I'm Back (Maybe), Baby!

Perhaps I am back in the saddle.  With running, that is.  (Haven't been on a horse in about 8 years)  I don't want to get overly excited about what may have been a fluke, or two...but I kind of can't help myself!  I ran 9.5 miles on Monday, and in just under 1 hour 30 minutes.  And then I ran 10 MILES today!  In 1 hour 42 minutes.  Both of those are HUGE for me.  Since my knee has been causing me trouble for the past 2 months, I think the farthest I've run at once is about 2 miles.  And then I've had to switch to walking because of an unbearable pain in my right knee.

Also, that is the first time in my whole life that I have run 10 miles at once.

I felt fantastic at the conclusion of that run on Monday, and actually could have kept going if I hadn't been out of time and needed to get back to work.  Today, I'm feeling a little less amazing after the 10 miles.  I felt a little like I was going to throw up at the end.  Possibly because I hadn't eaten enough today, and didn't even bring water or anything with me on the run.  Probably not smart.

I am also feeling it in my legs a little bit now.  So while I want nothing more than to get up and do a happy dance, I'm waiting for the Aleve to kick in...and then maybe I'll do a sitting version of it.  (Go ahead and laugh at that image in your head...it would be pretty ridiculous, I'm aware)

My first half marathon is just 24 days away now.  If my knee doesn't change its mind again before then, I'm definitely running it.  I figure the absolute worst case scenario is that I'll have to bail at some point during the race for my knee and I won't finish.  It would be sad, but not the end of the world.  More likely?  That I'll run as much as I'm able but might need to do some walking somewhere in there.  I could live with that.  I just really want to cross that finish line.

So I'll take a little break now, and let my body recover a bit.  And I'll keep running/training for St. Patty's Day.  And we'll see what happens...

Side note - seriously, where is winter?!  I ended up stripped down to my tshirt on my run today.  It's February 22.  In Chicago.  That s*#! ain't right!

This is what the lakeshore path looks like here:

A little wet from some rain, but that's it.  Dear winter...where are you?!  I don't really miss you at all, but I also don't want you to hold out and then appear with a vengeance in May or June.  So please don't do that.  Thanks.

Two Thumbs Up...and One Full Belly

I should have written my review of Girl & The Goat a couple of days ago, but to be honest...I've still been recovering from the experience.  Yes.  It was THAT good.  And I left barely being able to walk because I was so full and happy.

Girl & The Goat is a fabulous restaurant here in Chicago that opened in 2010.  It is the baby of Stephanie Izard, winner of the 4th season of Top Chef.  They frequently change the menu, and are known for having some kind of crazy things on there.  Here is the not-great-quality Blackberry picture I took of it:

Upon being seated there and talking to others, I decided I would be brave and not pass on trying at least a small taste of everything.  It's not everyday one gets to eat at that place...especially considering that the earliest you can get reservations there is 2 months out.  That's insane!  So would you like to know exactly what I ate while there?  Alrighty...here goes:

* Some sort of cheesy bread
* Roasted Cauliflower
* Roasted Beets
* Grilled Baby Octopus
* Steamed Mussels
* Wood Oven Roasted Pig Face (yes, you read that right)
* Crisp Braised Pork Shank
* Goat Belly

Girl Scout's honor...I ate every one of those things.  And they were all delicious.  There's something I never thought I'd say about "pig face"...

Here are a couple of other shots I snuck throughout the meal:

Crisp braised pork shank...best dish we had!

Look at that mussel...I made sure my thumb was in the shot so the enormity of that sucker was visible.  Best mussels I've ever had, in my whole life.  I'm pretty sure they fed other mussels to these mussels to get them that big...

So yeah...the whole "vegetarian" thing has gone to the wayside a bit.  I guess a lot bit, if I'm gnawing on a giant pig bone...JK looks so jealous here, because his bone is so much smaller.

Desserts too?  That's what put me into uncomfortable territory.  But they were totally worth it.

 I'm thinking about calling G & TG right now to make a reservation...and I'll hope that this meal will hold me over until I can go back in 2 months.  Well, unless I can score another invite before then...

Cupid's Birthday

Aaaaaaahhhhh, Valentine's Day.  A fairly silly day that so many people struggle with...and I can't figure out why.  It is pretty much just another day, in my opinion.  Or at the most, it's just a day for men to make amends for not-so-great things they've done.  (Am I right, ladies?)  I have never been a big Valentine's Day person, and I don't think I ever will be.  I mean, I'm not going to NOT be smiley when a dear friend sends me this valentine:

(Thanks, SZ!)  And I'm only going to be happy and flattered when I wake up to a "Happy Valentine's Day, Linds!" text from a not-so-secret admirer...that he sent me at 12:04am...just minutes into the day.  That's adorable.  (I will protect his identity here though)  I can't help but like that.  BUT, that doesn't mean that I ultimately love the day overall.  There are just too many weird and huge expectations around the day.  What may have been cute and sweet, at one time, has become this beast of a task that some people (mostly men, I would guess) feel that they can't ever really conquer.

So how did I spend my Valentine's evening last night?  I got a little sucked into the hype and went to see "Titanic in 3D" with a couple pals.  It was a free advanced screening of the upcoming release, with free food and drinks too, so I would have been crazy not to do it!  But I did feel a little silly going to see such a lovey-dovey movie (with a little disaster in there too) on Valentine's Day.  Especially one where almost everyone in the theater cries.  Including me.  You would think that after seeing the movie approximately 24 times in my life, the ending would no longer make me shed tears.  Well, if you think that then you would be wrong.  I still cried.  I tried really hard not to, but lost the battle.  The good news?  The gold 3D glasses hid it pretty well. 

Fun fact about the evening?  I found a popcorn kernel in my bra when I was putting my pajamas on last night.  Apparently I was so engrossed in the film, yet again, that I didn't even notice that fall down my dress.  Classy.

We had a good time though.  We also got free posters and tshirts, played "Titanic" trivia (yes, I got every question correct, thank you very much), and played some roulette (sponsored by a radio station)...and we even got this very official picture taken:

The guy in the middle is B...I don't know him, but met him in the theater lobby....so he made his way in there...okee dokee.  But M and S are so very wonderful (nice pose in the back there, M).  I was happy to get to spend my Valentine's with them!  I guess I can do something a LITTLE commercial on the day and still have a great time.

My favorite moment of the whole night though?  A woman behind us in the theater going "Oh! No way...she had it the whole time!" when 100 year old Rose reveals that she has the Heart of the Ocean diamond from the Titanic.  Um....seriously?  One of the biggest movies of all time.  It's been out for 15 years.  You didn't know yet that she had the necklace?  Ma'am, I suggest checking Craigslist for available apartments you can apply for...they have many these days that are NOT located under a rock.

We'll Still Always Sing Your Songs, Whitney

What horribly sad news this weekend that Whitney Houston passed away.  I know she's been in rough shape for awhile, but it was still surprising to me.  I, like most other girls anywhere near my age group, grew up belting out her songs.  Most notably "I Will Always Love You"...partly because I think it was her best, and partly because I loved The Bodyguard so very much.  (Great movie, but I also was under the assumption at that time that I actually had a chance of marrying Kevin Costner)

I actually teared up a few times during the Grammys last night.  I know that sounds silly, but at least I wasn't alone...I saw many celebrities there doing the same.  I also think I was a little extra emotional because of another death I had heard about just 2 days before.

Also very sadly, a man in my building killed himself late last week.  Apparently he was found in our boiler room.  I think knowing that has contributed at least partially to my lack of sleep over the last few days.  I know it wasn't someone else that brought that on him, but it is still very disturbing to know it happened just 14 floors down from where I live.  I hope he has found peace wherever he is now, but I just can't fathom a person getting to that point.

He very literally took his own life, but I feel as if Whitney Houston, more figuratively, took her own as well.  It's hard to picture being at a point in life where such self-destructive behavior seems like the best decision for oneself.  And did the people around them know?  It scares me to think that it could be possible that someone close to me is in a scary situation like that but I may not know it.  I would obviously want to do anything for a person that I could, but if you don't know, you're just about powerless.

I hope there aren't any more deaths to come soon, but I do kind of believe in the "happens in threes" stigma.  If that is, in fact, true...then there should be one more to come.  I don't like that situation.

Hallelujah...Love For All

Wearing my t-shirt finally worked!

Okay, I'm not actually going to pretend that one little person wearing a t-shirt had anything to do with this, but I still wear it proudly.  But thank you, American Apparel, for making such an important article of clothing.

Prop 8 was finally rejected today in California.  And it's about darn time.  It should not have taken this long, but I guess we can be happy that we got here.  Next up is a trip to the US Supreme Court.  So it's not like we're completely out of the water yet.  But in a ridiculous manner, we have to take baby steps for changes like this to be made.

What is wrong with our country that this debate is STILL going on?  Give me one good reason that two human beings who happen to be the same gender cannot get married.  Go ahead and try.  There isn't one.

I have an incredible friend, who happens to be gay, who doesn't always get excited about attending a wedding...because it's a bit sensitive.  Because he's not free to have that celebration when he wants.  That breaks my heart.  But can you blame him?  I adore weddings, and attend pretty much every one I'm invited to, and have a blast at each.  Yeah.  I'm a girl, who likes guys.  So I can have a wedding any old time I want to...and as many as I want.  Heck, I can fly to Vegas tonight, grab any old guy off the street, and marry him right then and there.  How is THAT allowed but gay marriage is such a debate?  Being heterosexual should NOT be a qualification for marriage.  Being a smart, caring, trustworthy, responsible, loving, and loyal individual should be.  But I guess it would be a lot harder to determine that instead of whether two people have the same or differing body parts, huh?

We have so many other things to be worried about in this country.  We should not be expending time, energy, and money on such a topic.  Land of the free?  Not until this gets taken care of, once and for all.  Come on, America.  We're better than this.

And if we need a visual reminder, look no further:

Yeah, two people really shouldn't be allowed to look this happy and full of life, love, and excitement, should they?  Wrong.  Let's worry about theft, and murder, and wars, and debt...and just let love live already.

(Ellen and Portia - I hope you don't mind me using you as my visual...I just couldn't help it.  Man, woman, it doesn't matter.  I just hope everyone can look that happy on their big day.  Everyone sure deserves to.)

Foreshadowing Dream?

I really, really hope not.  Really.

I often contemplate if dreams can foreshadow things to come.  And I can't really decide where I stand on the issue.  It seems too "out there" to be true...but I've also had quite a few dreams in my life that have dealt with a situation (or a person) that soon after presents itself (or himself/herself) in my life.  And being that that has happened to me more than once, the dream I had last night freaks....me...out.

At around 2:30am this morning, I sprung awake with tears running down my face.  I didn't immediately know why, but I knew that I felt sad.  After shaking the sleep out of my brain for a minute, I remembered what I had been dreaming about and why I felt the way I did.  And then I was genuinely upset and very bothered.

Here's how the dream played out in my brain:

I was walking around on some college campus (not familiar to me though) with a friend.  We walked up to a crowd of people, and after pushing our way through saw what everyone was looking at.  It was a picture of a person's Facebook profile page.  But the person's name was now listed as "Remembering _________ ______" instead of just the name.  And there were flowers all around it and people were pretty upset.  Now, I don't want to name this person, but I will say that the person and I used to be extremely close.  The person isn't really a part of my life right now, so it was all the more disturbing that my brain picked that one.

As my friend and I walked closer to the display, I ran into the person's brother in front.  He was an absolute wreck.  I asked him what was going on, and he told me that his sibling had died in a freak accident.  It took not even 2 seconds for me to drop to my knees and start crying as well.  Uncontrollably so.  The brother and I leaned into each other, sharing our sorrow.

That's when I woke up, crying.  And a little confused.

I have many dreams, and often about pretty crazy things that could never really happen.  So a dream that could very well happen is upsetting.  And I don't often remember dreams this vividly, which makes it worse.  It probably doesn't mean anything, but because I've had dreams come true multiple times in my life, and especially when they involve people I know personally, I can't quite let this one go.

Are the other ones all coincidences?  Is this one too?  I don't know, but I'm a little freaked out.

My Sick Room

I was caged up today.  All day.  Which means I was restless...whenever I was awake anyway.

This girl woke up pretty sick this morning, and in a hotel room, no less.  I really dislike being sick while in hotels.  The job I have means that happens to me more than most people though, so it's not the first time.  I guess the silver lining is that I am currently in a very sweet suite (I had to do it) in a cool old hotel in downtown Boston.  Check this place out:

I spent a lot of time here today.  Too much.

One of the best benefits of being caged up in a suite is that I have multiple rooms to spend time in while stuck here.  I can roam from my separate bedroom to the living room and back again.  So much freedom!  Okay, not really.  But it sure beats being in a regular hotel room with zero options.  I'll take what I can get.

I haven't caught up on here in awhile because my schedule has been too ridiculously packed, with work and an impossible social line-up.  While I've been thoroughly enjoying myself (so much fun to be had in this life!), I also think that all probably put me in the spot I'm in.  I have been forgetting to get enough sleep and drink enough water and just take care of myself.  One's body will only put up with so much of that.

I started to get sick last Thursday, but felt quite a bit better by Friday afternoon.  So obviously I was all better then, right?  WRONG.  But I interpreted that as me being fine, so cram-packed my social calendar for the weekend.  (And was already coming off of a couple of late nights from during the work week!)

Thursday - Book Club with 10 fabulous ladies.  Wonderful time.  Excellent company, good food, and yummy wine.  (Perhaps a tad too much...)

Friday - Dinner and drinks with my dear MD, who was in Chicago staying with me for Friday night.  We had so incredibly much to catch up on that we (accidentally?) went through 3 bottles of wine at dinner.  Just the 2 of us.  Annnnnnnd then went out after that.  I probably don't need to say much more about that.

Saturday - Got out of bed for good finally at 5:00pm.  Yup.  That happened.  Then got showered and ready, and headed back out for dinner with 2 of my favorite guys, MH and JB.  Love them so much that dinner spilled right into going out for the rest of the night.  Had a blast, and then finally went to bed at....4:30am.  Oops.

Sunday - Finally got moving around 2:00pm.  Showered, cleaned, packed for the week on the road, etc.  Then went to a bar to watch football with some people around 5:30pm.  Stuck with it until the Giants kicked that OT field goal to clinch their Superbowl spot.  And then celebrated the win for awhile after.

Now, don't get me wrong.  This is NOT my life every weekend, but I do enjoy at least a portion of that every weekend.  Notice the lack of sleep in there, and physical activity (blah), and consumption of vegetables.  Okay, the vegetables wasn't spelled out clearly, but trust me...there were almost none involved.

I opted out of New Year's resolutions this year (on purpose), but since it's still January, and I'm yucky sick....I think maybe I should still sneak one in there.  To take better care of myself.  Plain and simple.  I just get so caught up in my job, my travels, and my social life that I forget to include certain healthy things in my life.  Namely sleep, but others too.  I owe myself better than that!  So in 2012 I need to find a balance of all those things in my life.  Because you know what?  Being sick in a hotel room in a city you don't know (but want to explore more) while your coworkers are all together (and bowling tonight...I'm missing bowling!) is the pits.

I'm going to pop some NyQuil and hope for a better day tomorrow.