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!

My unexplained absence

Thank you all for your patience as I have been attempting to get my life back together this week! The past few weeks have been a roller coaster, but I think we're close to coming out the other side in one piece.

As you all know (how could you not, with me reminding you constantly?!), Dan and I ran the Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach over Labor Day weekend.  We had both been training (separately and together) very hard for this race, and we were really excited.  We went out for a delicious pre-race carb loading dinner on Saturday night with my coworker and her husband (more on them later), who were also running.  We went to bed VERY early, as we were set to wake up at 4:15 a.m. 

I had a dream that night that everything kept going wrong with our race.  I can't remember the specifics now, but I remember it being that a lot of little things went wrong.  I guess someone should just give me a crystal ball...race day was HOT (probably mid-80s at 7:00 a.m. for the start) and HUUUUMMMMIDDDD, so we knew that we were going to have to hydrate a lot.  It was the most painful run of my life; whereas I am usually able to zone out on long runs to the extent that it doesn't even feel like I'm doing the work, I felt every step, and boy were those steps painful.  My goal was to finish in 1:50 (1 hour, 50 minutes), and I got 1:47 (which was 9.5-10 minutes faster than my time last year, which I was very proud of!), and Dan's was to finish in under 1:30 (yeah, my guy is a speed demon!). 

When I reached the finish line, my first thought was that I needed to sit down...boy, was I exhausted.  Just kidding, my ACTUAL first thought after crossing the finish line and going through the receiving line, where bottles of Gatorade and water, wet towels, bananas, canned fruit, etc. were being thrust in my face, was that I wanted to find Dan.  The problem was, I couldn't find him.  I'm not going to go into my lengthy search process, but, nearly an hour later, with my truly amazing coworker, Beth, and her equally amazing husband, Bryan, by my side, I was told that Dan had been taken to the hospital to get fluids.  I lost it.  I was absolutely hysterical, and the walk to the car and subsequent ride to the hospital are a complete blur. My overwhelming feeling was that I wanted to be with him, but I had no idea what kind of condition he was in.

Dan suffered heatstroke (presumably at around mile 11 of the race) and a score of other complications directly resulting from the race.  As a result of rhabdomyolysis (which, by the end of the week, we affectionately called "the rhabdo"), a condition whereby muscle tissue is broken down and released into the bloodstream, the level of myoglobin in Dan's bloodstream was so high that it necessitated an 8-day hospital stay. It was a true rollercoaster of emotions, and every day brought both triumphs and challenges.

Sunday, the day of the race, was by far the most terrifying and hellacious day of my life.  There is no worse feeling than seeing the person you love in a hospital bed, not to mention in pain.  By the end of the day, it became more apparent that Dan was going to be okay, but the following week in the hospital was physically and mentally draining for both of us.  We were so lucky to have the love and support of so many friends and family members (Dan's parents both came down for part of the week, so we had ourselves a nice little party in the hotel room), and I can truly say that I would not have been able to hold it together without all of the heartfelt emails, texts and calls that I received.  Those messages helped me stay strong for Dan (which, if you know me and my tendency to cry at the drop of a hat, is counterintuitive for me).  In particular, I have to give a shoutout to Beth and Bryan, without whose kindness and selflessness I would not have made it through even that first day. 

To be perfectly honest, I wasn't really sure that I even wanted to say anything about last week on this blog, out of respect for Dan's privacy.  However, I wanted this to serve as a cautionary tale for those of you who are active (particularly those of you who run).  Heatstroke can happen to even the most experienced of athletes, so it is of the utmost importance that you stay hydrated and listen to your body, particularly when you are exercising on hot and humid days.  I would not wish what happened to Dan on anyone, and it was definitely a wake-up call for both of us.  We are so incredibly lucky that he is going to be just fine! 

I promise, I have an excuse...

Sorry for my very prolonged absence from the blogosphere.  Due to unforeseen circumstances, we ended up spending significantly longer in Virginia Beach than we had planned.  I really am not in a place where I want to talk about it at this point, but will start posting again when I'm ready.

It's Friday, Friday...

Aah, how I love long weekends!  What a breath of fresh air (yes, I did just go on vacation, and no, I am not complaining).  It has been a truly fantastic week so far, so I will do a little recap of that before talking about the weekend:

Monday was a pretty tough day at work, mostly because I spent all afternoon battling technology issues.  And what do I do when I'm stressed or exhausted?  Well, naturally, I cook (read: bake).  However, this was no ordinary stress release, because, not only did I bake (a blueberry-raspberry crumb pie), but I also legit cooked.  I made some vegetarian chili for Dan and I to eat on Tuesday, in the interest of spending less time cooking and more time watching reruns of How I Met Your Mother.  Mission accomplished.  The food was delish and I felt much more relaxed when I went to sleep!

Tuesday, by comparison, was a truly lovely day.  I went to the Welcome Back Jack BBQ with Lauren, one of our favorite Gtown traditions.  Being outside, with all of the undergrads back on campus, makes me so happy.  That night, Dan and I had a really wonderful night, noshing on the food I had cooked the previous night (seriously, I need to start doing more meal planning, a la Kate! Side note: I am considering buying myself an Anthropologie apron in the hopes that it will make me look like an actual chef.  But I digress...), watching HIMYM and spending a lot of time chatting.  It was just wonderful :)

On Wednesday, I went over to my parents' house, both because I had a dentist's appointment on Thursday morning and was bumming a ride off of my mom (hence the fact that I stayed with them), and because we were celebrating my dad's 58th birthday a little bit early.  His birthday is on Monday, and there is a chance that I may get to see him for a bit, but I wanted to make sure we celebrated with him.  The whole family was there, and it was just a really nice time.  Plus, there was a yummy cake, which I will obviously never turn down!

Last night, Dan and I went to a Nats game, which I always love (like I said in my last post, because I got to spend time with him, watch baseball, and inhale a Shake Shack milkshake.  Seriously, the black and white shake, try it).  It was a really good game (well, for the Nats; the Cards were not so impressive) and I always enjoy the atmosphere in the stadium, particularly now that the Nats are hopefully playoff-bound.  Although I will always be a Red Sox fan, it is great to see the team in my adopted hometown do well, especially given how awful DC teams have been historically.  Anyway, by the 8th inning, I was ready to go, with an early wakeup call looming for my last run before our race (!!!).  Dan has a four-day weekend, so he rolled right back over and went to sleep, but I suppose he deserves it, since the Friday that he took of when we went to Boston was the only day he's had off since starting his job in May.  Poor guy!

Tonight, we are beginning our carb loading and are planning on a chill night, being that the race is quickly approaching and I need a good night sleep after going to bed WAY too late last night.  We're heading down to VA Beach tomorrow morning to pick up our race packets, and are then going out for a carbalicious dinner with my coworker and her husband (who are also running the race).  We are both SO, SO excited for this race!  Leave it to us to use a holiday weekend to run a half-marathon.  I totally lucked out with my guy, because I don't think I could be in a relationship with someone who doesn't share my active lifestyle.  He definitely does!  Guess we're a good match :)

I hope you all have a fabulous holiday weekend! Happy Labor Day!

P.S. My Friday discovery, thanks to The Hoya, is...the hilariously bitchy Suri's Burn Book (yes, that Suri Cruise girl).  Oh, the things that become popular.

Fall Fashion Purchases

I have been doing some thinking over the past month or so about some fashion purchases that I would like to make for the fall.  Gone are the days of my reckless wardrobe spending in college; now I am focused on getting quality pieces that I really want (not mere impulse buys).

About a month ago, I decided that it was time to take the plunge and buy a trench.  The one I had was three-quarter sleeve and the proportions were all wrong, as the jacket was not made for tall girls like me.  Since Banana Republic was having a sale on long trenches (that, as a bonus, come in tall sizes, so it fits me like a glove! Woot!), I snapped one of those up.  Now, I have been hoping for rainy days so that I can wear it (it is very unlike me to ever wish for rainy days haha).

I confess that I did make something of an impulse buy last week.  I was talking to one of my coworkers (an incredibly stylish one) about what she wants to purchase for the fall, and she mentioned a chambray shirt (see below for the one I would like).  For some reason, I then started thinking about gingham.  I don't know if all of you remember, but I was a pretty excitable gal when Dan got a gingham shirt earlier in the summer, and I had been secretly wanting to get one myself.  Anyway, this JCrew gingham button-down is the one I chose (in purple, my favorite color).  I paired it with my black JCrew Minny pants (the most comfortable pair of pants I own, by the way!), a thin black belt, my black Tory burches and a sparkly collar necklace. I really threw Dan off when, after looking at the jean shorts I was wearing and asking me if I had worn those to work, I replied that I had worn them with my Minnies and my Tories.  He was so lost haha. I felt like a million bucks all day when I wore all of those items together!! I then paired it with jean shorts and sandals for when I went to Jazz and then dinner on Friday, which also looked great.

Speaking of chambray, a chambray shirt is also on my list.  I am already imagining how great it would look with a black pencil skirt and some accessories...Here's one from JCrew that I like:



Finally, I, like so many people I know, am obsessed with the JCrew bubble necklace, but really can't justify paying so much money for it (the ones currently on the website retail for $150- whelp!).  I found a great version of it at Eastern Market, but it was $50, which was still more than what I was looking to spend.  However, a Facebook promo appeared a few weeks ago for a $20 bubble necklace on The Poke a Dot Shop, so I snatched that deal right up.  I got the aqua necklace, which, however summery it may be, is a nice, bold color.  I will probably wear it in every season but winter.  Only problem is, it won't be here for another 20 business days or so haha.  So I'll just gaze longingly at this picture until then: 

I'm really excited to try out the items I've already purchased, in addition to continuing to peruse the interwebs for more inspiration!  Oh, how I love fall!

My brother is many things, but a fashionista he is not, which is why I was shocked when he called me in May and asked me if I wanted a Barbour jacket.  Uh, YEAH!  Apparently, when he was cleaning out his house from last year, he found the jacket in a closet.  It is unclear as to whether it belonged to one of his roommates' lady friends or if the jacket belonged to a prior occupant, but, in any event, I got a VERY expensive jacket that I would never buy for myself for free.  I still need to take it to the dry cleaner's, preferably before it gets cold, because, given its unknown origins, I refuse to touch it until it has been dry cleaned.

So there, friends, is my fall fashion list.  I'm sure I will have things to add as the season progresses (after all, a girl can never have too many dresses; I still chuckle when I think about the day last fall when Dan asked me, knowing full well that I wear dresses nearly every day, "What are you going to do when it gets cold?".  Without skipping a beat, I replied, "Wear stockings underneath.")



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!!!

With Every Step Forward...

What a doubly exciting and yet frustrating day for women here in the U.S.  On a positive note, the all-male Augusta National golf club, which has famously snubbed scores of high-profile would-be female members in order to maintain its "old boy's club" atmosphere (not that they would ever admit to that) admitted its FIRST two female members!!!!  Condoleeza Rice (who, despite the President that she served under, I have a tremendous amount of respect for as a trailblazing woman) and South Carolina financier Darla Moore are the lucky women, and, while I must start by saying that this is LONG overdue, I truly hope that this serves as notice to social clubs like Augusta that "old boys' clubs" are no longer acceptable.  As women strive to occupy positions of power, it is increasingly important that these all-male institutions be done away with in favor of organizations where men and women can interact outside of work.  And after all, the links are a place where major business deals are made, so, with the push for increased visibility of women in leadership roles, women should be privy to those business conversations.  For more information on Augusta's surprising and historic ruling, click here.

However, if you have been paying any attention to the news, you will know about the despicable case of Representative Todd Akin (R-MO) whose comments on abortion left the most rotten of tastes in my mouth.  Mr. Akin was asked in an interview whether, in cases of rape, he believes that abortion is justified.  Not only does he show how ignorant he is about rape, but he displays his extreme insensitivity towards the victims of rape.

His bloodcurdling comments were the following:

“It seems to be, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, [pregnancies resulting from rape are] really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down.”

First of all, let's start out with the fact that this guy is an idiot.  "The female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down."  I'm sorry, does he have the slightest of ideas as to how the reproductive system works?  Women's bodies do not decide whether or not to begin the process of pregnancy based on whether or not the sexual encounter was consensual or a rape.  Do you think our ovaries say, "Oh, this was a rape, no pregnancy this time"?  No, the body does not have a natural abortion mechanism in place for cases when a woman is raped.  The NYT has an article on how this gross misconception has surfaced in multiple elections.

Secondly, let's focus on the most important issue at hand.  What the hell does "legitimate rape" mean, and who decides what it means?  Is it Akin?  That term, "legitimate rape" is certainly a new one for me.  In any case where a woman does not consent to a sexual encounter, she is a rape victim.  End of story.  No matter what your views on abortion are, I think that we can all agree that 1) Mr. Akin's knowledge of the processes of the human body is severely lacking, and, thus, he should not make assertions based on that misinformation; and 2) his use of the term "legitimate rape" suggests that he has some personal set of criteria for determining whether or not a woman has actually been raped, which is absurd.  

Infuriating, just infuriating.  Ladies, if you are at all politically inclined, please run for office and replace these clowns who think they can legislate issues relating to your health when they have neither an understanding of your body nor any empathy for the trauma that unfortunate numbers of women are subjected to.