Holiday Mayhem!!!!

Wow, have I been busy. I haven't been able to update since election day??? That is ridiculous. So, to update- Baltimore is cold as can be, running is becoming a joke due to such ungodly conditions. But it could be worse, we could be covered in the snow that everyone else seems to be getting hit with right now. Making excuses to get out of runs is getting easier and easier as the temperature drops and wind chills rise.

Saturday Race

Ran the Celtic Solstice 5 Miler this past weekend (Dec. 20th) in Druid Hill Park. I used to do a run up there fairly frequently since the reservoir is about a mile and a half? from my apartment. It was so fun! Falls Road hosted the event and in contrast to the Figgy Pudding 5K last weekend, went off without a hitch. The course was really well marked, volunteers were at every turn to make sure all racers knew where to go. This is a plus for someone like myself who will get lost running on a track. It was a great experience, and know that Falls Road will continue to put on stellar races such as this :)

I ran 31:53 for 4th place female overall (1st age group)

19:40 at the 3 mile, which is 6:33 pace, so I must have picked it up somewhere...the last two miles were around the reservoir and down the big hill en route to Steiff Silver so they were much easier than the previous 3.

Evening Happenings

Post-race had to make a trip out to DC to the grandparents for our early hannukah celebration. I was able to finish all my crafty gifts prior to leaving which took forever; eventually the basset hound and I loaded up the car late afternoon.

I brought some snackies- cherry berry bars via a recipe from Food Network and orange, cranberry and walnut bread pudding, a fusion recipe from several online sites. I used a boxed bread from Trader Joes as the base, which turned out really well. I just made sure to bake the bread the night prior and leave out to dry a bit before re-baking with the pudding component. I was told this pic resembles guts upon first glance more so than bread pudding. ha.

Brunch & Movie

Sunday morning went out to brunch at Ryan's Daughter for the first time in Belvedere Square. My Dad's holiday gift was brunch with his two lovely daughters (and my boyfriend) along with a matinee of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" at the Senator Theatre. Brunch was phenomenal; I am a huge proponent of buffets. I have a distinct problem with them as I tend to overindulge and forget that at some point I am going to be nauseous but it's hard to remember when the food is just so good one serving isn't enough. From traditional irish breakfast fare to a full omelette bar, waffle bar, cremed chip beef, and even crab macaroni and cheese!

Off to the movie. The time spent in the waiting area prior to the start of the movie proved to be as enjoyable as the movie itself. An employee's dog, Isis, roamed the lobby with her squeaky toys inviting customers to play tug of war with her. She was darling and really made the experience. The movie was....so so. It was nice to be with the fam, but things seemed to fall short for some reason. Anxiety heightens as you anticipate apocolyptic happenings but with Keanu deciding to save humanity at the last minute, everybody ends up ok. And then the movie ends with some silly comment from Jayden Smith (Will Smith's son). I don't even remember what he said, but it certainly wasn't ground breaking. I'm down for any sci-fi film, but give me something to sink my teeth into, not just a methodical -"end of world", woe is me/humanity, save us! okay thanks- type narrative.

Made dinner last night, here it is in all it's grandeur.

Rosemary lemon pepper chicken on a bed of mixed grains and quinoa, chic peas, sauteed mushrooms, onions and red peppers. Obviously, I have a lot of time on my hands?

So I'm at work today and tomorrow then Christmas with the boyfriends family, then off to Long Beach to see my mom. Will be back for New Years on the 31st (duh); am considering Wu Tang at Sonar or perhaps a nice dinner at the New bistro on Charles; Marie Louis or just venturing downstairs for a couple beers at the Yacht Club. We will see.

Happy Holidays everyone!