Friday, July 2, 2010

Friday Mishmash

There were a lot of entries for my Nike+ Sportsband! This was the hardest giveaway because I really wish I could have given everyone who entered a Nike+...I'm so excited for all of you runners out there! I narrowed down the entries (not everyone who commented wanted to be entered), listed everyone on an excel spreadsheet so they would be numbered, and then let Random.org do the choosing...and the winner is:

Woohoo! Send me an email with your name and address so I can get this in the mail to you. I hope you enjoy it, and, if you ever move on to a Garmin, will pass along the running juju to another newbie!

********************

Last Sunday we went to our usual Blue Baker for our after run/bike breakfast. Ordered the usual egg/feta/spinach on multi-grain bagel - this time it was made by a guy, not one of our normal two women. Jeff and I both agreed that it was the best bagel ever - we kept saying "my gosh this is good" as we plowed through them. So when I went back to the front of the cafe for a coffee refill, I complimented the guy on his extrodinary bagel sammie skills. He said "oh, I use a decent amount of butter" - WHAT??? Well crap, no wonder they were so good! I guess when we first started going there the women asked if we wanted butter, and we said no, and they remembered us each time (pretty hard to forget a red-faced sweaty mess early in the morning, lol). The guy didn't think to ask us, and we didn't think to tell him. And now that I know, I will have to give the "no butter" order next time. Darn!!!

********************

So I was on the phone with Helen the other day - yes, THE Helen - and I asked her if she had ever tried Pop Chips. Convo follows:

Shelley: "Have you ever tried Pop Chips?"
Helen: "No - I hear they are like crack."
S: "I've heard that as well, so I only bought a single-serving bag."
H: "Were they good?"
S: "Yes, but strangely enough I wanted chocolate after I finished them."
H: "So they ARE like crack!"
S: "Well, they did lead me into another drug, haha."
H: "Oh, then they are a gateway drug, like marijuana."
S: "Yes - apparently Pop Chips are the mairjuana of snacks."

/end convo. More than two hours of this kind of hilarity, deep thoughts and, at one point (and the reason she called) some major tech support for Ricky Bobby. Helen very awesomely walked me through different settings and screens and now RB is doing exactly what I want him to! Thanks, my friend - you are awesome!

********************

The other day I attempted to make a pasta side dish from July's Cooking Light magazine. I say attempted, because I read the recipe and went to the grocery store with a vague idea of what I needed...and then got sidetracked when I found these two interesting items:

Whole wheat orzo? Yay! And pearl couscous? No idea what to do with it, but again, it's whole wheat!What the recipe was supposed to look like - Farfelle with Tomatoes, Onions and Spinach
What mine looked like...um, forgot the feta cheese, and I cooked the spinach a bit longer - oh, and I used whole wheat pasta. Paired with a delicious turkey burger (running buddy Jenny's recipe) and topped with half of a 100-calorie guacamole packet and Frank's Hot Sauce. Tasty!

********************

Barring a ton of rain, I will get to run my first race in over two months on Sunday - it's just a free 4K Fun Run (i.e. no t-shirt or bib ::sad face::), but it's at the park where I normally run on Sundays and hey, it will be fun to run with a bunch of people...I sure hope a bunch of people show up - this is the first time they are doing something like this. So cross your fingers for me that the Alex will have burned himself out by then and the run will happen because I have missed the runner's camaraderie that comes with these events!

********************

This week's Fashion Friday is kind of a repeat, but I had to wear this shirt because the gorgeous bag that I won in Leslie's giveaway goes so well with it. Leslie recently gave away something like 15 purses that she hand made - I got mine in the mail this week and LOVE IT! Without further ado, I present the bag:
I love the colors! And the size is incredible - I threw a ton of stuff in it today (wallet, sunglasses, keys, flip flops (in case of rain - our parking lot at work floods), umbrella, kitchen sink, lip balm - ok maybe not the kitchen sink but I swear the bag probably could have held it) and it just kept expanding to hold everything and still looked great!
Here's me before work - repeat shirt (ooh, a Calvin Klein! - from TJ Maxx), jeans that used to belong to Barbara (hmmm, wonder what else I can steal borrow from her when I visit later this month?), faux-Birkenstocks (from Target - definitely not as comfy as Birks but much cheaper) and the bag...I know you are not really supposed to match everything so much - maybe we can call this "going together" rather than matching?Close up to show you that even my earrings matched went with the ensemble!
After work - trying to get a shot in better light...mostly failed. Boyfriend sweater is on because it finally did rain and of course I got cold...it was in the low 80's, people! Sweater is from Talbots; flat hair is from rain. Bag is still going strong!

19 comments:

  1. Chips as "a gateway drug, like marijuana?"

    LOL! Better join Chips Anonymous quick! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. LOVE THAT BAG and the repeat look.

    and the fact I pretend every friday post is just for me.
    tratt

    ReplyDelete
  3. I completely agree that PopChips are the marijuana of snacks, LOL :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love the outfit repeat:) Cool handbag and earrings. Hope Alex is gone by race day. Hate when it storms and ruins a good holiday.

    Glad I gave up chips thanks for the warning on those ones.

    Hope your race goes off without a hitch if its just raining maybe they will still have it:)

    Happy Fourth Of July!

    ReplyDelete
  5. That is such a fabulous look, repeat or no. Good luck with your race this weekend. Love your bag. That Leslie is one talented woman.

    Happy 4th, Shelley!

    ReplyDelete
  6. 1. Yummy pasta salad! I am hitting the farmer's market on Saturday with girlfriends and am on the hunt for tasty salads to make after. This will be perfect, thank you.

    2. Ohhh, I love that whole casual look, and the way the blue fades of the shirt are echoed in the bag. Well done, my friend.

    ReplyDelete
  7. That bag and that shirt really do go perfectly together. What a cute outfit!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Butter does make everything better, doesn't it??

    Holiday runs are so fun. I don't know why, but they are. Maybe because they are less serious? Turkey trot, goblin gallop, whatever.

    Want to swing up here and run a 5K on July 24th? They have a serious swag bag for it :D

    You look adorable in that outfit with the sweater :D

    ReplyDelete
  9. Every time I see a different one of those Leslie bags I think, I should have put that one in my comment! They are all so gorgeous.

    Fun runs ARE fun because there's no pressure from a bib, chip, etc. Besides, you have the magnificent Rickey Bobby to tell you how you did.

    Pretty soon, I'm going to post a recipe I've been messing around with for a breakfast couscous. My next option was to try a bigger couscous grain and I'm thinking your pearls might just be the trick.

    Hope your holiday weekend is filled with fun Shelley. I'll be anxiously awaiting your race report!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I had to completly cut out chips from my life in every form! they are my trigger, now I don't even crave them!
    Love the shirt with the purse, you look great!

    ReplyDelete
  11. What is weird is I was just having a conversation this morning and someone mentioned Pearl couscous. I have never had it but now I am intrigued! We recently got a all natural/healthy grocery store (which for AL is a big deal!) and I am loving it! I am going to look for the Pearl couscouse there!I am now also going to be on the lookout for Pop chips!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I've never done marijuana or pop chips. Most likely I would become more addicted to the pop chips.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Like the outfit! And I always match my earrings with my outfit. To tell you the truth: even my underwear fits with my outfit :lol: I've got sets in various colors.

    I always use a bit of butter because it's not good to leave out all the fat and because butter has vitamines in it which we need.

    Good luck on your run Sunday but you will do great!

    ReplyDelete
  14. kitchen sink next to lip balm....i giggled.
    Happy 4th. Have a great weekend.
    As for the pop chips, my hub bought the Bar B Que ones and I didn't like the flavor, but have had the plain ones: CRACK!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I read on someone else's blog about whole wheat orzo, didn't even know it existed - must find it now!

    Your pasta dish looks amazing - love the Frank's hot sauce of course!

    You look so cute in that work outfit - your right, Leslie's bag fits perfectly with it!

    ReplyDelete
  16. LOL at your pop chips conversation. :) I bought some chips the other day (can't rememer the name) but they remind me of Munchos. Did you ever have those? So good!

    Glad RB is doing everything you tell him to do. Sometimes men have to be trained.

    Such a pretty outfit. It looks great on you.

    I used to have a similar haircut as yours and I'm thinking of going back. My long hair just turns into a frizzy mess during this hot, sticky weather. At least if it were shorter I'd have a styled frizzy mess.

    Good luck on your race! I have complete confidence that you'll do terrific!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I LOVE the whole wheat orzo. I bought that brand on amazon.com because I couldn't find it in my store. It cooks fast and is yummy. Try it with chopped tomatoes and chopped green onions sauteed in a smidgeon of olive oil, add a handfull of spinach leaves at the very end for a few seconds and then mix into the cooked orzo.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I can't believe it! I'm so excited to win the NIKE band! Thankyouthankyouthankyou. I am just now getting to a computer and I actually heard that i had won it from a comment from Tish. Do you want to bring it to me when we meet in Santa Cruz? Then you could explain how it works :))

    I love that whole outfit. I don't think its too matchy at all. I'm interested in how Leslie did the bag--is it lined? I guess I'll go on over to Leslie's blog and investigate.

    Oooh. Thanks again. I am really excited to put some oomph in my 'running career' with the Nike plus.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are now moderated to prevent spammers from leaving, well, spam - but rest assured that as soon as I read a real comment, I will publish it. So please, comment away, even though the blog is officially closed. Thanks!