Prepping for the Move

This week is graduation week on the Hilltop, so that always gets me a little bit emotional.  I LOVE working at a university, but, for a person who hates goodbyes, it can be tough when each subsequent class graduates.  I am planning on staying especially far from campus this weekend, because I know that this graduation weekend, my last in DC, would churn up a lot of emotions.

So instead, we will be moving on Saturday…which will churn up a whole other set of feelings because of how much I despise moving.  We have to move to an interim apartment until the end of June, which, luckily, is furnished, meaning that all we have to do this weekend is pack up all of our stuff and move it to my parents' garage until the big move.  Dan pointed out that, once we do this weekend's move, the hard part will be done {at which point I reminded him that he was forgetting the 10-hour drive to our new home!}.   So the rest of our week will be spent packing up our mountains of stuff.  As much as I try to purge things I don't need, the piles don't seem to get any smaller.

I wanted to do a quick recap of this weekend, because it was so, so wonderful.  I have been trying to wrap my head around it, and the best way I can describe it is that it felt, over the course of the weekend, like I was single again.  Don't get me wrong, I love Dan so much and our relationship brings me so much joy every day, but it was so, SO nice to be able to call my own shots for the weekend and do whatever I wanted to without any concern for another person.  Friday was absolutely wonderful, starting just before I left work for the day and I made a kid cry with joy by telling him that we were admitting him off the waitlist.  It just gave me the warm fuzzies, you know?  I then proceeded to bake a ton and watch no fewer than three full episodes of House of Cards, and it was absolutely glorious.  I had to work from 9-1 on Saturday, which wasn't too brutal, and then did my swim and met up with my family.  Tim was in town, so it was great to have our little foursome together again!  I really do miss him, and am so glad that he is loving New York.  I think he was trying extra hard to be nice and cheerful, too, probably given that it was Mother's Day weekend, almost his birthday, and probably one of the last times we'll be together before Dan and I move.

We went out to a delicious dinner at The Hamilton {definitely recommend - I had the halibut and the beet salad, which were both heavenly}, and then I met up with Molly to go to a friend's birthday celebration in Columbia Heights.  It was great to see that group of friends, and then I got to have a sleepover with Molly, which was so lovely.  It has been really tough for us to get together over the past few months, due to how busy the two of us have been, so it was great to have lots of time to just catch up.  I am going to miss her so, so much.  On Sunday morning, after we grabbed breakfast, I headed back over to my parents' house and had some more time with the fam before Tim had to catch his bus.  By the time I got home from my swim afterward, Dan was back, and, although I loved my weekend of doing whatever I wanted, I was so happy to have him back!

On another very random note, The Bachelorette starts on Monday {yay!} and one of the contestants is a guy from my hometown who was in my class when I was in public school.  I have an inkling that he'll be a one-and-done contestant, but we'll see.  I'm hoping that this new apartment has DVR capabilities, or else we might have a problem!

Also, I am about a week in to swimming, and while I am far from being a talented swimmer, I am enjoying it!  My leg is definitely feeling better, so I'm hoping that it will be completely healed when I see the doc again on June 5th.  I think that I'll start using the Aqua Jogger at the pool in a few weeks - apparently it's fantastic for runners who are coming back from injuries.  I am just feeling so grateful that I am able to exercise!

Happy Wednesday, friends! We're almost over the hump!

I Can See the Finish Line!

First of all, can you tell it has been a calmer week at work? I've been blogging up a storm, given how infrequently I've been doing so for the past few months.  I've missed it!

Anywho, this was one of those weeks where I felt overscheduled and exhausted.  I blame the fact that it's getting to be that hot and humid time of year, allergies are still a killer and I have had something going on every night after work that has kept me up late.  But you know what?  That is just making me anticipate the impending weekend more.  Also, I had better get used to being busy today, because Dan and I compiled our Official DC Bucket List this week, and there is a ton of stuff on there {okay, mostly restaurants…OKAY, more dessert outings than I would like to admit}, so it's going to be go-go-go until the big move, which is tentatively going to be in mid-to-late July.

Dan is off to western PA for a bachelor party this weekend, so I will be making myself a yummy summer salad for dinner, watching embarrassing amounts of House of Cards and baking and consuming massive amounts of baked goods.  The thought of it just brings a smile to my face :)

I have to work tomorrow morning, but I have a swim to look forward to afterward, followed by dinner with my fam, because baby bro is in town!  Monday happens to be his birthday, so we're celebrating both his birthday and mother's day with dinner tomorrow night.  Also tomorrow, I'm helping a dear friend celebrate her birthday {the boot may be a slight issue for the dancing portion of the evening}, and then I'm having a sleepover with my bestie.  I am so, so pumped for this weekend!

I hope all of you have either an exciting or relaxing weekend, depending on what you're looking for!

Well, it's safe to say that fall is officially upon us! The hot summer-like days of a few weeks ago have given way to crisp fall mornings and evenings, which makes this New Englander happy as a clam.  We went to Larriland Farm out in Howard County on Saturday, and that made me feel as though fall had officially arrived.  We picked a huge back of delicious Stayman apples, as well as a couple of pumpkins and small gourds.  Of course, we had to get a jug of cider for Dan {interestingly, he prefers cold cider, and I like mine hot and with a cinnamon stick}.  The farm is a lot of fun, for those of you who haven't been, and is only about an hour from DC.  Be warned: we were one of the few young couples there without children, but I really enjoyed watching the kiddos experience fall delights as we ate our picnic lunch.  Last night, I made a delicious apple crisp with the apples, from a recipe that Dan's mom sent me.

Yesterday, Dan and I ran the Army Ten Miler, which was a great addition to our weekend.  I had been excited about this race since we signed up in May, and I was especially grateful to be able to run, particularly since, a month-and-a-half earlier, I was in a boot and was essentially immobilized.  The first few weeks of running post-boot were definitely no picnic, since I hadn't been able to do cardio in about seven weeks, but the payoff of being able to race was incredible.  Dan was a rock star {duh} and ran it in 1:04, and I clocked in at 1:17.  While I can't keep up with that speed demon, I was happy with the race and my sub-8 minute miles.  Our parents were along various points in the course, which is always good for a pump-up, and it was truly inspirational to see so many wounded warriors running.  There was also a blind runner near me for a chuck of the race who was running with a guide, who was actually more like a coach.  It was really touching to watch them, and you could tell that the guy was really grinding hard.  After two great races this season, I am looking forward to doing the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler and the Nike Women's Half next spring!!

Things at work are definitely picking up, so I was glad that we got to experience a fun fall weekend, and had some really nomalicious dinners {Bistro Bis on Capitol Hill on Friday, Ristorante Piccolo in Gtown on Saturday, and, of course, Mellow Mushroom last night}.  I've been enjoying the cozy nights of putting my pajamas on when we get home from work and sit on the couch watching my Sox in the MLB playoffs, snuggled under our blankets.  I missed my guy when I was traveling, so it sure is nice to be back home with him for the foreseeable future :-)

Tis the Season for Long Weekends

I had a bunch of comp time saved up from some events that I worked awhile back, so I took this past Friday off, giving me a much-needed weekend.  Last week was wonderful, but many late nights took a LOT out of me!

Friday was my dreaded 20-mile run.  As the days got closer to Friday and the rain forecast grew more certain, I realized that I would have to just accept the fact that it would be raining.  And rain it did.  It really wasn't too unpleasant, other than that gross feeling you get when your feet get wet.  Surprisingly, I felt really good, and I finished in just under 3 hours, which, given the weather and an uphill run up Wisconsin in the last few miles of my run, I was more than happy with!

After recovering, I took the train up to Baltimore to visit the lovely Colleen.  We hadn't seen each other in ages, and, although I had planned to go up to visit her in September, our little stint in the hospital prevented that from happening.  It was so wonderful to catch up with her, and, I swear, she has found the cutest little spots in the city, from Parisian-style cafes to quaint little markets to farm-to-table restaurants nestled among warehouses.  I was in awe!  I even got to see the stunning Peabody Institute library, one of the venues that Brett and Colleen are considering for their wedding reception.  It was breathtaking, and I wish there was a comparable space, besides Riggs, in DC!!!

Milk and Honey, an adorable Baltimore Market

The Peabody Institute Library.  I want Colleen and Brett to have their reception here SO BADLY!!!

I came back to DC on Saturday night, because I had some serious baking to do for our annual Galentine's Day party, inspired by Amy Poehler's uproariously funny Parks & Rec character, Leslie Knope.  I ended up baking mini heart-shaped cherry/cranberry pies with chocolate drizzle, and I was very pleased with how they turned out!! The brunch was on Sunday morning, and, being that there was one savory dish, we essentially gorged ourselves on sweets and mimosas {not complaining}.  It was a great group of ladies, and I'm glad we've made this an annual tradition!

My little pies :)

Lovely ladies!

On Sunday evening, I went over to my parents' house for dinner, and, surprise, my baby bro was there as well!  It is always nice to get the four of us together, particularly since Tim will be flying the coop and moving to NY the first chance he gets after college graduation in May {yikes, I still am in disbelief}.

Yesterday, Monday, was one of the longest work days EVER, because Dan was returning from a 4-day golf trip with some buddies to Arizona.  I missed him terribly while he was gone, and he sure knows how to bring a smile to my face!  I was beaming from ear to ear from the second I walked through his doorway last night. I'm very excited for our Valentine's Day plans, just a nice dinner and exchanging cards.  Last year, I set the precedent of not buying each other gifts for V-Day, opting instead for a funny card contest. It forces us to be creative, and, anyway, who needs more chocolate?!?

I hope you all had a lovely weekend as well!  I couldn't be more excited that this upcoming weekend is yet another long weekend!  Hooray for President's Day!

Busy Lady

I realized after I posted the Love Project post that I hadn't done a weekend update.  It was a busy one, so I have lots to share!

It was a very long week last week, so I was thrilled to have planned a low-key roomie date night with Molly on Friday night.  I got home early enough to clean most of the apartment {which I had neglected for a week prior} and take down the Christmas decorations {and yes, I am aware that this happened on February 1st}. I did some baking for the Super Bowl party that I went to on Sunday, and, once Molly got home, we got takeout pizza from Pete's and then watched some Felicity.  Any Friday night that features Scott Speedman's beautiful face and megawatt smile is fine by me ;)

On Saturday morning, I was up at 7 to do my long run, and knowing that I would get to see Dan after I finished definitely helped push me through.  I was scheduled to do 14 miles, but, for a variety of reasons, ended up running almost 17.  I guess it was good preparation for my 20-miler {EEK!} that I'm doing on Friday.  The fact that I'm almost up to 20 miles freaks me out, both because that means that the race is creeping up on me {it's on March 16th, so it actually is practically around the corner}, and also because 20 miles seems like a freakishly high number to me.  In any case, I was happy to get it over with on Saturday morning.  Once I made it over to Dan's, we went over to Top Golf for a bit so he could get some practice swings in before he leaves for his Arizona golf trip on Thursday, and then made it home in time for the Hoya game.  We stuffed our faces with Maggiano's pasta since we were both starving, and, although we had planned to have a low-key night and watch Zero Dark Thirty at my place, Molly had invited some friends over, so we ended up being social and hanging out with all of them.

On Sunday, after our respective workouts, we grabbed breakfast at our favorite bagel place and then met up with Dan's parents at Verizon for the Pens-Caps game.  Leslie and Peter had promised Dan Pens tickets for his birthday, but, since the first part of the NHL season was cancelled, this was the first chance we got to go.  As always, I loved spending time with them.  They are such salt-of-the-earth people, and I always enjoy being in their presence and catching up with them.  It also happened that it was a great game, and the Pens ended up winning 6-3!  I got to sport my new Pens shirt, which I bought in the airport on my way back from my Pittsburgh business trip.  Afterward, we went home and rested for a little bit, and then Dan's roommates had a bunch of people over for a Super Bowl party.  The good food placated me enough so that I was able to sit and watch the entire game.

Last night, some girlfriends and I went to Acqua al 2 in Eastern Market for our friend Cari's birthday.  Cari studied abroad outside of Florence, so had been to the Firenze location {the third is in San Diego...kind of random U.S. locations}.  The food was unbelievable, and I think the waitress was the best waitress I had ever had.  Three of us split the Burata appetizer, which was delicious, and I ordered the Farfalline alla Zucca {bowtie pasta with pumpkin...you can take the girl out of New England, but not the New England out of the girl!}, which was absolutely divine.  Throw in a fancy cocktail and you have the recipe for an amazing dinner.  A bunch of the non-vegetarians ordered the blueberry steak, which they said was delicious as well.  Given the location of the restaurant, I had my second-consecutive late night, and I am hoping that tonight isn't a three-peat.  I am going with some friends to a showing of the play "Our Town" at Ford's Theater, which should be fun.  And then, between now and Thursday, I'm going to try to squeeze in as much quality time as possible with my guy before he leaves!!!  And then, on Thursday night, I have a date with the 4 hours of The Bachelor that I will have missed from this week.  I imagine that some baked good will be involved :)

We're going to...

via I Lost My Heart in New York

via Fairytale Wishes and Dreams

via Subway

via Pinterest

In case you hadn't guessed, Dan and I are going to New York this weekend!  I'm so excited to spend the weekend with our friends James and Lindsay, and can't wait to sneak in a quick brunch with my cousins as well!

But alas, the cold persists: My laryngitis-y weekend

As soon as I thought I was out of the woods...BAM, laryngitis.  I was feeling fine on Friday, and even helped make some calls to admitted students that morning {which was so much fun! I loved hearing their reactions!}, but, by the time I got home, my voice began to sound sort of hoarse.  By the time we got to dinner, I had not voice at all.  Bummer.  It was especially annoying since it was a really social weekend for us, so it was no fun to be voiceless all weekend and be a casual observer to all of the conversations going on around me.

After we grabbed dinner on Friday night, Dan and I met up with our "couple friends" James and Lindsay and Goran and Nicole {plus a few others}, and it was such a blast to finally reunite all six of us!  We think that the last time we all got together was back in May, so a reunion was long overdue.  There had been a pall over the day because of all of the tragic goings-on in Connecticut during the day on Friday.  My heart is broken for the families of the children and teachers killed in this unspeakable tragedy.  The lack of regard for human life, particularly that of innocent children, is what is most despicable about the rampage on that horrible day.  I wasn't thinking about it too much when I was busy, but as soon as we got home from going out and were getting ready to go to sleep, the floodgates open and I just cried for 15 or 20 minutes.  Dan, who had been very affected by what happened as well, just held me and rubbed my back while I cried, something that I was so grateful for.  Friday's massacre really just reaffirms for me the need to not take anything or anyone for granted, a lesson that I also learned all to well back when Dan was in the hospital.  I definitely hugged everyone a little tighter when I saw them this weekend.

On Saturday morning, we woke up and went for a run {the first time we had run together since our ill-fated race in September} before meeting up with the same friends we had hung out with on Friday night to go to the Georgetown game.  After some major Metro delays {curse you, Red line}, we finally made it, and had a nice time with our friends.  Once we got home, we finished watching Elf and then took a little nap- it was just one of those days when we both really needed it.  We went to mass and then hit up our new favorite Mexican place, Guapo's in Tenleytown {seriously, so good and SO cheap!} and went to a party that one of Dan's friends invited us to that was actually walking distance from my apartment...literally the one time I have been invited to something that I could walk to since I moved to my neighborhood haha.  It was a lot of fun {life-sized Jenga and s'mores by a backyard fire, anyone?}, and I enjoyed meeting Dan's friend {also Dan; my Dan is one of three Dans in his group of friends from home} for the first time.

On Sunday, we let ourselves sleep in a little bit, and then I headed to brunch at a friend's apartment with a lovely group of ladies for delicious food, mimosas and a Yankee Swap.  As always, so good to see my girlfriends and enjoy some good food and good conversation {well, those of us who could talk, that is!}.  Then, I metroed over to my parents' house to provide my dad with some supervision with his Christmas shopping.  Seriously, malls are not his friends, and he practically started shaking when we walked in to Target.  The man hates shopping and crowds, so Christmas shopping season is his biggest nightmare.  We were really quick though, because, if you've ever shopped with me, you'll know that I get in and get out without wasting my, or anyone else's, time.  Finally, I met up with Molly to see the stage production of Les Mis at National Theatre.  It was such a full-circle moment, because we saw it for the first time in London with our friend Mary Kathryn almost four years ago.  Also, let's take a moment and think about the fact that I studied abroad four years ago.  Holy crow, does that make me feel old!  It feels like it was just yesterday!  It was a revival production, so there were definitely things I liked about the original version better {and also things that I liked better about the revival}, but I was reminded of how much I adore Les Mis.  Had I been able to sing, I would have been singing along quietly to myself.  You can bet that I am jumping-off-the-walls excited about the movie {despite Anne Hathaway}, and I'm making Dan go see it with me after Christmas {which is not too much of a sacrifice for him, since he has seen, and also loves, Les Mis}.

In the meantime, there are 4 DAYS standing between me and Christmas vacation, and I am so excited that I can barely stand it!  I can't wait to actually have time to go on my runs later than 5 a.m. {which also means more sleep for me!}, read lots of books, watch lots of good movies, and spend quality time with family, friends, and my love :)  And maybe do some serious Pinterest work...

I'm On A Train!!

I am writing this using the (less than) stellar wireless connection on the Amtrak train, en route to Philly for my very first business trip!  I have an event in Philly tonight (an MBA fair, where I'll talk to prospective students about the program) and another in Pittsburgh tomorrow night.  I'm especially excited because, tomorrow afternoon, I'll get to spend some time with Dan's wonderful mom, and then I'm meeting up with my old boss post-event for drinks/dinner.  I'm looking forward to going back to the 'burgh, because, as I only learned since dating Dan, Pittsburghers' undying love for their city is infectious!

First, though, I have to recap our weekend because, unlike last weekend, we actually did some things haha.  On Friday night, we went out to dinner at Hill Country for a friend's birthday (which, unbeknownst to me, has ridiculously delicious food).  My one downfall of the night was my decision to get a $10 piece of red velvet cake for two, which Dan dutifully agreed to share with me.  Well, we were no match for the five (yes, FIVE) layers of cake and rich cream cheese frosting, and only ate about half of it. Clearly, a classic case of my eyes being too big for my stomach!  From there, we went bowling at Lucky Strike, which I had never been to (a friend had a reservation there for her birthday last year, but they lost her reservation, thus preventing us from bowling).  It was SO fun, definitely a lot fancier than your typical grungy neighborhood bowling alley.  At nine, Dan and I powerwalked to Iron Horse, where we wanted in on the official Hoya gamewatch (that's right, college basketball is back!  And I am officially in my happy place!).  The others followed, and we proceeded to be antisocial and watch the game (or, rather, half-game, since condensation on the court shut the game down, lest any of the players fall prey to the increasingly dangerous conditions) while they drank and socialized. After the game was called, we headed home in an exhausted heap.

On Saturday morning, I went for a nice 7-miler (seriously, there is no better way to start a Saturday morning than with a nice run!) and then we went to the same bagel shop that we went to last weekend.  And, yet again, Dan ran into someone he knew (seriously, I'm beginning to think that this is the most popular bagel shop in the DMV area, because we always see someone that we either know or recognize).  Afterward, we stopped by Whole Foods to pick up some cheese and crackers, and drove to Pearmund Cellar Winery, which was seriously wonderful.  We did a tasting, enjoyed our little picnic, and bought a bottle to take home.  My goal is to develop more refined wine palates so that Dan's wine afficionado dad isn't ashamed of us haha. 

On Saturday night, we went to Guapo's in Tenleytown for dinner.  Every time I drive or run by it, it is absolutely packed, and, since we were in the mood for Mexican food, we decided to try it out.  AND...I loved everything about the place!  The wait was minimal, the food was delicious and inexpensive, AND they had frozen raspberry margaritas.  Hello.  We then went to a late showing of Skyfall.  I didn't quite know what to expect after our last Bond attempt was a bust, but both of us really enjoyed it. 

On Sunday, I met up with some girlfriends for brunch at the Dupont farmer's market, meaning that we got pastries and fruit.  Seriously, perfection.  A pain au chocolat can surely cure all ills!  It was so nice to sit in the circle and catch up with them, and also to make a run to a second-hand store in the Dupont area that we love.  Afterward, I went over to Dan's and watched Red Zone with he and his roommates for a few hours (I think my eyes probably had a glazed-over look after that much football haha).  Then, he and I went to our very first Hoya game of the season, the home opener against Duquesne!  It was an ugly game for sure, and our boys have SO many things to work on, but I am hopeful that we'll be able to make it to a good number of games this season, particularly once we start playing Big East opponents.

I promise I will post pictures, both from my weekend and from this little trip, once I get back!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

A lazy fall weekend

Hello dear readers!  It is starting to feel more and more like fall here in DC, and, appropriately, I christened my beloved jewel tone purple winter coat today.  While I am a complete baby when it comes to cold weathe, it always makes me so happy to break that coat out of my closet!

After yet another draining week, I was in serious need of some relaxation and quality time with the people I love, and this weekend was perfect in that respect.  On Friday night, Dan and I got takeout pizza from, you guessed it, Mellow Mushroom (we just can't help ourselves, but I'm starting to get self-conscious whenever I walk in there to retrieve our pizza, because the.same.people.are.always.working.there.  I can almost smell their judgment.  Oh well, not apologizing!).  We kicked back and enjoyed some 24/7 Pens/Caps Winter Classic footage (with hockey apparently being shelved, at least for part of the season, we have to get some hockey in any way we can, and, even though I'm a somewhat recently-indoctrinated Pens fan, I was like a giddy little kid watching this footage.  Seriously).  Anyway, the combination of being an old lady and being exhausted from my week had me conked out at, oh, roughly 11:30. 

We had ourselves a little jog on Saturday morning.  Dan ran part of the way with me and then, in the interest of continuing his responsible recovery, turned around and went back home.  I had a nice run downtown, and enjoyed the crisp fall morning, other than the part of the run that had me running across bridges, because it was WINDY!  Then, we went to NY Bagel in Courthouse, where we had been once before, because we were both in the mood for bagels for breakfast.  There, completely randomly, we ran into Dan's cousin, who I hadn't met before and who had returned from business in India the night before.  He actually lives in Baltimore, but, due to a series of airline misfortunes, he ended up crashing with friends in DC.  It never ceases to blow my mind how small this city is, and that is one of the things I love most about it :)

I am not at all lying when I say that we did absolutely NOTHING during the day on Saturday.  We debated going out and doing something...and then thought better of it.  Then, we met up with my parents for dinner at Grillfish, which was, as usual, delicious.  I think I mentioned last week that we were going to be meeting up with my cousin and her family for dinner on Saturday night, but that ended up not happening.  They had only a half-tank of gas, and, coming from Manhattan post-Hurricane Sandy, worried that they would not be able to make it far enough into New Jersey to reach a gas station that still had gas.  Totally legitimate reason, especially given that they have two little kids and my cousin is preggo with #3.  They rescheduled their trip for two weeks from now, though, so I look forward to seeing them then!

After dinner, we met up with Goran and Nicole, as well as some other friends, at Churchkey.  We told them to meet us at 9, because I remembered it getting crowded.  I didn't anticipate that, upon arriving shortly before 9, it would already be packed!  What an early-arriving crowd!  We were somehow able to piece together a table and enough chairs to fit all of us, and it was a really nice time.  Dan and I had been to Birch & Barley downstairs for his bday last year, and I had been upstairs for drinks once, but it was nice to go back, since it is such a DC institution.

I would like to say that we used Daylight Savings Time to get some extra sleep...but I was wide awake at 7:30. WOMP.  We lazed around for a bit, and then I headed out to brunch with some girlfriends at Ben's Next Door on U Street.  Definitely not the most exciting brunch I've ever had in terms of food, but it did fill me up!  A group of us walked around a bit afterwards and I luckily managed to restrain myself in Anthro.  With holiday shopping already on my mind, I am trying to limit frivolous purchases.  But Lauren, Jen and I did go to a movie afterward, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (the new Emma Watson movie).  Such a heartbreaking movie, but so well-done.  Also, it was shot in Pittsburgh, so I was so excited to see shots of the city that I am somewhat familiar with! I made sure to text Dan and tell him how prominently his hometown was featured.

Looking ahead at this week, I'm excited for a Lake Family dinner tonight at Tombs.  These crazy kids are so busy this semester (okay, I guess I've been busy too) that we haven't had a chance to all get together.  I'm super excited to see them all!  I have to confess that I'm incredibly nervous for Election Day tomorrow.  Despite the fact that my vote doesn't count (damn DC), I'm planning on hitting the polls early tomorrow, and am hoping for the best, because the polls are too close for comfort right now.  I'm worried...hopefully my next post will be a happy one!

Frankenstorm Strikes DC

Hi friends!  Sorry for the prolonged absence, but Hurricane Sandy kind of threw a monkey wrench in the first two days of this week.  See how I always come up with great excuses for being a bad blogger?!

First, I'll talk about the weekend.  Dan went home for the weekend again, so I spent some quality time with family and friends over the weekend.  On Friday night, I went to a goodbye happy hour for my good friend Maggie, who I have known since second grade.  She is leaving DC to go traipse around Southeast Asia for a few months, and will then be back in Western MA for a bit while she applies to grad school.  It was nice to get to see her one last time before her trip.  Lauren and I then met up with some other friends at Mad Hatter for a late happy hour/dinner (a.k.a. me inhaling one of their happy hour-size pizzas because I hadn't had lunch and was ravenous).  I went home and got a good night of sleep in preparation for an 8-mile run on Saturday morning, followed by moving Lauren in to her amazing new apartment.  Luckily, she and her old roommates had done the bulk of the work the previous weekend, but there was still some heavy lifting involved.  Afterward, I was again ravenous (do you sense a theme?) because I hadn't had time to grab food after my run/before moving.  I went to the grocery store and stocked up, and spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the apartment, doing laundry and eating.  I felt particularly domestic that day haha.

On Saturday night, I went to a house party with some girlfriends of mine, which ended up being really fun!  I had been debating my costume for a few days prior to that, and was having trouble coming up with something.   I really didn't want to go the short and sexy route (it's funny how having a boyfriend makes you question re-wearing Halloween costumes of the past haha), so I began rifling through my winter clothes to find inspirtaiton...when I happened upon a beret.  Right then and there, it was decided that I would be French (several people, Dan included, pointed out later that I should have gone all-out and been a mime, but that would have involved painting my face, which I did not have the slightest interest in haha). After the party, some people in the group decided that they wanted to walk to H Street, which was about a 25-minute walk away, much farther than advertised.  We spent about 10 minutes at H Street Country Club and then cabbed back to Lauren's, where we slept on the floor of the empty apartment.

On Sunday morning, delirious from lack of sleep, I went about my normal daily routine (gym, shower, breakfast) before metroing over to my parents' house.  We went to mass and then hung out in front of the fireplace in the living room as the weather grew more and more ominous outside.  While watching some football (full disclosure: I was half-watching), we thumbed through old photo albums, offering a running commentary.  I knew I was a large baby/child, but I hadn't remembered that, when I wore shoes as a baby, they cut off the circulation in my Christmas ham legs.  Jeez louise, was I ever a porker!  After dinner, as it started to rain, they drove me back home, so that I could be there waiting when Dan got back.  When I had texted him about getting together on Monday, he suggested that he just come over on his way home and stay, since we were most likely going to have to hunker down during the hurricane.

We spent the next two days hunkered down, rarely leaving my apartment (I went to my amazing gym, which stayed open throughout the storm, both Monday and yesterday, and Dan and I made a last-minute grocery store run before Whole Foods closed when I realized that, while I had enough food to make dinner on Monday, I didn't have anything to make on Tuesday.  I am a grazer, so I could have gotten by just fine, but I felt like Dan was going to need something a little more substantial!).  Even though we were both working throughout Monday and Tuesday, it was so nice to have him sitting on one couch and me on the other, working away and taking the occasional break to show each other something funny (or something less funny, like a picture of the storm's damage).  We both focused on work during business hours, but, after that, we turned the focus to each other.  We ate lots of yummy food (seriously, thank God the gym was open!) and watched lots of funny shows (episodes of Modern Family and Celebrity Jeopardy), which helped distract us from the storm that was raging outside.  Despite some brief flickering of lights and having to bail water out of my balcony a few times, we really lucked out, neither losing power nor having to deal with a flooded apartment.  We were fortunate to be able to cook yummy food (okay, I cooked and Dan helped/provided moral support).  And, moreover, we got to spend some wonderful quality time together.  We both remarked last night at how much fun we had had (despite having to work during the day and being confined to the house) just hanging with each other at home.  I was really glad to have him there with me, and there is no one else I would rather be house-bound with during a hurricane :)  That said, hopefully we can go a little while without another one!

I hope you all survived the storm okay!  I am keeping family and friends in the NJ/NY area in my prayers especially, as I know that they all bore the brunt of the storm. 

Clean Bill of Health!!

That's right, the moment we've been waiting for!!! On Friday, Dan FINALLY, after a month-and-a-half, received a clean bill of health from his doctor! To say that the time since the accident has been draining is an understatement, so I can't emphasize enough how glad I am that he is healthy again and can move on with his life!  He had been feeling better for the previous two-and-a-half weeks prior to hearing from the doctor, but getting that final confirmation from the doctor that he is okay and can move on with his life was music to our ears!!

We celebrated on Friday night with some Mexican food, followed by a trip to Bier Baron (formerly Brickskeller, which, ever the Harry Potter dorks, we call the Bloody Baron) for Dan's first beer post-race.  I have to say, although I'm definitely not a huge drinker, it was so nice to be at a bar again! I got my favorite raspberry beer (which Dan makes fun of me mercilessly for haha, referring to it as water).  Later on, we saw Ben Affleck's new movie, "Argo." Despite the fact that I was nodding off occasionally during the movie (as I explained to Dan, I don't care how much I love a movie, if I'm tired enough, I WILL fall asleep during it), but I was really impressed.  We both realized that we knew a little bit generally about the Iran Hostage Crisis, but I had no idea that the scheme of creating a fake movie had ever taken place.  In any case, GO SEE IT!  He may not be a great actor, but Ben is a fabulous director!

On Saturday morning, I made some pancakes after my run (this has turned into something of a Saturday morning routine, which, I have to admit, I like!), and then we went over to Hains Point so that Dan could go to the driving range.  Once again, he let me hit a few balls, and, while I had a couple of whiffs (ugh, embarrassing), I hit one of them really well, so I was pleased!  They also conveniently happened to have a mini-golf course right there, so we fit in a round of mini-golf.  Boy, was I having an off-day.  Dan creamed me (again) and now I owe him a home-cooked meal (AGAIN).  Part of why I want to beat him so badly is because I want to see what he can whip up in the kitchen when forced.  Typically, I do the cooking, and he helps out/provides moral support as much as he can, which I appreciate. But I want to test him!

We lazed around on Saturday evening and watched Anchorman, before heading to dinner at District of Pi (yes, we are broken records) and meeting up wtih our friends James and Lindsay at Big Hunt.  To add to the fact that we were at a bar, we were being SOCIAL!  It was great!  On Sunday morning, Dan left to go play golf, so I did some errands after my run, and then met up with Lauren (who is in the process of moving to a WONDERFUL new apartment!) and Cari.  It was nice to close out the afternoon by hanging out with friends!

Yesterday was a particularly long day at work; I am officially in "busy season"), so all I wanted was to go home and cook.  I have noticed recently that, after a long day, cooking is such a fantastic way for me to unwind, so I have been trying to take advantage of that and try out new recipes! I employed the help of Pinterest to find a sweet treat to bake for tonight.  I can't give it away just yet, just in case Dan happens to be reading this, but let's just say that I have never made this particular baked good before.  I think he's going to love it, though!  Will post a picture the next time I post! After spending about 2.5 hours in the kitchen, during which it looked like a war zone, I got to Skype with Kate, which is always wonderful. I have really been trying to reach out to out-of-town friends lately, since I have found myself really missing them, so hopefully there will be much more where that came from!

Family Time

Alrighty, I finally have a few minutes to attempt to put some coherent thoughts together.  I hope you all have reactions to the Communication Post that I posted this morning.  I like to take a break every once in awhile from telling you about the ways in which I keep busy to talk about some different issues, so hopefully you liked the change!!

This was a truly relaxing weekend spent largely with family, and boy, did I need it! It had been a really exhausting week at work (it seems as though they've all been that way lately, with fires to put out everywhere!), so it was not hard to convince me to take it easy.  On Friday night, when trying to decide what to do for dinner, Dan and I looked at each other and said, "Do you want to get Mellow Mushroom again?".  I would be embarrassed, but what would the point of that be? We braved rush hour traffic and came home triumphantly to eat our pizza and watch the Nats game (although I was initially enthusiastic about going to Game 5, I was not willing to pay a minimum of $75 for standing room only tickets)...which, sadly, they lost (as did the Os, killing my dream of a Nats-Os World Series).  Oh well, if we're being serious, I would have wanted the Red Sox in it.

Dan had to get up VERY early to leave for a weekend trip home, but I slept in for another hour, went for a run and then met up with my parents to go and visit my grandparents for the day.  I always love going out to visit them, both because of how much I love them and spending time with them, but also because the Shenandoah Valley, where they live, is such a beautiful swatch of the country, particularly at this time of year.  It was a really nice day, and it was good to reconnect with the two of them while spending time with my parents as well!  Once we got back to the city, my parents and I went to Fontaine, pretty much the cutest crêperie of all time, conveniently located right in downtown Old Town!  They have delicious sweet and savory crêpes (for my main course, I got the "Moroccan" crêpe, with spinach, feta and a yogurt sauce, and for my dessert, I got an apple crêpe with vanilla bean ice cream and apple liqueur, both of which were amazing), the ambience is incredible (seriously, you feel like you're in Paris!), AND they play French films every Thursday night!  Is this place real?!?  My parents had been there a few times and knew that I would be all over it.  I felt like I was walking on a cloud when we left!!

On Sunday, I got up early and ran with my dad, after which I did some more running on my own.  Then we had a nice family walk (I probably ran 6 mi. and walked 3-4 mi., so I wasn't messing around on Sunday morning!).  In the afternoon, I went and saw a friend's play, had dinner with my parents, and stopped by Dan's for a bit after my weary traveler got home.

This week, I have an uncharacteristically light week, which I am fully embracing!  I am planning on going home tonight to cook myself something delicious and maybe watch a movie.  I am going to try cooking for myself more often (especially healthier things!), because...I AM RUNNING A HALF-MARATHON IN MARCH!!!!!!! I was thinking of running the Rock 'n Roll Half in DC, but, after talking to Dan's and my friend Lindsay (who is running the marathon with her bf), I decided to run the marathon too!  March 16th is the day, so I'm already strategizing about healthy food options and long running routes.  I couldn't be more excited, and I am so lucky to have such an amazing cheerleader (I think you know who!).  Speaking of Dan, we are hoping to get good news from the doctor this week in terms of whether he is allowed to get back to life as normal.  I'm really hoping we can go on a short run together this weekend, because I miss my running buddy!

Go-to pick-me-ups

This has been a bit of a rough week, so I have used my time after work to be really selfish and do things that are going to make me the happiest (sorry, not sorry).  I am generally a very positive person, and refuse to let a bad week get me down!

First of all, I joined an organization called WIN this week (following the example of the roommate!), a network for pro-choice, Democratic women.  I'm really excited to get involved and meet some great ladies in the process!

On Monday, we had a birthday dinner for Molly at Zaytinya.  I have to admit that I was very skeptical, because, being the simple-palated girl that I am, I do not tend to gravitate toward designer restaurants, but all I have to say is, WOW.  For those of you who haven't been there, it is a Mediterranean small-plate restaurant.  We had such a hard time selecting plates to share, because everything sounded so darned good!!  Some highlights for me were butternut squash hummus, brussels sprouts in yogurt sauce (I previously thought I hated the things, but I think that, if they are prepared in that exact way, I can stomach them), tuna and a hard cheese with dates and orange slices...not to mention the bread, which we made the mistake of eating too much of before the arrival of our 18 plates of food (split between 6 people).  It was so incredibly satisfying, and I have already decided that I'm going back!

Tuesday was REALLY not a great day, so, even though I was supposed to go to the Nats game with some girlfriends, I decided to take a personal night.  It was one of those nights where I put on my pajamas immediately upon returning home, baked a cake and popped in a chick flick.  Since I was both in a cooking mood and in need of an uplifting story, I chose Julie & Julia.  Meryl and Amy, you two never let me down!

On Wednesday, I finally got to see Dan, since I had been the mean one with so many plans earlier on in the week haha.  Even after the toughest of days, seeing him never fails to bring a smile to my face, and, without fail, I try to check whatever emotional baggage I have amassed during the day at the door so I can just enjoy my time with him.  Wednesday was no different, and I left feeling the happiest I've felt all week!  You know you've found a good guy when he has that effect on you :)

Yesterday, I decided to go over to my parents' house after work.  I never, ever turn down a home-cooked meal, especially since it usually involves some type of fish, which I'm too lazy to cook for myself haha.  Having a nice night with my parents is also something that I never turn down, so it was great to get to spend that time with them.

That said, I NEED this long weekend, as in, REALLY need it.  I can't wait to relax, catch up on sleep, and generally recharge.  Tonight, I'm spending some time with Dan (not really sure what we're doing yet, but that doesn't bother me one bit, because the important thing is that I'll be spending time with him).  Tomorrow, the plan is to make some pancakes (he can never resist them, so I'm glad I've found at least one thing I make that he absolutely never turns down!) and then go either to the Taste of DC Festival or go apple picking (being the non-New Englander that he is, he is somewhat resistant to the idea of apple picking, but I am determined to, at some point this fall, introduce him to my favorite fall tradition...even if that means I have to make him a pie out of the apples we find.  I can take one for the team).  On Sunday, I have plans to meet up with a close friend for brunch at Policy, which I'm really looking forward to, since I have only ever been there for dancing and drinks/dessert and I have heard their brunch is delicious.  Then, I will gladly weather an afternoon of football (okay, maybe I'll bring a book or something), especially since it's supposed to be a nippy day outside and I will probably feel like burrowing under a blanket and watching TV anyway.  Finally, on Monday, I have plans to do some much-needed retail therapy with a friend.  Gosh, how I love three-day weekends.

I hope fall is in full bloom wherever you are!  It is, disappointingly, in the 80s today.  WTF DC?! I may be taking a short trip out to the Shenandoahs next weekend, both to see my grandparents and to remind myself that it's fall somewhere haha.

So long, September!

It's no secret that I was not a huge fan of the month of September this year.  I learned more about rhabdomyolysis, CPK, AST and ALT levels, and what the inside of a hospital room feels like this month than I would ever have cared to know.  Dan has been such a trooper this month, but I think that he and I are both ready to put September behind us and hope that October is the month when he finally gets back to normal.  We're really hoping for good news after he gets his blood drawn again in a few weeks.

This weekend was an uncharacteristically social one for us, because, ever since we got home from the hospital, we have been laying low as Dan recovers.  On Friday night, we grabbed dinner at District of Pie, which, I think it's safe to say, is our new favorite pizza place (we have been there several times over the past few months).  Before we went, however, Dan had a little surprise for me.  He knows how much I love surprises, but, since I am almost always on the giving end of those surprises, he decided to do a little something sweet for me.  He had texted me on Thursday night to tell me that he had a surprise, and, I think, thoroughly enjoyed seeing me sweat it out a little bit.  When I got to his place on Friday, I found that he had gotten me Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America, which is a plotline (and actual book, penned by the show's writers) of Parks and Recreation, one of our favorite shows that we watch together.  He had been at Barnes and Noble, and couldn't resist the temptation to get it for me.  He really is the best, and I truly appreciated the thoughtful surprise :)

Then, I met up with my friends to celebrate Molly's birthday at Muzette, a karaoke place in Adams Morgan (side note: we had all gotten together to celebrate Lauren's birthday over dinner on Thursday).  This place was great, because we got a private room and, thus, controlled all of the songs for two hours.  You have no idea how fantastic this is, particularly since we have a lot of people in our group (myself included) who love to belt it out!  From Muzette, we headed to Dan's Cafe, which I had never been to before (I discovered why the moment I walked in, because this place was the diviest of dive bars that I have ever been to).  We ended the night at, you guessed it, Brass Monkey.  Sometimes a gal just needs a little bit of dancing!  I got to bed at about 2:30, which is easily the latest I have stayed up in a while (it's okay, insert grandma joke here)...only to get up at 7 to run before Homecoming.  I know, crazy.  I felt fine for most of the day, and then hit a major wall at 6 or so.

The tailgate was actually a lot of fun, although I am definitely going to have a hard time deciding whether or not to go next year.  My thought was that most of the people who were there were people that I already see.  It was still fun, though.  Poor Dan still wasn't able to drink anything because the doc hasn't cleared him for it, but he was still able to see a few of his swimming friends.  After the tailgate, Dan, Goran, Nicole and I went to Piola in Rosslyn, which has an all-you-can-eat gnocchi special on the 29th of each month.  We tried six different types of gnocchi (I was only able to eat three, because the other three either contained meat or ingredients that I am allergic to), and I think that it is safe to say that Goran and Nicole could eat Dan and I under the table.  The two of them do somewhat-regular food challenges, and neither Dan nor I are particularly big eaters, so we filled up a lot more quickly.  For the rest of the afternoon, we watched the Ryder Cup (we watched on Sunday as well), which is what I fell asleep watching at 9:30 (that's what 4.5 hours of sleep plus a packed day at Homecoming will do to you haha).

Yesterday morning, we got brunch with my parents at Metro 29, which was nice (Dan hadn't seen them in a while, and I hadn't seen them in a week or so).  I got my French toast, which made my tummy happy...until I went for a run three hours later.  I felt like I was going to be sick the entire time, so it was not such a pleasant run.  When I got back and Dan expressed concern at how sick I looked, I pointed out that at least I could run, which he agreed with.  Once I felt a little bit better, we grabbed some dinner from a sports bar in his old neighborhood (I smartly opted for a salad, because I was feeling very nutrient-deficient after last week) and watched the thoroughly depressing end of the Ryder Cup.  Damn it, 'murica!  Overall, I had a great weekend with friends, but especially with Dan.  I'm not going to get to see him until Wednesday, so I try to be very appreciative of the time that I do get to spend with him!!  I'm glad that we have a long weekend to look forward to this coming weekend, because boy, could we use it!

Pictures from this weekend to come soon! I got back too late last night to edit/upload photos...

I hope you all had fabulous weekends!

A nip in the air :)

It is FINALLY officially my favorite time of year, fall :)  You can take the girl out of New England, but you can't take the New England out of the girl, I suppose. I love nothing more than walking outside and feeling just a nip in the air, as though you need a light jacket. If I were a coffee drinker, I would be all over a pumpkin spice latte right about now, but sadly, I'll just stick to tea and hot chocolate.  I'm not going to lie, though, I was oozing with happiness yesterday as I put on my jeans, flats, a fallish-looking plaid shirt and a blazer.  The first days of fall are the best!

On Friday, one of my beloved college roommates, Kate, was in town for some interviews, so a group of us met up for dinner at Founding Farmers.  A fruity drink and some delicious, hearty food was exactly what the doctor ordered after a long and stressful week (it seems like they have all been that way lately), and, of course, the time spent with friends was so rejuvenating.  Kate had a relatively early flight to catch and wasn't up for anything crazy (which, after my week, I frankly was not either), so we ended up going back to our apartment, baked cookies and chatted.  The night flew by, and it was such a treat to have one of my close friends come in from out of town.  Even though I have been keeping busy spending time with lots of friends here in DC, my heart always aches when I think of my friends who are scattered all around the country now (as a note, I tend to feel this way every year around Homecoming, as Hoya alumni come in from out of town).

On Saturday morning, I had a great run and did a much-overdue cleaning of the apartment (the weekend of our race was my weekend to clean, so, due to circumstances out of my control, I wasn't able to clean that weekend; and, ever since we got home from the hospital, I have been so busy that I haven't had time to clean. But the pile of hair on the bathroom floor was getting disgusting- that's what you get when two long-haired girls live together haha!).  Then, I went over to Dan's. I hadn't seen him since Wednesday (which is a long time for us), so I was so happy to get to spend the day with my guy.  We attempted to go to the Clarendon Day festivities, but, once we got down into the Metro, we figured out it was going to be a half-hour wait.  Being that I knew that it was not at all Dan's first preference (he was going to be a trooper and go for a little while though!), I suggested hitting a museum instead.  Neither of us had been to the Smithsonian Castle, so we headed down there and walked around a little bit.  It ended up being perfect, because Dan still gets tired very easily, so it wasn't too large of a museum to tackle.  Afterward, we perused the National Book Festival, which was happening down on the Mall.  They had tents devoted to different genres, and there were keynote authors speaking in each of those tents.  There was also a tent where you could purchase those featured authors' books.

Next, we schlepped over to Chinatown to see The Bourne Legacy.  There was a Bourne marathon on TV last weekend and, to Dan's delight, I discovered that I actually really like the movies.  This one was sort of disappointing, because, while Jeremy Renner is an indisputable badass, we both agreed that we liked Matt Damon better.  This one was also less spy thriller, more biological warfare, which isn't exactly my thing.  We went to Graffiato for dinner, because we knew people who had gone and wanted to try it.  It actually turned out to be really disappointing.  I can now say that I've tried ceviche, but I absolutely do not like it (I didn't think you could possibly ruin seabass, but now I know that it is, indeed, possible).  We had planned to go to Dairy Queen anyway once we got home, but the growling in my stomach following dinner made a trip there a necessity.  All in all, it was a relaxing and wonderful day with my guy :)  It has definitely been a bit of a challenge to find things to do, given the fact that he is still under the doc's orders not to drink until his liver enzyme levels and CPK levels normalize, but I think that we were able to find a really nice mix on Saturday of doing things in the city and having some relaxation time as well.  Yay us!!  I know it will be tough on him not to be able to drink during Homecoming this weekend, so I'll let him dictate how long we stay at the tailgate (after all, cheap beer hurts my stomach anyway!).

On Sunday, I met up with Lauren following her triumphant return from her first work trip (yay, so proud of her!!!).  Since she was feeling under the weather, we relaxed at her apartment and swooned over Ryan Reynolds watched Definitely Maybe.  That was perfectly fine by me, because I was exhausted!  I had only slept until 7 on Saturday morning so that I could get up and run/clean, and, since Dan had left at around 7:30 for his tee time on Sunday morning and I couldn't fall back asleep, I decided to just get up and run.  All of that meant that I was somewhat lacking in sleep, so I needed some quality relaxation time.

This week is promising to be yet another hectic one (surprise surprise).  There are two birthday celebrations that will take up several days this weekend, plus Homecoming.  But, to start the week off, tonight I am going to happy hour with a few girlfriends and one girl's mom.  I am really excited to meet her!  Then, I am Skyping with one of my very best friends from college.  Tomorrow and Wednesday, I have promised Dan that I'm all his, since I have birthday celebrations on Thursday and Friday nights.  I feel bad for ditching him this week...I have been catching myself wondering where September went, and it really has been because I have been so darn busy!!  I would like to be able to tell you that October will be less hectic, but that is not the case :(  Oh well, as I said at this time last year (when I also had a ridiculously busy October), I'll sleep when I'm dead! 

I hope you all had a lovely weekend, and Happy Fall to all of you!!

We survived the first week back!

As you all know from my previous post, last week was Dan's and my first week back in DC after our "vacation" at the hospital in Virginia Beach.  It was definitely not a fun first week back, I'm not going to sugarcoat it.  I spent much of the week feeling overwhelmed both by the amount of catchup work I had and a time-consuming project that largely kept me from catching up on any of those things.  By Friday afternoon, I was physically and emotionally spent, and needed a good meal and a good night's sleep more than anything. 

Dan and I went to Commissary on Friday for dinner.  The promise of one of their veggie burgers always makes my mouth water, and, since Dan's appetite was finally back, many of the things on the menu actually sounded appetizing to him as well (he ended up getting brats).  After our post-dinner walk back to the metro, we lounged around at home.  His doctor prohibited him from drinking alcohol for the next month due to the way his liver was affected by the heatstroke and ensuing complications, so we couldn't do anything that involved drinking.  Wanting to lift his spirits, I had baked him an apple pie (his favorite), bought a bottle of sparkling cider (which we didn't even drink because we were too full from dinner and pie), and downloaded some Aziz Ansari stand-up, which was, as expected, hilarious.

After getting a good night's sleep, I went for a run, while Dan got to catch up a bit more on sleep.  When I got back, I made Dynk's pancakes for us.  For those of you who don't know, Dynk (a.k.a. Kevin) was a close family friend of ours who used to go up to the Lake with us. He tragically passed away from a brain tumor about 11 years ago, but his memory lives on in the pancakes that he used to make for the entire Lake clan.  They are thin, crepe-like pancakes, and, with some maple syrup and berries, they are magnifiques!!  Since it was such a beautiful day, we ate out on my deck and basked in the brisk, fall-like day.  That afternoon, a close friend of Dan's stopped by his place to see how he was feeling, a visit that I think both of us really appreciated.  Afterward, we played a heated game of mini golf.  I had said earlier in the day that I would love to taek advantage of the great weather and do something outside, and he suggested mini golf as an activity that would be a) outside, and b) not too strenuous for him.  We tied (I blew a one-stroke lead going into the last hole), so, once again, I missed out on making him cook dinner for me.  We are definitely wayyyyy too competitive haha.

Look at that intensity haha

With some lovely friends at Maggie's bday party!

On Saturday night, I went to a good friend's birthday party for a while.  She and I have known each other since we were seven, so it is always good to spend some time with her.  I went back to Dan's afterward and we indulged in a little Bourne-trilogy marathon on TV. On Sunday morning, we went to Mass (neither of us had been in a very long time...oops) and then out to brunch at Clyde's.  Then, I spent the rest of the day relaxing at my parents' house.  It was wonderful to see them, as always, particularly since I hadn't seen them since before the race.  Even though I was still exhausted at the end of the weekend, I felt so refreshed after having been able to spend time with family and friends.  Most importantly, though, spending time with Dan that did not involve a hospital bed was such a welcome change.  He is doing so much better every day, and I have felt so grateful for the continued messages of love and support from family and friends.  I was definitely feeling very emotional at the beginning of last week, when I finally let myself emotionally process what had happened, but he and I agreed that we are not going to dwell on this and, in fact, want to go back to being just "us," not nurse and patient.  I like that attitude :)  I hope your weekends were equally relaxing and wonderful!

A Perfectly Relaxing Weekend

I have to start this off by saying that I can't wait for a long weekend this upcoming weekend.  Just sayin'.  And yes, I know I was just on vacation!

Anyway, I can't forget to do my habitual Monday recap of the past weekend's activities.  It was a really tremendous weekend, one that found me with a constant smile on my face. We were luckily able to leave a little bit early on Friday, which left me just enough time to get down to the Sculpture Garden and snag some great fountainside seats for Jazz.  I can't believe that this week is the final week (because that also means that it is the official end of summer.  So much sadness).  I met up with Lauren there, and we were able to munch on some fruit and chat while we listened to the music.  The thing about Jazz is that I know absolutely nothing about that type of music, but it sure is a nice, relaxing soundtrack playing in the background while you talk to your friends!  Afterward, I met up with Dan at one of my new favorite pizza places, District of Pi (at least, I think that's what it's called; in any event, it's the pizza place on 9th and F whose sign has the symbol for Pi on it) and we had some delicious deep-dish pizza.  Then, we went home and watched The Dark Knight, the only Batman movie that I hadn't seen, and which I really liked.

On Saturday morning, we had our 12 miler, our last long run before our race this coming Sunday.  I felt really good for the vast majority of the run (I started feeling it in the last mile or so), and we finished in 1 hour, 41 minutes!!! If you consider the number of times we stopped for traffic lights and cars, plus the adrenaline that will be flowing while we run our race, I should hopefully be able to stick to my goal of sub-1 hour, 50 minutes.  We're both getting really excited for the race!  During our run, we ran into a group of Navy guys, running in formation and carrying the colors, and chanting up a storm.  Listening to them chant was fun, and a huge pick-me-up to boot.  Anyway, after we had sufficiently recovered from our run, we went to a bagel place in Clarendon to replenish our tanks (because you have to figure that you burn about 1,500 calories in a 12-mile run, which means that, if you're starting out the day by running that much, you're in a serious deficit).  Then, we took a nice 1-hour nap and woke up feeling slightly less sore.  We lazed around for the rest of the afternoon watching TV, and then went to Thunderburger, one of our favorite restaurants, for dinner.  Seriously folks, this place is amazing!  I was skeptical that they would have anything I could eat (being the picky vegetarian that I am haha), but they have an INCREDIBLE falafel burger.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it! Then, we went home and relaxed some more before meeting up with Dan's friend Goran and his girlfriend Nicole.  We started out at their place and migrated to RFD, and I had a really nice time with them! 

We lazed around a little bit on Sunday morning, since Dan had a later tee time (which, unfortunately, got rained out after he and his friend had already driven all the way out to the course) and I had a later brunch.  I met up with Lauren, Cat and Cat's boyfriend Matthew (who I was meeting for the first time) at Ted's.  As usual, there was a ridiculous wait, but the food always makes it worth it.  And yes, I think I have been there a half-dozen times this summer alone :)  Lauren and I walked back to her place (getting caught in the rain in the process) and lounged for a bit, and then I went home and had yet another lazy Sunday afternoon.  This is starting to become a pattern, and I'm totally okay with it.  I even- gasp!-skipped the gym, which I justified by my 12-mile run on Saturday and the 6-miler that I knew I would do this morning (Side note: last week marked my largest weekly mileage total, 42 MILES!!!). 

I have a really fun week to look forward to this week.  Tomorrow, Dan and I are going to adhere to our new once-weekly cooking rule (which we had to instate because the amount that we were going out to dinner was becoming ridiculous haha).  On Wednesday, due to an early-morning dentist's appointment on Thursday, I am staying with my parents, and we are going to celebrate my dad's birthday (which is actually a week from today).  On Thursday, Dan and I are going to the Nats game, which I can't wait for (I always love a good Nats game, because of 1) the chance to spend time with dan; 2) my love of baseball; 3) my newfound love for Shake Shack milkshakes; and 4) the fact that Cat and Matthew will be there (even thought Cat has been here all summer, we haven't been able to find a time for her and Dan to meet).  We're leaving for Virginia Beach at some point on Saturday, and will be there until Monday.  We're both really hoping to get some beach time in, so we'll see what happens!  Also, next Monday is our 18-month anniversary (I know, I can hardly believe it!), so it will be nice to celebrate that this weekend as well!!!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend!!!

Countdown: 4 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am already breaking out the sweatshirts and long pants, bathing suits and hiking gear, which can only mean one thing...it's Lake week!!!!!!! We're leaving on Thursday (driving part of the way on Thursday night and the other part on Friday), and I couldn't be more excited for my annual trip to Winnipesaukee!! Although I have gone there every summer since I was two years old, the novelty still hasn't worn off.  I still get butterflies in my stomach as soon as we enter New Hampshire, and especially when we drive down the dirt road into the parking lot at the marina.  I can't wait to breathe some cool New England air :) This will make twice in one summer that I'll be in New England, what a lucky girl I am!  I can't wait for lots of swimming, hiking, running, tanning, reading, relaxing with family and friends, pigging out on frappes, and cool summer nights. 

Okay, enough romanticizing for now!  I also have to do a recap of Dan's birthday and this past weekend!  Since I had Dan's birthday off from work, I got to be the first one to wish him a happy birthday when he woke up!  I stopped by the store to get some supplies for Dan's birthday treat, Oreo Cupcakes.  I had seen a recipe for these a while back, and I knew I had to try them out.  Well, he told me yesterday that they are the best homemade baked goods that he has ever had (which warmed my heart, especially because his mom is such an incredible baker!!), and I will definitely be adding those to my repertoire.  They are not exactly the healthiest of desserts, with about three Oreos in the cake/as garnish and cream cheese, butter and heavy cream (gulp) in the frosting, but they are so worth it.  Below is a picture, so you can feel free to salivate :)

After my baking was done and I had gone to the gym, I met Dan back at his place so we could go to dinner.  I had told him that we were going to an Italian place on 14th Street, and, thanks to a little sleuthing by his coworker (who he told the few details I had disclosed to him), he figured out where we were going! Darn it!  We went to Posto, which was very good, and then went home and gorged ourselves on cupcakes while watching the Olympics.  So blissful!

On Friday, I was still very bummed out after the news about Todd and, in fact, felt as though I was in a fog all day.  I was able to get off of work early, so met up with Molly (and, later, our respective families) at Jazz.  I have been such a delinquent about going this year, so it was nice to relax with our pitcher of sangria and leftover cupcakes.  I then went out to dinner with my parents and went home to watch the Olympics (are you sensing a theme? Haha).

On Saturday morning, I got up for an early run and did some major organization of my room.  I have so little personal living space that I really need to purge all of the things that I don't use regularly.  I then took the bus over to Dan's and we lounged by the pool for a bit.  Inspired by the Olympics and overestimating my own greatness, I charged into the pool and tried to show off by doing laps of various strokes (I will not even attempt the butterfly, but am at least passable at freestyle, breaststroke and backstroke, with breaststroke being my strongest stroke).  I got some pointers from Dan the Backstroke Expert, which significantly eased the tension that I had been putting on my shoulders when I was doing the stroke wrong.  I'm really looking forward to doing some serious swimming at the Lake, which I typically do for exercise (because my dad is afraid that I will get abducted, he will not allow me to run alone, and he himself can only run a maximum of four miles a day at this point, so, when I am up at the Lake, I have to find other exercise alternatives).  After showering and changing, Dan headed off to the Nats game with Goran, and I met up with my friend Jamie and a few other mutual friends for dinner at Jack Rose and drinks at Local 16.  It was wonderful to see a great group of girls.  I then met up with Dan and his friends at Goran's, where we had a few drinks and, wait for it, watched the Olympics.  Overall, Saturday was a great day, because I got time with my friends and time with Dan!

Donell, Amy, me, Stacey, Jamie and Blair at Local 16.  The misting machines that they had on the rooftop is the reason for the smoky effect!

On Sunday morning, I met up with Molly and her family at Ted's for brunch.  Despite the ridiculously long wait, the food did not disappoint, as usual.  Homemade pop tarts are sure a way to this girl's heart!  We also tried an Oatmeal Cream Pie (basically some creamy frosting wedged between two oatmeal raisin cookies), which was fabulous, however overly sweet it may have been!  Then, I went to the gym and did some more organizing before chatting with Kate and Dave.  It was so great to talk to them (and it was the first time I had talked to both of them since Dave got back!).  All in all, a great way to end the weekend.  This week, I have lots of time planned with Dan before I leave him yet again for vacation (sniffle, sniffle), as well as some packing time tonight and dinner with my family and Dan on Wednesday.  I'm hoping that I can tie my shortened work week up as painlessly as possible!!

Celebrating a Quarter-Century a Bit Early

The following is my catch-up post from last weekend: Tomorrow is Dan's 25th birthday (yay!), and, due to the nature of the gift I got him, we started celebrating a bit early.  I actually had the day off on Friday, so I spent a good chunk of the day getting some sun at the pool with my mom.  I met up with Dan when he got off of work, and we grabbed dinner at one of our favorite seafood restaurants before heading down to Chinatown for some birthday activities.  I had gotten us tickets to see Second City, the INCREDIBLE Chicago-based comedy/improv troupe that calls Amy Poehler, Tina Fey and Steve Carrell alums (to name a few).  The show wasn't until 10:30, so we had some time to kill beforehand.  We attempted to go to The Passenger, the hipster bar in Dan's old neighborhood where we went on our second date, but the floors were being re-done and it was closed.  Womp.  We finally ended up sitting at the bar at Iron Horse, which was perfect because the Olympic Opening Ceremonies were on!!! We had some good laughs about the trippy and confusing show and watched the beginning of the athletes marching in.  Despite all of the pageantry, I really enjoy seeing all of the athletes marching around the stadium.

Second City was HILARIOUS!!!!! If any of you are ever in Chicago, or have the opportunity to see them perform wherever you live, DO IT DO IT DO IT!  I would say that it was about 70/30 prepared skits to audience-aided improv, all the while punctuated by very appropriate DC references (I always appreciate it when people so clearly do their research).  I barely stopped laughing during the show, which was about an hour-and-a-half long.  I had tears rolling down my face from how hard I was laughing!

On Saturday morning, we had to do a nine-miler, so we were up and out early...or so we thought.  It was apparently not early enough to beat the heat, and I nearly keeled over as we went up the Wisconsin Ave. hill. I had to stop and take a breather and just stand for the air conditioning in Safeway for a few minutes, and I think I just overheated/the chain reaction of my asthma kicking in happened.  All I have to say is, thank God our race is completely flat.  I'm also hoping it is 78 degrees (on September 2nd).  Is that too ambitious? Haha.

We watched the Olympics all afternoon and then went to District of Pizza in Chinatown for dinner.  Apparently we were keeping with the Chicago theme for the weekend, because their specialty is deep-dish pizza, and boy was it delicious!  Then, we met up with James and Lindsay to see The Dark Knight Rises in IMAX, where we sat in the front row.  Again, womp.  I had a splitting headache by about halfway through the movie, but still managed to really enjoy it.  From there, we went to Red Line, which we had never tried before.  We weren't able to get one of the tables that has a tap right at the table, but it was still a cool place.

On Sunday morning, I met up with Lauren for a lovely day of chatting, eating and movies.  We went out for a delicious brunch at Vinoteca, and then, after walking back to Chinatown, saw "The Well-Digger's Daughter," a French film, at E Street Cinema. It has pretty much become a joke between all of us that Lauren should work there, because she practically lives at that theater.  I will say, they have really incredible, off-the-beaten-path movies, and this one was no exception (despite the lingering trauma from having sat too close to the screen the night before).  It was a great weekend, and I only have one more of them before I go to the Lake!!!! I need a break so badly, and a week from tomorrow, I will be home free :)

In the meantime, though, tomorrow is Dan's actual birthday!!!!! Hooray! I'm absolutely more excited about it than he is.  I have the day off, so I plan on spending the day baking (will post pictures afterward) before meeting up with him to go to dinner at a top-secret location (again, will disclose later).  I hope you're all having a great week so far!  Happy Hump Day!

Okay, I've been a bad blogger...

Gulp, sorry for the absence from the blogosphere this week...Things are really getting hectic at work this week (as in, I feel like I haven't left my desk this week, I have been getting in early and have not been taking a lunch), and will probably remain that way until I go on vacation in a few weeks.  And then, in typical me fashion, I have completely booked all of my nights after work, meaning that I am too exhausted when I get home from work to blog.

However, today is a little bit more chill, and is also a fake Friday for me!  I'm taking tomorrow off to recharge (I will most likely spend much of the day by the pool with my mom) and prepare for an early weekend of birthday festivities.  As I mentioned, we are going to a top-secret location tomorrow night for part of Dan's birthday present, and then we are getting together with two of his (and now my) friends on Saturday night, which should be great.  I know that I will come out of this weekend exhausted, so I think that the extra day tomorrow will be just what the doctor ordered.

Anyway, before fast-forwarding to this weekend, I should recap last weekend, since I didn't do my habitual post-weekend update.  On Friday night, Dan and I went to Liberty Tavern, one of our favorite restaurants in Clarendon, and got their insanely delicious Vermont pizza (cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, apple slices and prosciutto; I obviously got the veg version).  Dan really wants to see The Dark Knight Rises in IMAX, but, after we talked about it, we agreed that it would be better for me to watch Batman Begins first, as I have never seen any of the movies and could probably use the backstory.  Luckily, he had DVRed it when it had been on TV earlier on in the week, so I got to have a nice, quality movie night with my guy.  Truly wonderful.  Some of my favorite nights are the ones where we just relax and snuggle up to watch a movie.

On Saturday morning, we got up at 7 (I know, we're both insane) to go running.  Despite the fact that it was misting, it was nice to get outside, particularly because, after an evening storm, it was significantly cooler out.  As I was running along the river and then back into the city and around the Tidal Basin, I was just overwhelmed with gratitude that I get to call this place home.  Since it was so early, there were very few people out along the Tidal Basin, so I had it all to myself.  Once we had showered and changed, Dan and I parted ways for the weekend- he was off on a golfing outing for the day and I was going up to New York to visit my dad's side of the family.

Spending the weekend with the family really was wonderful.  I hadn't seen that side of the family since November, so a reunion was long overdue.  I always enjoy getting to see aunts, uncles, cousins and second cousins, so this time certainly did not disappoint.  Just sitting around talking and enjoying each other's company brough a smile to my face. 

On Sunday, after being in the car for what felt like forever on our way home, I returned home just in time to watch the finale of The Bachelorette.  As I may have mentioned, I am minorly  completely addicted to this show, especially because so many of the guys seem to be great guys.  In the end, even though Emily didn't pick the guy who was my first preference, I was totally won over by Jef and melted when I saw him interact with her daughter.  They really do seem to work well together and seem very in love.  I hope they prove the statistics wrong!  As much as I love the show, I also realize that it is completely unrealistic and ridiculous, so I have stumbled upon several blogs that humorize it a bit.  Lincee over at I Hate Green Beans is a hoot-and-a-half, and I am consistently laughing hysterically when I read her blog. I happened upon Ashley's blog when I was trying to find a picture last night of Ryan's completely effeminate tank top when I was Skyping with Kristin last night, and found it to also be hilarious.  It's nice that people can have fun with it!!!

On Monday morning, I woke up to an esophagus in extreme pain, and that's when it occurred to me that all of the stomach discomfort that I have been experiencing lately may just be acid reflux, which, unfortunately, runs in my family.  I have spent a few days feeling pretty crummy, but I think the medication I started using is finally starting to kick in, so hopefully I'll be in tip-top shape for the weekend!  I am definitely the worst sick person ever, because I try to pretend I'm not sick and go about my exhausting routine as usual.  I'm sure it will catch up to me at some point...

This week has been busybusybusy! On Monday, Dan came over for some stir-fry that I whipped up, and we were able to successfully find some Season 4 episodes of Parks and Recreation.  I would appreciate them putting the season up on Netflix, oh, yesterday.  We managed to have a really nice night, despite the fact that Dan picked up a completely ridiculous ticket on the way to my apartment :( Poor guy.  Last night, I grabbed drinks with Dan's/my friend Lindsay at Donovan House, a really cool place on Thomas Circle. I don't think the bar itself is called Donovan House, but it is located on the pool deck of the Donovan House hotel (interesting concept, but it works).  The view from the rooftop was INREDIBLE, and, as always, I had a great time with Lindsay. We did have to wait about a half-hour for our check, which was annoying, because the employees were both struggling in general and didn't know how to work their new computer system.  Oh well, I still made it home early enough to Skype with Kristin.

I'm so, so excited about this long weekend, and I'm sure I will have many more updates next week!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend as well!