When My Nest Wasn’t As Empty As I Thought It Was

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Coco

When we were trying to plan a Girlfriends Getaway a few months ago, I offered up my house for the weekend. With my kids at college, we had enough spare bedrooms and sofas to accommodate whoever could make it, and the D.C. area is a great place to visit. I blacked out my work calendar over Veteran’s Day weekend, my friends bought plane tickets, and we started making lists of the fun things we could do.

As I was plowing through my to-do list last Thursday, I got a rare phone call from my son.

I want to come home this weekend.

Why?

I have a big paper due Wednesday, and I want to come home to work on it.

~silence~

Um, …. you can’t. I’ve got friends coming from out of town and I’ve offered up your bedroom.

~silence~

Luckily for all of us, my mom is the best grandmother ever. Not only was she happy for my son to stay with her for the weekend (with a quiet room, comfortable bed, and home-cooked meals), she was willing to pick him up on Friday evening.

He came by the house Friday night long enough to drop off his laundry and visit with Tiger Lilly. While I felt bad about not being able to spend time with my son, I had a great weekend with my friends.  On Saturday, we played tourists at the National Mall.

We came across a Buddhist ceremony in front of the Capitol.

We enjoyed the exhibits at the Hirshhorn.

On Sunday, we visited Great Falls, Maryland.

We got to see some kayakers go down the falls.

20121111-175559.jpg

We hiked the Gold Mine Loop.

And between the sight-seeing, shopping, eating, hiking, talking, and laughing, I managed to do my son’s laundry.

20121111-175542.jpg

Each load of laundry assuaged a bit of my guilt.

How do you overcome the “mommy guilt” when you take time to have with your friends?

Posted in Life | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Pizza #Fail

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Coco

This weekend my husband and I had a classic “date night” our way–a late matinee movie followed by an early-ish dinner. Movies are expensive enough before 6:00 pm, and we’d rather be home with our dog after she eats her dinner, than try to get her to eat and go out before we leave for a few hours!

We saw Argo, which we both thought was good. I was surprised at how many memories it brought back. I vividly remember seeing yellow ribbons everywhere and watching “Day XXX” of the hostage crisis coverage.

After the movie we went to one of our favorite Mediterranean places for dinner. I was in the mood for pizza, and thought they would have a good veggie one. When I saw this on the menu, it sounded perfect.

20121103-201711.jpg

(The whole menu spells “Kalamata” with a “C”–is that a variation or a typo?)

When the waiter brought my pizza, it looked great.

But after a few bites, I tasted something almost sweet, and then noticed a white sauce all over the pizza. Blech! I asked the waiter if there was “salad dressing” on the pizza, and he said that there was. 🙁

I debated trying to blot it off, but realized that it probably had permeated the crust. The waiter offered to bring me another pizza, but I decided to share my husband’s cheese pizza instead.

I grabbed a take-out menu on our way out, and saw that I had overlooked the offending ingredient–it must have been that garlic aioli sauce. 😛 The pizza would have been great otherwise, so I will go back and order it again–without the sauce!

Have you ever ordered something that had one surprise ingredient that ruined it for you?

Do you send food back if you can’t eat it?

Posted in Food | Tagged | 7 Comments

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday (Running Is A Mental Sport)

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Coco

20121020-150318.jpg

20121020-150324.jpg

20121020-150318.jpg

Posted in Fitness | Tagged , | Comments Off on (Almost) Wordless Wednesday (Running Is A Mental Sport)

It’s Not My Race, But … (Vote!)

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Coco

It’s not my race, but I trained …

enduring countless t.v. and radio ads,

answering numerous voter polling questions, and

deflecting too many campaign calls to count.

It’s not my race, but I strategized …

studying the local election guides,

reading about the candidates and their positions,

figuring out how to adjust my schedule to get to the polls.

It’s not my race, but as this post is publishing, I will be collecting my medal.

Have you voted?

Posted in Life | Tagged | 2 Comments

Why I Love November Running

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Coco

It’s November!

With the Army Ten Miler behind me and plans with friends preempting the Richmond Half, I have no more races on my calendar. Still, I set my alarm this weekend so I could go for a sunrise run. As I was warming up, I realized that I was running because that’s what I like to do.

I love being outside at daybreak.

I love the fresh, crisp air.

I love that it’s cool enough for long sleeves, but not so cold that I need to bundle up.

I love the fall colors in the trees.


I love clearing my head and leaving my stress on the trail.

I love stopping at Starbucks® on the way home for a Grande Thanksgiving Blend.

What do you like to do in November?

Posted in Fitness | Tagged , , | 9 Comments