Reunited At Last

Something has been missing for the last month or two.

Sure, I’ve been living my life. Doing my thing. Keeping busy. Staying social.

But something has been missing.

Oh yeah… it’s THIS girl:

Mon decided fish tacos where the way to go. And a side of lobster bisque. She had a whole nautical theme going on…

Oh heeeey, Mon! I found you!

That’s right, it’s been far too long since this girl and I had a night out on the town. We’ve both been busy doing this, that, or the other, and it’s been over a month since we’ve had a proper “hang out”.

So after Mon accepted a new job this week, we decided to put an end to this nonsense and go out for a proper celebration!

For future reference, when I say “proper celebration”, I mean consumption of food and drinks.

Not sure if it was the bacon or the pretzel roll that swayed my final decision to go with their chicken sandwich?

We checked out Emmett’s Brewing Company- a brewery and restaurant near my old stomping grounds.

Ironically, we split a bottle of wine versus check out the beer selection. Brewery visit fail.

And when I say “old stomping grounds”, I mean in the vicinity of where I lived for two years and right across the street from one of my favorite bars-

Durty Nellie’s! Our celebration coincided nicely with the Rod Tuffcurls and The Benchpress show going on.

Our favorite cover band. So convenient.

What’s not convenient is how uncomfortable my heels got after 3 hours of dancing. At the end, I questioned which would be worse- continuing to stay in the platform heels or having my feet touch the floor of the bar.

I stayed in those heels. But I wasn’t happy about it.

The dancing easily counted as my physical activity on Friday. The rest from the gym was necessary. And so was the rocking out to their version of my happy song, “500 Miles”.

It made the late night drive thru that much more satisfying.

And the sleeping in that much more great.

My most comfortable way to lay on a couch. I like to prop my feet up over the top. Weird. And not very ladylike….

It has been decided Mon and I should probably never spend that much time apart again. It’s probably not overwhelming for us, but we’re just looking out for everyone else around us.

You’re welcome.

Excuse me while I go pour more coffee and properly sprawl out on the couch again for a while.

Just don’t tell my mom you caught me with my feet on the furniture. It IS Mother’s Day, afterall…

Running Naked

Do you do it? 

I’m talking about without a Garmin/mileage counter/watch/etc. 

Get your head out of the gutter.  Seriously.

I did it yesterday.  The plans were to go do a run and the last few weeks have all been spent doing them in the gym because of the heat/time/etc.  So when I made the last-minute decision to go to the trail, I was a little unprepared. 

The humidity was a bit of a shock to my system.  I had started to really get used to the climate-controlled workout room.  Won’t lie- I wasn’t feeling the running so much yesterday.  And when I’m not feeling it, I try not to push it.  What’s the point?  So I did one loop on the trail – about 2.5 miles, and then walked.  And walked.  And walked some more.  I wasn’t feeling the running, but the walking was another story.  At 80 degrees, it was a gorgeous day.  And it gave me a good time to call and catch up with some people while doing so.  Because I’m all about the multi-tasking.

Do I like running without my Nike+ or treadmill keeping me on task?  In all honesty- not really.  I like having something that keeps me aware.  I like using it as a guage.  And I’m terribly ocd about it.  Now I don’t know my stats!!  This makes me very uncomfortable…

I’m also all about the yoga once again.  Not really, but I did it.  I feel so awful- once things started to get kind of crazy busy in July with this and that, yoga was the first thing I cut out to save time.  And hadn’t been reintroduced back into my schedule since.

Don’t worry- yesterday I was reminded of how this was a mistake.  I do Jillian Michael’s yoga meltdown (not a huge fan of traditional yoga).  The chatarunga pushups were a painful reminder that I should probably do the dvd more often… aaaahhhh…. I’m so weak.

After all that, I broke out some pasta we received at HLS last week:For some reason or another, I’m not huge on making pasta at home.  I think because my breakfast is so carb-heavy, I just don’t ever crave heavy carbs like pasta later on.  A couple hours of running/walking will change this.

Good to know.

I kept it pretty simple.  I sauteed mushrooms to go into the tomato sauce and “pulled an Annie” from last week by laying it all on a bed of spinach.I like the veggie shells.  But still prefer my regular whole wheat pasta.  It’s all in the texture, man.

Speaking of Annie, she and I headed out for a little night of fun in the ‘burbs.  We didn’t know what we wanted to do, we just knew we wanted to do something.  For us, “something” ended up being giggling about college years on the patio of Lamplighters, a little hole-in-the-wall in downtown Palatine, for half the night.  It’s amazing, and somewhat shocking, how long it’s been since we’ve graduated.    Time flies, doesn’t it?  But it’s still so much fun to reminisce about with good friends- love my Annie!  At some  point, we jumped across the train tracks (downtown Palatine is completely built up around the metra train) and hit Pop’s sports bar on the other side of the road to meet up with some of our guy friends.  I heart Pop’s.  And think it’s horribly underrated, because I hardly ever see it crowded.  But maybe that’s why I like it?  Who knows…

Random- what was your favorite year of college and why?  Mine was probably sophomore year because I was one of a few living off campus.  And since none of us were old enough to go to the bars yet, we just constantly had people over.  Party house, anyone? 

Time to fly, kids.  Somehow Jaime convinced me that yard work at her new house sounded like a fantastic way to spend Sunday afternoon.  All she had to do was say “brunch” and I was in.  What can I say?  I’m a sucker for breakfast…

Concerts and Cake

Good afternoon!  I usually posts in the morning, so it’s rare I get to say that! 

So far the weekend has been a whirlwind.  Let’s give you the highlights.

Cross training went awesome.  Same routine as usual (with the elliptical, weights, abs, and stairmill).  Got to see the Avatar guys.  No obnoxious sayings as they went through their routine… I was a little disappointed.  But I’m patient.  I know it’s coming…

My new favorite quick dinner?  It involves an asparagus wrap with some cheddar cheese.  Simple.  Yet fabulous.Mon, her friend, and I went to see the band Mike and Joe play at Durty Nellie’s in Palatine that night.  Here we are preshow- taking nonsense pics like we’re getting ready to head out to the big dance…I was a little self-conscious about my feet.  They’re starting to look a little rough again… Ick.

Since I moved from Palatine, I haven’t frequented Nellie’s as much as I used to.  And I have to say I miss it!  The show was great- Mike and Joe play a HUGE variety of covers.  We rocked out to Sublime, Michael Jackson, Modest Mouse, and even Gwen Stefani.  My fav were the Sublime covers.  Aaaahhhhhhh how I love 90′s music.  We all did.  So here Mon and I are busting out a couple sweet moves…We had such a great night!  I don’t think we sat down once while we were there.  Luckily, I had flip flops on (I had a serious wardrobe issue and couldn’t find a pair of heels that would work with my dress.  Blessing in disguise!).  Mon and her friend were hurting a little by the end of the night because they both had some serious footwear going on.  Sassy- but painful.  Totally worth it, though.

So in theme with the night, what’s your favorite 90′s song or band?  I’m curious…  I grew up with some serious love for Third Eye Blind, Sublime and Green Day.  I was a hard-core rocker in middle school.

3:00 bed time.  7:30 wake up.  I am lame.

But that’s ok- I still had work to do.  I finished Annie’s birthday cake!  Now to review- it’s for her and a coworker because their birthday is on Flag Day.  So I finished it and took it into her work this morning.  Ta-da!I’m happy with how it turned out.  And Annie texted me later  on to let me know everyone there had a sugar high.  Mission accomplished. 

Lunch was with a friend who’s doing some apartment hunting in the area.  I’m slowly getting everyone to realize how cool the ‘burbs can be…

Now I’m resting up a bit before I seriously hit up the yoga.  I need some movement before I retire to my lovely sofa for a movie this evening.  And I’m excited to give crow pose another go. 

Have a great day!

Mid-June Update!

So much is happening… but it still seems like all work, no play!  Well…. almost.

Annie’s Birthday was Sunday.  We celebrated the good ol’ Amy way with an unnecessarily extravagant cookie cake after her dance recitals!  Good thing I was able to hit the trail a few times this weekend and get quite the workout after moving a few carloads of things.  God knows I gained about five pounds by just baking the silly thing.  Who’s idea was it to make a double layered cookie cake anyways?  Geez…

The roomie and I saw The Hangover last week at a $5 showing in Lake Zurich.  It was easily one of the best movies I had seen  in theaters in a long time.  I am now recruiting people to be a member of my currently one-girl wolfpack…  ha ha.

Best Movie Ever!

Back to work… back to work.  My boss is gone this week on a cruise (“I’m on a boat!”).  That leaves Jaime and I to hold down the office and take care of all the agents while he is gone.  Stressful…  Next week I have a random day off in the middle of the week.  I’m calling it my mental health day as to recover from his being gone and prepare for Jaime’s vacation the week after.

It’s also nice to have that day off because I have now begun the process of moving… again.  Yes, I  picked up my keys today and now am officially a member of both the Village of Palatine and Arlington Heights.  I feel like a baller because I have two places right now.  ‘Holla.

Yet I do not feel like a baller because I realized that the process of moving and all the expenses that go along with it may cancel out any hope I had of traveling to Philidelphia/Boston/New England with Laura to see my friend Jessi.  Laura had a fantastic vacation in Hawaii, so she may also be canceling out the idea.  Damn.

I did, however, rediscover my love of browsing craigslist.  The roomie and I quickly got rid of the ugly (but extremely comfy) couch we acquired when we first moved in.  I also scored a glass coffee table that I had been eyeing at Ikea.  It was on clearance at Ikea for $70.  I got it for $30.  Loves it…

Someone at work came down with the swine flu.  They’re better now (it’s just the flu, people!), but it did turn into an HR disaster within the company and building management.  Apparently there was no protocol for swine flu (like there really needed to be one in the first place) and this caused disorder for two days.  Again, another reason why work has been quite stressful.

I’m in preparation for Miss Annie’s big wedding that is less than a month away.  I’m quite anxious to see what the bill will be for the work I’m getting done on the bridesmaid dress.  All the girls in the wedding have whatever style of dress they liked (in sailor blue, of course) and have been given the freedom to do what they like with it.  I’m keeping mine pretty simple- but I had some overall “shrinking”of the dress to get done.  I cringed at every little “snip” the seamstress made because I know from past experience (I’m currently in the process of transforming into Katherine Heigl’s character in 27 Dresses) what this costs.  Yikes!  At least I’ll be stylin’!

Rooftop Seats Are an Amazing Idea

So this was the big weekend!  I got to go to my first Cubs game!  Sort of.  Christy had raced up to me one morning at work and frantically explained that Groupon was selling Rooftop tickets again and asked if I wanted to join.  Of course I said yes.  It’s not my first “in the park” experience, but I’m getting closer!  We were at 3639 Sheffield.  Overall impression?  We would SO go back!!!

But I did do one thing wrong before the day of the game (Cubs vs. Dodgers, by the way…).  I went out the night before with my friend Nicole who had come up for an interview and to start her summer job at a day camp in the area.  And we went out hard… 

I had actually already had a pretty long day.  I had been apartment hunting since 9:00 that morning.  And I had gotten up pretty early for it because I wanted to actually look like someone they would want to rent to.  Eight apartments later I was running out the door again to meet up with Annie for dinner at Sushi Ai- the favorite spot we’ve found so far in the ‘burbs for sushi.  Not that we’ve tried overly hard to find another one- but it’s close for me since it’s in Palatine and it is sort of on Annie’s way home from working at the jewelry store.  Unfortunately, the don’t open nearly as early as we had hoped (we made it an early dinner because we both had plans after).  So we went to Walgreens across the street.  Annie needed some makeup and we couldn’t figure out a better place to kill some time.  We played in the toy aisle until we realized the one guy working was staring at us like we were idiots.  Whatever.  A huge squishy ball that lights up AND has glitter in it is an amazing find.  After we had enough, we went back to be seated at the restaurant.  Neither of us had been there for quite some time, so we made sure to take our time picking some fantastic rolls.  And, we had literally not seen  each other since her bachelorette party- so we took our time and caught up before we parted ways for the night.

Nicole got to my house that evening and was asking if I had planned on doing anything.  A.k.a. she wanted to go out.  I was really tired, but figured I might as well.  I needed a couple drinks to celebrate my finding a place and also to destress from the week.  I texted a few people and soon enough Nicole and I were sitting at Gatsby’s waiting for the boys to arrive.  They’re always so late at finally getting it together to go out somewhere.  It’s kind of ridiculous.  We showered, sat around, stopped by the ATM, drove further, AND sat for 30 minutes before I got a text saying they were on their way.  Way to blow our fashionably late entrance…  And yes, Gatsby’s again.  The place that I’ll be living at in a month is that much closer.  Scary.  I should probably introduce myself to the staff. 

Three or four jaeger bombs later (thanks boys!), we were all having a good time.  I wasn’t tired anymore- probably had to have something to do with the fact I never consume Red Bull.  (Which I heard has cocaine in it- can we say “duh”?  Red Bull banned after testing positive for cocaine)  Anyways, I think Nicole got a pretty good idea of how ridiculous we get in the suburbs from time to time… and I also think she’s more ok with the idea of crashing at my place often after working in Lake Forest all day vs. driving back to Lincoln Park everyday.  We made the cab driver go through McDonald’s again.  And yet again, it wasn’t my idea.  But I did enjoy myself a small order of fries… with ranch.  Yum…  Nicole took down an entire #8.  Which would freak you out too if you saw how small she is.  And I don’t know what her deal is with orange soda after a night of drinking.  Gross.  I also need to find a new taxi service.  This driver (after Justin had a “serious” talk with him about taking care of us girls through the window of the cab- ha ha) was even creepier than the last.  And it was me and another girl- instead of four other boys like it had been previously.  This guy spent half the ride talking about how excited  he was that bikini weather was almost here.  Do what you want with that information.  And imagine it coming from the mouth of a guy with a mullet.  Putting my life in this guys hands was just a bad idea.  Again- finding a new cab service has become a top priority.

Sunday morning came and it sucked.  We didn’t go to bed until at least 3:30 and my natural alarm clock gets me up by 8:00.  Lame.  I took a walk.  There were already alot of people out on the trail running.  I considered it.  But then I realized vomiting would be a likely consequence.  No thanks, I think I’ll walk.  I jumped on the 3:30ish metra and took it down to Clybourn to meet up with Christy and her friend that afternoon.  Didn’t have to deal with nearly the crowds as I had a couple Sundays earlier before a Cubs game.  The train schedule was at a bad time for this night game.  It worked out well for me.  I got to tour Christy and her sister’s new place in Bucktown and we hit the Rooftop early.  The clubhouse we had access to was really nice.  I guess I was kind of expecting a shitty and run-down place?  And instead of bleachers, we had actual seats on the rooftop.  That was nice.  And there was food everywhere.  And beer everywhere.  And even wine!  Everywhere…  Just imagine the possibilities!  If only I didn’t have to worry about those damn Monday mornings! 

The game was not the best- I mean, the Cubs kind of sucked it up all night.  But I still had alot of fun.  We met some characters.  We got a decent buzz.  And we snuck out halfway through the 9th inning to catch a cab before everyone left the ballpark.  What?  It’s not like the Cubs were going to win anyways- otherwise we would have stayed.

Wearing our Cubbie Blue!

Because the train schedule was off, the first train I could reasonably catch was the 11:30.  THAT is what did me in.  The entire ride home was me forcing myself to stay awake.  Unfortunately, not many people were up to text me at that time.  Which I also figured would mean they wouldn’t enjoy a call to chat, either…  I was terrified of missing my stop and then what would I have done?  I think it was one of the last trains of the night… I would have been screwed.  I strolled into the apartment at 12:45 and was easily asleep by 1:00. 

Monday morning still came way too fast.  And I have been issues sleeping.  So this morning came way too fast as well.  I think it’s the move- all night I sit and think about what I need to get for the new place and where I’m going to put it all and what it’s going to look like.  And then I force myself to stop thinking about that.  Which leads to me thinking about what all will need an address change and how much I can spend on certain things and when I’m going to get it all done by.  Lame.  I hate being grown up.  Why can’t I just lay there and think about boys all night?  I’d almost prefer stressing out over that instead of stupid grown-up things.  Blah…

I’m Moving!

So Palatine has been fantastic.  I have  to say I have loved almost every minute of being here (I’m saying almost because I am sure there has to be at least one or two minutes that were not so great that I don’t happen to recall at the moment- could be all the jaeger bombs from last night making my memory a bit fuzzy).  Anyhoo- the roommate’s packing up and planning to  head somewhere back in the general Missouri area.  And the one-bedrooms at the place we are currently at are obnoxiously priced.  Seriously.  I refuse to pay $900 a month for rent right now.  I wouldn’t be able to if I tried.  And here?  I mean, the complex is nice, but it’s not THAT nice.  So I spent yesterday morning/afternoon apartment hunting.  And I did something a little impulsive- I put a non-refundable hold on the fourth one I saw (ok, it was $25- not a big deal, don’t freak out, mom) on a place just over the border into Arlington Heights.  Literally.  If I feel like reminiscing, I can walk a block west and be in Palatine again.  But I looked at one after the other (even after I put the hold down), and I kept saying, “nope, I still love the one I signed for”.  I’ll discuss the apartment later- it’s a cute place that I am really looking forward to decorating.  And there are some quirky trade-offs I did to get that particular one.  I try to avoid the first floor if at all possible.  So I did get one with a random emergency exit door (My first order of business is covering it with a room divider and using a curtain as an accent along that wall).  But, for anyone who asks, I’m reppin’ Arlington Heights now.  Or at least I will be in a few weeks.  Holla’!  And, as you can see on the metra map, I am that much closer to moving into the city.  Even if it’s just a weeeee bit…  Baby steps, people!  Next stop- Mount Prospect? 

Oh the Places I Could Go….

Toothpastefordinner.com

Sooo…. summer is coming up which means the clothing starts getting smaller and there is less of it.  I’m not on a diet (that word just dooms me for failure) but I’m eating much healthier.  I eat pretty well anyways (really well actually with the exception  of my fascination with peanut butter and/or chocolate), but this is an actual focused attempt.  Yesterday was supposed to be my last “bad day” of food for awhile.  And I didn’t really drink any calories at all over the weekend, so I thought it would be fully allowed.  For me, actually getting carryout is a process.  Do I want Durty Nellie’s?  Lamplighters?  Arby’s?  So many decisions!  I decided to get carryout from Pop’s again because the first time I got a bacon cheeseburger from there was amazing.  I should have just ordered the same thing.  But no, I decided I would be just a teeny bit healthier and go with the turkey burger.  I don’t know why I thought I could cheat myself like that.  I’m ok with turkey burgers, but this one sucked.  AND, I forgot to ask for Ranch on the side so I had to use the stuff I have at home – Lite Ranch.  Blah!  I should have known better- the whole point was to eat something extremely unhealthy because I won’t be having another for awhile.  Fucked myself over on that one.  At least the waffle fries were still amazing.  But you know what this means?  I can’t go out on a disappointing last unhealthy meal.  Just means I’m going to have to try again… I’m thinking BBQ… or pizza?  Decisions, decisions.  Life can be so hard. 

Also, I’m finally back to actually running hard core again.  I took a week off- but now I’m back!  Woo hoo for 5:30 AM workouts… I kind of want to kick this next 5k’s ass…