Monday Blues

If we are being dead honest, I had a serious case of the Monday blues this morning. So no better of a reason than to link up for a Marvelous in my Monday post to sum up my weekend, and announce the winner of my Blogiversary Giveaway!

Marvelous was going to our first ever REI garage sale. We had no idea what to expect when pulling into the parking lot at 8:30 AM – and were really surprised when we saw a line of about 50 people deep. They passed out tickets by color depending on what time we had arrived by – we were the third group to be called back.

For those of you have never been to an REI garage sale, it’s basically when they put out products that have been gently used/returned, marked down to an insanely low prices. We managed to snag a sleeping pad for our (hopeful) camping endeavors this summer, and I got an awesome pair of North Face workout capris that were marked down to almost nothing.

I also have a Marvelous recipe to share. Last night my roommate Megan showed me a delicious looking gluten-free pizza recipe on the blog inspiralized. It gave the option to use either sweet potato or regular potatoes, so we decided to have a cook-off. I made the version with sweet potatoes to make it (almost) paleo (minus the mozzarella cheese), and she made the version with regular potatoes...

Meg's

Mine

 We then had Andrew do a blind taste test. He claimed to liked them both, but could ‘tell that mine was healthier’ and liked Megan’s better because he ‘could house it a lot easier.’

Fair enough. Round one goes to Megan.

Last Marvelous the day? It's a little bitter sweet, because I have a confession to make...

I cheated on running... and spinning... and I liked it a lot.

Awhile ago my coworker showed me a LivingSocial deal for a new crossfit gym near our work - Blue Crab Crossfit. I purchased it (10 beginner classes) and then literally put off going for a solid two weeks. Monday morning kicked my ass hard, and I knew I needed a literal ass kicking workout to lift my spirits, so I nervously headed to the gym after work.

In short, it was great. We practiced overhead squats after a short warm-up, and then the modified beginner WOD consisted of:

12 mins, every minute on the minute:

-8 wall balls (14 lbs)

-6 burpees (no jump)

I managed to finish 11/12 sets. My lungs were screaming at me after the fact, and I left feeling pretty damn good.

  AND finally, the winner of my Larabar giveaway is....

Congrats to Nicole over at Not Before My Tea, who ironically moved from Baltimore to Chicago a year or two ago. Opposite life stories, both runners, but she has funnier jokes than I do.

Cheers my friends - 

Kait

MIMM - Because it's always marvelous

Today I'm joining Katie for her Marvelous in My Monday link-up - because even if it's pouring rain here in Balty, there are always marvelous things to discuss.

Outside of watching Andrew’s favorite childhood football team bend over be embarrassed in front of the entire world last night, it was a marvelous weekend.

My favorite commercial by far was the Budweiser #BestBuds one – which I had already watched a couple time before it officially aired yesterday – makes me tear up every time.

#BESTBUDS

I made these marvelous buffalo balls to snack on during the Superbowl, and Andrew loved them – he even begged me to bag them up so he could munch on the leftovers throughout the week. I think I’m slowly but surely proving to him that I can cook. I made a ‘healthified batch’ to save for myself, sans cream cheese, which I will probably mix into some salad for lunches this week.

We drank only New Belgium beers – brewed in Fort Collins, CO – the entire game with hopes that it would bring the Broncos good luck. Apparently it did the opposite. 

The groundhog saw his shadow so apparently that means another 6 weeks of winter. Winter here in MD hasn’t been anything too mind-blowing so I’m not going to exactly throw a tantrum over Phil’s prediction, but if I was still living up in Chicago like Nicole, I probably would have sobbed for a solid hour after the announcement was made.

Most marvelous part of my weekend? Outside of two 7(ish) mile runs this on Friday and Sunday, wine tasting on Saturday afternoon was awesome. Not only did we learn a lot about wine and the entire process of making it, but we ending up getting a free bottle to take home and bought two more bottles on top of it.  The little winery was called Basignani and it's up in Sparks, MD, about 30 mins north of the city. I recommend it – it was a fun experience.

How is FABruary going? Hopefully those buns are feeling sore. I’m pairing day 3 with some spinning later today. 

Cheers to my last two days of being 25 –

K