Yesterday afternoon, I decided to break into my stash of Clif products to try out a new bar before my planned five mile run.
You know I went straight for the Mojo Dipped Chocolate Peanut bar.
Yum, very delicious. It was sweet, but not candy bar sweet. Crunchy peanuts + chocolate are a no fail combination, so I loved this bar. At around 210 calories, it was the perfect fuel for my five mile run. Not too heavy, but also I wasn’t ravenous afterwards, which is a very good thing.
I had an excellent run! I mapped out a five mile route in the South Park neighborhood, parked my car at Earth Fare. My route went through some really charming neighborhoods with gently rolling heels. I had to cross over a few busy roads, but most of my run was very serene. I couldn’t force my Garmin to find the satellites, so it was pretty useless on this run. However, because I had mapped out my run on Google Maps, I knew I had done around five miles.
It’s too bad my Garmin wasn’t working because I felt super fast. Running was effortless and fun. The change of scenery was great and I had properly rested and fueled, which totally paid off. However, the highlight of my run definitely was passing a stopped school bus of elementary school students. I sprinted past it while kids who looked to be about 6-7 years old hung out the window screaming and cheering for me. I have no idea what they were saying, but it sounded like cheering to me! 🙂
Every runner needs to experience cheers from strangers once in a while. It’s totally awesome!
After my run ended, I did some grocery shopping at Earth Fare and picked up a Kombucha to enjoy in the car. Yum! The cashier and I had an interesting discussion about how GT’s is the best Kombucha. I’ve only tried one other unmentionable brand, but it was not-s0-good.
After the best run I’ve had in ages and a therapeutic grocery store run (yes, shopping for groceries is my favorite form of therapy :)), I headed home to shower. Brad and I had plans to have dinner at my aunt’s house for my dad and grandfather’s annual birthday dinner. My grandfather is a Valentine’s baby and my dad was born on the 16th, so my aunt traditionally makes a big celebratory meal for them every year.
In attendance:
Brad and I
My grandparents
My mom and dad (My dad is going to be 49. Can you believe my parents aren’t even 50 yet? They had me when they were practically babies.)
My aunt, who was chef for the night
My cousin April and Lil’ Grey (yes, like Grey’s Anatomy)
my brother, Wess, and my sister-in-law, Jen
We started with salads.
I split this shrimp cocktail with Brad.
Then we were ready for the main course. I had grilled chicken, baked sweet potato, and my caramelized maple brussels sprouts. My aunt made the brussels sprouts, and as much I love it when people try my recipes, I’m even more flattered when someone like my aunt, who is such a great cook, tries one of my recipes. Also on the menu: prime rib, baked potatoes, and “steak bread” as my family calls it.
But this was my favorite part…
Strawberry cake with strawberry icing
It’s amazing!
This was mine and Brad’s top tier on our wedding cake, except we had buttercream frosting. I cannot wait to bust into that on August 7!
I asked for a small sliver, but managed to somehow polish this off 😉
There was a lot of doggie lovin’ as well. The mini dachshund is my mom’s dog, Violet, and of course, you know Rascal.
The dog were great entertainment as well. Rascal loves playing tug of war with Prancer, the Jack Russell, and we love watching them. They’re so funny!
Brad and I returned home to have a pretty low key night of watching Weeds on the couch. After watching this show for a month, we’re already on season 5. I think we have a problem.