life is good.

Ahhhhh....today was pretty much a fantastic and perfect birthday.

Although my day started out just a wee bit early (up at 4:30 to teach a 5:15 circuit class), I powered through like the birthday champ that I am.

Yeah, a birthday CHAMP - because I am cool like that.

I enjoyed breakfast with Nic before he headed off to work.

Sipped on coffee and read for a while on our new patio set.

Took at nap at 8:30AM. Because it is never too early to nap on your birthday!

And then the real fun began!

I headed up to Iowa City and...



...got an hour long massage at Zenders. It was lovely albeit not the best I've had, but you can't go wrong with a $35 massage (including tip) thanks to a nearly year old gift card.

...shopped around the Ped Mall, which very well could be one of my most favorite places to be. So many neat shops and a gazillion restaurants to dine at. It reminds me a lot of Uptown, MN. I like it.



...grabbed lunch with Diana at The Red Avocado. It was delicious. Diana was a little nervous to dine at an all vegan restaurant, but jumped in feet first and licked her plate clean. Diana is a wonderful friend and I am so glad we have been able to reconnect this past year. She gave me a card and had figured out that we've been friends for 15 years - doesn't that seem like a looooong time?

...went antiquing/shopping at a few gems of stores that Diana stumbled across a while ago.



...headed over to one of my most favorite places in Coralville - Running Wild, to have a gait analysis (get a gait analysis?). Walked out of there with a brand new shiny pair of shoes and a reflective vest to keep my old self safe of early morning runs.



...and then I went to a candy store. Well, it is my version of a candy store - New Pioneer Food Coop! Yep, second time in two days and third time in a week. I could seriously wander the isles for hours. I would love to work at New-Pi someday...I think they could use someone with 5+ year experience in the non-profit sector who is passionate about healthy living, don't you?!



After New-Pi, I made my way back to Washington (while snacking on a birthday chocolate chip cookie of course!) to sneak in a quick nap, power clean the house and get ready for the evening activities.

We went to our friends' house for a quick drink (and got to open a sweet birthday present - a bunch of food from New-Pi! My friends know my so well!), and with 10 minutes to spare, we hit up Hy-Vee for a wine tasting.

Fireside Winery was sampling eight of their wines, and Brad put up with our group as we sampled and re-sampled many of the wines.



Brad was fun - especially since we showed up so late and kept him in Washington for longer than he was probably planning on be there. We walked out with a few bottles of wine though, so I am sure he was okay with staying a few minutes late.



I've been up to Fireside twice. Both times for work and it has been awesome. We need to get up there again soon to enjoy some of the music they have on the weekends.

We invited everyone back to the house for an impromptu BBQ were copious amounts of cider, beer and whiskey were consumed.



And a bit of Pirates Booty as well.




Screen doors always seem to break when our friends come over...




The men powered through that bottle of Busmills' like champs!

And as if the house wasn't full enough, Nic's dad, sister and our nephew and niece showed up around 9:30 to visit for a few days.



Life is good.

burgers & beer

Last night Nic and I headed up to Iowa City to grab dinner at Short's Burger & Shine.  Our favorite brewery in Iowa, Peace Tree, was taking over the tap to help kick-off Iowa City's Jazz Fest, which will take place all weekend.



Twas a grand time.

You can't really beat a great burger, a cold beer and a pile of fries.

The chocolate chip cookies we grabbed at New Pioneer Food Coop were the proverbial cherries on top of an already fantastic night.

We took the scenic route home (read: rural highway) and started packing up for today's camping trip immediately when walking in the door.






This morning in snuck in a quick 12.48 mile run down the Kewash nature trail.

Camping....here we come!

let the party begin

I am going to be o.l.d. next Thursday. I am also going to be away from my handsome husband all next week, so today beings my birthday festivities!

I am ditching the office in about 45 minutes to head up to Iowa City to attend Iowa Public Radio's Java Blend performance. Coffee + free music = great way to spend the afternoon.

After Java Blend, we have a few errands to run, including a stop at my favorite co-op, the New Pioneer Co-op. Where I must really try hard not to buy everything in site.  Menards is also on the list, as since we are actually home this weekend, several house projects are calling our names.  Lame, but these things need to get done.

Around 5 we are breaking for dinner at the Red Avocado - seriously, how cool of a name is that?  Ever since I heard an ad for them on IPR I've wanted to stop.  Well, turns out they are an organic & vegan restaurant. Nic wasn't too keen on visiting, but it's MY birthday week, so he'll deal.

And then it's back to town for us for a night cap and some music with some friends at Dodici's Shop.

I'd say today will be a good start to a full week of birthday festivities!

happy anniversary to us!

Today marked our three year anniversary! We had a lovely evening out, but first - I have to show you some amazing food photos! :)

My favorite breakfast of late has been overnight oats with flavored banana soft serve. I've said it before, but it is so good!

Yesterday's was cherry-banana soft serve:


And today's was peach-banana soft serve - YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS!  Before I headed out for a quick run and walk with Maia this morning, I cut up a peach and put it in the freezer. I then blended the frozen peach with a frozen banana and a splash of soy milk. It was so creamy and delicious and who doesn't want ice cream for breakfast?!


Okay - back to our lovely night celebrating three years of wedded bliss...(blech, so corny!)

We headed up to the big city :) for dinner at the Motley Cow Cafe, but fist stopped at Running Wild to pick up a fuel belt for me - the perfect start to an anniversary celebration if I do say so!

(Don't you love that there is a cookie store right above the running store??)

The fuel belt was $50 which I think is a bit spendy, but thankfully I had a $25 gift certificate from winning (lol, can't say that too often!) the St. James Fun Run a few months back.

Some power shopping was done at Target to pick up a sweet gift for my cousin Pam and her hubs-to-be. We are headed up to MN for their wedding this weekend. It is going to be a whirl-wind trip, but I am looking forward to seeing the family.



If you are ever in Iowa City, you have to stopped at the Motley Cow Cafe! This was the first time Nic and I have been there, but plan to go back in the near future. Very reasonable prices, and a smallish seasonal menu that packed huge flavors!

We started off with some hummus and drinks - beer for Nic, wine for me.


The salad that came with my meal was served with a buttermilk cumin dressing, which was so good I could have drank it by the gallon. Such an interesting combination. I am going to have to try to recreate it soon.


The main course - basil risotto. Rich, buttery, cheesy, good. I had to pace myself, otherwise I could have inhaled the entire bowl in about 2 minutes. YUM.


After dinner we headed out for a nice stroll around Iowa City, and made a stop at Whitey's for a celebratory ice cream cone. We've lived in Iowa for 5ish years now and have never stopped, so it was about time.


Graham Central Station ice cream in a waffle cone = bliss.



Lots on my to do list for tomorrow, including an 8 mile run at 5AM...should head to bed!

our weekend

This weekend was pretty uneventful...which was nice.  It went waaaay too fast, but whenever is that not the case?

Nic worked on Saturday, so I had a pretty lazy morning of doing nothing and walking the dog.  After a quick run and workout at the Y with Nic, we decided to head up to Iowa City to check out some bikes for Nic.  We've been using bikes that Ike, Maddie and I got a long time ago - the year when Tim Allen's The Santa Clause came out (that was in 1994 people - middle school!!).  Our intent was not to buy a bike since we have a 20% off coupon to use at REI, but after test riding two different model for an hour or so, we decided to get a bright shiny new Trek for Nic.

Besides getting a bike because ours were way old, I told Nic he could get a new bike if I could run a marathon this year (and multiple other races).  Which really means, Nic HAD to get a new bike because I EXPECT him to bike along side me carrying water, food, ect,  while I do all my long runs. :)

Although that arrangement might be going out the window soon because I've decided that I want to do a triathlon this summer, and in that case, will need a new bike myself.  So, we are going to head up to Minnesota (YEAH!) in a few weekends, to see if we can't find a bike at REI and use our 20% off coupon.

I guess this means Nic might be getting a new gun...???

There was one eventful/scary thing that happened this weekend...

On our way up to Iowa City, an oncoming car veered into our lane.  Nic honked, swerved onto the shoulder and all was well....until we looked back and saw that the car had swerved back into his lane, over corrected and ended up in the ditch on the wrong side of the rode - upside down.  We quick called 9-1-1 and headed back to asses the situation.

Thank goodness another car stopped because when I approached the car, I freaked and was scared to check on the driver.  The front end of the car was pretty well smushed, and I couldn't see into the windows because the car was literally full of garbage.  Nic and another guy were able to help the guy out of the back door - he was fine.  Nic and I stuck around to talk with the sheriff and had to write statements.  Most likely the driver dozed off (that is what he told the sheriff), but he also might have been on something.

I did feel bad for the driver because the cops were making him walk in a straight line and other sobriety tests. Now, I am sure these are mandatory, but if I ever flipped my car - there is no way in heck I could even stand up, let alone walk in a straight line!

Lesson - don't drive when you are tired (or on something!)!

just another weekend

What a great weekend it has been so far, and we still have an entire day left!  Yesterday started just as any other normal day in our neighborhood would start...with a house burning down!

What great free entertainment!  Kept me occupied for an hour or so - how often do you get to see you local firefighters in action?  No one was injured in the fire, it was actually a controlled burn.  The man who owned this house moved into assisted living (tear - now we won't have any more baby cows and goats down the road from us anymore!), and his neighbor bought the land and plans to build some new homes there.  Not sure how I feel about that one yet, but maybe we will be well on our way to Minnesota by the time that happens. Kidding.

I spent the rest of the morning constantly checking on the status of my Garmin Forerunner 405.  Woohoo!  It arrived in Washington at 7:47AM. :)  The remainder of the morning was spent sitting in our front window waiting for the mail to arrive.  After a few hours of that, when I had lost all hope, I laced up my running shoes to head out for a quick 3-miler.  Well guess who showed up?  My favorite mail lady EVER. I was so excited I did a little dance, and hurt my ankle. :)

Garmins don't come charged, so after ripping the watch out of the box, I threw it at Nic and told him to have it all figured out by the time I got home.

My run was amazing!  The first run in a long time that I have broke the 8-minute per mile mark.  3.2 miles at a 7:55 minute mile pace - I was pumped!

We decided to spend the afternoon in Iowa City.  Ran a few errands, got some new sheets since Jack the bad cat ate about 10 holes into our current set :( and stopped at Oasis Falafel for an early dinner.  OMG - it was so delish!  Nic got a gryo and I opted for the "Sultan's Plate" which contained:

• falafel balls
• baba ganoush
• tabbouleh
• madjadra

We got home and watched Did Hear About the Morgans (with Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant) worst.movie.ever.  I didn't have high expectations, but thought it would be okay with those two.  Nope.  Don't waste your time if you are thinking about watching that.

This morning I was up before the sun to join a few other local runners for a nice long 8-mile run.  I showed up at the meeting point, and no one was there.  Oh well, maybe I will run with them next Sunday.  I didn't let that get me down - I HAD to try out my new Garmin!!  I was sooo ready to run with my "virtual partner."  I set out with a stretch goal to run 8:25 minute miles, which I didn't accomplish, but who cares really - I ran my 8 miles and I still have a month and a half left to up my pace.

The thing that I love most (so far) about my Garmin is that it keeps track of my mile splits for me and automatically syncs all the information to my computer when I am done.  Here is what my splits looked like today:

• mile 1 - 8:24
• mile 2 - 9:05
• mile 3 - 8:47
• mile 4 - 9:11
• mile 5 - 8:37
• mile 6 - 8:44
• mile 7 - 8:37
• mile 8 - 8:33

It also keeps track of speed, calories burned, the elevation, and a lot more.  Me thinks this is going to turn out to be a great investment.

Nic cooked up an amazing breakfast for us - sweet potato hash browns with veggies and scrambled eggs. YUM!

Look at that - it's 10AM, so much time left in the day!  Lots of cleaning to do....  Adios!