8 MILE(s)

Greg's time at home didn't last long, just as I suspected it might not. I left work early Thursday to get him at the airport, and then decided to take leave on Friday to spend the day with him. I'm really glad I did, because Friday night he got called and was told he needed to fly out Saturday night, so we didn't have him home for long.
Thursday after picking Greg up and hanging out for a little while, I met up with Jen, Michelle, and Kelly for a 5 mile run on the south side. My new sneakers felt great and Jen said that our pace was faster than usual when she checked the Garmin. I attributed it to my new "magic shoes".

Greg and I had a quiet night and home. I made veggie quesadillas and he and Clyde caught up on lost time :)

Friday we enjoyed a lazy morning before venturing out for some errands at Lowe's and Harris Teeter. We also had lunch out at this place called Bullfeathers. It was nothing to write home about. I had grilled chicken strips with BBQ sauce and sweet potato fries and Greg had a veggie burger and regular fries. I could have easily created the same meal at home myself, which is kind of my benchmark for weather a place is worth going to or not. Oh well, it was a "date lunch" out, so still kinda fun :)
Jen and Jeff came over for casual pizza and salad Friday night so they could finally meet Greg. We got FOUR Donato's pizzas, since we all like leftovers, and I made us a big salad with homemade balsamic dressing. Clyde got a lot of attention.  Jen and Jeff are big fans of Clyde.
Saturday morning I got up EARLY for my 8 mile run. I was almost as nervous as I would be for a race! This is maybe the longest distance I've ever run, at least conciously! I fueled with a little bit of coffee, one of Kelly's coconut chocolate date balls, and half a bagel with almond butter and banana.

The group run I was doing is really two seperately schedule runs from the same location, but a lot people come and do both. The first is a 5 mile loop at 7am, and the second is a different 3 mile loop at 8am. Gibson met me there and stayed with me for the 5 miler. I wasn't really feeling the run at first but somewhere around 3-4 miles in I got my stride and felt awesome. We got back to the starting point and I got to pee and grab water before starting the second loop. The second loop was HILLY. I had to scroll to some AC/DC on the IPOD to stay motivated and did end up walking for around a minute about twice on some of the worse hills. I finished though, 8 miles down!  Yay!  I was TIRED after.
I got home and showered and contemplated a nap. I couldn't really sleep though. I was just physically tired, not really sleepy tired. After a couple hours I made Greg and I sort of a brunch meal, since by this time it was pushing lunchtime. I've been eyeing this recipe for Pancake Truffles ever since Caitlin posted it a couple weeks ago, and OMG I'm so glad I made them- they ROCKED!

I recommend making them immediately.
We did some not very fun yard work (not exactly how I like spending my limited time with my honey, but it desperately needed to be done!), and before I knew it, Greg was packing and getting ready to leave yet again (thumbs down). I drove him to the airport. We think he'll be gone about 2 weeks for this round of training, but aren't really sure.  This portion is known as IOE and he's flying the actual plane.  He doesn't have a set monthly schedule like he will when he's back flying, they kind of schedule him as he goes, which is why we aren't sure how long he'll be gone or when he'll be home again.  They estimated about two weeks though.
After dropping him off, I headed to meet Kelly, Brad, and Josie for dinner in South Park at Maggiano's. I opted for Shrimp Pasta and a glass of Chianti. Brad had attended the Beer, Bourbon, and BBQ Festival in South Park that afternoon and was coming down off his buzz...lol. He headed home after dinner and us girls went to a nearby wine bar called Dolcetto. I was in the mood for something sweet so I got a Reisling and we split a delicious molten chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. Sooooooooooooo good!
Today is a lazy Sunday. Clyde and I are mainly lounging. I had a bowl of yogurt, strawberries, and mango and some green tea when I got up. Also one of Kelly's Cranberry Almond Protein bars that I heated up.

I caught up on TIVO and watched the Netflix movie that's been gathering dust on my TV stand for about two weeks. It's so hard to find time to watch movies lately!! I watched Martian Child. It was decent. I also took Clyde for a walk around the hood. More lounging to come!