Welcome to X2 City

Snippet Below:

I had a great weekend; it was relatively productive and I was able to catch up with a lot of friends before I head out in 3 days. Rewind to Friday afternoon: I was able to meet Rick before he flew out to Minneapolis. We decided to go to Clery’s on Dartmouth Street. They were open while under renovation but it didn’t look very nice so instead we went next door to Brownstone. Before we went, I decided I wasn’t going to drink because I had to run 2 miles later but look what ended up in front of me: X2 After looking over the menu, we both went for “Mix it Up” special, which was really good and a great deal: I had the spinach salad (baby spinach, red wine vinaigrette, grape tomatoes, roasted corn, and foccacia croutons, hold the cheese) and the grilled vegetable sandwich on wheat bread. I drove Rick to the airport and then realized I still had to run 2 miles. I wasn’t going to do it but then I thought, “Maybe it will be fun to run after a couple beers.” NOT FUN! I managed to do it but I will NEVER do it again. I felt like I was running in slow motion the entire time. I showered up and then drove to Dedham to meet my friend Emily and her husband Ian for a couple drinks. We went to the Eagle Brook Saloon in Nofolk, MA where Emily’s friend is a bartender. I am still a little camera shy in front of people at restaurants so no photos were snapped but I enjoyed 3 blueberry beers and I snacked on some tri-colored tortilla chips. We had a great time and it was so great to catch up. After arriving back in Boston, I realized there are certain things I will NOT miss about the city. There were absolutely no parking spots around my apartment and after driving around for 35 minutes, I finally found a meter spot which meant that I had to get up by 8:00am to move my car before getting a ticket. I can’t wait to have my own parking spot in Charlottesville! I finally crashed around 12:30…. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was up bright and early to move my car on Saturday morning and then came back and slept for another hour before I had to go for my 4 mile run. I debated waiting until later (after Faith’s baby shower) to do it but I’m glad I got it out of the way because I didn’t get home until after 1opm. Before heading out, I had some cheerios with almond milk and a banana. I wasn’t feeling great on my run but my time was actually ok. I had half of a classic Glo Bar after I got back and then I got ready for Faith’s baby shower! Beth picked me up and we stopped at Starbucks for some fuel.I had a short soy misto. The shower was so much fun. We stayed until after everyone else had left. Faith was absolutely glowing and Mike looked so happy. It was so good to catch up with everyone. The lunch spread looked amazing. I loaded up my plate with spinach salad, 3 small pieces of french bread, and some pasta salad. I went back for 2 more pieces of french bread and another spoonful of pasta salad. I was on a carb loading mission apparently. When it was time for dessert, I violated the trail mix bowl while cake, cookies, brownies, etc. were enjoyed by the party goers. I picked out the M & M’s and I think finished off this bowl. Whoops. After everything was cleaned up and we had chatted for a while, a few of us went back to Faith’s house and hung out for a little longer. We had stayed at the shower for almost 6 hours! By the time we got back to Faith’s, we were all ready for dinner. I forgot to snap some pics but I had two halves of a hummus wrap and countless tortilla chips, plush a splash of red wine. Amy had to take the chip bowl away from me at one point…what are friends for! We finally headed home around 9:30 and I crashed as soon as my head hit the pillow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yesterday morning, my mom and step-dad were coming from the Berkshires to take my bed (tear) an some other boxes and to help me pack up my car. I hit the grocery store for a few things before they arrived but had the hardest time picking things out because I am only going to be in Boston for a few more days. I ended up with almond milk, a jar of pasta sauce, some rolled oats, a bunch of bananas, a bag of organic granny smith apples, two lara bars, and a roll of paper towels and TP. Hmmm. For breakfast, I had another 1/2 classic Glo bar with some almond milk and a 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries. After running some errands, I had a granny smith apple that I warmed up in the microwave with some cinnamon, 1/2 Apple Pie Lara bar, and some almond milk. After my parent’s arrived, we went to Uno’s Chicago Grill for lunch. I forgot my camera but I had the veggie soup to start and then had 1/2 whole wheat & flax wrap with grilled veggies, steamed veggies on the side, and 2 pickles. After lunch, we packed up my place and it is sooo bare! This is my air mattress bed and the box in the corner has my clothes for the week. Is it bad if my bum touches the ground when I sit on this? I took a nap (still catching up on sleep) and had a snack when I woke up. 1/2 banana with 1 Tbsp Quince Jam – quince is kind of like an apple and a pear together. I also had 1/2 c. frozen blueberries. I watched the Superbowl on my little air mattress and then had some dinner. Banana Oats: 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup each of water and almond milk. With a side salad: 2 handfuls of spinach, 1/4 cup tomato basil pasta sauce, 6 sun-dried tomatoes, 1/4 cup red kidney beans, 1 Tbsp of tomato/basil hummus, and 1 tsp. nutritional yeast. Pretty lazy night. I found myself switching back and forth between the Superbowl and the Sound of Music. Hmmm…oldie but goodie. A while later was craving a snack so I had a granola bar with almond milk. Looking back, it was a very “snacky” day but the weekends always have that effect on me. I went to bed pretty early. Only 2.5 days of work left. Ahhh.