Friday was spent working on my dissertation…are you surprised?? Eye-roll. I took a break from working to eat this deliciousness. I posted about these veggie burger patties on Friday -they’re just SO good. I also threw together a spinach salad with beets and dried onion. It was yummy!
When Jake got home from work, we had to help my sister move some couches before taking his truck to my parents’ so they could borrow it to move some things out of storage. We decided we needed a picture with the Taco (what we call the Tacoma) before we were without her all weekend.
We carried couches down some apartment stairs, took them to Jake’s Mom’s office in Nixa, then ran the truck to my parents’ house. After we dropped it off, we headed to Jake’s Dad’s house for dinner. I totally forgot to take a picture, but Cynthia made the BEST meal. She put chicken thighs, potatoes, and carrots in the crockpot and it had a sauce made out of soy sauce, honey, and ketchup. I need to get the recipe from her! It was super delicious!
After dinner with them, we met up with some friends for Luke’s birthday – told you I would post this picture, Luke! I took it when he wasn’t ready and he wouldn’t let me take another, so I said I was going to post this one. : ) Loved getting to celebrate with you, buddy!!
Jake and I had some onion rings and fried mushrooms – which upset our stomachs a little, but we knew that was going to happen. Check out how massive this burger is! One of the guys got it and I couldn’t believe it.
Loved getting to see these ladies!
Then it was up early Saturday to get some trail miles in before my friend, Michelle’s, wedding. We met Josh and Tom at Sac and hit the trail! It was foggy and there were cobwebs EVERYWHERE.
I was excited to break in my new Altra trail shoes!!
About 4 miles in, I told Jake my feet were sliding around a lot – I don’t like tying my shoes tight because my feet go numb. He came to the rescue and tied my laces into a heel lock, which saved the day! I didn’t have a single issue with sliding from that point on. My hero!
We had a blast running together. It was so dang muggy…
I LOVED these shoes. Thank you, Vanessa!! <3 They were so light and comfortable – I was able to run 9 miles on some pretty technical trail my first time wearing these.
Glad to be finished with our run for the morning!
I was STARVING. We didn’t have all that much time because I needed to shower and get to the church for a wedding, so we drove through Einstein’s and got bagel sandwiches, which were AWESOME. We got the same sandwich – a bagel with turkey sausage, egg, cheese, and bacon. Jake got the green chile bagel, though, and I wanted to trade with him. It added a little spice, which we both wanted. I told Jake we HAVE to go get those Sriracha bottles that go on a key chain!
How gorgeous is she?! I loved spending the day with this girl and celebrating her marriage to Ryan. They’re the perfect couple! Their day was perfect. Thank you for letting me be a part of it! <3
Michelle’s parents had a big dinner at their house after the ceremony and they served all this goodness. Mmmm! Jake and I chowed down! He had gone on a long ride after our run, so he was starving!
We were both pretty worn out, so we went home and took a short nap after the reception. When we woke up, we couldn’t decide if we were hungry or if we needed to just really go to bed. Food always win in our house!! Which is good, because I think we really were hungry. ; ) We went to Coyote’s for wings and beer, which is our staple. This hit the spot!
Happy bellies after dinner!
These two were wild when we got home. I think they had missed us all day and wanted to show off. Also, I promise we feed Aspen! That’s just her build.
I apologize for the blurry picture, but I was dying laughing. This dog is SO weird. If anyone has their legs crossed, she walks right over and sets her back leg on your foot. The first time she did this to me, I thought she was peeing on me! She has done it ever since she was a puppy. I have no clue why, but it cracks me up every single time. She’s just a real weirdo.
Our PLAN was to get up early to run (me) and ride (Jake) on Sunday, but we both definitely slept in…especially me. When Jake left the house, I eventually got up. Well, by the time I had had some coffee, I was in the mood to clean. I started picking things up and before I knew it, it was after 8. Ugh. I HATE running in the heat. I’m terrible at it and it makes me feel awful. Well, I knew I either needed to start right then, OR I wasn’t going to run. I had tweaked a tendon behind my knee during our trail run Saturday morning, so I started justifying that MAYBE I needed a rest day to let that heal (it’s really not all that painful, just a little uncomfortable – I was being a baby). Then I remembered this was week1 of my training and I 100% wanted to finish off my week. Running is 80% mental!! I swear. So, I told myself to stop being such a baby and get started. I also really did want to run! I just wanted to run at 5 am…no heat! I’m SO glad I ran. This run was good for me in a lot of ways. Probably the best part of it was that I was running on tired legs, which I don’t know that I have done before. I usually always take the next day off if I’m sore after a trail run or a long run – but with this plan, I always have a run on Sunday after my long run on Saturday, which I think is going to be really good for me! I’ve been running for 12 or so years now, but I am constantly learning new things, which I LOVE.
After my HOT run, I made a huge smoothie and went to the store so I could knock out our meal prep.
I saw these and was so tempted to get them, haha! I LOVE Swedish Fish. A lot.
When I came back home, it was ON. Meal prep was going to be finished by the time Jake got home, so that meant I had 2.5 hours. I got started right away making quinoa bowls.
While the quinoa and ground turkey were cooking, I started on some chicken tenders. I put garlic sauce, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder on these. I wasn’t sure what these were going to be for, but I figured I could eat them for lunch if we didn’t have them for dinner.
Veggies washed and ready to be chopped!
Jake’s lunches are ready AND a couple of lunch for me! These quinoa bowls were SO simple to make – quinoa, ground turkey, black beans, mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, and jalapenos. Mmmm. I topped Jake’s with Sriracha and he’s ready to go for the week! Hopefully he likes this because he’s got it all week…
I also made some cookies! Peanut butter chocolate chip. Mmm.
Jake got home right as I was drying off the last few dishes! Perfect timing. We were rushing around trying to get out of the house because we wanted to go do something fun, but we couldn’t decide what we could grab for lunch on that way that would be quick. Duh. I just cooked all that stuff! So, I pulled out those chicken tenders and made us wraps! They were SO good. We also had some plantain chips and cookies…
We finally hit the road – look what’s on top of the car!!!
We finally got to take our boards out!!!
Yes, yes, yes! We have had these boards since May – they were Jake’s early birthday present. His birthday isn’t until August, but I got these early because I thought we’d use them. WRONG. And yes, I got one for his birthday. I think that’s fair! ; )
We were so excited to finally break them in.
The weather was perfect.
Jake was in charge of pictures – I think he did a great job!
I was probably contemplating whether or not I could get away with a nap…there were also little fish everywhere!
We got to spend about 2 hours on the river, it was the perfect way to relax for a little bit!
Then we cleaned up and headed to dinner for my parents’ anniversary. Here’s a pretty typical picture…
We went to The Hill, which is a new all-you-can-eat Italian restaurant here in Springfield. I don’t normally like buffets because I always eat too much, but I really enjoyed this place! They have EVERYTHING. I tried to get a bite of everything, and even though I ate most of these two plate, I didn’t feel sick. I was full, but not miserable. I tried to avoid some of the cheese/heavy cream stuff, but I definitely tried a couple of dishes with those things on them.
My Mom and I got one of each of all the desserts and shared them. I didn’t eat that much of the dessert because I was full, but I had a bite of all of these. The chocolate mousse was AWESOME, so was the S’more crepe.
My family! We had fun celebrating my parents – Piper, my sister, and I are lucky to have them! <3
Then it was home to relax, ice, and watch some New Girl! I think our girls were happy to have us home. Jake spent some time looking at some new Altras while I responded to emails, then we watched an episode of New Girl before going to bed.
This graphic explains my life. Coffee is life.
I’m going to spend the day working on my dissertation. Of course. This week is busy, but luckily I will have a lot of time to work. My 10 year reunion is this weekend, so that has been a blast to plan! I think we have some final things to take care of, but then we are ready! Today is my off day, so I’m going to stretch, roll, and ice. I’ll probably do a little core work, too. Nothing crazy! I’m ready to run in the AM – I think I have another tempo workout.
Happy Monday, Everyone!! I hope your day is great!