Surprise Mail

Hey all!!

Well, I ended up using my extra hour to watch the ING New York City Marathon on TV this morning. I went to bed at 9:30 p.m., and woke up at 6:00 a.m., but really it was 5:00 a.m.–just in time to watch the start of the marathon!

Yesterday, I had a surprise in the mail waiting for me! 😀

I love getting “real” (snail) mail, especially when it is a package, and the package from my sister, and a package you weren’t expecting!

My sister runs cross country for Concordia College, which is also where I ran cross country. Their team ordered shirts, so she ordered one for me as well! I was stoked! 🙂

Go Cobbers! (Back of shirt.)

Love the thumbholes and small pocket on the side1My sister also sent me the team’s brochure.

My sister is featured in the brochure because she’s been the team’s top runner nearly all season!!

Her 5K PR is nearly identical to her high school 4K time! She’s worked extremely hard to get where she is! (I’m pretty sure she could beat me now.)

For my marathon this past summer, my sister made me a little good luck “card,” but in the shuffle of packing/repacking, it got lost and I had no idea what happened to it. But now I have it back in my possession!

It says:

Michelle, you have run endless miles, going the distance in the great outdoors among trails and wildlife of Alaska, reaching your natural high.

The time has finally come to get your dream on! You are running Grandma’s Marathon in Minnesota! Kara Goucher inspires you to dream, love, and run with passion.

Wake up, dream big, inspire, believe, get ready for the race. Run with certainty to the finish line. You will have high marks for style. You will have speed, distance, pace. I know you will rock your run.

She also sent me coupons for Food Should Taste Good chips and Chobani Greek yogurt!!

And Craig got a homemade birthday card from my sister.

Gosh do I miss my sister and family! 🙁

~~~~~~~

Saturday afternoon, we celebrated our friend Lazer’s (that’s her nickname) birthday.

Below: me, Lazer, and Lazer’s sister Reanne. (Craig also came along; he was taking the picture.)
We went to Midnight Sun Brewing Co. to get some grub.

It is a fun little place to grab food and drinks.

I ordered a bruschetta combo plate.

Three different kinds. I love variety!

Smoked: creamy smoked salmon mousse with roasted shallots and capers

Spicy: chunky chick pea salad with serrano chili and black olives topped with parmesan

Crunchy: orzo pasta salad with sweet peppers, serrano chili, and Craisins with microgreens I liked them all, but favorite two were the “spicy” and “crunchy.”

Craig ordered the Ancho Beef Dip.

We both really like French dips, but this one was just okay. I had about 1/3 of it.

Dinner wouldn’t be complete without a stop at our favorite dessert place: Sugarspoon.

Reanne and Craig.

Trying to decide what to order at a dessert place has to be the most difficult thing ever! The combination of being indecisive and loving sweets makes it nearly impossible to weed anything out.

I finally settled on a Banana Peanut Butter Cup. It was on the kid’s menu, so it was half the cost of many of the other itmes, and I thought it would help me control my portion.

Description: Sliced bananas and peanut butter mousse topped with chocolate sauce and crushed peanuts

When I read “mousse” on the menu, I was thinking “light” and “fluffy,” but that was not the case. This small dessert bowl was filled with a dense, thick, pudding-like peanut buttery goodness! It was awesome! Even Craig, who doesn’t like peanut butter-flavored desserts was raving about this. The mousse was topped with chocolate sauce, bananas, and whipped topping. It was the perfect amount for me.

Craig ordered the same dessert we got last time we went to Sugarspoon.

Raspberry Lemon Panna Cotta

When we got back, we finished watching Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince, and then I proceeded to go to bed at 9:30 p.m., which was actually like 8:30 p.m. with daylight savings. 🙂