Celebrations and Goals

Written by on in Breakfast, Dinner, Tidbits and Treats

I’m glad that you all enjoyed the video in my last post. I think it worked for most of you and if not, I apologize – I’m not sure what was wrong! No worries, though – all you missed was me being a dork. Nothing new there 😉 The cool part about it is that now I know that videos are possible for the blog, so you may be seeing more in the future that are food and cooking related! If you’re interested, of course.

And now to recap what was a fun, energizing and way too short weekend.

Special Olympics 5k: On Meeting Goals

The 5k was so much fun! When we first got there, I was FREEZING. It was a chilly 30* and my muscles were definitely not ready to work. But I pushed through and Bobby was nice enough to run alongside me, even though I know he could have done much better had he been going at his own pace.

When we first crossed the finish line, I was elated yet slightly disappointed. We crossed the line at 26:25 which, while in tune with my 8:30 per mile pace, was not my goal time of 26:00. To help myself see the bigger picture, I reminded myself of two key things:

  1. You are not a consistent runner or racer. This time is a great starting marker and it can only get better from here!
  2. This time may not have been your goal, but it is consistent with your usual pace and you should be proud.

After I reminded myself of these points, I felt much happier and proud of myself for not only running the race, but contributing to a cause that I strongly believe in. That’s what really matters!! Here’s a picture of Bobby and I before the race – all bundled up, of course.

cimg7275

I guess my positive attitude paid off because last night I checked the route on Google Pedometer – I know, I know, but I just couldn’t help myself!! – and I realized that we actually ran closer to 3.3 miles!! I’m not sure why the distance was off, but it was probably because it was a college course that was designed based on the trails that were available. Knowing I ran even further than the usual 5k distance was an even greater feeling.

Time to Refuel

As you know from the video, Bobby and I headed to Walker Bros. after the race to refuel. We were v. hangry and therefore went a little overboard on the order, but it was all amazing! I started out with my usual Mediterranean Baked Omelette that consists of tomatoes, spinach, onions and feta.

cimg7277

For Bobby’s main dish, he chose the Challah French Toast. It’s amazing!

cimg7278

Then came the sides. My omelette comes with the choice of pancakes or toast, and since Bobby said he would split them with me, I decided to go big or go home and chose the pancakes.

cimg7280

There is nothing like these pancakes anywhere! It’s all in the “special batter” 😉 Oh, and the gigantic mound of butter was not consumed. Also, they aren’t really that big either – the picture is deceiving! I had one of the pancakes.

Bobby also got an order of the turkey sausage links and I couldn’t help but sample. These were really good! And a lot better for you than regular sausage, but very similar in taste! I had two of the links.

cimg7279

Needless to say, we were stuffed after that meal. But it was well worth the wait after spending a morning out in the cold!

5 Year Fun

The rest of the day was spent watching a bit of football (Go Packers!) and lounging around. At the risk of being sappy, I would like to show you one of the anniversary gifts Bobby gave me that is food relevant.

cimg7256

He knows me well :mrgreen: If you can’t tell from the picture, both the mug and the saucer are heart shaped!! I can’t wait to drink Coffee Cocoa out of this guy in the morning. It’s pictured here with some champagne, which we also enjoyed during the weekend.

cimg7259

And the best part is that it came with THIS as part of the set!!

cimg7265

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was pretty durn pleased with his taste in dishware!

The Yummiest for Last

You would think that after a big lunch we wouldn’t be in the mood for a big dinner. Ha! When it comes to celebrations, there is no limit to how many delicious foods I am willing to eat in one day. We decided on Koi, a super nice Japanese restaurant that is known for serving generous portions – which means leftovers that can be enjoyed the next day!!

It was very difficult to decide what to get! But I was craving freshly made sushi, so we decided on splitting a California Roll as an appetizer – crab, avocado and cucumber. Yum!

cimg7282

For my entree, I chose the Kung Pao dish with all three “meats” – chicken, beef and shrimp. I ate a little less than half of what you see – as you can tell, I wasn’t kidding about the large portions!

cimg7284

Bobby chose to go the Mongolian route, again with all three meats.

cimg7286

I chose brown rice and he chose white. The bowls that the rice was served in were so pretty! Everything about this restaurant is so trendy. A definite treat once a year!! Once we even saw Jerry Springer dining with his wife!!

cimg7285

We decided to nix the dessert, but for some reason that is still unknown o me, I decided it would be a good idea to try one of the chili peppers from my spicy dish.

BIG MISTAKE.

It took a good 1/2 hour for my mouth to stop feeling like it was EN FUEGO!

Minus the burning incident, it was a wonderful evening. But again, the weekend went by WAY too fast!! And now we’re back to Monday already – oy vey!

I was going to post my Blogger Secret Ingredient recipe today, but this post is getting a bit lengthy so I will wait until tomorrow. In the meantime, I’d like to give a big shout of to Melissa for hosting another great week of the BSI. Congratulations to the winners!!

Have a Monday, everyone!

42 Comments

  1. what a great 5k time! you did awesome! and happy anniversary – the gifts are so adorable and your dinner looks outstanding. have a great monday!

  4. Congrats again on the race! The breakfast after looks incredible. I love the baked eggs! What cute gifts! Hope you have a good Monday!!

  6. CONGRATS on an amazing race—i’m so proud of you! Bobby is too cute giving you dishware, he definitely knows you well ; ) I honestly have such an addiction to coffee cups/mugs so that looks like the perfect gift to me!

    and all your meals look amazing—i really need to get out to Chicago because apparently that’s where all the great restaurants are. Spring break trip, perhaps?

  11. oh my gosh I love Koi So much. I have been to the one in LA, which is very very very nice. All the “celebs” eat there (I did not see any, lol)

    congratulations on your race, you have alot to be proud of!

    and your breakfast Mediterranean omelet-can you order that anywhere? so jealous! Yum! what is your recipe for coffee cocoa?!

  14. Don’t be disappointed with your race time! Just be glad you finished and that you can run. I wouldn’t think too much about the 3.3 v. 3.1 miles – while it’s possible that the course wasn’t measured properly, Gmap Pedometer also isn’t 100% accurate.

  15. How sweet! I’m so glad you shared a little of your love life with us. 🙂 You guys seem really happy together. I love the heart spoon. It’s adorable! I didn’t know you were into hearts. I’m into four leaf clovers. Let’s split a bowl of Lucky Charms together. 🙂

  17. Congrats on such an amazing race, weekend, and eats!! You had such a fantastic weekend, and I’m so glad that you are proud of yourself for that race, you should be. I know WE are proud of you, Jenn!

    I’m obsessed with that heart-shaped spoon, I want to eat oatmeal with it RIGHT NOW! haha

    DITTO on the weekend going by to fast, and now, Monday is almost over, I want to tell this week to “wait for me!!”

    Have an awesome day, can’t wait for your BSI recipe! 🙂

  19. HAPPIEST OF ANNIVERSARIES TO MY FAAAVE 🙂 That’s incred! 5 years! I love you guys and Bobbi, Bobbi! Way to go on the gifting, budster!

  20. Jenn, I am SERIOUSLY wishing you and Bobby a lifetime together – you’re made for each other, and are perfect 🙂

    HAHA!! I would have LOVED those chili peppers 😀

  23. congrats again on the race! you made amazing time!
    i’m totally drooling over that omelet.. it looks so good! i love great breakfast places!
    looks like you two had a wonderful anniversary- a great race for a very good cause, delicious eats, champagne and heart-shaped goodies
    hope you have a great day!

  27. Sounds like an awesome weekend 🙂 Happy anniversary and congrats on the 5k!!! Your pancakes are looking so good right now 😀

  28. ah don’t feel too bad. You did a race! pretty good time too! and like you said you actually ran 3.3 miles, so that definitely contributed to more time. I gotta run a race too. I have been planning on running one, but been so busy. Your food looks delish! I love the sushi!

  30. First, I love the hearts. Really, I am the biggest heart/love dweeb. Just wait till Valentine’s Day. Happy Anniversary to you two again. 😀

    Second, you should be super pumped about the 5. That’s a great time … and the little extra mileage bonus makes it even better.

    Third, I like the way you refuel. 😀 Nice use of the word hangry.

    See ya, Jenn.

  34. Congrats girl! Way to hang in there even though the temps were frigid! It takes a lot for me to run in the cold. Sounds like this great cause was well worth it!!

    Your eats look absolutely delicious!!! I want them all!!

    Happy Anniversary! Love the present!!

  35. ohhhhh that kung pao chicken looks AWESOME! I’m such a sucker for pizza and chinese food – those are my two weaknesses!

    your anni gifts were very sweet! 🙂

    and you should be totally impressed with your 5k time – that’s fantastic! i’m shooting for 35 minutes for our thanksgiving 5k – anything under 30 is amzaing in my book!

  38. I managed to see the video!! For some reason it worked this time around. Yay! There had BETTER be more video posts in the future!

    Congrats on the 5k time! That’s still awesome, even if it wasn’t quite at your goal. Plus, if the course had actually been an accurate 5k then you would have made your time anyway, right? 🙂

    I want that baked omelet. Very badly. But I want your HEART SHAPED dishware even more. Cutest things EVER. Bobby sure knows how to pick his dishes eh?

    And what a great way to end off your day. A lovely dinner and a burning mouth. Mmmm. Brave of you to attempt the pepper though. Haha.

  40. Oh my goodness–ALL the food in this post looks so amazing! The breakfast bites…the Japanese food…wow. ANd congrats again for your 5k success! You should be proud!

Comments are closed.