No Words

I had a very full Sunday yesterday. Turns out, maybe too full...

It started off with my first run with the long distance training club. Before I left the house, I had a couple of slices of bread with peanut butter and a big glass of water. (I brought the sports beans with me, but didn't end up eating them).

I was surprised to find it so cold (in the 30s!) at 8:00AM. I actually began the run with an ear warmer and gloves on! How the group works is that everyone gathers at a preset location at 8:00. Then we go around in a circle and say how far we'd like to run that day. It helps you match up with people running the same distance and get an idea of how everyone's training is going. Then we all head out on the same route, and you just turn around at your half-way point. I set out to run 4-6 miles, and was happy at how quickly the 3 mile mark came! I thought it might be hard to chat and run (I almost always run by myself) but it made the time go by so quickly. The 3 miles back were a little tougher, but not unmanageable. Unfortunately, my knees started feeling tight at about 5.5 miles. I didn't push it, and made it back to the car without pain.

After my run, I grabbed a quick breakfast of egg and cheese on an English muffin and coffee.

And then I met up with my friend, Laura, for yoga! It ended up being a great class for me - lots of hip flexor stretches that keyed into the tightness I always feel after running. On my way home, I snacked on these blueberry crisps that my yoga instructor handed out.

They tasted good and were a little more 'grainy' than rice cakes, but I don't think I would buy them.

For lunch, I mixed up a bunch of leftovers: rice, beans, peppers and salsa from my taco salad and a slice of meatless meatloaf. I heated it up and then topped it with some plain yogurt. It was really filling and satisfying!

After lunch, I blogged, ran some errands, and set up my new hammock! Then I spent an hour just hanging out like this:

Unfortunately, I think this ended up being a bad idea. I got a little sun on my face and my allergies went into overdrive! My eyes were swelling, my nose was running, and I started feeling pretty miserable. But I had BIG plans for the evening. Katie, my sisters, and I were going to an Ani DiFranco concert!

I went inside, took a shower and some allergy meds, put drops in my eyes and got ready for a night out (the whole time trying to convince myself that I felt fine).

Before the show, we went to dinner at a new, local pizza joint, goodnights, that was just around the corner from the concert venue. It was surprisingly spacious and had a great selection of pizzas.

My sisters (and bestest friends), Emily and Jenny:

Me & Kate (ok, she's my bestest friend, too):

I love being able to order pizza by the slice! It's especially good when you're a vegetarian and you date a meat-eater. They only have pizza on the menu (no salad, bread sticks, etc) but the variety made up for it. However, now that I think of it, I'm not sure if they had an option to order whatever combination of toppings you want. I only remember the specialty pizzas...

Anyway, I had a Blue Moon to drink, a slice of the 'bruschetta', and split a slice of the 'apple walnut' with my sister. They were both good - but they were both supposed to have arugula on them and didn't. Maybe they were out??

After dinner, we headed over to The Slowdown to claim our spots for the sold-out concert. One gripe I have is that on the website, it said that doors opened at 8:00, but when we got there, we found out the doors opened at 7:30. Not a huge deal, but there is very limited seating in this venue - so it's definitely the difference between sitting and standing (all shows are general admission). Anyway, we still scored some sweet standing spots next to the stage that gave us a great view. Unfortunately, cameras were not allowed.

So, I don't think I've told you about my deep-seeded love of Ani. As cheesy as it sounds, her music changed my life. I discovered her when I was 14 or 15, and was amazed that music could be so...powerful?? She sings about everything from politics, to feminism, to racism, to love, to drugs, to religion. Her music made me start to think about my place in this world and what I believed and what I should stand up for. It was the first time I'd heard someone say it's ok to love someone despite their sex or religion or skin color...

Now, don't get me wrong, I was raised to love and treat everyone equally. But (from my experience) when you're a 15-year-old girl at an all-girl Catholic school in Omaha, Nebraska, no one tells you it's ok to fall in love with another girl. Just sayin.

So, yeah, Ani was a large part of my 'coming of age'. I've seen in her concert probably 15 times (most of which with my sister(s) and/or Katie), but she hasn't been to Omaha for 11 years! So the show last night was...incredible. There is just no way to fully describe it. Just being there with my sisters and Katie and hearing all of these songs that roused memories and feelings from other times in my life ended up being extremely emotional! I was not expecting to be hit so hard by it, but really it felt like a ton of bricks. I don't know why I'm even trying to describe it - there are no words.

So, needless to say, after all of this I was just exhausted. I woke up to my alarm and knew I needed about 10 more hours of sleep.  I ended up calling in sick and sleeping most of the day. I stayed inside, hoping my allergies wouldn't be as bad, but my whole nose and mouth are chapped and red from all of the nose-blowing. I think I tried to do a little too much yesterday, and my body just needs a little TLC. Let's hope tomorrow is a better day!

Do you have a favorite musician/band? Any music that changed your life or means a lot to you?