What’s wrong with this picture?

U.S. vs Antartica

Weekend Wrap-Up

It’s been a while since I described all my exciting weekend activities but I definitely got out and about this past Labor Day weekend:

I went to the 18th birthday party of my friend Sarah’s younger brother on Saturday down in Southern MD. We had a big group dinner of Surf n’ Turf that was delicious. My boyfriend Michael fixed up a recipe we got from our subscription to Gourmet Magazine, sautéed kale and kohlrabi. It was a hit! Sarah and her brother drove back with us to Arlington to hang out.

little yellow things: pistachios

The next day, Sarah and I drove down to just south of the Belle Haven Marina to do an hour of cardio. I think the perfect place to park along GW Parkway if you want to avoid the traffic of the park by the marina and not be too close to the GW trail hills but also get the waterfront experience is here. So we parked and took my bike off the roof of my car while Sarah ran north ahead of me. I caught up with her and did interval sprints while Sarah jogged up to Old Town and back. In fact, I took the bridge to the Belle Haven neighborhood and did some hills (ok two hills). It was fun to ride by her slowly and tell her her speed based on my spedometer and hand off the waterbottle I was carrying. It’s too bad we forgot to bring a camera!

On Monday, Michael and I went to a cook-out at a friend’s place in Manassas. It was more of a cook-in due to the rain but it was good times and we met a bunch of new people. Michael brought another creation from Gourmet which was an interesting combination: watermelon and cucumber salad tossed in lime juice and mint along with mint tzaziki! I made the tzaziki, which I usually use dill. The mint stand-in was a new flavor for me and I still prefer dill, however the combination with the watermelon and cuc’s was fun and fresh – definitely a summertime recipe.

We left the house early to stop by the Buttercup Farm to check out the new bunnies. Apparently, therewas an accidental “explosion” do to an incorrect sexing and unplanned pregnancy that occurred through wire cage walls. So there are over 40 rabbits on the cool farm that’s tucked away off Rt 66. The owner is very nice and she has a fan page on Facebook. We picked out two grey bunnies that are only seven weeks old to bring home. I posted some videos to Facebook and YouTube here. So far besides being super cute, they love to run in circles around my giant couch, sit on my lap during movies, and evade Michael when it’s time to go to bed. They are a blast.

Guilty Tat

Fw: Favorite

This is why you should ALWAYS twirl once in front of a mirror before leaving your house.

Weekend Wrap-Up

What a weekend. I got my bike tuned up for my first ride of the year on Saturday. I hadn’t been out yet because my ankle has hurt me since I twisted it in February. Yeah, February. I was walking across 23rd St in Crystal City and bit it on the little dip in the bricks. It hurt that bad that I actually cried. I think it’s ok now, a little loose and still achey but it’s strong enough that I feel comfortable going out with my feet “Look” cleated onto the pedals. Read: locked in requiring a swift twist of the heel to get out to keep from toppling over.

Pulling on a cleat

Anyway, it was nicer out than I expected (I thought I’d be too cold even in the humid air) but when I got a few minutes past the Belle Haven Marina on the Mount Vernon trail (a 12 mi hike from home) I started feeling too sick to make it back. So I whipped out my cellular device and called the best boyfriend evar for a ride back and some sympathy-food later on. We stopped by Trader Joe’s later in the day and bought berries, wine, tons of herbs to make gaspacho and tabouli, and more chocolate-dipped frozen bananas for my breakfast of champions. (No that’s not what made me sick.) We wanted to eat at Momo but there was such a wait that we hot-footed it to Ichiban, where Michael described the fare as “more of a fresh fish meal than sushi.” The rolls there are insane.

I woke up on Sunday to a jarring 64 degree-cold apartment. It didn’t bother Michael the slumbering bear one bit, but at 7:45am I was up and texting folks with ideas from crashing the ANCC driving range to sending calendar invites for a kayaking race somewhere in Va late July.

Oh yes, since I last tended to this blog I finally bought a kayak. It is awesome and I can’t wait for Michael’s to come in. You can check out my new kayaking page on this blog here, where I’ll post pictures and trip reports…eventually.

I did lots of odd jobs, an uncharacteristic gym visit then cooking spree when I made my superb no-mayo tuna salad (canned tuna, chopped lettuce, onions & parsley doused in grape seed oil and sprinkled with celery salt & white pepper). Then we headed out to Leesburg to celebrate Michael’s sister’s birthday at a Thai restaurant. I guess I’d say more about the delicious lunch if I weren’t soo jealous of her gift: a Wii!! (Nina’s blog is linked in my blogroll). We also hit up the Wegman’s for some bulgur (crucial for the tabouleh recipe I hear) and Home Depot for more sheets to ‘faux frost‘ the bedroom windows. The last thing I need is my former boss telescoping in to time wake-up-and-get-coffee-with-me calls. You read that right.

Enough for me pouring out the mundane details of my life. I’ve got to get to bed and wake up early to welcome our new newest employees with a smile and boatloads of information. Good week!