First free weekend of the summer...

... and what do I find myself doing? That's right - missing my kids. It has been so hectic with showers, weddings, bachelorette parties, 30th birthday parties, and whatever social life Dwight and I have, that now that I can sit and catch my breath I miss everyone. At least I'm catching up with the laundry. And finally stripping the extra beds from when everyone was home for the wedding. I would hate for anyone to drop in unannounced!

I don't know about where you are, but we have unbelievable heat and humidity here. Well, it's pretty much August in Omaha, but still. (My brother and sister-in-law in Kuwait officially win though - Linda said it was 120 degrees last weekend with a dew point of 73). I went out for my scheduled 9-miler yesterday, but that didn't happen. I had planned twice around Zorinsky's big lake, but I only made it around once - and that with two rest breaks. When I stopped sweating and started shivering I knew it was in my best interest to stop. I had every intention of finishing up on the treadmill here but that just didn't happen. I pretty much spent the afternoon on the couch with the cats. Ever since I had a little episode of heat exhaustion several years ago, I just can't tolerate heat well.

[Okay, that's actually a funny story. NOW. It was seven years ago on a Friday in May, and for some reason I wasn't scheduled on that particular day, even though I always worked at the museum on Friday. Oh well - it was nice and warm out and I used the day to plant, weed, haul mulch - I spent the entire day doing hard manual labor outside with not enough water to drink. We were to go to a surprise birthday party for our friend that night, but when Dwight got home from work he found me on the couch with a cold wash cloth on my forehead, feeling pretty terrible. He wanted to take me to the ER, but I convinced him to go to the party, give Judy her gift, and get back home ASAP. About fifteen minutes after he left, there was a knock on our door and it was our next-door-neighbor. Amy told me to get dressed, slap on some lipstick, and basically put on my big girl panties because our kids were at the club, along with all our friends, and they had planned a surprise 25th wedding anniversary party for us! The first thing I said was, "I'm sick you know", and the second thing was, "But our kids don't have any money!" It took a few minutes to register since Emmy and Alex didn't even live in Omaha and Erin was supposed to be at a graduation party - so tricky those guys! So now the kids refer to it as the surprise party they threw us where I didn't show up.]

Surprise!

Our hosts

So back to my training for the half: I am just going to repeat last week. I'll do the two 4-milers during the week and the 9 miles this coming Saturday. It's supposed to be every bit as hot, but I will get out earlier and plan for it.

Now I have to pass Trader Joe's every day on my way home from work, and while I don't stop too often, I'm not a stranger there. I have two new-to-me items that I have to show you. 

The first was recommended by a friend when we were talking about our mutual love of ice cream.

from my friend Genola's Pinterest board

Anyway, Mary told me about these, and when I asked her what they were she said she didn't know but her grandkids told her about them and they all loved them:

What they are are little balls of ice cream surrounded by this thin delicious dough made with rice flour and regular flour. And they are ABCDelicous!! These are the green tea flavor, and I may have also bought the strawberry and the mango. I have yet to open those boxes though.

The second item of decadence and deliciousness was discovered on a blog I read: The Girl Next Door Drinks and Swears. She seriously has the best sense of humor. Along with The Bloggess - two writers that can both make me laugh and cry. But anyway - are you ready:

It's everything good and wonderful smashed into a paste and put in a jar. I figured it would be heavenly in place of peanut butter in my oatmeal, and along with the coconut-almond milk, I was right.

Pretty much candy-for-breakfast

However, the best way to eat it is straight out of the jar. For only 90 calories a tablespoon, it can seriously satisfy a sweet tooth. The problem is stopping at one tablespoon. I had to put it in the back of the pantry so I wouldn't see it every time I open the door. It's seriously that good. And yes, I do trick myself like that.

And now for something you can find in your regular grocery store. The first thing I thought of when I saw it was, "Wow. That would taste amazing with vodka." And it did. 

Have I made your mouth water? Then my job here is done. Time to go transfer clothes to the dryer and make myself cute for tonight. Dwight has a meeting and I'm meeting the Hot Mama girls for dinner at Kona. 

TTFN!