Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Long Weekend Recap

Ahhh, 3 day weekends.  How I love thee.  While I really like my job and the industry I work in, I do wish that I worked in an industry that allowed for alternative work schedules, like 4 10-hour days. But alas, that's not possible in the financial services world. But there are lots of other great things about the industry I work in (like getting bank holidays like yesterday off among many other things) so I guess I just have to accept that a flexible work schedule isn't one of them!  Here's how I spent my delightful long weekend!

On Friday night Phil and I met up with my running club training partner and her boyfriend at a sushi happy hour. We kind of had to rush to get there on time but it was nice to be home by around 7 pm as I struggle with late Friday nights!

On Saturday morning I woke up to bitterly cold weather. But since marathon training is starting soon, I forced myself to get up and join the club for my run.

-6F/-22C requires lots of layers.
So how does one dress for a run in -6F weather?  Layers.  Lots and lots of layers. I wore: 2 pairs of socks + toe warmers, running tights, my XC ski pants that block the wind, a base layer shirt, a fleece, a wind breaking jacket, mittens + hand warmers, a gaiter to keep my neck extra warm, a balaclava, and 2 layers of hats.  I actually was fairly comfortable during the run (or as comfortable as you can be in those kind of conditions) but I was very happy when my 7 mile run was done. The biggest thing that bothered me was my frozen eyelashes as they kind of made it harder to see at the end and just felt weird.

Post-run. Note the frozen eyelashes
Saturday afternoon was all about being productive so that I could relax a bit more on Sunday and Monday.  I spent a lot of time in the kitchen listening to podcasts as I prepped my salad of the week (Greek salad), made 2 dozen breakfast mini quiches...


and made a batch of granola.
Homemade granola is SO good!
Then I hung the medal rack that my parents gave me as part of my birthday gift!  I have been wanting one of these for a long time, so I am glad I finally have one!  It was nice to pull my medals out from the bins under my bed. It brought back a lot of memories to go through them all.


After that, I did my taxes, which is a chore that I really, really enjoy doing. I'm such a finance dork.  :)

On Saturday night, I went to church  and then met up with Phil at another couple's house for a game night/birthday celebration for me. They had picked up some delicious gluten free cupcakes which was a fun surprise!  We had a really fun night together and got to try a new game called Dixit, which is kind of like Apple to Apples but the cards have pictures instead of words. It was really fun!

On Sunday morning I went to yoga and got some things done around my house. I made these banana oatmeal muffins. They are fairly healthy and will make a good evening treat when I am craving something a little bit sweet.


On Sunday afternoon, after doing some prep work for the meal I was making for Phil for Valentine's Day, I headed back over to his place. Our Valentine's Day was very low key - we just stayed in and soaked up time with Oscar. She had been at his mom's for 2 weeks so we definitely missed her (but now his mom REALLY misses her!).

Oscar hopes your Valentine's Day was purrrrr-fect!
On Sunday night, I made this India Spiced Stew with Chicken and Potatoes, which Alli had recommended. It simmers for about 3 hours on the stove, but it's worth the wait! It was warm, savory, and delicious, so it was the perfect meal for a cold, snowy night! We ate dinner on the couch while watching the movie Recount on Amazon Prime.


On Monday morning, I woke up to much milder temperatures so I headed out for a run. It was 18F which felt amazing after my -6F run on Saturday!  I ran 5.5 miles along a creek and a lake in south Minneapolis. There was a section along the creek that had a bunch of ice sculptures along the path which were neat to see and a fun distraction!

On Monday afternoon, I picked up my nephews and we went to Dave and Buster's for a couple of hours. I hadn't seen them since Christmas so it was fun to get some time with them. I think this is our first aunt date outing that hasn't included a trip to a bookstore but it was fun to switch it up and do something different.


The rest of Monday was very relaxing and low key. I read, went to an awesome yoga class that was taught by my favorite instructor, and watched an episode of Gilmore Girls (I'm almost half ways through season 4). It was nice to end my productive weekend on a relaxing note!

What did you do this weekend?

19 comments:

  1. Wow, frozen eyelashes. That's dedication right there. For the weekend, I had some family time (Chinese New Year) as well as Ryan time (Valentine's Day). We helped bottle sloe gin at a local distillery. Pretty neat to see the process. :) I packed today - BALI SO SOON!

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  2. Oh my gosh, that is so much stuff to wear on one run!! Brrr... Did you ever find running tights that you liked? All your food here sounds and looks good. Now I want to check out that well plates blog more. I basically have no time these days to read or write or comment on blogs. Currently 12:38am reading blogs as I was waiting for Henry to really fall back asleep in the other room. Plus, my mind was just running so I couldn't relax and sleep. :/ ah, I can't believe you're training for another marathon! Part of me wants to run another and part of me would be happy to be done for good.

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  3. I was happy to see that you wore a face mask during your run on Saturday as it must have helped to warm the air some before it entered your lungs! It was -14 at our place that morning so I didn't venture out! But on a positive note, we have not reached below -20 this year and doubt we will now. I am enjoying the warmer weather this week is presenting.
    Sounds like a perfect Monday off, especially spending time with the boys! I love to see their smiling faces!
    That stew looks really good - love those comfort foods so much! I made a pot of potato soup, which your Dad loves. A great thing about winter is the wonderful soups and stews we can imbibe! Mmmm!

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  4. Wow! Sounds like a great weekend! Too much fun -- and good treats, too! I may have to get that stew recipe from you. I like Indian food and really don't make it much. Good for you, training in the cold, and fun to see the nephs again! Your Valentine's day looks perfect (and so does Oscar!)

    Happy week!

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  5. Ahh I LOVE GILMORE GIRLS!!!! And I also agree, yesterday felt so 'warm' after the freezing cold weekend! That Indian dish looks interesting. I'm trying to get my husband to try it with me but I think he's scared ha.

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  6. You know my feeling regarding the cold! I totally would have retreated to the dreadmill. It was cold enough here on Saturday that when I took my gloves off at mile 6 I had to put them back on at mile 8 and I had to wear layers also. There is just no way I could run outside like you did, you rock!!!

    It sounds like a really lovely weekend! Is Phil's mom going to adopt a cat do you think?

    Your nephew date sounds like so much fun! I love doing stuff like that! I still tell people about the bookstore you took me to when I was there :)

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  7. Your weekend sounds like the perfect combination of fun, chores and spending time with friends/family :) I wish that we lived closer to our nieces so I could take them out on adventures. It sounds like fun!

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  8. Oh my goodness, frozen eyelashes! That must have felt so weird. I really hope when I visit it's not that cold as I don't think I even have anything that would keep me warm in temps like that...!

    I didn't have a three-day weekend but it was a good one, nonetheless! Lots of workouts: 3 HIIT/Tabata workouts + 2 weight workouts, spent some time with our friends who are moving out of our neighborhood in March, took my dad to lunch, made gluten free gooey butter cookies for a dinner party we went to (they were yummy!), dealt with some things around the house, and finished two books: one audio, one print. There wasn't much relaxing but it was a good weekend. I'm hopeful that I can get some relaxing in soon! With how crazy things have been lately work wise, I feel like I'm running a little thin...

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  9. This looks like a lovely weekend. I'm so glad that you guys liked the stew. When I made it the first time a few weeks ago Chris took one bite and said, "Oh yes! Please put this in the rotation."

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  10. Wow, your long weekend was jam-packed! And kudos to you for running in that freezing weather... I would have opted for the gym (side-question: how do you deal with the cold air? I really dislike breathing the cold air when I run.)

    The granola looks delicious. I've wanted to try and make my own granola for the longest time. Thanks for linking the recipe! Bookmarked!

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  11. What a great long weekend!! Monday was a holiday here too (Family Day), and I'm off all week, which will be so nice :-)

    Christopher and I love doing our taxes too!!

    That's a really nice gift from your parents.

    Also, you did a lot of cooking - mmmmmm. The stew sounds right up my alley.

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  12. At first I was like, -6 isn't such a big deal, Lisa is way over dressed - but then I realised it was degF and had to google what that is degC and I was like, holy guacamole that is COLD! Much respect to you and your poor frozen eyelashes. My Sunday run was somewhat warmer than yours and I got to wear my bright pink pants :)

    Your weekend sounds pretty great and I love your medal rack!

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  13. "The biggest thing that bothered me was my frozen eyelashes..."

    Holy crap! You are awesome for running in weather like that - talk about dedication!

    I didn't have a three day weekend but worked from home Monday so that was nice at least! Ben and I didn't really do anything for Valentine's Day because our date night is this weekend, but he did have dairy free cupcakes delivered to me which were DELICIOUS!

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  14. I am shocked and awed that you went out for a run in -6 degree temps. That is dedication, my friend! I get annoyed when the temperature is in the 40s. (Such a Florida girl, ha!)

    Also, WHO ARE THOSE BIG KIDS YOU CALL YOUR NEPHEWS? There's no way they can be your nephews!! OMG.

    My weekend was good! I do not get bank holidays off, so just a regular schedule for me! I got a lot of writing done, had a lunch + pedicure date with my mom, caught up on my DVR, and on Sunday night, my roommate and I ordered in pizza and watched the first Harry Potter movie. A wonderful weekend indeed! :)

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  15. Oh I might just catch up to you on Gilmore Girls! I'm halfway through season 2. I've been watching like crazy. But in my defense (that makes it sound like I do nothing but watch TV I feel like - haha) I have watched the whole series twice before so I have been "watching" it a lot while doing other things like meal prep, laundry, administrative stuff on my computer etc.

    You really made the most of your long weekend! I have a long weekend this weekend because I get Friday off in lieu of overtime, which is a reallyyyyy awesome perk of my job!

    Hope you're having a great hump day!

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  16. That is crazy about your eyelashes! But, good for you to get out there and cute pic of the boys! They are so grown up.

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  17. that is totally insane. Saturday I ran on the treadmill because it was only in the 30's outside, then cut my 20 miler down to 15 because I felt sick. Then drank an entire bottle of wine with a special valentines day dinner the kids and I made for Kelley, so I was sick with the flu, drunk, and recovering at the same time. it was insane. Almost as bad as being sick, hungover, dehydrated, and too sore to move the next morning. ha!

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  18. Woof. I remember the frozen eyelash syndrome; it's not the greatest. However, the coldest I have ever run in was about 8 degrees when I was living in Iowa and I didn't like it at all. I was not wearing as many clothes as you were, that is for sure. I don't really have that much super cold running gear. When I was home for Christmas I went for a 14 degree run, which is totally doable but I still had the frozen eyelashes and nose breath. It gets kind of tricky to breath after a while!

    This weekend I went up to Lake Tahoe and spent some time with my parents snowshoeing and skiing. It was great to see them and the weather was PERFECT (20s - 40s, sunny and CLEAR) all weekend. I could not have planned it much better. Plus the slopes were surprisingly not as crowded as I thought they would be!

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  19. That run looks realllllly cold. Why are we moving back again? ;) - Oh, because of our awesome family!!! :D

    I make breakfast egg bakes in a muffin tin similar to that. I will have to get on track with meal prepping again, now that we are done with "moving mode".

    Looks like a fun day with Andrew and Matthew! I was going to say, "No book store and ice cream?!?!" What a treat to be able to spend the afternoon with them!

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