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…

Big Plans

Hello everyone! 

So no one actually likes pants.  Hmmm.  We should start a movement.  Yes?

Anyhoo, I feel like it’s been too long!

Not just because I didn’t post yesterday, but because I’m still trying to catch up with how everyone else’s holidays went…

Anyways, the story left off in St. Louis.  I spent the night at my friend Mary’s house, not only to break up my trip back home, but to spend some time with two of my best friends over the holidays.Another wine night. We had originally talked up a big night out.  Drinks flowing… dancing… cute shoes…

We went out to pick out a bottle and get a red box movie.  After agonizing for 10 minutes over a selection, we ended up deciding on watching Entourage reruns instead.  We’re wild like that.

And reruns of Entourage turned into an episode of South Park that was about the shake weight and people’s ridiculous obsession with the Food Network.  I think I laughed the loudest.

All three of us got up around 9:30 yesterday morning.  Yes- 9:30. After we all said we would probably “naturally” wakeup by 7:30.  The long holiday weekend has clearly taken a toll on everyone.  Anyone else suffering the “holiday hangover”?

Getting up that late only means one thing.

Time for BRUNCH!We hit a local joint just down the road from Mary.  Last time us girls were together, we all ordered the same thing (it’s ok to roll your eyes here- we were just as embarrassed about it as you’d think).  This time wasn’t any different. Omelets for everyone! Like the ”Bacado” pictured above.  Mine was stuffed with avocado and bacon and I couldn’t have been happier.   

We’ll discuss how this triggered my avocado obsession (again) at a different time.

We sat there and chatted over free refills of coffee for way too long.  Not too long because I needed to go (which is probably true), but because we were rivaling all the old people with time spent there and the waitress was getting annoyed.  Oops.

Do you ever overestimate how productive you’ll be during the day?  I do- all the time.  Original thoughts were to leave St. Louis by noon or so, get a good run in (I’ve been dying to- that’s not a joke), grocery shop, unpack, etc etc.

Yeah…

I didn’t leave until close to 1:00.  Hit some traffic.  Lost any energy to workout.  And the ONLY reason grocery shopping happened was because it happened before I got home- I knew I wouldn’t drive back out to do it otherwise. And a girl needs to eat. 

And if you think any of my stuff is unpacked, you’re just crazy.  Who was I kidding?  I usually live out of my bag until it’s all been used or it has to be repacked.  True story.

However, it should be noted how thankful I am for fantastic driving conditions to and from Missouri.  That never happens.

And I would also like to note my favorite road trip tune came from a station somewhere in central Illinois.  Chumbawamba?  YES PLEASE!

Because I got to bed early, getting up to work out this morning wasn’t that big of a deal.  I figured this work week should be started with a BANG. Tuesday won’t take me down that easily.

I did my new Jillian Michaels ”No More Trouble Zones” dvd.  It left me a little sore the first time I did it, so I’m assuming it’ll let me know once again where all my underworked muscles are. 

On that note, I did “feel it” from the P90X ”Ab Ripper” cd.  Just not as badly as expected.  Maybe it was because people were building it up to such a horrible thing. Maybe because it should be combined with other circuits (really have no clue how that system works).  But I had planned to crawl out of bed. And was pleasantly surprised when I didn’t have to. Awesome.

Let’s pretend Tuesday doesn’t suck and focus our attention on how it’s yet another holiday (aka “short”) work week!

Leaving Already

The long weekend has definitely flown.  Which is unfortunate because I’m not looking forward to the long drive back that I’m about to go on… ugh.

Just to pick up where I left off, Friday night we had the rehearsal and then went to the farm that my friend Ashlee’s family owns to have the rehearsal dinner. 

A Mexican buffet is always a fabulous idea.  Always. 

Since my birthday happened not that long ago, Ashlee gave me a belated birthday gift.  She said she had to wait to give it to me because she needed to see my reaction.  She gave me Twilight sweet tarts.Now let me explain- this is a running joke between us.  It started out with the creepiest Halloween card of all time with Edward staring “seductively”.  He looks ridiculous.  Ashlee found it, couldn’t control herself, and sent it my way.  So I returned the favor by giving her Twilight magnets as part of her bridal shower gift.  Hence the Twilight birthday gift.  I think the candy is supposed to even sparkle.  Fabulous!

After the rehearsal dinner, I swung by Miss Kitty’s to say hi to some other friends who had driven back for the wedding- which also happens to be the only bar in town and also the only establishment open past 11:00 within a 10-mile radius.  It makes the decision-making of where to go very easy.Hey ladies!  That’s Erica, me, and Krista- a few of the girls from my high school class (Class of 2003- holla’!).  The lighting is also horrible, so we all look a bit creepy with the red eye thing we’ve got going on… rarr. We caught up for a little bit, but also called it an early night.  These two ladies have little ones to tend to (both babies under 6 months!) and I had an early morning call to get my wedding hair going…

Both girls read the blog, so say heeeeeeeyyyyyy!

But because I like you guys, I thought I’d give you the “insider’s sneak peek” of Miss Kitty’s…The decor is pretty hodge-podge.  Or as I like to say- sassy!

Tell me the name of your hometown drinking spot- anyone have anything better than Miss Kitty’s?

I’ll have to talk about the wedding at a later time (they had an ice cream bar- seriously amazing).  And since I don’t feel like loading pictures just yet, I’ll give you this one to see what I sort of looked like:If I had botox and implants, it’d be freaky how real this looks, right? 

Have a great Sunday!  I’ll be driving… and driving… and driving…

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!

Holiday Hangover

Does anyone ever have a “holiday hangover”?  Usually my first day back to normalcy is a sluggish one.  I have a feeling today will be no different.  With good reason- yesterday was another long one. 

We started out with a casual Sunday Brunch:It was just the immediate fam and my aunt from my dad’s side of the family.  I like it this way.    Mom made her awesome breakfast casserole and we had some leftovers from the day before.  I’m not a ham kind of gal, but hello breakfast casserole.  I love you.

After brunch, I packed up and pretty much was out the door a little after noon.  I didn’t make it to my extended family’s Easter gathering on my mom’s side- we have a HUGE family on that side.  I figured it would be too hard to do a “quick” stop through.  And it can always be somewhat overwhelming because there’s just soooo many people (my mom has 12 other brother and sisters- holy crap, right?).  So I just headed towards Chicago after I left my parent’s house.Ya’ll come back now, ya hear?   

And in true St. Louis fashion, as I was going through, I heard J Kwon’s “Tipsy” AGAIN.  What is that about?!?! (Jill knows what I’m talking about!)  I thought it was funny the first time I went through, but I had no idea it was still in heavy rotation?  Or that was one hell of a coincidence!

Everybody in the club getting tipsy…. anyone?Ahhh… I’m baaaaacccccckkkkk!

The majority of the drive wasn’t too bad.  I made awesome time for most of the way.  And even was able to time it out so that I stopped at the same Panera on my way back- I think I found my default pit stop from now on.I approve of the clean bathroom vs. the gas stations I’ve been frequenting.  Clearly.  But the salmon club?  Not so much recommended… Plus it’s easier to eat the panini’s and drive. Not that I would eat and drive at the same time or anything…  And no I do not want to participate in your new promotion.  I’m aware that I bought a drink and entree and that qualifies me for a 99 cent pastry or cookie.  But I just ate my weight in chocolate Easter candy and you can ask 10 more times after the last 5 that you just did and I will still say no.  Thanks. Yes I’m sure.  No really, I’m totally aware it’s a really good deal.  NO I DON’T WANT IT, JUST BACK OFF. 

I still heart you Panera.  Promise.

I drove straight into a huge thunder and lightening storm.  I saw it coming about an hour away.  I think that may have been part of the reason I had to deal with serious traffic on the last leg of my trip.  Lame.  Nothing says welcome back home than getting completely soaked as I try to unload my car and drag my soaked luggage up three flights of stairs…

But all in all, it was a good weekend.  I like getting in quality time with the fam.  Especially at my parent’s house, since I don’t get to go back as often as I used to.  Just for kicks, here’s an oldie of me and my younger bro:Is that not the sweetest picture of all time?  We were pretty sassy looking kids.  That’s my brother- but he’s grown up a little since.  And I don’t really call him my “little” brother anymore:I like to think we’ve grown up nicely.    And if you’re wondering, we were pretending to be the weather man (the forecast was up).  And I’m not sure how I can bend my leg that way… weird.  But yeah, that’s us.  I heart my little bro- he’s so grown up and became such a gentleman! 

I also just recently told him about the blog- so if you leave a comment, feel free to say hello! 

I’m doing yoga today.  And am running at some point this week to test out the leg.  Cross your fingers!  I’ve supposedly got that 5k next weekend with Annie and it’s time I figure out if I can feasibly do it or not.

Have a good Monday everyone!

All The Small Things…

I spent pretty much all day yesterday thinking it was Friday.  Yes, some of it had to do with I have today off, but I really think a lot of it had to do with the weather.  80′s?  And I’m leaving for the weekend?  I say that’s just crap. 

The day went pretty fast and I went to TJ’s over lunch after talking to my mom to see if it would be ok if I cooked dinner on Friday night.  I stocked up on the good stuff- including almond butter.  I used the almond butter in my oatmeal this morning.  My parents won’t even touch the jar.  Fail…

Anyways, because I had completely cleaned out my refrigerator at home in preparation for this trip, I didn’t have much of a selection and brought one of my Lean Cuisine standbys for lunch.  This was a new one I decided to try.  Roasted Garlic Chicken and spinach:I think when I eat them, my favorite Lean Cuisines are the pita wraps.  And butternut squash ravioli is pretty good- no lies.  But I saw this one with all of it’s 180 calories and said “hey, why not?”.  Well I’ll tell you why not.  I can’t tell if the 180 calories is the whole meal or what you think you’ll actually eat.  Or maybe there was a shortage of spinach and they dug into the baby food reserves to compensate?  Hey magic eight ball- should I eat this?  All signs point to “no”.

I ate the chicken.  I think it was about the same as eating one and half chicken tenders.  Bullshit.  I’m sticking to the pita wraps from now on…  had to dig into the snack drawer for some pretzels and a Clif Z Bar.  My boss felt sorry for me.  He tried bringing up some chocolate from the cafeteria, but had decided to sit outside for awhile and enjoy the sun- so the chocolate melted in his pocket.  So nice that he tried, though… 

I was out of that office and changing into “driving gear” at 4:30 on the dot.  Hooray for hitting the road!  So excited to go… so excited to go… so excited to SIT IN TRAFFIC.  I knew that traffic report earlier in the morning was only reporting badness.  But once I got about an hour or so out, traffic was moving pretty steadily and my view turned to this:So I’m not sure which is actually worse- the traffic or the nothingness?  Did I mention I dislike this drive?  At this point I was tired of the rush hour music (I like Lady GaGa, but after the 10th playing of “Telephone”, I’m kind of over it).  After a couple of you mentioned throwback music, I decided to try and find some.  Which was a task because the middle of Illinois seems to enjoy country music.  Blah…  But I did!

Meatloaf told me he would do anything for love.  But he won’t do THAT.  Now all I can think about what “that” really could be.  Does anyone know?  I’m a fan of the song- but know absolutely no history behind it.  So maybe I’m just a poser… I really need to read up on my Meatloaf history.

Then I found a station that played some Sophie B. Hawkins.  And was singing ”damn… I wish I was your lover”.  I was getting really vocal, too.  Then decided to lower the voice a little bit because I was on a stop for food and people were starting to stare.I won’t lie- I wondered a little off the beaten path for this one.  The entire week I had pretty much just figured I’d have Subway and call it a day.  Subway is seriously ok and I still eat it, but I’m still a little shaken up by that “something crunchy that shouldn’t be in my chicken” from one of my drives out during the Christmas holidays.  Because really, it’s not like Panera is the uber healthy option (I’m sure my Sierra Turkey had just as many if not more calories than the option at Subway I would have gone with).  But when it comes to quality of some of the food, I like to think it wins out.  And I’m pretty sure my panini I had was THE BOMB.  So I’m totally happy with my choice to drive an extra mile or two off the highway into unknown territory for it. This stop is about three hours into the trip.  Still a bit of daylight.  Still smiling- even though my makeup had melted off because the air was kind of thick and humid and gross but I still wanted to keep the windows down because it was obviously that instead of 20 degrees (which I am thankful for every day until November).  See the problem in this picture, though?  It would be the obnoxiously large iced tea I have in my hands.  What was I thinking???

Into about the third chorus of “na na na na na na na na na na na na na” from Blink 182′s “All the Small Things” is when I crossed the state line into Missouri.  It was lovely seeing St. Louis- I was so over those cornfields… and I had to pee and was not about to stop on one of the smaller exits outside of STL.  Last time I did that late at night, there was only one teeny tiny gas station and two farmers in overalls with no teeth stared unapologetically at me the entire time.  Deliverance, anyone?  (cue creepy background music)

As I was pulling into the gas station in St. Charles, MO, I stumbled onto a junior high dance favorite- KC and JoJo.  You know the song- sing it with me “I will never find another lover sweeter than you, sweeter than you…”  To this day I remember how intense it would get at the dance as soon as a slow song came on.  You were one nervous little child until you saw a boy walking your way…  I still have issues.  Thanks 8th grade.

I put a little more gas in the tank and bought some ice for the cooler of TJ’s wonderfulness:Are you curious as to what I’m making tonight yet?  Hmmm… nothing too fancy, but I’m still very excited.   

I also picked up some coffee.  Yes, it was pretty late, but I had reached six hours of traveling and needed a pick me up.And in St. Louis style, I found a station that was playing some J Kwon.  Deja vu to freshman year in the dorms… One, here comes to two to the three to the four…

Once I got off the actual interstate and hit the “backroads” all the way home, fatigue starting setting in.  I rolled up to my parent’s house around 1:00.  Said hello.  Passed out.  And here I am.This is part of the back yard.  I’m waiting for the sun to come out to play.  Until then, I’ll be catching up on my google reader.  Which will take longer than usual because this internet connection blows.  And surfing for a new pasta sauce recipe.  Anyone got anything kind of light?  No creamy stuff preferably- I got kind of turned off by the cheese sauce I made last week…

Enjoy the rest of the day!  And drive safe if you’re traveling!  I’m off the road, so overall safety of the roads just improved.  You’re welcome.

I won’t be your friend. But I appreciate you.

I’m talking about yoga.  Yes I hated you.  But I get it.  I know now that you help me.  You help make my core stronger.  You help my flexibility.  You help me cross-train and become a better runner.  So thank you.  But I still don’t like you.

I went back and forth for a while when trying to decide if I should break out the yoga.  The leg is hanging in there.  I’m feeling pretty good about it.  Not good enough to run- I’ve become way too over-cautious to do that.  But good enough to do yoga.  So I turned on Exercise TV again and hit up the Fitness Fusion.  My only worry was the warrior series, but the leg hung in there and didn’t complain!  Progress…

Although it had been a little longer than I’d like to admit the last time I actually did it.  I’m sorry yoga, I know I started to ignore you when running came back into my life.  But you have to understand- running and I go way back.  And we’re in love.  No hard feelings… k? 

It’s not cardio- but I’ll happily take it!

So I made sure to have a good breakfast for LOTS of energy today.First of all because I’m somewhat short on sleep (I swear the full moon brings weird dreams- what is that about?!?!).  Secondly, because I have a super long road trip to Mid-MO to spend Easter weekend with the fam.  And the discussions of new construction on the news in the background of that picture will most likely screw me over in some way or another… blah. 

Before I continue, can I just say that now every time I have oats in a jar, I think about this cartoon my friend Ashlee sent me?  She seriously did crack up at my nut butter addiction…So basically, I’m stirring it in the jar going “megggggaaaaaa butttteeeeerrrrrr!!!!!!” in an unnatural sounding voice (high or low pitch, whichever works for you).  Yep.  It’s the little things, kids.  Just remember that…

Oh how I enjoy this trip.  Not.  Interstate 55 is the highway to nothingness.  At least last time I had some of my fav boys to keep me amused on the way to Mardi Gras in St. Louis.  I’m doing this one alone- and traveling about two hours longer… Ugh! 

But it’s aight.  I usually do ok on keeping myself entertained- the playlist has been updated.  There are people to call and catch up with.  I should be good!  But am always open for suggestions if you have ways of making long trips seem shorter (that are not drug induced anyways…)?  Originial plans were to leave after work and stop for the night in St. Louis.  But one of my fav girls, Laura, has to work pretty early on Friday.  So I think I’m just going to try to speed through StL, give a shout out to Busch Stadium on my way through (a little over 3 days until opening day, kids!), and be on my merry way into more highway and hills.  And not much else.  Peaceful… Almost too peaceful… ha ha

So there you have it!  Maybe if you’re lucky, I’ll have some sweet stories of random occurences that happened in the middle of Illinois.  Don’t hold your breath, but there’s always hope…  And cross your fingers that there’s no Children of the Corn incident that goes down if my car breaks down.  It’s a reoccurring concern of mine.

Have a good Thursday!    I’m excited because I found an excuse to get a Trader Joe’s trip in today over lunch- figured I’d pick up some wine and a few unique TJ items as a nice thing to bring home tonight since my fam doesn’t really get exposure to a store around them.  Not that they really care so much about that, but I still like bringing home fun things.   Can we make nut butter an Easter tradition?  Let’s try it…

Home Sweet Home!

I made that fourth and final eight-hour drive.  And I have to say, I’m getting really good at timing out gas/potty/food breaks.  Yes, I am 24 and I just used the term “potty”.  Deal with it.  And finally, I’m at home, lounging, and watching a rerun of How I Met Your Mother with a full tummy from a mushroom pita sandwich…  yummmmm….  It would have had feta cheese on it, too (which I had been daydreaming about because my mom doesn’t seem to believe in feta).  I had gone to Dominick’s pretty much as soon as I got back because I had an unnerving empty refrigerator staring me in the face.  I usually buy the feta at Trader Joe’s, but i thought what the hell- I’ll get it while I’m here.  I brought it home, started cooking, broke out the feta, and wtf?!?!  Moldy?!?!  EEEEEWWWWW.  According to the label, it’s supposed to be good until April.  Yeah….  So now I have to go back to Dominick’s.  Which is fine, they’re having a sale on Kashi- and I have coupons that expire soon!  Very sneaky, Dominick’s.  Very sneaky…

Good news from my work out buddy- the apartment complex is renovating the workout room.  Hooray!  I hope this means they are getting rid of the noisy god-awful treadmill.  And adding, like, five.  And maybe add a few more free weights- like more than just one set.  And I hope this happens before I’m ready to start piling on the miles…  That’s not asking too much, is it?

Day two and three of No Sweets Week went fantastically!  I found myself eyeing candy in one of the gas stations, but resisted.  And cursed a little under my breath.  Yea!  Laura and I checked in with each other- we’re both still on track to dominate this thing!!  I’m away from my mom’s kitchen now, which is good.  BUT, I’m going to work again tomorrow and I’m well aware of the ridiculously good tin of Trader Joe’s peppermint bark Christy donated to the cause…  eek.  I just hope there’s a piece left for me after this week is over!

I dropped by my friend’s house to visit my godson before I left the state.  He got a Wii for Christmas.  He kicked my ass at Wii bowling.  Shame…  This was the first time I played Wii (yes, I know- again- shame….) and I have to say it can be quite addicting.  I told my little buddy he better keep practicing.  Because I’m going to make friends with someone who has a Wii and do the same…  And I am not afraid of beating a six-year-old…

All in all, I had a good holiday back home.  It was fun to spend so much time with the fam.  But damn… I’m exhausted.

Crossing the Mississippi back into Illinois! Goodbye, Missouri! See you again for Mardi Gras!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!  I woke up super early this morning (yeah, the sleeping is still not going so well- I still blame the inactivity of the last couple of weeks) to a fabulous combo of snow and ice.  Last night it poured rain on the way to Christmas Eve Mass- but my brother was a perfect gentleman and dropped me off at the door while he parked the car.  Someone taught him well! 

My aunt didn’t make it out this year due to a massive snow storm in Kansas City.  So it was just the immediate fam that sat down to dinner after church was done.  We still had a good time.  As I predicted, mom was not a fan of the name of the wine I brought.  Although she was a fan of how it tasted… So was I.I’m a big fan of Christmas dinner in general.  I wait for a lot of delicious things- such as the turkey, my mom’s overnight salad and povitica.  All things that should be eaten in moderation.  Poviticia is a Croatian bread, which is sweet and more like a pastry, that my uncle used to bring out for us.  I like it so much, he started bringing a loaf just for me.  Not until very recently is when I found out how unfortunately fattening it is- before I never really thought about it.  We didn’t have it for dinner (alas, he is with his other family today), but he had brought some out for me over Marty’s graduation weekend.  I’ve already dug into it- but froze a good majority of it for breaking out at some other time.  Yummm……  Here’s me with my mouth watering over the salad- the bacon mixed in really puts it over the top! After dinner we decided to change up the Christmas traditions and just open everything on Christmas Eve.  Here are two of my favorite gifts! The cutest cupcake stand ever!  This is one thing my mom picked out on her own and, I have to say, it is AWESOME!  It’s been a baking Christmas for me- the mechanical piping bag from Cathryn, two cupcake cookbooks from Jaime, and now this from my mom.  Oh boy… the next couple rounds of cupcakes are going to be DELISH!

And this is one thing I requested!  The Nike Sports Band so I can start keeping better track of my mileage and pace on those longer runs- once I work my way up to them again.  It’s not a Garmin, but I’m hoping it will do the trick!    Now I get at least a couple more weeks to figure it out before I start to use it.  When I first learned about the stress reaction, my mom still asked if I wanted it.  I said heck yes I did- this is only a minor setback in my goal to become a crazed and obsessed runner…

Our traditional Christmas brunch is over and we’re getting ready to head to my Aunt and Uncle’s (on my mom’s side) for the massive family Christmas.  Which, for me, means relaxing and sitting around with the cousins in my general age group, and digesting food from earlier.  I may have had two sugar cookies when I first got up while having tea with my mom.  Hey- if No Sweets Week starts tomorrow, I guess I’m gonna have to enjoy them today!    So I better start getting ready- my dad is infamous for setting a leave time and then sitting in the car with it started and honking the horn 15 minutes before said time.  I blame him for my always getting seriously anxious and stressed when I realize I’m late for something when I had planned to be early.  Thanks Dad for making me neurotic.

Happy Holidays!

Trip to Mid-MO Round 2

Here I am again at my parent’s house…  Good to be home again.  And the drive sucked…. again.  I left work a little after 5:30.  After all the snow had been coming down for a couple hours.  During rush hour.  It could have been worse.  But the first hour was pretty slow moving to get out of the city.  Once I made it to I-55, aka road through hell, the driving picked up.  The snow turned into rain.  And more rain.  And then harder rain.  And then light rain.  And then not raining, but puddles all over the road.  You get the point.

About an hour or two into it, my windshield wiper started to crap out.  The part on the actual blade thingie (my technical term for it) started to fly behind the rest of the wiper.  Basically causing the bottom two or three inches of my windshield wiper to be completely useless.  I became concerned about what would happen if the whole wiper thingie flew off.  That and it made the worst, most annoying noise ever.  Every time it went across the windshield.  I drove for six hours like that.  It was late- I doubt Jiffy Lube would have been open.  And I sure as hell don’t know how to change it myself.  Maybe it’s not that hard, but again, I really wouldn’t know.

Last year, my roommate and I drove through a straight-up blizzard.  This year wasn’t so bad.  Fatigue didn’t really set in until St. Louis.  Gas station coffee is my savior.  As sick as it may be.  I pretend that what I had was freshly roasted… at 11:30 at night when I’m the only person in the store.  I made it home all cracked out on coffee by 2:00- if I didn’t have to swing by Laura’s for the dress I forgot from staying at her house last weekend, it would have been a record time!  My mom was surprisingly chatty that early in the AM, so we talked for awhile before I looked at her and said, “I need to go to bed right now.”

After I got up this morning, I spent more time in the kitchen with my mom.  I’m pretty sure I assisted her in making her fourth batch of sugar cookies for December.   I told her about my No Sweets Week.  She looked at me with a critical eye.  Even she knows what I’m putting myself through.

I also finally cleaned out my car a little.  This is what it looked like:

My passenger seat is a trash can and shoe closet all in one.  This also does not include the few water bottles that made their way to the back.  And the coffee cups because I don’t ever drink it all, and I didn’t want them to spill if I just threw them down in my car (even though it looks like this, so would it really matter?).  I can’t believe how much quality time I’ve spent in it recently… I don’t even know why I’m paying rent to live anywhere else.  I’m realizing that might not be efficient anymore if I keep this up.

I’m off to help cook a super late brunch.  Really it’s just lunch with breakfast food- let’s not kid ourselves.  And I need to intervene because my mom is insisting on making me a stack of pancakes to go along with my already larger than life omelette if I don’t stop her.  aaaahhhhh! 

I also am going to attempt to make use of my mom’s kettleball and free weights.  Abs and arms, abs and arms….