800th

Do you know what today is?

No? Well. It’s a big day for my lil’ blog. I don’t celebrate “blogversaries” and such because, well, I don’t really have one. Sure, there’s the first post ever. But the focus changed. I took a hiatus or two. The focus changed yet again. Another hiatus.

My point is I don’t have an exact “date” as to when the Second City Randomness you know (and love- obvi) came to be.

HOWEVER…

I’m all about celebrating milestones and such. And today is my 800th post. Which seems like a SUPER big number.

It’s a good time to say thank you. Thank you for coming back on a regular basis. Thank you for understanding my crazy. Thank you for every comment, email, tweet, and even to a few of you who have stopped me in the streets. It’s awesome and I am so happy to have this outlet to share and discuss things with every one of you.

But because I break out in hives when things get overly emotional, I should probably stop now. I just want you to know I mean it- THANK YOU.

Anyway, how ironic that today’s celebratory post will include what I did on a Tuesday.

I still hate Tuesdays. And it turns out I’m not alone. Look at the top search terms for my blog yesterday:

Not sure what that 6-inch difference thing is all about (and maybe I don’t want to know?), but when I see the top terms are about Tuesdays, I know you guys totally understand me.

Anyway, this Tuesday I found myself out in the ‘burbs dealing with some car maintenance. No biggie, but it left me with some time to kill afterwards to avoid the evening rush hour traffic back IN to the city.

Rush hour is no joke, guys.

Luckily, I have friends who also occasionally have time to kill.

Mon and I took to a path along the lake near our old apartment complex and went on a run that lasted about 1.5 miles before we succumbed to slowing down to a quick walk and gossiping for the rest of the 4-mile adventure.

Funny thing- this wass the first time we’ve ever ran together. Sure, we’ve been friends for almost three years now. And yes, we both like to workout. And we both really like running. We just never have together. Strange.

Afterwards, I insisted on going to Jason’s Deli. It’s quick. It’s delicious. And there’s not a location near my new place, so I really miss it.

It’s like the salad I make at home. But better because croutons are involved. And a lil’ pasta salad on the side… and hummus… So really, it’s just better.

Some of the reason I miss it may be because there’s free soft serve with the salad bar. If you so choose…

My car got a spa treatment. I got a gossip fest with a side of exercise. My stomach was happily fed. And, most importantly, I missed rush hour traffic when heading back into the city.

It may have not been a super exciting Tuesday, but hey- it wasn’t completely awful, either.

Success.

Making Due

As a ”plan ahead” kind of gal, and someone who particularly enjoys routine, this last week or so has really thrown me for a loop.

My workouts have been sporadic and wonky. It’s been a “guess what Amy will actually do today” kind of week.

Let’s pretend I’m attempting “muscle confusion” to get my hot bod in tip top shape. Instead of realizing that I’m just being lazy/moody/irritable.

Due to our habit of weekly champagne brunch on Saturdays, I often observe Sunday the way God intended- as one of rest. Preferably buried under blankets with a large bottle of water within arm’s length.

Maybe it was the lack of celebratory drinks after a hard loss to KU (I will NOT talk about it). Maybe it was the amazing weather (since when is 53 degrees amazing?). Maybe it was the guilt from multiple Mizzou-Themed Cookies being willingly shoved into my face (thank God my coworkers willingly took the rest of them out of my grubby little paws- early onset of diabetes was just around the corner).

Frozen pizza pimped out with green peppers, olives, and more chedda'. This is what happens when you need more food in a pinch. Making due with what you have. It's an art.

Or maybe it was the pizza.

Whatever it was, I found myself at the gym on Sunday afternoon doing the stairmill for funsies. And also walking around the neighborhoods for an hour or so with my roommate.

Weird, right?

And because of my suddenly active Sunday, Monday changed a little. The legs weren’t as fresh as they normally are on Mondays (usually I’m coming off a day of total rest), so I only ran 3.7 miles on the treadmill at 8:34 before switching to a walk for another 10 minutes or so.

It was a half-mile or so less than the usual, so compensating included push ups (the guy way- I’m getting better!) and some planking through Monday night tv time.

My arms are slowly getting stronger, but I’m nowhere near getting my muscles to look like the dudes at the gym that are so bulked up they can’t even put their arms fully down to the side.

Oh wait… that is gross. Nevermind.

All in all, it was still a good workout. So the break in normalcy wasn’t nearly as annoying/disruptive as originally assumed.

This is me making due with the given time and energy levels. And that’s really all I can ask of myself.

And because my friend is in town to take the bar exam today and I am celebrating with her afterwards, my workout will be nonexistent today in exchange for food and wine.

I know, right? I am SUCH a good friend… sigh…

There really isn’t a better day to do it, so I’m glad she called. I hate Tuesdays and don’t mind the distraction.

She may be the one taking the bar exam, but it’s clearly still all about me.

Duh.

What is going on?

Well I’m glad everyone enjoyed my little alarm clock mishap. Guess it happens to the best of us.

Or just me. But whatev. I’m not keeping track.

And it should have been taken as fair warning to just stay in bed.

Because I have an announcement, ya’ll.

Monday sucked way worse than Tuesday.

I KNOW. I can’t believe it either.

Clearly it started off on the wrong foot with me getting up and midnight and all. But to be honest, that could be considered one of the highlights of my day.

That or the pile of fun size candy bars my awesome boss “borrowed” from the downstairs cafeteria.

That was pretty cool, actually.

Anyway, after what I will only describe as the longest 24 hours of all time, I was seriously shaking in my boots (or heels to be more accurate) to see what Tuesday would be all about.

One of the first things that came through to my inbox was a deep tissue massage from my male friend.

Well that’s not a bad start…

It’s for celebration after my 15k this weekend (oh yeah… THAT is still happening?). And he didn’t say specifically, but it’s probably also for the major knot in my back that grosses him out.

Why yes, I AM sexy.

Hilariously enough, back in the day it was once proclaimed there would be a massage scheduled for after every scheduled long race. As a reward.

I lied. To my own self. Oops.

So you can imagine how thrilled I was. Clearly he’s a nicer person than I am. Hopefully this won’t be an issue.

And then this happened:My friend Annie sent me flowers!

The card said since my blog entertains her every day, she wanted to do something to put a smile on my face on a Tuesday. She did a very good job. And the flowers have really started to open up since this picture was taken- so THANK YOU ANNIE!

I surround myself with really good people. Obviously. Because that topped off a GOOD Tuesday.

Seriously you guys… does everyone know something I don’t? Am I dying or something?

Hopefully not. I certainly don’t feel like I am. Because after getting home yesterday, 3.2 miles of more destressing happened. And it felt awesome. As did lounging on my couch for the rest of the evening.

There must be a conspiracy against my Tuesday theory.

This doesn’t bother me one bit. Because really- who wants to be correct about Tuesdays automatically being a crap day?

Not this girl.

Now Monday, on the other hand, may have some serious explaining to do…

Stress Ball

That’s the one word you can use to describe me today. And yesterday. And the day before.

My life has been hectic.

Work? Check. Personal life? Check.

It’s a good thing I’ve built a serious routine for during the week. Because sometimes there are days where I don’t want to think and would prefer to just go through the motions.At what point does a theory become an actual law? I swear the “Tuesdays are the worst day of the week” theory is catching on.

Either way, early yesterday morning my “auto pilot” was turned on. Nothing more for me to do other than to just let it rollllll…. 

I already touched on my morning being pretty standard and old ladyish. My night after work is fashioned into a similarly repetitive routine:

Attempt not to scream at a hooligan (let’s edit ourselves) on the way home. Bonus points for me if I don’t get close to hitting someone on a bike (pretty sure some of them have a death wish and seek me out during rush hour traffic).

Get home. Discuss commute with roommate. Also discuss one particular driver that almost killed me and how it’s not my fault. It never is. She agrees and acts appalled. Probably just to shut me up so she can finish watching DVR in peace as I run upstairs to change and head out to the gym.

Hit gym. Realize the ipod is about to die because someone forgot to charge it during work. Know that someone is me, but blame others if at all possible. 

Swear to not run because that’s what has been done the last two nights and it’s really time to switch it up a little.

End up running 2.8 miles anyway. Shake head because a conversation JUST happened with Megan about how I need to cut back on the running. Oops.

After becoming a hot mess and a half from all the treadmill action and 15 minutes on the elliptical and stairmill (for kicks and to work out some more of the rage), run into someone I know. Converse while hoping they don’t notice the sweat stain on my stomach or chest region (seriously?).

Come home to leftovers. Be sad baseball isn’t on, but find a way to work in the Cardinal allegiance for the night…Chicken sausage and yellow/orange peppers. Quite delicious even if you had searched desperately for green peppers at the store and could find none. 

And a rally towel from the NLCS game I went to earlier this month. It is now kept prominently placed in the kitchen.

What? Is that weird?

Probably. What else am I supposed to do with it?

After eating dinner then spending quality time with my pantry and a box of cereal, join roomie on couch for the rest of the evening. No talking. Just watching the screen.

Retreat to bedroom. Look at clothes and shoes on floor. Waste more time pondering picking them up than it actually would take to do so. Decide to leave them there.

Go to bed. Wake up. Be somewhat happier because it is no longer Tuesday.

Breath sigh of relief. Another Tuesday down and out of the way.

Success.

Sweet Surprise

You hear about it pretty much every week. Tuesdays just send me into a “blah” state of mind. Maybe one day I’ll do a rap about this state of mind like Jay Z.

But that would require me to actually be good with words. And this here blog and my random musings are a far cry from anything remotely genius (call it like I see it).

Anyway, until I figure out how to keep the “blah” from happening, there are ways to remedy the sitch. Or at least make it seem a little better. Almost like another version of my Overhaul Days.

Or, in this case, maybe the exact opposite of it?

Sometimes you just do what you’ve gotta do. Holla’.

Anyway, I love getting stuff in the mail. Especially when it comes in boxes from fellow bloggers- because you know it’s gonna be good.

And Leanne over at Skinny Architect did not disappoint.Not one bit. She actually impressed me and could possibly be the cause of a sudden onset of diabetes.

We were partnered up in the latest installment of the Blogger Sweet Swap and she chose to make “Lazy Man Cookies” and “Lazy Lady Cookies”. She said she experimented a little with the original recipe to get the “Lady” version. Makes sense- us ladies are always unpredictable and never follow the rules. Am I right or am I right???

But back to the cookies- or heaven in a pan as I like to refer to them. Whichev. It’s like she knew what all my favorite things were and dumped them in a pan before baking them to perfection.Yeah- listen to how happy I am. It’s probably the sweetened condensed milk. That stuff makes me do crazy things.

Thank you, Leanna, you helped to make my Tuesday that much more bearable.

And now, the question of the day because I feel like it:

What’s the best thing you’ve gotten in the mail recently?

I’ll tell you one thing I received that does NOT fit in that category. A red light violation ticket that showed up in the mailbox this week.

I plead the fifth.

Seatbelts Please…

I wish I had some amazing and exciting post to fill you with laughter and entertainment.

I don’t.

Unless, of course, you think my stepping in dog poo last night in my favorite sandals is comical. In that case, you have come to the right place. 

I need to learn to stick to sidewalks. That and a certain dog owner in my neighborhood really needs to clean up their shit. Literally.

Anyway, not much new to report here. Expect this to go in about a million different directions. Buckle your seatbelt and hold on.

So news… um…I mean… it’s raining… does that count?

(Source)

Whatev. It’s Tuesday- which seems fitting. I don’t really care so much because there are no plans other than to work and make a stop in the gym.

Sorta like last night. There were a few scattered people running outside, reminding me of what I SHOULD be doing, now that I’ve got this 15k in November and all.

But there was rain in the air yesterday as well, so I kept my lame butt inside.

Why run outside when you can watch That 70′s Show on tv?

That’s complete sarcasm. I’m awful when it comes to concentrating on an actual show or news while running/working out/etc. Running seems to be my “la la” time and focus on one particular thing is usually not going to happen. However, it is some visual stimulation and is good for at least 10 or 15 minutes of distraction.

Which helped last night. After an indulgent weekend, the 4 miles seemed like a good way to rebound back into healthier ways. Even if there are meetings in my office with an abundance of catering to go along with it.

Good food that is free. Life is so harrrrrrrddddddd.

Hopefully, our new recycling bag at home will help to keep my eye on the prize instead of that bagel smothered in cream cheese:We really need to figure out a new system for recycling other than just bags hanging out in the corner of the kitchen. It can’t be very sanitary.

Anyway… we’ll see how that particular image of motivation works today. In all the frantic buzzing around in my house to locate an umbrella, other than the two already in my car, in order to brave the downpour, I seem to have forgotten my meticulously packed lunch (a massive salad).

Luckily, because of the meetings, there’s always a sandwich to grab. But knowing me, why end there? There will also be cookies. And cheese and crackers. And more cookies…

Sigh…

Oh Tuesday… you win again!

Tuesday Turnaround

Nothing ever goes as planned. I’ve come to *almost* accept this as just a part of my life.

Because, until I can control things like fate and the weather, I’m just gonna have to suck it up.

One of these days, man… One of these days…

Anyway, due to problematic weather, my lunchtime run date was cancelled. By me. He still wanted to go. Boys are weird.

Then, my friend Mon decided to cancel her dinner plans. She was too worked up after a stressful day of work.

So what did we do in attempts to turn around yet another stupid Tuesday?

I drove my exercise-starved booty to her place and we worked out in her apartment complex gym- my old workout room. Like the good ol’ days.

We also had a fantastic vent session while doing so. Like the good ol’ days.

We also scared other patrons of the gym.

Like the good ol’ days… 

Considering I’m between free gym passes in the epic hunt for a new place to workout, I appreciated the excuse to crosstrain a little with the elliptical and stairmill. And unlike the sweatshop of a gym I was trying out for free by my house, it wasn’t too intimidating to flex my teeny tiny muscles on the weight machines.

As we huffed and puffed away, one of the girls who works in the management office came in. She happens to be the one who hated me (seriously- what did I ever do to her???), so she went on and on and on with Mon the entire time. Turns out that along with getting state-of-the-art new treadmills, they’re also closing the gym for a couple of days to redo the entire floor and have the springy rubbery floor (that IS a technical term).

LOVE that they’re doing this finally (insert sarcasm here). Because when I signed my lease over two years ago, they were discussing it then. Guess they had to wait until they drained me of all my money to be able to fund the project…

Nah, I’m not bitter that I had to deal with mediocre/crap gym equipment the entire time I lived there. Not at all…

When I got home, there was a little somethin’ somethin’ waiting for me from Miss Kelly. Being as how I hate Tuesdays, the surprise package was welcomed with open arms.I freaked out a little.  7 For All Mankind jeans!

It’s like the sisterhood of the traveling pants all up in here. She said she hasn’t worn them in a while and decided to share the love.

Usually I have the worst time finding good jeans, but these fit like a glove. Seriously. I am so happy! Given that Kelly has legs that go forever and I’m a little disproportionate when it comes to my torso/leg ration, they’re a wee bit long. Minor details I can figure out. Because they make my booty look fabulous. And that’s the important thing.

Also, she sent two transit cards she and her bf used last time they visited that still had a little extra cash on them.

So not only did she provide me the gift of a nice-looking butt, she also gave me the ability to afford to ride the el to a bar to show it off.

YES! Thank you, Kelly!

The attempt to turnaround my yucky Tuesday was a success.

Thank goodness.

How To Deal With Tuesday Rage

I won’t lie- the first day back from having 5 days off was rough.

How is it that I was super busy, which should make time fly, but it was the slowest day ever?

I blame Tuesdays. They suck.

Add another 25 minutes to my normal commute time?

This girl was NOT a happy camper. Straight-up hateful, if we’re being honest.

The roomie had asked if I was interested in going for a walk later on because it was relatively nice and I told her I’d be down for it as I got some weight training out of the way. I mostly wanted to do strength training first because it had been ages. But it was also very important that I got at least a half hour of alone time to cool off from my Tuesday rage.

It was in her best interest. My poor friend Annie, who called me on the way home, was not so lucky. I still feel bad (and will apologize again!). Pretty sure I really brought her down. Such a Debbie Downer. Whoomp whoomp…

Anyway, I dusted off my copy of No More Trouble Zones by Jillian Michaels and gave it a go. Cautiously- only doing 5 of the 8 circuits. I haven’t broken that one out for a few months (ahem), and even my other Jillian dvds hadn’t been in use since I moved 2 weeks ago.

Who am I???

After sweating it out a little bit, and killing my quads, I was ready for a walk around the neighborhood.

We checked out a new street (new to us) of bars and restaurants. And then my roomie got pooped on by a bird. Again. This time on the leg. 

Nature really does hate her.

Once we got back (and some of us showered off- gross!), I figured the only way to end the craptastic (literally) day was to fall back on a comfort food.

Mama needed pasta. Badly.Finally found a way to use those artichokes while I was at it. They’ve been sitting around for a while. Plans to make a chicken artichoke dip fell through. Oopsies.

Because I’m a girl who participates in monotonous eating during most of the week, my refrigerator wasn’t quite prepared for the random surge of the desire to cook.

As in, I found an awesome recipe for lemon, artichoke, and pasta, but didn’t have the “fresh” ingredients they asked for. Like none of them. Unfortunately, the thrifty girl in me doesn’t roll that way. I keep my staples consistently handy and that’s about it. Even the lemon was from a bottle. Don’t judge.

The recipe was not followed exactly. When it comes to cooking, eyeballing it all is more my style (ahem- definitely used more black olives than the original recipe). Makes me feel more legit. Like I belong on the Food Network or something. Especially since I lack the fresh ingredients.

Did it turn out? Thankfully, yes. Yes it did. Thank goodness I had that lemon flavoring around (leftover from a night involving vodka cocktails, I believe). It was a real burst of flavor. Which is sometimes not the case when olive oil is the main base of the “sauce”. Or at least that’s my opinion.

Parmesan really topped it off- another very important ingredient that I wouldn’t make the dish without. Again, something fresh I didn’t have on hand- but luckily there was a backup in the refrigerator. Thanks Kraft.

This will be made again. Fresh ingredients or no- it made my tummy happy. My rage became a little less severe.

And it saved my Tuesday from being a complete disaster.

So you know it’s a big deal. Word.

Belated BYOB

Plans are always important.

They keep me from getting a little nutty.

If you know me- this is important. Because it doesn’t take much for me to start getting a little weird.

Hence the reason why we scheduled a birthday dinner for our friend Bailey a week or two in advance.

But then life happened. Flights get delayed. People get double ear infections (Mon was in a pretty sad state for about a week or so…). People are out of town over holiday weekends.

Like I said- life happens.

Good thing for the girls in my group of friends? We believe in celebrating an entire birthday MONTH. Excessive? Maybe. But we do was we want. Muah!

So, in grand fashion and 2.5 weeks later, we all finally got together on Sunday evening to celebrate our friend’s (and my new roomie’s) birthday at Mago Grill in downtown Arlington Heights. Considering that Bailey and I are moving out of the area within the week, we really know how to cut it close.It’s so bright in the restaurant because it’s 5:30 on a Sunday afternoon. Yes, we were dining and drinking with senior citizens. But it’s called SunDAY FunDAY for a reason.

Mago is relatively new to the area and we were informed of it on the metra one night – some guy across the aisle was discussing it. My ears perked up when he mentioned “BYOB”.

I’m an eavesdropper and I don’t care.

The city of Chicago has a ridiculous amount of BYOB options- something I  had never heard of until moving up here a few years ago. But there’s now one Arlington Heights? Are you for reals?

Clearly, this place was put on my list of things I needed to do.

One purchased gift certificate (I spent $5 on a $25 gift certificate) at Restaurant.com and a quick stop at the liquor store was all it took.

Tecate for most of us (gotta be festive with the mexican beer). Coors Light for the birthday girl. In a can. Because it’s her favorite.

I don’t get it either. But at least I know she’ll never steal my beer.

As soon as we were seated, Mon gave Bailey her fabulous birthday gift:Swedish Fish. And Justin Bieber.

Bailey said she plans to blast the Biebs as we’re moving next weekend. I said I’d counter strike with Katy Perry (Bailey’s hatred of KP is second to none). So uh… it’s ON.

Anyway, after me giving Mon a stern lecture about the Bieber cd issue, it was time to eat.

I prefer not to visit a Mexican joint without trying out the guac. And really- I’ve yet to find a place where it disappoints. So the more important thing is what entrée to order…

Annie and Mon both ordered what seems to be a cauldron of fajitas:And Bailey and I went with the Enchiladas (per usual):You can’t really see the enchiladas, but trust me- they were awesome. I’m always that person who says “well I’ll only eat half and eat the rest for lunch tomorrow”.

That doesn’t happen nearly as often as it should. Or at all, as of late. *Shoulder Shrug*

It’s sort of sad we didn’t go here until my last week as a resident of Arlington Heights. I could have easily spent multiple weekends just chillin’ with some adult beverages and tableside guac.

Looks like we know where I’m going to suggest we go when I come through and visit Mon…

In other news…

My air conditioning went out yesterday.

Again. This was the second day in the row.

Unfortunately for me, I didn’t get home until well after the management office closed for the day. So it was a balmy 88 degrees in my house when I went to bed last night. Sleep was hard to come by. Imagine that.

The shower this morning was cold. And fast. I also refused to fix my hair with any kind of iron. The blow dryer alone almost gave me a heat stroke. 

So I’m bringing a whole new definition of “hot mess” to the table. It’s ok- it’s Tuesday. So what else would anyone expect?

Travel Issues

Oh hey there.

Remember me?

I’m that girl who sometimes writes about silly things.

*crickets*

Oh yes… coming back now?

Ok good.

Well as you may have figured out, I pretty much went off the map in Vegas for the weekend. My friend’s bachelorette went AMAZING. Us girls had such a good time. Even after not seeing some of the chicks for a few years, it was like we never moved away from each other.

Silliness happened.

I was actually supposed to be back in the Chicago area late on Sunday. But when arriving at the airport on Sunday afternoon, I had the pleasant surprise of my flight getting cancelled. Luckily, most of the girls were still sticking around for a third night, so there was still an available bed for me.

As much as I loved being around the girlies for an extra day, this was actually not pleasant. I was exhausted. I missed a day of work. And my 4-hour direct flight turned into a 12-hour cross-country ordeal.

Why I needed to go to Washington DC to come home to Chicago from Vegas is beyond me.

But I got in a lovely cardio workout as I bolted from a flight that ran about 25 minutes late due to the storms in the midwest to my connecting flight. And had a cookie. Thanks DC.

Anyway, I was in bed a little after 1:00 last night and was up again to go to work at 5:15. Needless to say, my brain is mush. A proper summary of my trip will have to wait. Thinking too hard will just prove to be disastrous.

But because you asked:People thought we were all trying to be Lady GaGa.

It was actually Katy Perry (come on!)- the theme was “Waking Up in Vegas”.

And I still have the wig. Which could possibly make multiple repeat appearances. Because I’m in love with it.

Yep.

Happy Tuesday. I’m exhausted, my eyes have been bloodshot for the last 48 hours, and my body is currently rejecting the multiple McDonald’s breakfasts that were consumed.

Sounds about right.