Weekend happenings: In which Harry Potter takes over, and I pretty much doing nothing else but run

Friday night I did what any Army Wife does when her husband leaves… hung out with a bunch of friends.
My friends just happen to be my 15 year old youth girls from church, BUT, they are great company nonetheless.

A couple of months ago when youth group was still in session for the school year, we started a Harry Potter marathon because it turns out they are all a bunch of HP nerds like me.
We only made it through the first 3 movies before they crashed (seriously, it was them and not me), so we continued the Potter-a-thonFriday.

I prepped like crazy

And my Mini Me brought lemon drops (Dumbledore’s favorite) and had even spent the day baking Hagrid’s Rock Cakes!

We had plenty of sweet treats for the night, but of course I had to end it perfectly with some homemade (nonalcoholic)  Butterbeer

Aka: glorified cream soda

And yes, I was full-on nerd and dressed for the occasion

Luna Lovegood is my second favorite female character after Hermione. Actually, they are probably a tie.

I also have to tell you that I was girly for the first time in who knows how long.

I don’t think I’ve painted my nails since high school… mainly because 1. I have the terrible habit of chewing my fingernails, and 2. running makes my toes look funny.
But, the girls convinced me and Aqua Fantasy is a pretty color.

This gal wasn’t sure she’d make it it all night, but luckily the girls crashed around 11:30. We only made it through The Half Blood Prince so I foresee one more Potter-a-thon in our future.

My Saturday involved the usual grocery shopping and lameness of my life. 
I coached my C25k group, finished a couple of novels for my class, and then I think I vegged out to Netflix. I’ve decided this free trial month is all our household is allowed to have.
It’s consuming my rest days.

I did, however, travel all over town for groceries trying to save money and get the best deals.
This budget is working: I got my groceries for the week for under $75 dollars.
And I even stocked up on some new training fuel.

Ok… so the twizzlers and jelly beans were left over from from Friday, but I like to eat a couple of licorice wands or a handful of jelly beans before my short runs. They give me a little boost of energy, and don’t mess with my system too much.
When I trained for my last half, I trained with Gu’s and Sport Beans. They beans weren’t too bad but  the Gu’s really killed me. I love the taste of them, but my digestive system doesn’t.
So, I want to try something a little more natural for my long runs considering I’ve got a a lot of them coming up.
Hence, the apple banana applesauce packets and the strawberry fruit strips.
I ate a banana before my long run yesterday, and then had a packet of the applesauce after mile 6 yesterday, and it gave me energy for the rest of my 9 mile run.
The box of four is slightly expensive, but it actually budgets out to less than the price of four packs of Gu.
And it’s all natural so I’m hoping it will be a little better on my system.  I also have a couple of healthy-fuel-cookie recipes that I want to try, but since I’m going to be logging a bunch of miles over the next few months, my fuel intake is going to be a priority. Out with the fake, in with the real.
And maybe a few jellybeans.

 

I was up and at ‘em early Sunday morning. Turns out my Running Buddy was in town this weekend so we decided to head out on a long run together.
We met at 5:30 to put in 6 miles before the running club met at 6:30, then we finished 3 miles with them.
It was supposed to be a nice long, slow run but… the two of us push each other so we ended up with a tempo run at about an 8:40 pace.

Afterwards, my hammie was a little sore so I improvised

No, that’s not my lumpy, cellulite butt.
I’s a bag of frozen spinach shoved down my compression shorts.

Genius and classy. I know.

I had about 40 minutes to get ready since I was singing at church and had to be there early, so I worked up a contraption that let me ice AND get ready at the same time.

After church, my afternoon was waaaaay open. A nice way to relax after a good run.

Turns out the Ironman Kona World Championships was being re-aired on NBC so I FINALLY got to watch it. 

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but Chrissie Wellington is one of my favorite female athletes.

Not only is she 4 for 4 for the Kona Championships, but she has raced the Ironman distance 13 times and never been beaten.  Her autobiography, A Life Without Limits,<< was just released this Spring and I’m dying to read it. It’s on my Christmas Wish list, too.

One reason I love watching the triathlon event on TV is because the reporters don’t just feature the pro-triathletes, but the age groupers and their inspirational stories.

Like that of 77 year old Harriet Anderson who finished her 20th Kona<<and won her age group

Three years ago when she raced Kona she crashed her bike at mile 80, broke her clavicle, and still finished the race<<.

She is the racer I hope to become someday<<.
I seriously dream to be that 75 year old woman racing Kona.

I think that’s why I love endurance sports so much. I mean, yes, you have your pro athletes who are AMAZING and their bodies are so powerful, but then there are also those everyday, average Joe athletes who finish the same exact race.
The show featured a 26 year old teacher from my neck of the woods raising money for kids, a double amputee raising awareness for veterans, three men in their 70’s and 80’s, and a woman fighting cancer—all who finished the race.

I was tearing up all over the place.
After that my day was a blur. I sort of napped on and off on the couch til the greyhound woke up up.
We went out for a walk, I grilled some dinner, started a movie, but then headed to bed.

Pretty much more lameness.

That’s my life. Running. Reading. Writing. Netflix. (It has GOT to go.)

Can’t get much better than that.

Passing the Baton:  What was your weekend full of? Inspiration? Fun? Rest? Goofiness?  Are you a Harry Potter nut like me? Favorite book/character?  Any suggestions for more training fuel that won’t upset my system?
___________
Seek Peace. Choose Joy.

I seriously thought about blogging hardcore today….

and then I fell asleep.

I know.

I’ve been excited about my weekend update post all weekend.

Mainly because it involved this

Yes. That’s from my Harry Potter-A-Thon Friday night.

But… I suppose I’ll get to that tomorrow.
And the million and one instagrams I have to share with you.

I’m sort of wiped tonight.

I finished my final day of pre-marathon training with a 9 miler that wasn’t really the Long Slow Miles it was supposed to be.
More like a tempo run finished in 1:17

I blame it on the fact that my running buddy was in town the weekend so we got to head out on the road together.

Joy!

Tomorrow starts OFFICIAL marathon training, and I’m starting off my favorite way.

A rest day.

It’s legit too.

I was thinking about pushing each week back a day so I could do my long runs on Saturdays, especially since that’s race day, but since RB is gone, I have no idea how I’m going to tackle 16+ miles alone, and the running club here in my town (LARC) has been meeting on Sunday mornings to run. I’m bound to be able to find someone to run with.
Plus, I find there’s just something about running long on a Sunday before church. Even though Sundays are rest days in my life… I feel like I earn them twice as much if I put in the miles in the morning.
And there have been many Sundays in my life when I’ve been out of town or unable to go to church, and my long runs sort of turned into my church on those days.
I guess it’s just something that’s stuck with me.

Alas. My hamstring is a little sore from today so I’m off to ice.
And my brain is sort of fried too from devouring books this weekend for my last summer class.
It’s starts tomorrow, and yes I read ahead.

You would too if you were discussing 12 books in 16 days.
Good thing it’s Young Adult Lit.

Cannot. Wait.

Enjoy your Sunday evening all!
Eat healthy but veg with your family.
It’s a good night to do it.
___________________________
Choose Joy.

Weekend recap: It’s all fun and games, kids until the FroYo happens. Then it’s serious.

Friday…I consider it my weekend now since
1. I do nothing all week and

2. This fall I won’t have classes on Friday’s so I’ll probably still be a bum.

Anyway, this past Friday was a special day for Music Man and I, and our friend, The Most Interesting Man in the World’s, Birthday.

So after a haircut,

and job interview, we headed off to good ‘ole St. Louis.

Our plan was to hit the City Museum<<, and then dinner, but I wanted to stop here first

Coffee and Wine? What could be better? I’ll never know because the boys wouldn’t let me stop.
Although, it’s probably a good thing we didn’t stop, because I don’t know if I could’ve handled this if I was full of caffeine and alcohol.

That’s just the outside.
The Museum totes this is the place “where the imagination runs wild.”

It’s housed in a 600,000 square foot building that was at one point empty and maybe scheduled to be demolished (I don’t know the full history.)
But I do know it’s the visionary of internationally acclaimed artist, Bob Cassilly—a classically trained sculptor and entrepreneur.
The City Museum is exactly what it is: a museum built entirely from stuff from the city. It’s a gigantic piece of industrial-instillation art that you can play in.

Yes. Play in. And on. And over. And under.

The outside, definitely a piece of art or maybe a scene from LOST, is a giant maze of wires and rebar that you can climb in and around it. We hit it last because we waited for the heat to die down some, but the boys sure had fun.
I enjoyed myself too, but for someone who is terrified of heights, and semi-terrified of small spaces, I managed.

I let them do the climbing outside though

 

Would you believe me if I told you the rebar arch was at least seven stories off the ground?

Someone obviously didn’t care.
I, on the other hand, would have been trapped for eternity and screaming like a baby.
So I took the pictures

The inside was just as neat.
One part is sea themed and as Music Man claims, you have to crawl up the “whale anus” to play
(That would be the coil section)

And another area is rainforest themed, where you get to crawl and climb in petrified wood and cages.

At one point, I even slid out of this

Don’t ask me how.

The boys really had way too much fun

And yes ladies, The Most Interesting Man in the World is single

Pause from sarcasm. I’m telling you. He would seriously be a catch.
Awesome guy.

After all, If you can’t be normal, join ‘em.

 

I did find some future home decorations, so the day was productive.

We slid down a 10-story slide. No. Big. Deal.

And Music Man survived the Ball Pit Of Death

After that we called it a day. We were hot, and sweaty, and tired of pushing little kids out of the way.
We hit of the gift shop, and I found some protection

Especially for all my

Despite the 90 million degree weather, the boys decided we had to eat outside on the rooftop of the Hilton

Too bad none of us were Cardinals fans.

I dealt with it though for some delicious pizza,

and the best part of all.
I finally got to jump on the FroYo wagon

And trust me, I ate all 9.05 ounces of this goodness

Then I ran it off

It was a great way to celebrate Friday, and a nice day vacation.
Looks like our summer is turning out to be full of those.

Passing the Baton: Any craziness to your weekend? Have you ever been to the City Museum, or somewhere like it? If so…where? We want to go! Are you a FroYo Freak like me? Favorite combination? (I threw in the blueberries to make it look healthy.)
Favorite place?
_________________
Seek Peace. Choose Joy.

Weekend recap part deux: In which we paint our bedroom poop brown, and I master two culinary creations

When we moved back to the Midwest 16 months ago and discovered the one apartment complex that allowed pets, we also discovered we could paint.
Since we planned on being here for quite a while (Music Man is pretty much going to be in school forever and renting seemed like the smart idea) painting seemed perfect because let’s face it, while walls make me think too much of dorm life or prison life.
I’ve only experienced the former, not the latter.

We wanted to make our cozy space a little bit more homey so we planned to paint in the living room, kitchen, and bedroom. We bought all the paint, tape, and plastic we’d need, then started in on the living room.
Then Music Man left for some Army trip, and I was bored, and finished the living room and kitchen.

You won’t notice my imperfect edging or paint spattered ceilings in these pics. Trust me, I’m not the artist.
Nonetheless, it’s been about a year and the bedroom never got painted.
Until yesterday that is. Music Man was in a mood and wanted to paint, so I pretty much let him.

 

I found a comfy spot to take pictures

 

And I also spent time trying to figure out how JJ could help.
Turns out he’s pretty useful.

 

Once the paint dried, it wasn’t really poop brown anymore, but more of a Hershey look.
I think I can handle it.

 

We’re hoping to invest in a new, and much more comfortable bed in the next few months (goodbye sleepless nights) so the fun part is going to be finding some new bedding to go with the room.
Good thing brown is a pretty neutral color.

On our adventure Friday<<, we unknowingly tried a new kind of pizza: Sauceless or White Pizza.
The boys were set on eating at a rooftop extravaganza, even though it was 90 million degrees outside, but the yogurt paradise on the first floor made up for it afterwards.
Anyway, we decided to order a pizza to share because, really, who can turn down pizza?
Plus the waitress had passed out table with one right before we ordered and the smell was overwhelmingly delicious.

 

It was so good, I only remembered to take a picture after we’d eaten half of it.
The menu didn’t say anything about it being a sauceless pizza so when it arrived, we were surprised.
In a good way.
Let’s just say Music Man and I found our new favorite kind of pizza.
So, come Saturday morning when this conversation took place,

 

the ideal opportunity showed itself to try out our new favorite. Plus, if it takes me all year, I am bound and determined to master thin crust pizza<<.
So, I rounded up a few ingredients

 

and came up with this beauty

 

Don’t let the thicker edge fool you. This baby was thin and crispy. And definitely full of cheesy goodness.
Instead of tomato sauce, there’s a little drizzle of olive oil on the crust, then the cheese-spice mixture (fresh mozz, parm, ricotta, & feta)
Heaven. Must be missing angels…If you’ve never had white pizza before, you must. Especially if you’re a self proclaimed pizzaholic like me.
That was Saturday’s meal, with a little Mr. Popper’s Penguins for some fun.
I’ve now decided I want a little herd of penguins for pets, by the way.
Christmas is less than six months away, Wonder Woman.
Sunday’s food was all about the South.
During the last six months of Music Man’s Army contract, he was a Chaplain’s assistant for Chaplain Hulk (seriously… he was a stand in for the old Hulk TV show)
That job was one of the things over the last couple of year’s that has planted the seed for us possibly going back active duty Army, and into Chaplaincy/ministry.
Anyway, Chaplain Hulk is not only a wonderful guy (and he has a beautiful family) but he is this amazing cook.
And he just happened to make us a delicious gumbo before we left Texas that Music Man fell in love with.
So, it’s one of those things on my list to cook for the year<<
Since I was on a roll already with the pizza,I decided to turn this weekend into a 25 eats-a-thon
Between chopping veggies, and meats, and making the rue,gumbo turned out to be a fun, afternoon affair. Plus it did get me out of painting.

 

I also creatively discovered how to successfully chop onions without crying while simultaneously finding a good use for my goggles since they haven’t seen water in a month.

I call it Chaplain Hulk’s “for your man” gumbo.

 

It was actually super easy to make, and Music Man was thoroughly impressed I know how to spice things up.
I definitely discovered some new favorite recipes for this household.
Heaven help me we don’t have picky kids.
I’ve got to start thinking up creative ways for them to eat EVERYTHING so I’ve got a an arsenal built whenever that day comes.
Sunday evening wrapped up with a little Ocean’s Thirteen, and some more creative thinking on how not to get high while sleeping in a freshly painted room.
It’s a good thing these temps

 

dropped to the 80’s yesterday. It was like spring all over again!
In case you were wondering, we opened our windows overnight (60’s) and didn’t get high.
We’re pretty normal today.
Since normal is so relative in my life.
Passing the Baton: How was your weekend? Anything fun? Restful? Finish any projects you’d been meaning to do for a year, like us? Any good recipes to share? Should I patent my onion goggles?
__________________
Seek Peace. Choose Joy.