I can’t wait for the summer to be over and it’s more than just because of the brutally hot weather. This was my very first summer in New York and although I survived, I definitely didn’t flourish. I’m not going to lie, it’s been a tough and rough summer for me and I survived by the skin of my teeth.

I think the first thing that through my summer for a loop was the injury I encountered on June 13th. I hurt my foot running a long 12 miles in preparation for my half marathon that I would eventually have to drop out of because of this said injury.

Next, my car broke down a week later. This was a huge ordeal, but thankfully we made it back to NH and was able to attend the American Craft Beer Festival, which I didn’t seem to write about. Did I only write about all the negative things that happened this summer? That’s sad and I promise this will be the last of my complainy posts and I vow to write about more of the happy and fun situations that I experience.

Well I didn’t get my car back till like 5 weeks later, then it went back into the shop again almost immediately for another two weeks. Pretty much my car was gone all summer and it was a ridiculous situation that just kept getting worse.

During this time, my foot was still injured. I decided to go see this woman, Shelly, she was recommended by some co-workers and…oh wait, is this a good post? Yes, it is, she fixed me up and I was immediately healed! Shelly fixed my foot for good and I was able to start my marathon training. That was probably one of the best parts of the summer.

I also ate some pretty fantastic food this summer, including Shake Shack and I tried my first Korean/Japanese restaurant. We also made it to the Portsmouth Brewery and ate the best mussels ever!

I was also able to escape for a very short 3 days to Squam Lake where I joined my family for a much needed vacation.

I ran two awesome races in August, a 5K over the Brooklyn Bridge and I also completed by second half marathon, which turned out to be an excellent race.

I also officially became a NY state resident and got my NY license. I got my car registered and inspected in New York and I’m also for the first time paying for my own insurance and my car is actually in my own name now. Yay, I’m officially and adult. Although I wasn’t that happy about the whole process. I obviously waited till the last minute because my NH stuff expires in August, so it was kind of rushed. I was able to survive it all with the generous help of my dad! This whole process was the reason I didn’t blog for 2 weeks!

Derek and I went home last weekend to do some wedding stuff! We found a very possible venue that we love and we want to book it, but you know money is always the issue, so we got a little more trial and error to go through before we can officially book a place. But! I bought a wedding dress and I love it so much! It’s perfect and I am so excited about it. So, yes the very first wedding planning that was done was me buying a dress, ha!

Now, another negative thing…Leela, my cat, is really sick. Not, deathly sick, thankfully, but chronically sick. We brought her to the vet on Saturday morning because she was throwing up a lot for the past two days and she just didn’t seem right. The doctor did some tests and it turns out she has Kidney disease It was recommended that we leave her there for the weekend (by the doctor, not my wallet) so they could re-hydrate her and help her get back to normal.

I was able to pick her up today and bring her home and she seems back to normal and we were so glad to have her back! But! There’s always a but, there is no cure for her, only treatments. She should still live another several years, but we will have to treat her with fluids every single day for the rest of her life. Tomorrow is the first day I have to do this and I am a little nervous.

I basically have to insert a needle into her skin and a bag of fluids, like an iv bag hangs and drips the fluid through the needle and the fluid gets pushed under her skin, which is then absorbed throughout the day. This is to help push all of the bad waste out of her kidneys so that her kidney’s don’t have to work extra hard to remove all of the excess waste. Check out the procedure here.

It seems like a complicated process, but I felt better about the whole thing after leaving the vet’s office today. It’s definitely going to take some getting used to, but we are going to be doing it so often, I’m sure it will seem like nothing after only a few weeks. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to go on any long trips or even short trips really. It’s very important to do this daily so we are going to have to stick around at home a lot more often than we were. It’s a tough situation, but I’m really glad Leela is okay now because she is totally worth it.

Money is tight, life has been rough, but even with all of these things, I am still happy and I am looking forward. It’s definitely been a rough summer and I’m clearly not a millionaire yet, so we’ll see what the next few months bring.

Happy end of summer! I have never been more excited for Fall to come than I am this year!

Just a quick update. I know I have not been around in a while, but I’ve been super busy.

• I bought a wedding dress!
• Found a Possible Venue

• I got my NY license and I am now an official resident.
• My car is also an official resident and is all registered and inspected in New York.

• I got a new writing job at Examiner.com
• I am the Queens Ethnic Restaurant Examiner

• Leela, our cat has been sick, brought her to the vet yesterday.
• Turns out, she has Kidney Disease

• I am currently out running 15 miles.
• Wish me luck!

You have to say the title of my post in the same tone as Tim Curry when he says ‘stolen credit card’ to Kevin McCallister in Home Alone 2.

Anyway, I stole this video from Katie, who had it on her blog, but I just absolutely had to share it because it’s hilarious.

Oh, and how can you loathe cats, Katie? I think it’s because you have not met my cats. My cats are super lazy and awesome.

Okay, it’s about time I write a real post! I’ve really been slacking in all departments of my life recently. I hate these phases. It always takes something new and different to happen to me in order to push me into an unmotivated mode, but it’s always the hardest to get out of them. So, what have I been up to?

Okay, first things first…I got a new camera! Yay! But, I still haven’t figured out how to use it. I can take nice scenic pictures, but my food pics are horrendous and I have to do a little reading up to figure it out completely. It’s not a brand new camera, I bought it from my friend Dave’s sister. She also included a case, two batteries, and a memory card. It’s a Nikon coolpix 8700. Not exactly a DSLR, but it’s a huge upgrade from my point and shoot and I am happy with the good deal I got.

Running. I feel back on schedule with running, but this snow is messing it all up. I did my track work on Tuesday and it was HARD. I was considering altering it after the first interval, but I talked myself out of it. Even if I didn’t hit the goals, I was still pushing hard and trying my best and that is what mattered. On the schedule was: 3 x 1600 with 1 min. RI with a warm up and cooldown. My 1600 goal pace was 7:56! I didn’t come very close to that, but I still felt good after I was done. My three intervals were; 8:22, 8:45, and 8:35. I also gave myself 2 min Rest Intervals because I really needed it. Next week’s looks a little more doable.

Food. The only exciting food that I have to share is the delicious French Toast that I made yesterday morning. I have been craving it for so long and yesterday’s snowy day made it a perfect time to execute. I usually don’t make very good french toast, but I put a lot of  effort into making this batch great. I was very satisfied and happy with the way it came out.

My cat is about to steal my milk! I’m definitely a traditional girl when it come to pancakes, waffles, and french toast. Syrup is the way to go. Aunt Jemima syrup too. I don’t know what it is, but I seriously prefer the fake stuff over the natural real syrup. The real syrup is always too sweet for me. I should really learn to get over this, I know the real syrup is way better for me. That’s my confession for the day.

In the French Toast:

• 4 Eggs
• Milk
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Flax Seed
• 1 tsp. vanilla

This is old news that I never shared. But, I’ve FOUND IT! The Lindt Chocolate with Sea Salt. I have been looking everywhere for this for so long. I always see it on Jenna’s blog and I have been dying to try it ever since. I found it over Christmas break at home in New Hampshire and I opened it up for the first time just the other day.

This baby definitely lived up to my expectations! It was so good. It was delicious dark chocolate and a nice flavor of salt in the background. It was perfect, reminded me of chocolate covered pretzels, but better. Chocolate and Salt = Perfect.

Other News: Not sure if I said anything about this, but I applied to a place called The Super Runner’s Shop. I have to give them a call back this weekend to see if any progress has been made. I also have an interview tomorrow at 11am at a film company. It’s a transcribing job, so nothing too exciting, but I would gladly take it.

I am also considering running a 10 mile race on the 21st of this month. I have to decide soon because it’s going to fill up fast. I figure it’s probably good to get in a longer race experience before my HM. We’ll see, I will decide by the end of the day. It’s also only $21 to sign up, wicked cheap! haha.

Okay, this is long and I’m sorry. I will be back later because I feel like I have so much more to talk to about.

We randomly decided to give our cats a bath today. We also cut their toe nails and brushed them real good, now they hate us. Thought I’d share some of the cuteness.

GALADRIAL

LEELA

Went out to Central Park again this morning to meet up with the TNT group, but let me tell you that my commute there was not pleasant. at all.  I left 10 minutes earlier today than last week and it still took me FOREVER to get there and I got there literally just in time. I was so annoyed, the C train took soooooooo long to arrive and once it did it kept stopping every 10 inches! It probably took me like an hour and 20 minutes to get there, which is ridiculous!

I bundled up good today because man it was COLD out there! I believe it was about 28° out there. I was worried about being cold, but once again after about a mile or 2 I was all nice and warm and felt great! The first 4 miles I ran with these two girls that are training for their first marathon in Paris! I almost wished I had signed up for that. It sounds so exciting and what a great excuse to go to Paris. I ended up running the last 4 miles by myself, which was fine, but somehow I always end up on my own. It was a great run though, I felt pretty strong throughout the whole thing.

• Distance: 8 Miles
• Duration: 75:31
• Pace: 9:26

I came home and jumped in bed with Derek because he was still sleeping and looked so nice and warm. Then I immediately scarfed down some steel cut oats. Sorry I ate them too fast to take a picture.

Derek and I met up with Sandy, our friend Cory’s mom and she brought us out to lunch at the Heartland Brewery, which was so nice, Thanks Sandy! Again, no picture, but I got a cheese steak with spicy french fries. It was good, but not great.

I loved this Christmas ornament sculpture they had! They also had a display of giant christmas lights, it was pretty awesome!

After that we headed over to Union Square to hit up the Holiday Market that was going on. The only thing I bought:

A BELGIAN WAFFLE! from Waffles & Dinges. It was delicious and they also had a sign posted that they are on Throwdown with Bobby Flay and their episode will air January 20th I think. I bet that they win that one.

It was a good day in all, but my legs sure are tired, a bath would be nice! I will leave you a picture of my delicious dinner that I had last night and a picture of my whale of cat!

Today has been a long day, good night!

Thought  I’d share these funny pictures of my cat Galadrial.

Wow, it is perfect outside today! I couldn’t believe how nice it was when I went out for my run. It has seriously been beautiful for the past 3 days and I love it! I always appreciate the crazy weather when we randomly get gorgeous days like today. It was about 60° and I was totally over dressed for my run, it was pretty darn hot! I totally could’ve gotten away with shorts and a tank top, it was that warm! I wore pants and a long sleeve shirt, what was I thinking? It was a great run, none the less. I was barely held up by any stop lights and it was mostly smooth sailing.

• Distance: 6.06 Miles
• Time: 57:57
• Pace: 9:33
• Calories Burned: 618

I just made the most amazing protein shake I think I’ve ever had.

• 3/4 cup 1% Milk
• 1/4 cup Bolthouse Farms Amazing Mango Fruit Smoothie
• A splash of apple juice
• 1 frozen banana
• A scoop of chocolate protein powder
• 3 ice cubes

It came out so good! It was nice and frosty and thick and very filling. It tasted like it had ice cream in it.

And now I leave you with a cute picture of my cat, Galadrial.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Woke up early this morning (well for me) at around 9:15, made it to the gym by 9:30 and was able to pump out 4.3 miles on the treadmill and 10 minutes on the bike! Got back around 10:30 and woke up Derek. We searched for about an hour and compiled a list of places to call in order to set up appointments for this weekend. We are going to New York Friday afternoon to look at apartments and hopefully come out of it with a new place to live So far we have about 3 appts. It’s going a little slowly, but I feel it confident we will find a place we like.

• Distance: 4.32
• Time: 40:00
• Pace 9:15
• Calories: 429

I have so much to do. I have to obtain references from work, possibly get a guarantor letter from my Dad and we have to set some more appts in place. Here is my To Do list for the next two days:

• Do a load of laundry
• Go to Grocery Store
• Run 8 or 9 miles
• Pack for NY, which includes food, important documents, and clothes
• Make a Veterinarian appointment for cats
• and go to work on both days

Here is my dilemma. Our stupid landlord people need to come in and look at our place in order to see what they may need to order for the next tenants. We scheduled it for next Thursday at 10 am, which we thought was perfect. We need to get the cats out of the house for that b/c we aren’t supposed to have them. I figured I would make a Vet. appt for that time next week and everything would work out. BUT! then I realized today when I was about to call the Vet office that I am working first shift next Thursday! I am running a 5K race in the evening therefore I needed to change my hours for that day. Now, I don’t know what to do. Derek has to be here for when they come, I have to leave with the cats, but that can’t happen if I am at work. I am considering just not going to work that day. I still have to make the appointment so we will see what happens.

Anyway, today I made a delicious dinner that started off with roasted potatoes, both russet and sweet!

I diced them up and coated them with some extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper. Oh! and a little bit of Lawry’s Season Salt!

In the oven at 400° for 30 minutes. They came out nice and crispy, just the way I like’m.

While they were roasting away, I sauteed a few thinly sliced red peppers and garlic. Then added some scrambled eggs and diced tomatoes. I’ve pretty much used just about everything we have to eat in the house. Our refrigerator is empty! I almost like when this happens though, it makes me feel like we aren’t wasting anything. It’s definitely time to go grocery shopping though!

I threw the scrambled egg mixture right on top with a little bit of cheese (or a lot).

It was so good! Derek liked the regular potatoes better, but I liked the sweet potatoes more. I have always loved sweet potatoes. My Dad always makes me a special baked sweet potatoes during our gatherings for the holidays. I love eggs, you can do so many things with them.

Oh and I have to mention that I ate a piece of Pepperidge Farm Coconut Cake last night for dessert. I am obsessed with PF cakes! They are so good. This has been in my freezer for a while, but I just took out one piece and let it thaw for about 10 minutes. It was still a little cold when I ate it, but it just made it that much better.

YUM!