How Mother Nature OWNED Us

I can't believe it's been over a week since my last update! Suffice it to say that there was NOT much going on last week - you better believe that with the onset of that Godawful heat wave, my activities were quite limited to those of the indoor, air-conditioned sort.

Let's just say- I do NOT do extreme weather conditions. I mean, wasn't it just yesterday that we had a blizzard of historical proportions come barreling along our way? I'm all about the four seasons but this is seriously taking the four seasons to all KINDS of extremes.

Anyway! Since I'm the epitome of all things sunshiney goodness (duh), I've taken it upon myself to focus on the bright side of this heat wave. A list, if you will... a list of...

How Mother Nature OWNED Us - Making Lemonade Outta Those Heat Wave-y Lemons

1. The SUN! - You know me, a victim of Seasonal Affective Disorder if ever there was one. I NEED some serious sunshine in my life and... well, I can safely say that last week certainly sufficed. That sun was beaming its little rays down on us all the livelong day. Even though I was too busy taking cover in the shade and, more likely, in air-conditioned hotspots, I still have to say that I liked LOOKING out at sunshiney goodness.

2. No running! - You know me! The picture of love and devotion for this fine pastime we call running. HA. Needless to say, some executive decisions about my running schedule were made by about 7:15 each morning last week, as I would watch Al Roker dutifully unveil his Heat Wave map and... well, GOD! That map has never SEEN so much RED! (Red=Heat Warning, just a friendly FYI) And, well, I couldn't put my health at risk for a run, now could I? I mean, what if I fainted? Or, heaven forbid, ended up puking out on a public street? Ew. Decision was MADE - nooo running!!!! Weeee!

3. Air conditioner CENTRAL - Since frugality is pretty much my middle name, I like to minimize my use of the air conditioner because... MAN, can it skyrocket your bills! Well... let's just say last week was the exception to THAT frugal little rule. You better believe that air conditioner was blasting its pretty little heart out and I had absolutely NO QUALMS about it. Nothing feels better than coming into a nice, frigidly air-conditioned space from the outdoors where you literally feel like the sunshine's rays are going to burn you alive... but I digress.

4. ...

Ummm. I honestly sat here for a good three minutes, trying to figure out another lemonade maker outta those heat wavey lemons we got dealt last week... but, well... nothing! Nada. Not a single positive thing more could be said about the strike of Mother Nature's wrath last week.

Oh, screw it. Screw lemons and lemonade! Screw me being the picture of sunshiney goodness! Mother Nature TOTALLY owned us last week... and it was GOD-Awful.

My First 5K!

That's right, ladies and gents! Today, I completed my very first 5K! I signed up for the Fleet Feet Women's 5K race about a month ago, primarily because my half-marathon training schedule me to do so. And you KNOW whatever that training schedule says, I will FOLLOW!

Needless to say, I was not the ideal 5K'er this morning. It all started with my bad decision to stay out till about 1 AM, despite fully knowing that I had a 6 AM wakeup call this morning. Come 6 AM, my alarm went off, and I... well, just groaned, turned my alarm off, and continued to lay in bed, seriously contemplating just skipping the race.

Sure, I was tired, but I think what was mostly contributing to this lack of motivation was the knowledge that it was going to be one scorcher of a day. To say I'm a wimp in heat is pretty much one of the bigger understatements one can make.

Sigh. After about three minutes, I just forced myself outta bed and focused on getting ready... my brand new race shirt certainly helped matters along, not going to lie! :) Yess!

Since I was having some trouble waking up and/or thinking positive thoughts prior to the race, I unfortunately did not snap a single "before-race" picture. Sad, I know.

I have to say, though. Fleet Feet knows how to make a race FUN!

We started with some pre-race stretching, sponsored by Accelerated Rehab. I'm not going to lie... this pre-race stretching was kind of like a workout in and of itself. Let's just say I was DRIPPING with sweat by the end of it... and I still had the race to run! The 90+ degree weather at like 7:15 AM was certainly NOT helping matters.

Shortly after the pre-race stretching (read: workOUT)... we were all corralled together to get ready for the big race! The theme of the pep talks being given in the last ten minutes? Hydration, hydration, hydration!

But you know me and my feelings about water. I hate to say it, but I decided to kind of turn a deaf ear to all those pieces of advice (being blared from every megaphone available).

But soon enough, off we went! I'm very open about how I'm not a fast runner by any stretch of the imagination. My primary goal with any race is to just FINISH it running. Therefore, I was perfectly content positioning myself around the 10:30 pace section, since I'd been pacing at around a 10/10:30 minute mile during my other runs.

And imagine that. Mile 1 went by just like that! I was feeling just fine and dandy, despite my worries about still being sore from my five mile run (!! I know, right?!) on Friday. I felt like I could go on all day long.

But then Mile 2 hit. And hit HARD. I swear, that sunshine was beaming brighter than ever and the shady parts of the path had gotten to be quite few and far between.

I'm not kidding, I felt like death was coming a'knocking.

Okay, maybe I just felt like the heat and beaming sunshine was significantly slowing me down, but whatever. You get the idea. I ended up feeling better about halfway through Mile 2, primarily because I was just thinking "Alright, the faster you pick up the pace, the sooner you'll be done with this DAMN RACE".

Talk about real healthy, positively reinforcing, completely non-abusive thoughts. Oh well. I tried.

Just as I was mentally reconsidering why I'd EVER touted the glories of "sunshiney goodness" (GOD, that sun is INSANE today), sweet Jesus, would you look at that?

I did it! I did it! I finished the race, running! Huzzah!!

Sigh. Don't I look so genuinely happy and refreshed... and not totally ready to keel over from heat stroke? HA. In my DEFENSE, this picture was taken like RIGHT after I finished, when I was still trying to figure out whether my body was going to let me live or die by this point.

It was kind of funny because I hadn't taken advantage of any of the hydration stations Fleet Feet had set up (God bless Fleet Feet- they SO know how to take care of their runners), despite all that hydration encouragement to which I'd turned my deaf ear (hey! I told you at the beginning I wasn't the ideal 5K'er this morning!). However, I ended up snagging a bottle of water that was being handed out at the finish line.

But I got quickly distracted because...

Weeee! There were those Gatorade people, handing out little cupfuls of Gatorade deliciousness. Before I even THOUGHT about opening up that bottle of water, I JETTED on over to the Gatorade guy, snagged a cup of Gatorade deliciousness and pretty much took it like one would take a shot of vodka. I guess I was thirstier than I thought. Whoops.

But man! Talk about a parTAY after the race finish! There were all KINDS of goodies and tents set up for individuals to peruse at leisure. Of course, I first made myself at home at the Luna tent... free samples? Hello.

Next, I decided to get my knee all checked out (it's been pretty swollen the past few days) with a free injury screening at the Accelerated Rehab tent.

After getting myself armed with a sports doctor referral, I decided to make myself right at home at the Moji tent. Before this race, I hadn't really known what Moji was, but BOY, am I glad that I found this tent. Moji is like this special type of icepack which, quite frankly, is heaven. ESPECIALLY in the 90+ degree weather. You basically can get icepacks strapped to you, and it's SO much more flexible than a standard icepack. Anyway, you KNOW it took me no time at all to get myself all nicely situated and start icing my knee.

Very ladylike, I know.

I ended up staying for a little bit longer, checking out the New Balance fashion show, partaking in some post-race stretching, and staying for part of the awards show (umm! The fastest runner had like a 5:53 PACE?!?!? WTF?!). What can I say? Once the race was actually over, I was totally all ABOUT it! Haha.

All in all, a success! Granted, my time was slower than I would have hoped, but I was happy to have just finished this darn thing, given this ridiculous heat wave nonsense.

And the best part? I totally have my day's workout all over and done with by about 10 AM! FAN-tastic! Now I can finally focus on the REAL priorities for today... celebrating National Ice Cream Day! Yessss!

In a Funk? Have a Cupcake

I woke up in a funk this morning after one rather ridiculous phone call last evening. I figured I'd just dwell in my funk for a few hours in the morning and then move along my merry way, being the glass half full kinda gal that I am.

For some reason, the funk still remains (and it's currently 2:53 PM CST).

I didn't go outside for lunch today, despite the ridiculous sunshiney goodness (that's right, folks- summertime Chi has FINALLY arrived!) taunting me through these office windows. As such, come 2:30 PM, I figured a break was much needed. A break from the office, a break from the funk, you get the idea.

I headed out with no real plan in mind- just intending to take a few moments to enjoy some delicious sunshiney goodness.

But then... well, somehow I just HAPPENED to stumble upon...

If a cupcake can't cheer a person up, I just don't know what CAN. Without a MOMENT's hesitation, I made myself right at home. I mean, this place's selection is Ridiculous (with a capital R and everything).

In the end, my practicality got the better of me- I knew I would feel absolutely SICK for the rest of the afternoon if I ingested one of those ginormous specialty cupcakes. So, instead, I opted for a plain Jane vanilla-vanilla cupcake. Aaand added a couple more specialty cupcakes for some fellow coworkers of mine... gotta deflect any and all guilt I was feeling for indulging in such a rich treat on a regular old Tuesday afternoon, after all.

In the end, I must say, cupcakes really do solve all the world's problems. The delicious sunshiney goodness was only an added bonus. :)

SunCHIne and Summertime: Festivals, Brew Tours and GRAETERS!

Finally. After last week's DISASTROUS weather (I mean, how can you ring in summertime with 57 degrees, gloom doom clouds, and torrential DOWNPOURS? Wtf- I totally KNOW!), I had pretty much given up hope on summertime in Chicago.

I love giving up hope. You can never really be disappointed, if so. Man, talk about glass-half-full kinda thinking at its FINEST. It's a gift, really.

Irony of ironies, as soon as I had completely written off summertime in Chicago this year... well, the weather somehow magically skyrocketed 40 degrees in a 24 hour time period (no joke- it was in the 50s on Sunday, 90s on Monday... again, wtf, I know)... and the sun finally decided to grace us with her magical rays... ALL WEEK LONG!!!!lkjasldkfjlds!

Now, summertime in Chicago is pretty well-known as an unbeatable kinda wonderland. The city really just comes ALIVE... the streets are suddenly flowing with people coming out of hibernation, street festivals are all OVER the place, and everyone just seems that darn happier. Sigh. I love this place. Can you tell at all? ;)

This first summer weekend (that actually FELT like summer) was no exception. From MayFest in Lincoln Square (a German summertime festival? Sigh. Pitter patter goes my heart.) to outdoor drinks at Zella's to a Goose Island brew tour...



...to the Chicago Tribune's LitFest (where I attended a social media lecture... MAN, I can just listen/talk/discuss the wonders and glories of social media FOREVER, really)...


Well... a perfect inaugural summertime weekend it has been.

And yet. All I want to focus this blog entry on is my recent discovery that...

Weeeeee!!!! My neighborhood grocery store now carries... GRAETERS ICE CREAM Lfdflkjsdklj!

Sweet heavens. I wish each and every one of you had been there to see my jaw fall to the ground and my heart do some SERIOUS pitter pattering when I walked by my lovely little neighborhood grocery store earlier.

Pandemonium, at its finest, if you will. Internal pandemonium, that is (I mean, I do have SOME discretion!).

If you are from Cincinnati, you will clearly understand why this news is cause for such jubilee. If you are not from Cincinnati... well, get ready. Because you are totally about to hear ALL about how/why this is cause for such merriment/jubilee/sunshine - you know, all things "sunCHIne and summertime". (Like that? I thought of it all on my own, thank you very much.)

Okay, so Graeters is this ice cream shop that has its roots in the beloved 'Nati. GOD, it is the best thing ever. I'm not the biggest ice cream fan, but that rule is TOTALLY null and void when it comes to Graeters. I mean, it's just so rich and creamy and flavorful and... well, all that is good and right in the world today.

Okay, maybe I'm getting a little carried away.

Nah. I never get carried away. (Haha) It is just that good.

AND it was on SALE?!?!?!

Yeah, okay, I know. $3.99 for a dinky pint of ice cream? A little steep for my frugal little self.

But seriously- you just need to taste it. Then, and only then, will you wholly and completely understand why this thing is worth every single penny. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. GOD, it's taking some serious willpower to not just waltz on over to my freezer right now for a little spoonful (or bowlful.. potayto, potahto, really) at this very moment.

While their signature flavor is Black Raspberry Chip, you really just can't go wrong with anything you get there. And the best part about Graeters is, while they have skyrocketed in popularity (they are TOTALLY known nationwide... I'm beaming in pride, naturally), they still maintain their down-home charm. It's totally one of its more endearing qualities, if you will. Whenever I go home, you better believe this is one of my pit stops... in addition to Skyline... LaRosas... UDF... well, okay, so kill me. It's not my problem that Cincinnati has some darn good food.

Sooo... summertime festivals? Summertime drinks? SunCHIne? I'm all about them- I mean, don't get me wrong. But they simply don't hold a candle to... well, hometown ice cream, apparently. What can I say? I'm a down-home gal at heart.

How Christie Got Her Glow Back...

okay. so i understand things have been a little busy in my life lately, and i know im an emotional person and i wear my emotions on my sleeve (one of my very few flaws, let's be honest... juuust kiddinggg. geez.) but i didnt think it was all that noticeable until you talked to me and i verbal vomited everything going on in my life to you within the first five minutes of conversation (remember? i talk quickly. faster than i type, if you can believe that). basically, i had fooled myself into thinking that im good at hiding my feelings despite already KNOWING that i wear my emotions on my sleeve. sigh. talk about one confused mess, that i am. haha.

anyway, thank goodness i was brought back to reality last week when one of my coworkers returned after a month-long vacation and ever so tactfully mentioned that id seemed to have lost, of all things, my glow.

my GLOW. my christie GLOW. my maliyacular GLOW. omg... my christiemas GLOW.

i know, i know. i had the same reaction. i mean, my glow is like one of my sole contributing components to the betterment of society. without the christie glow, what does christie really add to the world?? (i dont normally ever speak of myself in the third person. it's actually a pet peeve of mine. but whatever. remember that whole thing about how 'fickle' is my middle name? case in point, if you will.) so, needless to say, i kind of flipped out. and by "kind of" flipped out, i mean i only inquired about my glow status with a few other individuals (read: basically my workplace's 26th floor in its entirety as they paraded on by my desk)... and EACH individual i politely questioned (okay, kind of accosted/interrogated) couldn't even LIE about my glow status. it was all a very sad day in christieland.

it was from that point on that i have decided that i simply cannot be having this. i HAVE to get my glow back. i just have to. i mean, how else am i going to reach world domination (ruling by spirit fingers in lieu of the iron fist, and all that... oh you know what? i dont think ive written a blog entry about that topic just yet. oops. ah, for another time) if the essence of me is simply... well, slowly but surely... dimming?

ive put a lot of time and effort into brainstorming ways by which to restore my glow. after such introspective analysis (remember, my friends, the maliyacular is very deep)...ive come up with the following list:

1. LAUGH (or giggle)!! (this is easy- i laugh all the time. im very grateful for this trait- i mean, people are FUNNY. and by funny, i mean absolutely ridiculous.)

2. LISTEN TO CHRISTIEMAS MUSIC!!!! - seriously, i have been SO HAPPY the past few days at work just because i plug right on into my christiemas itunes playlist. seriously, it's A-MAZING how much of a happy place my christiemas music takes me to. and i only have three christiemas cds on my itunes!! (mariah carey... the original. love actuallyafksdljaskdlfjaosij!!!! glee!! and last year's starbucks christiemas cd). in fact, after this whole lack of glow business from last week, i made sure that my christiemas music was playing allllll weekend long (including as i slept... okay, so i woke up at like 4 AM because im a light sleeper and still get super excited each and every f'ing time i hear mariah carey's all i want for christiemas but whatever.)

2a. i know this goes without saying, but if you happen to feel this need to just get up and dance to your christiemas music, i really dont think anyone's going to judge you. if anything, i will solely judge you if you ARE listening to christiemas music and NOT dancing. um hello have you HEARD mariah carey's all i want for christiemas? as a very wise person (me) once said... HELLO.

3. eat, eat, eat! - you realize that the obvious disclaimer to this point is that, when eat, eat, eating, it's only in reference to sugary deliciousness. please note how this is not specific to chocolate, primarily because im not a chocolate kinda gal (i know, i know, blasphemy). sure, i love me the occasional peanut butter nutella cupcake or the occasional snickers/reeses/twix treat, but i am a firm believer that there is more to the land of sweets than chocolate. dont even GET me started on this dark chocolate revolution... but again, for another time.

4. gab, gab, gab! - always have your go-to people with which to take time out and, well, gab, gab, gab! therapeutic, really. it's amazing how easily you can laugh, laugh, laugh when you make it a priority to gab, gab, gab. and it ALL comes full CIRCLE (please reference #1 above!). i LOVE it when this happens!!!

okay. so the list isnt the most comprehensive thing ever (im sorry, but creating a restoring my glow checklist takes a lot of TIME here, people!). but it's covered the ESSENTIALS, right? i mean, you see what's in red above, right? duh.

so, my friends, milk and hot chocolate is the lesson for today (haha get it... it's like the whole idea of "lemons and lemonade" with a holiday twist... hahaha im actually quite proud of it). i mean, i could have completely freaked out with this whole lack of glow revelation... and sure, i did for a little... so maybe i dwelled on this for a couple of minutes (or days). but whatever. the POINT is that i have taken the liberty of re-prioritizing my mindset in order to restore my glow and, thus, maintain a healthier lifestyle (after all, well-rounded is my middle name... HA. hahahaha i just laughed ALOUD at the thought)...

and if i just HAPPEN to achieve world domination along the way well... what's a girl to do, right? im JUST SAYING...

bringing the world's holidays together, one funfetti cupcake at a time...

so i was debating whether christiemas festivities should begin this week or next week, but i think this week is quickly winning out. let's be honest here, i held out long enough as compared to in years past when you KNOW christiemas began in july. this was moreso a conscientious effort because i am just darn DETERMINED not to suffer from christiemas burnout before the grand december 25th itself. please. i've waited long enough. heck, starbucks has brought back their christiemas cups. it's TIME to start the season in full FORCE, thank you very much.

and dude. what a wonderful time to coincide one of the grandest seasons in the united states (christiemas. just to clarify) with one of the grandest holidays in the motherland (india. just to clarify)... diwali! woohooo! granted, i never celebrated this holiday growing up but it sounds so delightful and sunshiney and happy and merry... basically, it's totes spotlight material for the maliyacular... a blog devoted to flowers and springtime, sunshine and summertime, foliage and falltime, Mariah Carey and Christiemastime... but i digress.

okay. so it seems like everyone in india has been celebrating diwali the entire week (i may be slightly exaggerating. all i know is that they get the day off on friday. im just SAYING.) and MAN, do they celebrate in style. sigh. i want to go to india. haha i know PLENTY of you are reading this and being like... what. fair enough, i know i know. to which ill respond... well, WHAT?! i think it sounds so merry and joyous and just plain festive! just like christiemas if you will. i mean, think about it. there are all kinds of similarities. they're both religious holidays. they both involve the... festival of lights. they both involve happiness and spirit and sunshiney warm and fuzzies. well, you get the idea, right?

and the FESTIVITIES that take PLACE?!?! today was such an educational day at work. i learned about what the holiday actually celebrates but also HOW it gets celebrated over there. crafts and sweets? um hello, this is SO my kind of holiday. apparently, diwali also involves some sort of fireworks display (i mean, understandably, right? festival of lights... fireworks...at least, i think that's the connection. im still LEARNING, give me a break here!). anyway, putting all that information together (man, today was such an educational experience at work, let me tell you. im exhausted! haha), i decided it is about time WE celebrate some cultural roots and our counterparts half a world away by having our own little diwali celebration at work tomorrow.

i was super excited. i mean, arts and crafts? sweets? singing and dancing? general merriment? hooray hooray hooray!

well, so much for THAT idea. after my coworker voiced his concerns about my general sanity/craziness levels, i decided to just tone it down with... of course... baked goods. i mean, obvi. it's not like some coworkers and i gorged on chocolate last week in honor of halloween. but whatever. a mere side note, really. and how fab is THIS?? FUNFETTI cupcakes.... in honor of the FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS!!! GET IT??? funfetti is just about the most colorful kind of cupcake if ever there was one... i mean, with the frosting and sprinkles, it TOTES resemble fireworks, right?? right. well, whatever, we're going to go with that for now. and i think the decision to bake those funfetti cupcakes was simply fate. because as i was walking down my grocery store's baked goods aisle, what did i stumble across but... CHRISTIEMAS FROSTING!!!!!!!!!! eeee!!!!! it's like all the grandest things in the world just came together in one simple grocery aisle. lakfjojer!lkJlkjaals!

hoorayy!!! so get ready, world! let the christiemas festivities BEGIN!!!!! and what better way to begin the christiemas festivities than by saying... well, happy diwali!!

ps apologies for the lack of blog posts for the past MONTH. wtf, i know right? ill try to keep up. hell, i KNOW ill keep up. i gotta keep the world merry for the next two months at least! it's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it...