My Latest Diet Adventure

I have struggled with mysterious stomach ailments for years.  Being that a stomach issue could be attributed to one of hundreds of conditions, the easiest way to determine what is plaguing you, once you have gotten bloodwork done, is by eliminating certain foods from your diet.

Celiac disease runs in my family {my Grampsy has it}, and, while I tested negative for celiac, my doctor recommended that I try a gluten-free diet to try and rule out a gluten intolerance.  For those of you who are not familiar, there are three different conditions that all fall more or less under the same umbrella; celiac, an autoimmune disorder that manifests itself in complete gluten intolerance {in other words, ANY gluten is a no-no}; gluten intolerance is a spectrum disorder that can range in severity {in other words, the less severe your intolerance, the more gluten you can eat}; and a gluten allergy.  The problem with all of these is that they are very difficult to test for.

The real kicker was when my doctor told me that I would have to be on this diet for SIX WEEKS {yes, sadly, you read that correctly}, because that is how long it takes gluten to get out of your system.  I felt like crying in the doctor's office at the thought of giving up gluten-filled foods for that long.  Yes, I am able to successfully give up sweets for Lent every year, but I usually overcompensate by overloading on other carbs.  Now, that is not an option, so my mission this week is to come up with some snacks that will fill me up during the day.  I have to say, though, I am really excited to have an excuse to try out the gluten-free foods at the grocery store, because I'm really curious about how good they are.  Whole Foods has gluten-free cupcakes, which could prove to be dangerous...

To be honest, though, my stomach has felt remarkably better since my race.  I have heard from many a runner how you put your stomach through the wringer during marathon training, and I can certainly attest to that fact now.  I am hopeful that the lack of race training {mind you, I am still running, because, being the crazy person that I am, I went for my first run a mere four days after my race} and the more mindful eating will help reset my system.  Also, I have the incredible resource of Pinterest at my disposal to help me find recipes that look delicious and also happen to be gluten-free :)

But frankly, right now, I'm starving...HAHA

Hunting

House hunting, that is!!!!  After several months of waiting, I can finally share, since family and close friends know, that DAN AND I ARE MOVING IN TOGETHER!!!!! I have been on Cloud 9 since we decided back in December that we were going to move in together once Dan's lease expired in May, but now the apartment search has finally begun, and it's all feeling so real.

This is definitely not a decision that either of us made lightly, because living together is a very significant step in our relationship.  Neither of us has ever lived with a significant other before, so we have thought long and hard about this over the course of our relationship.

I am so overwhelmingly excited to be able to wake up and fall asleep beside my best friend and love of my life every day, be there when the other gets home to compare notes on our days, not have to live out of a suitcase when shuttling back and forth between each other's places, and not have to say goodbye at the end of the night. I can't wait to live in a place that's ours, cook in our kitchen, lounge on our couch, spend our summer afternoons relaxing by our pool.   

Sure, there are parts of this next step that I'm nervous about, the primary one being the search process.  I have looked at a few apartments already {and have shortlisted a few}, and we'll be going to look at some others this weekend.  I think I will feel less unsettled when I actually know for sure where we'll be living.  And part of me worries that my extreme cleanliness and abundance of home cooking will be too much for Dan.

You know what, though? I'm so excited to embark on this adventure together, whatever joys and challenges it may bring!

A Quarter-Century Old

I finally have a moment to come up for air today after a VERY hectic week!  I thought I would write about the goings-on of the past week, since there were many of them.

I had a really tough week at work last week.  Work seemed to come flying at me all at once, and I definitely was not managing that stress well.  I had a meltdown of sorts on Wednesday night because of how overwhelmed I was by work stress {which was compounded by the fact that I was out of the office on Friday working a wedding}, stress about that wedding {my first as a day-of coordinator}, and stress tied to feeling like I was coming up short in my many roles- friend, daughter, sister and girlfriend.  Sensing that I am failing other people is definitely a feeling that I am very conscious of, but, during this meltdown, I had to remind myself that I can't always be everything to everyone.  There just isn't enough time in the day!  But, in moments when I am stressed about other things, that anxiety tends to resurface as well.  Poor Dan, he is such a saint for putting up with my stressed-out crying fits.  I don't like to let my work/life stress spill over to our relationship, because I know that it makes him sad to see me upset, but sometimes that just can't be helped.  I thank my lucky stars for that guy every day, I really do!

On Thursday night, I headed up to the Philly area after work for the wedding, and, due to a series of GPS mishaps, ended up driving for about 4 hours.  It was miserable, let me tell you, and I had my very patient and understanding parents on the phone for the better part of an hour-and-a-half trying to get me to Point B in one piece.  I ended up spending a LOT of time in the car on Thursday, Friday {when the wedding took place} and Saturday, both because of the driving time to and from PA and the fact that none of the venues were close to one another.  I think that was the most I have driven in the past five years combined haha!  Despite the fact that there are always unexpected things that come up at a wedding, it was a beautiful day overall and the couple was deliriously happy, so I would consider it a success.

On Saturday, Dan and I met up with Lauren and Molly at District of Pi for dinner.  Dan and I are obsessed with that place, and it was the girls' first time, so it was well worth it!  We then stopped off at Lauren's house before heading to Brass Monkey in Admo for some birthday karaoke.  Now, Brass Monkey has been one of our mainstays since graduation, but this was the first time, as we all stood around, that we noticed how downright grimy that place is! We concluded that the amount of alcohol that we had imbibed on previous visits had probably contributed to that oversight.  Our other observation was that the crowd seemed a lot younger {as in, either still in college or not far removed from it}.  It is tough to be hit by the realization that you're getting older!  Nonetheless, I felt so blessed to have so many wonderful friends there, and I think we got some solid karaoke in as well :)

Sunday, on my actual birthday, Dan and I slept in a bit before going on a run {I think I am the only person who requests going on a run when asked what they want to do on their birthday haha}.  We grabbed bagels  from our favorite bagel place, my last bagel run for awhile since I'm going on a six-week gluten-free diet a week from yesterday.  Blargh.  Then, we watched some basketball and Skyfall and later met up with my parents and Tim at Farmers, Fishers & Bakers, which I have raved about before.  It certainly didn't disappoint this time, bringing an absolutely delightful birthday to a close.  Not that he doesn't treat me like a princess all the time, but Dan was really the greatest this weekend.  I actually got upset because I don't like being treated to things haha, even on my birthday!  He got me an overnight hiking trip {not to worry, we will be staying at a B&B, not in a tent on a trail} out in the Shenandoahs, which shows you how well he knows me.  We have been in serious need of a getaway for awhile, and he knows how much I've been itching for a hike.  We're going in about 3 weeks, so I'm really psyched for that!  Overall, I was blown away, as usual, by the heartfelt messages and calls that I received on my birthday.  It made the day so special for me, and the fact that so many people reached out made turning 25 slightly easier {I may have fake snapped at Dan when he playfully suggested that I am almost 30 haha}.

Me and my ladies! Don't let this picture fool you, there were other guys there besides Dan.  He was just the only one who wasn't able to stealthily avoid my photos ;)

26.2

I promise, I'm still here!

People, March has been a BUSY month for me, so blogging just hasn't been in the cards for me.  Between being ridiculously busy at work and having lots of exciting things going on in my personal life, I just haven't been able to find the time to blog.  To give you a good idea, my last four weekends are as follows:

Weekend of March 2nd and 3rd: Anniversary celebrations!

Weekend of March 9th and 10th: Cuse game + cousin in town + lots of friends in town

Weekend of March 16th and 17th: MARATHON {and then doing a whole lot of nothing}
Weekend of March 23rd and 24th: Working a wedding + birthday + March Madness

Yes, FINALLY, the blessed event happened last weekend, the marathon I had poured my blood, sweat {lots of it} and tears {yup, some of those too} into for the past four months.  Even though I had run two half-marathons before, I was terrified on race day.  When I did my 22-miler two weeks prior to the race, I had felt myself starting to hit the "wall" that all marathoners talk about, which typically happens somewhere between miles 20 and 21.  I hoped that I would have just enough adrenaline to help me power through.  It didn't hurt that I had THE most incredible support team.  From the minute I had told him that I was running this race, Dan had been my biggest cheerleader, telling me how great I would do even when I was sulking after some miserable long runs.  I knew that Dan, my parents, and a few friends would be cheering me on along the course, and I can't fully convey how big of an emotional boost that was.  In short succession, from miles 13.5-16, I saw: my friends Alix and Lauren, my parents, my coworker, Beth and her husband, and Dan.  I had the biggest smile on my face as I ran by all of my people.  In general, though, race culture is so wonderful, because there are always residents lining the roads and cheering runners on. This race was certainly no exception!

Here's a look at the course.  For the most part, it was, mercifully, flat, but there was one hill in particular, the hill just before mile 6 as we exited Rock Creek Parkway and took an off-ramp up to Calvert St.  BOY, was that a steep hill.  Luckily, it was also brief, but I was dizzy and gasping for air at the end of it.  

But I digress.  This marathon was certainly not fun the entire time {I hit my wall at 21, but luckily, after taking the advice of a coworker and ingesting some M&Ms along with my Shot Blox, I got a HUGE burst of energy, which I can probably also attribute to the adrenaline rush of almost being finished}, but I learned, as I did throughout this entire process, how mentally tough I can be if I have to be.  Sure, I may cry at the drop of the hat and may occasionally be overly sensitive, but damn it, I pushed through all of my self-doubt and finished a marathon, and in pretty good time, no less!! My goal had been to finish in less than 4 hours, which obviously is not going to qualify me for Boston, but seemed like a reasonable goal given my pace and the fact that it was my first marathon.  While my goal was definitely just to finish, I think I would have been a little bit bummed if I had finished in over 4.  Well, my time was 3:53, so I was one happy girl!!!!!!!!

The greatest feeling {other than crossing the finish line and getting to stop running} was rounding the final bend and spotting my parents and Dan, all of whom were screaming words of encouragement to me.  At this point, the adrenaline was flowing and I was trucking it around that final turn, all smiles.  You would never know that I was in the final tenth of a mile of a marathon, right? HA!  When I had crossed the finish line and it was FINALLY over, I just stopped for a moment and put my hands over my face.  In that moment, I experienced the greatest sense of accomplishment that I ever have in my life.  I had set a goal for myself {and a difficult one that that, given the miniscule percentage of the world that has run a marathon} and accomplished it.  All of the training, all of the injuries, all of the early Saturday morning wake-ups to run, it was all worth it.  After hobbling over to them, I was finally reunited with Dan and my parents.  Seeing the pride with which they all looked at me only reinforced that sense of accomplishment that I was feeling.    I am also thrilled that running a marathon is now yet another bond that my dad and I share.

And the madness is not ending, friends.  Here's a brief rundown of the next few weekends of my life:

Weekend of March 30th and 31st: Easter weekend

Weekend of April 6th and 7th: Work event all day Friday and Saturday

Weekend of April 13th and 14th: Cousin in town + going on a birthday trip {more about this soon!}

Weekend of April 20th and 21st: Possible weekend trip to Pittsburgh, followed by a quick overnight visit from an out-of-town friend on Sunday night

I will post more next time about fun goings-on in April, May and June!

With my friends Jame and Lindsay, who also ran the marathon, prior to the race

My biggest supporter :)

Seeing my parents and Dan both along the course and at the finish line brought the biggest smile to my face.  I'm so lucky to have so many wonderful supporters!

Two Years :)

Two years ago yesterday, I walked {okay, more like power-walked, because, due to a bus that was behind schedule, I was running uncharacteristically late} into Saloon on U St. for my first date with "some guy".    I looked to my right, and there was the guy that I assumed I was meeting for drinks, tucked away at a little table for two.  Knowing now how obsessive-compulsive I am about being on time, that same guy still gives me grief, two years later, for being a couple of minutes late {in my defense, I did text him to let him know that I would be a little bit late!}. What followed was the best first date that I've ever been on, and, well, you know how it goes. The rest is history.

Little did I know, two years later that same guy would not only be the love of my life, but also my best friend.  Dan has brought innumerable blessings to my life, and I can't really remember what my life was like before I met him.  The mention of his name still brings a smile to my face, and, on the days that I get to see him, I look forward to it all day long.  I can honestly say that I didn't know what true, unconditional love felt like until I met him, and I am so proud to be able to call him my boyfriend.

This year, we celebrated our anniversary by going out to dinner at Acqua al 2, which, as you may remember, I raved about last month after some girlfriends and I went there for a friend's birthday.  Think yummy Italian food at its finest and that is what you get when you dine at Acqua al 2.  We split a delicious burrata appetizer with pomegranate seeds, spaghetti squash and honey {truly the perfect winter dish}, and, for our entrees, I ordered the farfalline alla zucca {bowtie pasta with pumpkin} and Dan opted for the balsamic filet.  So freaking delicious.  I was truly in foodie heaven :)  From there, we metroed to Iron Horse to watch the Georgetown game.  Since I gave up drinking for Lent {mostly in preparation for my race}, I opted for a couple Shirley Temples {I probably shocked the bartender with that request!}, and we watched our Hoyas avoid a trap game loss to Rutgers.  Side note: this upcoming Saturday is the Cuse rematch, and I am beyond excited! I'm thrilled that we'll get to be there!

On Sunday morning, we went to our favorite bagel place, I baked Dan an anniversary dessert {think cookie cake!}, we caught up on Homeland, went for a walk around Roosevelt Island, and had a nice, romantic anniversary dinner at District Taco haha, which suited me just fine :)  My top priority was spending time with him on our anniversary, which I got to do, so, therefore, was one happy gal!

I had gotten Dan a photo book that I put together to include some of my favorite memories from the past two years that I've captured on film {see, he should be THANKFUL that I'm an incurable photog!}, and he gave me the sweetest card, along with a massage gift certificate {BLESS HIM! I will redeem that after the marathon for a deep tissue sports massage!} and a voucher for one home-cooked meal.  Dan does not like to cook, although I doubt he would be half-bad at it if he tried, and, despite his acknowledgement that something easier would have a better chance of actually tasting good, I told him I had confidence in him that he could make me anything and I would like it.  I'll have to do some scheming to see how I can test him...MUAHHHH!

It really was a perfect anniversary weekend, and I can't wait to see what this next year holds for us!  We have some very exciting things in store this year, which I'll fill all of you in on as they come, and I anticipate that we will have grown in our relationship by even larger leaps and bounds by this time next year!

The Love Project: Hoyas

I'm coming out of bloggernation (get it? Bloggernation. Oh Tuesday...) to write about something that I truly love: Georgetown basketball.

First of all, I apologize for the prolonged absence.  These have been a strange last few weeks, and I haven't really been in the mood for blogging. However, I AM in the mood to gush about my beloved Hoyas' win over Syracuse on Saturday!  For those of you who are unaware, we beat the evil Orange 57-46 in the Carrier Dome, arguably one of the most hostile and toughest places to play. The win alone was enough for me, but the way we did it- a MONSTER game from Otto Porter, who proved in a big way with his 33-point effort that he deserves to be in contention for National Player of the Year- made it all that much sweeter.  This rivalry, between my Hoyas and the Evil Empire that is, as Hoya fans call it, Southern Canada, is something for the ages, and part of me is kind of sad that that the dynamic of the rivalry will change once Cuse defects to the ACC at the end of the season.

In Casual Hoya's article "Reflections on 21 Casual Hours in Syracuse", I loved the following quote:

There were two moments that perhaps didn't make the broadcast, which graphically make this last point...The first happened while Thompson huddled with his other coaches comparing notes before talking to the players. Nate Lubick was passionately making some point to his teammates when he grabbed Thompson's whiteboard from a student manager. For the next 30 seconds or so, Nate drew up plays on the board while the rest of the players calmly listened and talked about whatever point Nate was trying to make. For the last 15 seconds, Thompson stood behind Nate and rather than interrupt to make his point, listened to Nate and his player's work through it. Nothing like that was happening on the Syracuse bench where the conversation was all one sided badgering.

I also imagine that this wouldn't have happened even three or four years ago on the Georgetown team. I just don't see Austin Freeman or any other of our high school all American recruits listening and working together the way this team did. Team chemistry may be intangible, but it is real and this team has it.

It makes me smile to think that our players are so invested in being part of the process and helping each other succeed.  With so many teams acting as mere yearlong stopovers for players whose aspirations lie in the NBA, our players prove day in and day out that they actually care about each other.  Take Mikhail Hopkins, our deplorable center who was replaced by Moses Ayegba (rightly so) early in the first.  Moses had the game of his life, and, even beyond Otto, players stepped up.  There was one photo in particular, where Otto was fouled upon shooting a three, when you see Mikhail going NUTS.  The fact that he can be excited for his teammates when he a) sucks, and b) had a terrible game, is really a testament to the program that we have been able to create.

via Casual Hoya

So there you have it. No matter how much I may complain about this team, I love them to pieces, especially when they show up for big games like this one.  I can't wait for Syracuse Hate Week: Part 2, all leading up to the rematch at Verizon next Saturday, March 9th.  You had better believe I'll be there!

How I Spent My Valentine's Day

I hope all of you had a wonderful Valentine's Day yesterday!! Whether you're single or taken, I think the holiday is a great excuse to remind all of the people in your life how much you love them.

Yesterday was a really special day; while Dan is not a fan of Valentine's Day, he knows that I am, so he humors me and goes all-out for the day, which I really do appreciate.  I got some gorgeous red roses and carnations delivered to work, which is actually kind of a funny story.  I got an email at around lunchtime saying that I had a package in the Alumni Square RHO, and I had a brief flashback to college.  My guess is that the florist had so many deliveries yesterday that they felt like just dropping all of the bouquets in one place, because there were about ten of them in the RHO when I arrived.  They made me work hard for my flowers haha!  But they were truly worth the walk, and I was very appreciative of them.

He really does spoil me :)

We went to dinner at Lincoln, a restaurant in between Thomas Circle and McPherson Square.  While I was initially a little scared of the small plates {for my appetizer course, I ordered a fig dish, and they brought out one fig} and feared I would leave hungry, the meal was delicious, and I left feeling very satisfied.  I ordered a beet salad, a cauliflower and roasted vegetable dish, and, for dessert, something called the Green Fairy Absinthe.  It was a little ball of chocolate-covered cake, covered in a white chocolate cage and with sugary green wings.  I'll post a picture of it when I get a chance, and I promise that it was as good as it looked!!  I would have been perfectly happy cooking dinner at home and lounging around in our pajamas like lazy bums, but Dan insisted that, while he owes me a home-cooked meal, the stakes are just a little too high on Valentine's Day, logic that I agreed with.  I told him we can lounge and cook next year!

I am not really into exchanging Valentine's Day gifts {seriously, I eat enough chocolate as it is haha}, but we do a funny card contest every year.  This year, I bought a card with a great pun, which I was sure would win, but then Dan went and bought me a musical Justin Bieber card, and I immediately conceded defeat, without calling in a third party.  He's a tricky one, that Dan!  Luckily for me, we didn't put anything on the outcome beforehand, so there were no losers in this contest!

My Valentine's Day was also made complete by some exciting family news: my cousin Kelly gave birth to her third child, Nina Bernadette, yesterday.  She is just as cute as can be, and I can't wait to meet her!!! My parents also emailed me last night to inform me that my cousin Ashley is also expecting! I can't wait to have lots of little ones running around!!!!

Honestly, though, I was just happy as a clam to spend the evening with my love.  I truly feel like the luckiest girl every day to be able to call him my boyfriend, but, with our two-year anniversary a little over two weeks away, I guess I'm feeling extra-gushy :)