An October Weekend

Man, my recaps tend to take days to come out lately, how is already Wednesday?!  I swear, time just flies by, I'm just so busy!  Anyway, I wanted to show some of my weekend fun, so here we are on Wednesday and I'm finally busting it out ;)

Saturday was pretty much packed with activity.  I started my Saturday with a little yoga to optimize my fertility.

It's no Y2 Yoga, but I figure I need all the help I can get right now.

I do like that the video is broken up into the 4 phases of your cycle so you can do what ever phase you are in and feel like the moves you are doing are specifically going to help your body do what it's supposed to instead of hurt, which always worries me if I'm partaking in yoga and doing lots of twists or inversions that could potentially mess something up.  I have to say though, it's pretty boring and not very challenging.

I kind of underestimated how long it would take me to get ready and probably did this yoga video a little later than I should have and ended up being very rushed for Nicole's wedding shower.  I arrived about 15 minutes late, but was still the fourth person there, phew!

The spread was quite awesome.

My plate included some dips, veggies, pita chips, a mini quiche, and a scone from Pewter Rose.

I also had a little champange punch and chatted with the other party goers.

 After getting our eat on, it was time for the bride-to-be to open her gifts.

It was a lingerie shower, so she got a lot of pretty, lacy, silky things and also some fun things.

I'm really happy for Nicole and Isaac. 

They are such cute couple and their wedding is in Puerto Rico this weekend!

Jealous!

Saturday night I went to a house party at my friend Sarah's place.

Not that kind of house party...  ;)

This grandma had some beer, some food, and mingled for a while, then rolled out of there by about 11pm.  I'm told my friend Kelly didn't even get there til 1am!  I'm pretty sure I was in a deeep sleep at 1am.

But, I was up and at em early and ready to meet people for breakfast at Original Pancake House on Sunday morning.

Come to mama pumpkin pecan pancakes...

and bacon...

I need to make some pumpkin pancakes at home sometime soon, these were AWESOME!

After breakfast, Sarah and I took a picture of our matching sneaks.

I used to have green Converse in high school, but my new ones are gray.  I kind of love them :)

I ran some errands, did some much needed yard work, walked Clyde, and then made the best butternut squash soup ever.  I used Giada's recipe, except, I halved it, and didn't use fresh sage, I sprinkled in a little bit (a teaspoon probably) of ground sage.  This is seriously the perfect fall soup.

You NEED to make this soup, it was SO GOOD!

I got to use my immersion blender again, so that's always fun!  I'm all about fall soup right now, so let me know if you have any recommendations!

That pretty much sums up the highlights of my weekend.  Hope yours was equally stimulating!



I Stretched, I Ate, I Drank

My Saturday was a busy one.  I woke up to my alarm which was set to get me up for Salutation Nation, Lululemon's nationwide yoga practice. 

My yoga has been pretty sporadic lately, but I wanted to get out there and participate.  Plus, it was FREE.

Charlotte's Salutation was held outside at the Cornwell Center on the lawn.  I don't think I've ever done a class outside.  It was kind of cool to have the sun on my skin and the breeze blowing by.

It was a little hard to get the mats flat on the grass though!

I saw Jessie!

And Katie!

And also Jen.

It was a nice to get really stretched out and fun to see my friends.

My afternoon was spent at the Yiasou Greek Festival with my friend Kerrie.

Really, we were there for the food.  My first mission was a gyro. 

I forgot to take a picture, but it looked just like this:

(source)

The meat that they use in these gyros is what sets them apart from others, it's so soft and tender.

We then shared a Baklava Sundae.

Heaven...  They need this on Baskin Robbins menu.

Kerrie also got a plethora of Greek pastries.

I got one of those almond u-shaped cookies, and that thing that looks like a giant shredded wheat, because I was curious what it tasted like.  It's shredded phylo dough with honey and nuts and stuff inside.

After gathering our goodies, we headed to Paper Skyscraper, because Kerrie's never been there, even though she's lived in Charlotte most of her life.  What??

I can spend hours looking at things in this store.  It's so much fun.

I saw this and had to get it...

He even has the red collar on!!  See the resemblance?

It was a fun afternoon :)

The fun continued into the night.  I met some friends out at Thomas Street Tavern later.

Recognize Kelly and Katie?

Beers and nachos were consumed.

Ambiguous pictures were taken.

It was a good time :)

How was your weekend?



My Confession

Confession?  I'm enjoying having a break from TTC and everything that goes with it.  You probably know from reading my blog (or knowing me in real life), that I let that process take me over in the last eight months.  I didn't want to do anything to jeapordize conceiving or carrying a baby.  That meant I basically stopped running, stopped doing yoga (I heard that certain twists and inversions can be bad), refrained from eating or drinking anything questionable, etc...  A lot of good my paranoia did me, right?

Actually, I don't regret that I handled everything the way I did for the most part.  I always said that I didn't want to have to blame myself for miscarrying if it happened.  I knew if I had been running a lot, I might wonder if that caused it, and I'm glad I don't have to wonder and that I don't blame myself because I KNOW I was so careful.  In that respect, I am glad I handled it the way I did.  On the other hand, letting go of running and yoga caused me to lose a big part of who I am for a while, and I missed those outlets and the activities that I enjoy so much.

Once I'd had my first post-op doctor's appointment and was cleared, one of the first things that popped into my head was that I wanted to run.  I probably hadn't run in at least four months, but oh well, I felt like getting out there.

I did just under 2.4 miles on my first run, and have now run about 4 more times since then, all short, slow runs under 3 miles.  It's tough.  I definitely have lost ALL of my speed (if you could call what I had before speed), and it feels very labored and difficult.  I know part of that is the insane heat we have going right now (temps usually anywhere from 85-100 degrees).  I usually have to wait til later in the day to go when it cools off, and even then it's only a few degrees cooler, so it's HOT out there.

As slow and tough as it is, it's still nice to get back out there.  I'm not saying I didn't stay active at all while I was pregnant or trying, but I kept my "workouts" more like long walks, and I know for me, running is a much better workout, and it feels good to really sweat again.

Speaking of sweat, I also returned to the yoga mat over the weekend.  I went to Y2 for Tanner's hour and a half long hot class with Katie on Sunday, which was probably kind of ambitious of me, since I think it's one of the tougher classes in Charlotte, but I'd say it went pretty well for a 4-5 month hiatus.  Let's just say I can feel my shoulder muscles again ;)  Nice.

As much as I want a baby, I'm glad to just feel like my pre-TTC self again for a little while.  It's just nice to not have to *think* about the baby or potential baby with decision I make for a little while.  I don't know how things will go in my next round of TTC, which if you are wondering should kick off in a little over a month.  I guess I'll just play it by ear and go with how I feel then.  I don't want to go into it promising anything, I think TTC and pregnancy taught me to kind of go with how you feel.  I think I'd like to be more active next time, but at the same time, knowing that I lost one pregnancy already may make me all the more paranoid for the next time, so I wouldn't be surprised if I kind of "bench" myself again, and I will let myself be okay with that if that's how I feel. 

In the meantime, til we try again, I'll enjoy some running, some yoga, and also the recreational sport of margarita drinking of course!

Oh, and doggie cuddling!  That's a sport right?  I think I've got some Olympic potential there...

I'm coming to get you Clyde!!  :)

Foiled Plans

It's the WEEKEND!  Are you as happy about that as I am?? 

I went to OM for a power yoga class Thursday night, and even did a hand stand (sort of), when my teacher made me at the encouragement of my teacher.  I do not have much upper body strength and I think it's something I'll really have to work on if I ever want to feel comfortable attempting hand stands.  I don't know how you guys feel about it, but for me upper body work-outs have always felt like a lot of work for not much "result".  My case and point is that in high school I took weight training for an entire term (season), and by the end I could kind of do ONE pull-up.  I also don't feel like I ever get those really defined "Michelle Obama" arms or anything, so it's not like I even have visual results.  It's not to say I don't think upper body weight training is important, because I know that it is.  I just think for me, I have to put in A LOT of work and don't see a huge result.  On the other hand, when I'm running a lot, I feel so accomplished seeing the miles tick by and I can see definition in my legs.  It's just more rewarding for me in that way.

Anyway, I plotted out my weekend and here was the plan.  Greg was supposed to come home again last night, just for one night.  So far the company is giving him a random day or two off here and there because he kind of doesn't have a set schedule until next month.  With the random days off, all he can do is try to come home at the last minute, which is proving to be a challenge.  I'm hoping things get easier next month since he's got a set schedule then, but we were looking at it last night and I think it's going to be challenging as well...  blah.  Welcome to the world of a commuting pilot household.  Sometime I'll go into why we choose not to live where Greg's based, but that's another post for another time.

My plan was to stay home Friday night, hang out with Greg, and then leave for Hilton Head today to spend a girls weekend with my mom.  My dad is up in New England visiting my grandfather, so I figured I'd keep my mom company and take the opportunity to do some girly things we can't do when the guys are around.  About mid-morning yesterday, Greg finished his trip and checked the flights to come home.  No go.  They all looked terrible, and he decided he shouldn't risk not being able to get back since he has a flight scheduled Sunday.  :(

I almost went to Hilton Head last night instead of waiting til this morning, but then I talked to my mom and we both decided I'd just stick with the plan and come today.  I hadn't packed yet anyway, and I actually got a lot done last night. 

I ran some errands...

Buying cupcakes is an errand, right?

I ran four awesome miles in the gorgeous mid- 70 degree temperatures!

Plus, walked a mile with Clyde while I cooled down.

Then I made stir-fry for dinner with:

red pepper

onion

kale

peanuts

carrots

soy sauce

ginger

Seeds of Change Quinoa/brown rice

Yum :)

Ok, I'm off to pack and head to paradise for the weekend :)

The Super Bowl Was On??

Sunday morning I awoke bright and early for my yoga date with Jen. 
Before yoga, I had this parfait of cherry vanilla yogurt, strawberries, blueberries, and Mueslix. 

And a piece of cinnamon raisin toast with Earth Balance and cinnamon sprinkled on top.

Jen and I did a hot class at OM.  It was a great way to start the day and we also went to Starbucks after for some coffee and conversation.  

Sunday afternoon was spent prepping my dish for a super bowl pot luck: Vegetarian Chili.

The goods:

Here's what I used:

• One large onion (or two medium), chopped into small pieces.
• Two large carrots, chopped finely
• One huge red bell pepper, chopped
• One small can of green chilies
• 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
• Probably about a cup and a half to two cups of veggie stock
• One can of fire roasted tomatoes
• One can of diced tomatoes
• Three teaspoons of cumin
• Two teaspoons of chili powder (can use more if you want more heat)
• Two cans of black beans
• Two Tablespoons chipotle salsa
• Two cans of red kidney beans (I used one dark, one light)

Optional toppings: avocado, cheddar, plain yogurt, cilantro.

Directions: 

 Coat bottom of large pot with oil and heat to medium high.  Add onion, carrot, green chilies, and peppers and stir til softened (a few minutes).  Add cumin and chili powder along with veggie stock and salsa. and continue to stir and cook.  Add tomatoes (with juice).  Simmer about 20-25 minutes on low.  Rinse all your canned beans and drain, then add them to the pot and continue to simmer it and stir for about 20 more minutes to let the flavors meld together.  That's it!

Off I went to Caitlin's for a Super Bowl Party!

Jen, Cindi, Caitlin, and Kelly (with Allison in the background).

Caitlin made the event dog friendly, which resulted in there being six dogs loose in Caitlin's house!  Looking to add to the excitement of your party??  Add dogs!

They all kept us very entertained!

Dinner rocked!  We did a pot luck style super bowl feast which spanned two tables and included chips, dips, nut pate, veggies, chili, twice baked potatoes, and desserts.

My plate:

Delish!  I also had one of the twins cookie dough balls and Kelly's PB coconut bars, which rocked!

Caitlin and Nicole planned an alternative to football watching: crafting homemade Valentines. 

It got intense for some who are crafty.  I have embraced the fact that I'm not artistic. 

And here is my tacky masterpiece:

Yikes right?

I have to admit, I saw very little of the actual Super Bowl.  I was at this party for social reasons and definitely had a fabulous time being social, eating, and crafting!