Hold on Tight...

With (hopefully) the final frost of the year behind us, I'm excited for the warm weather to stick around for quite a few months. It's suppose to be 80 degrees today! The warm weather not only means grilling out and hanging out by the pool but riding Todd's motorcycle. Trust me, I never thought I'd ever want to ride on one but when you fall in love with a boy who has one, sometimes you find yourself doing things you never thought you would. As it turns out, surprisingly, I actually really enjoy it. Let's hope after Todd moves & unpacks this weekend, we'll be able to relax & go for a ride.

Book Review

I've started reading a few books lately but haven't been able to get into them so I never finished reading them. I was super excited to start Hush by Kate White because I'd read several other mystery novels by her and she hadn't written one in a few years.

In Hush, Lake Warren is recently separated from her husband, Jack, who is suing for full custody of their two kids. She recently began working with the Advanced Fertility Center as a marketing consultant, alongside the flirtatious Dr. Keaton. But the morning after their one-night stand, Lake finds Dr. Keaton with his throat slashed. Lake is forced to lie to the police so she doesn't jeopardize her right to have full custody of her kids but they start to question her more about the murder. People at the clinic start treating her differently and she has several dangerous encounters. All Lake wants is to find out who killed Dr. Keaton so she can stop living in fear.

This book definitely lived up to my expectations and was a real page turner. I found myself saying, ok I'll stop reading at the end of this chapter, and before I knew it, 50 pages had gone by. I was shocked by the "whodunit" at the end, it was a great twist. This book held my interest from start to finish without any dull moments, and continued to be suspenseful to the very end.

Top 2 Tuesdays--Favorite Things About Summer

This week's topic for Top 2 Tuesdays is my favorite things about summer.

I absolutely love summer & I love hot weather, not just warm weather, but hot weather. I'm not a big fan of humidity, especially with my curly hair, but give me 90 degrees and bright sunshine and I'm a happy girl. Unfortunately, Ohio weather is very finicky. One day it could be 85 degrees and the next day it could be 45 degrees. So with summer quickly approaching, here are my 2 favorite things about summer.

1. Eating & drinking outside

By this I mean I love eating on patios at restaurants, grilling out & eating on the back porch/balcony, and going on picnics.

My favorite patio in Columbus--Barcelona

Todd put together a picnic for my birthday last year

2. Hanging out at the pool

The best way to spend the weekend in the summer is laying out poolside with a good book or magazine in one hand and a cocktail in the other.

The pool at my apartment complex
I also love water parks & have been begging Todd to go to Zoombezi Bay this summer

With May just around the corner, I can't wait for the warm summer days to soon follow!

Weekly Recap: April 19-25

I actually started off the week in Boston with a few good workouts, although they weren't as long as I would have liked. The hotel fitness room was always packed with people and it was really hot since it was right next to the pool. We got home on Wednesday night & I had to work at 4 AM on Thursday which meant getting up at 2:55 AM. I was exhausted Thursday & Friday so I didn't even attempt to work out. Now that I'm back in the swing of things, this week will be much better exercise wise.

Monday: 40 min bike; lifted total body (hotel in Boston)

Tuesday: 20 min walk on treadmill (4.0 mph w/ hills @ 5-7%), 20 min bike; lifted core (hotel in Boston)

Wednesday: 45 min bike (hotel in Boston)

Thursday: REST

Friday: REST

Saturday: 1 hr elliptical; lifted total body

Sunday: taught 20 min core & taught 50 min spinning

Weekend Recap

Todd's sister, brother-in-law, and 3 year old nephew came into town this weekend. Before we met them to go to the Ohio State spring football game on Saturday, Todd & I headed over to his new apartment he's moving into at the end of the week.

His apartment complex is built & owned by the same company as mine so our apartments look a little similar in terms of the look of the kitchen, bathroom, and the carpet but the layouts are different. Plus, Todd has a slightly bigger apartment with higher ceilings and a balcony.

The view of the kitchen from the front door
The view of the living room, balcony, and bedroom from the front door

Another view of the kitchen and desk nook
The view of the greenhouse from his balcony

Another view from this balcony

He's moving in at the end of this week so I already know what I'll be helping him with next weekend....unpacking!

After looking around his apartment, we met his family to head to the annual Ohio State spring football game. This game is basically a scrimmage or practice (scarlet vs. gray) that is open to the public. It's a good chance for people who aren't able to get tickets to see them play during the season watch them at the Horseshoe. Seating is general admission but it had been raining off and on all day so we headed up to the D deck so we could be covered in case it started raining again.

Todd & I

I'll be the first to admit I'm not really an OSU fan. A lot of people may think this is hard to believe because I was born & raised in Columbus and lived here basically my whole life. I'm also an alum of Ohio State because I went to grad school there; however, I find Ohio State fans, specifically during football season, to be obnoxious and annoying. I don't hate OSU, I just don't love them either. I'm indifferent. I could care less if they beat Michigan or they lose. Ok, enough about that.

The game was alright, but I wasn't really paying attention that much either because we were all talking to each other during the game. We also met up with Todd's cousin and his daughter and some of their friends.

My favorite part of Ohio State football games would have to be the band. During the season, the marching band is an all brass band but during the spring game they use a different band which includes all instruments and it also means they don't do script Ohio. They did march to a few songs at halftime and then made the shape of Ohio with the breast cancer ribbon in the middle. The game was being played for breast cancer and the players all had pink numbers on their jerseys and the coaches wore pink hats. These were all going to be auctioned off later with the money going to support breast cancer research.

Marching band at the end of the halftime show

We left at the beginning of the 4th quarter so I'm not sure if scarlet or gray won. Even though I don't necessarily like OSU, I do enjoy going to football games so I still had fun.

After teaching my core class & spinning at the gym today, I met up with Todd's family at the mall and we went shopping the rest of the afternoon.

Uncle Todd & Andrew hanging out in Buckeye Corner

It was good to visit with his family especially since I didn't go home with Todd a few weeks ago. Andrew always seems so much bigger every time I see him and he's a riot. The saying "kids say the darndest things" is so true because he just says some of the funniest things!

Boston Specialties

While Todd & I were in Boston, we wanted to soak up as much of the city as we could which also included trying some of the food that Boston is known for. I also happen to love Boston Cream Pie so my goal while we were there was to try a piece every day from a different restaurant or bakery. For those of you who have never had it before, it's more like a cake than a pie. It's yellow cake filled with yellow cream or custard and covered with chocolate icing or ganache. Out of the 5 days we were there, I tried 4 different kinds.

Our first night in Boston, we went to Quincy Market and ate at Durgin Park, a 180 year old restaurant. It's a 2 story restaurant with a nice view of the street below and had lots of steak & seafood. They're known for their Yankee Fare and sassy waitresses. For an appetizer, Todd had the clam chowder and I had Boston baked beans. Our main dishes consisted of crab cakes for Todd and pesto penne pasta for me followed by Boston Cream Pie. I was not a fan of this pie because the yellow cake part of it was soaked in rum. It wasn't the traditional Boston Cream Pie I was hoping for. In fact, Todd actually ate more of it than I did which is rare when it comes to dessert.

Durgin Park Boston Baked Beans & Clam Chowder
Boston Cream Pie from Durgin Park

Once we were done with dinner, we walked around Quincy Market. There were several bakeries inside but only one was selling Boston Cream Pie so even though I had already had a piece for dinner, I bought another one. We had a fridge in our hotel room so I ate a couple bites and then put it away for the next day. This piece was a lot better than what we had at Durgin Park.

Quincy Market

Boston Cream Pie from a bakery in Quincy Market

We had heard that Boston Cream Pie originated from the Omni Parker House and the bar inside the hotel, The Last Hurrah, had it on their menu. We stopped in for a piece of pie and a drink on Monday evening. I loved the presentation of the pie and the almonds around the outside but to be honest, I was expecting it to taste a lot better than it did since it started here.

Omni Parker House & The Last Hurrah

The original Boston Cream Pie from The Last Hurrah in the Omni Parker House

Our last stop for Boston Cream Pie was at Mike's Pastry in the North End on Wednesday. They are known more for their cannolis but I figured their pie would be pretty tasty too. We had actually wanted to stop here on Sunday night when we had our Italian dinner but all the marathoners must have had the same idea because the line was out the door and ridiculously long. We knew we'd be right by there on the Freedom Trail so we waited to go back on Wednesday and it was worth the wait. Hands down, this was the best piece of Boston Cream Pie I'd ever had! Todd also tried one of their cannolis which was just as delicious.

Mike's Pastry

Yellow Cream Cannoli from Mike's Pastry Boston Cream Pie from Mike's Pastry

Boston: Day 5

Wednesday was our last day in Boston and we decided to walk the Freedom Trail, which is a 2.5 mile self-guided tour through the city leading you past 20+ historical sites. We took the T to the Boston Public Gardens and walked through there again since it was sunny and almost 70 degrees, a big difference from the cold and rain on Saturday. The flowers were in bloom and everything look gorgeous.

View of downtown Boston behind the George Washington statue

Another view from Boston Public Gardens

Todd & I

We walked to the start of the Freedom Trail in Boston Commons. There's either a red brick path or red painted line along the entire trail so you know where to go.

Todd at the beginning of the Freedom Trail

The markers & red brick line identifying the trail

The first stop was the Massachusetts State House. The dome is actually made from gold too.

You can see the red brick path leading up to the State House

Then we headed to Granary Burying Grounds where Sam Adams and John Hancock are buried.

A few stops later we were at the site of the 1st public school, which was founded in a 1635. It was located where the Benjamin Franklin statue is and behind it is Old City Hall.

Todd thought it was funny that Old City Hall is now Ruth Chris's Steakhouse

The Old State House was the site of the Boston Massacre as well as where the 1st reading of the Declaration of Independence was held.

The balcony was where the Declaration of Independence was read and the circle on the concrete island next to the traffic light marks the site of the Boston Massacre

Faneuil Hall was a market place and a meeting hall from 1742 and today, along with Quincy Market, it serves primarily as a market for vendors and restaurants. We decided to stop here for lunch. For Columbus, Ohio natives, this place was similar to the North Market.

Faneuil Hall

Quincy Market

Todd tried the seafood mac & cheese with shrimp, lobster, and crab

The Freedom Trail then took us to the North End. We made a quick detour to Mike's Pastry for cannoli & Boston Cream pie.

The famous Mike's Pastry

Best known for their cannolis
In the North End, we saw Paul Revere's house and the Old North Church.

The side of Paul Revere's house

Famous Paul Revere statue with the Old North Church in the background

As we walked across the river, we could see Bunker Hill in the background

We only had 2 stops to go but still quite a bit of walking! First, we went to the Charlestown Navy Yard and saw the U.S.S. Constitution. The U.S.S. Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world. It first launched in 1797.

U.S.S. Constitution

Our last stop on the Freedom Trail was up to Bunker Hill. The monument stands 221 feet tall and we walked all 294 steps to the top. This was the site of the 1st major battle of the American Revolution.

We had a great view of Boston from the top

We walked back to the docks and took a ferry and then the T to our hotel so we could get our luggage and head to the airport.

We had a great 5 days in Boston and I'm so glad we went even though I didn't run the marathon. I will definitely be back next year and ready to race in 2011!

Boston: Day 4

Tuesday morning, Todd and I slept in a little bit before working out and grabbing some breakfast in our hotel. We sat in the lobby and watched all the runners hobble by--I definitely remember that feeling last year! Around noon we set off to Sam Adams for a brewery tour and tasting. Unfortunately, we didn't count on everyone also having that same idea the day after the marathon. We weren't going to be able to go on a tour until 2:30pm so we got our tickets and headed back to the hotel for some shopping at the Prudential Center. Of course you know I wasn't going to leave empty handed especially since there was a Lululemon!

We went back to Sam Adams for our tour. The first 20 minutes were spent on the floor of the brewery learning about the brewing process. I found out that Sam Adams actually does a majority of their brewing in Ohio & Pennsylvania. The next 30 minutes were spent sampling 3 of their beers.

Sam Adams Brewery Tour

Learning about the brewing process

First, we tried the Boston Lager
I think Todd liked this one
Then we had their seasonal Summer Ale
Followed by Boston Brick Red

My favorite was definitely the Summer Ale!

We've been on a lot of other brewery tours before (Anheuser Busch, Coors, etc.) so Sam Adams didn't quite live up to our expectations but we still had a good time and you can never complain about free beer.

Tuesday evening we headed over to Fenway for the Red Sox game against the Texas Rangers. We walked around Fenway for a little bit taking in all the sights. It's pretty cool because there are lots of bars, restaurants, and food vendors all around the outside of the ballpark.



We hadn't really eaten much that day either so when we went into the stadium, we walked around so we could get an idea of our options for food and take a couple pics.

Hanging out with Wally the Green Monster

We finally bought some food and headed to our seats. Todd tried a Fenway frank and an Italian sausage and I had some pizza and a pretzel. We had great seats in the outfield and were excited to cheer on the home team.

Apparently I was very excited for my soft serve sundae I got during the game

Our view of the game from our seats
The Green Monster

The Red Sox didn't play that well most of the game but they hung in there. Todd & I ended up leaving during the 8th inning and when we got back to our hotel, we turned on the game to see who won and the Red Sox hit a home run in the bottom of the 9th to win! We were kinda bummed we missed all the excitement but still had a great night.