Birthday Celebrations and Trying New Things

Whew, I feel like I actually had a relaxing week and weekend, but when I look back, it was actually really busy.

Las week, I participated in a yoga benefit for Back on My Feet at Dhayana Yoga in Fairmount. I haven't been to yoga in a few weeks, so it was really fun, especially since the money raised went to an organization I loved and a bunch of friends were there.

Not the highest-quality photo, but I'm all the way on the left
in the blue. I felt way lower than I clearly was! 

I also got in my long run this weekend, which was 16 miles with 10 at goal marathon pace. When I did a long run with miles at goal marathon pace a month ago, I struggled. I hit all of my paces, but it wasn't easy whatsoever. I was shocked that this time, my paces felt good and I felt strong. Was I happy to do my last 3 miles at a slower pace? You bet your bum I was! Did I feel like maybe this BQ idea isn't completely ludicrous? Maybe it isn't! Am I knocking on wood right now so that I don't jinx myself? 100%.

My teammate, Meaghan, and I dominated (well, we had loads of fun).

We also celebrated John's birthday this weekend! He wanted to do a pub golf, which is essentially a pub crawl with a golf theme with teams. We didn't follow the normal rules, so it really was just a pub crawl, but I had braided pigtails and my argyle compression socks on, ready to golf/drink the day away. We had lots of drinks and some food late at night (the veggie burger at Good Dog hit the spot like whoah). All in all, it was a fun celebration!

I promise you the birthday boy was happy, even if he doesn't look it here. 

Last week, I also learned that I can enjoy salmon cooked. Growing up, my mom would cook us fish frequently and I ate it, but one day, I realized I didn't like it. Since then, I had nevered cook fish for John and me. I adore sushi and raw fish, but don't like the texture of it cooked. I ordered a food delivery box and one of the meals was salmon. I decided to keep an open mind (and undercook it a bit) and lo and behold, I really enjoyed it. It feels like my dinner options are so much wider now that I won't be choosing from our normal protein options. Yay for keeping an open mind!

Anything that you've learned to love as you got older? 

Northern Girl in the South

Okay, so I may technically have grown up in the south (Maryland is south of the Mason-Dixon line), but I've always felt like a Northerner and completely out of place in the south. Spending the past 7 years in Philadelphia (next month is 7 years here, which I cannot believe!) hasn't helped either. This past weekend, though, I got to experience some more of the south by visiting one of my college girlfriends for her bachelorette party in Atlanta.

Friday night, I trained down with two of the other ladies to Baltimore for a cheaper flight down to Atlanta. On the way there, I realized that I had made a mistake and booked a different flight than them. Me = idiot. This is something my mother would do and I am 100% turning more and more into her! After my flight, I ended up taking the Atlanta subway, MARTA, and a cab to my friend's house as the other girls' flight was really delayed. By midnight, we all were finally together at our friend's apartment.

College girlfriends with the bride-to-be

Friday night included a weeeee bit of alcohol, learning about country line dancing, appreciating that some bars in the Atlanta area have last call at 3 am, and far too much late-night snack eating.

Saturday, we surprised the bride-to-be with a private Zumba class and a bit of snacking/drinking champagne after at the dance studio. I've never taken a Zumba class and even after this one, I know we sadly did not have a great teacher. He expected us to just follow the leader, but didn't explain moves, his planned counts for the moves, etc. He ended up quitting the songs halfway through because we couldn't keep up. Bummer, but we still had fun.

Gals having fun at the pool

The rest of the weekend included time by/in the pool, a really tasty farm-to-table meal, dancing in a club (I am much more of a dive bar kind of gal, but I ended up having a lot of fun), hilarious taxi rides, "Say Yes to The Dress" marathon watching, and far too much SmartFood popcorn as my primary food source. We got in super late (ended up getting home on Monday at 12:15 AM), but I had a blast and the bride-to-be enjoyed her special weekend.

I didn't run at all as I specifically got in my miles before I headed down. It felt nice to have a weekend free of running, but I'm eager to lace up my running shoes.

Anyone have fun plans this past weekend? I'd love to hear about it!