Friday Fun X

Somewhere in the midst of post-Boston, triathlon training, state hopping and enjoying summer, I have forgotten all about my Friday Fun posts. But I am back…because, well, life is good. And I want to share.

1. Weekend Fun. Last weekend Brad and I flew back to Chicago for a quick trip (although I ended up staying longer). We would have been gone for over a month if we didn’t make the trip back and I really missed being home. We went to two Cubs games, had day drinks with friends and brunch with some of my favorite runner girls. It was a perfect weekend.

   Friday afternoon. Sun shining. Cubs Baseball = Heaven.

   Beautiful friends.

2. Triathlon Training. I talked a little about this here, but I am loving the swim, bike, running that is happening right now. Especially swimming. The last few years I found myself not loving the pool and being burnt out on Master’s, but this year I have looked forward to doing swim workouts on my own. I get lost in my thoughts and the rhythm of pull, pull, breath and the time flies.
3. Summer. Summer in Chicago. ‘Nough said. I love this place.
4. The Lake. And as much as I love the City, I almost equally love being at the lake. Nature fills my soul in a way that I never realized until it wasn’t right out my front door. I have really enjoyed the bikes where the view gets better with every turn and the runs where the only noise I hear is the distant sound of a boat on the lake. And the sunsets…well, I’ll let that one speak for itself. Now, if only I could clone myself and be in both places at once…
5. Birthdays. Brad’s birthday is tomorrow and his dad’s is Monday (with Father’s Day sandwiched in between). We will have a fun weekend relaxing at the lake with his family and enjoying time with our nieces and nephew. I love birthdays and am excited to give Brad his gifts…which I don’t think he will be too disappointed in ;)
6. My Boys. The only downside of the trip back to Chicago was that the pups had to stay in Virginia. They were at camp over the long weekend and with Brad’s parents’ for a few nights. As menacing as those little rugrats can be sometimes, I sure do miss their snuggles and the constant laughter when I am away from them.

   My two + Sofie (left) and Carter (right) soaking in some rays. I watched all 4 of them for most of the time I was in Virginia.

7. Car-less. After Brad switched jobs and no longer had a company car, we went from having two cars down to one. This wasn’t a big deal considering you really don’t need a car to get around in Chicago. But we drove to Virginia in May (with the dogs and my bike) so our car was there while we were back in Chicago. Not having a car forced us to rely on walking and public transportation and I kind of loved it. Sure, it is much less convenient when I want to drive to the pool instead of a 30+ min bus/walk, but last weekend we found ourselves enjoying our public transit commutes instead of hopping in the car. After seeing a movie Sunday night, our typical 5-7 min drive was replaced by a lovely, long walk home filled with great conversation about the movie. I hope even when we have the car back in the city we will take advantage of the summer weather and continue to leave the car at home.
8. Travel. In addition to the state-hopping that I have been doing in the last month, I will be adding some international travel to the mix. On Monday I am headed to Hamburg, Germany then on to Amsterdam the following Monday. It is a business trip so there won’t be a ton of free time, but I do have a full weekend in Hamburg. I have mentioned several times that Hamburg is one of my favorite places ever to run so I am very much looking forward to getting some miles in. But I also am SUPER excited to see our friends, Heather and Mike, who just moved to Hamburg this spring. I can’t wait to see their new place, meet their new friends and catch up on life.

   Heather & Mike after they got engaged on our trip to Italy

   I am off to finish up my Friday work day…then ready to enjoy Virginia and birthday celebrations!