Busy Bee

The past week (plus) has been buuuussssyyy!  I wanted to get this post out LAST weekend since that's when it all started but the weekend disappeared and then I've been consumed by other things this week.  So...here's my belated post on my 'social butterfly' weekend. 

It all started Thursday.  I recently joined a book club and Thursday night was my turn to host.  This entailed potentially having 9 ladies join me for dinner.  How much food do you make for that many people?  How do I squeeze my 10 mile (yes, I said squeeze and 10 mile in the same sentence) run into my day?  The solutions - run 10 miles at lunch and eat at my desk and make a TON of food and hope that it'll be enough.  The 10 miler went well - an up and back to Whatcom Falls park along the railroad trail (one of my favorites, especially in the Fall).  And the food - I'm pretty sure it was great.  I liked it and we had leftovers for days (in fact I think I ate the last of it Sunday night...yes, we let leftovers go for days and haven't died yet).

The Menu:

- Chips and Homemade Salsa

- Yam Enchiladas with Mole Sauce (the recipe; I added cheese so mine weren't vegan)

- Spanish Rice (packaged...sorry)

- Corn and Avocado Salad with a Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing

(Ingredients: frozen corn, diced red peppers, romaine lettuce, avocado; Dressing: olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper)

- Chocolate Chip Cookies (random I know and I SHOULD have made some southern themed cupcakes but I didn't have the time and this recipe is UH-MAZING)

Friday was a relatively normal day - work, after work short run with Gabe and the dog - but then we had Gabe's Going Away party at Janet's house.  There's really not much that I had to do (actually I didn't DO anything other than show up) but just having another thing in the evening adds to my 'busy' schedule.  The party was excellent.  A great mix of food and people and we stayed well past my bed time.  It's quite the change for Gabe and for the folks he's worked with over the years so definitely an event.

Saturday I met Polly, Robin, and Susan at the Village Green for an out-and-back run on the Interurban.  It was a wonderful morning for it and it was great to catch up with ladies that I haven't seen in awhile.  They ran 10 with me and then I was on my own for the last 7 of my run.  I opted to stick to the waterfront and make my way back home.  I felt great and clicked off the miles to my house.  I probably ran 'faster' than I should have but I really just wanted to be home.  I am so thankful to have had folks to run with for at least the first half - it would have been a long time with myself otherwise.  The 7 alone was enough that day.

After the run I inhaled a left over enchilada then headed to the grocery store to make cupcakes for Laura and Jason's 'Halloween Part Deux' party that evening.  The cupcake of choice - Pumpkin Cupcakes with Rum and Maple and a Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting.  All thanks to The Cupcake Project.  After making the cupcakes I still had about a can's worth of pumpkin puree leftover so I threw in a batch of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Of course now I can't find the recipe that I used so your loss there.  Here's my rule of thumb for recipe finding on the internet - use recipes documented in blogs, they're soooo much better!  I think it's because 1) no one posts NASTY recipes in their blogs 2) they are obviously tested because there are pictures documenting the process and 3) you don't have to sift through reviews to determine if the recipe is worth it or not.

Baked goods finished I realized there was no time to rest and relax (I was hoping for a nap).  Instead, it was time to shower and prep for the party.  Like all of my 'good ideas' I came up with our costumes on one of my many solo long runs.  I was Michelle Kwan (originally I picked Kristi Yamaguchi because it sounded cooler but then I realized I 'looked' more like Michelle Kwan so hence the switch) and Gabe was Brian Boitano (basically the only male figure skater I know).  I'll let the costumes speak for themselves but I think we pulled it off.  And yes those are cycling booties as our 'skates'.  Side note - Gabe's costume was actually a one-piece, skin tight number but upon putting it on that evening we realized it was not anything anyone wanted to look at all night so the second layer of tights was deemed necessary.  Below are a few pictures of our practiced pose (we had to nail the triple axle...obviously!) and a few other great costumes (some of the pictures were stolen from Gina - thanks!).