Just Hanging Around…

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any more crazy around these parts, I go and let myself get thrown around in the air by complete strangers for a bit.

This Groupon came through in February during a particularly down week. The winter doldrums were hitting me hard. Combined with a little relationship (or lack of?) and job unsatisfaction?

A girl will do strange things. Especially me. I specialize in the random.

Like signing up for trapeze lessons.

So I had this groupon and let most of the summer slip away before realizing that if I wanted to take advantage of the lessons along the harbor (and if I was actually going to do it at all), it should happen sooner than later.

The roommate came along for moral support. Or at least let’s pretend that’s what it was when she said, “oh there’s no way I’m missing this.”

Setting the appointment a month or so in advance didn’t allow for the nerves to set in right away. Those nerves set in as I was climbing the tallest ladder I’ve ever climbed in my life.

There were a few moments of hesitation. I was scared. But what do you expect when you’re jumping off a ledge?

All of the workers said I was the only one who never let a smile leave my face. They didn’t realize it was because I was slightly delirious from the terrified feeling creeping in each time before jumping.

It was just a matter of sucking it up and going for it.

So. Much. Fun.

Once you actually let go, it’s easy.

And after a while?

“So now we’re going to teach you how to do a catch. You’ll have fun.”

Wait… what?

You want me to let go and just trust he’s going to hold on to me?

My grace and poise could still use work. But Rome wasn’t built in a day. Gimme a break. Geez.

Point of the matter is I tried it.

Because, as I always quote Sheldon, “what’s life without a little whimsy?”

And that’s why, no matter what mood, I bought it. Something to shake things up. Something out of my comfort zone.

Tonight I’m doing it again.

The getting out of my comfort zone thing. Not more trapezing. My blood pressure has already been tested on more than one occasion this last week.

I’m talking about the dreaded first date.

Dun dun dunnnnnnnnn.

Let’s see if some of the fearlessness I showed on Sunday translates to tonight, shall we?

Later, kids!

PS- I just really want to give all the peeps at TSNY Chicago a shout out- they were awesome, extremely patient, and made the whole experience very very cool. Much appreciated.

Relaxing Thoughts?

As a consistent runner, I work hard during training. Exhaustion. Aching muscles. Sweat on top of sweat on top of sweat. 

So, as a treat to myself after long races, I decided to start gifting myself massages. Thanks to Groupon, of course. Budgeting is still very much a priority up in here.

The last half marathon? April. It is now June.

My roommate and I actually bought the Groupons for the massage sometime in March. We tried to get in near the end of April with no luck. First available appointment? June 7th. Seriously?

Nothing like delayed gratification.

So after work, the roomie and I put our fancy pants on and made our way down to the Gold Coast for a lil’ discounted pampering at Channing’s Day Spa on a Thursday night.I love massages.

I do.

But it is really REALLY hard for me to relax. Find my zen. Chill. Mellow out. Find peace.

After thinking about it, this is probably why I don’t like yoga.

Anyway…

I can’t 100% relax because thoughts just keep sneaking in.

“Is that her stomach or mine?”
“This time it was definitely mine.”
“I wonder if she gets super tired doing this? I mean- is it like a workout to do this all day?”
“Oh God… is she going for the feet? Oh God… I forgot to tell her not to… Oh nooooo…”
“I wonder if she just saw the goosebumps go across my entire back.”
“Goosebumps… that was such a weird book series…”

So yeah. Maybe I don’t get as much out of a spa night as some. But that doesn’t mean I don’t walk out feeling pretty on top of the world. 

And I learned something new! I learned my right foot is about 10x more ticklish than my left. My massuese is probably not as excited as I am to have learned this information.

Also, as she got ready to exit, she said, “Ok Amy, I’m going to let you get dressed now. Have a wonderful rest of the night and please take care of that neck, ok?”

Here I thought the knots in my back would be the most embarrassing part. Followed closely by my ticklish feet. Now I have my neck to worry about, too? This is how a complex develops, people! Gah!

Physically, though, I still feel pretty fantastic. We’ll call it a success. Thanks, Groupon! 

Afterwards, the roomie and I meandered in search of food. We naturally gravitated towards a bar sign that claimed there were $2 bottles inside.

$2 you say? Sold!

Rarely do I get food at a bar that isn’t fried. But during an official “spa night”, you feel the need to order something sort of light (aka “grilled chicken”). And dare I say the California Wrap at McFadden’s is quite delicious? I could actually taste the avocado (they didn’t skimp) and the ranch wasn’t overwhelming.

But I’ll let you in on a secret… it was totally the bacon that put it over the edge. So maybe I failed on the “light” in that sense, but the salad on the side makes up for it. Totally.

I’ll let you in on another secret- don’t wear shorts after getting a massage. You’ll be slipping and sliding in your bar chair.

People raised their eyebrows at me, but I only had one beer. Promise!

All in all, a nice way to break up the end of the week. Now just 8 hours of work stand between me and the weekend. And THAT is a relaxing thought.

Happy Friday, kids!

JEEPERS CREEPERS! Now THAT was the name of the scary (ridiculous?) movie Justin Long was in. Another thought while on the massage table that I just couldn’t come up with the answer for…

Sigh… Don’t ask.

Feeling Back to Normal

Thanks for taking pity on my attempt at the long run.  You guys are right- 6 miles are still awesome.  But I wanted that 7th and 8th so bad! I really had a hard time deciding to stop. But it was either that or start taking walk breaks every quarter-mile. And that thought was just miserable.

But that’s behind us now. Today is a new day. And I’m about to give it another go. After I post this and give myself a pep talk. In the bathroom mirror. 

“… and gosh darnit people like you…”

Wait… let’s get back on track.

After a recovery period that included Waiting for Superman and a few SNL reruns, I woke up on Sunday feeling awesome. Or at least ordinary. Seriously guys- Friday night’s shenanigans left me hurting. Even my friend let out an “aaaawwwww” as he walked in on Saturday night when usually he just points and laughs. Could have been the fact that I was buried under multiple blankets with no makeup on and a massive glass of water on the coffee table.  If that doesn’t say “pity me”, I don’t know what does.

Either way, Sunday morning brought promise. Until I had a sip of coffee.  Bleh.

My coffee maker had been on the fritz for quite some time. But enough is enough. I sipped the rest of it slowly while browsing the Sunday ads for kitchen appliance sales. 

Coincidently, Mon texted me about her plans to hit Target at some point before we go to dinner later.  I invited myself along. All that was on the list was a coffee maker and face wash.

As we entered the aisle, Mon goes “oh! I still have the old one I had before my Keurig. Just take that one.”

Score! But of course Target sucks you in.  We found the clearance aisle…Gift bags for 50 cents?  What? A box of chocolates for $1? Bags of peanut butter M&M’s 90% off??? 

Went in for 2 things.  Left with 15. 

You got me again, Target. You got me again…

Later on, after a quick Shred and elliptical workout, Mon and I had an early dinner at Salsa 17 to use another one of our Groupon purchases. Sure, the first time we used it, there was a bad taste left in our mouths with the crowds and lackluster service. But we still had another Groupon that needed to be used.  Why not go at on off time? Like 3:00 in the afternoon?

We even beat the senior citizens there.Excuse my teary eyes. This was just after I was trying to re-enact the lastest episode of Community.

Donald Glover leaves me in hysterics every week.

Anyway, after a lovely dinner that was exactly like the last time we went (those enchiladas are freakin’ delish), we retreated back home to watch Red and break into the chocolates.Sorry about the mess.  I love that you can see the sweat pants I wear over my gym clothes. They were drying out because I had to walk through a down pour… stupid rain.

But anyways, waiting even 6 hours from when I bought the chocolate was a big deal.Aaaahhhh…. I love discount holiday candy. We took down all the caramels. The truffles were pretty much left behind. Not that I don’t like truffles (because I do!), I just prefer the caramels more…

I also love sleeping in. Until 7:30. Weeeeee!

And that coffee maker Mon mentioned? Put to use right away.Because I named my crock pot, it only seemed fair the coffee maker gets a name.  This is Sophie. She’s french. And is quite the barista.

So cheers! And happy Monday!

Off I go…

On The Wait List

Sometimes waiting can be a good thing. It builds anticipation. Builds excitement.

It can be good.

However, sometimes waiting can be a bad thing.People need to know this is not posed. This is what we looked like after waiting an hour and a half when we were originally told it would be about 45 minutes. Funny how we decided not to go there last week because of the wait, yet were ok with doing it this time around. They had even ran out of pagers at one point because so many people were on the wait list.

No bueno.

People around us were dropping like flies. Angry. Yelling. But I don’t care- once you hit that hour point, you’re invested. There’s no turning back. Even if you’re possibly sore and dehydrated for waiting around so long.

The bar wasn’t even an option- people were either standing up and eating there, or the people before us were waiting and progressively getting drunk because they had been there so long.

We were at a mexican restaurant called Salsa 17 in the cute little downtown area of Arlington Heights. Mon and I have done lunch there before and enjoyed it. But I will say right now- it’s a tiny restaurant. And too popular for it’s own good. Plus, the whole reason we were there is because Mon and I both took advantage of a Groupon for the place. So I’m sure that wasn’t helping matters.  Ick.

Anyway, finally, after getting dangerously close to the two-hour mark, we got to sit down.

Oh to sit down.  Sweet victory.

As much as I hate to admit it, the food is totally worth the wait. Ugh. I really do hate to say that. Because it was a long one. And we know to use our other Groupon at a less busy time (like at 3:00 on a Tuesday or something- geez). But the food and drink is worth going.Originally, all three of us were planning to not drink (hi- did that the night before) and focus on the food. But um… frozen margs all around.  ASAP. Thanks…

And because we’re three of the same, we have to do everything alike and all ordered a variation on enchiladas.I went with the enchiladas verdes- with the green tomatillo sauce (hence the “verde”).

The free chips and salsa are amazing on their own. The food you actually pay for? Let’s just say our table was silent for about 20 minutes and no one dropped their fork once.

After the Groupon, we all spent about $14 (that includes tip) at a nice restaurant for a monster margarita, a meal, and leftovers that I will probably be able to stretch for another two meals. It’s a win in my book.

And with that, I will ask the important question…

How long will you wait at a restaurant to sit down?  This may have been the longest time I’ve spent. When this girl needs to be fed, it doesn’t get pretty…

Fork, Wine & Style… kinda like a G6

Good afternoon, everyone!  Oh man I’m late at posting this…

Sorry.  Sometimes I have to wait a little longer on some days for the brain activity to kick in.

This is one of those days.  You’ll see why.

Yesterday started out pretty early.  I wasn’t sure how far my long run would be, but I went 7 miles before calling it a day- all at about 8:45 pace.  The legs ache today, but some of that may have to do with the fact that I was running around in one pair of heels to another all day after that.  We shall wait and see.

After the run, I hustled to be ready in time to meet Mon for Fork, Cork & Style- a food and wine festival being held at the Arlington Park  Race Track.  The Groupon had gone through a couple weeks ago and Mon was on top of it.  Emeril was there at some point.  But I sadly did not hear him “BAM” his way through a meal- Mon and I hit up the wine tents as soon as we got there.There were 6 tents- each tent has about 6 or 7 different vendors.  Each vendor had 6 or 7 different wines to try.

Do the math. One of my favorites to taste was a red wine called Quintessa.  Part of it could have been the taste, but I was quite fascinated that it was $110 a bottle.  A case of that stuff could pay for a couple months rent… I don’t know if that excited or depressed me.

After we had our fill (and got tired of the crowd that was building), we decided it may be a good idea to eat a little somethin’ to keep ourselves in check.  With our Groupon ticket, we got not only admission to the wine tasting tents, but also 5 tickets for food. 

One of the favorites was the ribs from Fresh 1800 out of Schaumburg.I also really loved the beer cheese and pretzel bread.  And the Memphis-style BBQ.  But I don’t remember what vendor they came from… sorry.Ted Drewes frozen custard (from St. Louis) was also there.  I had to go get some as a shout out to my peeps in Missouri- holla’!  However, I was a bit disappointed.The ice cream was quite delicious.  But um… I got pretty much two spoonfuls of it.  Yes, I get the everything in moderation rule.  But there’s a difference in moderation and stingy, people.  Compare it to the pulled pork slider.  Both of those cost 1 ticket.  That’s not right.

Do you go to wine/food tastings?  I’ve never been to the huge one here- Taste of Chicago.  I’m not one for drinking and eating with the masses.  Seems like more of a hassle than anything.  But this one was a relatively decent size.  Will I go again next year?  Eh.  Maybe if Paula Deen is there. 

Anyways, it was a breezy afternoon, but not bad.  The wine also helped with keeping me from being cold.  Lovely.  After a few hours of lounging around at Arlington Park, I went home to get ready for outting #2.  I was going downtown to meet up with my friend Nicole- who I haven’t seen since July.  Which is crazy since she’s a good friend from Mizzou and lives so close.  So a little crowd of us went out and hit a bar in Wrigleyville for a bit.  That happened until my friend let me know of an interesting occurence that was about to go down.

Nicole and I made our way downtown because my friend had put us on the guest list at Enclave to see these kids perform:

You may not recognize them (I sure wouldn’t have), but that’s Far East Movement.  They stopped by Enclave and performed “Like a G6″ for the crowd.  We happened to be in a really good spot when they were about to come on.  Nothing beats front and center.

I’m normally a “rock” kind of girl, but “Like a G6″ has happened to be my daily theme song as of late being as how I can’t seem to get the damn song out of my head…

Jason Derulo was also supposed to show up at some point, but it was getting to be that time and we were a wee bit tired.  So we bailed.  Sorry JD- maybe next time.  We were both chatty the whole way home and Nicole may or may not have had the best idea of the night when she decided we should do this:I couldn’t even remember the last time I had late night pizza.  All she  had to do was mention it and I was already on the phone ordering.

You would not believe the damage two slender girls did to this thing. 

But I am quite sure you would believe that because of this pizza, I woke up feeling pretty decent.  Considering the late night and beverages consumed. 

Like I said- sometimes pizza is the best idea ever.  In more ways than one. 

Not to say I wasn’t tired.  I drove home  pretty early (even Sunday morning traffic on the interstate in the city is disgusting) and crashed for a few more hours in the comfort of my own bed.  Because, let’s face it- your own bed trumps a friend’s couch every single time.

And that, my friends, was my long Saturday.  Excuse me while I go lounge some more…

Not Cute

Well.  I’m much more chipper today.

Probably because I got my cookie yesterday. 

Totally needed it.  Considered it pre-workout fuel.  Because that’s how my thought process works.

Thanks for all the kind words on how my speed work session went.  I’ve spent all this time dreading it, and think I may have built it up into something that is much worse than it actually was.  Don’t get me wrong- it was challenging, but in a good way. 

I was asked a few things about yesterday’s post, and here are my answers:

1. I walked a minute between each interval.  Is walking a no-no?  Should I have jogged? I’ve heard debates on it.  Seriously, I need to Google this situation more.  Because Google is my answer to everything.  And I believe it will someday take over the world.  Don’t ask me how, I know it’s simply a search engine, but it’s gonna happen.  You saw it here first.

2. The Samantha Bee book is going fabulously well.  I really like her.  I think because I’m one to appreciate dry humor.  It’s a collection of essays,  basically, about how she grew up.  Some I love more than others, but they’re all generally entertaining.  As a warning, she can be crude at times.  So if that’s not your style (I don’t judge), don’t take my recommendation.  If it is, go check it out.

3. And it is beyond me how people cannot smell themselves when they reek and are affecting the productivity of those around them.  No clue.  If you have the answer, please inform us all.  Thanks.

Last night was killer, too.  My plan called for 2 miles and cross training.  Which I consider as a free-for-all at my gym- last night that meant the run, elliptical, crunches, and some arm weights.  And there was a lot of energy bursting out of me (afternoon coffee?), so I was ok with the long session.  I even decided part of my arm workout would be my resistance band dvd workout.  It has three circuits: front body, back body, and core.  I’ve done them all together in a row, but like it much better to do one session (each is about 15 minutes) as part of a bigger workout.  Last night I chose front body.  And I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m crushing hard on the band workouts.  They don’t feel like that much of a strain compared to free weights, but I always feel the resistance and break a sweat (or continue sweating, in this case).

Last night I made something different.  I sort of took a few of the things I’ve liked over the last week or two and threw them together.  Spinach base?  Check!  Sautéed veggies with a curry seasoning?  Yes!  Peanut butter dressing?  Holy yumminess. All together?  Eeeehhh… Totally not cute.  Downright ugly-looking salad, if we’re being honest.  But did it taste ok?  Considering I can’t say “YES!” right away, that should probably be my indicator not to make it like this again.

Another look?Yep, still ugly.  I think what kills it is that the curry powder totally turned the veggies a semi-neon color.  And that the spinach is a bit wilty as it happens to be on it’s last leg.  Oh well… 

What’s the last “eh” creation you’ve made?

Today is my rest day.  I’m excited about this not so much because I want to rest (kind of indifferent on that one), but because I’ve got plans.  Mon and I are having a spa night.  I’m an avid Groupon gal, and when a spa near us advertised on it one day, we swooped.  I need a massage.  It’s out of control.  I’m tense.  So when I saw 60% off for a salon gift certificate?  YES PLEASE.  My muscles cried tears of joy.  It’s kind of pathetic.

Assume that tonight I will be a mellow ball of happiness.  Now the question is will I have enough leftover on the gift certificate to cover a pedicure for my friend’s wedding that I’m in next weekend?  If not, I may be in trouble.  Who’s got ugly feet?  This girl!  Seriously… not cute!