warning

Warning! hanging out with these two may lead to ridiculousness. 

I have neighbors!!!! hurrah.
Sara & Eric moved into my apt complex yesterday, so obviously I stroll over there at 9:30pm on a Sunday fully believing I'll be reasonable and be home at 11.  who was I kidding?!
fast forward to 1am, sitting at the kitchen table, & sara is now pouring me more wine. because obviouslyyy we need to finish the bottle. 
Then its 2am & I realize I need to go home nowww if I can even think about being a functional person tomorrow. (am I functional? debatable)  who stays out til 2am on a sunday?!
So I stroll home listening to my "inspired" playlist.  (yes - i actually have a playlist titled inspired. ridic I'm aware)   I probably looked insane bopping down the path, grinning like an idiot & possibly singing to myself, but really - I can't help it :)   
loveburst.

super excited that they're sooo close!

damn wind

Given my impending weekend in NY and the excessive amounts of food and beverage that are about to be had, I decided back-to-back days of running was necessary.   Worst run ever!
Apparently the wind was not pleased with my analysis of Monday's run, so it was aggressive & crazy and somehow managed to lodge my contact up in my head around mile two.  Which means that: 
1. I can't see.
2. it hurts.  
3. the wind ->  watery eyes + lost contact + sweaty hands = BURNING
...and I'm two miles from home. awful.

but regardless, I got moving, so I guess all was not lost.  
note to self:   buy sunglasses to run with.

exactly 24 hours from right now, I will be in NYC!!  cant wait to see you all!!

love. love. love.

oh Marilyn.

"We should all start to live before we get too old. Fear is stupid. So are regrets."    - Marilyn Monroe

 

smart woman.

 

today I decided not to focus on distance. So I ran a little bit faster and on a slight incline.  I only got through 3 miles but damn, it felt awesome.  followed up by some elliptical just to add time.  best workout in a loong time.

and then I continued my new love affair with refried beans, because obviously.. I need to finish the can. cant let those go to waste.   delic.

 

 

mobility!!!

I had to go to a fairly boring compensation seminar all day in burlington today. not ideal.
BUT lack of car means I had to get a Zipcar to get myself there. oh hello mobility.   Of course, I needed to take full advantage of having a car for the day. SO I trekked it out to TraderJoe's in Cambridge.  Obviously, the closest one with the wine shop.

I got sooo much good food & 6 bottles of wine for a ridiculous $83 dollars. AMAZING.
though I will say Cambridge TJ's has nothingggg on NYC TJ's (both of them).  i was not impressed, but did still manage to make it worth the trip.   veryy excited.  

could my freezer be any fuller - I don't think so. must stop buying/making food. must eat lots before I cook more.

i've always been a less than adventurous eater - we're all aware. i've insisted for as long as I can remember that I HATE all types of beans. who knows what possessed me to make cheese enchiladas.. but refried beans are pretty much the key ingredient. I bought them and made this thinking it sounded amazing (completely ignoring the fact that I won't touch beans).
and boyyy, that was a great call.   tonight & last night:

and surprisingly not terrible for you. even though it looks like a pound of delicious, melty cheese - its really not that much. mmmmmm

good morning

blame it on the wind

i've been hanging out in slacker city lately. ooopss.
no blogging for 9 days. eekk
and only ran once in the last week.  (i blame it on some minor knee pain, but really.. thats laaame)

today was GORGEOUS. Delightful 70 degrees, so perfect for running outside.  I've been fully committed to the treadmill til now, telling myself its too cold to run outside. So today I get excited to get my ass in gear, mapmyrun, & take off to the Esplanade for a breezy 4 miles.
its amazing, picture perfect Boston, crew teams on the Charles, sun setting..  and then I realize its soooo much harder. Maybe its the wind!? we'll blame it on the wind. with a twist of the fact that its not flat.  i dont know, but it hurt & i even had to walk a lil in the middle.
so moral of the story - I got my ass kicked, but kind of loved it.

in other news -
Lots more cooking.. BEST casserole ever. & healthy-ish too.
recipe courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats & found here:  Chicken, spinach, artichoke casserole  

looks amazing. tastes pretty fantastic too.

make it. you know you want to.

great work lunch & makes my coworkers jealous. ha. score.

Progress!

oh hello Saturday.
since my last post.. I've made some significant progress. well.. significant for 3 days..
I ran 4.5 miles for the second time. Goal for the day was 4, but I was feeling extra good & motivated. Afterwards, I did some serious grocery shopping. Whole Foods & Peapod.  Stocked up on everything I need to make all kinds of wonderfulness.

First, of course, my new favorite, courtesy of Shape.com via Breen. Recipe found here: Mozzarella Turkey Meatloaf   I made this once before and fell in love.  This time I added some extra onion, a clove of garlic & mixed the mozzarella right in. The layer in the middle wasn't as awesome as it sounded.

lots of good stuff

mmm. delic. happy friday

gorgeous. & delicious if I do say so myself.

my favorite part - 6 equal slices, 1 for now. 5 for later & perfect for work lunch.

that was my friday night. facial. wine. meatloaf. & thurs night tv on dvr.

this morning - peapod delivered. & then 5 miles!!    very proud of myself.

and soo excited for margs & guac with lauren & erin tonight.

all talk

so. new life, new habits, right?    almost.
I've been doing a lot of talking about how great Boston is, how I'm stressfree, & all is wonderful.

Yes. the intensity level of my life is significantly lower - awesome  &  I've changed a few of my habits:
1. I've been running. 2-3 times a week & I'm up to 4.5 miles.  (granted I've only managed to do it once, but it got done)
2. I've been cooking.  But not as much as I need to be.
3. I've been painting my own nails. Saving money and pretty much looks the same. thats definitely a win.
4. I've been drinking more water.  a good thing for sure - but needs to continue on the weekends.  Should not be entirely because I don't have enough to do at work.

Thats a good start.  But I really need to kick it up a notch.  I've been reading a bunch of new blogs about running & cooking & being healthy, etc etc (and really I could spend dayyysss reading this stuff)   Now I need to start incorporating it in my life.  Its one thing to read about all these great healthy recipes, time to start making them.

new goals:
make better decisions - if I plan to run on friday, don't give in to happy hour.
cook more - need to stop going to out to dinner twice a week & start cooking for friends
phase out frozen/super-processed food - there is absolutely zero reason why I need LeanCuisine in my life
more substancial breakfast - special K bars do not count as a meal. fact.

fire

love love love this.
& sooo excited for an amazing weekend in NY. :)

yumm

so I'm not a cook. I tell myself I can follow recipe and it usually comes out well. I've been trying to cook more. I've made a handful of things recently, mostly courtesy of an email of recipes from D.Breen.

last night, I decided to make pizza (recipe free) Granted Whole Foods actually made the dough, I took care of the rest & was quite pleased with myself. sauteed onions & garlic over fresh tomato slices, a splash of red sauce & fresh mozzarella. mmmm.