Cooler Weather

Happy Saturday! And happy August 1st! As I mentioned yesterday, I'm not entirely sure how it's already August, but I know from experience that this month will absolutely fly, and it will be the first day of school before I know it. And I'm not sure what you guys have on the agenda, but I fully plan on taking it easy this bright and sunny Saturday. Come Monday, I'm going to hit the ground running, so an easygoing weekend is just what the doctor ordered. And I don't have much to report on my front, but I'll spill out a random smorgasbord of things that make up the premise of this blog pretty well.

Dinner

Last night I met up with a few of my friends and we crossed a restaurant off of my summer to-do list - Giacomo's. This restaurant came highly recommended to me by a teacher at school, and though we all realized we had passed this restaurant a number of times, this was the first time any of us had ventured inside for a meal. This is worth mentioning because typically we stay in the Hungry's-Escalante's-Cyclone Anaya's range, and this one was a little further out of our comfort zone. We were all glad that we decided to venture out, though, because our meal was darn good. We were a little thrown off my the length of the menu, and the fact that the names of each dish were in Italian, but I went with the Insalata la Mora, which was a very simple salad, whose crown jewel was the ample chicken sausage patties. It was light yet filling, and I will definitely be making a return. It appeared as though many people in the Houston area share my sentiment, as this place was absolutely hoppin'.

Workout

As you guys may or may not know, I am part of a running group that meets on Saturday mornings at Memorial Park, and we are all training for the 2016 Chevron Houston Marathon. Which I am officially registered for, by the way. So I guess there's no turning back now. Hold me accountable, you guys! Anyway, we only ran four miles this morning, but it was the best four miles I have run in a while. That's partly because this past week was pretty miserable in terms of running for me, and I was relieved to hear my team leaders say the same. The difference is that they probably stuck to the schedule and completed their run. I opted for the pool. So I was a little unsure of how this run was going to go, because my group runs fast! But as soon as I stepped outside my car at Memorial Park, and walked over to our group's meeting spot, I knew I was in for a good morning. While the temperatures were still in the lower 80's, that was a huge respite from the upper 90's we have been experiencing. And the humidity that is almost constantly present was noticeably missing. Or just not as 100%. And I was not sad about it. I had the most pleasant four-mile run, and I think the rest of my group agreed. We ran faster, pushed one another harder, and finished the run remembering why it is that we love what we do. And why we choose to wake up before the sun on Saturday mornings.

Breakfast

After our run, core work, and a seminar on running shoes, I headed home to fix myself some breakfast. I whipped up my usual egg whites and spinach, and they absolutely hit the spot. Sometimes eggs are the last thing I want after a workout, but today they were all I could think about. It was certainly nothing out of the ordinary over here on the breakfast front, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

Snack

Some of you may have forgotten this by now, but two months ago I set a goal for myself: I would not buy any new clothing items for two entire months. For some people, that's no problem. For me, it was no easy feat. Spoiler alert: I did it!, so toady I treated myself to a little back-to-school shopping spree. They were all very practical (in my opinion) purchases, and I feel as though I've satisfied that shopping void for a little while. Which is a good thing because I won't have much time to shop come Monday. But I'll stop talking about that. Anyway, shopping built up an appetite, so I came home and enjoyed a bowl of Siggi's Vanilla Yogurt, topped with a batch of my Almond Joy granola. Which I swear I've shared a recipe for, but I can't seem to find it. So look for that recipe coming soon. This was my first Siggi's experience, and I am a huge fan. Siggi's is Iceland-inspired, full of protein, made without any artificial sweeteners, preservatives, colors, or thickeners, and while it's a little bit too thick and tart for me to eat without some sort of mix-in, the granola addition made it the perfect pick-me-up.

And I'm off to enjoy the day. Which probably means I'll be parking it on my couch reading, watching movies, and perusing Pinterest. A Saturday enjoyed, indeed.