Turned out to be a great weekend – not that I had any doubts, but it was a very busy weekend and turned out to be a fun one as well.
Friday was a gorgeous day here in the Lansing area and I spent the late morning and all afternoon in East Lansing with my mom, dad, Aunt Sharon, cousin Mick, cousin Gabe (Mick’s son), cousin Riley (Mick’s daughter) as they were all here for Gabe’s high school quiz bowl state finals at Michigan State University. Gabe’s team lost their first round so they didn’t have to play again until Saturday morning. After lunch we spent the afternoon in downtown East Lansing enjoying the sunshine and people watching.
It was nice to catch up with my mom and Aunt as they just got back a few days ago from 2 weeks of vacation in Mexico.
We also caught most of a MSU Big 10 baseball game against Purdue. What a great afternoon it was and to be out in the sunshine!
My mom, dad, Aunt, Mick, Gabe, and I met up with Mick’s wife Wendy and Noah (after they both got out of work) to have dinner at Old Chicago in Okemos. I had a salad there which sure was tasty. Pretty simple – just romaine, spinach, chicken, avocado, sun-dried tomatoes, and Parmesan. But the star of the salad was the lemon vinaigrette – a little tangy and it added just the right brightness to offset the richness of the avocado and sun-dried tomatoes. I really enjoyed the salad.
On Saturday, Noah and I got up early and headed back out to MSU to catch Gabe’s final two rounds of quiz bowl competition. It’s a double elimination tournament and his team won their first match on Saturday, but lost their second. It was amazing to see these bright teenagers compete and I was awed by how much knowledge they have! Very cool!
After the quiz bowl, Noah and I ran 7.5 miles on campus at MSU – it was supposed to be 10, but I was completely not into it. I was a little overdressed for the 60+ degree sunny weather and was simply not feelin’ it. I did slightly regret not doing 10 afterwards though – I mean we’d already done 7.5 so what would’ve been the big deal with running 2.5 miles more? It is amazing how much of running is mental and if your head’s not into it, it’s really hard to keep going. I’m a little nervous for the half marathon in 2 weeks, but I just keep telling myself it’ll all be fine 🙂
Lunch on Saturday was a delicious homemade taco salad – Power Greens, green pepper, tomato, cheese, cilantro, fresh-squeezed lime juice, tortilla chips, grilled chicken, french dressing and hot sauce. One of my absolute favorites!
For dinner on Saturday, Noah and I headed to one of our favorite Chinese restaurants – Chen’s in North Lansing. So delicious – Kung Pao chicken, hot and sour soup, and hot tea. Can’t be beat!
After Chinese food, we headed to do some bowling with friends and had a great evening.
We got up again early today to head over to Kalamazoo to watch my nieces’ gymnastics meet. Hannah’s 10 and Jillian’s 8 and their meets are cool to watch – all these little girls flipping all over the place seemingly fearless. They both did really well today and seemed to have fun which is the most important part.
Hannah’s the first on the left in the back row and Jillian’s 2nd from the right in the front row.
And then there’s this little goof ball – Josie who’s almost 3 and super silly! She’ll do just about anything for a laugh and was certainly struttin’ her stuff during the meet in front of my mom, dad, brother, sister-in-law, sister-in-law’s mom, Noah and me.
After the meet we all ate lunch together at a great Italian bistro – Erpelli’s in Kalamazoo. If you’re ever in the area and need a good place to eat I highly recommend it. I unfortunately didn’t get any photos, but the food was great! I had gluten free pizza, Noah had a delicious toasted sub, and my mom had a yummy-looking chef salad.
After we got back to Lansing and rested for a bit Noah and I headed to our local running store, Playmakers, so I could pick up some more Rock Tape (I’ve been battling peroneal tendonitis this winter and will need more tape before the the half marathon), and a running belt that holds a water bottle. Normally Noah just carries the water when we run, but we’re planning to do a full marathon in the fall so I’m pretty sure I’ll need my own water when we get up to some serious mileage like 20+ miles…
We also went to the grocery store to get provisions for the week and the ingredients to make these PB Caramel Chex Bars. My friend Becca originally made these and gave me one to try – as soon as I ate it I knew these would be a permanent recipe in the treat rotation.
One of Noah’s co-workers is leaving to go work in a different department and he asked if I could make a sweet treat to take to work. These bars are always a hit and are pretty easy to make as well.
And now, I am ready for bed…I didn’t get as much sleep as I require to feel super rested and rejuvenated for a Monday, but that’s life sometimes and it was a great weekend filled with lots of good food, friends, and family!
This week is another short week for me as I have Friday off of work for Good Friday!
Live Well with Alison 