A Weekend of Learning

I wish I could tell you yesterday was a full, exciting, super busy, crazy day with a million things worth talking about.

But it wasn’t.

This was the first weekend where I didn’t really have huge travel plans/events/etc other than a chill night over at my friend Annie’s.  My body knew this.  So it shut down.  Literally- I got more sleep this weekend than the last two combined (as evidenced by yesterday’s description of all the places in my apartment where I lounged).  Don’t believe me?  Ask any one of my friends who either couldn’t get a hold of me at all or ones that caught me right as I was waking up from yet another nap. 

At least I learned a few things this weekend.

Like how to make a new kind of pancake.

The movie I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell is one of those movies that are actually better than the book itself.

That I can, and will, give up on books.  (Hence the reason why I just decided to watch the movie even though I was only half way through the book.) 

Some things will take way longer than anticipated. Case in point?  Making this:Stuffed acorn squash.  Totally not one of those things for when you’re sitting there and go “oh, I’m hungry now”.

Because you’ll be waiting.  A while.Cutting and taking the seeds out didn’t take long.  Nope.  Just long enough for me to notice how horribly I’ve already messed up my nails.

After you do that, you get them ready to be popped in the oven…Stop and make a few inappropriate boob jokes here if you’d like.  But you’re wasting valuable cooking time.

Because once you cover and stick these in the oven… they’ll take time.  Lots of time.  I set the oven at 350 degrees and they took about 75 minutes.  Is this normal??

But whatever, at least it gave me PLENTY of time to take care of the “stuffed” part.Because I’ll find a way to sneak spinach and mushrooms into anything.  But you already know this.  That’s risotto I found in a box in the back of my pantry.  I felt compelled to use it last night.  Mostly because when I looked at the box, it said to use by October 2010.

Um… that means use it as soon as possible.  Right?

No worries- I don’t feel bad at all this morning.  We’re all good. 

And the squash was quite good considering this was the first time I made it.  Usually the first time isn’t the best.  It can be nerve-wracking.  Experimental.  Awkward.  Often enhanced with a glass of wine (which I didn’t have).

Wait… what are we talking about?

Back to things I learned this weekend…

Oh wait, I think that’s it.

What can I say?  When you’re asleep for half the weekend, that doesn’t leave much room for learning…

What did you do/learn over the weekend?

Oh Hello Friday

What took you so long?

I don’t know about you guys, but I haven’t been able to keep track of what day it’s been all week.  My cold, the weather and sleeplessness has all thrown me off.  Finally Friday came, smacked me in the face, handed me some coffee, and said “get your act together- it’s the weekend!”

So I’ll do my best.  It helped that I made it to bed early (errr… 15 minutes) and slept in past the workout alarm again. I would feel bad about it, but I don’t.  I need sleep- I have a long run tomorrow and this weekend that at one time had nothing planned is now full of good stuff!  Life happens.  You just have to try and keep up.

So clearly I’ve slacked on the workouts this week.  Bu at least I can call yesterday a win.  I actually made it out of bed in the AM to do some Shredding and resistance band work.  Then, after work, I made it to the workout room just in time to snag the treadmill.  I’ve been missing running all week!  I pulled out 4 miles at 8:25 pace. 

Yes, total it seems like there was a lot of exercising that was done.  It’s like my body knew I’d be skipping out this morning. It’s smart like that.

Just because I put more minutes into my workout yesterday, doesn’t mean I didn’t go run some errands (err… found an excuse to go to Target).  While I was there, I stopped to say hello to the lovely Andrea:Isn’t she just adorable?  I met Andrea back in August at the Healthy Living Summit after we had been going back and forth on blogs and email.  Her blog is wonderful- post after post of amazing food and stories that make you feel like you’ve known her forever.  Congrats Andrea! 

Anyhoo, I did miss a few of my favorites in the Thursday night lineup (which I will be watching OnDemand at some point this weekend), but still had time to throw together a decent meal and sit down for some Grey’s.It’s kind of like the egg bake I made last week  in how it included all the same things- mushrooms, broccoli, onion, parm cheese, mini corn muffin, and even a little spinach (always eat your greens, kids).  I just did it as a scramble.  It’s not as pretty but it’s waaaaaaay faster.  Sometimes you just gotta have quick and dirty.  Ya know? 

Well I’m just gonna stop right now because my coffee is low and makeup is not yet on my face.  I hope you guys have a great weekend!  

OH and because it’s Homecoming weekend and we’re currently ranked #11 in the BCS, I feel the need to end this post with a shout out to my alma mater: Go Mizzou!

Bed Time

I’m glad you all enjoy getting a little laugh out of my misfortunes.  So do I. :)

The door thing the other day was a total freak accident and I still can’t nail down specifically what happened.  Had I gotten stuck or actually hit the ground, it may have not been nearly as funny.  Well… to me.

I’ve had a history with glass doors.  We don’t get along.  I may or may not have walked into one at my friend’s wedding (hey Erica- I know you’re laughing right now… ).  Funny thing was, I wasn’t really drinking so much as just not paying attention to the fact the door was closed when it had earlier been propped open.

Did I mention I shattered it?  Yep.

I’m a hazard to myself.  And it’s been discussed with Megan that I should probably consider incorporating bubble wrap into my wardrobe.  She suggested it.  I declined.  I doubt it would be very slimming…

But anyways, let’s talk about something else.  Like how I’m gonna have these basic leftovers for lunch the next couple of days:The salad got the front spot because it’s much prettier.  As delicious as the spaghetti squash is, it’s quite ugly the morning after. But then again, who really looks good the morning after anything? 

I also finished Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang yesterday.  It was fantastic the whole way through.  I even laughed out loud on more than one occasion when reading it alone in a public space (be careful of this if you embarrass easily).  I’ve now read her two latest and the library has her first book on hold for me.  I feel sorry for whoever’s book I read after finishing all of Chelsea’s.  There are high standards, people.  High standards…

One thing that bothered me is how I slept past my alarm again yesterday morning.  This is great for logging hours of sleep (most likely I could use it), but not so great for my workout schedule.  There’s not much to be done about this other than (1) go to bed earlier so this stops happening or (2) suck it up and do my whole workout when I get home from work late.

I sucked it up.  And went after work.  And because I had no time to wait around for the treadmill to open up, I did the elliptical (and will not complain!) for 25 minutes, did some ab work on the exercise ball, and then jumped on the stairmill for another 15 minutes.  Done and done and done.  Still made it home in time for Modern Family.  How’s that for efficient? 

I even tried something new last night:A different kind of sleepytime tea.  Because I’m ridiculous in Trader Joe’s.  And it’s cheaper than the Celestial teas I’ve seemed to form an obsession of.

Verdict?  Just as good as the other stuff.  Score!  I like drinking it because my body knows that I’ve entered my routine and will be in bed shortly. Oh the mental tricks you can play on yourself…

What’s your bed time?  I say 10:00, but am usually lucky (as in 99% of the time) if I am in bed before 10:30.  I should really start shooting for earlier…

100 Words Saturday – Out the Door Edition

Sleep = good thing.

My body should know that now.  I came home from the gym last night, showered, and parked it for the rest of the night.The crime scene.

Fell asleep during The Soup. Woke up. Fell asleep during Chelsea Lately. Woke up. Moved to bed.

I think I hit 10 hours, kids.

Amazing.

Off to catch the metra and meet a few Chicago bloggers for brunch.Trusty map my dad bought when I moved.  I was embarassed.  But I use it all the time.  Thanks dad.

I’m a visual person with no sense of direction.  I need it.  And it’s for the “savvy traveler”.  Which would be me.

Oops, that’s 110 words.  Can’t win every time… 

Have a great weekend!!!

How Boring

Well I’m slowly getting back to normalcy.  What I consider “normalcy” anyways…Oatmeal for breakfast counts as “normalcy” and not just “boring”… right?

Yesterday I ended up spending a couple hours getting my car taken care of.  A new battery was necessary.  And while I was there I got my oil changed and brakes replaced.  Yep… my car was an expensive little baby yesterday.  Frustrating.  But necessary.  So I’m just not going to dwell on that.

Let’s dwell on happier things.  Like how sweet my friends are!  Check out how great Annie was to me for my birthday- after also coming out and celebrating AND baking for me!She gave me a present that is pretty much the runner/fitness junkie’s dream.  After spending a night checking out her gym, I expressed my interest in resistance bands.  So she picked up one for me!  Along with some new workout clothes!  I love the Champion line- and was a huge fan of the sports bra especially…

There was also a water bottle, but I forgot to include it because I may have already used it… oops!

Clearly, I loved it! 

And look what my friend Mary brought for me over the weekend:It’s a little cupcake kit with the cutest cupcake liners ever!  I really need to get back into the kitchen…

So after a long day at the office, I was definitely ready to get some movement in at the gym- and last night was my lasts long cross training session before the race. But the gym was packed!  Lately, I’ve been lucky to not deal with a crowd (and let’s face it- in my apartment complex’s weight room, 5 people is a crowd).  I got in elliptical and stairmill time (how boring normal) and then did some focus on the arms.  I’ve been slacking on the abs as of late.  And had planned to get up and do something about that this morning by doing a round of The Shred and abs.  But alas- my sleep seemed more important the first time my alarm went off this morning.

Maybe we’ll try that one again tomorrow…

Since I didn’t get to the gym until late last night, I also didn’t leave until late.  So what’s the quickest dinner I know?Veggie scramble.  How unbelievably boring normal of me.

But that’s ok.  Sometimes I’m cool with being boring normal. 

Have a good day, everyone.  Even if Tuesdays are generally lame, I hope for your sake that maybe it’ll be a little less boring normal for you! 

Fleet Feet Women’s 10k

So after my long weekend of fun and debauchery with my hometown girls, I did the unthinkable.  And got up at 5:00 on Sunday morning for a 10k at Montrose Harbor.

But I wasn’t the only one who got up that early.  Oh no.  My girls, Beth and Sarah, are just awesome and said they wanted to go with me to watch. Aren’t they fantastic?  Such troopers!  Sarah said they were filling in for my ‘rents.  I think mom and pops would be proud- they cheered for me very loudly.  Even before we started and people were standing around.  Yep… it was awesome.

This race was really up in the air for me.  I had no idea how I was going to do because we had been out and didn’t get back to my apartment until midnight because we had seen these kids:Rod Tuffcurls and the Benchpress.  They opened for Rock Candy at Durty Nellies on Saturday night.  And they were awesome.  Just their stage presence was entertaining.  But they could play- and sing- like none other!  We ended up groovin’ to everything from Third Eye Blind to Miley Cyrus, to The Little Mermaid Soundtrack to a song off of Forgetting Sarah Marshall.  Although I’m not sure how Aerial would appreciate their suggestive nature when it came to the line “down where it’s wetter”.  Pervs.  But I still loved them!  A few of my girlfriends from the suburbs had come out to play and we were all in agreement that we might have to become their newest groupies.  Good times…

Wait… what?  Where was I?  Oh yeah… the race!  So needless to say, after getting less than 5 consecutive hours of sleep for 3 nights in a row, I was exhausted to say the least.  And the Lou Malnati’s pizza and Goose Island draft is probably not the best thing to be sitting like a brick in my stomach.  I’m very competitive with myself and usually am such a baby about my pre-race routine.  But this was different.  I really just wanted one more solid race before the Rock n’ Roll Half in two weeks (oh my god…).  And I had friends in town and wasn’t about to not enjoy myself on Saturday night.  I figured I’d just treat it like I do any other 6-mile run.  Just take it as it comes.I put myself at the back of the 8:30 pace area.  If anything, I can just find someone with a solid stride and latch on.  We started and you can imagine my surprise when I got through the first mile in under 8 minutes.  Oh crap!  I’m screwing myself over waaaayyyy too early!  No good…  And then my second mile was at about 9 minutes and that was just waaaaayyyyy too fast.  I really am like Goldilocks.  Mile 3 was approximate 8:20 and that was just about right…

I kept the stride up and pushed pretty hard on the last mile.  When I came up towards the finish, I realized I was actually going to beat my last 10k time.Hence the goofy grin.

I finished in 50:40- an 8:10 pace.  This is amazing to me.  I’ll give my new shoes most of the credit, because I have no idea where I would have pulled the energy from. 

After I got through the finish and grabbed a couple waters (hey- free water is free water), I turned to find where I had seen Sarah and Beth as I ran through.  I couldn’t find them right away, so I just collapsed in the grass and figured they’d find me.  I was spent and could not go any further!I ended up placing 129/1460 overall and 9/110 in my age division- which I was more than happy about.  I don’t normally place as much importance on it, but this is my last race in the easier age category.  So I’m going to enjoy it while I still can.  Deal with it!

When I decided my legs were good to go again, we got up and got moving.  Breakfast was necessary.  A guy friend who shares the same interest in good food/restaurants suggested going to Over Easy Cafe.  So we raced there and got in without any wait- which was clutch in this case because my hunger had started to quickly attack and Beth and Sarah were yet to eat that morning.I got one of the Specials- The Sweet & Savory.  You can’t tell, but bacon was mixed into the pancake batter.  Oh yes.  A sinful idea for sure- even though I wouldn’t have complained if there was more bacon because you could barely even notice the extra flavor.  Everything was delicious and I am not ashamed to say I got through almost all of this before I gave up on the eggs.  Starvin’ Marvin… 

While at the restaurant, Beth and Sarah gave me a little birthday present. Like I said- sweethearts.    They even marked their favorite quotes for me.    What a way to start my birthday week!

Even though a nap was inserted into my day yesterday, I’m still a little behind.  This week’s going to be another crazy one in preperation for more visitors coming on Friday, but I’m going to do my best to insert a few more hours in a night.  I’m not as young as I used to be!  Aaaaahhhh!

Happy Monday!

Five Things

I really figured a “Three Things Thursday” would have been fun, but I was a day late.  So now it’s “Five Things Friday”.  Hopefully I’ve got five things.  Otherwise I’ve really shot myself in the foot with this one…

1. Modern Family received 14 Emmy nominations!  YES!  This was by far my favorite new comedy from last season.  It was one of a few shows that I worked my schedule around (and I wouldn’t do that for just ANY show).2. French Women Don’t Get Fat.  I finished the book yesterday.  Final thoughts?  I believe I’ve said before- I find the writing amusing in a smug sort of way.  She’s not trying to be pompous on purpose by any means- but does have the air about her.  If you can get over that issue, it really does give you some “oh duh” and “ah-ha” moments.  Many things you have probably heard and need repeated again.  Such as everything in moderation is ok, eat real food instead of “fat-free/reduced calories” because there’s less processing and you’ll be more satisfied, and drink a crap ton of water. 

She also points out things such as when it comes to eats, pick as much as you can that’s in season for maximum value and taste.  The flavors are fresh and this way, you’ll never get into a food rut as things cycle in and out.  Makes sense, right? 

I also like her outtake on physical activity.  She swears to never exercise because she doesn’t find pleasure in it.  Ok, as an avid runner, I don’t “like” that part, but I like where she goes with her argument.  Don’t do stuff you don’t like.  Instead, she just makes sure to get a lot of movement in her entire day.  Take the stairs, walk instead of drive, take a few breaks from the desk to walk around, etc.  The little things really do add up.  It’s common sense.  Yet why don’t we seem to do it?

3. Check out my water bottle in the last pic.  It’s huge!  There was no convenience store near the movies last weekend and Mon and I wanted to sneak in some snackage (yeah, we’re some of “those” people) so we stopped in a nearby Whole Foods.  Two liters of Fiji for $3.  Bam.  So I’ve been carrying one of those bad boys around with me all week.  And it has really done a number on my amount of trips to the bathroom (I guess maybe that would be considered lots of “movement”?).  What do you drink while at work?  Water bottle after bottle?  Coffee?  Tea? Vodka? (Hey- I won’t judge the vodka- some peeps have really stressful jobs… but I am concerned about possibilities of dehydration…)

4. Dinner was a fail.  I was disappointed because I really thought I had something going and still don’t understand why it went wrong.  I like grilled cheese.  I like broccoli and cheese.  Why not a grilled cheese sammy with broccoli?  It makes sense.  It’d be like a veggie wrap sorta… right?

Soooo not digging it.  Like at all.  It doesn’t even look appealing.  Maybe the bread wasn’t toasted enough.  Maybe I needed more chedda’.  Maybe less broccoli.  But it was no good.  And I don’t care to spend the time tweaking it.  Goodbye forever grilled broccoli and cheese sandwich.

5. It was a rest day.  I got out of work at 4:30.  What do I do with that time?  Clean.  Cook gross things (see above).  Go to Target.  Spend paycheck at Target.  Come home with head hung in shame considering I went there for a card and a toothbrush and instead are carrying a heavy bag up the stairs.  At least it was all stuff I need that looked neat.  Like this new Celestial tea I found:I ran out of Sleepytime tea forever ago and love having it around as something to drink before um… sleepy time.  And since actual “sleepy time” was lacking this week, I tried it.  It smells awesome.  The vanilla scent is just fantastic.  Even though I wish the taste were a little stronger, I like it.  Yay for the Target impulse buy!

Whew.  Wasn’t sure if I’d make it to five (I feel like my life may only be interesting enough to cap out at three if I did this on a regular basis… ha).  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  I’ll be out and about with more random things- nothing too out of the ordinary.  Relax, sit back and stay cool, kids! 

Awkward Placement

Having a good weekend so far?  I am!

After my work event yesterday, I met my friend Annie at her gym to use one of her visitor’s passes.  It was a gym date.    I was so thankful to get to go- because I could get in a serious weight session.  My workout room is adequate, but it’s nice to have a variety of free weights (versus two sets- neither of which are a good weight for me to do much with).  I got to use quite a few different machines- the hip abductor machine is one of my favs.  It’s also extremely awkward-looking to use (in my opinion).  One of the things I never understood was the placement of that machine in my rec center at college.  It was right next to a huge glass window.  So here I am, legs wide open on this machine, and here comes a tour of high school kids and their parents.  Classy.  The machine belongs in the far corner, slightly hidden.  But maybe that’s just me… 

It was really fun to workout with Annie through most of it!  We did a warmup mile on the track together and settled down to do abs at the end.  She also taught me a little about how to use resistance bands.  I think they’re awesome, but had never really been taught how to use them.  I looked like a nerd, but now I want one for myself.  Does anyone use them often?  Do you feel like they’re better than free weights?

Afterwards, we came back to my place and I cooked for her since she’s always been pretty awesome about inviting me over for dinner.  What did I make?  What else?  Healthified pizza!Well.  The mozzarella didn’t do much for our “healthy meal”.  But calcium and protein are important after a workout.  And the spinach and mushrooms cancel it out.  Right?  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. 

I’ve gotten much better at the crust for the pizza.  My first one was a little underdone in the middle and stuck horribly to the pizza stone.  Now I’m much more liberal with the flour and bake the crust for 5 minutes or so before adding everything else.  Perfect-o! 

We also paired it with a salad:More peas, please!  The peppers were Annie’s idea.  And I loved it because I rarely have them unless I’m eating out.  I think I found my new obsession of the week?  Move over broccoli…

We chit-chatted the rest of the night and caught up with each other after the crazy week we had both gone through.  Way better than my typical Red Box night.  Obviously.

My early wakeup calls have ruined me.  I’m a ruined woman.  I’ll never be able to sleep in again.  Ugh.  Today?  I got up at 6:00.  WTF???  I wanted to get up early for my run, but seriously?  Please- feel free to make fun of this.  Because I deserve it.

Today was the big 8-mile day.  It was a bit muggy, but only about 75 degrees when I left my house.  Not bad.  I’ve decided the first mile for me is and will always be crap.  Yep.  You heard me.  Crap.  No wonder I did so horribly on the mile run in gym class when I was 10.  I never find my stride until half way through the second one.  After that, it went pretty smoothly.  I had a group of little girls cheering me on everytime we’d meet each other on the 2.8 mile loop.  Even strangers helped to make my run a little better.  Nice…

My pace was at 8:56.  I really think I need to pick it up a little more in the beginning of the run.  Instead, it’s like I’m nervous to wear myself out before I get halfway through, so I hold back.  One of these days, I should actually pay attention to my pace on my Nike+ before I’m actually done.  I know that’s half the point of wearing it.  But I feel I may lose motivation if I continue to monitor the whole run.  So I don’t know.  I think for now, if I’m having fun doing it the way I’m doing, I should probably not worry so much about time.  I know my opinion on this matter changes every other day.  Bear with me.

We had lunch club today (which I’ll expand on at another time) and I spent the rest of the afternoon lounging at the pool.  The sun has sucked out of me any of the energy I received from the five hours of sleep I got last night (or maybe it could have been the long run?).  Lame.  So I’m gonna go nap it up and go over my options for tonight.  Stay in… go out… stay in… go out…  life is full of hard decisions!

Oh and if you get a chance, feel free to go check out Andrea’s blog, Can You Stay For Dinner?.  She did a feature on me Thursday and I do want to say thank you Andrea, for such a wonderful introduction!  If you’ve never been to her blog, definitely check it out.  Especially if you’re hungry- every post she does is drool-worthy (if it’s not the pictures,  it’s her descriptions of the food that will get ya’!).

Have a good Saturday!

Day One

I officially started my half marathon training!  Sure, it’s not a big deal now.  But I can still say, “yeah, I’m training…” and make it sound awesome.  The next two or three weeks are runs that aren’t too different from what I’ve been doing as of late.  It’s just more structured.  Which I’m not sure how I’ll like.  I’m one of those people who seem to subconsciously rebel against structure.  Because I can.  So for now, I’m following the plan- but I’m saying I will be “loosely” doing so.  Just to cover my butt. 

Last night was a race against the clock to get to the trail.  The forecast was not looking good.  And I was stuck in traffic.  Yet determined to get at least through the first part of my run.  That way, in case it started to rain, I’d be too far into it to stop.  The rain didn’t come.  Whew.  And the three miles were great.  Not too windy, not too cold.  The legs felt loose and good after the first half mile.  No complaints! 

I switched shifts with Jaime today because she has an appointment with the venue where they’re having their wedding reception at.  So I don’t think the trail will be happening tonight being as how I won’t be home until a little later. The weather, once again, is not looking promising.  So I might have to do my scheduled run on the treadmill.  It’s supposed to be either two miles or cross training.  So maybe I’ll switch to cross training instead and do some work on the elliptical or stairmill and do some weights…  That sounds a little more exciting than mileage on the treadmill now that I think about it.

Also because I switched shifts, I got to sleep in a little more than planned.  I think I got a little over 7 1/2 hours!  Oh wow it felt good.  The weekend was close to sleepless and getting up at 5:30 every day for work can take it’s toll on a girl.  So this was nice.  How much sleep do you get on a regular basis?  I like to think I get somewhere around 7 every night, but I know it’s often less. 

Needless to say, I woke up refreshed.  And hungry.  But that’s nothing new.  I applaud all of you that don’t eat breakfast until you get to the office or what not… I guess I’m just the definition of hungry girl.  Because there’s no way I could wait that long without my stomach eating itself.  Seriously, I’m too nervous to even attempt it. Oatmeal with Kashi underneath, almond butter, and a little honey.  Gooooooooddddd morning to me!  And to  you as well, of course.

The Perfect Fit

Yesterday was lazy.  Very lazy.  I did hit the gym to do weights, and worked on my Core Challenge.  But I also spent an unusaul amount of time on the couch.  Have you ever had one of those days where you moved around even slower than usual because you got way too much sleep?  That was me yesterday.  I blame my crazy Friday night.  I fell asleep on my college couch.  Somewhere during the Conan show.  Woke up completely thrown off as to where I was at 1:00 in the morning, walked myself to bed, and then fell asleep for another 8ish hours.  Ahhhhh….

I did have things to do, though.  Annie and I had a date to hit the mall after she got off of work.  She enlisted me as her second opinion while searching for a good pair of jeans.  I have never met someone who likes to go out and buy jeans.  Buying jeans just REALLY sucks actually.  So it’s nice to have someone to go with you for several reasons: to entertain, to help carry, and to (most importantly) tell you if you look like you’re shoving your ass into a pair and have the muffin top exploding out or not.  You just have to.  Those mirrors LIE.  Plus, she was looking for a new pair of shoes.  And I heart shoes.  Even if I’m not allowed to buy any for myself right now.

It didn’t take nearly as long as we thought.  I believe she fell in love with the third pair she tried on.  They were some Joe’s jeans that made her ass look perfect.  I really think I need to start putting a little more investment in my jeans- because these were so well made.  And Annie made a good point- it’s not like we wear them as much as we used to.  I haven’t bought a pair in two years actually.  So I’m pretty sure if I’m only buying a pair every few years, I could splurge and not feel too bad about it.  Thinking that one through still…  And shoe shopping only took 30 minutes- and that was with a busy store.  Success!  We also snagged her a top and some jewelry to wear out that night.  I didn’t find anything for myself.  I wasn’t even seriously looking- just going as her personal shopper.  What can I say?  I’m that good.  I should probably have some business cards made…  I could use the extra $$$.

We grabbed a really late meal at Panera (I still Call it St. Louis Bread Co- gotta stick to those Missouri roots- holla’).  I ate half the sandwich (Turkey Bravo) because I knew how much I’d looooove having the other half after a night out.  Annie and I had plans to meet up with a lot of my guy friends down in Lincoln Square at a bar called The Rail.  Apparently it’s become a nice regular spot for my friends who moved to that area of the city.  And I don’t blame them- $4 calls and $2 domestic drafts is not bad for a Saturday night…

Being as how we were with a bunch of twenty-something guys, the night was full of beer, sports, and Jersey Shore references.  Yep.  Of course, none of my guy friends look a damn thing like Paulie or The Situation, but they’ll sure as hell try to dance like them.  Yep…  Needless to say, we  had a fun night!  I stuck to vodka clubs- and only two throughout the night.  I played the part of sober driver because I wasn’t wanting to overdo the drinking (like I seemed to do the last couple weekends) and wanted to be somewhat productive today.  I don’t know about the productivity thing, but I didn’t feel like crap when I woke up.  So that’s something!

I did not get nearly as much sleep last night (the 4:30 bed time didn’t help).  So today will make for an interesting day.  And unfortunately, today is just one of those days when my body required mass amounts of chocolate (where my girls at?!?!).  So instead of regular oatmeal, I pretty much had dessert for breakfast.  It included much more peanut butter than usual and a pouring of chocolate chips.  I wish I would have slowed down and thought about it a little more… I could have made chocolate chip pancakes.  Daaaammmnnnnn… 

Well, there’s always the possibility of pancakes for dinner.  I guess it depends how my stomach feels after it processes the current overload of peanut butter and chocolate.

Yoga today.  And Pilates if I’m up to it.  But a nap might trump Pilates if I’m being completely honest with myself.

Core Challenge Updates:

Friday- 125                 Saturday- 180

And Thursday’s sneaking up!  We’re in the home stretch- fingers crossed, people.  FINGERS CROSSED!