Knee Update, Blog Lovin' and June Recap!

Hi friends! Happy Wednesday!

I can't thank you all enough for the sweet comments about my knee and the move! I'm still trying to get settled in my mom's house but everything is going well so far! As you know, I had my doctor's appointment on Monday to get the read for my MRI! The doctor said that nothing serious appeared but a slight bone contusion, or bruise on the bone, which most likely resulted from the high impact of running coupled with my weekly mileage increase. Doctor's orders are 2 more weeks of rest and to start incorporating more x-training into my training cycle, which as you'll see from my training here, I definitely skipped out on that! So, I have 2 more weeks to rest and ice and then I'll be set to start running again in time for base training and for my training cycle to start for the Philadelphia Marathon! Woohoo!

On a second note, I received 2 blog awards this week from two lovely girls:

This one from Amber...

...and this one from Meg!

The rules are to post 10 and 7 things, respectively, about me! I received the Sugar Doll award once before, so I'll link up to it here and post 7 new things about me!

  1. My favorite color is teal!  

2. My all-time favorite band, who I am seeing this weekend (since you all asked!) is the Goo Goo Dolls!

3. I once won a dance competition at a bar with an Italian guy in London and won a round of drinks for my friends. I was completely sober when I did this.

4. The shows Ace of Cakes and Cake Boss creep me out slightly - I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be eating a cake that at least 8 people have had their hands all over!

5. I have to eat something sweet after every meal of the day - except breakfast!

6. I went to 4 different high schools.

7. I used to work for a radio station where I got to interview a different celebrity almost every week. It wasn't glamorous, but it was a ton of fun!

And now, I'm passing this blog along to these 7 bloggers! Go check them out and show them some love!

-Chloe at Tryin' to Throw My Arms around the World
-Julie at Brown Eyed Belle
-Nicole at My Teacups in Peony
-Meghan at The Perfect Compilation Tape
-Melissa at So about What I Said...
-Trish at Pink Preppy Lilly Lover
-Katy Mary at Tangerine.Hearts

And now, it's the last day of June which means it's time for a monthly recap! For all of you new to 25 Before 25, at the end of each month, I do a recap of how I'm doing on my 25 Before 25 list! Here goes: This month, I:

• Sustained my first running injury and was forced to take a break from running. I'm still in good shape to start my training cycle next month, so Goal #1 is still on!
• Have kept my blog going strong and am posting more frequently and making great friends through the blog world! (#7)
• Visited 2 of the Major League Baseball stadiums making my total 6 out of 30! (#9)
• Finished watching Season 5 of The Office - one more season to go! (#13)
• Read 1 more book off of The Book List!
• Cooked 5 of the recipes out of one of my cookbooks! (#17)

So that's that! On to July which will be filled with beach time, baseball, more books and movies, good music, spending lots of time outside and all things summer! It's going to be a blast!

Love/Don't Love

I'm linking up with Carissa for Miscellany Monday today! Let me know what you think!

[1] I moved out of my first apartment yesterday. It's bittersweet. I'm so happy to be out of Boston though. Love.
[2] I'm temporarily living at my mom's until I move to NY next month and am therefore living out of suitcases and boxes scattered throughout the house. Don't Love.
[3] I'm officially no longer in a long-distance relationship. Love.

[4] As much as moving is a huge pain in the @$$, I had such a fun weekend moving. It wasn't stressful at all and my mom and The Pilot were a huge help. Love.

[5] I've been super stressed and angry lately and I'm realizing it has everything to do with the fact that I'm not running. I'm praying for a good MRI read from the doctor today. Will keep you all posted! Don't Love.

[6] Being in New Jersey and living out of boxes and out of my mom's refrigerator has put my eating habits into a weird funk. I haven't been eating right and I've been losing weight and not exercising and all of that needs to change because it's contributing to my stress and general unpleasantness. Don't Love.

[7] I started my morning with a Kale & Cheddar omelet with fresh pineapple and toast so I can try and get out of said funk. Love.

[8] I have an amazing week ahead and I'm so excited for it. It will be filled with all things summer. Love.
[9] I'm mingling over at Life of Meg for Mingle Mondays! Don't forget to stop by today!

Here's what I'm looking forward to this week:

• Baseball
• The Beach
• Watermelon
• Ice Cream
• Fireworks
• Sun Dresses
• My All-Time Favorite Band
• College Friends who I haven't seen in way too long

What are you looking forward to?

three things thursday

1. Knee Update - I went for my MRI appointment this morning and have a follow-up appointment with the doc on Monday afternoon. Hopefully we'll get some answers ASAP so I can start base training for Philly (planned base training starts 7/25, so I've got time!). I know that I'm being overly optimistic about everything, but being that way is the only way I'm going to get through this not running/not exercising/doing nothing but watching the World Cup thing. Right now, I'm icing my knee while keeping it elevated on a Toy Story 3 pillow (more on why I have a TS3 pillow later). Woody and Buzz are making me feel loads better. Question for all the runners/athletes out there: Has anyone tried the Moji Knee? I'm very interested and looking to buy one. Any reviews/comments about it would be much appreciated!

2. Boston/Moving Update - This weekend will be my last weekend in Boston! I will have been there for exactly 1 year. I'm really happy I'm moving out and I'm getting excited about starting this next chapter in my life. For those of you who are new to my blog, you can read that here. I'll be sure to write a little 'Fairwell Boston' post soon =)

This statue stands at the exit of the South Side of campus where I went to college. My plan was to take a picture with him in my cap & gown when I graduated, but I er, umm forgot. 

3. World Cup News - I have to rant about something. I know this may push away some of my favorite readers like Meg and Chloe, but bare with me. I started playing soccer at the age of 4. When I lived in Europe, I spent nearly my entire Savings on football matches. I know how the game is played, I've been following the sport internationally for years and I live for the World Cup. That being said, I have a lot of problems with the US team. For starters, Coach Bob Bradley said after the US-Slovenia match this weekend that "we are still trying to grasp the way the game is played." Umm isn't it a little late for that? But it's true! The only reason the US has advanced is because Robert Green screwed up and they ended up with a draw in the first match. Yes, sh*t happens, but we didn't play well against England and got lucky with that goal. We played horribly against Slovenia until we realized we were losing and we didn't play at all against Algeria until the around the 75th minute when it finally kicked into someone's head that 'Oh hey, we need to actually win this game.' All that being said, Landon Donovan pisses me the hell off. As a student of International Relations and an avid football supporter, the fact that he went around with his cocky attitude saying, "We are confident that Slovenia are a team that we can beat, and it's like a final for us. But if we can’t beat Slovenia, then we don’t deserve to advance out of the group," then guess what? You didn't deserve to advance, because you didn't defeat Slovenia, even though they are tiny country. Guess what Landon? Population size has absolutely nothing to do with how well you play the game because even though you didn't win the group, you still didn't beat Slovenia. And yes, thee US made it to the Round of 16s, but I know that the Americans are going to go into this weekend's match against Ghana thinking that's it's a surefire win because Ghana-is-a-third-world-country, it's-in-Africa, we-can-beat-them" attitude, but guess what? The US is in for a shock because Ghana is actually going to play the game because they eat, sleep and breathe football and want it, they're not going to half ass it because they think they're better than the other team because their country has more money, more people or more power.  (I've watched the Ghanaian National Team on TV in a pub in Ghana and it is a hell of a lot more exciting than watching the US National Team in an American bar). I'm not saying the US is going to lose or Ghana is going to win, but the US needs to keep their attitude in check and learn to stop underestimating their opponents and play the game. When they start doing that, I'll stop being so bitter about them. 

Oh and can they stop complaining about how physically and emotionally spent they are following yesterday's match? You're professional footballers. Shut up and get back to practice. 

Sorry for the rant, but I had to get it out there following the plethora of I-love-Landon-Donovan posts that came up in my Reader. I'll leave you all with a picture =)

When I went to Ghana last summer, I also spent time in Togo 

where we got to go to soccer match at one of the villages we were visiting. 

It's almost the weekend!

It's summer! Time to spend sum mer time outside!

Hey everyone! (My title is super cheesy, I know)

Happy Tuesday! And Happy 2nd day of Summer! The official day of summer marked for me - a need to seriously get my ass in gear to start celebrating the summer! Since quitting my job and actually having a summer, I've sadly, spent most of my days in doors icing my knee and watching the World Cup. While my weekends have been fabulous, it's time to start spending more time outside on the weekdays, so today, I'm off to the pool with my sister and her beautiful girls! Let acting like a kid all day begin!

I didn't do anything to celebrate summer yesterday as I was sleeping pretty much all day. I woke up with some bad allergies and took an allergy pill that knocked me off my feet in the worst kind of way! It was awful!

Anyways, this weekend was both busy, relaxing and fun all in one!

Friday - I was in Boston with my mom moving out so we loaded up her car and headed back to Jersey. When I got home, The Pilot and I had an IOU date to go see Toy Story 3.

Seriously, this movie was amazing - it was definitely the best of the three Toy Story movies and I definitely shed a few tears watching this one!

Saturday - I wasn't feeling too well in the morning, so I laid in bed finishing up the next book off my list.  When I was up on my feet, The Pilot and I headed down the shore to go visit his grandparents and spend the day at their house, which is right on the water...I love it there! We picked crabs and clams right out of the water and cooked them right there...yummmmmy!

Sunday - The Pilot umpires Little League on the weekend, so I went to watch one of his games and then we hung out watching Will Ferrel movies and YouTube videos, got some ice cream with his dad and called it a night!

Yesterday, I went to the doctor to get my knee checked out and seriously, I'm so annoyed - they took an X-Ray, saw nothing and told me to schedule an MRI and come back. It took 2 weeks to get this appointment and I knew that's what they were going to tell me. So now, I have to schedule my MRI and wait what? Another 2 weeks to see the doctor? I need to get fixed and I need to go running. It's driving be absolutely crazy not being able to go run...my legs are just getting that itch and I'm so tempted to just hit the pavement and go. 

Sorry for the mini rant! Have a great Tuesday everyone! Stay tuned this week for my next book review, another recipe (or 2!) and hopefully, more updates about my knee!

three things thursday

1. Knee Update - So I went for a 3.5 mile run on Monday and felt ok, not great, but ok throughout. When I got home, I immediately stretched, iced and put on compression socks and was feeling pretty good all day. I woke up the next morning and I couldn't walk. I was in so much pain. I called the doctor who can't see me until Monday. I'm still hurting a lot, not nearly as bad as Tuesday, but I'm definitely limping and trying not to take pain killers every 5 minutes (I hate taking meds), so it's safe to say that I won't be racing Boston 13.1 next week which I'm really bummed about. I'll keep you all posted as to what the doc says. I'm hoping it's nothing too bad and that I'll be back running in time for Marathon Training in August. The main source of my optimism comes from the fact that about 7 years ago, I had surgery following a dance injury and was back on stage in 2 weeks. So, I'm trying to stay positive.

2. The Office - I posted last week here about how Netflix has pulled the Watch Instantly option from The Office. I had gathered this information from the fact that it wasn't there and an article on Google said that NBC was looking to pull all of it's shows from Netflix. Well, I want on a few days later and it was back! So I finished watching Season 5 of The Office. I'm not yet crossing this off My List since Season 6 doesn't come out until September, but I'm getting closer to being able to cross something off The List! (I'm secretly happy that I'm not able to cross it off yet. I don't want to look like a couch potato who does nothing but watch episodes of The Office when I have so many other things to do!)

3. Boston/Moving Update - I'm finally going back to Boston tonight. I haven't been to my apartment since I left after my last day of work. I had planned to go back on Tuesday but seeing as I couldn't walk, I didn't want to tackle my 5 floor walk up, but I'm seriously sick of living in limbo. I've been staying at my mom's house where I'm living out of a suitcase and half living in my old room and half moving downstairs, but also have all of my stuff at my apartment. I don't move into my New York apartment until August and I hate that I'm just kind of in limbo with my stuff here and there and that I have to move out of Boston, into my mom's house and then out of my mom's and into my new place all in the course of this summer. It's a huge pain in the ass. Add to that that I'm living in central New Jersey without a car and I basically sit home all day doing nothing but icing my knee and it kind of sucks. If it weren't for the World Cup, I'd seriously die.

No idea what's in store for the weekend yet, but it's sure to be a good one!

all these things that I've done

This has been floating around the blog world for some time now and since my blog is about doing things, I thought I'd take my turn at it to show you all some of the things I've already done! Feel free to grab it yourself - and if you do, let me know so I can check it out!

1. started your own blog
 2. slept under the stars
3. played in a band
4. visited Hawaii
5. watched a meteor shower
6. given more to charity than you could afford to 
7. been to Disney 
8. climbed a mountain
9. held a praying mantis
10. sung a solo 
11. bungee jumped
12. visited Paris 
13. watched a thunder and lightning storm
14. taught yourself an art from scratch
15. adopted a child
16. had food poisoning
17. walked to the top of the statue of liberty 
18. grown your own vegetables
19. seen the Mona Lisa in France 
20. slept on an overnight train 
21. had a pillow fight 
22. hitch hiked
23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. built a snow fort
25. held a lamb 
26. gone skinny dipping
27. run a marathon (not yet!)
28. ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. seen a total eclipse
30. watched a sunrise or sunset 31. hit a home run
32. been on a cruise 
33. seen Niagara falls in person
34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors (well, one side of the family!)
35. seen an Amish community 
36. taught yourself a new language
37. had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person
39. gone rock climbing 
40. seen Michelangelo’s David in person 
41. sung karaoke
42. seen old faithful erupt
43. bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. visited Africa
45. walked on a beach by moonlight
46. been transported in an ambulance 
47. had your portrait painted
48. gone deep sea fishing
49. seen the Sistine chapel in person
50. been to the top of the Eiffel tower in Paris
51. gone scuba diving or snorkelling
52. kissed in the rain 
53. played in the mud
54. gone to a drive-in theatre 
55. been in a movie
56. visited the great wall of china
57. started a business
58. taken a martial arts class 
59. visited Russia
60. served at a soup kitchen
61. sold girl scout cookies 
62. gone whale watching
63. gotten flowers for no reason 
64. donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. been sky diving
66. visited a concentration camp
67. bounced a check
68. flown in a helicopter
69. saved a favorite childhood toy
70. visited the Lincoln memorial
71. eaten caviar 
72. pieced a quilt
73. stood in times square 
74. toured the everglades
75. been fired from a job
76. seen the changing of the guard in London 
77. broken a bone 78. been a passenger on a motorcycle 
79. seen the grand canyon in person
80. published a book
81. visited the Vatican 
82. bought a brand new car
83. walked in Jerusalem
84. had your picture in the newspaper 
85. kissed a stranger at midnight on new year’s eve
86. visited the white house 
87. killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. had chickenpox 
89. saved someone’s life
90. sat on a jury
91. met someone famous 
92. joined a book club
93. gotten a tattoo 
94. had a baby
95. seen the Alamo in person 
96. swam in the great salt lake
97. been involved in a law suit
98. owned a cell phone
99. been stung by a bee

100. Ridden an elephant

49 out of 99...not bad =)

Ballpark #6: Orioles Park at Camden Yards

Ever since I started telling people that I wanted to visit every Major League Baseball stadium, I always get asked: Have you been to Camden Yards yet? And I can finally say YES! Camden Yards was beautiful and a great place to watch a ball game!

Orioles Park at Camden Yards

The best part? I think that of the 42,000 people that were at the park on Saturday night, 30,000 of them were Mets fans =) And the Mets not only played a great game but swept the series against the Orioles this weekend! So I was happy!

Matching Mr. Met shirts at Camden Yards!

Great weekend overall and now it's back to reality as they say! I'm back to Boston tomorrow after my two week mini-vaca at home, but it's time to play a tourist in my own city and get out and see all those things that I haven't gotten around to seeing in the year I've been there!

Oh and update with my knee? I'm feeling much better! After the Japan v. Cameroon World Cup game which I'm watching now, I'm going out for my 2-3 mile easy jog to see how I feel! I bought some Compression Socks so I'm going to take this whole R.I.C.E. thing seriously when I get back and we'll see how I'm feeling for an evening run tomorrow!

Pending that all goes well today, my training schedule for this week is:


Monday: 2-3 mile easy jog
Tuesday: 5 miles easy
Wednesday: 20-30 minutes non-impact cardio
Thursday: 5 miles
Friday: 20-30 minutes non-impact cardio
Saturday: 3 miles
Sunday: 9 miles

Let's hope I can get through this schedule pain free so that I'll be in good shape for next weekend's race!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Recipes: Portuguese Grilled Chicken & Classic Roastie Potatoes

Happy Friday everyone! While I still love Fridays, I must admit, they aren't quite as sweet as they were when I was counting down the minutes until 5:00 at work every day. But, while I am on summer vacation and invading spending time at home, momz and The Pilot are working hard to bring home the bread, so last last night, I made dinner and had The Pilot over to enjoy a chicken recipe out of Real Girls Eat.

Portuguese Grilled Chicken - Real Girls Eat, Anthea Paul

Ingredients
1/3 cup olive oil
Sea Salt & Pepper
2 tablespoons paprika (you can use smoked or plain, I used plain)
2 tablespoons castor sugar (I didn't have any, so I used regular sugar and it turned out fine)
2 lemons, grated for zest and juiced
1 bunch fresh oregano
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 chicken breasts

*Notes: You can use smoked or plain paprika, I used plain. I didn't have any castor sugar so I used regular and it turned out fine. I only had 1 lemon, so I zested and juiced it and used 3 tbsp lemon juice to substitute for the other lemon. I didn't have oregano, so I used fresh thyme. This recipe also calls for chicken breasts that have the bone and skin intact, but I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts since it's easier to cook with in my opinion. This marinade is also good for up to 6 chicken breasts, but I was cooking for 2 so I only used 3. 


Preheat grill (or oven broiler if it's raining outside like it was for me!) on high. Toss all ingredients except chicken together in a bowl and stir well. Place chicken in a roasting dish and coat with marinade mixture. Set aside in refrigerator for 1 hour (or overnight) turning chicken to coat frequently. Let rest at room temperature for 10 minutes before cooking. Place chicken in the oven (or on the grill!) and cook for 15-20 minutes turning over half way. Serve with Classic "Roastie" Potatoes with Lemon Salt.

Classic "Roastie" Potatoes with Lemon Salt - Real Girls Eat, Anthea Paul

Ingredients
1 pound potatoes (I used russet but you the recipe calls for fingerling or red desiree)
1/3 cup olive oil
Sea Salt & Pepper
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit. Halve (or quarter, depending on size) the potatoes and toss them in the olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon zest. Make sure to coat thoroughly. Place in a roasting dish (cut side up). Roast on the lower rack of the oven for 20 minutes. Move to top rack of the oven (for extra crispiness) and cook for another 20 minutes. When they are done, they will be puffed and golden. Toss with a little more sea salt, pepper and zest while still hot and serve!

*In other news, Netflix pulled the "Watch Instantly" option from The Office when I only had 8 episodes left in Season 5. I'm PISSED! I was so close to being able to cross that off my list! Now I have to find a non-existent Blockbuster and RENT the stupid DVD.*

**The World Cup has started and I am VERY happy. I am currently heating my knee while watching the Uruguay v. France match.**

***I'm off to Baltimore for the weekend for MLB Stadium #6 and some quality time with The Pilot!***

Have a great weekend everyone!

Three Things Thursday

1. Knee Update: Thanks everyone for your advice and comments about my knee! I spent pretty much all day yesterday alternating between ice and heat and am doing the same today. I'm actually a lot better. My plan (based on your advice) is to keep up with the ice/heat routine for the next few days and go for a nice easy jog on Tuesday to see how I feel. If I'm ok by Thursday, I'll go for a longer run and see how I feel. By next weekend, I should be able to make the call as to whether I can race Boston 13.1 or not! I'll keep you all posted!

2. Recipe Update: I knocked off another recipe off of The Recipe List yesterday. This one again from Real Girls Eat! (I haven't been neglecting my other cookbook but I left it in Boston and don't get back there till next week!) I made the Blue Berry Smoothie and it was delicious! You basically take strawberries, blueberries and blackberries and throw them in the blender with honey, soy milk and ice. Throw in some tofu or protein powder for extra protein and you're good to go!

My blender exploded while I was making it and with all the purply goodness oozing out of the bottom, it reminded me of THE SMOOZE. Please tell me I'm not the only one who knows what this is?

 

3. I got an award this week! It comes from Chloe (who is awesome, go check out her blog!) and with it, I'm supposed to list 5 things that make me happy and then I tag five people! 

So I'm tagging Meg, Cole, Ashley, Jessi and Allison and my 5 things are:

1. Sunshine

via

2. ALMOST not being in an LDR anymore!

via

3. The Mets and how awesome of a season they're having!

4. The World Cup starting tomorrow!

5. Not having a horrible job anymore!

Happy Thursday everyone!

When summer vacation really means vacation!

I'm back from my first weekend getaway of the summer to Toronto and it was amazing! I had so much fun with my mom and it was so relaxing! My trip was filled with insanely high towers, some altitude sickness, an old Courthouse with great pizza, relaxing by the pool, starting a new book, touring Toronto, watching some baseball, drinking some beer, an all-by-myself adventure on the harbor, a brewery tour (and more beer!) and a wonderful massage before taking off back to the states.

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

The view from our hotel room

Toronto from the CN Tower

New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays

Rogers Centre

Moms and me

Toronto skyline from the harbour

Steamwhistle Brewery

Now with that I have to talk about my knee. Last week after my 3 miler, I was stretching and felt something in my knee pop and ever since, it has hurt like hell. I had a 3 miler and a 6-8 miler on the agenda for Saturday and Sunday and decided before I even left for Toronto that I was going to switch that to Sunday and Monday. Well, I ran my 3 miles on the treadmill on Saturday and felt ok but woke up Sunday morning and as soon as I got out of bed, my knee totally buckled and I could barely walk all day. Needless to say, I skipped my run. I wanted to run my planned 5 miles today but was in a lot of pain all day so I tested it out for a walk with my sister at the park. We walked a mile and a half and now I'm in bed icing my knee. My plan for tomorrow? Ice diligently 20 minutes on and off and see how I feel for Thursday before planning to go for a run, but other than that I don't know what to do!

So, bloggers who run or runners who blog, any advice? My next Half is in 19 days and I'm starting to freak out!

Sorry for the mini rant session, but hey - it's about something to do with my 25 before 25 so I'm allowed!

And now, things I'm looking forward to this week:

Babysitting my 3-year-old niece and baking with her again tomorrow morning.

Going for an amazing pain-free 5 mile run on Thursday (I hope!)

Summer Weekend Getaway #2 this weekend to Baltimore for the Mets at Orioles!

What are you looking forward to this week?

Three Things Thursday

Happy Thursday!

I hope everyone is having a great week! I know I am! I love being home! It's so nice to wake up in the morning and lay in bed for 2 hours reading because you don't want or have to do anything else! This week has been great!

I've never quite done the three things Thursday and I guess I'm writing this post a bit differently but my three things to talk about are 1) Workouts, 2) Recipes and 3) Reading!

1. Tuesday night, The Pilot and I went to the gym together so I could get in my RAD Workout. I was planning to do another one today, but I didn't want to wait until tonight to be able to go to his gym with him, so I went for a run this afternoon. I was aiming for 4 miles and only got in a little more than 3 because well, I felt like I was running on a treadmill in a bikram studio! It was So hot and SO humid and at one point, I was running through the park and the smell of geese droppings was just overwhelming, so I just had to turn around. But hey - I still got my run in! (I skipped yesterday's cardio session for an impromptu trip to the beach, but I'm 100% ok with that!)

2. Yesterday morning, I was watching my 3-year-old niece and we decided to crank out some of my recipes! First, we started with the Minty Melon from Real Girls Eat. Oh my gosh, it was delicious! And SO easy and the little one had so much fun adding the watermelon and "the leaves" to the juicer!

Minty Melon

Ingredients

Watermelon

Fresh Mint Leaves

Add watermelon and fresh mint leaves to a juicer and enjoy! 

This recipe was so light and refreshing for a hot summer morning! 

Next, we made what is best to make with any 3-year-old: Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies (also from Real Girls Eat!). 

These were so light and fluffy and delicious! 

3. I also finished reading what I think is my favorite book off The Book List so far: The Color Purple by Alice Walker. I had seen the play on Broadway about three years ago but had never read the book and oh my goodness, it was such a beautiful story. I absolutely adored it! I have never been able to so clearly envision a novel and I did with this one. Set in the 1930s in rural Georgia and told from the perspective of the main character Celie writing letters to God, the story delves into the situation for black women in society in that time. It is a beautiful story and I highly recommend it!

Oh and in other news, I'm off to Toronto with my mom this weekend! So, if anyone has any suggestions of places to eat/shop/run/etc. let me know! I can't wait to hear all your suggestions!

Memorial Day Weekend and Month of May Recap!

Hello! From what I've been reading, it seems as though everyone has had a fabulous weekend and I'm so glad! My weekend exceeded my expectations and was absolutely fantastic! It was filled with warm weather and cold beers, falling in love more every minute, good music, ice cream, grilling and everything that a summer should be filled with.

I spent Friday night in the city with two of my friends from college, Saturday tailgating at Bon Jovi all day and then seeing Bon Jovi Saturday night, Sunday down the shore for some jetskiing, boating and barbecuing at The Pilot's grandparents' house and Monday, barbecuing with my mom, my sister and her girls in our backyard. 

Here's some pics from the weekend!

Us tailgating in his truck (and so happy to finally be together!)

Jovi

Boating

I won't do a huge re-cap because, well, it would take too long, but it was a great weekend!

For now, I'll put up my May recap! Check out how I'm doing with my 25 Before 25 by looking at April's recap. In the month of May, I:

• Ran a half-marathon and signed up for the Philadelphia Marathon (the full one!) in November! I'm now well on my way to crossing off #1 on The List!
• Started my Senior year scrapbook by completing 1 page (hey - it's something!). I have my scrapbook completed up until the middle of Sophomore year so now I'm working backward! (#2)
• I'm still going strong with maintaining my blog here and hit 100 followers this month and am still going strong! (#7)
• Registered for my first semester of grad school classes! (#8)
• Finished watching Season 3 and watched all of Season 4 of The Office. (#13)
• Watched six films off of the IMDB Top 100 list! (#15)
• Made 5 recipes from two of my cookbooks! (#17)

So it has been a great month and I'm doing pretty awesome with my list!

Now on to running news: I was terrible last week! Of my 4 scheduled runs and 17.5 scheduled miles, I ran a whopping 3. YIKES! Considering I have another race in less than 4 weeks, that is no bueno! But, I'm not going to beat myself up about it, instead I'm just going to push myself even harder!

So this week's training plan is:

Monday: Off

Tuesday: R.A.D. Workout

Wednesday: 2-3 mile run OR 20-30 minutes non-impact cardio

Thursday: R.A.D. Workout

Friday: 2-3 mile run OR 20-30 minutes non-impact cardio

Saturday: 3 mile run

Sunday: 6-8 mile run

I absolutely have to be diligent about this from this point on because since my race, I've only run 9 miles. 9. In two weeks...not good news. I guess that's newbie runner mistake #1...planning races too close together! But hey - I'm going to train, and I'm going to be ready and I am going to ROCK Boston 13.1!

See you all soon!