Two Words Tuesday: Memorial Weekend

5-27 Memorial Day thank you

5-27 Rental Car

Georgian Captiva

IMG_6770

be epic

IMG_6778

bedtime delight

IMG_6762

crunchy waterfall

IMG_6786

class completed

IMG_6782

piping hot

5-27 Georgetown

beautiful Georgetown

    IMG_6790

he’s wonderful

IMG_6797

coconut newbie

IMG_6799

tough life

IMG_6807

local tri

5-27 Nats Game

baseball date

IMG_6821

live life

5-27 World Market

bacon galore

IMG_6831

strange location

5-27 Ikea

table & chairs

Bachelorette crazies

5-27 Bestowed Giveaway

drawing tonight

Question:  Did you have a 3-day weekend?  Whatcha do?

Question:  Your 2 words today?

— Allison

Signature

Alive

Hey y’all!  I didn’t mean to leave you hanging after just a few words on Thursday but time got the best of me and the post that I planned to share on Friday remained in draft mode…  All weekend.  And yesterday.

Friday after work I met Molly for a coffee catch-up date.  The weather was gorgeous so we sat outside and chatted away before she skedaddled off onto her dinner plans.  On my way home I began to brainstorm the things that I needed to do before Ryan and I went to Boston.  I skipped my run in favor of cleaning, laundering, packing, making dinner, and…  One thing led to another and before I knew it, it was 9PM and I was asleep on the couch.

Flowers

Saturday and Sunday Ryan and I had a blast in Boston.  We went to a Red Sox game, walked around Newbury Street, revisited a few of our favorite sites, discovered new favorites, dined in the North End, chatted for hours with my aunt and uncle, tried new restaurants, popped into BU’s fabulous fitness center, and wished we could have stayed just one more day.  It was a short trip but we made the most of our time and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves :)

Movie

Yesterday our flight was in the morning so after we got home we took advantage of having the day off from work.  We ran a few errands, saw a movie, I went for a short run, and we swung by my momma’s house to give her a belated Mother’s Day gift.

Momma

This week is busy between work, having to get more lab work done, a networking event, and an all-day expo, but if the past is any indication of the present – the busier I am, the faster the weekend arrives!

[source]

Question:  What did you do this weekend?

Question:  Have you seen The Great Gatsby?  If yes, whatcha think?  If no, do you want to?

— Allison

Signature

Learning, Hiking, & Pamperizing

The past few weekends we’ve had plans from morning through night – it’s the busy season for social events, races, weddings, and beautiful weather.  So this weekend’s fairly flexible schedule was marvelous.

IMG_6173

Thanks Katie for hosting another marvelous link-up!

Saturday morning I was planning to catch up over coffee with a girlfriend before I attended the DC Lupus Foundation of America‘s Lupus Summit, but Ryan had a late night out with his friends seeing Iron Man so when I tried to wake him up he didn’t budge.  Thankfully my girlfriend was understanding and enjoyed the extra sleep and so did Ryan – he got his beauty sleep and I got a Starbucks.

IMG_6243

5-4 LFA Lupus Summit

The summit was held at The George Washington University Hospital and as seen on the LFA website, the purpose of the program was to allow individuals with lupus to ”connect with members of the lupus community and improve [their] health.”

I was a bit apprehensive of attending but I kept reminding myself that I’d rather be informed than uneducated.  I’ll recap what I learned sometime within the coming week, but overall it was a worthwhile experience.  I walked away feeling more knowledgeable about the disease that I was diagnosed with in the fall of 2009, even if knowing has made me a bit scared of what the future may hold.

IMG_6199

5-4 Hiking Along the Potomac

After the third session I was feeling a bit overwhelmed so I asked Ryan to pick me up earlier than planned and skipped the last session.  On the way home we took advantage of the beautiful weather and went for a hike along the Potomac River [and goofed off on the ropes course].

IMG_6201

the ropes course is located on the property of the school where my momma works – I used to go to summer camp there when I was younger, but I don’t remember the zip-line being that high!

IMG_6202

IMG_6203

IMG_6210

we missed the Bluebells

IMG_6217

After hiking we swung by my momma’s house before going to the gym.  I had a long run planned for Sunday morning so I didn’t want to do much, but Ryan has diligently been working on strengthening his ankle so he wanted to go.  And guess what…  For the first time since his ankle surgery he ran!  It may not have been a long distance but any progress is good progress, hooray!

IMG_6231

true story: I was so excited to see him running that immediately after I took this picture I dropped my phone – my headphones got stuck around the bike pedal & the ear bud snapped off

On the way home from the gym we picked up a few groceries at TJ’s and enjoyed a low-key evening with dinner on the couch and a movie.  We watched Bride Wars - I thought it was hilarious and Ryan actually had a laugh too.  The girly girl and wanna be wedding planner in me loves how beautiful the Park Plaza Hotel is…  It makes me want to get married again!

Sunday morning I planned to go for a long run after breakfast but one thing led to another and soon enough it was already time for lunch so postponed it until the afternoon - I can’t run on an empty stomach.  Ryan and I took Charlie for a walk around the lake before going out to lunch.

IMG_6233

turkey breakfast sausages & cinnamon oat flour pancakes topped with cottage cheese + peanut butter + pumpkin butter

5-4 Charlie

With a belly full of fuel I drove over to my old neighborhood to run, but .4 miles into it I called it quits.  Sometime on Saturday I tweaked my back so whenever I turned sideways and evidently when I run, I got a sharp pain up the left side starting from my hip to my shoulder blade.  It didn’t hurt when I bent forward or backward or when I walked though…  Update: I woke up this morning and it feels much better – last night’s stretching, foam rolling, and a back rub must have helped!

IMG_6245

I was a bit frustrated and held a pity party for one, but rationally I knew that I’d much rather take an unplanned rest day than not be able to run for weeks because I stupidly pushed through the pain.  The afternoon was not wasted though – my momma and I sat out on the deck and chatted about all of the upcoming family weddings we’re attending and I traded perspiring for pamperizing.

IMG_6248

5-4 Nails

Since it was Cindo de Mayo, I felt somewhat obliged to eat something Mexican for dinner but we already had pork tenderloin on the menu for dinner so these two ingredients were the extent of our Mexican celebration :P   Ya win some, ya lose some…  We finished off the night watching The Guilt Trip and thought it was pretty funny.

IMG_6263

I hope y’all had a wonderful weekend and your Monday has been marvelous!  This week is busy for me with a couple of appointments and packing for Boston this weekend…  I’m SO EXCITED!!!

Question:  What’s your favorite nail polish color?

Question:  Did you celebrate Cinco de Mayo?

— Allison

Signature