Beautiful Day in DC

So after yoga and a little running on Sunday (achilles tendonitis is slowly getting better) my friend Jon-Erik asked me if I wanted to do something outside since it was so nice out. You would have never known that a hurricane tropical storm had hit the day before. I think it was probably the most beautiful Summer day to date. It was somewhat hot, but not too hot, an amazing breeze, and the sky was the prettiest blue you can imagine. He suggested the MLK memorial and I thought that was a great idea since it was just unveiled this past weekend.

So we trekked into DC and found our way to the MLK memorial. There were lots of tourists, but it wasn't too bad. And you know how much Taylo loves her DC tourists. There were lots of cool quotes along the wall and the MLK carving itself was really cool. It's really sad that I live right outside DC and don't take advantage of all DC has to offer in terms of memorials and museums. I told Jon-Erik we should do it more on nice days since Fall is coming. I mean it's free and there's just so much to see.

We also checked out the WWII Memorial, which is was amazing to take in. I rarely take the time to just sit and be with anything. But it was nice to just stand there, look at the memorial, and all the people enjoying the day. I think I am going to try to make it a habit to go into DC to walk around the mall, visit memorials, or even museums every month. On our way home we ate at South Block Smoothie & Wrap Co., which I highly recommend. Not only was the wrap delicious, but they had Hokie hot sauce! Obviously this is my new favorite restaurant in Clarendon.

WWII Memorial

Speaking of Hokies, four days until kickoff. I'm so pumped. Fall is my favorite season and Hokie football makes it that much better. Oh plus I got my newly designed VT Nikes. LET'S GO...........

Earthcane

So I like Hurriquake better, but the earthquake came first. What a week. To be honest, the "hurricane" or tropical storm wasn't that bad here. However, it was pretty bad south of us and it seems NYC is going to be hit pretty hard. Yesterday was so.freaking.boring. I didn't really feel like venturing out during the day and was not about to go anywhere last night. Plus I stayed up pretty late all week so I wanted to catch up on sleep. I went to bed around 11 last night and slept until almost 9am. Solid! Half the power is out in my apartment. Actually, maybe more than that. Both bedrooms are out and then random places in the living room and kitchen have no power. I wonder how long this will last.

Guess what is now less than one week away?! Virginia Tech's opener against Appalachian State. I cannot wait and I am headed down there on Friday. I have to come back some time Saturday night though because I have another wedding on Sunday.

I am going to yoga soon. Hope all is well at the studio! NAMASTE.

EARTHQUAKE

So, an earthquake in Mineral, VA sent DC/MD/VA into chaos today around 2pm. Most people are saying everyone is overreacting and it wasn't that bad. Well sorry, but I work in a federal building in DC, and an old one at that. My first thought was, oh no, it has had all it can take, and we're going down. Mind you, I am on the top floor of my building so getting out alive isn't that likely! The building shook a little and then it REALLY started shaking and it felt like the building was going to crumble.

I ran out of there so fast, but I had to go down 11 flights of stairs. And people were moving so slow, linking arms, and using the railings. SORRY, BUT MOVE!! I seriously thought the building was going to go down and all I could think was I'm going to die. I started panicking, couldn't breathe, and felt light-headed. Basically I became "that person" in an emergency situation. I wanted out though. I wanted to call my mom and see if she knew what was going on in DC! And I was just praying that the building wasn't going to come crumbling down. Finally, I got out and noticed lots of other people. I found one of my coworkers and people were talking about an earthquake. Umm, what?! This is DC. We don't get earthquakes here. My coworker said she thought it was a bomb, and that didn't even occur to me at the time, but that's also pretty scary because that could happen. My building would be a prime target for a terrorist attack.

So, it was an earthquake and a 5.8 one at that. It was time to go home. Who knows if my building is going to hold up. It was literally falling apart pre-earthquake, so one more shake and that thing might go down. So my coworker has the idea to bikeshare because we just KNOW metro is going to be a hot mess. That turned out to be an awesome idea and it was a pretty fun ride too. DC was crazy and the police were everywhere yelling at people. We were riding with the traffic, which was kind of scary, but we made it to Arlington in about 25-30 minutes and put the bikes back. This was really not how I imagined my day going when I woke up at 7am and then delayed my alarm until 7:15am!

Up, Up, and Away

I haven't written in a week. Jeez, I've been busy. Let's see. We won our final game of the season. That's right, we go out in style. We were just getting started, but good news--we're playing fall ball too! And our team name is now Coyne Flip. Don't ask. It was supposed to be The Ballston Teabaggers or something. Ahh, guys.

I was up outside of Boston Thursday through Sunday. It was an AMAZING weekend, flying aside. I am not going to get into the nightmare that was flying up there, but flying just ain't what it used to be guys! I want to travel more, but the last four times I have flown have been special. And not in a good way. Anyhow, we spent Friday at the beach lounging and playing wiffle ball. Then Logan and I had dinner and drinks in Rhode Island. Wow. Rhode Island is a BEAUTIFUL state! Who knew? I guess a lot of people, but not me! Saturday I accompanied Logan to a wedding and it was an amazing time. It was an all day and night event so Monday was rough as per usual.

Also, we all know how much Taylo loves to talk crap about metro! Well, I'm about to blow your mind and say something semi-nice. Metro provided me with such epic service last night. I think they broke a world record. My friend dropped me off at the New Carrollton metro (if you don't know where this is look it up on the wmata map) and I made it to Courthouse in 33 minutes! We actually only stopped at, you know, designated STOPS. That's right. We didn't stop in the middle of the tunnel and then jerk forward 27674 times or hang out in the tunnel for five minutes because the train ahead of us was still servicing the station. The train went forward and stopped only when necessary. I am telling you metro provides a real HIGH level of service on Sunday nights. But really that's the only time.

I feel like there was something else I wanted to talk about, but I can't remember what so I will just leave you with a few photos.

Super Bummed

I am truly blaming my most recent injury on Mizuno! I swear I've played by the rules only increasing my mileage by 10 percent a week and I have cross-trained trying to minimize the impact from running. Well, I got on Dr. Google today and started reading about the symptoms and it seemed to match achilles tendonitis (tendinitis?). Then I got on the running forums and it talked about how it was so hard to recover from AT. Great! Then I was massaging the back of my heel trying to assess my pain. I noticed a crunching feeling last night and it was definitely still there today. It's like nothing I have ever felt and I knew it was not good. I had my coworker touch it and she was severely grossed out. I called my doctor at 10am and she had an opening at 3:30pm. Yay! Love their practice. Meanwhile I got some ice from the nurse and that seemed to help it.

Cut to doctor. I gave her a brief history, been going on maybe 2 weeks, but wasn't bad until I ran 12 miles Sunday. Ooops. She said, "first of all, good for you running 12 miles." Haha! So she checked it out and had me do some things and asked if it hurt. She said she thought it was AT. UGHHHHH!!! Then she had me face the wall and touched the back of both ankles and at one point I yelled out in pain. It's weird, but sometimes if you touch a certain point there is this brief shooting, hot pain. I know you're thinking this sounds awesome. So she said no working out for a week and take 600mg of ibuprofen three times a day. And then I said, "yeah, I was going to take some time off running, but what about cross-training?" She said, "nope, I know telling someone like you to not run is tough, but I really want you to take a week off and not exercise at all." I said "okay, I know." And she said, "I mean it. You really need to take a week off." And I know I do, but damn telling me not to exercise for a week is like telling me not to breathe. I can't remember the last time I took off more than a day. I just hope it gets better and it's not a nagging injury like everyone talked about on those running forums.

I know it could be way worse and four or five months ago I would have been super mad and probably continued to exercise. I am going to take the time off though and more if necessary. And with that I will leave you with this quote because I think it's inspiring and can be applied to many aspects of life.

"Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won't either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart. You are here to be swallowed up. And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself you tasted as many as you could." -The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich

Lime Mousse Cake

It was a busy weekend in Taylo's world. Okay really only Saturday night through Sunday night, but whatever. I went out in DC Saturday night and got to see a bunch of friends. Late night, but fun times. Next I think you should know that I designed and ordered the coolest shoes on NikeID! I know you're jelly. I would be too. Now I am even more excited for the opener against Appalachian State. I'll definitely be the coolest person at the tailgates and games. Orange and maroon head to toe! Okay, I'll shut up now.

I ran a bajillion miles yesterday trying to increase my mileage for the Richmond Marathon. I am reeeeeeeal pissed though. I could have run even more, but my right heel was/is killing me. I decided to stray from my beloved Asics and get Mizunos. I will never betray Asics again. These Mizunos are killing my heel, but only the right one?! I thought it was blistering, but no. It's like someone has taken a hammer to my heel. Grggghhhhh. It only hurts when I'm in sneakers though. Anyhow, I was out at my parents so I got to run through the neighborhood hitting every street and seeing the mountain views. It was nice and the weather was awesome. One thing though. Doesn't everyone over the age of 10 know to run AGAINST traffic so you can see the cars coming at you? Apparently Mr. No shirt running with my jogging stroller missed that lesson in life. He was running WITH the traffic which made it real awkward when we happened to be running the same direction at the same point and a car came through.

Then my Mom made an awesome dinner and it was nice to sit outside without it being 876 degrees! She made whole wheat pasta with crab, shrimp, and asparagus! On the side we had garlic bread and salad. I piled so much pasta on my plate and my mom told me I wouldn't eat it all. Wrong. Then for dessert we had Lime Mousse Cake and it was all homemade. Even the crust!


So, I know what you're thinking. "So that's where Taylo gets her cooking skillssss." Hahaha! Right Mom? Mom said the cake is only for the pros. Whatever, I could make that cake in my sleep. Only three days left until my weekend begins!

Softball Win

Well, the season is almost over, but 1411D finally notched their first win last night. And it was a big one! Under the lights, 9pm game, so the pressure was on. Lots of recruiters on the bleachers. Ha! Anyhow, we got yard stomped Monday night 18-3. At one point I was just hoping we would score ONE run so we wouldn't get shut out.

Last night things just finally came together. We fielded well and got back to bat pretty quickly. We all had some great hits. I had two RBIs, walked twice, and scored a run. It was pretty much the opposite of Monday night as we won 18-4! It's nice to be the ones doing the throttling. So we have our last game next week, but at least we're 1-5 now and we're not going to end the season defeated! Go Hokies! I mean, ugh 1411D!

Metro Faux Pas

Well, if you follow me on Twitter you had to know another metro blog would be coming soon. In only four short days I have encountered not one, but THREE metro no-no's! First up, no eating and drinking on the metro people! I know what you're thinking. We all know Taylo breaks rules. For instance, I do not come to a complete stop at stop signs. In fact, when I'm home visiting my parents I barely stop at those stop signs at all because I am more likely to encounter a deer than another driver! But I do not break the eating and drinking on metro because I think it helps keep the metro clean and semi-free of rats! Ever ride the NYC subway? I feel sorry for the soles of my shoes.

Next up, the pole. The pole is for everyone to hold onto and I try to avoid it because again, nasty germs. However, during rush hour we ALL need access to the pole. If you're hugging it and I can only reach above you that's not going to fly. I don't know if you noticed, but I'm VERTICALLY CHALLENGED so it is rather hard for me to reach the top of a six foot pole. And please do not LEAN on the pole because I can't grip my hand around the pole with your sweaty back, butt, and shoulders leaning on it. Please see two offenders below. Please do not be these people.

NOT OKAY! This is rude.

Now that we got that out of the way. I can make you jelly of what I had for dinner tonight. First I had to go to Target Greatland, which is a real first world problem. I was pleasantly surprised to find my beloved Kombucha Tea there though, and cheaper than Whole Paycheck (of course). So I grabbed two of those, the rest of my grocery list plus a few other things I didn't need. Then we get to the checkout. I always pick the wrong line! This kid in front of me is about to head off to college by himself or something because he had pillows, comforter, dvds, and other junk. Anyhow, the lady is almost done ringing him up on my approach. His total comes to $140. Dang boy! Then he runs his credit card and it is declined. Awwww hell no. Here we go. He tries again. Nope. So then she has him apply for a Target card. Okay, now things are getting sketchy. It is taking forever; put in your address, is this your address, confirm this, do this, KILL ME NOW. Then it says he cannot charge anything for seven to ten days. WOW, brilliant. Meanwhile, you just KNOW I was huffing and puffing in the line by now because it had been ten minutes. So then Target lady is at a loss so I say, "umm, is there any way we can do this later?!" And the kid says, "oh yeah, let her go." Yes, please let me go while you figure out how you're going to pay for $140 worth of crap!

Back to dinner. I came home and started chopping up all my veggies and pulled out my spices. The worst is chopping up a sweet potato to make fries! I almost lose a few fingers every time. I cannot wait until I go to my parents Thursday and get my sister's old knives. To accompany the sweet potato fries I made a bell pepper stuffed with a quinoa mixture. As I cooked the quinoa I sauteed garlic, onion, mushrooms, carrots, and seasoned that with paprika and cumin. I stuffed that into the pepper and also added some mozzarella, parmesean, and goat cheese to the top. As I said before, you should be jealous because it was awesome and I probably ate my daily vegetable serving in one meal!

See the carrots behind the plate? No, you can't have them.

Umm, Who's The Rude One?!

So before I get into things I want to talk about what just happened at Trader Joe's. Some people are so mean and self-centered in Northern Virginia. It was super packed as usual and if you know anything about TJ's you know it's small and the aisles are super narrow. So I am going along and there is kind of a jam in the aisle. I only had a basket and all these people around had carts. So this guy in front of me kind of moves to the side and I figured he was stopping so I went around him. Then I hear him like being all passive-aggressive saying, "oh yeah just go ahead, no one else is trying to get through, cruise on through." In the past I might have engaged him, but I was just so dumbfounded I didn't say anything. Then I stopped to get some garbanzo and black beans. So this douche stops and says, "you know you're incredibly rude. People are trying to get through and you just move on through." I am thinking umm, what? First of all, sorry I didn't know there was a ranking of who got to go through first. Secondly, I have a basket and it's a lot easier for me to navigate. So I just said, "umm I have a basket and you have a cart. Chill out." And you're a grown man berating a woman in a grocery store? Like who's the rude one? I don't know why but it really bothered me and kind of hurt my feelings!

Anyhow, yesterday was my sister's bridal shower and it was fun. She got a lot of good stuff and had a good time as well. I got her Virginia Tech tervis tumblers! Would you expect anything else from me? No!

Then I came back home, went to a BBQ in DC, ended up seeing a former coworker who happens to work with my friend now. It's funny because we were all working for the same agency at one time, but now both of them are at another. DC is so small! Then I went to a birthday party for a bit, which was interesting. This is random, but sometimes I feel sooo old and other times I feel pretty young.

I didn't get up until 10:20 this morning because I had to get up early yesterday. I needed to do a long run and thought it would be okay to do it around 5pm. Wrong. I looked at the weather and it was going to be brutal then. So I decided I'd go around noon. Oh.my.god. Worst decision ever. I ran 12 miles and every minute of it was pretty awful. Oh well, at least I did it.

Nothing Can Rain On My Parade

I really think someone could tell me they hate me and I suck and I'd say, "okay, great!" and not care one bit. I am in such a good mood. Everything is working out and for the first time in a long time everything feels right! Even better tomorrow is Friday and it's the freakin' weekend!

I made the dumbest move on metro this afternoon. I'm on the platform and it says a "Vienna" train is approaching so stupidly I just get on the train without checking to make sure it was an orange line train. I kept thinking to myself, "man the train is really empty today." Well, duh, there was a reason for that. All the sudden we leave Rosslyn and two minutes later I am seeing daylight! This is NOT supposed to happen on my commute because I'm underground the whole time. I start freaking out and realize I must have gotten on a blue line train. No worries, I got off at Arlington National Cemetery and turned myself around! Taylor, five months ago, would have freaked out and been so pissed. But I just rolled with it! It happens.

Then after I got home I had an awesome 5.2 mile run even though it's another scorcher out there. All my good fortune almost ended though when I was running through a crosswalk in which I had the WALK sign and Granny comes barrelling into the crosswalk and gets a foot from me before slamming on her brakes. I threw my arms in the air, screamed, and yelled, "!@$%" as I kept running from her. I could tell she was freaked out too, but come on. I've said it before and I'll say it again, people do not pay attention!!

Two Things: Softball and Facebook

We had a makeup softball game last night and it started off pretty swell. 1411D was 0-2 going into the game so obviously we were looking for a win. Unfortunately that didn't happen and we lost by two runs! So sad, but we're really getting better with every week. I feel like we can win one game this season and really train hard in the off season to become a powerhouse in the league next year. HAHA!

Facebook. I use to LOVE it, like obsessed. Every day I grow a little more hate in my heart for it. It's just so annoying how Mark is always changing things, it's super slow, and then just HOW popular it has become. I mean I remember when I joined way back when I was in diapers a sophomore in college. I mean it was just a bunch of college kids. And then they started letting more people on it. Fine. But then it grew and grew and now e'rrrrrybody and their mom, grandma, sister, cousin, neighbor from 3rd grade, 9th grade English teacher is on it.

If I am not in semi-regular contact with you now. There is a reason. I don't want to be in contact with you. Sorry. Maybe that sounds bitchy, but you're not in contact with me either so I guess you don't want me in your life either. Great! Until it's not. A friend from my parents youngin' days found me and my sisters on there today. This would be fine, except he fell off his rocker awhile back. He is from the country club pool we went to growing up. My parents used to hang out with him, his wife, and other couples. Naturally they lost touch over the years. Until about threeish years ago when he RANDOMLY showed up at my parents house. I was living there at the time and dude was on some goooood shit. Or he escaped from the insane asylum and was now on the loose. Either way he did some strange stuff. He would show up unannounced at the house and bring "gifts" which were anything from pills to trinkets. One time no one was home except my little sister and he roamed the house, used the computer, and watched my little sister sleep! What.the.hell. I had enough when he came over drunk once with a bottle of champagne. We didn't answer the door and so he started roaming the neighborhood BY CAR. He was chilling on our neighbor's front porch drinking the champagne. So I called the police and they came and took him away. Never heard from him again...

UNTIL TODAY! That crazy fool added me, "poked" me, and sent me a creepy message. He did the same thing to my sisters too, but wrote on my little sister's wall too because she didn't pay close enough attention and confirmed his creepy ass! Ugh, needless to say I hit the "not now" button and I do not know this person so now he can never add me again. Facebook was more fun when it only existed in my college world.