A Day Of Rest

Posted on November 12, 2011 by Dina

Lazy Saturdays might be the best kind. Today I slept in and did not do one ounce of anything that wasn’t relaxing.

I caught up on some TV. Hello Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle, I love you but hate that I have to wait until January for new episodes.

I practiced with the fancy new camera.

I used this tutorial on how to create custom user profiles. It was fun to play around with the different settings.

My running clothes are in the washer so I am less stinky for my race tomorrow. The Garmin and iPod Shuffle are charging. I should be ready and rested to race tomorrow.

Yesterdays comments proved that many of us have difficulty relaxing before races. It can be difficulty sleeping or just a stomach full of butterflies. I have no solution to this and everyday I get closer to my upcoming Half, the more nervous I get. Taking today to enjoy myself and be unproductive is definitely helping. Trusting that I did enough, worked hard, and am prepared to the best I can.

This did show up in my email today.

Makes it much more real.

{Source}

Long Run Saturday

Posted on September 10, 2011 by Dina

Long Run Saturday has been a success so far. I actually woke up early enough to beat the Florida heat and humidity. The torrential rains last night, made the humidity that was around much more bearable.

I have run in Celebration before but usually start off further from town. This time I was able to run through the wooded areas and it was glorious.

Bridge through the woods and swamp.

Running path.

One of the many ponds.

A bridge over more water.

It wouldn’t be Florida, without palm trees.

Artisan Park.

The Bohemian Hotel Celebration from a distance.

Obligatory Garmin shot.

Seven miles! My longest run in a very long time. Long enough to make me feel ready for the 15K in two weeks.

Sadly, this run was amazing minus one thing. I forgot my fuel at home and home is far enough away that turning around was impossible.

I ended the run at Starbucks because I was starving.

Non-fat latte.

Two Moms in the Raw bar. I had never had one before but it was pretty good. Would eat it again.

Did you get a good workout on in today?

Any thoughts on raw food bars? Good or gross?

Cheese, Candy, And Beer

Posted on September 4, 2011 by Dina

I had the most amazing Saturday. It started with a glorious run (many fun pictures taken with picplz which I am now obsessed with) and ended with pumpkin beer.

First, we headed to The Cheese Shop on Park in Winter Park. We had a gift card from Christmas to spend.

If you love cheese and wine, I highly recommend The Cheese Shop. Not only are they the nicest people, they are super knowledgeable and the cheese is out of this world. Plus, they carry lots of great local products (jams, salad dressing, and hot sauces) plus gourmet honey and crackers.

We bought many different types of cheese but the one I am most excited about is Pecorino with truffles. I have an idea for a pasta dish that this cheese will taste amazing grated over.

We walked around the lovely Park Avenue for awhile. Admiring the sites and the cute storefronts.

Topiary dog!

Loved this display in the park for breast cancer awareness.

We finally made it to Sassafras Sweet Shoppe. J is literally a candy nut (for example, he might be the sole person in Polk County who buys out the Darrell Lea Licorice every week at Target.)

Such a cute store! Great mix of vintage candy and local products. We had a lot of fun looking around. Also, buying one item just for laughs. (J may have actually tried this but I will not be.)

Dinner time and I finally got to eat at Shipyard Emporium.

Pumpkin beer!

We started with the trio of dips They were Buffalo Chicken, Roasted Pablano Artichoke Dip, and White Bean Hummus. Each one was delicious but the Buffalo Chicken was the most unique (hello real pieces of chicken.)

I had the BLT Flatbread. The sundried tomato combined with the bacon was smoky awesomeness.

J had the Lobster Flat Bread which he did not like as much. He felt the tarragon was overwhelming.

The beer menu was really cool and the desserts looked delicious. We will definitely be coming back to eat here again.

Are you doing anything fun for the holiday weekend?

Agree or disagree, pumpkin beer is the best beer ever?

Todays Run In Pictures

Posted on September 3, 2011 by Dina

Now it’s time for pancakes. Hope you are enjoying your Saturday!

Week-end

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Dina

Saturday started with a bang. I was actually able to get out of the house before noon to get my run in. I have the best intentions every Saturday but am so slow in the morning, especially when I do not have to be somewhere (like work).

After my run, a little over three miles, I had to jump in the shower and drive in to Orlando for my hair appointment. Of course, there was tons of Disney traffic. Of course, my hairdresser was not at the salon when I got there. I ended up waiting around for 45 minutes until she texted my back and told me I could go to her house and she would do it for free.

J was craving seafood and Ocean Prime is newish, so we decided to check it out.

They have an amazing outdoor area, that I did not get any pictures of, but would totally love to get a drink out there.

I started with Berries & Bubbles which is: Belvedere Citrus Vodka, Marinated Blackberries, House made sour mix, and Domaine Chandon Brut. It also had dry ice in it so it smoked. I never order cocktails but this one was delicious.

J took a sip.

To start we had the white truffle caviar deviled eggs. I do not even like deviled eggs but these were yummy. Creamy, salty, and truffley rolled into each mouthwatering bite.

We also had Oysters. Being Connecticut natives, we can rarely turn down an appetizer from a raw bar.

J had the wedge salad.

I had the Prime Feature (Crab Crusted Blue Tilapia, French Beans, and Fingerling Potatoes). It was very good including the sides.

J had the filet with béarnaise sauce. He thought it was really good for a seafood place.

Ocean Prime was very good if not a bit over priced but the food was tasty and the service prompt. We will definitely eat here again.

How was you week-end?

Saturday at the mall

Posted on July 3, 2011 by Dina

Saturday, when you have a three day week-end, can be a glorious affair. There is no need to rush to fit everything in because you have that extra day to get things done.

This Saturday started off with a run through my favorite park. It was not the five miles I planned on but at least it did not rain.

After the run, I worked on getting my new laptop set-up. I have wanted a laptop for awhile and have been looking for a good deal. Money is always tight with J being a full-time law-student but he surprised with me with the laptop on Friday night. It was actually pretty cute because he called me out of my office to watch a movie and was holding the box in his hands when I came out. Super cute and sweat. (The movie was Red Riding Hood which was pretty good but kind of cheesy. Who am I kidding, I love cheesy movies especially if there are cute boys in it.)

We headed over to the Mall at Millennia in Orlando because J needed to pick-up an external hard drive at the Apple store. We also had a Cheese Cake Factory gift card from Christmas. (Thanks in-laws!)

The largest menu known to man.

Before the bread basket came.

After the bread basket came. I was super hungry obviously.

We ate tons of food as usual.

It is a fact that the Cheese Cake Factory has the best spinach artichoke dip in all of greater Orlando.

Not the salad I ordered but still good.

Veggie pasta.

Caramel chicken.

I spied this from across the way. Not sure how the mall made it so far without fro-yo but this is an excellent development.

We came home and watched Sucker Punch which was kind of awesome.

Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Dina

After a productive virtual 5K, I cleaned myself up and headed to IKEA with J. Why we decided to do this on a Saturday beats me but we must be crazy. It was as busy as you can imagine and just miserable. (Especially when after spending an hour planning out a filing system for our front room, J realizes that the last piece he needs is discontinued.) So we grabbed the one table we came in for and hightailed it out of there.

Finally, there was food.

CRAVE is a chain restaurant but they only have one location in Orlando. I am not sure why, but Orlando gets a lot of these chains with one location in Florida. They may use it as a testing ground but it is great if you are local because there is always something new opening.

The concept is American food (plus an immense Sushi Bar) that is fresh and local whenever possible. We have eaten here several times and always enjoy it.

J had a vodka martini with blue cheese stuffed olives and bacon.

He also had an appetizer of thinly sliced beef on a fried mint leaf with some veggies.

Toasted Lager for me.

I had a salmon salad with blue cheese and walnuts. It was huge and really good.

A side of risotto with peppers and kalamata olives.

Pasta with scallops and shrimp for J. He would order it with double the scallops next time because they were cooked perfectly.

The rest of the night may have included playing The Sims 3 until the wee hours of the night. Yay for having a working computer.

Bar Louie and the return of J

Posted on June 12, 2011 by Dina

J was in LA last week for E3. It was nice to have the house to myself but I missed him. (Not as much as the cats who spent nearly the entire week sleeping and moping around.) It just goes to show, I am only second best to those cats to J. He came back yesterday morning and we were able to have a nice evening on Saturday.

We went to Bar Louie in Dr. Phillips for a casual dinner before a movie.

J had the Buffalo Style Crispy Calamari for an appetizer. He thought it was different and he really liked it.

We split chips with guacamole, salsa, and queso.

I had the Grilled Veggie Wrap. It was huge and I only could eat half but it will be good for lunch today.

J had The Luigi which is shaved ribeye, lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, and olive oil.

We had a good time even though some of us needed more prompting than others. Smile for the camera J.

After dinner we went to see Super 8 on the IMAX at Pointe Orlando. It was a great movie and I would definitely recommend it.

Does your city have upside down buildings? Orlando does.

I also spotted police officers on horse back give someone (in a car) a ticket.

Now I need to head out the door for some grocery shopping. Stay tuned for my next post on running my first 15K. I am working on putting together a training plan (the race is the end of September) but have never raced anything longer than a 5K so I’m nervous/excited.

What did you do on Saturday?

Dina Runs

Category Archives: Saturday