Last night, Ryan and I sat down to dinner (black bean shrimp and fish tacos!) and a decision was made: this is going to be the best week ever. Lots going on and we could get caught up in the rollercoaster but nope- this week is going to be all sorts of awesome.
Happy Monday- let’s get after it!
My voice is hoarse, I have a sunburn, my skin is salty sweaty and my legs are sore.
No, I did not run the Chicago Marathon today.
But I did cheer my heart out at Mile 23.5 with 120 of my favorite movers and shakers, a 5 hour dance party that was more fun than any club I’ve ever been to.
The runners were inspiring beyond belief and there were lots of mutual fist pumps being thrown around.
There’s nothing like the Chicago Marathon and now 45,000 more people know it. Congrats to all the runners- YOU ARE AMAZING!
1) Watching Spartan football (it’s a bye week)
2) Running the Chicago Marathon
Running the marathon last year was one of the best experiences of my life. I’ve always been a runner so setting the goal of completing a marathon, putting in all of the miles, early mornings and losing of toenails to finally crossing the finish line…well, there’s just really nothing like it.
Still fresh from the finish line high, I signed up for it again this year. I logged the miles, did the training. But life also happened. Other things needed to be attended to, needed my energy, and my training runs became just something else on my list that I had to cross off. It stopped being something that I was hungry for and became a task. And that’s not the point. I’m not going to win the marathon (the people who actually do win are probably having mimosas by the time I hit Mile 13), running is something I do to feel good and if it’s not making me feel good anymore, then let’s bag it.
Making the decision to not run happened 2 weeks ago. And it felt really bad.
And then it felt better. Good, even. Like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I was better able to take on the other things in my life that were happening and shooting out for a run at the end of a long day became fun again.
This was the right decision for me. It doesn’t mean I won’t tackle 26.2 again but for this year, I will be cheering my heart out for everyone who is pounding the pavement tomorrow morning.
And when I say “cheering my heart out”, I mean it: my heart is with every single runner who has been chasing down this goal for the better part of a year, with their eyes fixed on the 26.2 prize. Good luck, Godspeed and great job!
Scene outside of the Apple store on Michigan Avenue. So many touching words, some of them Steve Jobs’ own:
“Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”
Quite the impact this man had on the world…
(photo via)
For a minute, can we please just pretend I live here?
I am a such sucker for chandeliers and the perfect shade of pink. I mean, seriously- don’t tease a girl. If I had a loft, I would want it to be vintage and modern, just like this.
(Sidebar: I need to stop reading design blogs- they make me want to change everything about my apartment right this second. And while we’re on the subject, why is there NO pink in my apartment? Ryan has pink dress shirts, magenta is practically the new plaid… just because I live with a boy does not mean our home has to be devoid of loveliness. Hmph.)
image via.
The blizzard that blanketed the city a month into 2011 isn’t even a distant memory and forecasters are already predicting that this winter will hit us with “colder then normal temperatures and nearly twice the normal amount of snowfall”.
Awesome. Thanks for the good news.
Better get out there today and enjoy this AMAZING weather while we can- being Chicagoans, we know that these are the days that we’ll be dreaming about come February.
Read the full, pessimistic article on Chicago’s next winter here.
I found this in an email to a girlfriend from a few months ago and I stand by my caption:
“What is even going on here?!?”
Hump Day, people- let’s do this.
A trip to the Green City Market turned into “Let’s home-made sauce”.
So we did.
3 pounds of roma tomatoes, 1 green pepper, 1 1/2 red onions, an absurd amount of fresh basil, fresh oregano, 1 little can of tomato paste and 5 hours on the stove makes fresh and delicious marinara sauce, apparently.
And while we were at it (and drinking wine since 3pm), why not make pasta from scratch as well?
Clean kitchen be damned- it was fresh pasta or bust.
Ryan learned that I only buy whole wheat flour; we learned that whole wheat pasta makes really, really hearty pasta. It was this portion of the meal that delayed things until 10pm. But in the meantime, we tucked into some bottles of red from our wine rack and rocked out to Fleetwood Mac Radio on Pandora (seriously good cooking jams).
What started as a quick trip to the market turned into a day long project. At the risk of sounding old, I haven’t had a day that fun in a long time. We considered going out after our feast but being home, with our full bellies and our cat, was exactly where we needed to be.
Luna Bell faked an injury, Ryan had to submit a last minute job app, we got on a bus that did not take us on Inner Lake Shore but all the way up to freaking Belmont…to say we got a late start to the day is an understatement. But we finally made it to the Green City Market, finally got an order of apple cider donuts and finally had some coffee.
And then we looked up.
It is Fall. So perfectly, crisply Fall.
Lincoln Park was packed with people with sweaters and jackets on. Babies were bundled to a fault, and there was a lot more hugging and snuggling going on- it’s cold, people gotta stay warm!
We walked all the way home, holding hands and our bags filled to the brim with straight from the farm goodness.
Days like today are my best friend.
My darling friend Kate brought a darling baby boy into the world 2 weeks ago. I met the little guy this week and whoa, he is a cool kid. He was all snuggly and sweet and made these little dinosaur noises to let us know that he was indeed in on the conversation as we made a Starbucks run and quick trip through the Andersonville Farmer’s Market.
Here’s the thing: Kate is my first friend to have a baby. We work together so I saw everyday as her little man grew and got ready to make his appearance. I saw how much Kate and her husband wanted him and loved him and how with his coming into the world, Jackson was making their family whole in a totally amazing and right way.
I’ve always been pretty indifferent on having children- we know we will but in a “How about 10 years from now?” kind of way. And while that still won’t be happening for quite some time, Kate and her positively perfect baby boy did open my eyes to how amazing and fun that time period in our life is going to be when it is right for us. And in the meantime, I get to watch one of my favorite people in the world absolutely glow in her new role as a mother. Really, it’s just the cutest thing I have ever seen.
Jackson might still be sub 10lbs but he is making a BIG impact in the lives of those who have loved him since before he was even the size of a peanut (oh and he is such a little peanut!).
Oh and the Andersonville Farmer’s Market is great! Scored some Flaming Fury peaches, omg how I die for Flaming Fury peaches.
