Happy Sunday and long weekend for those of you who have one! I am settling in to watch the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special and wanted to put together a lovely little blog for you. I say it is going to be a lovely blog because I am only going to write about lovely, happy things. I mean, I guess I never really write about negative things, as I choose my little space on the internet to be a positive one. However, this week especially, we're going to focus on the good. So let's go!
1. On Wednesday, I had a really lovely dinner out with three coworkers and incredible friends and influences in my life at an awesome restaurant called Canoe. It was a much needed night of good food, friends, conversation, and bread. Everyone laughed at me because when they came around asking if we wanted bread, I asked for a piece of 3 of the 4 options...
Sadly, that's the only picture that I took of the food or the dinner or the atmosphere that night. But it was all lovely. Not talking about: Feeling guilty about ordering pasta and not getting to give my friends a hug because I was so sick and full of germs.
2. I started Thursday morning with a great workout. I went into the city for a 30 minute Fit In Fit Out session that I get as a member of the breaking 2:00 hour half marathon training team I am a part of. It was a really good session that worked me hard, and I followed it up with a 3 mile run throughout Piedmont Park. I chose to run without music, just me and the pavement as the sun rose. It was cathartic and needed.
Not talking about? Skipping my tempo run the day before... yep. First time in a while.
3. Also on Thursday, I coached my first Girls on the Run session! I left work a bit early and went over to meet the girls and my other coach for the first class. I tried my best to try and remember and learn the girls names, but it will take a little bit of work. I was immediately impressed with their excitement and energy and sweetness and spunkiness. The day was pretty chilly and windy and not all of the girls were dressed the best they should or the weather, but everyone toughed it out and it was really fun.
This week's session was about visualization, positive thinking, things that make us happy, and being to identify when we are surrounded by negative energy and need to focus on positive things to help make ourselves happy. It was a good lesson and I have a feeling that some of these things we are focusing on are going to be a lesson for myself as well.
Not talking about? Stress at work, tears and lots of self doubt.
4. I'm still doing my best to try out new things in Atlanta. On Thursday I went to a bar in Buckhead called the Buckhead Saloon for a random networking event I found online. Most people that go to these networking things are like... life insurance salespeople and people starting new companies who need business contacts... I just go trying to make friends cause I'm cool like that. On Friday night I tried a new restaurant called Agave and then went to my first show at The Sound Table in one of my favorite Atlanta neighborhoods, the Old Fourth Ward, to see Moon Boots perform for the first time in Atlanta (if you are reading this and don't really know what any of this means or who those people are, it's fine because I don't really either.) It was a fun night out and my first night in a while where I danced and had a few drinks. I seriously love dancing and need more of that in my life. What I'm totally not going to write about? How I'm eager to have friends in Atlanta that go beyond small talk and introductory conversations.
5. I HAD THE MOST GLORIOUS RUN ON FRIDAY NIGHT!!! Since I knew I was going to a show that didn't start until 11:00 p.m. I wanted to give myself the morning to sleep in a bit on Saturday. I have been getting up early for runs most weekend days. So, Friday is usually a rest day for me and instead of doing that, I did 5 miles throughout the hills of Vinings and then a mini leg workout at home (while I watched Scandal.) A lot of my running buddies were doing an 8K race on Saturday morning, which is how I ended up on the 5 mile route on Friday. For some reason, maybe it was the beautiful evening, the frustration of the week needing to come out, knowing I had a fun weekend planned, or just the hard work I have been doing, but I felt like I was FLYING during that run. I literally had that thought during my race, "I am flying." And not that I was going super fast or anything, but I felt like I was above the ground and my legs were just a machine and I was soaring while I ran. I charged up the hills and didn't let up, telling myself nobody got stronger by running downhill and to not be afraid of the hills. And as I went downhill, I just let my legs propel. It felt so wonderful. Not writing about? The horrible traffic that got me SO frustrated leading right up to this run that made me want to scream. At least it helped fuel the run?!
6. Saturday morning after sleeping in a bit, I had the pleasure of getting to go see my friend Ari, who is in town from L.A. this week for work!!! I haven't seen her since last May when I had a random mini excursion to L.A. on my way home from Vegas after a work trip. Ari is one of my college besties and although we don't get to see each other in person all that often, we talk all the time. I visited her while she worked on Saturday and it was a totally cool experience that left me even more amazed with her and realizing how incredibly brave people are who audition for reality TV shows!!! Oh, and I'm totally just not writing about a ton of stuff because I'm not allowed, but trust me, it was cool.
7. My mama flew in on Saturday afternoon for a visit!!!!! I picked her up and we've been spending the weekend together. It's been great to show her Atlanta, some of my favorite places (such as Krog Street Market) and have someone to explore new places with. We tried a new sports bar on Saturday night to watch the Syracuse vs. Duke basketball game and a delicious pizza place on Sunday called Varasano's. My mom has also been helping me to slow down a bit and we have spent a good amount of time just snuggling on the couch this afternoon where I actually fell asleep for a bit, which is unheard of for me! It's so good to have my mom in Atlanta and also a bit surreal. It really means a lot to me that she came down. We'll have to take a picture tomorrow because I'm just realizing now it's been a pretty slow weekend for pictures. I did take one of the meatball appetizer that we got at dinner though. I am just going to not mention that Syracuse lost to Duke yesterday or that I have been a grumpy and frumpy daughter and a little bit making that saying of "you treat the ones you love the most, the worst" a reality. I'm sorry Mama, I love you!
8. I did my first double digit run this morning since my marathon in October!!! It was a nice milestone to cross and a bit of a mental challenge. The run was done with my normal Sunday running crew and there was a smaller group of us this morning due to the cold and calendars or something. But, because it was a smaller group we all stayed together the whole time, which was really, really nice. I will absolutely positively not talk about how it was pretty darn cold at the beginning and that my mind just was not in this run. Or about how I thought about quitting so many times during the run, turning around in the first mile, and the thought of jumping in a cab was so close to my mind that this really could have been the run I just quit and didn't do this whole running thing any more.
9. I officially recovered after gaining weight the week I was in Mexico! I lost 2.6 lbs over the past week, which brought me back to before I was in Mexico. I'm proud of returning back to a routine after letting myself go a bit. However, I won't talk about how I am already worried about this week after french fries and chips and pizza and late night binge eating 6 Tagalong Girl Scout cookies (which are apparently 2 Weight Watchers points a piece!!! I may have thrown away the rest of the box since I apparently cannot be trusted.)
10. After being out for the day with my mom on Saturday I returned home to a surprise on my doorstep. I was doing my best to avoid the fact that Saturday was Valentine's Day, but it is safe to say that I have the most lovely friends in the world. Shouting "danke" all the way over to Germany for making me feel loved and special!! Not talking about the rest of my feelings on Valentine's Day.
And as an ending note, just, I have really wonderful people in my life. Over the past two weeks I have had so many loved ones and good friends in Atlanta that it has been really bittersweet. I am not looking forward to when the visitor level drops back down but I am continually grateful to all the amazing, talented, strong, and positive people I have in my life. I love you!
Starting Out in a new city is tough, I moved around for a while and was continually trying to make friends and find my place. Even when I moved back to my hometown, I had been gone for 10 years so it was like starting over again. It will happen, look into Ragnar in a few weeks near you, maybe some insta- friends?
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