Hello, blog-bloggity-blog! Where has the time gone? I hate it when I get so busy with things and suddenly more than a week flies by without a single post. That always makes me so sad. 

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, but it's so sad that we don't get trick-or-treaters at our new house. I lived in the same house until I was 18, and we always had a steady stream of kids in costumes showing up at our doorstep from after school until sundown. In our current house, nobody ever comes. We don't live near a lot of houses, so it unfortunately makes sense. My mom bought a small bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Kit Kats just in case somebody showed up, but it looks like all of it is going in my belly. What a shame. 

I didn't do anything to celebrate the spooky day on Saturday since I had to study for two exams that I took today, but I went all out in style on Friday night. My friend Jessie and her husband David throw a great Halloween bash every year, and this was the first time in two years that I have been back to experience it!

I know I've talked about Jessie a gazillion times on my blog. In case you don't know, though, she is an extraordinary baker. She basically made everything for the party herself except for the tortilla chips. She also didn't grow the veggies and brew the beer, but she did a lot. 

Jess was a sexy Eskimo. I'm not exactly sure what David was, but he wore an Angry Birds onesie (footed pajamas) that made him look like one big adorable baby. 

Jessie's homemade Halloween cake

CAKE POPS!!!!! We all know that I love cake pops. 

Keish, the cat, fit right in at the Halloween party. 

Halloween punch

They worked so hard on decorating their apartment. It looked great!

Alex (Sweet Sixteen), Jessie (Sexxxay Eskimo), and Jenny (TOOTH FAIRY!!!)

My toothfairy costume is a recycled costume from my last year in college. It was in good enough condition that I was able to take it out of my closet and wear it again. I'm glad we didn't go to any bars, though, because my wings took up a lot of room. 

Keish swatted and bit at Alex's balloon. Cats are so funny when they do that. I heart playful cats. 

Cute Jesse and David pictures

I guess I forgot to take pictures of when most of our friends were there, but there were some great costumes. You better believe that every morsel of Jessie's food disappeared. I can't wait for my bachelorette party, because she's going to make all of my treats!

I was happy for most of the night, but I also didn't mention the fact that Alastair's brother Nick and his (now) wife Anna got married at the exact same time. I got the chance to become close with Anna while I was in Adelaide, but my classes made it too difficult for me to go to the wedding. It would have been fine if I could go to Australia for the weekend, but you unfortunately need to give yourself at least a week considering the travel times and costs. I'd miss too much school, and I would struggle to pass my classes. 

I checked my e-mail around 2:30 in the morning and saw that Al sent me multiple pictures from their ceremony. It both warmed and broke my heart. When my friend Kate found me, I was sitting against the dishwasher and crying hysterically. I probably wouldn't have mentioned it here on my blog, but I saw that somebody hijacked my camera and took photos of Kate comforting me on the floor. How could I not share this moment of tenderness?

She even wiped the tears and smeared makeup off of my face. I guess that even tooth fairies cry!

I think that Jessie took my camera. I found a bunch of these on there....

I do have awesome friends. 

Happy Halloween, boys and girls!

Happy Friday, friends! It's always a treat when it's the end of the week.

How cute is this Tigger pumpkin in our kitchen? I just wanted to show it to you, because Tigger always makes me smile. Especially Tiggers that dress up for Halloween and carry a Trick-Or-Treat bag. 

Ribbit. Ribbit. 
Look what I found when I got home from class on rainy Wednesday:

I saw a slimy, hippity-hoppity frog! It was actually tiny and cute, and my mom had to kind of stomp behind it to make it go back in the bushes. If it just chilled out on the driveway, it would soon become roadkill when my dad got home. We love animals. 

Le Mussels
When I was out shopping the night before, I tried an amazing sample of mussels in a garlic and lemon sauce at our grocery store. The price was too good to pass up, so I waltzed out of there with 2.5 pounds of uncooked mussels. The next night, we cooked them. 

My dad made a broth with about 3/4 of a bottle of white wine (we love wine), chopped onions and garlic. 

While that was warming up, he also sauteed spinach, mushrooms and diced tomatoes for the pasta sauce. We also made pasta.

Live mussels!

Now NOT alive.

The mussels were very small, so they opened up almost as soon we put them in the broth. The guy at the seafood counter told me that they took up to five minutes to cook, so we left them in a little bit longer after they opened. l never knew that mussels were so easy to cook. 

Le pasta. 

Topped with our first home made mussels. 

They tasted good, but  my dad and I agreed that we could have done more to give it flavor. We brainstormed some things that we could do for next time. We'll try to make them again in the next few weeks!

Carpet Cleaning

Wednesday was also an eventful day, because our carpets got cleaned. This is what my bed looked like when I walked into my room:

But my carpets looked so pretty :)

Last night, I took the train downtown (there was no way I was going to drive in rush hour traffic) to meet some of my friends for sushi. I met my friends Jessie and Alex at Jessie's apartment, and then we took a taxi to Sushi X in the West Loop. 

Sushi X is byob, and the girls brought plenty of booze. 

I started with a bowl of miso soup. There was a "spicy" option, so I decided to try it. I really liked it. Miso soup has a lot of flavor usually, but I enjoyed the extra kick of spiciness. 

Four of us ordered four rolls to split, and it was definitely enough to fill us up. We got a crab rangoon roll (front), a Godzilla roll (middle), a Philadelphia roll (sides) and a Dragon roll (back). The crab rangoon and the Godzilla rolls were my favorites. I was full, but the sushi was so good that I probably could have eaten another gigantic plate of rolls. 

We were celebrating Jessie's birthday, so we got a a complimentary mango mousse cake and mochi ice cream. Yum!

Some of the girls (me, Jessie, Megan)

You should definitely try Sushi X if you live anywhere near River West. It's very small, so book ahead of time. It was delish!

I bet you'll never guess who spilled purple stain all over herself and her work station during her microbiology lab. Any ideas? Want to think about it any longer???

It was ME!!!!

We use different dyes to stain dead bacterial cells on slides, and then we look at them under microscopes. After I spread my live bacteria on the slide and then killed them with heat (cuz that's how we roll in microbio), I grabbed the crystal violet stain bottle. The bottle was so dirty with dye that it was hard to tell where the dropper ended and the bottle started, and I picked it up by the sticky dropper (the top). The top came loose and the bottle fell and shattered all over my lab bench. The dye sprayed onto my clothes and my chest. Even though I was wearing gloves, it still saturated my hands and my arms. 

There were a few of those horrifying seconds where the class turned silent and every eye was on me. Oh my gosh. I hate that. Luckily, my teacher immediately swept in to clean up my mess while I dashed to the sink. My hands and arms were such a bright shade of purple that I never thought that the stain would come out of my skin. I'll probably have to throw away my shirt, but it was old anyway. I- thankfully enough-put my brand new scarf and white watch away before I started the staining process.

My teacher laughed off the whole thing and was so kind and understanding about it. I guess it's just one of those things that happens. My lab bench now looks like it's molten gold (it used to be black), and I think my hands dyed the white soap dispenser in the classroom purple. 

This was my hand, after several washings, when I got home from class: 

Other arm:

The outside of my lab manual:

The worst of the inside:

I was absolutely mortified after it all happened, but now I think it's hilarious. It could have been so much worse. I was so lucky that I wore an old shirt and bluejeans and dark shoes. I was going to put on a new shirt this morning, and I'm so glad that I changed my mind.

I also had a great dinner to make me feel better. My dad made black bean quesadilla filling, and he also added apples. We have a very large surplus of them in our house right now, and I credit my mom for buying two blue whale-sized bags of apples for me before going away last week. The apples in the quesadilla, however, were superb! I thought my dad was joking when he said that he was going to use them. They blended in perfectly with the rest of the food. 

The finished product:

The finished product (rolled up):

With Mexi-like quesadillas, I love to put a dabble of Greek yogurt on the side to substitute sour cream. Yum!

After one shower, my skin looks a lot more like normal skin. Hopefully I'll look like myself again tomorrow. Have a great night!

What a grand Sunday. I don't have to go anywhere, my leg doesn't hurt, and I've finished whatever homework I need to do. I also haven't mentioned this all week for obvious reasons, but my parents have been out of town since Tuesday and get home tonight. I've been by myself all week watching the pups, and we've had a wonderful time. They are so considerate and let me sleep as late as I want. I make sure to return the favor by rubbing their bellies, feeding them, giving them yummy treats, walking them, and scratching their butt. Dogs totally dig that. 

I got a small pang of hunger in between meals yesterday, so I made up a very amusing snack. Lately, I've been taking Triscuits and dipping them in cottage cheese. I like them both, and putting them together works well for me. 

I was feeling more innovative yesterday, so I filled the surface of small plate with the crackers and then broke apart a couple of baby spinach leaves and placed a piece on each cracker. I put a small spoonful of cottage cheese on top of that, and then topped  it with either cheddar or mozzarella shredded cheese. 

I melted it in the microwave for 30 seconds. It came out looking like a complete cheesy mess (I laughed out loud when I saw it), but it didn't do anything bad for the taste. I liked it so much that I made it again today. 

Last night, I went to my friend Kate and her boyfriend Dan's new apartment. Kate cooked dinner, Dan taught  me everything I needed to know about watching a Chicago Blackhawks game, and I brought the beer. 

Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale and some regular Bud Lite. 

Kate grilled burgers, chicken and potato slices. She also made a great salad. 

Dessert: A chocolate meringue cake from Trader Joe's and chopped pineapple and mangoes. 

I never really ate mangoes until I met Kate. Now, they are one of my favorite fruits. There is nothing to not like about them, except for burning acid holes in your mouth from eating too many of them. I guess I can blame Kate for that. 

The game (see the creepy witch troll watching the game on the couch?)

My first time wearing a Blackhawks jersey. Thanks for showing me how to hold the hockey stick, Dan! Apparently, I was holding it the same way that I would sweep the floor before he corrected me. 

Probably the wrong way to hold it....

I had another almost-rotten banana sitting around, so I made it into another smoothie this morning. My smoothie contained:

• one very ripe banana
• one handful of washed baby spinach
• one scoop of chocolate whey protein powder
• 1/2 cup uncooked oats
• 1/2 cup soy milk

I used to be so disgusted when I first read about food bloggers putting spinach in their smoothies. Here's the honest truth about it: you can't taste it at all! I put a whole handful in there, and look at my smoothie. Do you see anything green floating around in there? Heck no!

It's such a great way to sneak greenery into your food. You'll never know it's there, but you're still getting the nutrients. My only regret was the oats. They made my drink too chewy. Next time, I'll add cooked oats or omit them all together. 

I feel like I've been sneaking around on you guys for discovering such a great workout and not telling you about it! I realized several weeks ago (we're talking about right after I finished summer school) that I needed to find a better way to work my lower body. I wasn't challenging myself enough, and I wanted to tone up down there. I found "The Butt Bible" on Xfinity (on demand TV workouts for people who have Comcast) and did the Lower Body Level 1 workout a few times. Then I went to San Francisco and had my exercise-free time while Alastair was in town. When he left, I decided to seriously commit to this workout. 

The Butt Bible is six "badass" workouts created by Pauline Nordin that work the entire body. There are three levels of intensity, and each level has an upper body and a lower body workout. Each workout ranges from 20 minutes (level I) to about 40 minutes (level III). If you decide to do the whole thing, then you finish all of them over six weeks. You do one level for two weeks, and then you move to the next one. Xfinity pulled the majority of the workouts when I was on week six (they do that from time to time), so I'm so lucky that I was able to do the whole series for no additional charge. Since it's no longer there in its entirety, though, you can download her workout or buy it online. 

I was shocked at how well my body responded to the Butt Bible. On most weeks, I did the lower body workouts twice a week and the upper body three times a week. I started seeing results almost instantly, especially in my lower body. While the workouts aren't very long, Pauline had me working my ass off (no pun intended) the whole time. The lower body workouts ranged from normal squats and lunges to using chairs to floor exercises. For upper body, we used both weights and body weight. I could only do about 5-ish push ups on  my toes before I started the program, and now I can do 20. I'd say that's a big improvement. She also incorporates abdominal work into the upper body workouts. 

Not only did The Butt Bible tone my body, but Pauline Nordin is great entertainment. I laughed so much throughout the program because of her. She has a very silly sense of humor, and she uses that to make the time pass faster. I wish that there were either more workouts of hers or that I could recruit her as my friend. I like her that much. 

The other good thing is that you barely need any equipment. You'll probably need two sets of weights (I used five pounds, eight pounds and sometimes ten pounds) and a chair. If you want a new workout program, then I highly, highly recommend getting your hands on this! I was in a rut before this and really dreaded exercising for a while. When I did this program, I was always excited to get down to the basement and do it. 

I just started P90X (I'm one week in), so I'll be sure to give it a starting review in the next couple of days. 

Good afternoon, friends! I had a great run earlier today, despite the fact that I thought I might blow away in the wind. My Garmin Forerunner's battery also went flat just as I started to head out, so I'm also unsure of exactly how far and fast I ran. All I know is that I did a little more than three miles, and I did two runs in one week. What an improvement!

After runs or intense workouts, I like to do the following for recovery:

1) Use my foam roller. It's great for my muscles and for breaking up scar tissue. 
2) Stretch. I make sure to get my hip flexors, quads and hamstrings
3) Make a smoothie. I don't do this every time, but I wish I did it more often.
4 )Ice. I put a bag of frozen peas on my sore spots for ten minutes. 

Today, since I had time, I made a fantastic recovery smoothie. I'm calling it the Chocolate Banana Cherry Recovery Smoothie.

I used:

• 1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
• 1 gross, almost-rotten banana
• 1/2 cup plain soy milk (although any milk will do)
• 1/2 cup tart cherry juice

Add them together, blend, and enjoy!

For my protein powder, I used Pure Protein. I haven't tried many chocolate protein powders, but I like the taste of this stuff. 

Did you know that tart cherry juice is an excellent anti-inflammatory agent? It's one of the best things that you can put in your smoothie for that, and it's much safer than taking ibuprofen to reduce inflammation. Pass it on!

While icing, I drank my smoothie in my Tervis Tumbler that Foodbuzz sent me from the Tastermakers Program. I got it in the mail last week, and I am not kidding when I say that I have been drinking everything from it. Ask my parents if you don't believe me. I love this glass.

Here is what Foodbuzz says about it:

Tervis tumblers are virtually indestructible - they won't crack, melt, shatter, or chip, and they come with a lifetime guarantee. Even better, their double-wall insulation means hot drinks stay hot, cold drinks stay cold, and your furniture stays clear of those annoying condensation rings! 

I haven't tried to smash it (haven't gotten angry enough, I guess), but I do believe that it would be hard to break. It looks like it's only for cold drinks, but I like how I can also put something hot in it and won't burn my hand off. I'll have to give it a shot in the winter. 

Thanks Tervis and Foodbuzz!

Now, I'm off to a friend's house to watch the Blackhawks game. Have a great Saturday night!

I was so tempted to pick up Chipotle on the way home from class yesterday, but I somehow convinced myself that I should apply whatever cooking skills (or lack thereof) I had with the food in my kitchen. Why spend money when it's not necessary?

Since Chipotle now has brown rice, I thought that I could do a fun at-home recreation of a burrito bowl. I didn't have avocados to make guacamole, though, so I tried to think of something else I could do with brown rice. It then dawned on me: I LOVE fried rice! Why not make a healthy version of it? 

I pulled out brown rice, veggies that needed to be eaten, and one egg. 

I love rice that cooks quickly. The boil-in-the-bag rice took me ten minutes to prepare. 

While waiting for the rice to cook, I chopped up celery, carrots, onions and yellow pepper. I threw the onions in the skillet and then put everything else in when they started to brown. 

Once the rice was cooked, I added it to the skillet. I also tipped in some teriyaki sauce and aji mirin. I preferred soy sauce, but I couldn't find any in the pantry. 

Last, I cracked the egg and let it cook into the rice and veggies. 

It was great! I'm so glad that I was able to make my own version of it. 

Dinner was even more of an adventure. I learned about spaghetti squash when I started reading healthy living blogs, and I always wanted to buy and prepare one. I bought one the last time I was home visiting, but I forgot about it before I went back to Australia. My parents never used it, so it went in the trash. I bought another one last week, so I was determined to not repeat that mistake!

There it is! What a cute little pumpkin-looking thing!

Cutting the squash was an adventure of its own. It took me about twenty minutes. I really wish that my dad or Alastair were around, but I was all by myself (with the pups, and I knew they would not be much help). I needed two knives (one serrated and one butcher knife) to do the job. I was extremely careful, because I knew that one false move could lead to a maimed hand. By some miracle, I managed cut it in two without injuries!

I scooped out the seeds and the soft part in the middle, and then I put the halves face-up in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes.  

After the oven came the most exciting part: making the "spaghetti". I took a fork and scraped and scraped and scraped. The flesh started coming off in strings and looked like spaghetti. That's why it's called "spaghetti squash"!

Like pasta, there are a gazillion ways you can prepare the squash. I decided to eat it the same way I would eat spaghetti: with pasta sauce and parmesan cheese!

What a great pasta substitute and an awesome way to have fun with a healthy squash. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it. Guys, it actually looks like pasta, and the texture is hearty. You can even twirl it around your fork! 

Tonight, I had the other half. I prepared it the same way, but I added cottage cheese too. I am that cool. And yes, it tasted very good. Don't dis till you try! Don't even start!

After dinner, I dug into a bag of plain semisweet chocolate chips (hey, it happens). After a few handfuls, I made cookie dough. I didn't bake it. I just ate it. Again, it happens.

The good news is that the recipe didn't have any butter or white sugar. I also only took a few bites and put the rest in the fridge. Sometimes, my self-control just overwhelms me. That, and the fact that I felt sick from chocolate chips. Check out Chocolate Covered Katie's recipe for healthy cookies (or dough!). 

Have a great night!

WARNING: If you don't feel like reading a sad post, then I suggest you skip this one! 

As I said yesterday, we lost our dog Rigley to bladder cancer last week. She was a very special dog, and she was my friend. This post is all about her. 

Here are some facts about Rigley:

• She was a mixed breed. I used to call her a mutant dog, because she had so many patterns in her fur. We got her genetically tested several years ago and found out that she was part doberman, basenji and husky.  
• My oldest brother Ben brought her home from a shelter in Champaign, Illinois when she was a puppy. We always thought her as Ben's dog, but she became the family dog when Ben officially moved out of the house.

A few months ago, my mom noticed that Rigley was urinating in the basement. She never had accidents in the house before. She took her to the vet, where they did an ultrasound and found a mass in her bladder. They put her on antibiotics that seemed to help for a couple of months. Below is a picture of Rigley feeling very well. 

About two weeks ago, my mom went in the basement to find what she later told me looked like a murder scene. Rigley was hemorrhaging, and she left piles of blood. When she brought her to the vet, hysterical, she thought that she'd never come back home again. They gave her some Chinese herbs that actually managed to stop the bleeding. My mom took her home, but she knew that Rigley's life would be over in a matter of days to weeks. 

While Rigley acted fine, she showed some very strange behavior when I went with my parents to the dog park that weekend. She'd walk a few feet and then squat like she was trying to pee, but nothing came out. We could tell that she was struggling, but she eventually was able to relieve herself. 

When I came home from school and let her outside two days later, nothing came out. She couldn't pee at all. This went on for hours. After several discussions with the vet, my mom made the painful decision to bring her in. We learned that she had a urinary blockage and that if we didn't euthanize her, her urine would become toxic and result in a very painful death. It was all excruciating, but we couldn't let her live in misery any longer. 

i won't go into any of the sad details at the vet, but I will say that she's in a better place now. We bring all of our dogs to the vet where my mom works, and they are outstanding. They gave us four clay paw prints from her (they take her paw, press it in clay and then bake it), and I will keep mine forever. 

Losing a dog is the WORST PART of having one. The good part is that it gets easier every day. I can't even tell you how sad it was to watch Mickey look around the house for her. We think he gets it now. We don't think Cody noticed that Rigley is gone...because he's not the brightest. 

 I'm happy to say that we had a wonderful dog for eleven years, and we gave her a good life. I'm sure that she wouldn't want anything more than that. 

There is rarely a dull moment when you have dogs. The weather was still gorgeous today, so I took them for a walk after school. 

These pictures don't have anything to do with my story, but I think everything looks so pretty. Call me crazy, but I like having leaves all over my yard. 

There's the furniture that we probably have to put in the basement next month until the weather gets nice again. Sad. 

Back to my story, or pseudo-story, Mickey peed on Cody two times during our walk. He peed once on his head and once on his back. Cody is not the smartest member of the dog population, so he didn't notice. 

I wiped his head and body with bath wipes when we got home. He wasn't as nasty as the time when he rolled around in animal vomit/crap in the backyard, but I still didn't want him lying around on the carpets/etc with urine on him. I'm sure you get it. 

There's a clean Cody!

I couldn't get a clear photo of the pissing culprit (Mickey), because he runs away from my the camera the same way that he would run away from a spray bottle full of water. I can only take his picture if I sneak up on him. 

Cody hates pictures, too, but he puts up with it. See Mickey walking away from me?

I had a surprisingly delicious dinner, and it took all of five minutes to put together. I remembered that I had a packet of NoOodles that was just about to expire, but I wasn't sure how to make it taste good. NoOodles (which is supposed to look like "No Noodle" are made up of yam flour and water. They kind of look like pasta, but the texture is very cold and slimy. It's not pasta-like at all. Sounds gross, right? 

I've only cooked them in the microwave in the past, and I thought that I would try a frying pan this time. I could heat and and crisp it up at the same time. 

They never got crispy, but they picked up some flavor from the cooking spray and actually did not taste quite as slimy. I mixed it in a bowl with teriyaki sauce, and then I added leftover vegetables from dinner on Sunday. Don't let the only slightly-appetizing photo and the fact that that is not real pasta fool you; dinner tasted great!

I think that NoOodles work really well in stir fry-type dishes. I wouldn't suggest trying to eat it as a substitute for a regular Italian-style dish, because it just doesn't taste right. For a stir-fry, it's a great substitute for rice or noodles if you want to reduce your carb intake. I also recommend the stove method over the microwaving method!

Before I go, I have to tell you something sad. We lost our dog Rigley to bladder cancer last week. I'm going to make a special post for her, because that's the least of what she deserves. I miss her so much. I'll miss her every day. 

'Till next time, friends!

Hello! I forgot how much I love Indian summers. The weather turns cooler in September and then suddenly turns summer-like again in October. Unlike real summertime, however, the leaves are all different colors. It's such a beautiful time of the year. I really enjoy fall, even when it's colder outside. I basically like any month that's not January through April. Since I've spent the past two winters in Australia, I hope this one doesn't kill me. 

After class, I attacked some of the leftover salmon from Sunday night. I love making quesadillas, so that's exactly what I made. As usual, I used La Tortilla Factory Smart and Delicious wraps. I swear, you could eat 100 of these high-fiber babies and not gain weight. Forget about the fact that you'd feel like crap afterwards. Lord knows what 12 grams of fiber x 100 could do to you...

I sprayed a frying pan and heating one tortilla on low heat. 

I then added a handful of leftover salmon and let it heat up for about five minutes (as long as you keep the heat on low, your tortilla shouldn't burn). 

I added some greenery: baby spinach. 

I then shredded up some manchengo cheese and threw it on top. I realize that salmon and cheese don't go together like peas and carrots, but it works for me. I don't think I'm capable of making a quesadilla without cheese. 

I plopped another wrap on top, then I carefully flipped the whole thing over so that the cheese could melt. 

Less than five minutes later, I was open for business! 

I cut it up like a pizza. It was purrrdy good. 

About an hour and a half later, I laced up my sneaks and went for a run! I said that I wanted to yesterday, so I did it today. I ran 3 miles in the neighborhood in 31.5 minutes. Not the fastest time ever, but I'm thrilled. I haven't run at all since July. I iced and stretched and took good care of my legs, so I hope I can walk without pain tomorrow! PLEASE NOOO PAIN! 

Enjoy the last of this weather! I actually think it ends tomorrow. Sad face. 

I had a blast and a half yesterday, thanks to the Chicago Marathon! My mom and I stayed at my brother Jon's apartment on Saturday night, and Jon drove my mom to Grant Park (the start of the race) at about 5:30 am. I slept in for a few hours, ate breakfast, read over my notes for my microbiology exam that I had today, took Libby for a walk, lost the spare key in the park, went back to the park two more times to look for the spare key, told Jon that I had to buy him a new spare key, found it twenty minutes after I gave up in my pants (WHAT?!?!?), and then walked to S Michigan Avenue. 

By the way, technology amazes me in the fact that I got regular text messages throughout the race from a computer chip that told me where my mom was and her estimated finishing time. Runners put an orange tag on their shoe, and it registers when you go past certain checkpoints. Pretty neat, right?

The weather was ideal for walking. The sky was a perfect shade of blue, and the city looked perfect. I can't say that the marathon runners enjoyed the warmth as much as the spectators, but it could have been a lot worse. 

When I got close to Michigan Avenue, I saw runners with medals everywhere. I knew that they ran the marathon based on how they were walking just as much as I knew from the medals. I mean, I certainly would not be able to walk normally if I just ran 26.2 miles!

I finally made it to S Michigan Avenue. Once I found the actual race, it was very hard to move. The spectators were up to five people deep. I waited at the 25.3-mile mark for my mom and dad (my dad jumped in and ran nine miles with my mom- you are allowed to do that without a bib!). The support from the spectators was overwhelming. Everybody was clapping, cheering, and shouting out names if runners had their names on their shirts. The girl standing in front of me held out her hand and tried to high-five everybody. She touched a lot of sweaty hands. 

After standing around for about 30 minutes, I saw my parents! I jumped up and down and started screaming and ran onto the course. My mom hugged me, despite my protests to keep running, and I actually ran about a half mile with them while holding my purse. My dad took the awesome sign that I brought from me (there's a picture at the end of the post) and ran with that. We stayed on the course until we heard the announcement that everybody without a bib had to get off the street. Fair enough. 

We were basically at the finish line by that point, so my dad and I walked over to Charity Village. If you ran and raised money for a charity, as my mom did, your charity provides a tent for you where you can go before and after the race and store your belongings. A limited number of family and friends can meet you there and celebrate with food and drinks. 

When we got to the DetermiNation tent, we found runners cooling their feet in a kiddie pool filled with ice. I bet that would feel great!

CONFETTI!!!! WHOOOO!!!

We spent about 25 minutes waiting for my mom near the DetermiNation tent. 

I thought this sign below was very inspiring!

We found my mom, and then we walked 2.5 miles to the car. My poor mom. According to Hal Higdon, at least, walking after running that much is good recovery! 

My tired and happy mom!

We "refueled" with turkey spaghetti bolognese casserole (recipe to come for the pasta later!)

and grilled salmon (my mom's fave)

and broccolini with leftover pasta. Good carbs and veggies!

I got some more pictures of my mom today. If you're wondering if she left her sweaty singlet on for 24 hours, you are mistaken. She did wear her medal today, though!

That's the sign that I made for her at the Chicago Marathon Expo. GO BARB!!!!

What a strong, determined lady! Almost 60 and still running strong! My mom is such an inspiration. 

Watching the marathon yesterday really makes me want to lace up my running shoes and give it a go. One of my best friends also wants to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon in February, but I still worry about my leg pain that partially prevented me from running the Rock N Roll Chicago Half Marathon this summer. If I could run a half marathon, then I could certainly try to go for a full one. Maybe I'll try going for a short run this week and see how it affects my leg. Baby steps, right?