Oorah!!!

I ran a 10k race on Saturday on the Marine Corpse Base in Quantico. My friend Brooke and I left Arlington around six am for the eight am start. Several of my co-workers were running too and it was so fun to run together and then cheer everyone to the finish line.

The Marines organized the race as part of the 'race to register' series. Anyone who runs one of the shorter races in the series is automatically qualified for the marathon in the fall. The Marines are obviously well organized and put on a great race. There was music every couple miles and groups of Marines lining the course.

The first three miles were on pavement, the next two on a trail through the woods. And that's when the fun started. It's been raining here for several days straight and the mud was unbelievable. About a 1/2 mile into the woods everyone split off the trail and were walking up the sides of the trail. The middle of the trail was literally empty so I decided to go for it. I ran on my toes, through the mud, for the next mile and passed literally hundreds of people. It was such a mess.

After the race we went to Crackerbarrel for breakfast and then to the outlet malls on the way home. All in all a great weekend.

Today's Horoscope is just what I needed

Scorpio October 23 - November 21
For Saturday, March 21 -Lately, your healthy ambition has been feeling a bit under the weather -- and this situation must be addressed today. All you need to do is give yourself a small goal to meet before the end of the day. And once you show yourself that you are capable of getting things done, you will awaken that sense of aggressive ambition that is lying dormant inside of you right now. Pick one thing to do -- meet that new cutie, get someone's number, or just get in an hour at the gym.

Erin Go Bragh!

St. Patty's Day has always been one of my favorite holidays. This year my friend Susan and I walked to an Irish bar in falls church after work and had a few pints. I haven't been out on a 'school night' in quite a while and I definitely felt it the next day. It was worth it though - the atmosphere was festive and everyone enjoyed warmer than average temps - especially since we were in tents outside.
I took advantage of the holiday to make an Irish bread from Grandma O'Shea's recipe book. I brought it to work with a stick of butter and both were gone by the end of the day!

finding joy in the little things

A few of my favorite things - all the more valuable in these tough economic times...

-fresh coffee on cold mornings
-crocuses poking through snow
-peanut butter and chocolate
-spring
-trail runs
-thoughts of summer!

Spring?

I think it's a little too early to say that spring is here for good, but we had a nice taste of it today. I went for a long walk this morning, worked out at the gym and will soon head out to Tortilla Coast on capitol hill for a good time with friends and margaritas and maybe some chips and guac...

Last night my good friends Brooke and Jeff came over for dinner. The brought the beer and I supplied the rest. I tried roasted green beans this time and they turned out really well. If anyone wants to try...heat oven to 450 and put a cookie sheet in the oven for about ten minutes to heat up. Toss the beans in a couple teaspoons of olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper, then arrange them in a single layer on the cookie sheet. Cook for about 8 minutes. Delish!

snow morning!

We got several inches in the DC area last night and this morning and its gorgeous outside!! We have a two hour delay to report to work so my friend Susan and I took advantage and walked to breakfast and back. It was a good 4 miles in the snow so I'm counting it towards my daily fitness. I'm headed into work for a few hours - hopefully the traffic won't be bad. Enjoy the snow everyone!!!