Happy Monday friends! I took a bit of a hiatus from blogging for the past few days during a traveling whirlwind. Last week I wrapped up my end of work in New York City for the spring and took a very early flight back to Northern Michigan. Minus some annoying delays, I made it back and was so happy to see our dog Louie.
After the Chicago Spring 13.1 I took a road trip with Lou up to Northern Michigan. My parents were kind enough to watch our dog while we were both in NYC for work. Louie had an amazing time playing in the woods, going on long walks, and swimming. I have mentioned before that Rock and I have a small summer home up in my hometown and I was excited to take our dog out there to explore and try swimming. My dad’s dog Chelios joined us. He loves swimming more than any other dog I have ever seen. Chelios was a great teacher for Louie and the two of them had a blast splashing in the lake.
Just as many of us have tried to jump head first into a training plan and majorly regretted it, Louie made the mistake of running off of the dock the first time without thinking ahead. He quickly realized that he didn’t know how to swim and was a big wimp in the water after that. Fortunately his other dog buddy helped urge him back in. Clearly all of us can use a pal to help prod us when we need it most.
The following day Lou and I hopped in the car and made our trek back home to Chicago. You know it is summer in Michigan when the highways are covered in construction. I am not kidding when I tell you that there was not a stretch longer than 30 miles where we didn’t hit construction. It definitely slowed our drive down but I wasn’t deterred. If you know anything about me, I am a healthy eater 99% of the time. That other 1% usually involves road trips where I tend to walk out of gas stations with random bags of chips and other munchies (P.S. Rock loves road trips with me because of this). Needless to say, Louie and I enjoyed our ride back to Chicago.
Rock had an even worse situation with airline delays and finally made it back home in the late hours of Friday/early hours of Saturday. He was just in time for us to get up at 4:30am and get ready to lead our first group run of the Chicago Marathon training season for MDA Team Momentum. It was also his last long training run before next week’s marathon in Duluth, MN. He is such a trooper!
We had an awesome first group run with coolish temperatures and a fun group of runners. Then it was nap time before the big game…….
I have to admit that I am a bit conflicted by sharing this on here but as a loyal wife I am cheering on the Blackhawks as they make their bid to win the Stanley Cup. As a Michigan girl I am a true Red Wings fan so this pains me slightly. I even joked with a friend that we will be raising our baby in a broken home (Red Wings vs. Blackhawks). But as you can imagine, there is an electric excitement here in Chicago right now and we of course had to get into the festivities.
Rock took a funny picture of me before the game. For some reason my metabolism was on overdrive Saturday and I couldn’t wait for the game to start eating. I made myself a bowl of popcorn and propped my feet up. That was when I discovered the new perk to having a big baby belly….instant table!
The game was a huge success for Chicago. Although I do have to mention that it has been fun to watch the Lightning play as well. I don’t think I mentioned this before but my brother was a great hockey player and was recruited out of high school to play for a Junior team in Detroit. The year he played Junior hockey they won the national championships. Matt was recruited by and won the championship title with Tampa’s current coach Jon Cooper. Pretty awesome stuff!
Sunday was a fabulous day off for both Rock and myself. I went to a wonderful bridal shower for a sister-in-law to be and Rock spent the day at the beach with Louie. And now we are recovered and ready for another wild and fun week leading up to a marathon weekend.
How was your weekend?
I have to give a big shout out today to Katie who I found out is a loyal reader of this blog. Thanks Katie for following and as you can see from my belly picture, I am most definitely looking pregnant these days!
awh, cute belly photo!!!! Have a great week!
Haha, thanks. You have a great week too!
Thanks!!
My weekend was great and I was able to spend some time at the beach which I really enjoyed. It sounded like yours was pretty relaxing as well! And that photo is absolutely priceless : )
I think any weekend that you can spend at the beach counts as a huge success. I would spend my entire summer there if I could. Have a great week!
I predict that I am going to use my belly as a table 24/7 when i have one. What else is being that huge good for? And I know how you feel with sports loyalties, but I’ve now moved around sufficiently to have no loyalties. I suppose I will always cheer for the Braves, though. And it is easy for me to cheer for the Hawks because I was a Thrashers fan, Winnipeg stole them, and Hossa (from the Thrashers) now plays for the Hawks. Circle of life.
The belly table is very useful. Hossa actually played for the Wings too. So I guess it really does all come around. I never mind being a front runner either. It’s always fun to cheer on the winners 😉
I LOVE that picture of you actually! I have such fond memories of using my belly as a table. 🙂 I used to spill stuff all over my belly constantly too haha! It sounds like a lovely weekend for you guys! We had a fantastic weekend too…fun group run on Saturday and then afternoon fun with Betty. Sunday was an all day date. 🙂 Monday came way too fast!
That sounds like a wonderful weekend! Any time with Betty is a great one I am sure. The belly table is so funny and I certainly don’t mind it. I have to say that being pregnant has been mostly fun in different ways.
I bet your pup is so happy to have you back! And I love the belly table!
Haha, thanks. You know, I think he was a little bummed when we got back home and realized his walks in the woods and dog buddy were gone. But as soon as Rock arrived he was pretty darn happy again. We definitely are enjoying being back with him….and being away from that studio apartment!
Awww you have the insta-table now!!! ❤
Insta-table. I love it!
I absolutely love your dad’s dogs name. How big of you to cheer on the blackhawks – it has to be tough. Im not doing it.
Ha, isn’t that funny? The reason they named him that was because they had a black lab named Stu Grimson that we just LOVED. He was only about 5 years old and passed away from cancer. My mom decided that hopefully by naming him Chelios he would last forever just like the hockey player.
cool that your bro was such a sweet hockey star! sounds like a good wknd. i had a fab one as well here in the city with friends and a lot of outdoor time!
That’s what I love about summer. Outdoor time is the best!
That pregnant belly pic is amazing.
Haha, thanks. There are some very useful things to be done with that.
Awww yay! Thanks for the shout out, Sarah! I have really enjoyed reading your thoughts/experiences about running ever since Mary mentioned to me you had a blog! Also, totally loving the belly pic, that is so awesome! Congrats to you and Rock on the pregnancy 🙂
Thanks Katie! You are so sweet. So glad you enjoy reading 🙂
Woohoo! glad you had a mostly good trip. I started my Chicago training as well, but in the opposite of coolish weather. Enjoy your new ‘table’ while you got it!!!