Where's the Beach?

It's Tuesday, and I meant to post this yesterday. But Monday was a Monday all the way around down to having to walk back to work from home because my car battery died (again). At least it was sunny and warm and I didn't have to trudge the 9 blocks in "the boot." Upside right? Since I was officially out of the boot , I took full advantage of the spring-like temperatures we had over the weekend. Saturday started off with a girls only lunch with my sister, mom and niece. It was to celebrate our mom's birthday in January. We of course did a little bit of shopping after eating, and then when they left town, I decided to go for a much-needed walk. It was only 2 miles, and not anything close to running, but it did my mind and body good. Saturday night, Jason and I decided to have fun in the kitchen and made some veggie pot stickers and crispy tofu. Of course we dug in using chopsticks. That's a must right? Other than the giant mess we made in the kitchen, i...

Saturday was all about family time. It was a miserably rainy day, kind of the perfect day to stay inside and bake cookies though. Cookie baking (and decorating) was something my sister and I had grown up doing, and continued the tradition up until about two years ago. Well, this year we brought the tradition back. My sister and her kids showed up around 11. We started working on some of the cookies while Jason and C ran to the store to pick up a few things I had forgotten. Jason's brother, sister-in-law and their 2 kids showed up closer to 1. Let the party begin! They have a girl (J) who is one year younger than A and a son (N) who is one year younger than C. But they all got along fabulously. They played and the ladies finished up most of the cookies. My niece had initially started off assisting Sarah and me with making the dough for a few of the cookies and the icing as well. Then she got side tracked playing with J and the boys. I took the easy way out for sugar cookies ...

Saturday Yesterday's long run didn't quite happen, but I still got in a really good 4.5 mile run with Jason. It was pouring rain when we got up. We had plans to go to our hometown to visit our moms, so I really needed to get my long run started by 9 am. At 9:30 it was still raining though. So, we went with Plan B - short run. When we headed out it was still sprinkling a little bit, dreary looking, 63 degrees, and full on humidity. Yes, you can sweat buckets in the rain. I found that one out. There was definitely a time when I never would have happily agreed to set out for a run in those conditions. Clearly times have changed. After the run, we got cleaned up then headed out the door. I met my mom at Cafe 1217 for lunch. I absolutely love that place and sure wish we had one here. They always have such unique dishes. For example, I got the sample salad plate where you can choose 3-4 items. I got green beans with almonds and cranberries, wild rice (loaded with veggies) ...

Saturday Recap Yesterday turned out to be a great day for so many reasons. It was a beautiful, sunny day. Oh and cooler temps in the morning - perfect for a run. Jason and I got in a great 7-mile run. For me, it was ideal because I had zero heel pain during the run. This was the first run since probably November that I can recall having no heel pain. A-mazing. After the run, it was a little tender, but nothing at all like it's been. I truly believe that my plantar fasciitis pain is on the mends. Not just starting to feel better, but definitely healing up. My piriformis is now my main issue to contend with. During the run, it didn't bother me. But anytime I sit for more than about 30 minutes, my sciatic nerve starts screaming at me. And I know this means my piriformis is still very much inflamed and not on the mends. I do have PT tomorrow and she plans to discuss some more invasive options - hopefully just injections. Anyway, after our run, we had to get ourselves ready a...