And Now for a Little Excitement...

Now that my fingers have thawed out a bit, I can recount our crazy, wonderful, chilly, ridiculous weekend.
It started out quietly enough (too quietly??) with a cozy Friday evening on the couch. In a sleepy haze that morning I had managed to put short ribs instead of pot roast in the fridge to defrost, so we had an odd but tasty dinner of slow-cooked short ribs over leftover mashed potatoes. It was actually so good that I might make that mistake again next time...
I got sleepy early and the hubby kindly shooed me up to bed so that he could play a video game without my constant requests to turn the machine guns down a little bit. I fell sound asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, only to be shaken awake what felt like minutes later by Dan.
"Do you smell burning?" he asked.
"I don't smell anything. What the hell are you doing? It's still dark outside."
[I am not a very kind person in the middle of the night.] 
But something about Dan's dashing around made me sit up and sniff a little more... and then I definitely smelled it. Over the next few minutes, the smell got much stronger, but we couldn't figure out where it was coming from -- there was no smoke, no noise, and definitely no fire. Dan even poked his head up into the attic, where our resident squirrel (another story for another time...) got the fright of his life, but luckily didn't seem to have started a campfire. We hemmed and hawwed a bit, but eventually decided that Dan should call the non-emergency line for our county. I went to the bathroom quickly while he dialed, but as soon as I heard him start to recite our address, I started to get a little concerned. Dan mouthed to me "They're coming," and I'm not proud to say that my first reaction was a rather dramatic groan (safety first, all). I yanked on sweatpants and two coats, took a claw in the face while wedging one animal into a carrier, and we dragged one sleepy puppy, one furious cat, and our own bewildered selves outside.
In minutes we heard the sirens piercing through the frigid darkness, and I started to cringe. "The neighbors are going to hate us," I moaned, "Are you sure they really needed to come?"
Sure enough, we ended up with two large trucks, huge spotlights, and lots of flashing lights parked in front of our house while at least a dozen firefighters trooped in and out for an hour. Despite the fact that it felt like the middle of the night, this whole debacle actually started around 5:30 AM, so we stood in our driveway from about 6-7 (pre-sunrise), freezing and waiting for any sign of flames. Luckily there were never any of those, and the firemen eventually decided that the smell (which they smelled too, thank goodness... I was a little worried that our phone number might be destined for some kind of "boy-who-cried-wolf" list) was from a malfunctioning heat pump/air handler. Truly, I can't say enough about how kind and thorough these guys were -- they examined every inch of our house (I'm still recovering from the mortification I felt upon discovering the door to our "junk" closet wide open) and didn't complain a bit about the terrible hour or the awful cold.
In the end, we were left with a very cold house, no heat for a few days, and a lingering smell. Thank goodness for wonderful neighbors, friends, and family who checked in on us throughout the day, and one friend in particular who went way above and beyond, delivering a truckload of firewood and our two favorite little girls to play for a little while. We spent much of the day by the fire, napping off our early morning. Luckily the weather warmed up nicely, and that evening while Dan headed out to pick up dinner, I took the pup for a gorgeous long walk and dreamed of spring.
That evening, we set up camp in the living room:

(not the best picture, but you get the general idea)

I felt like a little kid in a fort, but a lot less comfortable... turns out, no matter how many blankets you put down, you'll still find at least one bone directly on the hard floor at all times.
Sunday was slightly less exciting, thank goodness (although it was my mother's birthday, and that's exciting! Happy birthday, Mom!) We slept in a bit, knocked out a workout, met up with some friends from out of town for a drink, drove around for a bit in the snow, and then headed home (with a hot cup of coffee) to get a fire going and settle into our makeshift sleeping quarters again. 
If Saturday night had been merely a little rough, Sunday night was pretty miserable. There was a lot of tossing and turning and poking my poor husband, hissing "The fire is dying! The fire is dying!" Thank goodness for him, because he got up several times each night to throw another log on and ensure my toes stayed warm.
Thankfully, after a (ahem) brisk few days (understatement), our heat was restored yesterday and I can feel my extremities again. There is still the matter of the "fixed" air handler that is now causing our kitchen floor to vibrate like a train might be passing through the house at any moment, but I am able to handle that minor hiccup much better now that the icicle at the end of my nose has melted.
Despite the annoyance, I do have to admit -- it was kind of fun to camp out with Dan and our furballs for a few days. Even though I certainly can't sleep on the floor like I used to (the days of birthday sleepovers are long gone, and you won't hear me protest), I enjoyed changing things up and hunkering down in front of the warm fire with my boys. I'd say my sore back was worth the extra puppy snuggles, laughter, and the billion or so episodes of NCIS. And now, I'm just enjoying the warmth and crossing my fingers that it will be a very long time before a fireman has to dig through my closets again.

   Love,

    Meg

Friday Favorites

It's that time again! My picks this week are a little all over the place (meet my brain), but they're all things I'm loving lately...

This song has been on repeat for the past week:

I'm grateful once again to Pandora for knowing my musical tastes better than I do.

+++

As I get more and more frustrated with our little house, which is falling apart and poorly designed and thank goodness it's not actually ours, I spend more and more time daydreaming about our future home. We are hoping to buy or build in the next year or two (but please don't tell our bank account, I'd rather not scare it away just yet), and I've already started decorating and painting and buying furniture in my mind. One of the first purchases will most definitely be a comfy new couch to replace our current one, which is slowly sinking into the floor. I've got my eye on something like this...

[via, via]

You can't go wrong with Pottery Barn (again, please don't mention any of this to the bank account). I love the idea of a neutral couch so that we can swap out accent colors with pillows, curtains, etc. Of course a couch would certainly need a chair to go with it...

[via]

... and I can't get enough of this one. I love tufted armchairs and can see myself curling up in this with blanket and a cup of tea. We'd also need some art on the wall...

[via, via]

... and a lamp...

[via]

I've been searching for a blue and white porcelain lamp like this forever. One of these days I'll find an extra few hundred dollars and make this baby mine...

+++

By some dangerous turn of luck (for my wallet, at least), Kate Spade has recently acquired my email address. I made the fatal mistake of clicking through an email the other day, and fell in love with these beauties:

[via]

The only reason I haven't hit that fateful "purchase" button is that I can't decide which one I like better, the mint or the striped. For once, that terrible indecision is paying off!
[There is also a bag that is tempting me but I will most certainly not be sharing it (or buying it), because while I think it's the perfect size, Kate seems to think it's actually perfect for someone with a baby... and a legitimate reason for carrying around 300 pounds of stuff on a daily basis.]

+++

I just finished my March book (look at me go!), and this one has found a permanent place on my shelf of favorites (which is a real shelf -- one of these days I'll share the other books that live there). 

I'm not sure that any recommendation can truly do it justice, it is so beautifully and honestly written, difficult to read but rewarding and inspiring. More than anything in the past year and a half, it stirred up vivid memories of my father's last days, gently unearthing moments that I thought I'd rather forget but now am so glad that I didn't. 

+++

And last but surely not least, a clip that absolutely made my day today. Grab a kleenex or two and meet Tim and his dad...

Tim and Keith Harris | StoryCorps

Happy weekend!

 

   Love,

    Meg

Speed Blogging

Time to play a little catch-up, since my vacation from work turned into a vacation from all-things-internet last week. It's always nice to take a break from social media, but nice to get back to it, too! In the interest of time and your attention span, here's the past 10 days, each in 100 words or less (kind of like speed dating, but less creepy): 

Friday:

Made it to the gym early for the first time in forever, had a crazy day at work, then met Dan at the mall (my very least favorite place in the whole wide world) to do fun things like purchase a new suit and look at ties (yawn). Can’t really complain, since I was rewarded with Taco Bell for dinner. I call that a win. 

Saturday:

Worked out super early, then hit the road (in the snow!) for my college town. Met up with wonderful friends, had lunch, and checked into our suite. Freaked out upon discovering that the wedding ceremony was to take place outside in 30º temps, was incredibly relieved to find that a last-minute change had been made and I would not lose a limb to frostbite. Enjoyed a beautiful ceremony, catching up with friends, yummy cupcakes, and dancing with my hubby. Headed back to the suite to celebrate our friend’s birthday. Just as I was getting into bed, the terrible sickness began. 

love this picture!

Sunday:

The terrible sickness continued. The morning was rough. Dan, who left at the crack of dawn for a day of military training, was also sick and was sent home, I was still 2.5 hours away. My wonderful friend kept me company while I considered dying and helped me finally prepare for the drive home. Drove an hour without pulling over to be sick (miracle), stopped at Wawa for a slushie that made me feel a billion times better, finally got home. Hubby and I crawled into bed and slept for 15 hours straight. 

Monday:

Dragged myself into work, still feeling horrible. Didn’t get much work done. Struggled mightily to stay awake, not get sick, not hack off my aching head with a letter opener (that’s gruesome, sorry). Felt the best I had all day at 4:55, when I crawled into my car and headed home for another 15-ish hours of sleep. 

Tuesday:

Felt a bit better. Went to the gym after work for a slooooow recovery workout, then grocery shopped for “snowstorm essentials” (ice cream, wine, wheat thins). Made amazing pasta for dinner. Stayed up way too late, much like a kid bargaining for a snow day -- I was absolutely sure that I’d wake up to 2 feet of the white stuff and a day off. 

lemon chicken, capers, and chives over angel hair

Wednesday:

Woke up to 2 feet of snow, jumped for joy, promptly stopped when I discovered that my office was still open. Cursed under my breath while husband drove me to work over increasingly dangerous roads. Sat at my desk sad and alone, as everyone else was snowed in. Finally left around 1:00, fit in a quick workout, and finally plopped down in front of a beautiful fire to read and eat for the afternoon/evening. Snow day: salvaged. 

snow!

Thursday:

Slept late. Read in bed amidst husband/cat/puppy snores (heaven). Took Teddy for a long, snowy walk. Ventured out to pick up our favorite sandwiches for lunch. Spent another evening on the couch with a fire, a good book, and a glass of wine. Ate delicious breakfast for dinner, despite a sadly failed attempt at hollandaise sauce. 

Friday:

Got up at a reasonable hour, hit the gym for a nice laid-back workout. Stopped at Whole Foods for gorgeous tulips (on sale!) and Dunkin for a humongous coffee. Got some work done, took the pup for a walk, cleaned up the house a bit, watched some Netflix. Headed out to see wonderful friends for the evening. Enjoyed great food and even better company.

looks like spring!

Saturday:

Gorgeous day, took full advantage with a run outside. Ran into this guy also out enjoying the weather:

Cleaned like crazy all day. Happy to report that our bedroom carpet does still exist. Completed five loads of laundry, scrubbed the bathroom floor, and spent at least three hours doing dishes, I’m pretty sure. Ate takeout since I couldn’t look at my kitchen for one more minute, watched How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days for the billionth time, and collapsed into bed.

Oh Andie Anderson, you get me every time.

Sunday:

Got up in time to sweat a little before kicking off my mom’s day of (early) birthday fun. Headed out to a vineyard for tastings and a glass of wine in the sun, then stopped at a great lunch spot. Saw a local production of Into the Woods (one of our favorites) that was extremely impressive. Finished off the evening at our new favorite Italian restaurant. Happy (early) birthday, Mom!

 

   Love,

    Meg

The Longer The Better

Long weekends are the best. Somehow that extra 24 hours is all I need to feel like I have time to catch up on sleep and get a few things done, and I feel so much better heading back to work on a Tuesday morning. The tradeoff is that four day weeks are always crazier, but I'd gladly endure more of those if it meant sleeping until 8 every Monday.
This weekend was quiet and just a tiny bit productive, too. I made an impressive effort to break my motivational slump, pushing myself through a couple hard workouts and a short but windy run outside. Apparently the gym could tell I needed an extra spark, because I also picked up a nice little gift card as a reward for hitting 56 visits in the first two months of membership. I am already anticipating the massage that these sore muscles have officially earned! I spent most of yesterday cleaning, pushing bookcases around, and doing some heavy (box) lifting. By the end of the day, I had finally unearthed our office (mostly). I'm so excited to have a nice little spot to study!
Here are a few more highlights from the weekend:

a splurge on Friday after work

surprise Friday night dinner thanks to my handsome live-in chef... delicious!

we saw this trio of movies:

21 Hours at Munich -- I knew precious little about the Munich Olympic massacre before this film, and now I know entirely more than I wanted to. It was hard to believe that this horrifying drama was actually real.

Pitch Perfect -- It took me forever to finally rent this one, but Dan and I both really liked it. The singing was great, even when the plot left a little bit to be desired.

Zero Dark Thirty -- definitely did not disappoint. Without getting into the debate on truth vs. fiction, this was a jarring and disturbing but incredible film. I held my breath for at least half the movie and felt both exhausted and inspired when we left the theater. 

I made chocolate pudding for the first time in forever and topped it with homemade whipped cream

Teddy had another fun romp at the dog park on a beautiful day and did some snuggling at home...

... and Toby gave me a little hint of what my studying hours are going to look like.

Clearly the long weekend was a good excuse for extra chocolate, extra time cuddling with our furballs, and extra laughs with my sweet hubby. Not bad!

   Love,

    Meg

Keys to the Kingdom

In a few hours, I get to go pick up the keys to our new house! I am super excited to see it again, but also a bit nervous. When I went to tour it a few weeks ago, before we signed the lease, the current tenants were still there and in the process of moving, so the house was a mess, their baby was asleep upstairs, their dogs were going crazy, and I was trying to get out of their way as quickly as possible. I remember the basics, but the whole 15 minutes was kind of a blur. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing it empty, clean, and quiet tonight. 

I am dreading the actual moving process -- schlepping boxes back and forth, finding a new spot for all of our (many, many) things, organizing closets, playing tetris with the furniture. And the cleaning... oh the cleaning. Cleaning the new place within an inch of its life before any of our stuff hits the ground (because I'm weird like that), and cleaning our old place with fingers crossed that our security deposit will reappear in the form of a nice Target shopping spree. If anyone can tell me how to mop a floor and plan for a wedding simultaneously, the title of Biggest Lifesaver of the Month is wide open for August.

I am, however, looking forward to the fun part of the move: the decorating. As if I needed more to do with these two little hands, I have a whole list of projects lined up to make this house into a real home. Good thing Pinterest and I are very best friends. I've found so many cheap, easy ideas -- starting with these adorable printables:

[via, via, via, via, via, via, via]

Speaking of framing things, I think some of these beauties would look quite nice:

In celebration of the fact that we. have. stairs! in the new spot, I'm also planning to do a picture wall with some of our incredible "engagement" pictures (for which I am still holding my breath... can't wait to share them when they get here!):

And of course, a wreath for our brand new front door! I'm purely speculating, of course, that by the time I get around to this craft, it might be getting on towards fall (shocking, I know, that I wouldn't be whipping up one of these this evening), so these seem particularly seasonal:

It wouldn't be wrong to take the glue gun with me on our honeymoon, would it?

   Love,

    Meg

In Which My Bathtub Enjoys a Spa Day

Yep, you read that right. No, I didn't get to enjoy a spa day. No, I didn't even get to enjoy a relaxing bath. Yep, my bathtub got the spa day, grainy fruit scrub and all. And yep... I was jealous.

A while ago on some random corner of the internet (I promise I would cite the source if I could remember it), I came across a unique way to clean your bathtub. The tip suggested cutting a grapefruit in half, sprinkling salt on the part that most normal people would eat, and scrubbing away. I will admit I was a little skeptical... our bathtub seems to accumulate grime at record speed, and at least once a week I spend almost an hour hunched over with a sponge and super-powered (but environmentally friendly!) cleaner, cursing under my breath. I was willing to give it a try, though, so the next time I ran across grapefruit at Whole Foods I picked one up.

sadly, my grapefruit didn't have quite such an artistic fate

A few days later I hit the shower after an evening run and noticed that the floor was starting to look a little... past its peak. I'm pretty sure that my hubby thought I had finally lost it when I yelled out and asked him to bring me a grapefruit and a bowl of salt, but he sliced up the fruit and dubiously brought it into the bathroom. I went to work: dipping the grapefruit in salt, scrubbing for a minute, and then going back for more salt. The article I read actually suggests sprinkling salt onto the bathtub, which I think would work just as well.

The verdict? At first I was really impressed: the salt seemed very effective and I didn't have to work nearly as hard to scrub where the dirt had accumulated. Before long, though, I realized that while the grapefruit and salt loosened the grime, it didn't exactly get rid of it... really, it just moved it around some. To combat this, I ended up using both the grapefruit and a sponge: grapefruit to get things started, sponge to finish the job. This worked pretty well, and by the end I had a sparkling bathtub. I'm not sure it cut down on cleaning time, but I'd still recommend the idea, with one caveat: you need at least one whole grapefruit (2 halves, although 3 or 4 would be better) and more salt than you'd expect. 

The reward, though? First, this little concoction leaves your bathroom smelling heavenly. Even Dan commented on how good it smelled the next day. Second, I got to enjoy breakfast the next morning:

I promise this one didn't touch any bathtubs

Not bad for a super cheap, completely natural cleaner!

   Love,

    Meg

January Blues

Yesterday, something went down in our household that I would have sworn to you would never happen. My husband uttered words that I would have bet my life savings would not in a million years cross his lips. That's right: yesterday morning, Mr. Christmas himself looked me square in the eye and said "Can I take down the tree tomorrow?" I am still reeling from the shock.
Sadly, I can no longer come up with a good excuse to leave up our lovely evergreen just a few more days... the holidays are officially over, ladies and gentlemen. The worst part, however, is that with the tree go the decorations: my singing snowmen and carol-playing Snoopy and "brrrr"-ing Winnie the Pooh must retreat to their boxes for another 11 months in storage. My Zwarte Piet (Dutch elves) must be tucked away, the advent calendar doors must be closed, and the rosemary bush dried and shaken down into potpourri. Perhaps saddest of all, this means that our brand-new adorable stockings must finally be emptied of their chocolate and folded up until next December (unless I can think of a clever excuse to reuse them for Valentine's Day...)
The disappearance of these seasonal items leaves our living room looking a bit empty, so my next project is to find a few new accessories for our sparse coffee table and bookshelves. As is the norm these days, my first instinct was to turn to the lovely pinterest for answers. As is also the norm, pinterest did not disappoint:

Adorable pinwheels in a flowerpot

Colorful lanterns!

The perfect way to use up all those lingering candy canes

Perfect idea for Valentines Day...

or Easter.

 Love these flower/floating candle combinations

Gorgeous for fall

I think I will probably give this look a try -- I have about a gazillion white candles and vases, so I'm going to pick up a bag of cranberries tonight and see how they work.

The winner, though, has to be this incredibly unique and adorable use of vegetables:

If I had lots of time on my hands, I would absolutely start eating the middle out of cutting up some artichokes.
The small bit of my brain that is just slightly crafty is itching to try a few of these ideas. Also, stay tuned -- next up: our boring white walls!

   Love,

    Meg

Friday Fluff

I have to sit at this desk for another three hours and pretend to work, but my brain has already clocked out, kicked off the heels, and reclined with an adult beverage. Honestly, I can't remember a time when I was so over being at work. Since last Friday, at least. The last 3 hours of the workweek are always downright brutal.

Speaking of brutal, this week at work has been particularly so. Something about sitting here at my computer for 8 hours a day while my hubby is spending his vacation time sleeping and playing with our new puppy just doesn't thrill me... I can't imagine why. Add to that the handful of coworkers who seem to think it is their job to jump up and down all over my last nerve, and let me tell you: girlfriend needs a long weekend. Except that last weekend was a 3 day weekend. And the weekend before that. Let me rephrase that: girlfriend needs a longer weekend. I think 5 days miiight do the trick.

Since my brain seems to have taken a half day, these lovely little bullet points are going to be as good as it gets right now. Please don't expect them to make too much sense.

-- While I didn't make any running resolutions this year, I did mention that I might have some goals for 2012. By which I mean I should have some goals, but I haven't gotten myself together enough to set them. I'm sure that when that happens, they will include a few races, a few training improvements, and getting rid of this damn pain in my right leg. For now, though, I'm still super excited by the thought that I ran over 1000 miles in 2011 (1045, to be exact), which seems pretty decent considering it was my first year running and I had some injury-prone months in there.

 -- Speaking of running, I have been itching to get some new running clothes... I am dying for a new pair of these. And perhaps one of these. And most definitely a pair of these. If only my wallet agreed.

 -- It's shocking how much more I look forward to my evenings now that they involve snuggling up with my husband and catnapping on the couch. Even if I have to go to the gym first, just knowing that he will be there when I get home is terribly exciting. Looking back, I'm honestly not sure how I got through 7+ months without the guy.

 -- This weekend I bought a fancy brand new moisturizer for my face. I will refrain from mentioning the brand, but it's a well-known and typically highly-recommended name, and this one was specifically for sensitive skin. I used it three times on Monday and Tuesday, and by Wednesday morning my face was drier than the Mojave. Days (and several applications of my old moisturizer) later, my cheeks are still itching like crazy. I might as well have thrown that $14 directly in the trash.

 -- This weekend is the first in recent memory that I anticipate having lots of time to sleep, and I plan to take full advantage of this. I was so used to going to bed early when Dan was gone, now that he is home I struggle to make it past 10. In other words, I am the very definition of exciting (he thinks so, at least).

 -- I have never in my life looked forward to spring... I like the season just fine, but I usually save all seasonal anticipation for the glory of fall weather. The past few weeks, though, as I've driven around in my unheated car (please just don't even ask) with icicles hanging from my extremities, I have been absolutely dreaming of those warm spring nights. The lovely outdoor pool cruelly mocks me from my treadmill, as I am too much of a wimp to even run outside after dark in this weather (and these days, it's pretty much always dark). Dearest groundhog, I am putting my request in early: Daffodils. Pronto.

 -- And finally, a confession: a little over a month ago, when my life was just downright awful, I stopped reading blogs. First, let's back up -- my reader is filled with the works of about 25 lovely bloggers who write about a wide variety of things: running, cooking, dating, marriage, babies, pregnancy, autism, photography, cute puppies... the list goes on. Every day for the past few years, I spent a bit of time reading what each and every one of those ladies has to say, and that time has always been of my very favorite parts of the day. I am inspired and motivated by all of the blogs I read, I am always learning new things, and I am only slightly ashamed at how creepy it sounds when I speak about these girls to others as if they are the closest of friends. Once upon a time, I checked my reader more than once a day, just hoping for the chance to read something new and wonderful. But in late November, when my dad was in bad shape and my world was falling apart, I just couldn't take it: I couldn't read about the lives of others, I couldn't give their writing the attention it deserved. I tried not to feel bad about it, but as unread posts started to build up, I couldn't help but feel terrible for getting so behind. After my dad died I thought I would catch up and go back to reading, but I found by then that my reader was even more daunting... not only did I still not feel like facing the normalcy of others' days, but I was so far behind that it would take me quite a bit of time to catch up. Even in a normal year, December just does not come with that kind of free time. So I put it off and put it off and even my guilty conscience seemed to become less bothersome as I got better at ignoring that little number of unread posts. 

A few days ago, though, I suddenly realized how much I missed my favorite blogs. My running motivation had reached an all time low, I didn't have any recipes that I was dying to try, and my days were woefully void of cute baby pictures, fun stories, and surprising bits of knowledge. So I have spent the past three days wading through hundreds of blog posts, catching up on lives, reading about crappy days and wonderful days and holidays and runs and dinners and first teeth and second dates and races and gifts and small victories. Phew. Let me tell you... I feel so much better. I feel like a hole in my life has been filled. I am once again inspired. And I will never again go so long without reading.

Happy weekend, everyone!

   Love,

    Meg

Extinction

I am pausing my from-the-office, highly covert Operation: Last Minute Christmas Gift to bring you this exciting news...

... the dinosaurs are officially gone! This lovely new slice of heaven has taken their place -- with Christmas colors and everything! Last night was the best night's sleep I think I have had in years, and I am currently counting the hours until I can crawl back in... by my latest estimation: too many. 

Thanks Santa Dan for the best early Christmas present!

   Love,

    Meg

In the Time of the Dinosaur

When the hubby and I moved into our apartment just over a year ago, we came with lots of clothes, books, and baking supplies (you know, the essentials), but precious little in the furniture category. I had spent four years at a college where living off-campus was expensive and highly impractical, and Dan was leaving a surprisingly-neat-but-thoroughly-male bachelor pad, from which most things were moved directly into the dumpster when their lease was over. Luckily, we had three sets of parents more than willing to donate a few ancient pieces to ensure that we had somewhere to sit and somewhere to sleep between moving day and our first trip to Mecca Ikea. 
For the most part, the only unfortunate part of this is that we live in a land of unmatched wood, oddly thrown-together couch patterns, and the occasional Expedit bookshelf. There is one glaring exception, which involves a little detail that makes me queasy on a daily basis: our box-springs have dinosaurs on them. Even the fact that the bed is a cozy little double that leaves you sleeping, quite literally, right on top of any bedmate (including the cat) pales in comparison to what lies beneath the deceptively simple white sham: red brontosauruses (brontosauri?) and yellow pterodactyls looking all of their 200 million + years old. I have been trying to laugh about this for a year now, but each day I die a bit inside, just knowing what awaits under our cute snowflake sheets and fuzzy red blanket.
Thankfully, my wonderful hubby has been promising for months that when he came home from his deployment, we could finally get a new bed: one big enough to fit ourselves plus a stretched out feline, comfortable enough to fall into at night and fall asleep instantly, and, perhaps most importantly, dinosaur free. Dan has officially been home for a week now, so our main priority this weekend is not putting up the Christmas tree or finishing shopping, but buying aforementioned bed. Today was a quiet day at work, so I spend some time exploring our options (and getting extremely excited).
I've always kind of liked sleigh beds...probably because I have this idea that every night would feel like Christmas eve. Not sure how realistic that is, but there are some pretty ones out there:

I'm a bit conflicted on low:

vs. high:

and wood frames vs. upholstered headboards:

My very favorite, though is this gorgeous Pottery Barn piece (in white or mahogany):

Unfortunately, the look on Dan's face when I shared the price with him was slightly less than reassuring. Honestly, though, I know I will be thrilled with just about anything we end up choosing... as long as our brand new box springs can be absolutely positively nothing-but-white.
Happy weekend, everyone!

   
   Love,

    Meg

Ah Monday... We Meet Again

It's a Monday. Monday's aren't generally good for much. Or maybe it's that I'm not generally good for much on a Monday. Yep, I think that's more accurate. Bullet points seems to be all I can muster today. If you're looking for something weighty or inspirational... keep looking. Sorry about that.

 -- Apparently today is Eminem's birthday. I was never much of a fan, but songs like this take me right back to middle school. Why am I sharing? Because he is turning 39 today. That's just one year shy of the big 4-0, folks. Does that frighten anyone else?

 -- I just started out this list with a controversial, offensive, and possibly downright crazy white rapper. If you are still reading, I salute you -- it can only get better from here.

 -- This weekend, I was a complete waste of space. The only time I left the apartment was to run, and otherwise Toby and I took our job of holding down the couch quite seriously. I read an entire book and started another, watched this movie (which was pretty good but left me exhausted), and took several naps. It was glorious.

for best results, only attempt cat-naps under the watchful eye of a certified feline

 -- The book I read has gotten mixed reviews, but I thought it was pretty fantastic. I saw a few of the twists coming, but surprisingly that only made me want to keep reading. Definitely a good quick read.

 -- After running only a very painful half mile between last Monday and Saturday, I finally made it out for some decent mileage this weekend. My legs aren't back to 100%, but they are about a billion times better than last weekend, thank goodness. I'm forcing myself to take things slowly for now, but couldn't help feeling encouraged when my pace kept creeping faster yesterday. This painful little hiatus has left me a little nervous about the 10k I'm running this Saturday... and the fact that my second half-marathon is less than a month away. I have quite a bit of work to do in the next few weeks.

 -- My stomach has officially found its soulmate: the rustic sourdough bread from Whole Foods. I may or may not have made an entire meal out of several slices this weekend. But certainly not twice. Nope, not a chance.

 -- I am about to keel over with the effort it is taking not to buy myself a Keurig. The lovely (and expensive) coffeemaker I gave Dan for Christmas is now celebrating its 10th month of coffee that tastes like melted plastic, and I. have. had. enough. A few nights ago, I stopped at a gas station on the way home to get a cup of coffee just so I didn't have to drink sludge. My will-power on this one is truly circling the drain.

 -- And just because it's always nice to end on a good note, I leave you with these two crazy/amazing stories: the lady who ran Chicago at 39 weeks pregnant, and the man who finished the Toronto Marathon this weekend at 100 years old.

  Love,

    Meg

Lagging

I am so very behind... on everything. I'm behind on laundry. I'm behind on dishes. I'm behind on the constant battle to prevent our apartment from being overtaken by clutter and cat hair. I'm so behind on work that I doubt I'll be able to catch up even this week. I'm behind on magazines and my Netflix queue and reading all of your wonderful blogs. I'm behind on all the errands that need to be run, as evidenced by my woefully empty refrigerator and the fact that Toby enjoyed real tuna for dinner because he finished the last of the cat food this morning. I'm behind on staying in touch with people -- I owe so many friends phone calls and facebook messages that it makes me a little shaky to think about it. And, of course, I am inexcusably behind on blogging.
Lest you get the impression that I've been sitting around with my feet up, letting the world pass me by and my responsibilities simply pile up, here's a little snapshot of what I've been up to in the past week-ish:
 -- I've worked a ton of overtime. This is pretty normal for some jobs, but not at all for mine. This week has been absolutely crazy, to put it mildly. Not exactly fun, but woohoo paycheck! On the other hand, I don't think my cat recognizes me anymore...
 -- I've run two races -- the half and then a 5k this past weekend. Both were tough in their own special way, but I was really happy with my times and pretty excited to get into racing after months of training. Now, I'm lengthening my daily runs a bit, adding in a few more structured workouts (think tempo runs and speedwork), and looking forward to a 10k in about a month.
 -- I've listened to about a million hours of Pandora... thank goodness for the year's subscription I got for Christmas last year. Thanks dad, and don't worry -- I'm getting your money's worth!
 -- I've eaten lots of meals with my family. That's what you do when you have an awesome family. And also when you're broke and grocery-less. But mainly just when you have really nice parents.
 -- I've cooked a lot of vegetables. My new favorite dinner consists of chopped garlic and onion, olive oil, a little white wine, some lemon juice, and whatever veggies I can find in my fridge (typically okra, mushroom, squash of some variety, etc.) It's the easiest meal ever and I don't feel quite as guilty as I do on nights I make that other thing I love to cook (pasta, of course). 
 -- I've gotten very little sleep. It seems like every night when I get home from work/dinner/running, there are a billion things to around the apartment. Last night I found myself scrubbing the microwave at 11:00. The rest of the kitchen may be a mess, but this morning I appreciated my sparkling clean microwave.... as I yawned and poured myself a large cup of coffee.
Tonight, however, I am sitting in bed and it is only 9:30. I am minutes away from a wonderfully long night's sleep, which will hopefully be enough to get me through another long day at work tomorrow, a long run tomorrow afternoon, and maybe even a quick run to the grocery store. And one of these days, just maybe, I'll get ahead. Or even just a little less behind. Honestly, I'll take what I can get.

   Love,

    Meg