While I Was Gone…

I’m baaacccckkk!

Did you miss me? Did you even realize I was gone? Pretty sure people at my office yesterday didn’t. But whatev…

It was a great holiday weekend with the fam. And while I could probably go on for DAYS about my weekend, we’ll just be nice and give you a bulleted list instead.

You’re welcome.

1. My drive down to Missouri on Friday went swimmingly. I stopped in St. Louis for the night on Friday to break up the trip. And to also see a few of my college girls.Turns out we’re getting to that point where we can’t read the menu by candlelight anymore. This saddened and scared us all.

2. I offered to make a side for dinner on “Easter Eve”. Since asparagus is very much in season and is a good healthy addition, that’s what I went with.Yes, holiday weekends with my family often include lasagna. I don’t eat ham and my parents always fret about having enough of “the main”. So we got ham AND lasagna. Don’t mock it. We’re making it the new “thing”. Tell your friends.

3. Candy coma happens after half a bag of mini Robin’s Eggs. You know the ones with the whopper in the middle? Yeah- those.  Half a bag. Give or take about 20. I wasn’t counting.

4. I am now sick of said candy. This surely won’t last long. But in the mean time, I could really go for a salad… Or really, anything green by nature and not with a chocolate center.

5. It’s not a trip back to the hometown without a stop in the one and only bar in town to catch up with some old friends.Ashlee and I wanted to best try to communicate the atmosphere of the bar for you peeps. We decided the hunting scenes on wood paneling in one part of the bar/restaurant would be the most accurate description.

We also really just liked the cougar sign on wall.We’re weird.

One day someone will find it sexy. One day…

6. Someone needs to create an app that tells you the best-rated stops along interstates. The factors would include best gas prices, bathroom cleanliness, and best selection of fast food.

Someone steal this idea from me. I’m technologically inadequate but really need this app. I’ve failed at picking good exits more often than not.

It’s nothing short of a miracle I haven’t contracted a virus by stepping into some of those restrooms.

7. I didn’t end up doing the Jillian dvds like I thought I would. Mostly because of the candy coma (discussed above). However, because the weather was so nice, I ventured out for short runs twice over the weekend. One of which ended with a walk with my parents.

It takes about 3 laps around the town to get in 2 miles. Not kidding.

I also learned people will slow down and try to figure out who you are as you’re running if you haven’t come back often over the last 4(ish) years. Awkward waving was involved. They probably still haven’t figured out who I am.

8. I learned to never wash my car before going home again. If it wasn’t the alternative route home taken due to construction (I chose the narrow/curvy/scary route vs the county gravel roads where it is completely possible to get lost for days), it was the large puddle I slammed into as soon as I pulled into the driveway. Crap.

With that, I hope you all also had a great weekend with friends and family.

Like my dress? I found it super cheap at Kohl's, but it still makes me feel like Kate Middleton. The single, refined-but-not-quite-there, "Wait-y Katie" version- not the classy, super elegant married princess we all know and love now. I've got a lot of work to do. Clearly.

Later!

Exit Sign

The goal for the day is to beat some of the traffic going out of the city today. It’s the first time in the few years I’ve worked for my company that the office is closing at noon for the holiday, and I’m heading straight from the parking lot to the nearest interstate exit labeled “You’re heading to Missouri, you crazies! Are you sure you wanna do that? Are you lost? Are you aware how boring this drive is? You should really fly more. Get a Frequent Flyers Card.”.

Or at least that’s what it would say, but not all the words would fit. So they just came up with “Exit, St. Louis”  instead.

Either way, that’s where I’m heading for the night to stop and visit my gal pals before finishing the trip to Mid-MO on Saturday morning to celebrate Easter with the fam.

I have not a clue what I will be doing tonight. My luggage holds a pair of sweat pants and a pair of sassy heels. *Probably* not to be worn at the same time. We’ll see where the night takes us.

However, I already know where the weekend will take me. Straight to a basket full of chocolate molded into fun springtime shapes.

If it’s shaped like an egg or a bunny, the calories cancel out.

Don’t give me that look. I don’t make the rules.

But just in case, I’m bringing along some Jillian Michaels “The Shred” and “Six Week Six Pack”.

It’s probably going to take me longer than six weeks to get that six pack, being as how the dvd only gets broken out maybe once a week. Shoot.

This morning I participated in strength training in the form of hauling all of my crap from the apartment to my car. The one bright side to being an overpacker.

Sigh. I’ll never learn.

Later, peeps!

Christmas by Numbers

Hey kiddos!

Long time no see, am I right?

This is what I’ve been up to:

Number of family get togethers: 2

Me and my bro. I had to drop the "little bro" because that is clearly not the case anymore. I would say we wish you a Merry Christmas, but you can't even see the tree...

Number of get togethers with friends: 5

Number of hours on the road: approximately 20

Number of times I saw it snow: 0 (Weird, but lucky when you consider that usually at least one leg of my trip is spent in a snow or ice storm.)

Number of times I listened to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas”: also 20 (still not tired of it)

Number of meals eaten from holiday dinner leftovers: 3 (and counting)

I probably also attacked those cookies afterwards. My sweet tooth has no discipline.

Number of pieces of pecan pie consumed: 4 (Yes, I ate 2/3 of the pie over a 3-day period. What? I wait all year for this… BAM)

Number of Paula Deen recipes used: 1 (it’s a good one- get excited)

Number of bottles of water consumed on the road: 10ish (don’t worry, I recycle)

Number of stops at Panera/St. Louis Bread Co: 2 (definitely do not call it Panera in St. Louis- people will get heated)

Number of packages from bloggers I received while at my parent’s house: 1

Kace @ Then Change It sent these and I have been using them to snack on as I road trip back to Chicago. There could not have been better timing for their arrival. Thanks girl- the brownie batter cookies are for sure changing my life! And maybe the number in inches of my waistline. But we're not discussing that now...

Number of loads of laundry I did at my parent’s house: 2 (it was conveniently awesome)

Number of lackluster workouts: 3 (The Shred – holla’)

Number of days I still have off before going back to work: 6

Number of days I will hopefully be productive when it comes to cleaning/working out/running errands: 2 (let’s be honest)

Number of salads I will be consuming this week to counteract the crazy amounts of holiday food: 7,000 (give or take)

Set plans for New Years: 0 (I should probably work on that in one of the 2 productive days I should be having, huh?)

Number of calls from the roommate about the carbon monoxide detector going off when she got back: 1 (don’t worry, it was checked and was just a dying battery- I promise I won’t die in my sleep any time soon.)

Alright, time to leave you once again. I’m in St. Louis and am getting ready for that 5th meeting with friends and the last 5 hours of my trip. Next time you see me, I’ll be back  home in good ol’ Chicago!

100 Words: Christmas Eve Edition

Merry Christmas Eve from St. Louis, my friends!Yes, I am in St. Louis. Not Hawaii.

Bummer, right?

It’s ok. I’ll be driving to the ‘rents house soon. Last night was spent with the besties in St. Louis at “Aloha Christmas”- an annual party their friend does.

I fully supported the idea.

I will also be fully supporting Panera’s efforts to caffenaite America very very soon.

Because yesterday… whew. Long drive. Long party.

Tired Amy.

However, I just wanted to say I made it safely across the Illinois border into Missouri. I know you were concerned. Which I appreciate.

Laters!

Lazy Black Friday

Happy Friday everyone!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. If you hadn’t figured out from yesterday, I didn’t go back to see the family in Mid-Missouri for the holiday.

Don’t worry. It’s ok. This is the third year I’ve spent Thanksgiving in Chicago and I’m kind of ok with it. Makes the holiday seem much less rushed. I get all those pesky things done around the house that are normally ignored (ahem- cleaning and laundry). Even a few Christmas things are getting taken care of (locating the Christmas tree in our storage area, starting the Christmas card list, etc.). Productivity is the name of the game.

And I still get some quality time in with the fam:My aunt snuck this pic of my mom as the rest of the family was playing “pass the phone” when I called yesterday afternoon. It makes me laugh.

But don’t you think that doesn’t mean I didn’t have places to go and people to see on Thanksgiving.

My lovely friend Annie has a family that has been wonderful about taking me in the past few years. Her in-laws have been so good to me from helping me move to asking me over for dinner to generally being my home away from home.

Where else would I spend Thanksgiving?

And they give me my own name plate at the table! Pretty sure her in-laws need to be careful. They may be stuck with me permanently if they keep this up.

Plus, Anne’s mother-in-law make a mean corn casserole.

Yes, mean. It’s deliciously evil. Last year, she tried to show me the recipe. I closed my eyes and covered my ears and started singing.

I really don’t want to know.

Good thing I did my own lil’ Turkey Trot in the gym before the chowing down. A quick 5k and another half hour of incline walking during the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade. So festive of me.

I also did No More Trouble Zones with Jillian and am not sure if I’m sore due to that or the unusual amount of extra walking I did after my run. Oh well.

Now excuse me. I have some online shopping to do as I watch the Black Friday coverage on the news this morning.

And probably another Turkey Trot at the gym.

I did go for seconds of that corn casserole and stuffing…

Laters!

Holiday Weekend Distractions

Labor Day Weekend.

It’s a weekend when friends come together and celebrate with one another.With guacamole. At Piece Brewery and Pizzeria. Even if we had to wait 45 minutes to an hour for a table…

It’s worth it. Maybe not so much for the guac. Pretty sure it came from a bucket. But it totally worth it for the pizza.Oh the pizza…

We went with mushrooms, bacon and goat cheese. It was the perfect combination.

So perfect, that we may have gone a little overboard…It was just so good- we couldn’t stop!

But that’s ok. I needed to be well fed for the next day I had planned with Megan!What’s a better way to celebrate an American holiday than to spend part of it in one of the oldest stadiums in the country to watch America’s favorite pastime?

Megan may be a Cubs fan. And I may be a Cards fan. She may be a Miller Lite girl. And I may be a Bud Light gal.But we can still live in peace and harmony.And break it down on the non-dance floor at a non-dance club bar. It’s the American way.

Especially when it’s a German-themed bar.

But it’s cool. We got some serious beer mugs.They were multi-purpose. We got frosty beverages AND were able to fit in a few curls for fitness.

But, as our parents always taught us, we made sure to clean our plates mugs.It may have also seemed a little strange to celebrate an American holiday in a German bar with tequila shots.

But hey. We do what we want.

Besides, we had buffalo chicken nachos before that.So really, it all ties together. Sorta. Right?

Yes. You’re supposed to say yes.

Either way, that’s all that the stuff that kept me out and about over the weekend and away from my lap top.

And oh yeah, that boy who came to visit me. He distracted me, too.

So we can really just put most of the blame on him. It’s the easier thing to do. And he takes it pretty well.

Anyway, enjoy your Tuesday, friends. Usually, as you know, I hate Tuesdays. But I’ll give this one a break because it’s the beginning of a 4-day work week and I’m in a good mood. Just this once…

Weekend Agenda

Happy Friday everyone! And happy start to the holiday weekend!

It is definitely time for the freakin’ weekend to be here, am I right? (I know Rihanna would concur.)

This is what I kept in mind while visiting my sparkly new gym for the first time last night. And let me just say- it was a blessing I just signed up because it was humid and unnaturally HOT in Chicago yesterday. Considering it’s September and all… But anyway, as I plugged away at the stairmill for 15 minutes and the elliptical for another 30, I kept going with a few thoughts in mind:

- I may not get another workout in for a while. It’s a busy weekend and I have a houseguest to entertain. Unless, of course, I can get in an early morning run at some point. Might not be hard since I’ve been known to not sleep in much past 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning. Hmmm… this is a possibility I’m considering now…

- There will be very little time for eating at home. Friends will be out and about everywhere. And I will be everywhere with those friends.

- There will be quite a lot of time, instead, being spent enjoying beverages other than water. I will be found at one of Chicago’s many BYOB restaurants tonight. Tomorrow I’ll be found at a brewery. And possibly a drinking establishment to watch some college football. Sunday I’ll be found in the nosebleeds at Wrigley. Maybe by Monday I’ll finally be found with a bottle of water in my hand. In bed. Not moving.

Sounds about right.

- It seems rain in the forecast will inevitably stop any plans to explore the city. Hence taking away the opportunity to walk off some of the damage.

*Shrugging Shoulders*

C’est la vie. Right?

(Source)

Enjoy yourself this Labor Day. Be safe. And GO MIZZOU!

What’s Good

Good morning!

Since the government says that you shouldn’t work on the holiday, I also decided to take that as a sign as to not blog on the holiday either. Or the holiday weekend, for that matter…

Not sure when I would have fit in the time, anyway. It was a very busy weekend. In this case, though, busy is definitely good.What with spending all my time lounging on rooftops and all…

That and having a few legendary days of going out with friends for brunch.Ahem…

What? PBR was on special…

I even found time in my busy schedule to meet up with blogging buds…Megan and SIL (from her fab features on Low and Behold) enjoyed a little of the Wrigleyville Block Party with me and my roomie on Sunday!Also, a lot of dancing happened. A LOT.Not sure what’s going to happen when I can’t bust a move at the street fests anymore? I predict lots of sadness.

And maybe a need to sign up for jazzercise. (spirit fingers!)

Most people departed the area after that (silly dinner dates and such), so Megan and I paired up and decided to take in a little of the scenery at Murphy’s Bleachers.

A fine establishment. Where we know people. People who let the drinks flow freely and supply us with endless mozzerella sticks.

It’s good to know people.

It’s also good to have a supply of coffee on hand along with Home Alone on the dvr.

What better way to spend 4th of July morning watching 90′s Christmas flicks?

It’s also good to plan outfits accordingly. Like how I did yesterday afternoon for a BBQ.The strategy is to always wear the loosest summer dress you own when attending BBQ’s.

You maximize your intake of grilled food that way.The BBQ was with Mon’s fam and friends. They’re fun. Hence the napkin.

I’ve also been busy at getting some physical activity in. As an attempt to cancel out some of the adult activity. 3.6 humid miles on Friday evening and 3.7 on Sunday morning. MapMyRun.com has been an awesome discovery. After being a little weary about the new technology I’m getting myself into, I’m now obsessed with mapping out the miles after every run.

Uh oh- is this the new motivation I need?

Hopefully so!

Anyway, I hope you all had a great weekend. I’m gonna go sit and suffer my exhaustion hangover from the weekend. It was a loooooong weekend. Whew…

It also didn’t help that people in the neighborhood were shooting off firecrackers/fireworks until all hours of the night.

Sigh. Sleep is overrated anyway.

Later!

Heidi-ho Winslows!

Bailey and I sure have been doing a lot of wandering around the neighborhood aimlessly. We’re really trying to get our bearings and find some fun spots. The kids of 90210 have The Peach Pit. I want a place like that. With beer and killer chicken tenders. I’ll pass on the milkshakes.

But last night we had a mission. A serious one. Thanks to a little birdie who informed me about this house:Do you recognize it?

Anyone?

Not even with this very obvious title?

How about a hint? You’re gonna have to click HERE because YouTube is dead set against letting it be embedded into my post. Meh.

Raise your hand if you’re having flashbacks to TGIF.

Now put it down before anyone notices.

I had forgotten about Family Matters being set in Chicago. Sure, there’s the Home Alone house (which I’m still waiting to go to!) in the ‘burbs. But how could I have forgotten this classic?Sadly, it looks as if Steve Urkel’s home has since been torn down and rebuilt.

Maybe Stefan did it after making all that cash from modeling?

Man… TGIF was awesome. It was a really big deal around my house. My brother and I would get to break out the popcorn and soda (we really didn’t have soda but once a week growing up). And yes, it was a 2-liter.

And yes, it’s “soda”. Not “pop”.

Anyway…

The trek to and from (about a 45-minute walk if you don’t include the run and pit stop we made in a grocery store due to a sudden downpour) was my workout for the night. My booty and arms were still aching from my Jillian Michaels workout from Tuesday, so I decided to postpone anything more intense until after work tonight.

Why is it that day two sometimes is so much worse than day one after a strength workout? I’m such a wus.

I should probably run. MapMyRun.com sent me an email today that didn’t quite say it, but subtly hinted “wow, you’ve really ran hardly anything compared to last week- step it up, you baby!”

You don’t have to tell me twice…

Well, I know a lot of you are getting out early. Or not even at work today.  I hate you people.

Just kidding. Sort of.

Either way, have a great weekend, ya’ll. Cross your fingers I get to leave early (for sanity reasons more than anything else).

Laters!

(Source)

Mentally Noted

You would not believe the swing in weather around here. After spending a day in rain delays and 60-degree weather, waking up to sun and 83 degrees was quite the pleasant surprise.

Because of the sunshine and the flexibility in schedule, I took to the trail by my current apartment. Funny how quickly you get knocked on your butt when not used to 83-degree weather. After completing the full 2.8-hour loop and losing half my weight in sweat, it was already nearing noon and closing in on 90 degrees. I let go of the idea of a second loop and retreated back to my apartment where I chose to hit the stairmill for 15 minutes and cool down with a walk on the treadmill.

Gonna have to relearn that, if I want to get an outdoor run in, waking up and moving around a little earlier will be necessary.

Mentally noted.

My biggest accomplishment during my Memorial Day (other than officially starting the packing/moving process)? Working on my tan lines via the outdoor running and some time pool side. Not time IN the pool, just beside it. Observing all the people hopping in, swearing, and jumping directly out. Still cold. Give it another week or so before jumping in. Mentally noted.

I hope all of you were able to also enjoy the holiday. Especially if this means grilling. Because I would like to live vicariously through you. Still grill-less, I decided to make the most of it and decided to eat what food that would be served at a BBQ.Asparagus wrap with pepperjack, zucchini, and sweet corn. Sure, a smoked flavor and grill marks would have been nice, but it worked.

I really need to make friends with more people who own BBQ grills. Mentally noted.

And with that, let’s welcome back the work week. It’s a short one, so I’m keeping my whining to a minimum.

Even if it’s Tuesday. They do generally suck, but since it’s the first day of the work week, maybe everyone will be fooled into thinking it’s Monday and it won’t be that bad.

A girl can always dream, right?

Question of the Day- Who got a sunburn this weekend?