Bad Luck Park

Hi Everyone! I hope you all had a nice weekend and are feeling refreshed and ready for a great week! :)

My weekend was pretty close to perfect.

I had a BLAST with my friends back in Indiana.

On Friday night, we went out to a nice dinner at Bistro 501, one of the fancier restaurants downtown.  We all had a glass of wine (or two...), got to catch up on life, and make some plans for the summer.

The dinner itself was incredible.

We split 2 appetizers -- the Grilled Scallops & Baked Brie, and then 3 out of the 4 of us all ordered the Blackened Salmon. Looks like everyone read my post last week! ;)

It was one of the best Salmon dishes I have ever had. It had a pecan butter and citrus-infused honey on top and a corn polenta cake with mixed vegetables on the bottom. I did not want it to end!

We went out downtown for some more drinks & fun afterwards...

SheNANigans.

It was so good to see my girls -- it was LONG overdue!

I was moving a little slowly on Saturday (was up WAY past my bed time), but eventually got myself together to get a diet vanilla coke on my way out of town and get on the road.

I didn't get my Bruno's because they didn't open until 4pm and I didn't want to stick around that late. That's okay though, I may or may not have had some leftover Mad Mushroom cheesesticks with tons of cheese sauce to bring home from the night before! ;)

Friday night was definitely "treat" night, and I loved every minute of it.

When I got back to Chicago, Justin & I watched the Bulter vs. VCU basketball game (some of his friends went to Bulter, and since it's an Indiana team, we were both pulling for the Bulldogs!). It was a GREAT game and I am so excited to watch Bulter in the finals!

We got to bed early so we could be bright-eyed & bushy-tailed for our 6 mile run the next morning.

The morning started off well, with some pre-run snackage:

Half a sandwich thin with peanut butter for Justin and a nanaer with pb for me!

And I even said I thought we were going to have good luck on our run because of my "glowing" work out gear.

See the glimmering lulu logo? I have magic calves :) 

We were going to run on the lake, but since the weather said "WINDY," we decided to jog on over to Humbolt Park. I would never venture over to this park by night...but during the day it is usually quite pleasant.

Or so I thought. 

Last year, we did our 7 mile run through the park. That was the day that both of my knees cramped up so bad I had to pump up my Britney extra loud to keep me from tears. 

On Sunday, at about 3 miles, Justin got an intense pain in his right foot, very similar to how he felt post-half-marathon last time.  I felt so bad for him! :(

He went on home, and I finished the final 3 miles sans-running buddy. It was really hard to do without him. We are really hoping it is something that will clear up with a week off (fingers crossed!). 

That park is now dubbed the "bad luck park," and I don't think we will be going back. Check that off the list! 

We came home and I knew we were in need of a post-run, pick-me-up brunch. 

Whole-wheat pancakes with cinnamon, a little PB for me, some strawberries, and syrup (do I like syrup? is there sugar in syrup??? then yes!).

Lots-o egg whites, and some reduced fat bacon. Yummy in my tummy. 

Nothing puts a smile on Justin's face like some homemade bacon!  He usually steals a piece or 5 before we are even ready to eat, and I always say, get outta there!! 

After brunch, I fought the crowds at Target & Whole Foods to get our stuff for the week.

I guess I did not get the memo that everyone and their brother was going grocery shopping at 3PM on Sunday in Chicago.  I was constantly asking myself -- is there right of way at the grocery store?? Some lady actually ran into me with her cart (straight into my magic calf!) and then walked off like nothing happened. How rude! ;)

At least I planned out all of our meals so I *hopefully* won't have to go back this week. 

We had a great time watching the ACMs last night and even had Opening Day for the patio (before a major thunderstorm moved in, it was in the high 60s! wowsa) for some pre-dinner snackage (cheese + crackers with some chips and fire-breathing-dragon-hot salsa). 

I am in for a cray-zay week (er...month).  I am graduating SO soon, which is exciting, but also means I have papers, projects, and finals to get ready for.

Yikes.  

I woke up this morning and my head was spinning thinking of all of the things on my to-do list.  At times like this, I just take a deep breath and tell myself to keep calm, carry on, one day at a time, and I remind myself that I thrive off of being busy.  

For your Monday dose of happiness, I wanted to share with you guys an incredible, thought-provoking quote I stumbled across. I have seen a lot of inspirational quotes lately, but this one kinda takes the cake: 

"All men dream, but not equally.  Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible." -- T.E. Lawrence. 

So get out there, carpe diem!, and dare to *dream by day* today! :) 

I will see you all tomorrow -- I'm off to tackle that raging law school to-do list. 

xoxo

Jess