reunions are the best.

On Friday my best friend (who currently lives in NYC) came to town and man, did we have a good time. It's fun to send absurd Instagram comments and texts, but the most fun is had face to face. She got into town right after I got off of work on Friday and we had fun getting ready for our big night out (and I introduced her to the delightfulness of peach beer). Our night looked like Creature Comfort-Last Resort-Speak Easy-Insomnia Cookie-Waffle House. Seriously. We were not eating heavy anywhere, just getting small appetizers as we went along our way. Well, until Insomnia Cookie and Wa-ho. For this girl who doesn't eat many carbs, let's just say I still feel bloated (cookie and waffle, I'm giving you the stink eye.

We didn't have peach beer here, but Creature Comforts is pretty tasty.

I don't even like cookies, but enthusiasm is contagious.

I eat at Waffle House once a year. This makes twice.

We tried to watch Frozen when we got home but quickly fell asleep, only to start Saturday bright and early. It was 6:45 a.m. and we were lounging around, waking up and N goes, "it's so early!" while I go "it felt great to sleep in!" #differentstandards We went to Mama's Boy-farmer's market-shopping-Ted's Most Best-more shopping. N did a fantastic job of supporting the local economy, and I found a necklace at Frontier that is riding the line between "want" and "need."

Because I know she'll appreciate this, please note who's tanner. Haha.

I don't like radishes either, but I do like their color.

This may be my favorite outfit I've ever worn. And I'm majorly wanting N's outfit.

After she went on her way I went to the pool where I devoured a novel, before wrapping up the evening hanging out with my new/old roommate. Sunday brought a 12-mile run (11 miles ran, 1 walked), 30 minutes of pool time, reading, house work, and church.

This hill. I was 10 miles in and I thought, "I can handle ending on that hill from h*#$." #rundumbs

This morning I tried to do an interval run before ab work and methinks that ending on that hill from h*&^ was a mistake. I was SO shaky trying to wrap up my exercises that it was pitiful. Here's to a banner week!

A Labor Less Weekend

Well, not really, but that sounded better than a “low key weekend” which was what this one was. I turn into a pumpkin early on Friday nights due to my early Saturday morning runs, so I was fast asleep by 10 or so. Saturday morning I ran 12.8 miles—my furthest distance yet! I contemplated knocking out the additional point 3 to even it out to a half marathon distance but I don’t think my body would have handled it without severe pain. After my run I took advantage of some pool time, before visiting my friend Susan, then again, falling asleep early.

Sunday morning brought with it gym time, groceries (standard order recently: greek yogurt, peanut butter, bananas), website work (for church, not this site), and again, pool time. My mood is so much exponentially brighter (pun not intended, but it works) after having time in the sun and water. I got back home and found myself in a positively GIDDY mood while I was making my (first) green smoothie.

Green smoothie, yep, I (lately) hopped on that trend. I was mixing up a tropical smoothie (frozen mango, frozen banana, coconut water, Greek yogurt, and pineapple juice) and I thought, “what the heck, let’s add some spinach to this operation.” I really enjoyed the green color and couldn’t tell there was any taste difference. I had too heavy of a hand with the spinach on my second one I made on Monday, and while I couldn't really taste it, the spinach smell was overpowering.

I have started taking photos for an Athens fashion blogger-Mz Savvy Style and it is SO much fun. Like, seriously y’all, I’m having a blast. We took photos for about an hour or so on Sunday, 

She's delightful! And I promise--based on my research, not including your face in the shot is a fashion blogger thing to do.

 and then I went to a dear friend’s birthday party.

 

Those are grilled mushrooms stuffed with blue cheese. Blue cheese makes everything better. Except maybe green smoothies. Eww.

This friends, is why I run. Chocolate-peanut butter cake. 

I always rolled my eyes at these sort of people, but I can confidently say that if I had the time, I would gladly work out twice a day. That said, a work-less Monday morning meant that after I ran my six miles I got to indulge in properly cooling down and then lifting weights for a bit. I had some more pool time and then had much rejoicing with a rookie moving back in this Monday!

I have had a lot of photo work this weekend. I edited Betsie’s photos, edited another photo project (to be shared here soon), and am shooting pictures for church this weekend.

Here’s to the workweek. Cheers.

a bit about me.

Given that I'm back to blogging, I thought an "About Me" post might be a good re-introduction, then this morning I saw a fun new blogger I'm following do an "About Me" post so I'm blatantly following suit.

(P.S. The blogger is Katie Elizabeth. She blogs from up in Chicago).

Hi, this is me.

I normally don't pose with a water bottle, but a prop was necessary.

Name/Age/Location
My name is Diana Maria. I'm rarely called by both names, but I love it when I am by those I'm close to. I am 28 years old (and share a birthday with my bestie, something that has always delighted us), and I live in Athens, Georgia. I came to Athens for college, and have yet to find a reason to leave. It has truly become home to me.

Family
I do not have any family that I'm related to biologically that lives in the same state as me (or, let's be honest, the same region). Just gives me great reason to travel!

Me and my sweet cousin.

However, I do have incredible friends who have truly become family to me over the years. I'm super blessed to have "Athens parents," and friends who are as close to me as sisters.

Work
I am a Program Assistant...I administratively support seven individuals. It's usually crazy. But it's also a ton of fun and I truly enjoy the work I do (and love the people I work with).

Hobbies
Running, photography, cooking, reading, kayaking, house keeping, and fashion. I like to dabble in crafts, but that's pretty infrequent these days and usually only done seasonally.

I will always, ALWAYS, say yes to a pool day. 

Which is why in the summer I don't tend to cook or craft.

Favorite Food
Oh gosh. I love food. Ieeee...right now I'd have to say peanut butter. Yep. I'm on a MAJOR PB kick these days. And peas. And watermelon. And frozen yogurt. And non-alcoholic pina colada smoothies. I told you I liked food.

Favorite Color
It's hard to choose just one! Can I say a few...gray, black, cream, navy, and pale pink. *If you look in my closet, that is kinda the spectrum you'd see as well.

Standard Coffee Order
Non fru-fru: A black dark roast hot coffee, or iced coffee, no sweetener, no cream. But if I'm feeling the need for something fun (and committed to spending $4 on a coffee drink...) "a grande in a venti cup, double blended coffee frappachino made with skim milk with an add shot of expresso" or "a non-fat, no-foam, no-whip, add an extra shot latte." Seriously. Reading that makes me roll my eyes. But it does make a difference. Promise. And yes, I do love caffeine and have no intentions of ending our relationship anytime soon.

Standard Bar Order
I usually go the mixed drink route at a bar (the mark-up on beer is ridiculous), and lean towards those that are fruity and mixed with rum. I was told once, "there's no way to sound classy ordering a hurricane," but they are my favorite.

Places I Shop
Loft, Gap, J.Crew, and Banana Republic. I tend to only buy shoes that are by Clarks, so wherever they are sold.

Bedtime and Wake-Up Time
I usually wake up by 5:30 a.m., which means I need to be in bed by 9:30/10:00 p.m. at the latest. When I'm really running hard (both physically and with responsibilities) I will often fall asleep the moment I sit still, no matter where I am (I've fallen asleep on the couch sitting straight up twice this week).

Beauty Products I Can't Live Without
The phrase "can't live without" is a little strong to me, but I prefer to not be without:

• My horrible smelling miracle working prescription sulfur face wash...my face has never been clearer.
• Eyeliner and mascara. (I use a super cheap Maybelline eye liner and Benefit "They're Real" mascara).
• Lotion...I like retaining the little bit of tan I get from running all the time.

What I Blog About

Me. I've recently decided to give this blog the lens of "life-style" to see what happens from here. Moreso, I really view this blog as a scrapbook, and I really enjoy looking back to see what I've done.

First Blog I Read

Probably Erika's.

How Did I Start Blogging

All my friends were blogging, so I hopped on the bandwagon.  Choo-choo.

I'm back?

Hello blogging world, long time no see.  Oops.

I went through a serious phase of not wanting to share ANYTHING at large.  Like, if I didn't Facebook for church I would have deactivated my account already.  Now, don't get me wrong, I'm still pretty firmly residing in that camp.  I don't like a lot of personal information about me readily available.  I do assume all of you who read this are the most lovely of people and I probably want to hang out with you in "real life." However, I also acknowledge there may be some more unscrupulous individuals who read this that I prefer to not give free fodder of discussion or interest to. 

And then I've been wondering about "direction" and why I even want to write.  I asked myself and was asked by a friend, "why not just keep a journal?"  Well, I do.  But do what I want what is published in that journal available at large?  H-no.  Actually, upon my death I want those journals destroyed if I couldn't take care of it beforehand.  In those journals are mostly spiritual notes and prayers and things intensely personal.  There may be some fun notes about things that blessed or challenged me, but again, my perspective of them and not for the world.

Why then write on this public forum?
I consider myself a pretty decent cook and hostess and good home-keeper (haha, for a single lady with no children or roommate, not that hard) but I don't think I do anything revolutionary that is worth pinning, the blogger standard of worthiness.

So why write? 
Because it's fun.  It's an outlet for practicing my writing (the adage "if you don't use it, you loose it" applies to seemingly everything).  It's a scrapbook--to see outfits I've worn, deals I've scored, injuries I've incurred, books I've read.  It's something I can't (easily) loose and helps me remember what fun things I'm doing and fun house tips I'm practicing.

Direction?

This isn't going to be a house-keeping blog, even though that is one of my "passions" I'll be sharing about.  It's not going to be a fashion blog, though I really enjoy clothes.  It's not going to be a review blog, but I can promise I'll blab about things that I use and places I like.  That leaves me in the "lifestyle" camp.  Yep, I'm there.  Will it have a fluffy nature?  Oh I promise.  Remember, the deep stuff I'll talk about, but not here.  Or, maybe sometimes here! But overall, this blog is dessert. Not exactly necessary, but a whole lotta fun.

So I'm hopping on with both feet onto the lifestyle bandwagon.  I love reading blogs, and think they are so fun!  I call it the "blogger koolaid" but I love getting my new nail polish color recommendations from other bloggers (OPI Cajun Shrimp) and picking out what books to read.

Here's to more frequent blogging!

meal plan | march 16-20

sunday
Lunch:  Leftover skinny dirty rice
*The dirty rice was super tasty.  I had a heavy hand with cayenne and also used Tony's seasoning for some heat (bell peppers = death for me), added corn, and made a tomato gravy base that I mixed everything in.
Dinner:  Southwestern Chicken Soup
I don't think I've posted the recipe, but this is a staple!  It is a bit different every time, but basically:

• Prepare, *season, and shred chicken breasts
• While the above is going on, cook garlic and onions.  Season these as well.
• Add chicken and more chicken broth
• Add a can each of (rinsed well) black beans and kidney beans, and add frozen corn
• Simmer for a good long while
• Serve with chips or cornbread, and shredded cheddar.  Sour cream also works.

*I season with cayenne pepper, fresh ground black pepper, chili powder, and cumin.

monday
Lunch:  Kale salad (shredded carrots and kale with roasted chickpeas and broccoli tossed in a lemon-basalmic dressing), yogurt, and an apple
Dinner:  Baslamic chicken with walnuts (Cooking Light recipe), cibatta rolls, roasted brussel sprouts, spinach salad with strawberries

tuesday-wednesday
Lunch:  Kale Salad
Dinner:  Leftover soup or chicken

thursday
Lunch:  Kale salad
Dinner:  TBD

friday-saturday
All meals TBD

meal plan | march 10-16

I LOVE to meal plan!  I wrote out my meal plan a few weeks ago, and when I looked at my blog I had totally forgotten that I had made some of those meals. Blogging for the win of remembering what I actually do with my time meal planning efforts.

Here is the plan for this week:

monday
Thanks Jason of Jason's Deli for producing an excellent salad bar.  The word of the week is "detox."  I am not going to go into any greater detail on that, thanks.

tuesday

• tuna steaks (prepared like this...sorta)
• oven roasted brussel sprouts (yeah!)
• wedge salad with blue cheese crumbles, pecan bits, strawberries, topped with a pomegranate vinaigrette

wednesday

• crustless quiche with spinach, sun dried tomatoes, and cheese
• turkey bacon
• salad with fruit in it, topped with a basalmic vinaigrette

thursday

Hanging with my Z, meal TBD.

friday

• Skinny dirty rice
• Vegetable(s)

5 on Friday.

*Sorry for the excessive use of selfies this week.*

1.  This week I learned a new way to style my hair.

At 28 I finally learned how to curl the ends of my hair.  I'm thrilled.

2. Keep on runnin'
My mileage this week is around 20 miles, and will probably cap off around 24 after Saturday.  I'm running a 10K in less than 70 days.  Currently, my time to beat is 64:37 (this is the speed I ran a 10K on the treadmill this week).  I just had to read that twice.  I'm running a 10K.  Something I said I'd never do.  Haha.

3.  A boss lady at work showed me this this week,

and I laugh EVERY time I see it.  Sorry for the expletive use.

4.  No sugar,
is treating me really, really well.  I arbitrarily decided one afternoon a few weeks ago during lunch that I was done with sugar.  No final hurrah, no last treat, just done.  And it's going SO well.  Today there was one of my FAVORITE cakes in the breakroom and all I said was "swimsuit, swimsuit, swimsuit" and I successfully bailed.  For the record though, and this seems to surprise people, I am not considering alcohol to be a sweet.  Yes, I acknowledge I'd slim down faster with it, but I'll just take all the running and the no sugar to be my moves for now.  Maybe when that race is 20 days away I'll change my tune.

5.  Cold
I hate it.  Like, despise-with-every-beat-of-my-heart-hate it.  Today the skin on every finger on my right hand cracked open, so I went and found some plastic gloves from the kitchen to wear with lotion on underneath.

The pouty face because well, I'm wearing plastic gloves with hand cream on underneath.  I am expecting miracles by the time I peel off the gloves.

Desperate times, desperate measures friends.