Seriously?

Clearly someone up there is having a good chuckle at my expense.

I spent the week working in New Orleans where it was consistently cooler than Portland, Me. The weather was heinous- 100% humidity and flash floods (literally) but still. I also got to see my parents, my coworkers (who I really do miss) and my friend Steph. Meals included an awesome dinner made by my boss and his wife (goat cheese brie, pate, salad, shrimp and artichoke pasta, and berry cobbler), Squeal, Drago's, China Rose (ask for the chinese menu), Horinoya, and Rio Mar ( with Steph, where I found the best wine ever.)

While I was gone, my single glorious strawberry ripened and was devoured by Dr. Hubby who said it was "super yummy and sweet." Fortunately, I have 6 itsy bitsy strawberries growing to replace it. :)

This weekend we are going camping in Acadia National Park. It's a bit further north and should be slightly cooler at least.

Cordoba

Welcome to the first in a series of posts about my honeymoon (that I should have gotten around to writing like 2 months ago- whoops!). We spent 2.5 weeks traveling around Spain via train and bus and visted Cordoba, Sevilla, Granada, Alicante, Valencia, Barcelona, and Madrid.

We landed in Madrid on the first day of our honeymoon and spent the first day traveling to Cordoba and exploring the city. Cordoba is known for its Mezquita (a mosque that was later turned into a Catholic Cathedral) and La Juderia (a historic Jewish neighborhood full of winding cobblestone streets). Unfortunately due to Semana Santa (Holy Week) festivities we were unable to go inside the Mezquita. Instead we wandered around the city taking pictures, watched part of the Semana Santa procession in the courtyard of the Mezquita, and ate a delicious huntsman's paella which featured, as I recall, what was probably lamb or goat, asparagus, and white beans in saffron flavored rice.

Staying up for dinner, which is famously late (like 10 or 11) in Spain was a battle against jet lag, and after dinner we opted not to partake of the famed Spanish night life. The next morning we woke up early and caught a bus to Sevilla where we would experience Semana Santa in all it's glory.

Cordoba is famed for it's patio gardens that are tucked away inside La Juderia

It also has some lovely plazas- this one would have been more lively had it not just stopped raining

The famed cobblestone streets of La Juderia

A bridge leading across the river to the other side of town, I love how old the supports look. (P.S. get used to this rain jacket- I'm wearing it in 90% of my pictures.)

Looking across the river, the skyline looks positively medieval...except for the crane on the far right, that is.

Outside the Mezquita- one of the wider streets. Cars also would barrel down paths I would generously describe as a "narrow sidewalk."

Enjoy the contrast between Arabian design and Christian Iconography

What I've been up to

Oh my gosh, it's been nearly a month since I've written! I've been busy settling in and enjoying Portland, but of course that means I've been putting off blogging for far too long.

Our drive up to Portland was exhausting but went really well, in that everything made it up in 1 piece and we didn't have any significant Penske-truck-pulling-a-trailer mishaps, but Dr. Hubby swears that he will never drive a moving truck again!


Our apartment is wonderful and nearly done- once I hang up our pictures and figure out where to store the colony of computer related cords living in the corner of our front room I'll post a bunch of pictures. :) I love it because we actually managed to avoid cramming every inch of it with furniture. Having a bit of space makes it feel very peaceful. That being said, we still feel like we have too much stuff and took another car load of things to goodwill once we got here. I also love our location- Munjoy Hill feels a lot like the Marigny in New Orleans and we are close to the water, a gorgeous park, tons of restaurants, a coffee shop, and a gourmet/healthy food market.

Portland is amazing. Living here right now really does feel like being on vacation. My "office" is a sunroom that had a great view of Casco Bay and I walk my dogs in the Eastern Promenade (a big park leading down to the bay) every day. I've taken them down to the beach a few times but they are horrified by the fact that the water moves! They really love being in the park though and when it's not crowded we take them off their leashes and let them run back and forth between us. Bernie, lazy creature that he is, kind of gamely trots along until he gets too tired, but Hereaux SPRINTS with this big doggie grin on his face. He is in doggie heaven here!

Eastern Promenade after a rain

The happiest I've ever seen my dogs

I've found a lot of things I love about Portland already- The weather, of course, is perfect. I've also joined a yoga studio that I really love, I run a weekly 5K race (and have plans to run many more races), I've gone to to Farmer's Market and tried every strange veggie I found (fiddleheads! kohlrabi! salad greens with edible flowers! garlic scapes!), I've done a First Friday Art Walk, I watched the 4th of July Fireworks over the Prom from my porch, I've eaten at a lot of great restaurants, and I've cooked some pretty good meals here as well. And of course, the only pictures I've taken have been of dogs and food. :)

Fiddleheads! (and grilled chicken)

Periwinkles- aka snails! I basically pulled these out of a tide pool and boiled them- they were tasted like clams!

Speaking of clams- this guy was the size of my palm. Divine paired with fresh bread from the Standard Baking Co.

I also really like how environmentally friendly Portland is. Gone are the days of having to drive to find a place to recycle (and only being able to recycle newspapers). We have free curbside recycling and we definitely generate more recycling than actual trash because they take everything. It's awesome. Less awesome is having to pay $1 per special trash bag to get rid of our trash, but in all honesty, I appreciate the incentive to not just throw away stuff. Because we are total cheapos, we've also started a compost bin (despite the fact that I have a black thumb and kill every plant I try to grow) and I have been saving a bag of veggie scraps in the freezer for stock. I actually made my first veggie stock on Monday and plan to make chicken stock from the bones of last night's roast chicken tomorrow.

Working at home is going pretty well- I've been able to meet or exceed all of my deadlines so far and I really enjoy wearing yoga pants all the time, eating omelets whenever I want to, and painting my nails unprofessional colors. :) It can feel a little isolating but I'm making a point to actually leave the house every day (and walking the dogs doesn't count) which helps me feel more connected to the outside world.

In the next few weeks I'm looking forward to camping in Acadia National Park (Dr. Hubby talked me into getting us new tent and me a sleeping bag), running more races, going to the Farmer's Market more regularly (I've missed the past 2 weeks), doing a walking tour of the Hidden Gardens of Munjoy Hill, and taking a trip back to New Orleans for work (I need my boudin fix!). I'll also be going to D.C. soon to visit friends, and will be celebrating my 30th birthday in NYC with my inlaws since my brother-in-law is turning 3o three days after I do!

There are a lot of things I want to do but don't have concrete plans for too- trail running, getting out on the water (be it in a kayak, paddle board or real boat, I'm not picky!), skiing and snowshoeing this winter, and making friends and workout buddies.

Overall, I miss my family and friends but am incredibly thrilled to finally living in Portland. I still walk around and think to myself- I can't believe I actually live here. :) So far, the adventure is going well!

Bittersweet

Packing and getting ready to move has been an absolutely crazy and time consuming process. Basically, for the past several weeks Dr. Hubby (who is home all day since he's in between med school and residency) has worked really hard during the day to get the house organized and sell off our unwanted furniture. I've typically worked a full day then spent my evenings organizing and packing. We've made a huge effort to get rid of unecessary furniture and extra *stuff* that we've accumulated over the 3 years we've been in our apartment. Hopefully this will pay off when we move in to our place in Portland- but right now I'm just overwhelmed with the amount of things we still have. I'm kind of disgusted with myself for having so many boxes of clothes. We did a great job of getting rid of our excess furniture, but I think when you're nearing the end of a move it's pretty normal to get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of random stuff that has to somehow get packed- it's neverending!
I think a lot of this angst is coming from the fact that we went out of town for a wedding this weekend and lost Monday because of flight delays- so we didn't end up having as much time as we hoped for. I'm also kind of bummed because I had to say goodbye to my dear friend Stephanie and my awesome running buddy Margee this week. This is tempered somewhat by the fact that I'm returning to Nola for a work trip in 2 weeks.
On the bright side, I'm looking forward to seeing my friend Meg and my brother-in-law Tyler and his girlfriend Kate on the way up to Maine. I'm also looking forward to cooler weather (it should be in the 60's when we get there on Sunday) and to finally seeing our awesome apartment! This move is a big adventure and I've always wanted to live somewhere other than the Deep South, so I'm definitely ready for this new and exciting period of my life to begin. I just wish I could fast forward through the physical move itself! It's going to be a loooong 3 days of driving!
And I haven't forgotten that I still need to write about Spain. I'll get to it, I promise!

What's the craziest thing you've ever done?

¡Hola!

Hello everyone! I'm back! I've been back, in all honesty, for a couple of weeks- but, as usual, I have been swamped! Since I've been back I've spent the weekend at Jazzfest, watched Dr. Hubby graduate, entertained his parents during graduation weekend (entertaining his parents was awesome because they wanted to try all our favorite restaurants!), and thus far have worked 34.5 hours in the past 3 days. Oh and I have jury duty next week!
However, I promise I'll post several posts about my honeymoon in Spain because it was wonderful and I don't think that one post would do it justice. (Also, it would be book length.)
On top of all that, the move to Portland is rapidly approaching! Last week, Dr. Hubby flew up to Portland and found us the most amazing apartment! It's 2 blocks away from the Eastern Promenade (a big park) with a view of Casco Bay. The neighborhood is called Munjoy Hill and is full of coffee shops and good restaurants. Best of all, the apartment itself is beautiful! There is a built-in teak desk and a built-in leather couch in the living room, there are stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops in the kitchen, and a great sunroom that I am planning to turn into an office because, luckily for me, my company is going to let me work remotely! (Holy run-on sentence, Batman!) Our big move is scheduled for the second week in June!
So that's a very brief update on what's been going on with me these days! More to come, I promise!

1 week a-versary!

I can't believe it's been a week since I got married! Since we're leaving for our honeymoon in Spain on Monday I thought I should blog while I had a chance!
The short story is that despite having a somewhat non-traditional wedding with different events ALL throughout the day- everything was absolutely perfect and beautiful. The day exceeded my expectations in every way and I hope that everyone there had at least as good of a time as I did.
I want to blog about all the little details in part so I'll remember it and in part so that anyone looking for New Orleans wedding ideas can hopefully find this and get some inspiration. I think that many of my vendors aren't your standard wedding vendors- but they really should be because so many of them were so wonderful! (I seriously hugged all of my vendors.)
Events started on Saturday night with our rehearsal dinner at Calcasieu. I joke that my bridezilla moment was when I decided a week prior to the wedding that needed flowers for the rehearsal dinner because I was worried that it would be too "plain". I ended up adding flowers to my order with the florist at the last minute (more on that later) but I shouldn't have worried because the quality of the food overshadowed everything else about that evening.
I sat at the table with all of my very picky relatives from Mississippi and really enjoyed watching them be blown away by the food. We started with Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, then had Smothered Greens, Shrimp and Eggplant Dressing with Roast Pork with Onion Jus, and Andouille Sausage with Green Chiles and Creole Cream Cheese Grits as entrees, then finished with Brown Sugar Lemon Meringue Pie and Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie for dessert. My relatives all said that it was the best gumbo they'd ever had and the best meal they'd had in New Orleans- and I caught most of them going back for seconds. I think that most of them planned to go eat at Cochon again before leaving town. My biggest worry at that point was that the food at Calcasieu would outshine the rest of the weekend- it was unbelievably good!
Saturday morning, we woke up bright and early since the wedding itself was at 10:30. My photographer (and dear friend), the ridiculously talented Meghan Campbell, did double duty as my makeup artist. She arrived bright and early, along with Diem Lu from the Keith Noonan Salon- to help me get gorgeous! Again, I can only say wonderful things about both my makeup and hair- they lasted from 7:45 am to 12 am- amazing! If you live in New Orleans and need an updo- go see Diem! She's a miracle worker!

My flowers were also delivered Saturday morning. I used Harkins the Florist for the flowers for my rehearsal and wedding and my MIL used them for a family brunch she hosted the next day and we were both extremely pleased with how easy Harkins was to work with and how well our flowers turned out. I honestly couldn't stop looking at my bouquets because I was obsessed with how beautiful they were. I also have to point out that they were incredibly accommodating when I decided to expand my order a week prior to the wedding.

So pretty!

The wedding itself was just for immediate family (I wanted a small wedding, so we had a tiny ceremony followed by a big picnic and reception) and was in the Peristyle at City Park at 10:30 am. The Peristyle was gorgeous and my only complaint was that they decided to power wash the peristyle that morning so the bottom of my dress got a little wet during the ceremony. All things considered, it wasn't a big deal and if I'd had an evening wedding, it wouldn't have been an issue at all.
I really loved my wedding ceremony. We hired a violinist- Stephanie Screen, and I'm really glad that we did. Beautiful music added so much nuance to our ceremony.
Our ceremony was performed by Benjy's good friend who is a Methodist Preacher. I loved his sermon because he told a really funny story that involved him and Benjy trying to cook a live lobster and being terrified of it until his vegetarian girlfriend (now wife) showed them how ridiculous they were being by picking up the lobster! I loved that he had a personal story to tell!
I didn't anticipate being very emotional, but I found myself with tears streaming down my face during our wedding vows. This is just further proof that I'm a total sap. :) (And I have to say that despite my tears, my makeup didn't budge!)

This is me, makeup miraculously intact!

After the wedding, we all walked from City Park to Ralph's on the Park for brunch. We started with turtle soup, then had a choice of shrimp and grits or cochon du lait over poached eggs and biscuits. Dessert was chocolate and Kahlua mousse in pecan crisp cups. Everything was to die for, and Ralph's is just a beautiful restaurant.
After brunch, Benjy and I went with Meg and her husband Eric to take pictures in City Park. I really enjoyed having Meg take my pictures. It's always interesting to see how you are seen by your friends, and of course it helps to have friends who are *really* talented photographers. I really enjoyed watching Meg and Eric play with light and just enjoy the amazing backdrop that City Park provides- but I also really enjoyed watching them work as a team. Seeing another couple work so well together is a great way to start off one's marriage!

A great action shot of Meg and Eric

I've seen a few of the pictures they took so far and I am incredibly impressed- I'm so happy that they were there to capture my wedding day! If you live in Chattanooga you should really check out Soliphoto- they are outstanding!
After we took our wedding photos, we went back to the Peristyle to have a picnic with all of our guests. (I told you we held events ALL DAY!)
We had the Peristyle all day, and so we decided to have a picnic there between the wedding and the reception and invite everyone who would also be going to the reception. This was the biggest logistical difficulty but I was fairly shielded from that because Benjy did all the work for the picnic.
We chose to self-cater it because City Park charges you $3 per person if you bring in a non-city park caterer (for that and power washing related reasons, I'd give the Peristyle an A- overall), but cooking food yourself is free. We grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, and turkey burgers; and had baked beans and Zapp's chips as sides. I also made sure that the picnic fit into the theme of the rest of the day by making sure that there were pretty beverage dispensers with lemonade and tea; flowers (hydrangeas in mason jars) and white table clothes on the tables.

The Picnic!

Self catering was difficult because we had to figure out who would bring the food and beverages and cook the burgers. It worked out perfectly, but only because some good friend stepped in to start grilling when all of our groomsmen got stuck in traffic. I'm glad we had the picnic though because we've gotten some feedback from people saying that they were glad to have something to do during the day and prior to the reception so they didn't feel bored or lonely.
The final event of the night was our wedding reception. We held our reception at the Lemieux Art Gallery on Julia Street. Lemieux was such a cool place for our reception! We didn't have to do much in the way of decorating because there was lots of beautiful art- and the space itself is just really beautiful and unique. They were also really easy to work with.

Food at the reception was provided by Michael's catering, which is the catering branch of Matt and Naddie's. It was outstanding. Our good friend Jon chose to have his last meal in New Orleans before he moved to DC for his residency at Matt and Naddie's because the food at our reception was so wonderful. We also chose to have Haydels king cakes instead of a wedding cake, and I think that the king cakes were a big hit! I don't like "regular" cake, so this was an easy decision for me. :)

The cake topper was on my maternal grandparent's and my parent's wedding cakes too!

The other highlight of our reception was the music. Debauche: The Russian Mafia Band played and absolutely brought down the house. Benjy and I were both in favor of getting a band we love rather than a "wedding band" and it really ended up making the reception. They were so much fun! Our reception was pretty non-traditional- we didn't cut the cake or throw bouquets or garters but I think that the great music more than made up for that!

Other outstanding vendors- I used Pearl's Place for my wedding dress (which was actually a pretty inexpensive Bridesmaid's dress ordered in white), wedding bands were from Symmetry, and had my nails done at Rose's Nails on Carrollton and Oak (and I have to say that manicure lasted a full week without chipping- amazing!). I booked a block of rooms at the Embassy Suites on Julia. While the location was perfect, I have to say that I was a little disappointed with my dealings with them. They were supposed to expand the block after our initial 20 spots (10 on Friday and 10 on Sat.) filled up, but they were unable to because they were booked. I understand that, but I wish they had let us know. Finding that out when my mother in law was suddenly unable to get a room on our block was fairly unpleasant. Overall I'd give them a B compared to the giant A++ I'm giving almost everyone else.
I know this post is dragging on forever, but here is my little bit of wedding planning advice. First, choose a photographer whose work you love because your wedding memories are precious things that you want to preserve. After that, spend the majority of your money on food/beverages and music; and choose beautiful settings that don't need very much in the way of decoration so you can save money that way. Overall, try to focus on what makes you feel joyful about your wedding day. Even if things don't go exactly as planned- only you know that plan! So if you don't sweat the small stuff, your guests will never know there was anything to sweat about at all! That being said, the more you can do in advance, the better! Like I said, the only challenging part of the day was dealing with the picnic logistics because everything else had already been taken care of.

This gorgeous shot and the one at the top of the page are courtesy of my sneak peek from Soli Photo.

I'm currently wound up in packing for my honeymoon, but hopefully once I get back I'll remember to write a post all about what I packed and how well it did or didn't work out. (Hint: 18 days, 9 shirts- will I make it?)

My last bit of news is that it's time to retire Benjy's last nickname (my darling fiance). I'm thinking that since he's graduating from Med School the week after we get return from Spain, I'll go ahead and promote him to Dr. Hubby. :)

Crazy

Please excuse my even longer than usual absence from blogging. I've been unbelievably busy, both with wedding planning and with work. My company recently merged with another company and I've also taken on some new projects- and as a result I've been working at a frantic pace for weeks, with no end in sight.
Add to that the disruption of having my bathroom redone (it's done, thankfully) and dealing with a misbehaving cat (Pancake, obviously) and Mardi Gras festivities- and hopefully you'll understand why blogging has been at the bottom of my to do list. I think I'm managing pretty well, but when I'm this busy, my free moments are filled with a nagging anxiety that I'm forgetting something.
Of course, it hasn't all been bad- I had a good time during Mardi Gras, got fake eyelashes (so glam!) for the ball I attended this year (and as a trial for my wedding look), got a wonderful hot stone massage last Wednesday, and made some really awesome homemade granola tonight (seriously, go make this granola now- it's easy and so so good!).
I'm also doing pretty well in terms of not biting my nails. Getting a manicure every 3 weeks or so is really helping- as is wearing fun nail polish colors. My current favorite is OPI's Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous, a platinum grey with kind of a satiny finish. It's kind of bold for nails, but I really loved wearing it during Mardi Gras.
The biggest news of course is that I'm getting married in a month!! Of course, I'm really excited and I know that any wedding related stress will be so worth it in the end. :)

Are there Mardi Gras parades/celebrations where you live?

I survived!

Camping was actually a lot of fun. Of course, we were car camping in a brand new state park with really clean bathrooms and a huge tent. We also had an awning that went over our picnic table, a camp stove, and lots of hammocks and chairs. Stephanie even brought an air mattress for me and her to share. So my first camping experience was pretty luxurious. Nonetheless I feel like I've overcome my fear of sleeping in a tent and would definitely go camping again.
The Bogue Chitto State Park itself was kind of boring- all of the camping sites had both tent pads and RV hookups and there were a LOT of RV's. Since it was so new, the foliage was pretty sparse as well. In a year or two, I think it will be a lot prettier once nature has a chance to kind of take back over (unless of course you enjoy seeing nothing but RV's and scraggly pine trees).
There is a 7 mile hiking trail that is really easy- most of it is gravel packed. I really wanted to run it, but I don't think that the other people hiking with me would have appreciated that! The portions of the trail near our campsite were really boring but once we hiked down near the Bogue Chitto River, it got much prettier. That area was called the bottom lands and the camp sites there were prettier as well. Of course, it was sold out when we called, which is why we stayed in the less picturesque lowlands.
So my review of my camping trip is that camping is fun and s'mores are awesome, but the state park we chose needs a few seasons to get back to nature, and the one trail is way too easy if you are looking for a good hike.

Bye Bye 2010!

I don't know how people manage to blog regularly over the holidays! The theme of the holiday for me has been "Shelly is tired." I'm definitely looking forward to the new year, if only because it will give me a chance to go to bed early and eat lots of vegetables!
Things to talk about since I last blogged: Dinner at Upperline was delicious and it was great to see Bonnie and Gabe again. I spent Christmas with my parents, saw the Pinta and the Nina (excuse the lack of a tilde) which were docked in Biloxi, and recieved an awesome quilt made from all my old Sorority T-shirts from my Mom. I met up with Kristi and Colin in Hattiesburg and walked 6 miles on the Longleaf Trace while chatting and catching up with them. (I'd have preferred an actual trail to hike, but I think that walking and talking definitely beats sitting in a coffee shop or a restaurant all day!)
I get to see two more friends soon. My friend Daniel (and his friend Shauyi) are staying with me over the weekend for NYE, and I get to see my friend Ginny in Baton Rouge for brunch in a couple of weeks. It's definitely been a holiday for catching up with people I haven't seen in a while!
As for resolutions, I'm not sure I have any formal ones. I didn't do very well on my resolutions last year (I think I resolved to go to the eye doctor, the dentist, and to stay in shape and only succeeded on the last resolution- I'm gross, I know...but at least I floss all the time!)
There are a few things I'd like to do in 2011, of course. Get hitched and go to Spain are obviously on the top of my list, but I'm also thinking about running a Marathon in Feb., and in light of all of the life changes that may or may not be happening this year (getting married, and, depending on where my darling fiance ends up doing his residency, moving and finding a new job) I'd just like to handle anything that comes my way with grace. (Which obviously won't happen because I am, as ever, a stress ball.) I'd also like to keep up my good eating and fitness habits, and not get too behind on wedding planning.

What are you looking forward to in 2011?

Mississippi Gulf Coast Half Marathon 2: Electric Boogaloo

Last year, the 1/2 Marathon was my first ever. This year it was my third. I'm proud to say that today I set a new personal record, beating last year's time by 2 minutes (and last month's time by 10!), running 13.1 miles in 1:56:57.
Much like last year- it was SO COLD this morning. Driving over, my car thermometer said it was 38 degrees! Fortunately, it was pretty sunny and by the end of the race it was in the mid-50's. Overall, it was a gorgeous day for a run and the time really flew by for me for the most part. Around 10.5 miles, I started really flagging and my running buddy Margee had to remind me to eat the Gu chomps I had in my belt, and the last 3 miles were pretty tough. Fortunately, I knew that I had a good shot at a new PR which kept me motivated!

Pros of this race:
The T-shirt is long sleeved and the design always makes me smile. What's better than a long sleeved race t-shirt? A long sleeved race t-shirt with a rocket on it!
Whatever energy drink they provided tasted really good. It wasn't too sweet at all.
After the race, there were Nilla Wafers and cups of hot chicken soup. Bliss!!
It's a fast run- flat and uncrowded.
It's cheap- it was $25 prior to Nov. 22 and $30 on race day.

Cons:
If you run this race alone, you will be bored. It's a small race and there are long stretches where there aren't that many people. It's also not all that scenic- you're running down a road with woods and nondescript buildings along side it for the most part. There are a couple airplanes and booster tanks at one point, but that's about it.

Overall- I like to run this race because I'm on the coast anyway for Thanksgiving and it's a great excuse to eat all the stuffing I can fit in my face. :) Also, I've gotten times I'm proud of both years I've run it. If the opportunity arises, I'd definitely run it again!

As for recovery, I'm doing basically the same thing I did after the Jazz Half Marathon- today I got home, napped, did runner's yoga, then took an Epsom salt bath. Tomorrow, I'll be doing a lot of walking b/c I'm going to the Louisiana Renaissance Festival with a bunch of my friends. So far I'm in more pain than I was last time, but I think that's b/c I had to drive half an hour back to my parents' house after the race and then an hour and a half back to New Orleans this evening, so my legs are kind of stiff. They're not too bad though!

How did you spend your long weekend?

Jazz Half Marathon Recap

I ran the Jazz Half Marathon this morning and it was a great race. I finished in 2 hours and 4 minutes, which is longer than my first half marathon, but not by much. The key differences were that this race was very slow and crowded for the first few miles and we stopped and took some pictures along the way. It made for a fun, no pressure race, which was nice. The course stared by the Convention Center, wound it's way through the central business district, then went up St. Charles Ave., around Audubon Park, and back to the Convention Center, so for the most part, it was pretty scenic. I ran with my friends Jen and Margee, which was great. They're both really good runners and keeping up with them helps me push myself to go faster. And they dressed up in 80's attire as well, which was really fun.
I'm trying to apply myself to my recovery this time b/c I had a very poor recovery last year. It was really cold, I had to ride for 45 minutes in the car to get back to my parents' house, and they didn't really grasp the concept of resting one's legs and kept asking me to get up and go do stuff until I finally gave up and went home to New Orleans so I could get some rest. I remember being sore for like a week. This time, I want to be able to run again by next weekend.
After the race and after party, I went home, showered, and took a two hour nap. I woke up feeling like a new person (I find napping really helps me heal) so I got up, ate some lunch, and went to the grocery store. Despite the benefits of napping, I do get really stiff if I sit around too much after my nap. After my grocery run, I chilled out for a little while, snacked on chips and salsa, then did some chores. Next I did a 10 minute Yoga for Runners video that left my legs feeling much looser. I started this post, then saved it and went to get Mexican food with my friends. Now that I'm home, I'm going to watch a movie and soak in Epsom Salts.
As of right now, I'm feeling pretty good- slightly stiff and sore, but I've felt worse after some long training runs. I'm not going to end up sitting on the couch with bags of frozen veggies on my knees at any rate.
My plan for tomorrow is to continue with my active recovery by swimming a few easy laps at the gym, then going to a Saint's tailgate. Who Dat!
I'll leave you with some pictures taken by Jen, one of my fellow 80's girl runners. (Other bloggers who I saw today were Grace, Lindsey, and Keith. It was Lindsey and Keith's first half, so congrats to them!)

Before the start of the race- it was dark!

In front of a spooky house on St. Charles Ave.

Jesus of the Porta-Potties

Post Race Party
Eating Kung Pao Chicken and rocking some truly awful bangs

Birthday Recap Part I: Karaoke

This weekend has been very nice. I haven't really done much at all since I've been recuperating from a cold. I'm feeling 100% better, but I still don't have any energy in the evenings. Last night I went to dinner with my house guests, then went home and was in bed by 10, while they went out and painted the town.
I got up bright and early and met Grace for a run- which was a lot of fun. I don't normally have company on my long runs, but I found that the 8 miles really flew by this time. So thanks for the company, Grace! After that I went to the Farmer's Market, took a 2 hour nap (I'm such a granny), spent some time with my house guests on the levee, and got groceries. Now I'm just relaxing and looking forward to another quiet night in.
Tomorrow I'm going to Gulfport to visit my parents. I've requested BBQ chicken for lunch specifically so I will have an excuse to make another batch of cilantro lime slaw. I actually made some for dinner tonight as well and had it with sauteed shrimp, salsa, and corn tortillas. Drool.
I know I've promised y'all a post about my birthday trip, and I think the best thing to do is to split my post into a few parts. First, I have to blog about Karaoke.
Last Friday, 7 of my girlfriends met me at Little Tokyo Uptown, where I had reserved a small Karaoke room. My friend Steph had the genius idea to bring costumes, so we shut the door, closed all the blinds, and spent the next 3 hours making absolute fools of ourselves. It was wonderful. We sang at the top of our lungs, danced around, jumped on the couches, and totally let loose. It reminded me of nothing so much as going to slumber parties when I was 14. It was excellent girly fun and I totally want to do it again. My one caveat is this: no matter how tempted you are, it is inadvisable to head-bang during Bohemian Rhapsody. My neck hurt for the next two days!
Of course we took a lot of really funny pictures and I can't resist sharing a few!

Why yes, that is a chicken hat.

It's not a birthday party until at least one of your friends ends up looking like a Muppet.
Party on,Garth. Party on, Wayne.
Have you ever done Karaoke? If so, what's your favorite song? I like to sing Jose Cuervo by Shelly West. :)

And stay tuned for Part II of my birthday recap!

Shenanigans

I had a really enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend. When I got home on Friday, my darling fiance surprised me with tulips, prosecco, and key lime cupcakes. (This made for an *interesting* 5K race later that evening at Greekfest, but I couldn't resist!) Actually it wasn't too bad because I ran with my friend Steph, who generally doesn't race, so I had a good reason to take it easy and just enjoy the run. Afterward, I pigged out on (free) beer, fried calamari with feta, and a gyro.
My darling fiance also brought home a watermelon on Friday, which he proceeded to fill with vodka. On Saturday, we went to Steph's and had a pool party. The watermelon needs further improvement- parts of it were completely bereft of vodka, and parts were eye-wateringly soaked. Eating it was a total guessing game! After the pool party we returned to my house for pizza and movies.
On Sunday, there was a toga contest at Greekfest (and everyone wearing a toga got in free!) Six of us (3 muses thought the weather was too rainy) dressed up like muses (complete with New Orleans street tile name tags) and won the contest! I also ate half a pound of lamb and a baklava sundae. Yum!
Today was spent getting groceries, tidying the house, and grilling fish. Of course now that my long weekend is over I'm actually feeling really exhausted. I'm sure it's nothing that few days of eating healthier food, going to the gym, and getting enough sleep won't fix. But I think all in all I had a little too much fun. :)

Run for Home

I didn't do very much this weekend. I planned to be productive on Friday afternoon until my darling fiance decided to make mint juleps at 4pm. Of course, he didn't have any mint, so we ended up sipping a combination of bourbon, simple syrup, and peppermint schnapps which was surprisingly tasty. We ended up having dinner at Ciro's Cote Sud- a little neighborhood french restaurant on Maple St. that I love. (And if you live in the area, they deliver!!) I almost always get their pate plate, but this time I had a bowl of french onion soup and the duck confit salad. I also split a tart tatin with my darling fiance for dessert.
On Saturday, we woke up prior to the crack of dawn because we were running the Run for Home 5K at Zephyr field in Metairie. Since I didn't pick up our race numbers on Friday evening (due to the "mint juleps" and the fact that I would have had to drive out there from my house at 5:30 pm), we got to the ball park around 6:45 because we thought there would be a line of people waiting to get their numbers. We were wrong. There were only about 50 runners in the race and we could have gotten there at 7:30 and been fine.
The run itself was nice- it mainly consisted of loops around a running trail that circled the ball park and Lafreniere park which is next to it. The weather, however, was pretty unpleasant. It was 80 degrees at 6am and incredibly humid- this did not change by the time the race started at 8. The only good thing was that it was really windy. Running into a headwind isn't great for time, but it did help to cool me off a little. We both did pretty well at the race and technically PR'd- my darling fiance's time was 27:10 and mine was 27:12. (I haven't run a 5 or 10 K race since last spring when I was just getting started, so it's not hard for me to PR this year. If I PR at any races next year, then I'll be excited- haha!)
The best thing about the race, though, was that it was an absolute bargain. For a $25 entry fee (proceeds going to Lighthouse for the Blind) you got a race T-shirt (which was actually pretty cute), 2 baseball tickets to a Zephyr's game, and entry into the raffle at the end of the race. They raffled off a ton of stuff and since it was a small race- the chances were really good. I won a gift certificate to Mr. Ed's Restaurant (And trust, me, I never win anything). I've never been there so I am excited to try them out! :)
I spent the rest of the weekend pretty much being lazy. I took a nap when I got home, then made pizza for dinner (I swear by the pizza dough you can pick up at Whole Foods- so good!). I did half spinach and goat cheese, half mozzarella, basil and prosciutto, and cracked an egg in the middle. I really prefer homemade pizza now because I love coming up with creative toppings. A few weeks ago I did tomato sauce, spinach, thinly sliced yellow squash and hunks of mozzarella and loved it!
After dinner, we remember that it was Free Comic Book Day and decided to take advantage of it by going to Crescent City Comics. We ended up getting some free comic books and buying a couple of other ones. The guys at the Crescent City Comics also gave us some free beer and had queso dip from Sarita's for people to try. It was excellent but extremely spicy. After that, we went home and sat on our porch and read comic books for the rest of the night.
On Sunday, we pretty much sat around the house all day and worked on our wedding website. It's almost done- thanks to my darling fiance who did *tons* of work on it! It has to be ready for when we send out our Save the Dates- but that still gives us some time because although we got them yesterday, I still have to address them all!
I actually really enjoyed the fact that I didn't really do that much this weekend. It's nice to stay home and I found myself on Monday wishing I had another day to hibernate.

A lot to catch up on

Sorry I haven't written in so long! I've been a busy busy girl!
On the vegetables front, I have to say that I have completely fallen off of the 5 a day wagon. I had good intentions but at the end of the day, I just don't like snacking on raw veggies in the afternoon, and weekend spontaneity and rigid resolutions don't mix. So let's just file this under "reasons Shelly can never be a vegetarian" and not speak of it again.
As for fitness, I tried two new things last week. On Tuesday I took a spinning class and since there weren't that many people at the Pilates studio on Wed. (due to St. Patrick's Day, I'm sure), our class got to do a half mat/half reformer machine class. Both spinning and Pilates reformers were intense. I actually ended up having a good bit of pain in my left hip (from the reformer, I think) so I think I will be skipping Pilates this week. I'm doing well with my running and feel 100% prepared for the Crescent City Classic because I ran 6 miles last weekend. This weekend I ran 4 and walked an additional 1.5 on Friday with my running buddy Margee, then ran 5 and walked an additional mile with my friend Gretchen on Sunday. I am really proud of Gretchen because I talked her into signing up for the classic and she did great during our run yesterday!
Socially, I have been out and about more often than not. Last weekend I went to the St. Patrick's Day Parade and my friend Sarah R's birthday party on Saturday and to a bridal show at Ralph's on the Park on Sunday. The bridal show was very nice and, unsurprisingly, my favorite vendor was the man giving out samples of Champagne. I got to try Dom Perignon, Veuve Clicquot Rose, and Ruinart, which is really really good!
On Monday, my wedding dress came in, so I used my lunch hour to go pick it up. So exciting!! (And I'll get to wear it in just under 13 months- wee!) I also went to my friend Sarah T's house for an early St. Patrick's Day potluck dinner full of green food. (I brought sprite and lime sherbet floats for dessert.)
On Thursday, I attended a cocktails and canapes event at the Bourbon House.
On Friday, we went to the Hi Ho Lounge and saw both Debauche the Russian Mafia Band, and Slow Burn Burlesque. I'd never seen a burlesque show before, but I really enjoyed it.
On Saturdaym my darling fiance and I went to the local French/English bilingual school's Fete Francaise and then to a fundraiser for the Southern Rep Theater that featured music from Kermit Ruffins and Trombone Shorty, lots of really good food (including a whole roast pig filled with jambalaya) and a silent auction. I bid on and won a necklace from Symmetry Jewelers (the same jewelers who made my engagement ring). It's really pretty- a crescent moon and stars formed into a silver circle.
On Sunday, I ran with Gretchen, then tried to go to Hancock Fabrics with my friend Sarah L, but the store was closed due to a parade in Metairie. So we got ice cream instead. After that I volunteered at the Poydras Home (I called bingo- it was so much fun!), then got our groceries for the week. We ended the weekend by grilling salmon, chicken sausage, bbq chicken (the latter two meats are for us to eat this week), a halved artichoke, and roasted garlic bread. It was a great dinner!
Tonight I have bookclub and tomorrow I have a board meeting for my Theta Alum club.
And I am officially tired from just typing all this!!
BUT I still have some really great stuff to talk about- I just think I'll put it in a separate post because this one is getting long!
Check back soon!

Confessions

So I failed to eat at least 5 servings of vegetables three times last week. (And once, already, this week.) So what have we learned? Mainly that I suck at eating veggies during the weekend. The only time I slipped up during the week, I actually ate 4 servings of vegetables, so at least I was close. My weekend servings (I messed up last Sunday, this past Saturday, and this Sunday) were a lot lower (think 2). I do eat vegetables at dinner, but I am 100% more likely to eat a sandwich or an egg and call it lunch on the weekend. I don't really plan ahead for my meal on the weekend and I also am prone to eating a big meal out, then eating like a bird the rest of the weekend because I am full. I also tend to shop on Sundays so by Saturday, even if I *should* down a green monster to make up my veggies- I'm often out of spinach. Never fear, the challenge is still on, and I am still maintaining my spreadsheet. However, I need to have a plan in place to get my veggies on the weekends! I'll let you know when I think of something! :)
The good news is that fitness wise, last week outstanding! I worked out a total of 5 times- 2 days of weight lifting, 1 day on the treadmill (at 15% incline and 4 Km/hr pace- try it, you'll like it!) and 2 runs!!!! It feels so good to be active again!
My runs were great, especially my 4 mile run on Sunday. I was feeling kind of anxious about it since I had a pretty hard time on my runs last week, but I told myself to just get out there and run around the park. It didn't matter how long it took or if I needed to walk- all I had to do was go outside, enjoy the weather, run to the park, run the loop around the park, and come home. Ultimately, I didn't walk at all, and even though I didn't push myself, my pace was 9:20- not bad! The best part was that I had a great time. I literally had a smile on my face for the entire run! It was wonderful and gave me a lot of much needed confidence. The Crescent City Classic is on April 3, and I do feel like I'll be ready in time. (Also, a note to people who want to run this race- tickets are $25 until March 15- after that, they are $30.)
This weekend was very nice all around. Of course, the gorgeous weather put me in a wonderful mood! On Friday, I ran errands after work, then ran 3 miles. That evening, we went to a friend's house for dinner. I brought this Kale Slaw (with buttermilk blue cheese dressing and walnuts) that was a big hit. (Now I just need to decide what to do with the leftover buttermilk I have- cornbread, perhaps?)
On Saturday, I had brunch at the Ruby Slipper with some of my sorority sisters (we're active in our local alumni club), went to the mall for a watch battery (and ended up buying a shirt for myself, and one for my darling fiance), got my hair cut and colored, and took my darling fiance to Squeal to have some yummy BBQ for dinner.
On Sunday, I spent most of the day cleaning our house (aka up to my neck in pet hair), but I did manage to get groceries and go for the 4 mile run I wrote about above. I also went to my friend Ashley's house to watch the Oscar's. I left before most of the awards were given out though because I was tired and I really only care about the fashion. :)

Playing Catch Up

I'm briefly diverting my attention away from the million things I have to do, to write a recap post before I forget everything I wanted to write about.
First, Pancake! I got a call back from the vet saying he tested positive for Toxoplasmosis which could explain why he had the seizure. They want to put him on a month of antibiotics to knock out the infection. We still have some questions: Cats get it from eating dead prey- and he hasn't been outside since Nov., but he tested positive for IgM antibodies which is indicative of a recent infection (versus IgG which is indicative of an older infection) so we're not sure how long ago he would have gotten it. But overall, I hope that this is the problem- because I would love to give him a course of antibiotics and then have him be seizure free! Overall though he is doing well and hasn't had any seizures since we brought him back from the vet, so that's good news!
Second, Mardi Gras! Mardi Gras was a ton of fun this year. We went to the Arthurian's ball on Friday night, which is always a great time. On Saturday, we hung out at the Endymion parade with our friends, and on Sunday we went to the Bacchus Ball and had a great time. I'll do a more detailed Mardi Gras post with some cute pictures soon, I promise!
Up next, Work! Tuesday (Mardi Gras day) was a vacation day for my office- and yet somehow I spent it flying to Houston for work. Boo! I thought that meant that I could take Monday off completely to recover from the Bacchus Ball (we rolled in around 3 or 3:30, as I recall) but I had to work about 4 hours on Monday to prep for my work trip. Fortunately, my boss let me work from home. I wish I could wear PJ's to work every day! Anyway, I worked a 10 hour day on Tuesday and a 12 hour day yesterday (which included 10 hours spent in a meeting- ugh!) . I thought yesterday was going to be a 15 hour day, but I managed to catch an earlier flight (which involved running to the gate- who needs dignity?) and got home around 7:30. I was exhausted, but a 12 hour day is so much better than a 15 hour day!
Which bring me to, sickness! I think I am getting sick again. Last night I had a low grade fever and a horrible sore throat and this morning I'm coughing and stuffy. I think I'm having a relapse of the cold that I just got over, so hopefully my immune system will kick into gear and get rid of it quickly this time.
Because I miss running!! I think it has literally been a month since I've run. Having managed to get two (or more) colds in the past two months has really put a damper on my exercise. And whenever I'm well, it has either been cold, raining, or both. Fortunately, my running buddy got in touch with me this week. She's been out of town for med school this month and is eager to get back into our workout schedule. So hopefully I will be feeling better and we can get back into our routine next week! I will give myself credit though because I have actually been going to the gym as much as possible. When I'm feeling pretty good, I've been doing a workout inspired by Angela at Oh She Glows. I crank the treadmill up to an incline of 15% and walk at 4 km/hr for half an hour. (I usually follow that up with some abs work and 20 pushups.) When I'm not feeling so well, I just hop on the elliptical and watch TV. But I've been making it to the gym 2-4 times a week, with the exception of one week when my cold was particularly chesty, so I'm pretty proud of myself for maintaining my good habits! I also rode my bike for the first time in literally a year on Sunday. I needed to get to my friend Sarah's house but couldn't drive there because of parades. I biked there and back home, for a total of 6 miles. I enjoyed the ride, but I definitely remember why I don't ride my bike very often- it bruises my rear! :( I guess it's something you get used to over time, but I hate that about biking! (And yet somehow running induced foot blisters don't bother me....)
Finally, I want to say that I got a shout out on another blog. I tried Smitten Kitchen's Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions (and so should everyone because it is easy and amazing!) and suggested that Heather at Heather Eat's Almond Butter should try it, and when she did, she mentioned me in her post. So, thanks, Heather! :) I'm glad you loved the sauce!
Okay I think that's all I planned to talk about for now. I hope everyone is having a good week!

I'm Baaaack!!!!!!!!

Hello Everyone!
I got back to New Orleans on Sunday night. I always hate leaving Murren, but there's nothing like a flight across the Atlantic Ocean to make you really happy to be home! I never mind the flight to Europe because I sleep through most of it, since we get to Switzerland in the morning. But since we arrive in the US in the evening, I try to stay awake during the flight home in order to minimize my jet lag. So of course, after a few hours all I can think about is how much I want to be home!
Of course, Murren was wonderful. Skiing was great. I skiied during both the mornings and afternoons on all but two of the days (due to afternoon rain- boo!), and I think I really improved. I am particularly proud of my parallel turns.
A lot of my improvement is due to another year of ski school. I loved my instructor this year- she was a grandmother in her 60's who used to be on the Swiss Ski Team named Vreni (pronounced "Frannie") and she was so much fun! Vreni was incredibly cheerful and upbeat, and she had a million metaphors to describe what we should be doing. (As best I can tell, I'm supposed to be a snowflake-bird with Ibex horns and heavy luggage- which is a summation of all of the different metaphors she used.) She also liked to exclaim "It's a feeling!" while side slipping down a hill.
When I skiied with my darling fiance and his family, we did a bunch of off piste skiing, which is pretty much my favorite thing in the world. :) I also tried a few new things- I skiied at Birg, which is a lot higher in the mountains that I normally ski. You have to take a cable car to get there, and it's so high up that there are no trees. I also learned how to take a T-bar lift (the secret is not to sit down on the bar).
We brought a flip video camera with us this year, so we have a lot of videos up on you tube. Here is one of me taken on our second to last day of skiing (I'm in a red and white jacket). You can compare that to my skiing earlier in the week to see how much I improved. I'll link one more of a little off piste run in Winteregg that we really loved, but feel free to check out the other videos that my darling fiance uploaded (he and his brother recorded videos while talking in California accents and calling each other "ski bro" that were absolutely hillarious). I will also be putting photos online soon. :)
In other news, last night we finally introduced Homer to Pancake. We put Pancake in a cat cage and let Homer sniff around him for about an hour, then we let Pancake out. The meeting was mercifully anticlimatic. Homer occasionally hisses at Pancake and has tried to smack him once or twice, but there have been no serious cat fights. I am thrilled! Pancake is pretty thrilled too- he's making himself right at home. He even slept in the bed last night! Of course, he's also been meowing excitedly pretty much non-stop, which is less thrilling, especially at 5am. :P
Before I go, I should also write a packing recap. I get better at packing every year, but my bag was still a shameful 51 lbs. The mistakes I made were packing a bag of self heating glove warmers (that we keep bringing but never use, actually- I really wasn't thinking when I packed it) and letting my darling fiance put a very heavy power converted in my bag at the last minute. (I can't complain too much about that though b/c it allowed me to use my flat iron.) I also could have packed 3 books instead of 4, I really could have gotten by with 2 instead of 3 pairs of pants, and 2 pairs of PJ's. I also took a couple extra shirts that I didn't need and too many pairs of underwear and socks (which I will probably do again b/c I still like to have extras). I was worried that my new boots wouldn't be warm or waterproof enough (I put waterproofing wax on them before the trip), but they were fine- even when it was raining and snowing. My new ski pants worked out perfectly, which makes me so happy. $30 ski pants rule! I actually didn't use my new black sweater as much as I thought I would (I didn't really feel very cold this year), but it was very comfortable and cozy when I did wear it. I think next year the only thing I will add to my packing list is a pair of slippers. My darling fiance brought his and I was totally jealous.
Anyway, I'm sure I had a million other things that I meant to write, but I can't seem to recall them right now. Blame the jet lag!

The Morning After

Our Christmas party last night was lots of fun! Of course, I'm totally ignoring the fact that every glass in the house needs to be washed in favor of blogging.
I was very pleased with the food I made this year. I did a couple of things differently than I had planned- namely, I made hazelnut bark instead of chocolate chip cookies, and the stuffed peppadews (which I accidentally called pequillo's in the last post) didn't use up all of the goat cheese and chive filling, so I used the rest of the filling as a dip. I got a lot of good feedback about all of the food- I'd say that the Rotel dip was the biggest hit, I could have doubled the recipe and probably wouldn't have any left-overs. Everyone loved the bacon wrapped water chestnuts too. The fruit pizza and baked brie were also popular items. I was grateful for the pickled veggies, especially as the evening wore on- it was nice to reach for a piece of pickled okra instead of something unhealthy when I got snacky later in the evening.
My friend Stephanie brought some cookies she calls shorts (I think they are something like this recipe), and my friend Julianne brought fresh satsuma slices that she'd dipped halfway into dark chocolate. They were both excellent!
Our drink menu was great this year too. We had poinsetta cocktails, gluehwein (cook over low heat 2 bottles of red wine, 2 cups of sugar, the juice of one orange, the orange itself, 3 cinnamon sticks and 10 cloves for about an hour- being careful not to boil the wine), brandy milk punch, peppermint patty shots, and brandied port (brandy, port, and a twist of lemon).
I am sitting on the couch blogging while wearing the snuggie that my brother gave me for Christmas. I've certainly mocked snuggies in the past,but there is something to be said for being able to drink my coffee without having to adjust my blanket. Also, Homer is obsessed with the snuggie. He slept in my lap for 2 entire hours the other night because I was wearing the snuggie and watching a movie.
In other news, the shower in my bathroom has decided to stop working. I usually have amazing water pressure (and copious amounts of hot water), but the water just stopped coming out of the shower head in the middle of my shower yesterday. This has happened to me before at a previous apartment (although that apartment had only a shower head and no faucet, so I occasionally had to bathe using a pot full of hot water, which reminded me of Miss Honey in Matilda...this time I just crouched under the faucet and cursed loudly while trying to rinse my hair) and I think that the problem is that there are solids clogging up the line (a few rusty chunks came out of the faucet yesterday and today, which supports my supposition). Of course, I'm hoping that it will clear itself up in a couple of days (my old place often did) because if we call the landlords now, they probably won't be able to send someone over until we are out of town. Given that there are two cats in my house who have to be kept apart (we're not ready for Pancake to meet Homer until he no longer limps), we'd rather not have strangers in the house opening doors while we're gone. So worst comes to worst I'll have to use my darling fiance's shower for a couple of days. His water pressure is actually pretty lousy, but it's certainly better than nothing. Just now the pipes in my bathroom were making a horrible noise, so maybe the water will start up again soon.....this is the price of living in a charming old house!
My darling fiance and I opened our Christmas presents to each other on Thursday night so we would have more seating for our Christmas party. (The tree is sitting in our bay window, which serves as a bench when we entertain.) He gave me fuzzy socks, a new running shirt that is both long sleeved and reflective, another pair of Lululemon yoga pants, and a Wii and Wii fit kit! I've been wanting a Wii for years, so I am really excited to finally have one! I'm planning to play with the Wii fit this afternoon (which is a good incentive to get my house cleaning done).
As for now I think I will finish my coffee and read through my google reader before I get up and clean. It's nice to relax. Aside from two days of work this coming week, my holiday stress is pretty much behind me. I do have to pack and I have both a long run and a brunch for my book club at Dante's Kitchen to look forward to tomorrow. I leave for Switzerland on Wednesday!
Happy Holidays!!

Rather Busy

This is the time of year in which I live by my to do list! I am pooped and am staying in tonight. :) I must say that I have accomplished a ton this week- both in terms of socializing and in terms of getting important tasks out of the way.
On the social front, I went to book club. We read The Help, which was really good. It's been my favorite book so far. Up next is Cleopatra's Daughter. I also went to a holiday happy hour hosted by my local sorority alumni club (Kappa Alpha Theta, if anyone is curious, and I'm actually the treasurer of our club this year) at the Swizzle Stick Bar (one of my favorite places for creative cocktails), and I had dinner with my friend Heather last night at Il Posto Cafe.
On the task front, one of the most notable things I did this week was get two of the four remaining outside cats fixed at the Southern Animal Foundation. Trapping the cats was actually kind of scary because they went nuts when the trap door closed and I had to wear work gloves to move the boxes because I was afraid that they would bite or scratch me through their cages. However, I am really glad I got it done because the two cats I caught were actually both girls. I'm so glad I prevented two more litters from being born this year! The remaining two cats are boys and I have an appointment to trap them and have them fixed in January.
In other news, I am psyched to say that I got a pair of Spyder ski pants for $30 yesterday! They are actually little girl's pants- my current ski pants (which fit but are old and kind of out of date looking) are a girl's XL (ski clothes run really big!) and I looked at the measurements and realized that I could totally fit into the Spyder girl's size 18. They were marked down to $80 from $100 on Amazon.com. I also knew that my mom had gotten me an Amazon gift card for Christmas. I thought it was for $25, but when I called her to get the number, she said it was for $50. Score!! My pants should be arriving Monday. :)
Today I was as busy as can be. I'm facing a big deadline at work, and I had a bunch of errands to run afterward. I actually trapped the cats last night and took them to the vet this morning. After work, I first dropped by Massey's for waterproofing spray for my new snow boots (Amazon sales have been good to me this fall), then I stopped and looked at the bridal shop (Pearl's Place) down the street. It recently occurred to me that since I want a fitted dress and I don't want a train, a good option for me might be to order a Bridesmaid's dress in white. A lot of bridesmaid's gowns were too shiny, but I really liked this one. It's significantly less expensive than a standard wedding gown, but what I really like is that it weighs so much less than a wedding gown! I know it's a weird thing to be excited about, but I was walking through the store trying to get a better look at some of the wedding dresses, and whenever I would even move one on the rack, all I noticed was how heavy they were! It made them very unappealing to me. Anyway, I think that the dress is really cute on me too. I love the single shoulder strap and the horizontal pleating. I took a picture on my camera phone (please ignore the weird face I'm making and my strange hair)- what do y'all think? You have to picture it in white, of course. After that I went to Symmetry and priced wedding bands (because we have been working out our budget this week- fun stuff), and was pleasantly surprised that my initial guess for that part of the budget was too high. :)
After that I picked up a couple of Christmas presents (I'm officially DONE!) and then went and got the cats from the vet.
Tonight I still need to finish wrapping presents and then wash the dogs because tomorrow is my family's Christmas party in Gulfport. I don't think I've mentioned it on the blog but for the past few years I've gone skiing in Switzerland with my darling fiance and his family during the actual Christmas holiday (hence the snow boots and ski pants), so I celebrate with my family early. I'm looking forward to tomorrow because I got everyone some great presents and I can't wait for them to open them.
Okay, less blogging, more work! Have a good weekend everyone!