Little House on the Prairie (path)

Our move to the suburbs is complete (for the most part) Things are still in a complete state of chaos, and I stupidly refused to take time off work, so the unpacking/settling in/attempt at normal living is moving at a glacial pace.  I haven’t run yet, I just don’t have the energy.  I have been up super late every night, and I can tell you, this girl does not do well on 4 hours of sleep a night. 

I would love to say that the move when great and was way easier than expected, but of course, it took  us like two hours just to get the couch out of our old place, and we damaged an entire wall and the couch in the process.  I have been spending just as much time in the city as when I lived there, because I am now cleaning and doing wall repair after work.  But, as much as I just want to complain, the second I put this pup in her brand new yard, I realized that no matter how bad it was, it was worth it.

After running around for 10 minutes, she ran into our brand new kitchen and power puked everywhere from excitement.

Yesterday was day two for our new suburban life.  I got caught in a terrible storm on the way home, and skipped roller derby to watch the hawks game in the safety of my house.  Only when I got there, the power was out.  I can tell you right now, city folk do not know what to do during a power outage.  I think in my 10 years in Chicago, I have never gone more than 40 minutes without power.  So, we clung to our two battery operated decorative pillar candles from Pottery Barn, and drank all the beer.  (it’s the first to go bad, right?)  It was hard times, let me tell you.  Poor Waffles is used to having her food microwaved, and all I could do was hold it over a candle.  It was lukewarm at best. #FWDP (First World Dog Problems)  I also found out that our stove doesn’t work when the power was out, so we were forced to forage for food.  I found some wild strawberries in the yard – Oregon Trail style.  I also found some Queso Fiesta goldfish crackers I purchased recently at Target (Sara Style)

Luckily, the power returned with about 9 minutes left in the 3^rd period of the Hawks game. 

We got to watch our Hawks win, only I didn’t know what to do.  Last time, I was in the city, so we had run into the streets for some street drinking.  The suburbs were much quieter.  There were still fireworks however, so we blared Chelsea Dagger, as I danced in the yard with my beer.  You can take the girl out of the City, but she will just get drunk and do the same things in the suburbs anyway.  And probably violate public noise ordinances in the process. 

Flashback

You might recall about month ago, a group of chicago running bloggers went on a fun run, ended up at the half acre brewery tour, and were scolded by the fashionable young man who thought we were a little too boisterous.

Well, Erin of LoopLooks coordinated a little fashion link-up where we could all put up our best attempt  of replicating his appearance.  And for reasons i will never understand, this is the only thing i have been able to keep on my mind for the past 4 weeks.  Seriously, i have been forgetting things left and right, but this?  This i remembered even in my dreams.  I have some serious priority issues.

So this was our friend.  I'm going to call him Stuart.  I highly doubt his name is Stuart, but i was too drunk to remember, and he looks like a Stuart.  I digress.

This is my homage to Stuart:

I know you're all doing a double take right now!!

Obviously, you can't even tell which is which.  Just to prove that it's really me, and not just a second picture of Stuart, here is a pic of me and Wafflito!

***Waffles does not approve of this outfit or this photo.

Needless to say, I can't believe i felt the need to write a whole post about this.  Obviously, i lead an exciting life.  Although, while its not a competition, i obviously won, AND i get bonus points for holding an even more obscure beer than the beer guy.  Thats right, Matt and I scowered all the Binny's in Chicagoland and found the last two Ommegang special edition Game of Thrones "Iron Throne Blonde Ales" in Downer's Grove.  YEAH we went to Downer's Grove for nerd beer!

So i out-beered and out-hipstered the beer hipster.  At least i am succeeding at something!!

The worst blogger ever, and celebrity sightings!

I feel like i owe everyone an apology, because this week has been a fail at both blogging and marathon training.  I have been participating in this workshop through work on how to be a better presenter using drama and improv techniques.  Its really fun, and effective (i hope)  but being a better presenter is making me a much worse blogger and runner.  Yesterdays session was over 14 hours long!  Needless to say, i wake up, go to the seminar, and then come home and sleep.  The real bummer is that it is a technology free space.  No computer, no phone.  I snuck away for like two minutes to try to post something, but then a tray of delicious mini cakes went by, and i lost all my focus.

In fact, this morning was the first time i have even gotten to say to words to Matt!  Luckily, those two words were "Happy Birthday!" Matt's only desire for his birthday is to have the best chicken wings in Chicago.  Sadly, i have no clue where that would be.  So if anyone has any great chicken wing recommendations...

As a part of this workshop, we got to grab a quick bite at Goose Island, and then take in a comedy show!  While at goose island, i ran into celebrity number one - Lauren!  Apparently her Triathlon group meets there once a month.  Monthly beer outings almost make me want to learn to swim.  Almost.

After stuffing my face with beer and appetizers, we went next door to IO for some improv, to inspire us.  But, aside from being so hilarious i was crying at one point, there was a second celebrity sighting!  Jack Mcbrayer!  (The actor who played Kenneth the paige on 30rock!)  I was so excited i snapped many terrible and awkward photos of him.  He was performing with one of the improv troops.  Apparently, a lot of big alums of comedy will come back once in a while, just for a refresher of improv.  I'm just glad it wasn't Tina Fey, as i would have probably peed myself with excitement, and awkwardly walked out.  

Just because i have an iphone, doesn't mean i know how to take pictures with it!

Today is my last day of the workshop, so i will gladly be reunited with the interwebs tomorrow.  I feel like i have no idea what's going on in the world!!!

Have you ever spotted a celeb, and then took creepy spy photos like mine?  Where ARE the best chicken wings in Chicago??

that weekend where too much happened.

SATURDAY:

my third year pouring beers with Becca!

I was a volunteer beer vendor at the hideout block party on Saturday morning.  I do this every year, because they let me drink unlimited beer, i get to hang out with my friends, i get free entry to the block party (which had headliners Iron and wine and Wilco this year!) and the girl pouring the beer is the most popular girl at the event.  Beer servers have all the power, and it brings me one step closer to world domination.

I had to limit myself to one beer though, because of my Sunday 20-miler.  It was very sad.

After being at the block party all morning/afternoon, Matt picked me up and we headed down to RiotFest!!  We caught the very end of slapstick's set, and got to watch the Dropkick Murphys and the Descendants.  15 year old Sara was very happy.

Despite all of this, i still managed to make it home and in bed at a reasonable hour.  (although being on my feet the entire day was probably not the best idea.)

SUNDAY:

Sunday morning i was participating in the Newton Ready to Run 20-miler. For non Chicagoans, This is  an event created by the Chicago Area Runners Association, and is used as "test run" for the marathon.  I actually really love this idea.  My biggest complaint about the training this summer is that because the groups are massive, every water stop takes 5-10 minutes.  That's bananas.  You will not stop for 10 minutes in a marathon.  So this run is set up with a start line, finish line, and water stops just like the race, so you can actually get a sense of what you will do on race day.  I still chose a 10:30 pace because it seemed like a smart move for me.  It is, still, just a training run.  Now, bear with me, as i have a few criticisms of the run.  I'm not trying to be a bitch, i really enjoyed the way this was set up, and i would recommend it to anyone, and would totally do this again.  These are just some helpful observances.

1.  I have never seen so many people that are completely unprepared to run 20 miles try to run 20 miles in my life.  This was terrifying.  It is an open event (not just CARA members) so i think something like 3500 people "ran" this.  I use quotations because so many people were walking by mile 10!  Seriously?  If you are walking by mile 10, you should seriously rethink running the marathon.  I am not trying to be a bitch, this is coming from a place of legitimate concern....if you haven't trained, you are putting yourself at risk.  One girl that started with my pace group had to fall back before we hit mile one.  People were still on the course 5.5 hours after the start.  This concerns me.....

2.  A lot of the pace groups were off.  Like, way off.  My goal for this run was to run twenty miles at a 10:30 pace.  That includes water, bathroom, walk breaks, anything.  In general, i just assumed that we would obviously lose time at the water stops (always a clusterf*ck, thats just a given) and we would speed up a little to balance it.  This didn't happen.  After the second water stop, I had to leave my group because they were no where near the pace, and i have specific goals i need to meet. I ended up running most of this run alone, passing through a variety of pace groups, that were not on pace.  At  mile 17, i ran into my friend Brittany, whom i met through winter training. I was so happy to see her, and those last three miles were by far the easiest, because i had her to talk to.  I eventually saw the group i started with when i was getting on the bus to leave.  Their average pace had been 11:30, and by the time they finished, they had run out of beer.  If i had stayed with them, i would have ended up going on rampage because there was no beer.  In short, don't rely on a pace group if you have specific goals other than "just finish".  My run was super lonely, but i was right on pace.

3.  I am injured.  This is actually no ones fault, but i am totally blaming anything and everything i can because i am pissed off and not dealing with it very well.  About half way through the 20-miler, i started having pain right above my achilles on my left leg, just below the calf.  By the time i finished the run and sat down to stretch, it felt rock hard, and was throbbing in pain.  When i got home, i couldn't even walk up the stairs to my apartment.  So i crawled.  Up three flights of stairs.  I got inside and was in tears.  I have pretty high pain tolerance, but this was awful.  Matt carried me to the couch and we iced it.  Then i took some pain killers, and rubbed numbing gel on the area. Then i had to sit through puppy class.  I just sat there the whole time with my leg propped up, while waffles misbehaved.  We took her home, and went back to riotfest so that i could see the Jesus and Mary chain.  This was a horrible idea, and i admit it.  But i had been waiting for months to see them.  I stood on one leg the whole time, leaning on Matt.  Luckily, the painkillers and beer seemed to help.

After that we grabbed some dinner with friends, and went home so i could ice my leg some more.

When i woke up today, it still hurt, but not as bad. Walking is ok, but stairs are very painful.  I am hoping it was just a strained muscle, and a few days rest will help.  I am trying to keep the thoughts of not being able to run either marathon out of my head, but it was all i dreamt about last night.   I am so grouchy because it just started out of nowhere, without any (perceived by me) warning. 20 days before the marathon.  I am trying to stay positive and look on the bright side, but it is definitely a struggle right now.  

How not to prepare for a half marathon.

(or what will here on out be known as "Pulling a gingerfoxxx.")


Friday was my birthday, and the the start of my last year of being able to say i am in my twenties.  Single tear....


So i had managed to finagle a day off from work (by cramming about 50 hours of work into mon-thurs) and did what any other twenty-something girl would do.  

I drove up to Lake Geneva to drag my good friend Eric out on a 22 mile trail run and ruin his vacation. note: I am an awesome friend.  
There is a really awesome trail that runs around the entirety of lake geneva.  It's really awesome, because some parts are paved, some parts are gravel, some parts are dirt, and some parts are literally just running through peoples back yards.  (note: because the trail has always been there, the millionaires that live around the lake are obligated to allow you to run it.  It seems weird, like you are trespassing, but it is totally legal)  

Some Pros: The trail is awesome, because you won't get a chance to get bored.  You will experience about 30 different types of running surfaces, and the view is indescribable.  It is very quiet, but you will encounter a few other runners/walkers. It's a giant loop, so you don't have to deal with the mental fatigue of turning around and retracing your steps.  And because it keeps you on your toes, it makes 22 miles seem not so tedious.

Some Cons:   It's a 22 mile loop with very few spots to get water.  We had some major hydration issues.  It is hilly, and aside from all the hills, you will have to run up/down no fewer than 30 flights of stairs.  All those different running surfaces can be brutal on your ankles, especially the last few miles when you are tired. I definitely have some lingering pain in my right calf/ankle from this run.


I had a great time, but i think Eric had a significantly less great time.  It was cool and cloudy in the morning, so we brought our smallest water containers.  It heated up fast, and we found ourselves frequently out of water and very thirsty.  I had a bigger bottle, luckily, but Eric only brought a flask, and started to get heat exhaustion towards the end.  We definitely suffered the last few miles, and may have resorted to drinking lake water.  We survived though, and i would totally do it again, only with more water!


After the run, i had to rush back to the city, because my BFF Ray-Ray and I were heading the Champaign county fair for some country music!  It was a whirlwind trying to get there in time (along with picking up my RnR race packet!) and resulted in me having nothing to eat all day but half a protein shake up until 7pm.  We got to the fair, and consumed many beers, and got some tasty fair treats, like sweet potato fries!   We rocked out to Lee Brice, who was performing at the fair.  We then consumed more beers, rode the tilt-a-whirl, went to a country bar for - you guessed it - more beers, and lastly, headed home for a night cap of beer and COOKIE CAKE!  Talk about a day of great pre-race decisions!


Luckily, i had Saturday to recover, which involved driving back to Chicago, and running a bunch of errands.  By the time i was done, i was completely exhausted, and it was past dinnertime.  I tried to eat some pasta, but my stomach felt terrible from the all the beer and cookie cake.  I had a piece of pita bread, and went to sleep at 11pm for my 4:15 am wake-up call.


Predictably, Matt and I missed the pre-race blogger meet up.  We made it to the race with just enough time to check our bag, and find our corrals.  I was in corral 7, which was a total joke.  I seriously need to stop signing up for races in January and putting my expected finish time as 1:55 for a July race.  What. a. joke.  I should probably also stop carbo-loading with beer, and tapering with 22 mile trail runs.  I am seriously concerned that i am going to sign up for a fall race, put my expected finish time as 1:55, and have them respond, "You're a dirty liar, you have been about 10 minutes behind every single predicted time you have ever put down for a race.  You get corral Z."

But there is no corral Z!

As you may have heard, the race was hot, and humid, and unpleasant.  I had no intentions of pushing myself, and being tired, underfed, and having a sore calf from the trail run did nothing to sway these intentions.  I had no desire to race, (especially in pain) and was just going to focus on some of the problems i have when i do race - mainly, positive splits, and the mile 12 meltdown.  


I still didn't get a negative split, but i only slowed down by 15 seconds overall for the second half (which for me, is impressive.)  I also ran the entire time.  Not a single stop.  I slowed down once to refill my water bottle, and that was it.  No walking breaks during mile 12 for this girl!  I do regret not pushing myself at the end though.  Everyone was shouting "sprint to the finish!!" and was just like, "No, no, that's not going to happen."

The race was actually managed very well, and the crowd support was great.  I have no one to blame but myself for any misery experienced on this run.  But to be honest, it wasn't miserable, i just didn't bring my "A" game.  I didn't want to push myself because of the weather and my leg, and my time (2:06) reflects that.  My negative split goal was not met, but my anti-meltdown one was.  And i got to watch Matt eventually finish his first half marathon!  I think its a great race, especially for first-timers.  I'm not sure if i will do it again though, just because of the date.  It's July.  What did any of us really expect?  I would love to check out some other RnR events for sure though! 


We also got to have a sweaty blogger meet up after the race:

Maggie's friend, Nina, Maggie, Amanda, Zach, Cary, Marcia, Pete, and meeeee!

It was awesome to have so many CRB's at this event!  I think everyone agreed that it was a great race, but the weather was less than ideal, and made it difficult for any of us to meet our goals.  Also, i should probably start showing up earlier so that i can be photographed without looking like i am dying.


The end.

Hi my name is Sara...

.....and i am a workaholic,


I just can't say no.  An extra project at work?  SURE!  Freelance on the side??  Sign me up!  Volunteer?? How could i say no?


I had a pretty jam-packed weekend.  I had a lovely but freezing cold 11 mile run on Saturday.  (cut back week FTW!)  Then i went and got groceries so that Matt and i stop snacking on random things instead of making dinner.  Then i did the laundry and cleaned.  By the time i was done, it was time to meet up with my fellow wolf-pack mate ashley who was in town.  We went record shopping and scored some Bob Seger to cheer up Matt:

We found it at Logan Hardware, which consenquently has a free vintage arcade in a secret back room.  When you buy a record you are allowed entry into this secret room!  I played frogger and donkey kong

Afterwards, we went to our favorite pizza spot Boiler room for some PB&J's  (pizza, beer & jameson shots.

On sunday i ended up working all morning, skipping cross-training and yoga.  I suck.  Then i had to prep the house for book club - major cleaning and cooking.  I ended going to bed well past midnight every night (which is unheard of for me!!) 


Which brings me to my current predicament.  I am doing some freelance work on the side for a week.  The downside is that it is time consuming, so i am losing sleep, and slacking at running (and blogging and everything else)  The plus side is that i am basically paying for my trip to Ireland in the fall.  


Would you submit yourself to a week of hell with the promise of a future vacation?  Am i bananas?  Either way, this is all i have time to write because i am SLAMMED!

my super sweet sixteen.

Well, i finally broke past that thirteen mile mark.  Physically, it was tough, but mentally it was tougher.  I really wanted to throw in the towel at 14 miles and peace out.  Or lay down and nap.  If my pace leader Trisha wasn't there, i would not have finished this run.  My whole body is pretty sore right now, but the worst off by far is my feet.  They feel like they have been through some kind of a physical assault.

Its definitely the most time i have spent running on them, and they are not pleased.  After the little starburst break at mile 12, they were slightly appalled that i continued running.  They never saw it coming....sorry little guys!


I came home and i was ravenous.  All i wanted was a bloody mary, in and around my face.  As i was drinking it, i remembered that skinny runner always refuels with chocolate milk.  Too bad i hate both chocolate and milk.  Dear Mrs. T's bloody mary mix.  SPONSOR ME.  Seriously, there is nothing else i would rather drink after a long run.

I will represent you.

Despite my success today, i am in a pissy mood.  As i sit next to Matt right now, i am debating punching him in the face.  Maybe its because i am starving and it is making me emotional, or maybe its because he has been on the lazy side lately.

As soon as i hobbled up the three flights of stairs after my 16 mile run, he was like "the dog really needs to go out, can you take her?" because he had neglected to put on pants yet, and was in the middle of a game of halo.  trying. not. to. punch. him.  Hobbling back down those stairs with the dog and then standing on my razor-blade feet in the cold in my sweaty freezing clothes was extremely unpleasant.


I have more ranting to go over about racks of ribs and grocery store judgement, but i will save it for tomorrow, since it is really hard to blog and drink this (second) bloody mary...

The shakes.

Have you ever been so cold, that even after being in a warm room for like 10-15 minutes, you just CAN'T get warm, and violently shake like a chihuahua??  That was me yesterday.


Since my long run became a short run on saturday (due to cold)  I decided to take a second swing at it on Sunday (even though it was still cold). 


So here is a summary of my weekend:


Saturday morning run:  COLD.  came home, shook violently, then took a super long hot shower.  
Got fab haircut.  (this we already know)  
Drove to Rock-Vegas (Rockford) to see my mom and brother, and introduce Waffles.  
Tried to go to dinner to celebrate Matt's B-day, as well as my brothers at the hope and anchor.  Waited two hours to be seated (and mind you, we are in freaking rockford, IL - not downtown Chicago.)  I have never rarely walked out of a restaurant hungrily giving the host the finger, but it had to happen.  Should you be in the Rockford/Loves Park area, first of all i'm sorry, but second of all, don't go to Hope and Anchor if you are crazy like me and expect dinner.

 Obviously, by this point i have been drinking on an empty stomach and was becoming belligerent, so the family went down the street to Buffalo Wild Wings, because i have a cousin that works there, and Matt and my bro love wings.  It was ok.  In general, i am not a fan of wings, or even chicken, but when you are hungry enough you will eat anything.  I got some naked strips, and the mildest sauce they had, because i am a baby.  


Then we went to this dive bar called "Attitudes" that had karaoke, where i proceeded to drink a fair share of vodka/club soda's and sing karaoke (because that is the way to prepare for a long run.)  For the record, i sang Shania Twain "Man, i feel like a woman" and the Eagles "Heartache Tonight".  I massacred both, and a complete stranger bought me a rose, i think as an attempt to shut me up.

Sunday morning we drove back, and i got suited up to go trail running in Palos Hills with my friend Eric.  Eric ran cross country in high school, so he is by nature significantly faster than me, but because he truly likes running, he is really good at slowing down to my pace.  we did 7.5 miles (although it was supposed to an 8 mile loop...perhaps we went through a time warp?)  IT. WAS. HARD.  I love Eric dearly, and would never shout a cruel word at him, but i vaguely remember at on point looking at a giant hill and screaming "Are you F***ing kidding me????"  Yeah.  it was hard.  Especially the first three miles.  Despite how cold it was, i was stripping every thing off, because if felt like we were running 8 minute miles....we were, in fact, running 11 minute miles.  DANG!  how do you trail runners do it??  No wonder they say running hills makes you faster!

During my run, Matt called me three times, and sent a text saying "call me now"  So i started to panic that there was an emergency.  It turns out that the emergency was that he needed Potbellys, STAT.  Seriously??


I went to get him the potbellys, and blasted the heat in my car all the way back from Palos, but i could get warm. I was standing in the potbellys ordering his sandwich, and i just started shaking.  really hard. I actually had someone ask me if i was ok, bc it looked like i was having a seizure.  I was just so cold!  It's like i was covered in ice cold sweat.  Such a terrible feeling.  I hope he enjoyed the damn sandwich.


After i warmed up, i went to my friend Aaron's to eat an amazing pasta dinner and watch "The walking dead"  The the pasta and the company was top-notch

i went to town.

And as for The walking dead - 
I missed you Daryl Dixon....i missed you so much....***


I hope your weekend was more productive than mine, but equally fun!! 


***Consenquently, they make a Daryl Dixon action figure if anyone wants to buy it for me.

A (F***ing Freezing) run for Sherry!

Well mother nature, you lose again.
As i mentioned in my last post, i had convinced my running group to do the virtual run for Sherry this morning.  And i also mentioned a storm was brewin.  To prepare for what would be a hard run, i spent the night at Boiler Room eating pizza, drinking beer, and taking shots of whiskey.  Obviously, i am fully committed to training.

contact me at imakebaddecisions.com

Well, the snow ended up being an inch or two, so nothing to really think twice about, however a brutal cold front set in.  I say brutal because i have been spoiled on nice weather all winter, so this has really been our first sub zero day this winter (which is weird for Chicago...)  The wind chill at 6am this morning was hovering at 10 below zero (awesome) so i literally put on every clean article of clothing i had.  Two pairs on compression socks, the pivot compression shorts, my one pair of pants, one tank top, three long sleeve shirts, a short sleeve shirt, the lululemon jacket, gloves, hat and scarf.  


Then i ate my luna bar, and got on facebook to see that the run had been cancelled because of the extreme cold.  HA!  This is Chicago, we are immune to both cold and rationality.  I drove down to the meet up spot to see if anyone was there.  There were a handful of people, and two girls from my 10:30 pace group.  We decided that since we were there, we might as well do a shorter run.  (it was supposed to be 7-10 miles, but we did 4)  This actually works out well, because i am doing a 8.5 mile trail run with Eric tomorrow.  I love it when the universe aligns!


Part of me wants to act like a badass and say the i ended up stripping off half the layers and then going out for frozen yogurt afterwards, but it was seriously really cold.  I still feel cold.  We were running a 10:20 pace, which is normally easy breezy for me, but i was struggling really hard to breathe, and around mile 3, i really missed my inhaler.  I think 4 miles was the perfect distance, because that was about when the cold started to catch up to me.  

 Hopefully other people running for Sherry had some more temperate weather, and hopefully Sherry herself had a sunny 60 degree day on the big bike-free running path in the sky.


In other news, after i got home and laid on the couch shivering for an hour, i decided to walk (bc i want to be outside in this beautiful weather as much as possible...)down to Babs & babs to finally get my hair cut.  I love this place.  The price is great, and i am always super pleased with the hair cut.  And they give you PBR while you are getting your hair cut.  <3


I tried to photograph it via photobooth, but waffles photobombed my picture by jumping up and sticking her tongue in my mouth.

so, so gross....

So i tried to take one with my camera instead:

but matt was feeling extra creepy

I. give. up.

I have to finish some cleaning, and then Matt and i are heading to rock vegas for the night for some drinking, karaoke, and a wing eating throwdown between Matt and my brother.

With that, i leave you with some inspiration for this weekend, because it's cold out there, and a little motivation never hurt anyone!

Whats even better....

Than a cheap bottle of whiskey on my desk?

A bottle of fancy whiskey on my desk!!

I am seriously moving up in the world!


And i have the best co-worker ever!!

i'm aliveeee.....

but just barely.  And i am officially going to die at the half marathon this weekend.  I plan to run on my lunch today, but it has been 7 freaking days since i have run.  I am debating going full blown disaster mode for the half marathon.  Get drunk the night before, eat cold pizza for breakfast, wear the wrong shoes, etc, and just see what happens.  :)


Part of the reason i took a week off is that i have been feeling terrible!  Constant achey/gross feeling.  I have been slamming back emergen-C's, but to no avail.  I even stayed home from work yesterday and spent all day in bed whimpering.  yikes!  I really just want to feel better for thanksgiving, because it is one of my favorite holidays!


The other reason i have completely given up on my running schedule for a week is breakfast club!  I assure you, it is not the John Hughes version.  Right after work on Friday, i jumped in my car and drove straight down to Purdue University to visit my dearest friend Ashley.  The plan was to take it easy friday night, and then wake up balls early, dress up in a costume, and start binge drinking at 6:30am.  


I should clarify - Purdue University is the one college that celebrates BREAKFAST CLUB.  For every Purdue football home game, all the bars open up at 7am, and the students have to wear costumes to get in.    Our group decided to go as dinosaurs

Its 6am, and i'm not running, i'm a dinosaur drinking champagne.

The Dino costumes were cute, and nice and warm for the walk to the bars.  

I'm a dino with scoliosis because my spine is crooked.

Being away from college has kept me out of the booze circle, so i was introduced to a wonderful and amazing new product called CAKE VODKA.

These are tears of happiness, not drunkeness....

SO GOOD.  I had mine mixed with pineapple juice and it was PHENOM.  I liked it so much, i went home and bought a bottle.  That and it was on sale, and i can't resist a sale.  

After breakfast club, we got pizza and stumbled home to have a toddlers and tiara's marathon.  I was supposed to get a long run in on Sunday, but by the time i got back home to Chicago, i felt like i was dying.  Apparently, your ability to binge drink and bounce back slowly deteriorates with age, just like my mind.  That was the start of my descent into a bed-ridden old crippled lady.  Which brings me to today.  

I am going to die on Saturday.