Reunited and it feels so GOOD!

(Me and P. Kat, together again!)

Medal? Mental.

They like me, they really like me!

I received the biggest surprise last week when a voice-mail was left for me, informing me that I had won a medal in the Streamwood Stride 5k! Whaaaat?! I know, right?

So apparently they gave out medals for best looking runner.

But seriously I checked the rankings online and it looks like I got 2nd best time in my age bracket. Yes, there were only 4 girls in my bracket, but STILL. 

I'm planning on getting it engraved with my name, the date and my race time. I gotta make a big deal about this, who knows when the next time will be, huh? 

As of right now, the next time I will have a chance to get a medal will be in the Hot Chocolate 5k, November 4th. We've registered and everything. Our bib #s are 1295 & 1296. Please let me know if you've registered and we can make plans to meet up for pictures before and after the race. 

Races ran in 2012: 1

Medals: 1

Running!

On June 9th in Streamwood, IL, Zane and I ran the Streamwood Stride 5k. It was a sunny warm morning, the race started at 8:00. I made a new personal record of 35:56 AND I got 2nd place in my age group. (There were only 6 or 7 of us in my age group, but still...) Now that's the time for me to beat next time.
There are a lot more people interested in running than I ever thought.
Right now my good friend Amanda is just starting getting into running and unfortunately our friend Sunil injured himself before the race so he couldn't join us. I run about 2x per week although I wish it were more.
Please let me know in the comments if you are a runner and what sort of running you do.
The next race I'm registered for is the Hot Chocolate 5k in November. I want to run a race in July and September too. We'll see.

ONE!!!!

Saturday
October 22, 2011

So, this was my dilemma: Is the day I'm counting down to supposed to be one or zero? I chose ONE but it feels unfinished. But on the other hand, there is no such thing as a zero day, right? I don't know. Anyways...

Wedding day!

It was beautiful and fun, low stress and high winds. It rained on and off, but then again it was on Puget Sound in October. No biggie!

We woke up early and met at the reception site to help set up. It was held at a historic building in downtown Bellingham, "the Leopold" in the ballroom. Lots of moving tables, chairs, ironing cloth napkins and tableclothes... good thing there was lots of help! Local friends as well as extended family worked very hard to get things juuuuuuust right. I'm not sure Bellingham knew what hit it when so many Hay/Labrus rolled into town. Bubba nearly bowled Ben over when he first got to the site. That's an entrance!

The bridesmaids and bride all had appointments for hair at the mall followed by getting dressed at Allyssa's and then pictures with the rest of the bridal party and some family. (I can't wait to see how the professional pics turned out!) The location for the pictures was inside an old building in Fairhaven, three stories of stairs wrapping around the inside, leading up from a courtyard with a fountain.

Then we got to the hall, hung out in the back and the wedding started on time. In fact we were ready at least 30 minutes before the appointed time and ended up killing time, re-applying lipgloss, snacking on granola bars, taking girly pictures and counting down the time. The flower girl and her brother the ring bearer kept us entertained too. At one point he gave us his best Mr. Miyagi impression, "Wax on, Wax off!"

Saje & Flower Girl (Allyssa's Cousin)

Bridal Party

(below) Me and the beautiful Mother of the Groom

After the wedding there was a receiving line and I got to see so many wonderful friends and beloved family who traveled many hours to attend. We made our way to the reception at last and in our absence it had transformed from merely a fine looking room to a splendid scene of elegance. Candles and goblets and crystals and two large chandeliers adorned the room and lent much to the sophisticated taste level of the entire reception.

After dinner there was dancing...

...and cake.

It's hard to tell from this picture, but the cake toppers on the side cakes were Cinderella & Prince Charming and Belle & the Beast. Not to be outdone by the decorations were the cake flavors: Chocolate, Coconut, Lemon and Bananas Foster! Yum!

Zane and I had so much fun dancing to a few old songs and many of the current dance tunes. Even Dad and Mom got out on the floor to one of the first songs, "Play that funky music, white boy!" I nearly died! One of my favorite memories of the whole weekend. We also got to catch up at the reception with Dani and Jay, Toni and Bob and Delia and Duston.

The night ended, as all things do. But the memories of it will be cherished for many years. And even if those memories fade, the same will never be said of the love we have for Ben and Allyssa.

Four and More for Jonelle

Wednesday

October 19, 2011

In Bellingham, hanging out with family and getting ready for the wedding on the 22nd.

My dress looks good, don't need to hem it.

When I left Chicago there were a lot of trees already changing colors, but in WA they are juuuuuuust starting to change. It's like double fall for me. Jonelle would be jealous!

Speaking of Jonelle, here are some more shots for her that I took in Chicago before I came over.

Eleven

October 12, 2011

Wednesday

Today I flew to Seattle. First time flying by myself since I was 15. Less nervous than I thought I’d be. But we DID just fly in September for the Hindi assembly AND I’m flying out of the airport I know the best into the airport I probably know second best. The one and only other time I flew by myself is when I was 15, and my uncle and aunt delivered me to the terminal and my mom met me on the other end at the baggage claim, so I didn’t really DO anything on my own.

I look up from typing this on the plane and see michael scott as a blond woodsman, daryl as count dracula, todd packer as a nun. OMB I just looked up and saw Timothy Oliphant! I MUST find and watch this episode ASAP!!!!!

For Jonelle

Twenty

October 3, 2011

Monday

Move=Done!

It was all a blur and many eventful things happened. I don't have the energy to type out the whole story, so bullet points it is!

• battery kept dying, bought a new one but guy said, "get your old one tested first, just in case it's not the problem." Battery testing guy said, "your battery is fine." Returned battery.
• battery kept on dying, went to other place and got it tested. "your battery is bad." Bought battery again. Car is fine. Egged first battery testing guy's house.*
• gotta be out of apt by 30th. Zane flies to Baltimore on 28th.
• driver side window stops working, stuck down on 28th.
• took car full of stuff to new apartment, realized new apt keys are at old apartment
• later that day met a sister at old apartment to get something I was giving to her, realized old apartment keys are at new apartment, along with purse and phone.

*slight egg-zaggeration

Miles ran: 1, but if moving counts as exercise, call me Jillian Michaels!

Twenty-seven

September 26th, 2011

Monday

Meeting day. Studying. Sort of.

Since the new place is still getting worked on a little before the 1st (cleaning, new light switches, new vanity in the master bath) we are sleeping at the empty old place on an air mattress. That makes it really hard to study for meeting: no desk, no kitchen table, no couches. So I am at starbucks! I tried to study at home for a bit at the breakfast counter, but I was getting stir-crazy. I love the mood at starbucks, it's busy but quiet. They are playing old jazzy music and there are a few other people sitting around reading things, not talking. I love it. I got a soy chai tea. (I KNOW chai means tea, but I think it can also be used to describe the specific way the tea drink is prepared. So there.)

(3:25) uh ok, school just got out. It got busy in this starbucks. Little girls in pleated plaid skirts and knee socks make a lot of noise! But they're cute and they have moms with them, so it's not as bad as teenagers, right?

Cleaned out the freezer! Yay! So much freezer-burned fruits and vegetables! Boo!

Miles ran: 1

Twenty-eight

September 25, 2011

Sunday

Usually Sunday is a long-run day. But Zane and I were down in Romeoville for our S.A.D. sooooooo, that didn't happen. At all.

Great time. I'm super tired.

This week on Sajethegirl: finishing moving, more running, cooking, more gushing over pretty people.

Miles ran: still only 1, but not for long

Twenty-nine

September 24, 2011

Saturday

8:30- Eeek! It's move day. Woke up with a stuffy nose and itchy eyes. It's allergies but it's also from all the dust from packing. The dust wasn't even that noticeable yesterday, not like zane and I kept becoming pigpen from peanuts. But it was enough to make me miserable today. We stayed up so late packing, but it was good becau

After some scrambling to get a truck that we could use in the morning, we are on our way! I set up the kitchen with the coffee maker and cups and a kettle for tea (even though as I am typing this at 8:40am I realize that we packed all the tea.) I also have a lunch planned but we'll see how that goes. Tacos.

Picked up the truck and had it at the house by 10:00 and Danny and Zane started loading it. They both decided on their own to wear their red coca-cola tees! Hilarious.

It is now 12:00 and pretty much our old apartment is empty. I think I drastically over estimated how much help we would need and how long it was going to take. (Seriously, we asked like 15 people but it was so last minute that most had previous obligations. Good thing too, huh?)

Zane and Dan are running some errands (ace hardware, dropping off clothes to the donation box, etc.) and I'm getting lunch ready. To go on the tacos I made Sarah's delicious salsa. It not only tastes as good as Sarah looks but it's as easy to make as she is easy to look at!

7:45pm- so tired. everything got moved over. Amanda came over to help and so did Rick a little later. Everything went smoothly and we need to sleep!

Tacos again for din-din with beautiful Sarah's salsa!

Don't worry, Zane took 'before' pictures on Amanda's camera. I don't know where mine got put with the packing going on. Some random box maybe.

Miles Ran: 1

Thirty

September 23 2011

Friday

We finally found a great apartment a few days ago, and today Zane and I were able to move a few things into the storage locker that came with it. The locker is huge! I would like to put up some shelves or a bookcase/wire shelving unit like this. We could probably fit three no problem, with room left over.

Aaah! It's much later in the day, evening, night, and I had forgotten to finish this post!

Packing packing packing. We are not doing the entire move in one day, but we ARE doing the main part of it all at once. So couches, bookcases, dressers, bed and as many boxes of stuff we can live without for a few days. Cleaning lady doesn't come until Monday so we are gonna stay at the old place for Sat and Sun nights at least. When we move all that stuff tomorrow we will just pile it in the middle of the rooms and not unpack anything. That way the cleaning lady can work and our landlord will be changing some light switch faceplates and other cosmetic things before we move in, so we won't be in his way either.

Shout out to my friend Cici who is a sickie-poo. Get Well!

Current audio book: Persuasion by Jane Austen

My New Favorite Meal

This is my new favorite dish. I was making a quick dinner for me one night and just kept throwing in things that sounded good. Zane tried it and loved it too and a new favorite was born.

Here are my notes on how to make it.

Boil pasta. Angel hair works great with this. I have used both rice spaghetti and regular fettuccine pasta as well.

Heat up butter and oil in a pan, add a few minced cloves of garlic and saute for a min or two. (It should be bubbly when you swirl the pan and smell delicious!) Add julienned red bell pepper and sliced zucchini. (How to cut zucchini: cut it so you see the circles and then cut in half. ;) Cook till red pepper is not crunchy any more but for goodness sakes, don't overcook the veggies. It's better to undercook with this dish than to overcook.

When pasta is ready and drained, I usually turn the burner off and put the pasta back in the pot, dumping the veggies in with it, a handful of roughly chopped fresh spinach and sprinkling crumbled feta cheese in too. Mix well and EAT! (The spinach cooks when it gets folded in with the hot pasta and veggies) One time I added julienned fresh basil leaves with the spinach too, and it was great.

Every time I've made this, so far 5 times, it doesn't seem like it's going to be very good but don't freak out and add something else, really, it's going to be FINE!

I have no idea how this tastes the next day because we always eat it all and never have leftovers.

Vatch Your Step

We were recently in Toronto and made our way over to Niagara Falls! Zane had never seen the falls before and THAT is unacceptable. We took the elevator down to see behind the falls. It was so loud and you really feel the power of all that water. Zane's favorite part was at the top, looking out at the water juuuuuuuust before it goes over the edge. It's so much calmer and I couldn't help thinking, "Water, you have NO IDEA what is about to happen to you!"

Tia Jess

Me and Jess

This is from two weekends ago when we went up to Eau Claire, WI for my cousin Jess's wedding (Not the one in the picture with me, her sister-in-law.) We had an amazing time seeing family and celebrating such a happy day.
I'm going to put more pictures up on thezandme later but I just downloaded my pics from the weekend and this was such a good shot that I had to share it!

Addicted to Watermelon

I'm hooked. Last week I pretty much devoured an entire 14lb seedless watermelon by myself.

I'm onto #2 today!

My first variety was a normal one. This one is a sugarbaby and I like it better than the last. It's not gonna last long. I've already eaten about 1/3.

Don't judge.

What's YOUR favorite fruit? Leave it in the comments!

I've not been avoiding this, really

I really am not avoiding doing this, it's just been so busy for us and I'm sorry, but more things are important to me than working out. Like sleeping a reasonable amount of time, service, studying and FWN and making sure my fam has clean clothes to wear and clean dishes to eat off of.

So I'm counting this as a fail. But I'm not sad. I'll think of something else to do!

0 days to go!

Rest of life to live!

Day 23

Day 23. Tuesday.

Work got pushed to Thursday. I took Zane to work at 4:30 am and then fell back asleep until later. We went out to breakfast together (it feels like so long ago because it was a very busy day.) I had a vegetarian omelet. I went to the laundromat and target *see bleach blog* and then took groceries from Jewel over to Zane's work where we made turkey and avocado sandwiches and watched a Chicago Code episode. I am four episodes behind Zane and I'm trying to catch up. After he got off we went to the gym and I got to see the beginning of the Biggest Loser. Walked for 35 minutes on the stairs and then we came home and vegged out a bit. Poor Zane was pooped, at least I got to take a nap from 5 to 7. But I'm tired too so I'm going to bed!

17 days to go! It's so close!

Day 22

Day 22

Monday

Yes, I know I've missed almost an entire week. I feel it. Not that I haven't worked out, but last week was so busy and it culminated in an extremely busy weekend and I just couldn't find time to log each and everything I ate each day, and all my workouts.

So instead of trying to catch up on the days I missed (which would be soooo boring anyways because I can't remember half of it) I'm just gonna start with today!

Meeting day. I woke up and had a blueberry bagel with cream cheese *thanks Zane!* and Dunkin Donuts coffee. I then worked out using a vid I found on Netflix. It was a full body tone up by SELF magazine. It was called 'bikini body' or something like that. I didn't do it all but I did some of it. I then had a fudgesicle and lots of water. Dinner was scrambled eggs and salsa with some dabs of cream cheese mixed in for creaminess. I also sauteed up some escarole (first time!) and it turned out pretty good. Garlicky with some pepper and lemon. Yum. I saved most of it for later.

Photo above is of some delicious chocolates that Dane and Brandi gave us when they stayed with us last weekend. They were yummy and very polite. Each one said Merci to me before I ate it!

18 days to go!

Days 13, 14, 15, 16

Heehee. Whoops.

Day 13
Saturday. We showed our friends from NY our Chicago Stuffed Pizza. It was delicious and fun with friends.

Day 14
Sunday. In the city, yummy Indian food and Tamales. YUM.

Day 15
Monday. Meeting day. Smoothie for breakfast. Busy.

Day 16
Tuesday. Work day. Pizza, indian food, greek salad, workout, ice cream. You can see how I felt about working out at 9:30 pm.

I feel bad that I didn't work out for four days. But it was CO visit. And we had company. So there.

24 Days to go!