Countdown!

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Final Farewell

Last night we tried not to be too sad as we headed out to dinner.

DSC01748.jpg

We met my BFF, Nikki, and her son, Evan, at Rockbottom Brewery for our final farewell.DSC01749.JPG

The sign when we walked in:

DSC01751.JPG

It's hard to be sad when this guy is with you, though:

DSC01757.JPG

SO CUTE.

DSC01760.JPG

These guys aren't too bad either:

DSC01765.JPG

There are still Rockbottom Brewery's in Pittsburgh, Columbus, and Chicago so we hope to make our rounds! Nikki and I discussed maybe making it a tradition to travel to one for our birthdays every year. I love new traditions!

  DSC01763.JPG

We killed those pretzels........they didn't stand a chance...... :)

In other news, C and I got up early today and took the Diddy-man for a mile walk, and then we headed back out to Einstein's to pick up bagels for the boys. We decided to run the 1/2 mile there and back, and my knee started to hurt on the way back! I'm glad my friend cancelled on me to run this morning because I think it needs another week break. It wasn't an intense pain like last Sunday, but it was enough to make me concerned and to know that a 6+ mile run today was NOT a good idea. I think a long bike ride is in the cards instead today. It's supposed to be a hot one!

Hope you're enjoying your Memorial Day weekend wherever you are! Make it a good one!

Question of the day:

Have you started any new traditions lately?



Saturday, May 29, 2010

Getting My Fill

Yesterday was a long day. What do I do to relax at the end of a long day?

DSC01696.JPG

Bake!!

These are my boy's favorite cookies!

DSC01700.JPG

You can tell it was a long day by the clock on the wall behind me - 9:40 and I was only on the 3rd cookie sheet!

We went to bed shortly after because we had an early Saturday morning wake up call for C's LAST soccer game of the season:

DSC01711.JPG

Doesn't he look sleepy still? :)

THE FORCE:

DSC01728.JPG

The weather was perfect this morning, too. What a great day to round out the season!

DSC01727.JPG

DSC01730.JPG

Though, I think this guy might have thought it was too hot. Check out that tongue on our ride home!

DSC01734.JPG

Tonight we're headed to Rockbottom Brewery for our Last Supper. So sad! I might eat the whole soft pretzel appetizer myself. I mean, who knows when I'll next be at a Rockbottom. Better get my fill, right?

Plus, I'm meeting a friend for a run in the morning so it won't hurt to carbload!

Are you getting your fill of your favorite foods this weekend?



Thursday, May 27, 2010

Weekday Wine

Yesterday was a great day!

I had a package waiting for me when I got home from work:

DSC01682.JPG

Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!! My first product due to the blog!!

SO.TOTALLY.EXCITED.

Take a look inside:

DSC01683.JPG

DSC01685.JPG

Please know that I received these samples free from POM Wonderful, and intend on giving you my honest opinion and hopefully even a recipe or two!

I immediately put the box in our refrigerator, and headed out for my hot date night with Allison from GreenDogWine at Wine Bar in Rocky River.

Allison is seriously so down to earth, relatable, and is just a kick ass girl. Love her.

There was laughter, and lots of this:

DSC01687.JPG

I mean, it IS named Wine Bar for a reason.

We shared 2 appetizers (which were delicious!) and talked for hours.

DSC01689.JPG

It was a fun night!

Did you do anything to break up your work week?  



Monday, May 24, 2010

Feels Like Summer?

The title has a question mark at the end of it because I know how Cleveland weather has fooled me in the past. I think it's summer and then, BAM!, we have snow again! Ok, maybe not that extreme, but you know what I mean. Clevelanders are quite comical because as soon as it gets nice everyone is wearing shorts and flipflops and driving their convertibles with the tops down!

So, since Sunday was BEAUTIFUL. J and I spent our lunch here:

DSC01674.JPG

We rode our bikes down to Edgewater park and ate on the rocks overlooking the lake. It was the perfect day for it!

DSC01678.JPG

DSC01677.JPG

After lunch we decided to ride around the city some. We ended up riding 15 miles!

DSC01681.JPG

I had tried to run early in the morning. But after 1 mile the outside of my left knee started hurting again. I don't think I mentioned it, but it's been hurting ever since the Cleveland marathon. I've been using the foam roller on it since then, and I thought it was better, but after a mile I had to turn around and head home. I wasn't going to make it much further than 2 miles. I have to give my body some rest. Two marathons in two weeks is a lot. I have to keep telling myself that! It's not a secret that I'm not 20 years old anymore!

So after our ride, I spent some time doing this:

DSC01667.JPG

Hurts so good.

And, in case you didn't know, this is what happens when you try to use a self timer with a pup in the house:

DSC01669.JPG

Hahaha!

And, yes, it hurts that bad - those pictures are of me trying to smile! :)

Is it summer, summer, summertime where you live??

Peace.



Sunday, May 23, 2010

Crazy Cleveland Weather

Good morning!!!

I hope it's as nice wherever you are as it is in Cleveland today!

Though I wish I could say the same for yesterday. Only in Cleveland does the weather go from this:

DSC01650.JPG

To this:

DSC01660.jpg

In less than 2 hours.

C's game started at 1:00, and as I started my walk down to the park it started to drizzle. When I was almost there, the thunder had begun, and the rain was coming down. Obviously the game was on delay.

DSC01649.JPG

This was the first game of the season and first time C was playing in the "big leagues". The team definitely needs some work, but they'll get there.

DSC01652.JPG

By the time the game was over it was hot and muggy!

DSC01658.JPG

Poor C looks like he got his Mama's sweat genes, huh? :)

And this guy was SPENT by the time we got home:

DSC01661.JPG

DSC01662.JPG

He's in for a surprise once it finally gets hot around here.......

I went for a short 2 mile run this morning, and J and I are planning a bike ride for this afternoon. Can't wait!

Have a great Sunday everyone!



Saturday, May 22, 2010

Not Our Lucky Day

Hi Friends!!

Hope you all had a fantastic Friday!

After work I headed to a new salon to get my hair did. Crazy Mullets (hehe, love the name!) opened in Lakewood about a year and a half ago and, needless to say, I was VERY tentative to give it a try. You see, a friend of mine from high school works at Ladies & Gentlemen, and cut my hair for years, but he has since gotten so good that he's too expensive for me anymore! I have yet been able to find someone since him who I love. So, I followed the reviews on Yelp! and booked an appointment with Brett at Crazy Mullets.

What do you think?

DSC01634.JPG

It's BLOND! And short!

I just hope when I straighten it that it looks as nice!

We then headed to Sweet Melissa in Rocky River for dinner. Ugh, what a disappointment! They have redone the whole place. They took all the sandwiches off the menu, changed the kids menu, and even removed my favorite veggie chili! The look has even changed. We used to find the restaurant very homey and welcoming, and now it's a little more upscale and overpriced. Total bummer.

I guess it wasn't as upsetting to C because this is what he did while we wait for our food:

DSC01638.JPG

Gotta love an 8 year old, huh?

And check out my new shirt:

DSC01640.JPG

I figure if I'm running a marathon, then I'm buying a shirt that says so! Maybe one day I'll have a collection??

After our disappointing dinner we headed to my BFF, Nikki's, house to visit the fam. Remember Baby Evan? Well, he's 4 months old already!

DSC01645.JPG

DSC01646.JPG

Aren't they all beautiful??

I had such a good time getting my baby fix.

IMG_0851.JPG

Ummm, yeah, it was past his bedtime at this point. :)

It's a good thing we ended the night on a good note, because we also found out yesterday that the Rock Bottom Brewery in Cleveland is CLOSING and next weekend is their last weekend open!! This is our favorite restaurant in Cleveland (even though it's a chain....), so much that we even had our rehearsal dinner there. What horrible news! You'll definitely see a post next weekend about this, as we've already made plans to go there for dinner next Saturday! J loves the beer and I love the soft pretzel appetizer!

I guess today wasn't our lucky day for restaurants, huh?

Was today your lucky day??



Thursday, May 20, 2010

The Finish Line

The official marathon photos are finally up!

They are going to be a little blurry, as we "borrowed" them from the website, but I was too excited when I saw these that I couldn't wait to share them:

IMG_0017.JPG

TEAM HEATHA bringin me home!

Doesn't that picture just make you smile?

Here we are coming down the home stretch:

IMG_0011.PNG

And crossing as a family:

IMG_0010.PNG

I'm so so so glad the photographers captured this moment since we didn't get any finishing pictures.

Don't let the timer fool you, my official time was 4:29:02. I'm proud of that time, yo!!

Hope you're having a fantastic Thursday - I'm excited that tomorrow starts the WEEKEND!!

Let the relaxing begin!



Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Dual Celebration

Hey, hey!!

How is your Wednesday going so far? I'm in a great mood because it's finally sunny here again in Cleveland! What's it like in your neck of the woods?

So, after the marathon on Sunday, Team Heatha headed back to the Wood (Lakewood, for you non-Clevelanders) for a post-race and birthday celebration.

DSC00529.JPG

Whose birthday was it, you ask?

DSC00532.JPG

My mom! 39 again, right? hahaha.... :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KATH!!!

So, after some much needed showers, and per my mom's request, we headed to Danny Boys in Rocky River for some GRUB. By this time, I was HANGRY!

The waitress was super nice. When she saw my shirt, she brought us out some complimentary breadsticks. And if you've ever been to Danny Boys, you know that their breadsticks are TO.DIE.FOR. Seriously, they are puffy, doughy, garlicky bread deliciousness. Go there. Now. You will thank me.

And no birthday is complete without (cup)cake, right?

DSC00534.JPG

Are you tired of seeing cupcakes from Main Street Cupcakes yet? Because I will NEVER get tired of this place. We split them all 4 ways and taste tested our way through. The peanut butter chocolate was my absolute favorite!

DSC00535.JPG

And you know we didn't leave without a silly picture like this one:

DSC00536.JPG

I love C's face in this picture. He's so into it!

Do you have a certain picture/pose you have to always take/do?



Monday, May 17, 2010

The Second Half

So, as I shook my head in disbelief after I split off from the half marathoners, I started my way down the LONGEST stretch of the course. Miles 12 to 16 were HARD because we were right along the lake running INTO the wind. Plus, it was the most difficult part of the course for spectators to get to so there weren't many bodies around, or any activity at all. Surprisingly, even with these obstacles, I was still feeling good. My breathing was steady and I was just moving along. I remember thinking to myself how happy I was. I was running along the lake, the sun was shining, and I was still feeling strong!

At mile 16 we turned onto Martin Luther King Drive and I knew I had one mile or so before I saw my family. I hit a pretty steep hill right after mile 17 and halfway up decided to walk so that I wouldn't burn myself out. I thought "I hope they aren't right at the top of this hill and see me walking!". And, wouldn't you know it, they were RIGHT at the top! It was the coolest thing ever, though, because I saw them and they saw me as soon as I came over the top and started on the decline. I saw my mom point me out to C and it made me smile so big.

DSC00516.JPG DSC00517.JPG

J actually hopped in with me at this point and ran miles 18 to 20! He's not much of a runner, but he was such a trooper. What a husband! This was probably the prettiest section of the race so I was just trying to take it all in. The volunteers and spectators were so motivating through here, too. These 3 miles went by so fast! We had one more hill at the end of that area and C ran to the bottom to run up with us:

DSC00519.JPG

Anyone see a "family marathon" in our future??? Hehe.

Beka joined me at mile 21, and ran with me to the finish (even though she had already run the 10k!). I have the best of friends who are willing to sacrifice their time and energy to support me in these crazy endeavors!! We had to run down Euclid Ave and not through the best part of the city. This was probably the most boring section of the race. I felt bad because I was starting to feel the pain - my hamstrings were super tight and calves were burning - and I was starting to complain.

DSC00521.JPG

But Beka was fantastic. She never let me get down on myself, and really pushed me to the end. At one point I remember saying to her "I can't talk anymore. You have to talk without me." Haha. I was getting frustrated and just wanted to finish!

Once we turned the corner and could see the finish line in the distance I actually kicked it up a little! I couldn't believe I had it left in me.

DSC01606.JPG

Beka jumped out at mile 26 to let me finish and as I was running down the finish corral, C and J jumped in with me and we finished all holding hands! It was so emotional!

The announcer at the finish line even came up to read Colin's shirt and announced into the crowd "TEAM HEATHA!!". It was pretty darn cool.

Official results: 4:29:02. HECK, YES!!! I secretly wanted to come in under 4:30... :)

DSC00526.JPG

  DSC01609.JPG

We walked around the after party a little bit so I could stretch my legs and they had a booth that had the official race results. How cool! I had literally just finished the race 5-10 minutes before and they were able to tell me my official race time. I was psyched! Especially since my Garmin told me I ran 26.48 miles!!! I know Allison's watch said she ran 26.34! WTH, Cleveland?? Whatevs.

I just want to thank my family for being there for me. You all seriously ROCK.

DSC01610.JPG

DSC01611.JPG

What a great day.

DSC01607.jpg

So, will I do another one? You betcha!!

Be on the lookout tomorrow for the post race celebration.....!


Hugs----