Jam-Packed

The past few days have been especially jam-packed with activity. On Friday, I met some folks from my hiking club at the Missouri Botanical Gardens for a walk through the special exhibit Chinese Lantern Festival display. We arrived before dark, had dinner, then did a tour of the sculptures before dark, then looped back around for a second look once it got dark. STUNNING. It was so beautiful. Well, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Fitness related, I was really happy to observe that I didn't feel tired at all after the walk, which was about 2 miles or so. I remember a time, not long ago, when I would have been dragging. In fact, I've noticed quite a bit recently that exercise is getting more enjoyable and less torturous. I have been having a lot of problems with leg cramps and I can't quite figure that out. Just my calves. I wasn't eating bananas for a while because of the high sugar content, but I started eating them again because it's supposed to help with cramps, but I'm not sure I can tell a difference. They are by no means excruciating, but it does get uncomfortable. Any suggestions?

One of my favorite displays at the heart of the garden.

Another favorite. The four-headed Buddha. He is HUGE!

On Saturday during the day, I had a craft show at the farmer's market in Soulard. It's an outdoor show and I'm always a little bit worn out after because it's so hot. This time wasn't too terrible, but it was definitely still pretty hot. If only I could figure out how to make my tent air conditioned. :) 

Some of the map jewelry I make. I couldn't find my usual white table cloth,
so I looked a bit Christmasy with the bright red!

Later that evening, me and the new guy, J, met briefly for a quick bite late in the evening. He helped his best friend move all day (actually five days in a row) and the poor thing was tuckered out. It was nice to catch up for a bit though and we planned a proper date for Sunday.

Sunday I got up early and attacked my overgrown lawn, front and back, then tore apart the house like a madwoman doing some long overdue spring cleaning.

First there was chicken snuggling. My girl, Rontaco. She's a cuddler. We were sleepy, but lovey.

It felt good to tackle some of clutter and restore order. If only I could figure out how to keep it this way all the time! I think I burned some major calories though, I was super sore by afternoon. 

For my date, I packed a picnic for us to take to the park. J is also allergic to wheat, which made planning super easy. I chopped up some peppers and, my newest favorite produce item from Trader Joe's, Persian cucumbers. They are so tiny and cute and don't need to be peeled. I packed hummus and  also made chicken salad and cut up a bunch of fresh fruit. Yum! 

We had a really good time and stayed at the park until it got dark. Time flew by so fast! I'm a smitten kitten.

Yesterday was back to the grind, but I decided to liven up the day by taking a walk to the Loop, a shopping district near my work, on my lunch break. There's a pedestrian path from campus directly to the Loop, which makes for a really nice peaceful walk. There are often cyclists and other walkers, but it's by no means crowded. 

About half way there...

Almost there! 

I popped into the smoothie place, my motivation to get out in the heat and walk, and got a chocolate smoothie. Yum. I have to say though, I was really disappointed, for a "healthy" place, it was hard to find something on the menu that didn't have obscene amounts of sugar. I got a "skinny" smoothie and one of the few that wasn't loaded with sugar and it was still more than I would have liked it to be. Next time, if I'm going to frivolously spend calories, I'm just going to Froyo. It's cheaper, less fattening, and delicious.

Today I was draggin' my behind. I went to J's last night and we hung out and visited until later than we should have on a school night and I was feeling it this morning. Ugh. I took a much needed nap in the campus library at lunch and I was pretty much useless this evening. I had big plans to go to belly dancing class (a couple years ago I went regularly and a friend has renewed my interest), got dressed for it and ended up taking a "little" nap that lasted three hours. Whoops. At least I'm rested now! 

How has your week been? Also, anyone have a suggestion for a place to get moisture-wicking shirts at a reasonable price? I want a couple for working out and I'm having a hard time finding them in a XL that isn't skin tight. I'm not sure why they are cut so much smaller than a regular shirt, but I think I might need to go with a 1X instead and I don't want to spend a fortune. 

Oh! I almost forgot - I'm down 3 more pounds. YAY! I have a big pile of stuff accumulating that is too big now and it feels great to be shrinking. People are starting to really notice and have said some sweet things lately. Double-yay for supportive friends!