Extreme! Weekend

Hello there! And happy Monday!

I’m feelin’ particularly good today being as how it was a restful weekend and there are no pressing deadlines in my near future.

Stress can often be healthy. But no stress is way more fun.

And you know what else is super fun?

Freakin’ dinosaurs.

Part of my weekend was spent at the Field Museum. Staring at skeletons of cool things and checking out an exhibit called “Extreme! Mammals”.

Sue the dino is still my favorite. Followed closely by the man-eating Tsavo lions.

Because I love big animals. Like lions and tigers and bears.

Or cheetahs.

The pants I wore literally all day yesterday. Totally extreme.

Don’t be jealous of my super awesome new pj pants. You can’t say I’m not sexy.

And I’m still not of a maturity level past the age of 12.

This is not a surprise to anyone. Obviously.

Lucky me, people tend to put up with it.

Anyway… after a restful weekend (with the exception of those 8 miles I ran on Saturday), all I have left between me and the ZOOMA half marathon is a work week. A work week of keeping things in check and under control.

Or at least pretending to.  I’m a girl without a deadline. Which is like a 12-year-old without a curfew.

Watch out.

I’m so extreme.

100 Words Saturday: Pre Race

Oh hey there.

How are ya?

I’m well. Thanks for asking.

Carb-loaded last night.

Yes- Goose Island counts as part of the carb loading. And yes- I’m having a hard time letting go of summer.

Went to bed early. Slept in.

Fought crowds down at the Chicago Half Marathon Expo at Navy Pier to pick up my race stuff.

Three hours of my life and all I got was a t-shirt.

Lame. Not the shirt- the time it took.

But it had to be done. Because tomorrow is the big day!

Until then?

Family time with my cousins. Work (grrrr). Resting.

And ipod updates. Any and all new music suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.

Please and thank you.

Laters!

Sunday Morning

My favorite part of this weekend by far was Sunday morning.

And it started at 5:50am.

That’s when I woke up and urged myself out of bed. Not that I could have gone for more time with my head on the pillow.

But the women’s marathon was underway in London. And given that the track events are my favorite (a close second being anything involving the men’s swim team), I needed to be up to cheer on the team.

And sure, the USA ladies had a rough time of it. But it was still so mesmerizing to watch. These women work so hard all year long, every year to build up to an event that is still so exhausting and mind blowing-ly hard. Even though I’m sure I will never run a full marathon, credit needs to be given to all the girls that were out there running 26.2 miles as fast as they could in the dreary weather they had to deal with.

(source)

The word “inspirational” seems ridiculously cliché.

So I won’t use it.

But you know what I’m thinking.

And it may have been in the back of my mind while breaking out my yoga mat and doing my standard free weights with Jillian directly after.

Because the day was 10x more gorgeous than the one before, it was a lovely stroll to meet up with my friend for brunch.

Other than the woman at the salon who tortured my face waxed my eyebrows, he was one of the few people I interacted with in person all weekend.

When I said ”low key weekend necessary to reset“, I really meant it.

My friend is a guy I went to high school with and was in town doing media coverage for Lollapalooza.

Lucky duck, right?

So I lived vicariously through his weekend and he recounted the last few days of events and craziness.

It was like I got the good scoop on everything without the rain and mud soaked misery. And without the hangover.

Plus, I got to have pancakes as he was storytelling.Pretty sure this was a good deal on my end.

And even though my long run the day before was crappy, this made it totally worth it.

And now it’s Monday. I loved my quiet weekend and am sad for it to end. But now my awesome roommate is back from her weekend trip, I’ve got plans of a social nature this week, and I’m getting ready to head out to a job I love doing.

Things could be worse.

What We Have To

My plans last night were a red box and a night in.

The dvd wouldn’t play.

Night officially ruined.

So I made myself a giant cookie, had a glass of wine, and settled for cheap thrills on cable television.

We do what we have to.

I used one of Picky Palate’s recipes for a giant cookie.

It actually makes two nice sized ones, by the way.

Thought I’d fool myself and try to save one for the next day. But, if you’ll remember, there was no movie to distract me. So I ate the second one, too.

Whatever. It was carb loading. And it was essential I stayed in last night. Or so I thought.

Today was supposed to be a 7-miler. But we’re still under heat advisory and I am not waking up before 7:00 on a Saturday. Nope. So I hit the gym.

We do what we have to.

I pulled out 4.7 miles on the tread and another 12 minutes on the elliptical before deciding it might actually be more humid/hot inside the gym than outside. I finished up the day with a 1.5 mile walk outdoors. The breeze and 12-degree drop in weather confirmed it- much nicer outside than in.

Just can’t win.

Shoulda waited until tomorrow because there’s a rumor it’s going to be a high in the low 80′s. But tonight will be a long one. My gal pal Mon needs a perk up and what better plan than to see Magic Mike and get some adult beverages after?

We do what we have to.

Until then, I should probably be a good kid.

Iced tea from McDonald’s (shout out to B for letting me borrow her car for the journey) and a salad because absolutely no cooking is going down in my kitchen again until the temps straighten themselves out. It’s a decided new rule.

Stay cool, kids.

And On Friday, She Rested.

Or at least I will. It’s still early yet.

But I have high hopes.

Starting with sleeping in and not participating in a morning workout. When training for the last half in April, I enjoyed having Friday as a day of rest, so I kept with the tradition for the most part.

Plus, that allows for an extra glass or two of wine on date night. There are no downsides to this.

However, I am reminded now that training for my half marathon in September should have started this week. Whoops.

Since it’s my day of rest, I’ll worry about that tomorrow.

Today I will worry about making sure wine is chilled and the DVR is ready.

Today I will worry about emails from friends and fam to catch up on and new recipes for a friend’s birthday to google.

Today I will worry about making sure I have clean workout clothes and a charged ipod for a run that is… tomorrow.

Today I am resting.

And it feels good.

(Source)

Obviously this is me tomorrow. Not today!

Happy Friday, kids.

Whatcha doin’ today?

Dent In The Couch

I missed a high school friend’s wedding this last weekend.

An unfortunate consequence of me moving a state away after college. I can’t go back to my hometown as much as I’d like for such things. It sucks sometimes. Sure, I’ll see pictures and hear all the stories. But it’s not really the same.

I’m not writing about this to start a pity party. I love my life in Chicago. And my weekends as of late have been full of so much fun! But with my traveling to Mid-MO for Easter and with my trip to DC this coming weekend, it was decided to stay home this last weekend for the sake of saving some cash and sanity.

Or at least salvage the last of both. Whichever.

So, as promised to myself on Saturday, I did turn down invites out. And had myself a nice little night in. Sweats. No makeup. My spot on the couch.

Everything but the kitchen sink was in this pizza. Or at least everything in my refrigerator- mushrooms, green peppers, onions, pepperoni and black olives. Topped later with mozzarella and feta cheese. Because one type of cheese is never enough...

And nothing says “lazy night in” like a glass or two of wine and some pizza.

That's the ticket. Notice how light it is- because dinner happened at maybe 5:30. Apparently, when deciding to stay in this weekend, I also became a senior citizen in the process
Oh and you're crazy if you think I didn't go back for another two pieces. It was that good.

And proceeding to fall asleep on said couch by 10:00 that night.

Sigh. That hasn’t happened in SO long. As much as I enjoy being a social butterfly, it was nice. Really nice.

What does a person do after 9 hours of sleep? They have a nice little run to Wrigleyville and back. The only people out were me, taxi drivers, and a few people stumbling into the area brunch spots. So every few blocks, there was a rotation between the smell of bacon and eggs, then stale beer. Gotta love Wrigleyville in the warmer months…

3.2 miles and a shower later, I was back on the couch. Where I belonged. Making my dent.

And here I am now- my weekend unfortunately over, watching the headlines, and getting ready to leave my dent in the couch for work. Sadness. At least I have pictures of the missed wedding mentioned earlier to look forward to when I get home and retreat back to my dent in the couch.

It’s important to ease your way out of lazy weekends slowly. A little known fact…

100 Words: Comedy Show Edition

So about last night…

We ended up having our “few” drinks at a show named Bye Bye Liver.

An interactive drinking play.

This is the best idea ever. It was hilarious! Unless you’re hoping for a low key weekend.

Then, not so much.

Ah well. I still feel ok enough to hit up some Jillian strength training. And maybe even the gym.

I won’t be accepting invites to go out tonight, so don’t even try.

Leave me to my red box. And maybe a glass of wine.

Please and thank you.

Oh… and GO BULLS!

Had to throw that in…

Refreshing Segues

Happy Friday!

We made it to the weekend. Yet again.

Ah the vicious cycle of working for the weekend…

I don’t know about you, but with the minor exception of having a few drinks tonight with my friend who is moving tomorrow, I’ve got nothing planned.

Obviously I haven't gotten very far on that puzzle. Nor did I do a good job of estimating how much space I would need. Puzzles are soooo harrrrddd.

And it feels SO good. Refreshing.

Just as refreshing as a solid hot breakfast. Some days I want something more well-rounded than plain ol’ oatmeal. Not surprising. Like I said- refreshing.

You liked that segue, yes?

It has been one nutty weekend after another up in here. Races. Holidays. Parties. Visitors.

My mental state and wallet are spent.

So this weekend will be a recovery of sorts. Especially since there’s a mini vacay in DC next week that is staring me down. Since there is absolutely no down time planned during said vacay, I need to build up some energy. Have a salad or two. Take some vitamins. Run a few laps. Chug some water.

Because we all know that’s not happening as soon as my plane touches down in our nation’s capital.

So yes. A rest weekend. This is going to feel sooooo gooood.

Not sure what possessed me to buy bagel thins again. But they're not bad for keeping sandwiches lower in calories. Perfect for lunch. BAM.

Almost as good as a fresh deli lunch. Turkey sandwich topped with cheddar, a little ranch, and a lot of hot sauce.

Notice the sweet segue there, too?

I should really stop calling myself out on those.

Anyway, the sandwich has been my lunch pretty much all week. Because if there’s anything to make you feel refreshed and awake, it’s Frank’s RedHot.

Because, to quote their latest ad campaign, I put that shit on everything.

A Little Help From My Friends

As briefly mentioned before, last week kinda blew.

Not for one particular reason. Just a bunch of small ones that added up and made me quite hateful by 5:00 on Friday night.

Enter the weekend. My time to relax and recharge.

Friends help with this. They distract. They’re down to play. And they make me feel 10 times better with hardly any effort at all.

And sometimes they know when you just need an afternoon of throwing balls really really hard at things.And yes, I’m passive aggressive.

But at least I’m a passive aggressive bowler who dresses in high fashion. Naturally.

Mon and I have bowled before. It was after fits of rage a couple of years ago. So Mon had barely gotten the suggestion out of her mouth by the time I looked up deals in my area. One cheap Groupon deal later, we had secured a lane and were sippin’ on Bitch Ale.The ale was on draft. Almost like they saw me coming. Unwashed hair and all. I’m so classy.

And it came served in a goblet in a bowling alley! Because that’s the way us classy broads roll.

Mon threw a million strikes (who is she???). I got two. And that was with the assistance of the guys setting up the pins because they’d ”accidentally knock them over” for me (yeah- old school bowling alley up in here… holla’).

The hour of bowling was therapuetic for us. And I like to think the hour of the Amy and Mon show we put on for everyone around us was entertainment for the masses.

What can I say? We’re givers.

I overheard a woman say “I think they’d be fun to go out on the weekends with”.Yes. Yes we are.

We strolled the neighborhood after that for a while before retreating back to my apartment to watch Comedy Central and feast on my latest kichen experiment.

Thanks to my farming roots, there was still a pork loin left over from the last time I visited my ‘rents back in Mid-MO.After googling how exactly to prepare it in the crock pot (I really don’t cook large cuts of meat often), I took my chances by throwing potatoes and carrots in with the loin, dumped veggie broth over all of it, closed my eyes and threw some spices in there, and just let it go.

The house didn’t burn down during our bowling excursion. That in itself was a win.

The fact that I successfully cooked the meat without any slip-ups?I’ll be smug about it the rest of the week.

And yes, I cut into it a million times to make sure it’s done. It doesn’t have to be pretty to taste good.

And because no meal is complete without dessert, we also walked to the nearest custard shop to inhale some sugar.

It’s been decided that no Sunday will ever be perfect again unless ice cream is involved.

My mood is decidedly much better. Tuesday and all.

Sure, it would have passed eventually (my bad moods/slumps normally do). But having friends who all text to see how I’m doing or just pick up on it and are willing to wear used sweaty shoes and buy you a beer?It helps.

I sort of love my girlfriends. They’re awesome.

Go enjoy the day. And if you don’t, go get some Bitch Ale. It’s like cough syrup for the soul.

Old Woman Habits

One thing about going out on a Thursday…

… this old woman will absolutely NOT go out the next night. Seriously- who can do that??

Kids these days…

Granted, I don’t normally go out a lot on Fridays anyway. At the end of the week, I just really want to come home and collapse.

And catch up on my DVR. Because I need to watch my “programs”. Like an old woman.

That’s right. I think I’m getting old.

I’m constantly the only one cold in the office. I’m frugal. I fell in love with a picture of a cat my friend sent yesterday.

Dag nabbit. I’m a lost cause.

And I imagine, if there were such a classification of “old woman food”, this may be it:It’s no secret I’m a brussels sprouts fan. And can eat half a bag in one sitting, no issue when I simply cut and roast them.

But… there are other options…Like if they’re sliced/shredded. It deceives me into thinking I’m eating more this way. Sweet. Because being painfully stuffed afterwards is never a good thing.

Really, I saw this on a few other girls’ blogs and only wanted to do it to save time. It’s much faster. Which is good. Because I have no patience.

Plus, it’s kind of pretty.

Maybe that’s a stretch. But the shredded went well with the artichoke pasta I paired it with.And it went REALLY well when I just decided to mix it all into one mess. Just sayin’.

Because old women fall asleep on the couch by 11:00 at night, they often wake up pretty early the next day.

And because they often feel the need to be productive, there will be a grocery shopping trip and a 6-mile run at the gym. Most likely all before noon. This provides plenty of time for an afternoon nap.

Typical.

And because old women such as myself often feel the need to pretend they’re younger than they really are, this old woman will be attempting her second night on in a short period of time.

Send help. Or a sweater. I’d hate to catch a chill.

Thanks.

But before I go… does anyone have a butterscotch?