripped their way up yesterday (living on almond joys and gossip- or so I’ve been told) and my mom was waiting for me at my place by the time I got home from work.  So then it came time for our turn at catching up until I finally said I’d need something to eat or an arm would go missing.

Originally we had planned to go out to eat somewhere that at least had real silverware, but I wasn’t in the mood for anything too heavy and she had eaten a later lunch.  Solution?

Why Jason’s Deli, of course. I was craving deli.  This has happened a lot as of late.  Not sure why.  My mom did soup and a salad, while I tried something new to me from the “Lighter Side” part of the menu:I had the turkey wrap- which was filled with turkey, sprouts and guacamole (yes!).  Sans tomato because I’m crazy and don’t like tomatoes in my sandwich.  Also, it came with chips and guac (double yes!) on the side.

Sadly, the Goose Island beer didn’t come with it.  I supplied that on my own.  This was my first time trying the Harvest Ale and I have to say it’s not my favorite.  I still like Goose Island’s Summertime much better.  Maybe it’s just because I prefer lighter beer and not so much the malts, or maybe it’s because that’s me being in denial that summer’s over.  Either/or.

Quick- name your favorite beer!  Or if you don’t like beer- your favorite beverage to relax with?

Anyhoo, this is a quick one because clearly us girls have shopping to do.  With very little time to do it before we travel downtown to meet up with the rest of the gene pool for an evening out. 

Have a great Saturday!  And for all you kids running, GOOD LUCK!  I’ll be in the crowd.  Most likely with a bright yellow scarf.  If I see you, don’t be surprised if I’m jumping up and down like a maniac.  It’s sorta what I do.

Lunch Excitement (it’s the little things in life)

So I was definitely bummed that my workout got pushed to after work.  Mostly because I planned my night around having that done already.  But I’m glad to hear I’m not alone in the occasional struggle with the alarm clock. 

The run still happened.  My favorite treadmill was wide open. Then again, most of the machines were.  It seems lots of people shy away from working out when the weather turns?  Other than Mon flying away on the elliptical and another guy aimlessly wandering around in the weights section, it was empty.  Sweet! 

The run started like any other run, but then I developed a stitch in my side by the end of the 2nd mile.  And it WOULD NOT go away.  So I had to stop.  But only for a minute and I was back up- just not going as quickly.  I still ran a full 4 miles.  But much slower than usual.  I don’t know exactly- maybe an 8:50 pace?

Eh.  At least I got it done- even after accidentally sleeping in. 

Moving on…

Has anyone heard of Portillo’s?  They’re a Chicago fast food chain that specializes in things like italian beef and hot dogs and such.  As much as others rave about it, I’m not a huge fan.  I mostly blame this to the fact that they only have krinkle-cut fries.  For some reason, I’m just not down with the krinkle.  I’m more of a waffle or curly fry kind of gal.

Needless to say, I haven’t been there in a while.  But Mon occasionally goes there for lunch and brought this little gem to me this week:She swore it was “life changing”.  The salad dressing.  She hasn’t read the book yet.  (And yes, I’m so excited to FINALLY be getting to read Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang.)

I said “woah now- that’s a pretty bold statement, Mon.”

She said, “OH- just wait and see”.Even Chelsea was smiling at me in that pic.  She knew the Portillo’s house dressing would be A-mazing.  If I weren’t in public, I gaurantee I would have licked the container.  But that wouldn’t have been lady-like, so I didn’t (I promise, mom!). 

Mon says they sell the dressing by itself at the restaurant.  It’s a good thing I don’t frequent Portillo’s.  But I can promise you that next time I go there, I will be leaving with a bottle of it.

What’s your favorite type of dressing?  For salads, I generally go with some sort of balsamic variety.  And of course I’m not a stranger to ranch- but it usually is used as a condiment for other things like sandwiches or pizza…

So do you realize how excited I am about this weekend?  Obviously people know about the marathon, but my MOM is coming to visit and watch with me!    My cousin is pretty much super human and will be one of the thousands of runners out there- so a few of “the girls” (aka my mom and a couple aunts) will be roadtripping up to spend the weekend with their daughters.  Is the city ready for a surge of my family population within it’s limits?  We shall see…

Up To This Point

Hellooooo!  I’m glad everyone likes the “voice of Mon”.  Good to know for when I’m out of town next… (Hey Mon- I’m putting you to work.)

So my road trip out went well.  Or at least as well as it could.  Construction plagues me every where I go.  As does Christian Rock stations in the middle of Illinois.  Nothing against it, I just don’t prefer it.  I got a little tired of listening to Enrique every 20 minutes.  I did like it, Enrique.  But after hearing about how you “like it” that often, I stopped.  Sorry.  I will now save that tune only for when I’m fist pumping in the club with Pauly D.  In the end, I compromised with the smooth sounds of Ryan Seacrest.  Apparently he’s quite popular in mid-Illinois.

Anyways, I thought I’d just give you a quick recap of the highlights of my little trip so far…Bad Idea #1.  When you go to Subway and say “large iced tea”, and they ask if you’d prefer the 32 oz or the 44 oz, do not say “hell yeah, let’s go with the 44 oz!”  when you are at the beginning of your 8-hour journey.  It was as big as my head.  My bladder is not as big as my head.  Simple math, Amy…

More simple math?  Add another one that size and that’s how much iced tea I had the entire trip.  I don’t learn from mistakes- which is a trait I seem to carry on throughout all aspects of my life.  Sigh…

And how freaky does my neck vain look?  Ew.Bad Idea #2- adding red onions to your sandwich.  It’s not that I’m concerned about my breath so much (I’ve gotten out of the habit of making out with truckers at trucker stops- it only ends in heartbreak), but they’ll pile them on.  Which means I pick alot of them out.  And just crumple the bag and toss it to the side.  And they sit.  And sit.  And sit.  And pretty soon your car will reek of onions.  Gross.  I think it still smells.Finally made it to St. Louis!  Hooray!

During rush hour.  Booo….

But it’s cool.  The rush hour I experienced is child’s play compared to my mess I deal with on a regular basis…I heart Wrigley Field, but I miss my Cardinals.

I also miss getting into the playoffs.  (What is the deal, Cards?!?!)Stopped and met up with one of my lovely ladies, Laura, for dinner.  Mistake #3- pace yourself well on roadtrips.  I ate way too early and had the shakes by the time my food came (probably partially due to the tub of iced tea I put down earlier).  No good.  This wrap vanished as quickly as it came.

Since our dear Mary was down and out with a serious head cold, and because Laura picked up some more hours for work for the next day, I made the last minute executive decision to finish the entire drive (versus spending the night in St. Louis like originally planned) and go the last 3 hours that night.  Because I’m a champ.And with the help of my good friends caffeine and sugar (Swedish Fish?  How’d you get in there??!?!), I did it.  I only regretted the decision to finish the drive for about 15 minutes in a downpour outside of Jefferson City.  My window wipers don’t seem to be up to par. 

I rolled into good ol’ St. E around 11:45.  Both of my parents were up when I got home.  I’m suspicious that they were actually sleeping and set their alarm, but I won’t say anything…I also woke up to rain.  Considering the wedding this weekend is supposed to be an outdoor affair, this is no bueno.  The sun later came out, but we need this rain business to go away completely!

By the way, if you look in the upper most left corner in the picture above, you can see some of our closest neighbors.  Say howdy!The cat also is not amused.  I’m not 100%, but I’m thinking this is the cat my mom endearingly calls “puke cat”.  Because it likes to eat grass.  A lot of it.  And then I’m sure you can guess what it does next.  On our new patio.  Regularly.

I believe I’d have stronger words for the little stinker, but my mom’s much more of a lady than I ever claim to be.After a walk with my mom and some working out with my resistance bands (Yes, I travel with them.  No, I’m not ashamed.), much of my day looked like this.  Reference my Subway drink of choice and then the picture above and you’ll get an idea of how much I love iced tea.  I love it at home the most.  I’m aware my mom uses an iced tea maker (is that cheating?), but it’s still some of the best ever.

And that’s a  new library book.  I finished I Know I Am, But What Are You? by Samantha Bee (love her now), and picked this one up because they finally had it waiting on the hold shelf for me.  I still have a whole stack that I checked out last time, but I’ve been waiting forever (or two months- same difference) for this one to become available and wasn’t gonna miss my chance to read it!  I love Sloane Crosley.  And like to think I’m like her.  But in Chicago instead of New York and with less disposable income.

So yeah.  That’s the last 24 hours in a nutshell.  Just so you know, I haven’t been commenting on the blogs, but I’m still very much stalking you quietly.  Not to creep you out or anything…

I hope you all have a great weekend- I’m off to the rehearsal dinner!

We Can Walk There

Helllloooooo!

Here I am at the end of my vacation (insert “booooooo” here).  There’s so much to say and so little time to do it… so I’ll summarize the highlights for you:

-Interesting people are found on planes.  The worst that I spotted was a mother and son team that matched.  Not coordinated for a family photo- but matched as they were walking through an airport.  Mother and daughter coordinating I get… but really- that poor kid.    Loeb’s Deli was where we ate as soon as we got to DC and were on our way out to explore.  It was also the place where I got assaulted by a crazy old woman in the bathroom for “crowding her at the sink”.  I was leaning in the mirror and fixing my makeup.  But apparently that’s reason enough for a good shove and cursing.  Good to know.

- It’s hot in DC.  Like super hot.  Which is unfortunate for when you decide to walk EVERYWHERE.  But we persevered.  And perspired.  And covered some serious mileage during our trip.  Check out a few of the sights we walked to:- I realized that boy will be boys. As my brother and I were taking this picture, there were two men to the side of us making the Washington Monument strategically placed in their picture to look like a penis.  They were probably 60.  Hence the knowing smiles my brother and I possess in this picture.

- I had interesting eats all weekend.  My favorite restaurant?  Madhatter in Dupont Circle.  I had the Alice Burger, which was a veggie burger.  I wasn’t as huge of a fan of how chunky all the veggies in it where, and it fell apart when I bit into it.  But the sweet potato fries were awesome!

- My favorite restaurant is different than my favorite meal.  The fav plate of food was breakfast on the last day when we went to Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe.  It was a book store, cafe, and bar all in one!  They pretty much give you an excuse to sit and never leave… love it.I had a waffle craving and this was killer.  Funny that my favorite meal was so standard- but sometimes that’s just what you’re looking for…

- Because of the days and days of walking and walking and walking, I didn’t officially workout.  I tried once to go to the fitness center to do weights.  But turns out the only weights they had were also part of the first weight machine ever made.  Whatev.  They were the first thing I did when I got to the gym last night once I got back home.  No worries!- This is my favorite picture.  My mom is yet to embrace the new technology we like to call the “digital camera”.  We often take two pics.  One with the digital for fun.  Then one for the “real” camera.  - Needless to say, the fam had a great vacation!  It was the first time my brother and I had ever been there- and we crammed in everything we could.  My favorite part was probably the American History Museum.  Or Ford Theater.  Or Arlington…. I’m overwhelmed with choices!

-Now it’s back to normal.  And unpacking.  Ugh- unpacking is worst than packing.  I’ll probably just live for a week out of my suitcase… before I have to pack it again for the Healthy Living Summit!  Such a hard life… :p

Have a wonderful and lazy Sunday everyone!

You Have Spoken

And I listened.  Wine it was!  In all reality, it wasn’t going to take that much convincing… but I am glad you all agreed. 

I also hope you had a glass for yourself.  Please tell me you did…

As soon as I got home from work, I ran to the gym.  Mon and I were rocking out the elliptical for a while.  Then a fun mile.  Then abs and weights.  Then the stairmill.  Weeee!  My ADD loves nights like that.

Finally, I got to the wine…  And the movie.  I rented Sherlock Holmes.  Maybe I was just tired.  Maybe the plot just couldn’t keep my interest.  Maybe I was bored with Robert Downey Jr’s ridiculous mumbling the entire movie.  It was exhausting and I couldn’t get sucked in enough to care about it.  Oh well.

This morning I was really excited about today’s run.  It was four miles.  Four miles without working all day first.  Four miles that I don’t feel rushed to start before the sun goes down.  Obviously, I need to start doing morning runs again.  I think I’d enjoy them a little more.  But then there’s that feeling that I’ve gotta rush through my workout to get in the shower in time for work. I just can’t win!

Clearly, I should just not work.  Ever.  And only run.  Ah in a perfect world….

But anyways, I was a little sad it was cloudy and the sun wasn’t really out.  No complaints, though- it’s supposed to rain at some point today and it didn’t when I was at the trail.  Four miles at an 8:26 average pace.  I’ll take it.  I didn’t have negative splits the entire time.  But that’s because according to my Nike+, mile 2 was a sluggish one.  Which is fair- it’s a slow and subtle incline for the majority of it.  And I don’t do subtle.  Never have, never will.  There’s my excuse for my crap mile.  I’m crossing my arms, sticking out my chin, and sticking to that excuse! 

Have you been celebrating National Salad Month?  Did you actually know it was National Salad Month?  Well… you do now.  I celebrated today.  But then again, I celebrate three or four days out of the week thanks to my love/routine of salad for lunch at work.  I’m never hungry right after I’m done running… it takes about an hour or so to kick in.  So when my stomach gave me the green light, I had this:Really simple turkey wrap and salad.  Refreshing.  I’m sad it’s gone. 

I won’t, however, be sad when the turkey I bought is finished.  I remember now why I don’t buy it often… I get sick of it after a couple days.  Seriously- how did Jared do it?  If I had deli every day, my body would revolt.  For reals.

My cousin contacted me this morning about possibly doing the 13.1 Chicago and she wanted to see if I was down to participate if she came in for the weekend of it.  But let’s make this clear- SHE is doing the half.  Not me.  There’s a 5k that also happens that day that I’m signing up for.  Probably.  It kind of works into my training schedule well- I’m supposed to do a race the weekend after the 13.1 Chicago, but I’m just gonna swap weekends.  No biggie.  Plus more hangout time for me and the cuz.  Perfect-o. Now the question is if we can convince our moms that it’s a good idea for them to come up from Missouri.  I know how they just LOVE standing around early in the morning watching runners go by for a couple hours…

Since I didn’t do yoga last night for one reason or another, I’m getting ready to do that now.  A nice stretch is necessary.  Maybe it’ll make me feel all long and lean for martini night tonight with some of the chicas.  I can always dream, right?  Btw, anyone a martini fan?  I favor the really rich ones (aka my heart melts for chocolate martinis)- but I’m trying to keep it light tonight.  Suggestions?

Have a good Saturday! Namaste…