As I let Max out to the back yard this morning, a bit of purple caught my eye through all the green of the palms… I did a double take and there it was! The orchids I grafted to the palm trees in my back yard experimentally last winter have begun to re-bloom!!
I’m so proud and amazed! Check out the blooms and the buds that will soon blossom!
Me… enjoying
Today, I’ve had some awesome outdoor time. It started with a lovely impromptu breakfast at a cafe overlooking the water in Deerfield Beach. I have to admit that walking the beach afterwards in my jeans made me very jealous of the sunbathers. All I wanted to do was go home, get changed and head back to the water. Unfortunately I had a 2pm follow-up appointment with my esthetician and thought I wouldn’t have time to fit it into my day.
I thought about it for a minute and then said to myself… what are you thinking?! What if its overcast tomorrow? What if I miss my opportunity and can’t go for another few weeks? Are you really going to miss out on a gorgeous day like this after spending a whole week in a window-less office?!
So, I called to reschedule my appointment, put on my bathing suite, drove to the beach and sat my happy self down on a towel for an hour and a half. Simple as that. Perfection…..
Could you see the beauty of the stars if there was no darkness? NO.
Everything in life happens for a reason and sometimes that reason cannot be seen when things are happy and sunny and bright. Never be afraid of the night!
For any of you that were assuming that I am the “sporty” type because I run half marathons, get stinky and sweaty and because most of my dirty laundry is comprised of running capris and dry wick shirts… I must regretfully inform you that I am, in fact, a SERIOUS girly-girl.
I can’t go to work without putting on mascara and ironing my hair, I only wear designer perfume, I collect chandelier earrings, I own several dozen pashmina shawls as well as several dozen pairs of pumps. I LOVE getting all dressed up and I worship any woman with an hourglass figure. I’m big on the way a woman should carry herself and I believe strongly that a woman should know how to walk elegantly in a pair of heels.
Today I got to wear something other than my school uniform to work because of a training I attended off-campus in the morning. I didn’t dress exceptionally feminine today but, it was nice being a little more elegant than usual. It kinda got me in the mood to get all girly-girl this weekend! Now I just need an occasion…
Today I am grateful for someone to cook dinner for. I’m pretty good about preparing myself a big pot of something over the weekend and eating it several nights in a row or fixing myself something quick and healthy on the fly after work. What I DON’T do, however, is make myself any animal proteins when I eat alone. (unless it comes out of a can, lol)
I acknowledge that this is silly and stupid. Buying myself a small steak or my own fillet of fish at the grocery store is completely normal and would be a very beneficial to me but… I just don’t do it. There is something ceremonial about making and eating a more formal meal like that. I usually reserve that for times when I cook for someone which I LOVE to do.
In my house growing up, dinner was sacred. No answering phones, no watching TV and no reading at the table. We took some time to enjoy the meal my mother had lovingly prepared and talk about our day, laugh and enjoy each other’s company. Thats what dinner is all about… eating something special and enjoying someone’s company while eating it. On the menu tonight was salmon, broiled broccoli and white rice. Here’s how I did it…
Salmon:
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Broccoli:
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Enjoy!!!… Follow it up with a nice bottle of wine and a movie and you’ve got yourself a nice little evening if you ask me 🙂
Yesterday, my stomach was DESTROYED by that half marathon… I was starving and ate well for breakfast but by that afternoon, I couldn’t even look at food. I just sat in the fetal position on my aunt’s couch and wished that whatever was bothering my gut would leave by whichever means necessary… but it wouldn’t. On top of that, I had been awake since 3am and had not taken a nap all day.
This is not the first time this happens. It seems like all of my recent races have basically put my body into shock and I’m out of commission for the remainder of the day… WHAT THE HELL!!?? I was looking forward to some celebratory cocktails or a juicy steak or something!! Not laying on the couch and turning all shades of green!!
My poor aunt gave me a Pepcid, I got home and I went to sleep a little after 7:30pm. I slept all the way until 6am this morning and STILL felt that I needed a gigantic mug of coffee to wake up. Why am I so masochistic? Why do i participate in these things if they mess me up this bad?… ’cause I’m not gonna die from a tummy ache but running it was pretty awesome 🙂
I’m going to start researching why my body is behaving this way. I’ve read after just a brief search that it could be due to dehydration. Considering how hot it was yesterday, that could be the key. More info to come…
The alarm went off at 3am and we were out the door by 3:50am as planned. We had an hour drive, a crazy search for parking and quite a wait to start (25,000 participants meant it took Georgette and I 28 minutes to just cross the STARTING line).
This is my third time participating in the Miami Marathon and Half Marathon Event. It was the first half marathon I ever ran in 2008 and the first (and only) full marathon I ever ran in 2010. Now that I’ve run a few races, (this one was my 12th half marathon) I have concluded that I don’t like big events. Unless you are an elite runner and have qualified to start from one of the front corrals, its just no fun… You spend more time running sideways to get around people than you do forward to pass people. Even if you just want to participate in the race for fun and not for time, like Georgette and I did at the Disney Princess Half Marathon last year, you’ll get really frustrated with the insane amount of people that will keep you from even hitting your stride. (Side note: Disney races are really, really fun but only for those who plan on walking part of it and don’t care about their time. All of them are very crowded and many of the participants are not actually runners but people who just want to check something off their bucket list while wearing a ridiculous tutu. I freely admit to having done the Princess Half in a tutu so…. check)
The race today was not as crowded as the Princess Half but, it certainly was nothing like the under 2,000 participant races I’ve been getting used to doing. Its no excuse for not having made my time goal, though. I clocked in at 2:10:20 (fooey) but thats ok. I had fun, spent some quality time with some quality people and got to run through some of my old stomping grounds.
Today, I am grateful that I get to spend time with my little sister, Georgette. She has come down for the weekend so that we can run the Miami Half Marathon together this Sunday!
Today, we went through the grueling task of driving to Miami Beach and circling around Lincoln Road for an hour until we found an available parking spot near the Miami Beach Convention Center. We needed to pick up our packets for the race which included our bib numbers/ timing strips and race shirts… The plan was to have lunch there afterwards but the crowds and craziness made us loose interest at the whole thought of sticking around any longer than we had to.
Showers, pjs and bowls of pasta on the couch were much more to our taste this afternoon, so that’s what we did. Nothin’ better than watching tv in bed with your little sis like the good old days when you used to share a bed… nothing worse than knowing you have a 3am wake up call the next day.
Miami Half Marathon, here we come!
Today I took my first salsa dancing class with a friend! We laughed, we got confused, we took turns trading dance partners with elderly couples (Its the middle of winter in South Florida… What ELSE are the snow birds supposed to do to occupy their time?) and we learned a few things.
All in all, it was a pretty fun adventure. I’ll admit, I’ve been so crazy with outings and events that I haven’t been consistent about writing in my blog but, who has time to stare at a screen when they’re busy living life?…
Little Miss Sunshine State 