Weekend recap with 2 of my best friends!

Hey guys, haven't talked to you all in a while, but I was busy having a really great few days.  The fun started on Thursday when after a hot 3-mile run outside I added a long walk on top of it and went down  to the Riverfront Barge for dinner with a friend.  I had a delicious salad with lots of chicken and fruit and discovered a new favorite drink that I think will be a staple for me this summer.  Firefly Sweet Tea vokda with water and lots of lemon.  On a hot night, it totally hit the spot!

And it was a nice walk back, taking in some of the Albany hot spots!

I managed to stick to my Weight Watchers points.  The salad and drink fit into my daily points and I felt good going into Friday.  I had plans to run both on Friday and on Saturday and knew I would definitely be indulging a bit more on the food side, I thought I would be okay.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to keep that pact to myself, which leaves me at the end of the weekend feeling a bit disappointed in myself.  However, I had such a great weekend, I am trying to not let my disappointment damper the fun and am vowing to do better tomorrow.  I know it will be tough as I am traveling but I know I need to.  One of the things that I try to remember when I sit down for each meal is, "Is this a special meal or not?" and most of the time it's not.  However, this weekend -- it was!  And why?  Because I had some of my favorite people in town visiting :)

Friday after work, I made a brief stop at a work party that was so fun... catered by Putnam Market in Saratoga... I was a goner.  The food was really delicious, so varied, and everywhere that you look.  I left there feeling totally stuffed, way over on points, but smiling because my next stop was the bus station to pick up one of my best friends, Ms. KO, who was coming to visit for the weekend!

It was so great to see her and we headed right back to my place to sit on my porch, catch up, and indulge in a glass of wine or two.  We were both wiped and went to bed pretty early though, waking up early to run one of my favorite races of the year: the Freihofer's 5K Run for Women!  This race is so well organized, so inspiring with thousands of women, and so fun because of the number of people that come out to cheer the runners on.  Plus, you get cookies!  Freihofer's actually was the first race that I actually completed running, which also means it will always have a special place in my heart.  My time wasn't my best ever, but my best for this race, which makes me happy as well.  And even better since I enjoyed it with KO!

We came back from the race and had a quick lunch that I threw together based on things I had in the fridge.  A salad of mixed greens, turkey, fruit, chili lime spiced almonds, and a side of some hummus and carrots.

After lunch, which was enjoyed on the porch, we headed back into the sun in the form of some relaxing pool time at my friend's apartment complex.  KO and I were lifeguards together back in the day and have spent many a summers out by the pool.  Laying in lounge chairs was a bit nostalgic and seriously the perfect way to relax after the race and take in a bit of Vitamin D.  It was a hot, hot day!

Right from the pool we stopped by the airport.  I'd made up a story about having to pick up lost luggage for a co-worker, which KO totally bought, and when we walked into the airport, Teenie was right there waiting to surprise her!  Teenie and I had planned this a couple weeks ago and wanted to surprise KO for no real reason beyond the fact that surprises are fun.  And boy was it :)  I was SO nervous going into the surprise and nervous that I'd somehow mess it up, but it worked out perfectly.  Here is a few pictures of how it went down:

I love the look on KO's face.  It's so happy!  After the surprise went down, we cleaned up from the pool at my apartment and then headed to one of my favorite local Mexican restaurants for a feast sitting outside.  This is where the night got bad for me.

Margaritas.

Chips, salsa, and guacamole.

And some delicious meals to follow.  YUM.

Dinner was so, so good!  It was probably a hundred million points, but it was delicious and even better to be shared with best friends.  We laughed and chatted and prolonged the dinner as long as we could.  Only ending to come back to my place, hang on my porch some more and indulge in a bit of this.

And I ate a few too many of these.  The darn Freihofer's run for cookies...

But, putting the calories out of my mind and thinking more about this fun...

So much fun with these girls, always.  We had a delicious breakfast in the morning, prepared together, as we usually do.  Scrambled eggs, cheese, bell peppers, fresh basil along side some Freihofer's toast and fruit.

I can't say enough how happy I am that it is porch weather again.  We definitely made use of it this weekend eating almost every one of our meals out there.

Well, not this one :)

After a long walk around the park in Albany we got some frozen yogurt before heading to both the train station and the airport to say goodbye to the girls.

It was a fantastic weekend and my apartment feels too lonely already.  I'm not sure what the damage will be on the scale tomorrow, but I made up for it with happiness and smiles this weekend with my best friends.

Hope you had just as great a weekend!