The title today definitely has double meaning. 1) weekends truly go by so much faster and for the life of me I can’t figure out why 24 hours feels like 12 hours on the weekends but like 100 hours during the week at work… it’s truly a weird phenomenon I hope to be able to explain some day and then 2) I had a great run this weekend I am excited to share!
Weekend Run
Saturday morning was the PERFECT morning for running. The sun wasn’t beating down and the air was cool but warm enough to run in shorts and a t-shirt. So I threw the hair up in a messy pony, pink Nike shorts on, Asics laced up and ready to go, and lululemon Headband in my hair and I knew I was ready to rock and roll.
My goal was simple…
Beat last weeks run
And so I did!
I completed 6 STRONG miles… I mean I was feeling really good almost all 6 miles. Of course I didn’t really hit my pace until 2 or 2.5 miles in but after that I felt great. The hills were hard and my breathing sounded closer to death than I wanted it to a few times but I felt great. My legs felt really strong and when my head started to go to that negative “I’m tired place” I simple said out loud (yes the cars thought I was talking to myself”) “you’re strong so be strong. be impressive” and I think I accomplished just that.
I will say it again and again, there is something so freeing about being on foot. Something that just makes you feel so independent and like the world you know doesn’t actually have a hold on you. It’s like saying look Murano I love you and you get me back and forth every day but check this out, look at what my legs can do.
The Murano usually laughs because she knows my legs can’t take me the 25 miles to get to work
Not yet Murano… not yet.
I think I just had a conversation with my car… on my blog… for all to read.
It sure is Monday, isn’t it?!
After my run I ran some errands. I had a legit panic attack when I thought I got lost trying to get propane for the grill (I WON’T be doing that again) and acted like a real pain in the butt when Tim didn’t answer his cell phone when I was lost haha. I explained to him later that the nice old man who filled up the propane (yes I eventually found it) saved his life… because he gave me a tootsie roll.
Delicious.
I went to the jeweler and got my ring cleaned so that it was nice and shiny.
Then I went to the grocery store and picked up some treats for dinner on Sunday.
Then when I got home, I painted my nails and I feel asleep on the floor in the living room haha. I used the excuse that I was letting my nails dry when Tim came home and caught me passed out but I think he knew the truth… I just like to take naps! Mind you this was the second day in a row I managed to pass out on the floor in the living room… Friday, after enjoying a cold beverage outside, I also fell asleep on the floor with the sun shining in… it was heavenly!
THEN I got ready for my first OFFICIAL BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!
It is has become a ritual for Tim and I to go out to eat with Casey and Mark whenever it is someone’s birthday (and most other times just because we want to) and Tim and I had scored some Flemings gift certificates other the holidays and I heard their happy hour was amazing so we headed that way!
Casey and I both had a delicious White Cosmopolitan martini (okay I had two) and we also each had a Pomegranate martini (if you are counting that meant 3 drinks for me… haha I was a bit silly).
We enjoyed some appetizers and then each had a burger… which was DELICIOUS and HUGE but mostly just delicious.
It was a really enjoyable meal and we will definitely be back for such a killer happy hour! $6 martinis and a $6 hamburger? Yes please.
After dinner we headed to…. get ready for it…
MENCHIES (of course right?) where Casey and Mark were kind enough to treat me to a birthday Menchies trip!
I just love that frozen yogurt. With so many choices I found it hard to decide but in the end the Angel Food Cake won the battle (against the cake batter and sorbets).
Added bonus is that Casey and Mark got me a gift card to lululemon! So I can’t wait to do some shopping soon!
Birthday Celebration #2
On top of a fabulous evening out with the Juve’s, I also got to spend time with my bestest on Sunday wedding planning and getting another birthday surprise! Bestest has the best taste in clothes so I am just always thrilled when she decides to get any of the fashionable items on my birthday list! This year I got jewelry AND shirts so it was the best 26th birthday ever!
On top of the birthday surprises we also finalized almost all of the flower arrangements for the wedding which is a HUGE to-do to cross off the wedding to-do list!
YAY for birthday surprises AND wedding things getting done!
As usual, I try to use the weekends to do a little more cooking since during the week my schedule is jam packed with grad school and workout classes. So Friday night Tim and I enjoyed a simple but tasty recipe brought to us by Kraft.
Have you used the Kraft Fresh Takes yet? It comes equipped with some shredded cheese and essentially shake and bake in two separate baggies that you can combine for a simple meal. We put this on chicken and both really enjoyed it! I tend to like my food spicier now a days so I think next time I’ll add in some red pepper flakes or something but it was good.
You just put the two together and then spread it on the chicken… voila!
On the side we had some peas (good old frozen peas in a steam bag- makes my life better) and some parmesan cheese and basis Orzo. You may remember my initial Orzo experience which ended up in the first batch burned but the second batch becoming one of my favorite things to make. In this case I started to just kind of make up my own recipe. So I used
- 1 cup Orzo
- 1 can (smaller can) Chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon butter (or margarine if you want)
- A bunch of dried basil (fresh would be 10X better but I just didn’t have it)
- Few handfuls of Parmesan cheese (yea I’m not much of a measurer)Melt the butter in the pan then dump in chicken broth and bring it to a boil… add in the Orzo and let it cook until soft (only about 12 minutes) and then add in the cheese and basil.Stir it up and SERVE!
Delicious with chicken for sure!
Then last night (Sunday) for dinner my mom came over before my soccer game and brought a serious slab of Salmon. I wish I would have snapped a picture of this before we cooked it up I did get it after we cooked it..
Was really simple but tasted great! Put some lemon herb seasoning on the salmon then threw it on the grill in foil for about 20 minutes. While the salmon was cooking I attempted to make some homemade sweet potato fries but well I burnt them so no success story there.
So I ate some Orzo summer salad on the side with some spinach cooked up with veggies.
Orzo Summer Salad (no clue what it is really called but The Mustard Seed Café inspired me)
- Cooked Orzo
- Olive Oil
- Cut up Olives (green for me please)
- Cut up tomatoes
- Feta CheeseMix it together and service cold! You won’t be sorry.For dessert (which I did not get to eat because I didn’t want to throw up on the soccer field) was Angel Food cake with fresh strawberries and fat free whipped cream of course! My mom and Tim’s both looked delicious and and I think I’ll be enjoying some before bed tonight!
P.S. We WON our soccer game and did AWESOME!
Well I hope you all have a FABULOUS week… I know I will because it’s birthday week for me!!! Happy Monday =)
