Halloween

Tis a week past Halloween, therefore, I can still post. We had a crazy Halloween this year. All I can say is "Thank you Old Navy for the $6 costume". Yep, I'm cheap, and a procrastinator. But look how cute this little chicken is. Next year, we will get our game on like our dear Cousin, he was Richard Simmons, it was a hoot. He sets a high bar.

Can you see the struggle? Bill is trying to prevent our little chicken from crossing the road. Bahahah. You really didn't think you could get through this whole post without the obligatory chicken crossing the road joke?

Bill's dad passed away on Saturday.
We miss you and love you, Dana.

Racing in the USA

I ran a half marathon this past weekend. It was a race of many feelings. I had a great couple of months of training and was excited to put the pedal to the metal. Unfortunately, things definitely didn't go as planned. I felt great for the first half and fell apart for the second. Now this could be due to several things.

Felt good because:
Lost 5 lbs by replacing my brick GPS watch with something a little more sleek and modern.
Trained well
Was ready for the pace.

Felt bad because:
30 mph winds. TERRIBLE.
9 miles of hills...the last 4 miles weren't really downhill like they promised.
It just wasn't my day apparently.

Needless to say, I'm a little disappointed and now I'm looking for redemption. You can't slave away for months on end without a good race, no?

There was a silver lining. Despite the first 9 miles being uphill (whose bad idea was that), I dropped a minute from my 5k time and 3 minutes from my 10k time. I suppose this could have added to my demise...
The end of the race. I beat sports bra girl. Just goes to show that you don't have to sport the bra to beat people. Although those are the people who win. Maybe it is time to make the switch and I'll start winning? Just kidding, I won't.
This little turkey was a good sport, says Bill. I wouldn't know, I was suffering. I'm sure he would have rather been at home in his element (see below). But he did enjoy the endless cheering and all the puppies that were there.
And it wouldn't be a race report without seeing the damage that I inflicted on myself. Shield your eyes if you have a weak constitution, as this is gross. Don't say I didn't warn you.










My big toenail is about to come off. I taped it down for the race so that it wouldn't pop off and then dig into another toe throughout the race. But the tape left a nice little blister on the toe next to it and I have a monstrous blood blister (as you can see) on the side, plus another one on the ball of my foot. Both required multiple drainings. Nike Lunaracers look cool, but they are terrible shoes. Don't buy them.

Chicago Weekend

*Forgive me for taking so long to document this, I've been on sabbatical from social media. For a more thorough post see Danielle's.

A couple weeks ago, I was lucky enough to go to Chicago for a girls weekend. I've never done one of these before, and no surprise, it was tons of fun. It was great to catch up with old friends who live close by and who don't. And it was great to be back in the city. I'm going to say Chicago is probably one of the greatest cities ever, and of course New Yorkers will dispute that. But New Yorkers probably haven't spent much time in the Second City.
We had a strict itinerary that detailed our days by locations to eat at. There really wasn't a lot of activities if any included, but food was an absolute. Such as Sweet Mandy B's, Bongo Room, Bandera, Sushi Wabi. Oh I love them all. I miss you vegi burger and grilled artichoke, oh how I miss you...
We did manage a few activities such as dinner with friends in Hyde Park. Best of both worlds friends + dinner= happiness. I'm starting to sound like a fatty, all this talk of food.
After the dinner party, a few of us brave (crazies) decided it would be so fun to go skinny dipping in Lake Michigan. Sadly, the waves were crashing against the rocks at the Point and we decided it would be better to just dip and pass on the skinny. But it was fun and crazy anyway. Thanks Katie for making it happen, and Hammond's, wish you could have made it.
We made it back down to HP for church and a quick trip to one of my favorite places in the whole world, Hyde Park produce. Why is the place so good? Because it is cheap, has great food, carries Boar's Head meats, my favorite Mammer wafers, and good crusty breads.
The ward was awesome. So different, but great to be in a familiar place again. I'd forgotten how loud that ward is, but then I remember some of the conversations I listed to during sacrament meeting, such as how great McDonald's cheese burgers are vs the salads and other random conversations. I guess all the "whispered" conversations aren't very whispered. Did anyone else get to experience these gems from Willy?

We got a pedicure and shopped till there was no money left to shop with. It think it was a very successful girls weekend. Thanks husbands for making it happen.

Good Food Tuesday

I'm declaring today good food Tuesday, because I ate this yummy sandwich for lunch and it is all I can think about right now. Let me tell you about it so you too and enjoy the last bit of freshness that is summer. Because this sandwich tastes like summer.


It is so easy. It has no name, at least that I know of. Correct me if there is a name, please?
Here is what you need:

Sourdough
Fried egg, from my chickens in my backyard of course.
Tomato
Avocado
Bacon
Spinach (should you desire a vegetable in the sandwich)
Mozzarella cheese

Toast your bread, add a little bit of mayo and layer it on. Give a little shake of some salt and pepper and voila. I heart this sandwich so much.
And last but not least, dearest Cass. Asher has gone down from a nap so Cass feels like he can emerge from his hiding spot in the laundry. Good thing I did whites yesterday, so that a hiding place could exist. Now on to the colors.

Boston

We took a quick trip to Boston last week as a last hurrah before Bill returns to the firm. Why Boston, because we love that city. I realized that this was our 4th trip there together. Plus it is an hour plane ride. Puerto Rico would take 7 hours of traveling, and there were hurricanes. But like I said, we LOVE Boston.
So we hopped on a plane and had the smoothest ride possible with a 17 month old. Thank you match box cars, and thank you Paige for the idea. They provided hours of entertainment.
We attempted to take a ferry out to one of the islands around Boston, but alas, they don't go to that island on Fridays. Whatever. Luckily, the boardwalk was entertaining and the aquarium was right there.


We all loved the aquarium. I was surprised that Asher enjoyed it as much as he did.
Of course, that evening, we had to go to the famous Pizzeria Regina in the North End for some delicious pizza and Mike's Pastry for the BEST whoopie pies in the country. Trust me, I've tried a lot. No one compares, not even the Amish's. I ate every last bite, all 2000+ calories of it. Be still my soul. (Bill had the chocolate fudge cupcake, also delicious.)
The next day, I had a hankering for pirating. So we headed over to the USS Constitution (aka Old Ironsides).

And alas, of all the trips we've made to this grand city, we'd never made it to a Red Sox game. But we made it this time and had a ball. This was also Asher's first baseball game.
Dare I admit that we had such a good time, I'm almost ready to become a Red Sox fan?? I've been to see the Royals, White Sox, and the Nationals and non of the fans love their team as much as Red Sox fans. It was awesome. (Don't hate on the Royals, they are awesome.)

Someone explain to me how Asher could sit through 3 hours of baseball (first 6 innings) just fine, but not even an hour for sacrament? He did love all the cheering, he felt like a superstar. Of course the crowd was cheering for him, not the home runs that brought the score to 12-3. Poor Rangers.
And now we are back in DC. It is raining and we are stuck inside. Boo. And Bill is at work. Here we go, I guess this is the rest of our life. No more limbo of when the real world starts. This is it.

Tropical Storm Irene

We were prepared for Irene. Apparently, she wasn't prepared for us. More hype than harm.
Are we done with natural disasters for a while?