Awkward Weekends

1. Getting locked out of your apartment for the THIRD time this month, and using not one, but two recycling bins to climb through the only unlocked window, in BROAD daylight, wearing bright red pants. 

"Oh don't mind me, I'm just trying to rob this apartment in the middle of the day only I forgot my disguise at home, keep on driving by, no honking necessary!"

2. When meeting children you've never babysat for the first time and the first thing they ask you is "Do you model bikinis!?" "What!? Huh!? Nice to meet your too, I can't wait to spend the next 24 hours with you!" 
(Apparently when asked how old I was, and if I was pretty their mom told them that I was a bikini model (jokingly of course), but I guess they didn't catch her sarcasm)

3. Giving directions to a lost tourist and only after a few minutes of small talk realizing that you were headed to the same place, and destined to spend the next 30 minutes learning a LOT about someone you are 99% sure you will never see again. 

4. Having a weekend full of blog-worthy events and the only photo to show for it all is this:

Rainy dayz

Today I...

completed a 10 mile training run in 1 hr and 25 minutes,

did ALL my laundry, rotated my mattress by myself, changed my sheets,

went grocery shopping and bought so many healthy and yummy things for the week ahead, 

grilled marinated veggies and mango for dinner,

and finished all my homework all before 7 pm. 

And on days when I am this productive I decide that it is perfectly okay to...

Watch 2 hours of Say Yes To The Dress while still in my pajamas,

enjoy bagels on the couch with best friends who come to visit from the other city,

and finish the last of the JP Licks pint I bought last night (oops).

Some things

Some things I have been loving this week (in no particular order)

1. Free evenings that allow for girl-talk-walks around the pond

2. Fresh berries and pineapple that can be eaten without utensils

3. Rediscovering how much I still love music from when I was 16 (James Blunt, John Mayer, Daniel Powter, etc.)

4. Mad Men Season 5

5. www.myfitnesspal.com

6. Peaceful morning runs when I get to hear the birds wake up, see the sun rise, and forget for a little while that I live in a city

7. Boot Camp with Joel

8. Walking home from work barefoot 

9. Sample stations at Whole Foods

10. Homemade salmon omelets

Celebrations

It's been quite an exciting few days at the work place. My coworker who has been pregnant the WHOLE time I've been at my job finally gave birth! Her son, Ziyad (Arabic name meaning enlarged) was born yesterday morning at 7 am. She sent us over pictures and he is quite cute with a full head of hair. 

Also, it is my other coworker's birthday today (she was hoping that Ziyad was going to be born on her birthday). To celebrate both of these very exciting things I threw on my apron last night and channeled my inner Betty Crocker. 

I realized we didn't have a cupcake tin so on my way home from a delicious dinner with a good friend I stopped at the Goodwill and low and behold, they had the PERFECT cupcake tin for only $2! What a find! I have to say I think they came out pretty darn well. 

Inspiration

Yesterday I came to the conclusion that out of all the Monday holidays throughout the year, Patriot's Day is by FAR my favorite. Drew and I began the day early with a 10 mile training run for our upcoming half marathon in Providence, RI (only 3 weeks away!) We ran a new route that brought us across the Mass Ave. bridge, along the Charles River, and back to JP through the Emerald Necklace.

After our run we spent the rest of the day watching the Boston Marathon at Mile 23 in Brookline. It was one of the more inspiring races that I've watched and reallllly made me want to run a marathon (which is odd considering it was 90 degrees and everyone looked like they wanted to pass out).

Highlights from the day:

1. Receiving free pizza, Sam Adams shirts, hats, and bottle openers! 

2. Having a confused runner come up to me and shout "Julie!? Julie? Is that you?" to which I replied "No I am not Julie, pretty close though." Apparently I looked quite similar to someone he went to high school with.  I think he may have been a little dehydrated and disoriented.

3. Making new friends who love running and also blogging!

4. Running into 2 of my best friends from middle school who I hadn't seen since well...middle school. 

5. Seeing so many marathons who were still smiling after 23 miles of grueling conditions (and many who were not smiling).

After some much needed naps Drew and I began discussing our chances of ever qualifying for the Boston marathon (very low at this point), and how after today we were both really itching to sign up for one. She has run the Burlington City Marathon (Burlington, VT) before however I have never ran a full one (only a handful of halves). After checking out a few races in the late fall online we found that the Philadelphia Marathon was not sold out yet and fell at the perfect time considering we are running a half in mid-October. 

After a couple minutes of asking myself if I could be in good enough shape come November to run a full marathon I decided that YES! I could. And suddenly I was signed up! I'm very excited/nervous to finally be running a full marathon!! The reviews of the race say it is a great race (it's a very flat/fast course) and except for one out and back section seems like a perfect course. Let the training begin!

Women's winner @ Mile 23

Weekend-ing

Here are some weekend tidbits. Drew's shirt was voted "most authentic 80's attire" at our friend-of-a-friend's birthday party. I got a lot of complements on my Charlotte Hornets workout tank as well. Not surprisingly my outfit is quite similar to what I ACTUALLY workout in on a regular basis (minus the headband action I have going on below). Zeva, the birthday girl, was described as "looking like a 13 - year old who somehow snuck into this party." I'd say that's spot on.

Drew and I enjoyed some delicious salads and studying at our favorite neighborhood cafe, and the warm weather this weekend allowed for what I like to call "no-tights Tuesday." Except of course it was actually a Sunday, oh well. 

Also, I had the pleasure of grilling chicken wings and polenta with my good friend Becca over in Cambridge. Being able to grill outside really made me excited for summer and just being outside in general. Since it has been so warm this weekend we got to enjoy eating it on her back patio, what a treat!

Friday at Fenway

Friday marked the home opener for the Boston Red Sox, which is quite a big deal around here.  Since my office is a ten minute walk from the park, I decided to check out the crowds on Friday afternoon just before game time. I took a quick walk around the stadium before being overwhelmed by all the crowds of eager SOX fans. Some notable people/things I ran into: U.S. Senator Scott Brown and his wife, a bowling pin struggling to find his gate, more hotdogs/sausages than I could count, and a lone farmer selling fruits and veggies to hungry fans.