So much has happened and I want to write!

Hey guys,

So much has happened since I last posted and I want to share it all with you so badly.  I always think, if I don't have enough time (or energy) to write a full post or full recap of something than I should wait to do it, which then usually leads me to not writing a full post or full recap.  It's a vicious cycle.  But I think I need to get in my mind that "good enough" is better than "perfect."  Sometimes, I should just write something, which is better than nothing because there is so much that I want to share and remember.

• In the beginning of August I competed in my 2nd sprint triathlon.  I went out to Lake Lauderdale and competed in the Fronhofer Tool Triathlon for the 2nd year in a row, and was able to not only beat my time by 8 minutes, but I also was able to do the entire thing without taking a break (I had to walk the year before.)  I felt amazing after this race and had such a better experience than last year.

• My mom came to visit and we had an awesome time checking out the track in Saratoga, the farmer's market in Schenectady, and lounging about my apartment.

• I attended my good friends M&D's wedding in Saratoga Springs.  It was an incredibly beautiful and touching ceremony and I loved every minute of it.  Weddings are so much fun... dancing, love, drinks, and cake.  What could be better?  So happy for the two of them and I was thrilled to be a part of their beautiful day.

• I attended the "Package Tour" -- yes, that's right, I saw Boyz II Men, 98 Degrees, and New Kids on the Block in concert.  Last minute, I received free tickets from work and snatched those babies up as fast as I could.  It was an awesome decision because I had a blast attending the show with the ladies!

• I got a personal best in my 5K time!  The training plan I have for the half marathon I am doing in September has me doing a couple "step back" weeks where I cut the mileage back.  The weekend of August 17th had me scheduled to compete in a 5K.  I picked a race that said it was great for a summer PR because it has a down hill finish.  And summertime PR, I did!  Not only was it a summer PR, but it was an overall, life PR, by A LOT.  Previously my fastest 5K time was a 26:46 and that was a race that I was convinced I must have cut a corner or something.  I set out to do the race on the 17th with a goal of running in the 27s, with a reach goal of getting an overall PR.  I tried to just run my fastest and only glanced at my Garmin a half mile in.  I saw I was going about 8:30 and tried to tell myself to slow down so that I wouldn't die out, but I just kept going with it.  I didn't look at my watch again, pushed myself, and nearly lost my breath when I got close enough to the finish to see that I was in the 25s!!!  I finished the race at 25:26 -- which is an incredible PR for me.  I couldn't have been prouder.

• My running buddies and I followed up our visit to the ballet with a trip to the orchestra.  Seriously, we're pure class.  The orchestra was just as fun and included some dancing, so of course, I loved it.  We saw the Michael Cavanaugh perform "Songs of Elton John" which also included lots of Oldies.  Loved. It.

• Speaking of class, I also attended a Polo Match in Saratoga for the first time.  It was a similar experience to the orchestra and ballet, where you can bring your own food in.  I really loved the experience, even though I had NO CLUE what was going on during the polo match.  It was neat to see the horses up close and it is an interesting game to observe!  I love trying new things and this was definitely something worth trying.

• I climbed a wind turbine for the 2nd time!  Again, it was just as incredible of an experience.  This time it was in the beautiful Catskill Mountains of Western Massachusetts.  A wind turbine on top of a mountain is HIGH, and the sights were beautiful.  I can't wait for the opportunity to do it again.

• One Monday morning, just like that, I ran 9 miles.  I was feeling good, so I just kept going.  In hindsight, I probably should have prepared my body a bit, but it was a cool feeling to just be able to run 9 miles like that.  I am comparing to my experience of training this spring, where 9 miles would totally wipe me out, and I couldn't even do the whole thing running!  But now, I just, on a random Monday morning, ran 9 miles.  It was a proud feeling for me.  And I definitely indulged later...

• Speaking of indulging, I attended the Altamont Fair!  I loooove the fair because it is so random and fun, and the rides make me feel like a little kid.  You know what else makes me feel like a little kid?  Chocolate, caramel covered apples & eating them like nobody was watching.  Which, maybe I should have paid some mind to the fact that people were around (I think I grossed out my friend Jeff) but whatever, it was freaking deeeeelish.  I ate one at the fair, and one the next day at home as a celebration of my 9-miler.

• I celebrated my 27th birthday!  I had such a great time celebrating this birthday with some of my closest friends.  I haven't felt so loved in a long time and it was a great, great weekend.

• Part of that weekend included competing in my THIRD sprint triathlon.  Who signs up for a sprint tri on their birthday?!?  THIS GIRL DOES.  Who have I become?  The race was shorter than the last sprint triathlon I did so I couldn't compare times, but it felt great to do the race.  My butt?  Didn't feel so great the days afterwards, considering the 5K portion of the tri was ALL hills.  Up and down.  The whole day.  My butt was toast.

• I attended my 6th (ish?) annual Ramadan Dinner at work.  It is one of my favorite days of the year and an incredibly awesome event that is put on.  You celebrate culture, meet people's families, and stuff your face with incredibly delicious Indian food.  What's not to love?

• My CSA keeps coming and I keep cooking!  I've tried so many delicious recipes but one of the ones I am LOVING is for swiss chard dumplings.  I keep getting swiss chard and I just keep on making this!  Yummmmm!  I freezed a bunch so I will have this once the chard stops coming.  I can't wait!

• Oh, and finally, I rejoined Weight Watchers.  Yes, I know that I had that whole schpiel about how I was going to "do this on my own" but you know what?  Sometimes you need a little help.  And the only thing scarier to me than going back to Weight Watchers was the fear that I would gain back all the weight that I had lost.  I. Do. Not. Want. To. Be. A. Statistic.  I'm doing my best to get back on track and feeling really positive about where I am weight wise and the direction I'm headed.  I've had someone tell me that I looked like I lost a little weight, my clothes are starting to feel a bit more comfortable, and recently, a woman called me "petite."  I was like, wahhh?  ME?  But, hey, I'll take it!!!

So, yeah, I've been keeping busy.  I want to come back and write more and I will do my best, BUT right now my best friend Kate is visiting.  She is working (looooserrrr..... we took the day off!) so I figured I'd catch up with you peeps.  We're going to have a fun, best friends day, and tonight, go see our man John Mayer in concert -- something we've been doing together for the past 10 years.  Crazy, huh?  Love you peeps, and please, leave me comments about how much you missed me so I'll come back here more often, k?  K :)

Zucchini Pizza Bites from Skinnytaste

I shared this picture on Instagram and Facebook and was getting a lot of comments so I figured I would pop in here for a quick minute and share the recipe.  I got the inspiration from Skinnytaste (she has so many amazing recipes!) and thought it would be the perfect use of my zucchini from the the CSA.  I followed her recipe of broiling the zucchini on each side, although I did mine for about 4 minutes on each side, since I cut the zucchini pretty thick.  Oh, and I realized once it was in the oven, that I had forgotten to spray the zucchini with oil and salt and pepper.  Woops!  Turned out okay though.

After broiling each side for 4 minutes, I added sauce and cheese.   Turns out my mozzarella cheese had gone bad, which I am pretty bummed about having to throw out.  But I ended up using whatever cheese I could find in my fridge, which was a combination of 2 wedges of Weight Watchers Parmesan peppercorn cheese and a couple pieces off a block of Cabot Garlic and Herb cheddar cheese.

I broiled for another 2 minutes and ended up with this masterpiece.  I must say, I had really low expectations for this dish but it turned out to be delicious!!  Can't wait to do this more.

I promise, I will be back here more.  I've got so much to share with you!  Miss you, xoxo.