Making Friends and Setting PRs

Happy Wednesday everyone!  I am back in the swing of things.  Yesterday I had my first chemistry lecture, followed by a lab.  It’s always tedious in the beginning because you have to go through all of the lab safety details and go over where everyone left off in the first semester of the course.  But I got through it because I was excited thinking about my dinner plans!  Heather beat me to posting, but I’ll tell you all again that I finally got to meet up with one of my favorite bloggers last night!

Heather from Running Leaner and Greener is just as genuine and fun as she comes across on her blog.  Definitely check out her blog if you haven’t already!  We talked for over 2 hours and could have gone on talking, I’m sure.  We seem to have similar interests and personalities.  But more than that, we are, in many ways, at very similar points in life (early 30s and newly married… We got married within 5 days of one another!).  I love reading the blogs of so many people, some in college, some recently graduated, some raising children…but it is really nice to connect with someone who is is in a similar place in life and thinking about similar issues.

I’m glad we at least got in pictures of our dinner, because in all of that conversation, we never snapped pictures of each other!  We were at the Whole Foods in Dedham, MA, so I had to take advantage of the salad bar!  In this beauty: baby spinach, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, peppers, roasted garlicchick peas, and some corn salad.

On the side, I had some chicken soup.  I’m not a huge chicken person and rarely eat it.  But I do love chicken soup…and on this snowy night, it felt good!

I had a great night, Heather.  Thanks!

I woke up to my best run ever!  15.1 miles!  That is a distance PR for me and it felt great!  Last week I did 13.5, so I only went 1.5 miles farther, but something about the number 15 makes me really excited!  And even better, my legs feel fine.  I rolled on the foam roller, but that was more preventative.

If I were in pain right now, I would be in for a really rough night.  As it is, it will be a rough night.  Tonight is my Microbiology Lab.  It’s a super condensed course…only 8 weeks.  But each Wednesday lab is 5 hours long, from 5pm to 10pm.  Considering that I am in bed every night around 9-9:30, this is going to be rough.  My brain shuts off in the evening, so this is going to be hard.  But I figure, I can suck it up for 8 weeks and get through it.  At least I hope so!

Because this lab goes right through the dinner hour, I’ve packed a bunch of snacks to bring with me.  I know we can’t eat in the lab, so I certainly hope he will give us breaks so we can sneak out and eat. I plan to eat something (and early, early bird dinner!) beforehand and then I’ve packed a Luna bar, some Sharkies, a banana, and some Pirate’s Booty.

The hard-boiled eggs I ate already.  15 miles makes a girl hungry!

I’ve gotten some bills paid and gathered some tax information for the hubby (he actually loves doing taxes!).  I plan to get through an assignment for my dietetics course before lab, so I’d better get started.

What kinds of things do you pack when you know you are going to miss a meal?

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Still Here!

I’m still here!  I don’t think I’ve taken 2 days off from blogging in a row since I started.  But this has been one intense week.  In fact, right this minute, I am supposed to be enjoying a lovely night out with Melissa, Melissa, and Julie.  But I knew yesterday that there was no way I would be in a place with my school work that I could take an entire evening off.  I was right.   I didn’t finish my test tonight until a half hour later than I would have had to have been out the door.  Bummer!  I feel so lucky to have been able to meet such lovely ladies so close to home, and I feel a little flakey for having to bail out.  Fortunately, when January comes, I will have a lot more time to play! Who wants to play with me????

I am making the best of my night in.  Poor Dave has been a real trooper this week, putting up with a very stressed out Shannon (who has ocassionally collapsed in a puddle of tears over the last several days!).  So its not an entirely bad thing that I am home tonight to give him a little bit of attention.

I made a yummy dinner to celebrate the completion of my last test before finals (tomorrow begins finals preparation!).  I made one of my very favorite things….flax-dipped eggplant parmesan.  It’s so easy, but so good.  I just slice the eggplant, dip it in egg, and then dip it in a mixture of ground flax seed, italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese.  Delish!

I served some gluten-free shirataki noodles on the side.  All topped with Classico’s Tomato Basil marinara sauce.  This is my favorite bottled sauce.  It’s not too sweet, which I find in most other bottled sauces.

I had some leftover eggplant slices after running out of flaxseed, so I dipped the eggplant in the egg and stuck it in the oven. I came out looking like little french toasts!  I’ll let you know how it worked out when I try them.

As yummy as my eggplant dish is, Dave opted for a frozen pizza.  I choose my battles.  He’s really good about trying new, healthy things.  So when he wants a very not-healthy frozen pizza, its okay.  Since he has me, he is guaranteed to be healthy most of the time.  (He doesn’t bat an eyelash when I eat my weight in chocolate, so who am I to judge!)

It’s 7:30, and with the exception of a workout break and a vacuuming break, I have been doing biology and stats since 7am.  I think I am going to call it a night and go spend some quality time with my boys.  Jack is already comfy!

I don’t know how Jack can breath when he does a face plant like this!  But it is his preferred cat-napping position!

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Good Food and Good Friends

Saturday sure was a wash out in terms of weather!  But it gave me no excuse but to buckle down and plow through a lot of the Biology work I have gotten behind in.  I even took my book with me to the treadmill.  It is really hard to do more than look at the pictures in a magazine while running.  But I manged to make some sense of Mitosis and pound out 7 miles before heading back to my little study cubby.  This is where I have been living most of my waking hours:

My sweet husband even went out in the pouring rain to the grocery store so that I wouldn’t have to!  And he did such a good job!  He only called once with a question!  He gets so flustered in the grocery store.  Talk about a fish out of water!  But he’s getting braver.  When he makes a grocery run, I put one “challenge” item on the list just to make him get a little more comfortable.  He found exactly the right tea I asked for.  I was so proud!  All kidding aside, I have the most wonderful husband in the world….He’s is home for only a couple of days between back to back business trips and he spent part of his afternoon making a trip to the store for me.

Thank goodness for Melissa and Melissa, who I had made dinner plans with last night.  Otherwise, I may not have moved from my cubby.  I don’t know what happened to the day yesterday, but all of a sudden it was 5:30.  I was still at the computer, and more importantly, I was still in my sweats with my hair disheveled.  After a quick transformation, I was out the door and on my way to Nourish, in Lexington, MA.  I had been to the restaurant once before and really enjoyed it.  They buy their ingredients locally and and work with small businesses and small farms in the area.  Click on the link and read about their mission.  I think it’s really admirable.  And the food is good too!

I was really excited to meet up with the two Melissas.  I loved meeting one Melissa a few weeks ago….2 Melissas must be even better, right?  Absolutely right!  What a great evening with new friends!  We had lots to talk about, from blog how-tos, to life in general.

I ordered a small bowl of chili  and a salad with salmon.  It was just what I needed on a cold, stormy night.

 

There was some gluten in my chili in the form of bulgar, but it was so good, I threw caution to the wind.  And to avoid extra gluten, I left the dressing off of the salad.  It didn’t need it.  The salad was so fresh, the the salmon cooked so perfectly, the dressing wasn’t necessary.

Our waitress got a little confused about the Melissas orders, but she quickly exchanged their plates with what they originally asked for.  I could never be a waitress!  I have a lot of patience for wait staff because I think it has to be a very hard and thankless job.

It was a great night!  Thank you to the Melissas for rescuing me from further studying.  It was good to have a end point when I had to be done and when I had to sort of put myself together a little bit.  Unfortunately, poor Dave only saw the disheveled mess!  I came home and went right back into my sweats!  But he understands, “couch time” must be in sweats!  We relaxed with the kitties and watched “Flash Forward” before heading to bed.  My evening was definitely more fun than the day!

I have a fun Sunday night dinner I want to make.  (Dave is nervous!) I think I will end up posting it tomorrow, so make sure to check back!

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More Pumpkins!

Yesterday was great and brought more pumpkins! We Spent the afternoon and evening with friends, carving pumpkins, making dinner, handing out chocolate…and eating chocolate! Our friends just moved back to Boston and bought a beautiful home that they have spent the last couple of months fixing up. They did a great job. Look at the beautiful table setting!

Not only was the house beautiful, but it was so festive! I can’t wait until the spring when we start looking for a home of our own!

We had a couples pumpkin carving contest. We finished first, but they chose the harder pattern so they get bonus points. Here are the boys doing the dirty work…

And here’s the finished product!

When the pumpkins were complete we assembled dinner. It was such a warm night, they had the brilliant idea of grilling chicken and vegetable kabobs outside. It was 70 degrees yesterday and definitely did’t feel like Halloween night.

I just loved her platter! I’m going to be on the look out for a similar one.

It was a fabulous night. We’re getting together again next weekend to go to a comedy show together. Unfortunately, that means I will miss the blogger meet-up that Melissa planned, but I am definitely looking forward to the show.

After 2 nights of going out with friends, we are happy to be relaxing at home this evening. I am already sleepy with the time change. It gets dark too early now! After a bit of couch time, I am going to head to bed!

Have a great start to the week everyone!!

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Fun with Friends

What a great weekend! I’m sorry to see it go. I’ve posted repeatedly about how it’s been hard for me, especially as an adult, to meet new friends. I had one of my very best friends from college visit last weekend…but she was coming from Mexico City! That’s a little far for regular get-togethers. It was sad to see her leave. Another really close friend is in Indianapolis. We talk on the phone weekly, but it’s not the same as gabbing over a cup of coffee, seeing a girly movie, or making a great meal to enjoy together. I have the greatest husband in the world…I can talk to him about anything, he makes me laugh, and he is my number one cheerleader (along with my mom!). But there is something special about that time you spend with girlfriends, and I’ve been missing that.

I was thrilled to meet up with several lovely…and local...ladies this weekend. Last night, Melissa braved the rain and wind to meet up with me at the new mega Whole Foods store in Dedham, MA. I got there early because I wanted to take it all in and have a chance to shop before meeting Melissa and having dinner. Well, she must have had the same idea because I was only a few yards into the store when I heard my name. We walked and talked and shopped for a solid 45 minutes before realizing how hungry we were! I bought a couple of new things that I’ll show you this week, and I restocked my Lara bar supply.

Melissa is just the sweetest person ever…just as genuine as she comes across in her blog. She even brought me a gift of Barney Butter (which I have been dying to try!!!), a Lara Bar (for my gluten-free tummy), and an assortment of teas. Completely unnecessary, but very much appreciated! We have very similar goals in terms of career and are both in the process of changing careers, so we had a lot to talk about on the subject of following your passions. We also had fun stories to share about our significant others. Both my husband and her boyfriend wished us a good time on our “date.” Funny boys! I laughed a lot…For 2 shy people who were nervous to meet, we sure did find a lot to talk about. Thank you Melissa, for putting me at ease. I felt like I’d known you for a long time!

I’m sure you’re curious about the food. Melissa made a beautiful salad:

I’ve heard so many good things about the salad bars at Whole Foods stores, but I have also been really craving sushi lately. When I saw that they had spring rolls too, something I have tried repeatedly to make myself, I knew I need to squelch that craving. And the gentleman behind the counter was kind enough to cut my sushi order in half so I could fit the spring rolls and a smaller order of sushi in my belly…the best of both worlds. It didn’t disappoint!

I am clearly a novice blogger because I didn’t even think to snap a picture of my Zevia soda (sweetened with Stevia). I’ve seen this a lot and was excited to try it. Melissa really didn’t like hers. I didn’t hate it, but I also didn’t love it. I’ve been drinking seltzer for so long now, that any soda, regardless of the sweetener, tastes really sweet. I would definitely drink it again, but I probably wouldn’t go out and buy it. I’ll stick to my Soda Stream seltzer maker!

It was pouring all the way home…the kind of rain where you have to pay really close attention to stay in your lane. Kind of scary. So I arrived home tired…but happy. I went right to bed and got up this morning to meet up with Elina, Shannon, and Molly at the Prudential Center for a run. Like I said a couple of days ago, running with other people is just not something I have done often. There is that nagging feeling (going all the way back to childhood!) that I won’t be able to keep up. So I have shied away from running with anyone else. It’s silly, and in this case, would have kept me from meeting a great group of girls. I have no pictures, although I did have my camera in my pocket. We got to talking and running, and any thought of taking out my camera vanished. Maybe next time!

I went to college and grad school in Boston, but I never learned my way around the city. I can get anywhere on the T, but walking or driving, I am completely lost! It was really fun to see so much of the city on foot, and on such a beautiful day. It was a perfect fall day and the company was great. Elina and I returned to Prudential after Shannon and Molly headed off in the direction of their homes. That was the most effortless 7 miles I’ve ever done! Thank you ladies!!

Dave had sweetly driven into the city with me. He wanted to run along the Charles himself. So when I finished running, I called to find out where he was. He was done running and was waiting for me…apparently only a half mile or so away. The area around Prudential is busy, so I told him to sit tight and I’d run another half mile to him. He gave me very good directions….But my directionally-challenged brain managed to get confused. By the time I found him, I had run another 2 miles! What a great way to start the day! Although the rest of the day was spent studying biology, it was such a fulfilling weekend that I didn’t mind. I was also being tutored by my brother so I got a little family time in there too!

I could have gone on chatting with each and every one of these ladies for much, much longer. I will be looking forward to seeing you all again soon!

Enjoy your Sunday evening everyone! I’m off to join the hubby for some serious catching up on the DVR!

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Moving Out of My Comfort Zone

When I started this blog, I had 2 goals.  One, to document this  very exciting time in my life.  And two, to meet some new friends!  I have always been quite shy and meeting new people has always been hard for me.   Even when I have worked with great people, I  haven’t become close friends with them because  I have never had the confidence to take an acquaintance-type relationship and make gestures toward a real friendship.  There is a part of me that thinks, “she won’t want to get together with me.”  Sad, I know.

One of the reasons I love communicating online is that I feel like I let my guard down a little bit (look at me baring all here!).  I even met my sweet hubby on-line.  We had shared so much online, and then on the phone, that by the time we met, I wasn’t terrified…just a little nervous.  I think I felt the same way about blogging and decided it would be a great way to meet some people.

Now comes the hard part…actually “meeting” people.  This is always where I chicken out.  I get to know people as acquaintances, but don’t make the effort to actually go out and socialize because I’m nervous.  Dave and I are both homebodies and love out nights in watching tv and just being alone with one another.  Because we are both more comfortable with our routine, and genuinely enjoy each other’s company, we don’t push each other enough to socialize.  So I am pushing myself!

I am really excited to meet a local blogger this weekend.  (I let the suspense build by not mentioning names!).  I am hoping that the nervousness will leave me since we’ve already “broken the ice” through blogging. I also responded to Elina’s call for Boston ladies who want to run together.  This pushes me out of my comfort zone on 2 levels.  Of course, it involves meeting new people. But it also involves running with other people…

I have a real fear of not being able to keep up with other people in terms of athleticism.  Even my husband… he’s run a couple of marathons and several half marathons, so in my head, I feel like I won’t be able to keep up.  (Let’s forget for a minute that he could care less if I ran slower or had to stop!  Let’s also forget that right now, I am running longer and farther than he is.  None of that matters when it comes to how my mind has been working.) Growing up, I had no confidence in my physical ability.  I didn’t play sports, finished last when we had to run the mile in gym class, and felt completely uncoordinated.  I have no reason to feel that way now, but my mind flashes back to those insecure feelings.  I have chosen to run alone so that if I stop, if I have a bad run, if I need to walk…no one sees.

This year is all about pushing myself out of my comfort zone.  I am going back to school and changing careers.  I am signing up to run a half marathon.  I am running 13+ miles.  Now… I am going to meet new people.  And I am going to run with other people for the sheer enjoyment of it!

See what I mean about the internet letting me be more outgoing???  I just bared my soul to you!

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I will leave you tonight with my favorite meal of the day.  I microwaved and apple with a bit of sugar and cinnamon, then added some pumpkin, raisins, and a 1/2 cup of oatmeal.  With a little milk and a little water, I microwaved it again.  What an amazing combination!

I will definitely be making this again on the next chilly day!

Good night to all of my new friends!

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Here I Am!

I disappeared for a couple of days!  But I’m back.  I had one of my college roommates stay with my Sunday night.  It was so great to catch up. After so much frustration and sadness going into the weekend, I had such a great weekend.  Quality time with friends and with my husband are more important to me than a race.  And when Sunday rolled around and looked like this….

….I knew I made the right choice not to run.  It turned out to be a Nor ‘easter!

Running the 13.1 miles by myself on Saturday eased my disappointment a bit.  I was proud of my time and felt very rewarded when Dave gave me my “13.1” sticker.  But even if I hadn’t done that on Saturday, I am proud of the decision I made not to run.  Running is something I love.  But running in the rain, cold, wind, and snow (as it turned out)… and missing out on seeing my friends would not have been enjoyable.   In fact, I would have hated it!  Why turn something I love into something I hate?  I often do things because I feel like “I should,” or “I’m supposed to.”  That was why I was going to run through the bad weather.  But that’s the wrong reason, and I’m proud that I was able to see that.  I thank you all for helping me to see that 🙂

Today I was back in running form.  I did a quick 4 miles yesterday and felt good, and then today, I bundled up and pounded out 11 unplanned miles!  I felt very accomplished…but not nearly as accomplished as I did once I came home and vacuumed, cleaned the bathrooms, did the laundry, finished some statistics work, and prepped my chem lab for tomorrow.  Phew!  This was a busy day!  And it culminated in a very yummy dinner.

I had some frozen wild salmon from Trader Joe’s that had been defrosting since yesterday.  I love salmon because it really needs nothing to be wonderful.  I sprinkled some Lowry’s Seasoning Salt on the fish and shoved it in the oven.  10 minutes later, perfect fish!  I also chopped chopped some butternut squash and tossed it with some Paprika and a tiny bit of salt.

I served mine on a bed of lettuce, with tomato and salsa.

Dave had his with some rice (which I always make extra of for future Dave dishes!), and crescent rolls.

He must have liked it, since he was half done by the time I was able to snap the picture!

We are still playing DVR catch-up since Dave was away a couple of weeks ago.  We have lots of choices for our couch time tonight.  Take a look at who has decided to become a lap cat like his brother….

Jack the Cat is not going to be happy if Rudy takes over his nightly lap!

Before signing off for the night, a couple things:

1.  Check out Gina’s blog.  She’s doing a great give-away after her weekend at the ADA’s Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo.

2.  It’s week 2 of Project Feed Me.  You can still join…. and help a whole lot of people!

Good night all!

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Congratulations to me!

Perhaps my title is a little misleading. I suppose I’m not really the one who deserves congratulations. But I’m so excited, it might as well be my news…. Within the next day or so, I am going to be an aunt! Times 2! My sister-in-law is about to give birth to twin boys any time now. She’s been in the hospital, on bed rest, for the last 7 weeks, and she has been doing a marvelous job of keeping a positive attitude.

Lisa’s pregnancy has been about as difficult as a pregnancy can be, and she has handled it with humor and grace (she would disagree about the “grace” part, but I’m proud of her). Lisa has written a hilarious account of her pregnancy on her own blog. Definitely check it out if you need a good laugh or if you are a mom-to-be who isn’t necessarily feeling that pregnant “glow.”

I have been a little distracted today by the baby news, but still had a fabulous day with a really great friend from back in college. Unfortunately, I do not get to see enough of her! Now that we share a city again, I will be making girlfriend get-togethers a priority! We had a picnic lunch (Subway sandwiches…sorry, no pictures). Then we took a really long and relaxing walk through Lexington and along the bike trail that I have been enjoying on my runs. It was so great to catch up. Thanks Steph!

I am not a wine drinker, and Steph knows this. But she wanted to bring me a housewarming gift. I may not see her a lot, but she knows me! She brought me cupcakes from Mike’s Pastries! If you live in Boston or have ever visited, you know Mike’s Pastries in the North End. Unfortunately, they didn’t make it across the city in their original state. I opened the box and they were upside down! I scraped the frosting off on the box and re-frosted. The 3 most intact, re-frosted by yours truly:

I am sure Mike did a much better job with the original frosting. But you have to admit…that is going to be one tasty cupcake!

Before any cupcake consumption later tonight, a healthy dinner was in order. This was a totally meatless dinner….and Dave ate it all. And he liked it!! Stuffed shells, stuffed with ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, and spinach! Mmmmmm!

Picture Dave’s plate without the side salad, but WITH a couple of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls. (I have been seriously plugging these crescent rolls, huh? When is Pillsbury going to send me some samples?! They are clearly a staple in Dave’s diet!).

Friends, cupcakes, and babies….That is a pretty good day!

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I haven’t prioritized time with friends enough in the past. I had such fun today, I know I need to now! Husbands are great. Moms are irreplaceable. But there’s nothing like good girlfriends!

Do you get enough time with friends?

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