Bullet Points

I have been so busy and haven't been blogging lately. Here are some random bullet points:

• The other night the boyfriend decided to make a double decker sandwich consisting of a layer of Nutella, Strawberry Jam, and Peanut Butter. He insists it was delicious but I didn't try it. Speaking of, have you ever had a Peanut Butter Nutella Sandwich? It tastes like a Reese's Cup and is delicious.

• This past week was my sister Amy's birthday AND she moved in with fiancee (still getting used to calling him that). Lots of exciting things for her!

• I made some birthday treats for our office's monthly birthday celebration - peanut butter cookies and brownies. I also tried to make chocolate chip pecan cookies but forgot to add in the brown sugar so they didn't turn out well. I also forgot to add the brown sugar to the peanut butter cookies, but my roommate told me before I scooped out the cookies that I should look over the ingredients and make sure I didn't forget anything, so they were spared. Baking fail. However, everyone at the office loved them so it wasn't a total failure.

• My old roommate has officially moved out, and the new roommate is mostly moved in. 

• My friend Jenna is coming to visit this weekend and I am SOOO excited to see her! I haven't seen her since our London trip and it's been way too long.

• This weekend is the 4th of July - how is it July already? I can't wait to have a long weekend though.

• At work today we have a foosball tournament, a welcome lunch for a new employee, and a going away happy hour for an employee leaving. How I am supposed to get any work done is beyond me.

Benefits of Biking

I saw this on A Cup of Jo and just had to re-post since it was so cute!


Also, on a completely unrelated note, today is my sister Amy's birthday! Happy Birthday Amy!!!

Here are some of the highlights of the Nationals vs. Cardinals games:

New Shoes

My mom was in town for the past few days, and when I took her on a bike ride on Monday night, she was appalled that I was wearing sandals. Although I had zero problems with my choice of footwear while on the bike ride, she decided the next night that I needed to get a new pair of running shoes. The boyfriend came and met us at Pacers in Clarendon, and the sales person who helped us was super helpful. First he asked me a bunch of questions about what activities I would be doing with the shoes, and how often. Then he had me get on a treadmill and run for about 2 minutes. While I was running, they taped my feet running, and then we watched the video afterwards. I wish I had pictures of what my feet looked like while running, but when my feet hit the ground, my ankles turned inwards, quite significantly. The salesperson said I needed "stabilizing" shoes which would help my feet land flat on the ground instead of turning in. I tried on a pair of these and hit the treadmill again. He played the 2 videos side by side and you could immediately see a drastic difference! I took home these Asics Duomax shoes and hope that I can feel a difference next time I'm on a run (or a bike ride).

1st Day of Summer

Today is officially the 1st day of summer, although it feels like summer has already been here for quite a while. This weekend I was in Ohio with the boyfriend for a high school friend's wedding, which was a blast. The wedding was out in Amish Country so it was super peaceful and relaxing and quiet out there. While we were there, the boyfriend saw my hometown, met my high school friends, met my Grandparents and my cousin Jenny, and also saw the awesomeness that is Cleveland.

Since I've been back from my trip, my mom has been in town visiting which has been fun. She leaves tomorrow morning though. Last night we went on a bike ride down to the mall, to the grocery store, then to dinner, and then I unpacked. Tonight we are having dinner with the boyfriend. And tomorrow night I have soccer - needless to say it's been quite busy around here, but hopefully this weekend will be more relaxing.

Gift of the Magi

This week the Cardinals are in town to play 3 games against the Nationals. Being the awesome girlfriend that I am, I agreed to go to all 3 games with the boyfriend. A few nights ago, when we were hanging out at my house he said that he was going to buy me a Cardinals shirt to wear to the game. Little did he know that I was a step ahead of him, and had already purchased not 1 but 2 shirts to wear! After I told him that he didn't need to buy me a shirt because I already had bought something to wear, he proclaimed that it was just like the story the Gift of the Magi. Here is us at the game last night (the boyfriend brought me a hat to complete my look).

Weekend Recap

This weekend was such a good time! Friday night, I met up with my friend Jesica at Jazz in the Garden. Jesica had just gotten back from Afghanistan, and I'm so happy she made it home safely! After Jazz in the Garden, the boyfriend and I chilled at home.

Since my sister was out of town for a wedding, she let me borrow the car for the weekend! Saturday morning the boyfriend and I headed out super early to go fishing! We went back to Great Falls, at this Sandy Cove area we had saw the week before. We caught a fish this time!! It was big old catfish, which we let go after we caught it.

     

After fishing, we met up with my friend Beryl, and since I had the car, I helped her move her stuff into her new apartment. Then, we all headed out to Target where I got so much good stuff - including new shoes, a yoga mat, a new front door mat, supplies for S'mores, some awesome Toy Story band aids, and a few other very important necessities. When we got back from Target I wasn't feeling well - I had a throbbing headache, so the boyfriend and I just decided to stay in. 

Sunday morning, after sleeping in a bit, we drove over to the Tennis store to pick up my racket. They had to string it for me so I couldn't take it home last time I was there. The guy even gave me a free case to go with it. Have I mentioned how awesome there the guy is! Check them out at Tennis Zone! Then I was off to my soccer game, the 1st one of the Summer League. It was so incredibly hot out for the game! There is zero shade on the field, and its a turf field which means that the heat radiates up from the ground, making it feel like your feet are on fire when you are running around. We ended up loosing 6-4, but it was a really close match and I think we only lost because they had a lot more subs than we did. After my game, I was off to watch the boyfriend play his game. It was his Sunday league's playoff game, but they ended up loosing as well. After the loss, we headed home to clean ourselves up. Then we had a nice dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, and then home. It was quite the packed, fun-filled weekend!

This week will be super busy since we are planning on going to the Nationals game on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and then leaving Friday for vacation!

Awesomeness

My roommate ordered a pair of Rainbow Sandals for herself online, and the company accidently sent her the sandals twice. Since there was no receipt on the second pair, she couldn't return them, so she gave them to me! Awesomeness!

Additionally, the boyfriend and I play against each other in Words With Friends. He is some sort of Words With Friends mastermind (I think he someone hacked the program to always give him the best letters), and therefore I have yet to beat him in a game, despite having played him in roughly 50 games. However, the other night - victory was all mine! I finally did it! So naturally I took a screenshot of my victory, and had to let everyone know.

And - the most important awesomeness is that we found a new roommate! Hooray! Stress over :)

Weekend Recap - The Boyfriends Birthday Edition

This weekend was the boyfriends birthday celebration! Friday night we just chilled at home, he worked on the bikes, we watched a movie, and I surprised him with Crumbs cupcakes. Saturday morning he had to go to an Architecture class, so while he was at that I had a cooking marathon. On the menu for dinner that night was Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus, Lumpia Rolls, Pork Friend Rice, and Oreo Dirt Pudding for dessert. I had called his mom to ask for some of his favorite recipes (the Lumpia Rolls and the Pork Fried Rice), so it was extra special. He was definitely surprised and loved it all. My sister also joined us for dinner, and we were able to discuss some of her wedding plan ideas.

        

The leftovers

Sunday morning started off early as we were all of to Great Falls for a hike. My sister Amy and my friend Beryl were also able to join the boyfriend and I. We hiked for about two hours, and had a great time. The weather was nice and cool, making it ideal.

Beryl, the boyfriend, and my sister Amy

Me and the boyfriend

We saw deer

Pop vs Soda

The great "pop" vs. "soda" debate - what do you say? Personally I say soda and think that's the way it should be:

Source: http://popvssoda.com/countystats/total-county.html

We Are The Champions!

Yesterday was the boyfriend's birthday, but more importantly it was his soccer team's playoff tournament. His 7v7 Wednesday night co-ed league was having their season playoffs, and his team, Trix, were in 1st place heading into it. He has been playing on this team in different leagues (7v7, 9v9, 11v11, weeknight and weekend leagues, summer, fall, winter, and spring leagues, and even indoor and outdoor leagues). Needless to say, he plays a lot of soccer! Trix is just like the Caps in that they always seem to be in 1st place heading into the playoffs but never make it to the end to win it all.

Last night's playoffs started off with a game a 6:30. If they won this, then they would go to the semi-finals. If they lost, they would go home, empty-handed. I arrived at halftime and it was tied 2-2. Things were tense as Trix just didn't seem to be "on". The game ends and it's still tied 2-2 so it goes into overtime. Sudden death overtime followed by penalty kicks, if necessary. About 2 minutes into overtime, Trix scores! Hooray! Game over and they move on!

They have a bye for the next game so there's an hour of downtime which means nap time for the boyfriend:

Before you know it 8:30 comes along and its time to start the semi-finals. Our friend Julie shows up with her friend Jason to cheer on Trix as well. Trix dominated the game from the start with a quick goal by the boyfriend, and end up winning the game 4-0. Julie has to leave and I hope she doesn't take her good luck with her. 

The next game, the finals, starts right after the semi-finals. Some players have to go, leaving just one male and one female sub. Hope no one gets hurt! First half Trix scores leading 1-0. Second half starts and they get another one, 2-0. The last few minutes of the game Trix is looking great, they have possession and I just keep hoping they don't blow it. Time ticks down, the whistle blows, and Trix are CHAMPIONS! They finally did it - they won! After all this build-up, you would think they would have won some sort of amazing prize or something. Nope - just their picture on the league website and bragging rights. Victory nonetheless. Couldn't ask for a better birthday present for the boyfriend :)

Here they are for you, Trix Are For Kids, 7v7 Co-Ed League Champions, 2011 Spring Season, in all their glory:

TGIF

After glossing over it last post, I need update you all on the beach! The weekend was amazing and so much fun! We drove up early on Friday morning and hit no traffic whatsoever. Upon arrival, the boyfriend and I hit up the beach. After a relaxing day in the sun, I came back to the hotel room to realize that I was quite red. I had sprayed on the sun tan lotion, but failed to rub it in, so not only was I burnt, my back and shoulders were splotches or red and white. Fail. Besides this though, everything else went well and my burn has faded into a nice beautiful tan with only minimal pealing so far.

The trip was a great mix of beach relaxation time, fun in the sun, staying active (lots of walking the boardwalk and fun in the water), eating well (so much delicious seafood), and trying new things (fishing!).

The Boardwalk

View outside our room - does it get any better than this

Bayside Skillet at Ocean City

I approve!

Sunset

The boyfriend

Obligatory jumping pic

Inside our hotel room

The boyfriend teaching me how to fish

Short Week Blues

This week is short due to having Monday off for Memorial Day, but it seems to be dragging on and on! After spending an amazingly fun and relaxing weekend at the beach, this week seems to be going as slow as possible.

View from our room at the beach

Today was my boss's last day at work, and my one of roommates decided that she wasn't going to re-sign the lease so now we have 30 days to find someone new. Also, tomorrow is the boyfriends birthday! It totally sneaked up on me, but I was able to come up with some birthday gift and surprises for him so hopefully it will all work out!