life+running » driving

BLEND Sunday + B&B + Monday Hike

chimes — Sun, 13 May 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Guys. I am almost too tired to write one last recap post. Everybody else did a glorious job. And once those are all compiled, I will give you the link to read everybody else’s posts. Because there are some really hilarious recaps out there.

Sunday morning we woke up again for some boot camp action. This time Chobani Fit crew ran the show. It was hard, but not hard in the same way that Saturday’s boot camp was. After the previous day’s workouts and booze … I think we were all interested in something a little less intense.

After bootcamp, we had another great breakfast bar. This time there was Chobani and Love Grown. And other stuff. But I mostly went for the Love Grown granola. I wish we had some here. Because I’m jonesin’ and I’m already out. Not sure how I’m out, because I grabbed a few more sample packs than my fair share …

No. Judging.

During breakfast I snapped a couple of photos of some gals that I spent a good chunk of time with during the weekend. Christine, from Oatmeal in my Bowl …

… and Kelly from No Sugar Sweet Life (you’ll meet her soon!)

We all entered our names in a raffle for some great prizes. And I managed to win a reallllllly fantastic prize: A Chobani Fit gym bag. I seriously needed a new gym bag. Wish granted.

[ super cheesetastic photo from Lauren ]

When the raffle and breakfast were over (BTW everybody won something in the raffle — best kind of raffle!) we all ran outside for a group photo. We took a serious one and a goofy one. Obviously I’m going to show you the goofy one.

[ photo from Lauren — look at her guns! ]

We gathered for one giant team huddle before breaking to pack and leave the park. So. Sad!

[ photo from Lauren ]

I packed and sat around in the lodge for a while to see if anybody needed help or a ride to the airport, since it was on my way. I managed to snap a photo of Kim and I, since she is a fellow Iowa native.

Finally, I managed to drive away. It was hard. I know. But I found a Lululemon shop down the road, to the dismay of my wallet.

I had to get the pants that Janetha had on for our Saturday bootcamp. I’d seen Katie post about them a while back too and had pinned them to my guns and buns of steel board on Pinterest. I had to have them! They had them in purple, black and gray. Of course, I’m an oddball, so I got them in purple. Though, I should have gotten a size bigger, and they only had that size in black.

I’ve worn them almost every day since I got them. I even wore them to work on Thursday. People just thought they were fancy leggings.

I picked up a few other essentials too …

I made it to the bed and breakfast I was staying at in northern Nebraska. They had an interesting assortment of movies. To my surprise, they had Serenity AND the whole series of Firefly. It made me giggle a bit.

Though, I didn’t watch either. I was drawn to something a little more cheesy. Yeah. Hello Leo. Titanic and tea for me. An evening of winding down commenced.

Before I hit the sack, I skyped with my two boys. One of which missed me more than the other. I’ll give you a hint. It was the one without a tail. Barney is definitely Mark’s dog. Though he is technically my dog. He seems to forget who pays his rent, feeds him and (yes) clothes him.

I ended up driving on Highway 30. Which sucked. Because it was 2-lane road most of the way and there was construction, which turned it into one-lane for some stretches. This made for an extremely long day.

I was almost home, but called Mark to see how he was doing on cleaning and such. He had promised he’d clean while I was away. But, like a true procrastinator, he had waited until 2 PM the day I was returning to even think about it. So I made a pit stop for a hike at a park that’s about 15 miles away from home.

And yes. I’ve lived here for almost 10 years … but I’ve never been here. I’m completely kicking myself now.

I spent about an hour or an hour and a half exploring and running up stairs — I had ultra-energy from being in a high-altitude environment. I felt like I could run up a ginormous flight of stairs on Monday (I did — ran up the stairs in the first photo I included of the park).

Finally made it home.

I can’t begin to explain how incredible this weekend was. So many girls that have the same interests as me. ~~Nobody~~ almost nobody was cliquey, snobby or Mean-Girl-esque (sadly, there are a couple of blogs I quit reading after this trip. I know that’s just as snobbish of me to do, but I couldn’t read anymore!). Everybody was welcome to hang out with whoever, and nobody spent time talking about how my blog could benefit your blog or that so-and-so’s photos really sucked. Everybody took photos of food — not just me. And we all enjoyed getting sweaty in the AM. It was pure fun. And I so want to do this again next year!

Are you taking any trips this summer? Have you gone hiking before?

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How I spent my summer vacation … part 2: Chicago

chimes — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

For Mark’s birthday, July 17th, we took a few days off to hang out with his Aunt Donna and his mom at Donna’s house around the Chicago area. We spent most of the time in and around her pool in her backyard. There are most definitely not going to be photos of that in this post (which I’m sure all will thank me for). I ran a few miles, played with Donna’s adorable dog, Guinness, and we watched a few movies.

Did I mention that I drove the whole way? Not trying to make Mark feel guilty — just pointing out that my leg injury from the marathon (3 years ago!) is finally at the point that I can DRIVE for a few hours at a time (namely, six).

Beautiful. The only time we actually went into the city was to go to The Needle Shop — which is NOT a tattoo shop. It’s actually a really amazing fabric store around Damon Ave..

[Mark drove there. I suck at real city driving.]

[my amazing finds — mostly Habitat]

On Mark’s birthday we trekked over to his favorite pizza place. We were going to see Harry Potter, but since it was the first weekend it was out the show was sold out for the rest of the foreseeable future.

Um … odd sign in Elk Grove Heights.

LOU’S. aka the promised land of Chicago Style pizza.

Mark is pleased. It’s the first piece he’s had (besides the frozen pies his dad occasionally gets) in over a year.

I had a slice too. And by a slice, I mean a few slices. The epic stomachache I had afterwards was so worth it. I had the Lou’s — spinach + tomato. YUM.

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Iowa Road Trip Weekend

chimes — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 01:51:39 +0000

Last weekend I trekked back to my hometown to go to a friend’s baby shower. I made her some adorable gifts (which I have and will be blogging about). I was really on the fence about going because I didn’t think my finances would allow me to make another trip this month, but a freelance client ponied up a bit of cash up front so I could pay for gas. It’s pretty awesome having some great clients like that!

I didn’t take any pix of the shower … I felt weird because it was mostly family and people I didn’t know very well. So, just in case you’re wondering, this isn’t a blog post about babies.

I decided that since I made the trip, I better hang out with my parents for a bit and make a stop or two on the way back to make it totally worth my gas money. I wanted to get back by Sunday for sure so I could do some more crafting for Market Day, since it’s on the 26th.

My dad was mowing the lawn, so I didn’t get to spend much time with him. But he did find a little bitty froggie that my mom and I put in my niece’s bug box for her to see when she got home later.

My parents also managed to pawn off a box of VHS tapes and my SNES on me. I recently inherited a TV with a built-in VCR, so I was interested in getting some VHS tapes. My parents were interested in cleaning out the closet of what used to be my room.

(My Girl and Miss Congeniality may or may not be mine …)

After a bit, I decided to head out and go to Iowa City to see a friend of mine from high school. I always love the drive from home to Iowa City … so pretty!

My friend works at a tattoo shop and was getting off at 8 PM. Just in time to get some drinks! I wanted to go to some of his bars, because last time I went to Iowa City I went to clubby bars, and I’m not a fan of those. Give me a dive bar. Please.

Of course, he delivered. We went to this awesome place called Deadwoods that was just my style. I had to take pix of it to show the beau that Iowa City had some bars that he would like. (He’s a Cyclone through and through … he won’t have anything to do with Iowa City). We also went to this amazing place called The Oasis, which my friend happens to work at as well.

My friend Matthew at Deadwoods, with some Leinies. YUM!

After eating my delicious food from Oasis, I headed out for the long drive back to Ames. It was dark and I was ready to be home.

Finally, after a stop at a gas station and driving through a couple of thunderstorms, I made it home. Well, at least what we consider home sometimes: Welch Ave. Station in Ames. Mark and our friends were waiting for me (not sure if they were waiting for me … but they were excited that I showed up nonetheless).

Mark even (reluctantly) took a picture with me.

All in all, a pretty exciting day. Definitely a departure from my normal Saturday of staying home and crafting and working out.

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