BFF: Better Food and Fitness: April 2011

Saturday, April 30, 2011

No Shower Saturday

I almost made it all day today without showering. When I got up this morning I decided I'd wait to shower until after my run, but once I was back my dad was here and my sister showed up, and it never happened. I almost went right to bed, but I couldn't stand the thought of sleeping out at least rising off. So here I am freshly showered, going to bed with wet hair.

I know, the wet hair, no make-up, glasses look is super hot. I try to show this look off as much as possible. ;)

As you may notice from my ability to blog with pictures, the hubs did pull through and brought my forgotten items. I didn't get to wear my flipflops today, because it never really was sunny or that warm, but tomorrow is another day! And I did get to run with my Garmin, and my new running buddy!

Oh yes! I took the polar bear for a run! We should really call it a slow jog though. She did well with the pace, but my sister also tagged along, and she has a stomach bug and was wearing jeans, so we didn't do a whole lot of running. It was fine with me though. We got out and got some exercise, and I still have fresh legs for a "long" run tomorrow.

It's been an eventful (read: not at all exciting) weekend here. We went to a funeral service this morning and hung out this afternoon. It was nice to see so much of my dad, as I don't always get to see him when I come home (he often works weekends). Once everyone left, my g-ma and I entertained ourselves with a puzzle. I know it's so old lady, but I love doing puzzles. As you know, this is not my first go at the puzzle rodeo.

It's almost midnight, so I'm off to bed. Fun fact about when I stay at my g-ma's: I have to sleep in a twin bed. No actually a big deal, but when the hubs is down here for the weekend too, we become Lucy and Ricky. A queen bed would be far too modern for my old fashioned g-ma! ;)

Happy (almost) May Day! I cannot believe that April is over already! Where did it go???

Friday, April 29, 2011

Forget About it!

It's Friday and tonight after work I'm heading down to my Gramma's again. This weekend is not so fun a trip, as we have to go to a memorial service for a friend's mother, but it's nonetheless another weekend I can enjoy with my Gram!

Unfortunately, I completely forgot to pack a couple items. I blame it on the fact that I was enthralled by the royal wedding this morning and ended up having to very quickly rush out the door!


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I'm hoping the hubs will be stopping at the apartment before he heads down for the weekend because I'm in need of my things!

I forgot the following:

1. My Garmin! How could I?! I know I know, it's horrible. I *just* got it and I already forget to use it.

2. My flipflops! It's supposed to be GREAT weather this weekend, and I most definitely don't want to spend the whole time in real shoes! That would be awful when the sun will be shining!

3. My camera cord. How on earth can I add pictures to the blog if I don't have a cord!

I'm reallyyyyy hoping that I will actually have these things because I have an awesome husband...but he is at work too, so hopefully he has the time to stop!

I Have Gas

I was pumping gas at Costco yesterday and noticed the pump's gauge showing that I was pumping more gas than what I know fills my tank! But it never clicked! I could then hear the gas overflowing so I grabbed the handle and it kept on pouring...right onto my car, the floor and my feet. What on earth? I have never even thought about that happening- which was actually my first thought as this was happening. I didn't know if I should just drive off because I'm sure people saw (or heard me saying "oh no" like 20 times) and I was embarrassed or if I should tell someone. I didn't want to leave a hazard and the chance of this happening to someone else so I told the attendant. I explained in as much panicked detail as I could what happened and you know what she asked? "Were you still pushing down the button as you pulled the nozzle out of the tank?" Yes, that's exactly what happened. I pulled the nozzle out and just kept my thumb on the button...

After the gas incident and a quick shopping trip to pick up a gift for my cousin's birthday party, I headed to the gym. I was so not in the mood to go! I think I really need to go right after work otherwise I am not motivated. I did a 30 minute HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) session on the bike- 5 minutes of warm up followed by 1 minute sprints and then 30 rest and repeated. I'm in need of some new workout music (have I mentioned that I just got a laptop and haven't actually updated my iPod since 2008?). Fortunately, the May issue of Shape was in the mail and it always has great playlist ideas.

Anyone watch the royal wedding? I definitely DVR-ed it and can't wait to watch!! I love LOVE.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Get It!

So here's the scoop- we have 3 people in our dept. and typically the work load is shared pretty evenly. Well one of the 3 left last week and I was asked to pick up the additional work. I'm happy to be challenged and super busy but as you can imagine, doubling my workload has me exhausted! I'm even working through my lunch break so there isn't even time for a quick blog. Sorry. It affected my workouts last week- I was so busy last week I skipped a few meals (not good when I'm trying to build muscle) and I wasn't sleeping very well (low energy is no fun at the gym). Fortunately, I'm more comfortable, getting more sleep and packing a lunch I'm able to eat in between tasks or meetings- overall, I'm feeling much better.

Last week there was a guy at the gym and every time he would do a rep he'd yell or groan. It was hysterical and I wish I had my phone so I could record him. No joke, I was at the opposite side of the noisy gym and could still here him yell "GETTTTT IIIIIT!!!!" as he looked at himself in the mirror. Awkward right? The awkward factor tripled once he started making bedroom groaning noises. I felt so uncomfortable and had to try so hard not to laugh. I am definitely a fan of self motivation during a work out, sometimes I do tell myself out loud "come on!" but this was a little too much. Thoughts?

Geez, I do have a bit to update you on today! I don't think I even posted about my awesome birthday. Not only did I get to hear from great friends and family but I had a surprise visitor at the airport - my sister! We went to a family dinner at Jay's aunt & uncle's home - we had a great time and even did an April Fool's white elephant (I came home with a Mounds bar and nail clippers). Saturday morning Jay woke me up and told me to get ready because I had a mani/pedi appointment and my sister and 2 friends would me joining me. We showed up at the cute spa and had a whole room (including champagne, sparkling cider, wine and Whole Food treats that Jay had set up the day before) to ourselves. It was so relaxing and ah-mazing.

Last week I had to go to the dentist. They had to numb my lowers and I am kind of a hot mess when I'm numb and think my lips are swollen...

It was totally worth it because they let me pick out my treat.

I love mini toothpastes!! If I ever win (or actually play) the lottery, I'd buy a bunch of tiny toothpastes so I could enjoy a different type several days a month. Love it. You know who loves Spongebob??

We had an eventful Easter! My family came up to visit and Jay got baptized. I had never been to an adult baptism so I didn't really know what to expect. It was a beautiful ceremony and it was nice to be with family.

In wedding news, I'm struggling. We had a photographer picked out and it turns out she's unresponsive. Even though we love her work, we know we need to follow our gut instincts and find another. Drats. Any recommendations out there??

It was another inappropriate shirt under my work shirt day. Holla!

Time to get some sleep (side note: growing up, anytime my sister or I were falling asleep during a family roadtrip our older brother would punch us in the arm and chant "sleep is for the weak...sleep is for the weak..."). Hope you're having some great workouts!!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Easter Sunday

Today was wonderful. It finally felt like spring in MA and I got to spend a lot of time outside.

After church, I stood outside in the sun with my coffee while the hubs changed my gma's outside light bulb. I'm obviously super helpful when it comes to things like this.

After the chores had been done (I did clean the inside of the windows in my car...they were filthy), we headed to my dad's for dinner. It was far too nice out to stay inside while we waited for dinner to be ready, so I offered to take their ~~polar bear~~ dog for a walk. (The hubs came to but he played photographer today).

Taking her for a walk seemed to kill almost enough time to get to lunch...almost. But not enough, so I was starving by the time we actually ate and therefore ate too much. I hate when that happens. But the food was awesome. We had so much...bread, salad, wine, cheese, and fish, ham, AND lamb...because one protein is just not good enough for Jesus.

The fish was my favorite. It had a lobster meat and bread crumb topping that was delicious, but quite possibly made Easter a little less than fun for me. So the thing is, I cannot eat scallops (in Massachusetts it's pronounced sc-all-ups, not sc-al-ups, btw). I like the taste of them just fine, but they DO NOT sit well in my stomach. I have no idea why not, because I do not have an issue with any other seafood, but scallops are a no go. The majority of the fish made today actually had lobster and scallops in the bread crumb topping, but my dad made a little piece of fish for me with scallop-free topping, but cooked it in the same pan with the other fish. I loved it and ate the whole piece of fish they saved for me. But about 15 minutes into our drive back to Boston my stomach completely cramped up. NOT FUN in the car...or anywhere for that matter. Let's just say it worked out that we needed to stop for gas anyway...and I must have eaten even the littlest bite of scallop in my fish because there is nothing else in the world that makes me stomach act like that!

Needless to say, it ruined my plans for yoga tonight, but the warm weather was perfect for an evening walk with the hubs! Now it's time to straighten life out for tomorrow and head to bed. Back to the grind in the morning!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

She's a brick....YMCA?

This morning I found myself here:

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This is the YMCA where I visited many times as a kid. I learned how to swim here, and I was even on the swim team one year. I trained for track in the off-season in high school here, and this morning I did a brick workout here!

It was raining and raining and raining here, so I decided early this morning to hit the gym. This YMCA has an indoor track, so I thought that would be more exciting that running on the treadmill. Turns out, it wasn't. The track isn't too big, so it was A LOT of going in circles. And there were kids there. I forgot what it's like to work out where kids are...and I can't say I had to much patience for it. The track did amuse me with all the motivational words on the walls.

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Regardless of how annoying it was to run in circles, it was a pretty decent run. I don't know how far I went because I would have had to count a million laps per mile or something, so I just kept running. I did 25 minutes before I headed back to the locker room to prep for a swim.

This horrendous locker room picture was the only one I could take before my camera battery died again (hence all the outsourced pictures). I swam for another 25 minutes before I got out and dried off with the t-shirt pictured above. Apparently I'm dumb and forgot that not all gyms have a towel service and I probably should have packed my own. But I didn't. But I did have a good swim and got another awesome blackberry picture for you.

After another awesome workout (I'm feeling much better about the fitness path I'm on these days), I headed back to my Gram's to find my laundry done and all the fixings for a huge salad lunch ready and waiting for me. She's amazing.

Today I also set a huge goal for myself. To start off, I will tell you that I have never run farther than 3.1 miles. 5ks are the most I've ever ever done, but I can do it pretty regularly. This afternoon, while coloring Easter eggs with my friend who lives in NY we were discussing this issue, and she suggested I run the yearly 5 mile road race held in my home town on 4th of July. Well I can't run the race that day because I already have plans for that weekend, BUT I did agree to run the course with her in June. YIKES! I know it probably doesn't seem like a big deal to most people, but for me that's going to be a huge deal. I'm already freaking out about it, but I know I can do it. It's not THAT much longer than a 5k, right? I said June because I need a few weeks to build up to 5 miles, but I'm actually really excited! I need to have something to push myself towards and although the tri is going to be amazing, it's still pretty far away, so this is a great goal much sooner. Hopefully I can do it!

HAPPY EASTER to all two of the BFF readers out there!!! :D

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Work it out

Some times when you're having a day like I was earlier...and you're just down on life for those couple minutes, there isn't anything better than a work out.

I went to the gym after work today. I really wanted to get to the 60 minute spin class I took last week, but it was full. So I settled for some self-spinning. I did about 40 minutes on the bike half following the video demonstration on the screen attached to the bike. I couldn't figure out how to plug my headphones in, so I just had to guess. It worked fine for me though, and I could a pretty good workout in. I got off the bike and was just going to head out, but I decided to jump on the treadmill and try for a mile...just to see how my legs felt (I am training for a tri!). Surprisingly, I felt good! I did a REALLY fast (for me) mile at that! It was the workout I needed to snap me back into focus (I hope!)

And since I didn't use my camera all week, the battery was dead. Awesome. Here's the awesome picture I took on my phone in the locker room for your amusement.

You. are. welcome.

Fib

I fibbed- I said in a previous post that I wouldn't go so long in between posts... And here we are more than a week since my last post. Sorry :(

It has been a little hectic around here but I will try to post more soon!!

K?

I do have a much needed training session with the trainer today. She's going to kick my butt and that's exactly what this girl needs. I think we're working legs today so that should mean that I'll still have use of my arms afterwards which means I should be able to post.

I do have a humorous gym story to share with you but it'll have to wait :)

Have a happy Thursday! Did I ever tell you that Thursday is my favorite day of the week? In fact I like to call it Hardy-Har-Har-Tharsday!

What happens when...

You leave your camera in your gym bag, and you don't actually use said gym bag (or go to the gym) all week? You have no pictures for the blog or good stories about working out. (And you get a wordy post with no pictures. Sorry!)

So I kind of failed on that aspect of life this week. I'm not sure why, but laziness has gotten the best of me. Although I was very active last week, this week just didn't happen. I blame it on the fact that the spin class I was prepared to take after work on Monday was cancelled because of the marathon. It completely threw me off and I was most definitely NOT in the mood to run, so I did nothing instead. Great strategy.

Even though I made my April schedule of working out, I've had a hard time getting my head in the game. I'm honestly not sure WHY I'm having such issues lately. I'm over using the new job excuse. It's been two months. It's about time I figured my shit out, eh? I'm basically maintaining my current weight, which is not terrible in the grand scheme, but it's not what I'd like to be doing. I'm still in the losing phases, but I'm not actually losing. So where's the disconnect? I'm not sure. I have some soul searching to do this weekend I guess. I know that I'm a much happier person when I can be proud of how hard I worked at the end of the day, and I like having that feeling almost every day (I am a fan of rest days too though).

I have some big workout plans for the next few days...including a brick on Saturday and yoga on Sunday...I'm determined to not just stay on the track, but keep moving down the line. I know that positivity is KEY in all this, so I'm doing my best to keep my head up and just move on. Getting fit and bettering my relationship with food is a DAILY struggle for me, and I'm just working through it. Slow and steady wins the race, right?

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Our Maine Stay

There's nothing like a weekend in Maine to melt away the stress of a long week. It was a weekend filled with not much, but it was just what the doctor ordered.

Saturday morning I woke up to the bright sunshine. It was windy, but I just pulled on my awesome ear band and was out the door for a three mile run. It was awesome. It will hilly, but I pushed hard and was able to keep my normal pace through the ups. It helps when your last mile is along the beach.

I got home to find the rest of the house guests up and about, so we freshened up and walked back along the beach over to H.B. Provisions for some breakfast. Although their egg sandwiches are awesome, I knew there was seafood in my future, so I brought my own yogurt and kept breakfast light.

By the time we ate and wandered around a little bit (no Presidential sightings this time) we walked back to the house and got ready to head to Portland, ME. We had plans to hang around Old Port for the day, but by the time we got there the sun had gone away and the wind picked up, so we shopped at one store, had lunch, and came back to Kennebunk. Not super eventful, but I did have the most delicious salad with crab ever.

Today was slightly more eventful. I didn't run, or even go anywhere to eat, but I did get my hair done (finally!) and we watched the most amazing waves flood the street.

There was a weird moon last night, plus really high winds, which apparently is the perfect recipe for giant waves. And I mean giant.

That is most definitely NOT waves crashing on the beach, despite how much it looks like it. It's waves crashing into a break wall and spilling into the street. They pushed so much water across the road that the drive way looked this this:

Luckily, the house is on stilts, so we were never concerned about that, but the lawn is looking pretty shabby now. I bet the landscaper is just dying to get a call...

We had fun wandering out into the surf. The street was closed (obviously), so we could wander into the middle of the road. Being hit by a car was never a concern, but getting wet was, and we most certainly did. I got brand new rain boots from the hubs for my birthday, but did I have them with me? No. Did I have my janky old pair with holes in them in the trunk of my car? Heck yes! So I still got wet feet, but at least I didn't have to ruin a pair of shoes to have fun.

Luckily the waves calmed down and they reopened the roads in time for me to get to my hair appointment (yes, I go all the way to Maine to get my hair done. I love my stylist and would go much further to have her do my cut and color. Don't judge).

Now it's 10pm on a Sunday night and the reality of work tomorrow morning is setting in. Despite living in Boston, I do not have tomorrow off and I will not be watching the marathoners run ONE BLOCK AWAY FROM MY APARTMENT. Nope, I'll be at my desk.

Good luck to all the runners tomorrow, and lots of virtual hugs to Hungry Runner Girl who won't be in the pack. Don't worry girl, I'll still be here next year to show you around ;)

Friday, April 15, 2011

over and out.

Short post. over.

Last night a 60 minute super spin class kicked my ass. over.

I ate too much cookie dough instead of a protein-filled dinner. over.

I went to bed thinking I might barf. over.

I didn't. over.

Today has been so busy I almost forgot lunch. over.

Yeah, I know. over.

I'm off to Maine for the weekend and promise good pictures. Over and out.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Gold Star Monday

I get a gold star today because I did it! I got home from work, changed into my workout clothes, AND WENT TO THE GYM FOR SPIN CLASS.

Yes, I am fully awake that I look like I should be institutionalized in this picture, but I'm so excited about this accomplishment. I have not once since I started my new job gone to good old gym after work. Weekends, maybe. Tried the new gym? Yes. Run outside, maybe twice? But this is most definitely the best feeling. It only took me seven weeks to make it happen. OH WELL. It really wasn't THAT bad either. I think the fact that it's light out when this is all happening is a HUGE help.

I honestly wasn't sure I was going to make it tonight, but I pushed myself to go, and I pushed through a hard workout. We had an eventful weekend, and I was totally drained today. Working out definitely made it better.

This weekend was eventful for two reasons. One: We went to the Red Sox-Yankees game on Sunday night! It was SO much fun. We are die hard Sox fans (I was born and raise in MA and the hubs moved here when he was 5), but we're never seen them play the Yankees before, so this was super exciting for us.

Two: Saturday night was the Fenway Community Health Men's Event! This is the black tie that I've been working on for months and months and I was super excited for the day. It's so fun to get dresses up and go out for a fancy party. This is my third year attending the event, and I felt so fabulous this year.

This is me at the event in 2009 vs. 2011 (and please excuse how dumb I look in the 2009 picture. It was the best one I could find...)

Unfortunately the night ended on a very very sad note. A man attending the event had a heart attack after dinner. Just as the dancing had started, the lights came on and we were asked if there was a doctor in the house. It's unclear whether or not the man lived, but from what we witnessed it did not look very promising. I've never seen anything like that happen so suddenly before (even during all my time volunteering at the hospital), and it definitely shook me up. The man wasn't THAT old or THAT heavyset, but it put life into pretty harsh perspective. It made me realize just how important it is to be conquering my weight battles NOW. It's definitely not easy, and most nights I do not want to go to the gym, but realizing that I'm helping ensure that I live a longer and better life is keeping me going.

I know it's kind of a morbid story, but I'm definitely still in shock from the events of this weekend, and I'm not sure they'll leave me for a while. The silver lining is that it's made me put in some extra effort that I've been lacking lately.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Laundry Run

So far, being 26 is not too bad. I feel pretty old though. I couldn't get myself out of bed this morning (because I only got 6 hours of sleep...) and my wrist hurts. Carpal tunnel? I sure hope not! A lot of people in my office end up with CT because we work on laptops and don't have nice keyboards, but I've only been there 6 weeks, so I'm hoping that's not the case. Also, I know that I hurt it trying to readjust myself in my office chair the other day. Just a weird tweak. But when lot of old ladies have CT I feel old!

Today I went for a really crappy run. I had to make it short because I was doing laundry, so I only had the time it takes for the clothes to wash. But my Garmin wouldn't sync. Then I started running and my pants kept sliding down. And my shirt kept riding up. I stopped to "stretch" more than once because I had to adjust my clothing. And try to pull my underwear out of my butt without everyone noticing. And I had to stop at a million stop lights (I usually run this route early in the morning and there is no traffic to stop for). As I said, crappy run.

But I went out and that's what counts. I'm getting really frustrated with my workout these days...mostly because they aren't happening. I used my new job as an excuse for too long, and now it's just becoming a lame excuse. I should have shattered that race on Sunday, and it totally sucked. So today I printed out a blank calendar and came up with a workout plan.

I wrote everything in pencil so that I can change it as needed without making a huge mess of my pretty calendar, but I mapped out the whole month so that I see what I SHOULD be doing. (and please ignore the fact that I spelled elliptical wrong. It was late in the work day and the 6 hours of sleep was starting to get to me). I usually do really well I lay out a plan for myself, even if it's just for a week, so I'm hoping I can keep up with this for the whole month! And yes, that is yoga on the schedule. I need to work on my core and balance a lot, and can always use a good stretch, so I figure I might as well get myself into it.

Right now the hubs and his bff (although he says boys don't have bffs) are grading papers in the living room and watching No Country for Old Men. Well I feel like an old lady enough as it is, so I've hauled up in the bedroom with my book until I pass out...which will hopefully be really soon! :)

PS - Happy Birthday, Lou! Hope it's been a good one and you had a fantastic celebration, Philippino style!

Preguntas

Don't be afraid to ask questions. This is can relate to anything- work, school, doctor's visit, or the gym. I definitely misread my workout earlier this week and am paying for it! I thought it seemed like a lot of repetitions but I didn't ask the trainer, instead I overdid it. At today's session I was able to ask her questions and she was totally nice and willing to answer all the questions I had regardless of how silly I thought I might sound asking. Now I know exactly what I need to be doing and asking questions has made a huge difference! Don't be shy, just ask. After my challenging workout I whipped up a shake made of vanilla whey protein, a banana, ice and a small spoon full of dark chocolate powder- it looks a little gray but I think it nixed my craving for dessert. Yum! Time to enjoy a little play time with my favorite puppy!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Grams < Ounces

I'd like to dedicate this little number to the BFF:

Happy Happy Birthday From All Of Us To You

We Wish It Was Our Birthday So We Could Party Too!

I hope you had a great 26th birthday!!

I have most definitely started my new training/nutrition plan and I took the "Before" pictures but I'm going to be honest- I am really not a fan. Not being able to exercise for the past 9 weeks has really made me shy about posting what I look like in a bathing suit right now. I promise, they'll get posted, I just need a little more courage.

I am so sore from this week's workouts!! In three days I have already worked back/bicep, hamstrings/glutes (haha glutes...) and triceps/shoulders; in addition to the 1.5-2 hour weight training sessions I have also attended 2 spin classes and completed most of an interval workout. And it's only Wednesday! I'm working out with the trainer tomorrow, I'm super nervous because I'm already so sore and I know she's going to put me through a good workout.

I am still getting used to the nutrition plan. Yesterday I felt really sick and today I realized that I was totally weighing the protein wrong. For instance, I had to eat 25 g of protein at one point and I weighed 25 g of turkey (which is about 3/4 of a slice) well 25 g of turkey doesn't necessarily have 25g of protein. In fact, I should have eaten 4 oz of this particular turkey to reach that amount, that is a lot more than 25 grams!! Duh! I'm learning!!

I am having some serious trouble getting up off the couch tonight but I think this new challenge is going to be pretty neat-o!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Last Day of 25

Today is my last day as a 25 year old. 25 has been a good year, but I think 26 is going to be way better. I've got high hopes.

My last day as a 25 year old did not start out as I had planned though. I wanted to go for a run this morning because there was a break in all the rain we're having, and it was 50 degrees. I have everything laid out.

I assume you can tell where this story is going. I definitely did not end up running, but it's a funnier story that I just slept in...

When it's rainy in Boston, I sleep with ear plugs in. We live on a really busy street in Boston, and there is a lot of traffic noise. For the most part, it doesn't bother me, but when it's wet out, it's enough louder that I need the ear plugs. Well apparently I put them in really well last night, because I didn't hear the alarm go off! Eventually it woke up the hubs (who almost NEVER wakes up to the alarm bc I get to it first), and he had to practically shake me out of deep sleep. I was SO discombobulated by the event, and fell right back to sleep without realizing it. I managed to take one ear plug out, so I heard the alarm go off again, but this time I hit snooze right away like I do every morning, without even realizing how late it was. Needless to say, by this point it was too late to run, and I just got up for work. I hate having slept through a planned run, but at least I didn't make the decision consciously! :)

SO tomorrow is my actual birthday, and I'm really excited, but I've already had a lot of celebrations! My weekend was fun, and it was so great to see my mom. We had a nice Thai dinner Sunday night, before some gifts!

my mom, sister, and me at dinner (I definitely look more like my dad lol)

I feel SO overwhelmingly grateful to have a loving family and for the things I've been given for my birthday. Just seeing my mom was awesome, but she went above and beyond. First, she made me a cake!

oh yes, it's a birthday cake shaped like a bunny. I was born the day before Easter, so I've ALWAYS gotten a bunny cake. Even when I wasn't at home for my birthday, the hubs and/or the bff made one for me. I don't care how old I am, the bunny cake it amazing. (We made sure it was good by testing out his bow tie).

Not only that, but my mom and my sister pulled out all the stops and got me a lululemon outfit! Oh yes! I am the proud owner for some super fancy lululemon gear and I feel BADASS.

I'm super excited about my fuchsia headband and the monkey sleeves.

I feel like I'm going to be a huge speed demon now that I'm properly dressed! (When in reality I know that's not true, but running is so much about the mental, and feeling good sure helps make a run better!)

Tonight I went to dessert with a friend of mine who has to work tomorrow night and won't be able to wish me well tomorrow. She's super sweet and was kind enough to a) buy my dessert, 2) listen to me go on and on about our apartment hunt and a sticky situation we seem to be in, and d) give me the super cute necklace.

I feel so incredibly lucky, and it's not even my birthday yet! :) I told you 26 is looking good!

Now I'm going to get some sleep. It's already too late and I actually would like to wake up for a run tomorrow, so let's see how that works out! Good night!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Birthday Week

First and foremost, I must say:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BFF!!

You're wonderful and I miss you, and I hope you're having a fantastic birthday out there in New Mexy-co! Just pretend I'm out there and we're having drinks and making fools of ourselves like we did when you turned 21.

Today happens to also be my sister's birthday! In April I have A LOT of friends with birthdays and many of them fall on the same days, but this one is most definitely the most important two people!

It's been a fun birthday weekend so far. Since my mom was in town, we did some celebrating for my sister and for me. Yesterday morning we went on a hike in the Blue Hills. It was still snowy, but I handled it okay in my sneakers. I'd post pictures, but my hiking outfit was extremely unflattering and the wind made my hair look awful.

After the hike, my sister and I went to get massages! My dad had given us both spa gift certificates for Christmas, so we figured this weekend was the perfect time to use them. I had an AMAZING 50 minute massage. I did not want it to be over. I asked the massage therapist to focus on my upper back and my calves, both of which get really tight. She did such a wonderful job. I wish I could get massages every week.

THEN! (oh, yes, it gets better) we went to my uncles' house for our family party. We have a super cute little cousin who was there too. She helped with the cake.

My uncle made awesome lasagna. I'm not really a big lasagna fan, because I don't really care for red sauce, and usually lasagna has a lot. But this was only moderately sauced, so it was awesome (although there were carrots in it. gross. but they were big enough to pick out).

This morning, the hubs and I ran the Common Man's Marathon. It's 2.62 miles, instead of the insanely long 26.2 miles of a real marathon. It was KILLER. We have to run up the same awful hill THREE TIMES. Oh yeah, you read that right, THREE. It sucked. But we managed to run it in great time. And we were more happy for it to be over than any other race. Hill+windy windy windy day=suckage.

I think we made good time because this was my first race with A GARMIN! Woo! That's right! I got one for my birthday from my dad and Gramma. I'm so excited! I asked for one for Christmas and didn't get it, so I was super excited to open it up last night. Now I feel like a real baller runner (or I can fake it even better lol).

Now we're off to another birthday dinner! Thai this time! I love my birthday and birthday week in general and I'm so happy my mom is here to celebrate too! Dinner pictures tomorrow :)

Friday, April 1, 2011

Yum Kabobs

The weather lately has been great grilling weather. Wednesday evening we made fish tacos (and again I forgot to take a photo, they're just so delish!) and last night we made some great kabobs. Using a grilling cookbook Jay received from his sister for his birthday, he whipped up a spicy-cilantro-citrus marinade. After letting the thinly cut meat I picked up at the grocery store (buy one get one free, holla!) we chopped up a bell pepper, onion, mushrooms, squash and tomato and let it all grill. I love fresh summer food.

This afternoon's snack was a tasty, cold orange.

Do you see the pink inside?? I actually only bought these oranges because I thought it sounded weird to eat a pink orange...and because I was hoping to confuse Jay when he ate one and I wasn't there (which he did wonder whether or not it was a grapefruit or an orange...success!). They were also on sale and fortunately, more flavorful then the other regular oranges I bought a few weeks ago.

In case you were wondering, I did in fact eat each slice of the pink orange just like the above pic.

Tonight we're going to a joint birthday dinner party and we're supposed to bring a fruit or veggie dish- hmm I'd like to bring something a little different than the usual veggie/fruit tray. We'll see what I come up with!

Have a good weekend!! I'm staring my training on Monday so I hope I can relax this weekend!!