Mission Accomplished!

So far the Labor Day weekend has been filled to the brim with crazy adventures - hence not posting yesterday.  I tried, people: I tried.

First, I attended a student's father's visitation after school on Friday.  Thankfully, two of my colleagues/friends - P and S - went with me.  P is one of my bestest friends in the world, and S has seen me cry approximately 500 times over the last two years; both P and S were the perfect people to be with at such a horribly sad event.  This is the second visitation I have attended that is school related; it breaks my heart when these kids lose a parent, as I could not imagine myself without my mama and daddy.  I thought I would be able to make it through dry-eyed, but I was sadly, sadly mistaken.

Following the visitation, I oddly enough went for a cemetery walk with CS and her dog.  Misha loved running free through the hills and cobblestones of the cemetery, and we got a long walk/talk in.

After my "exercise" for the day (and I say exercise in quotation marks because I was wearing flip-flops and the same clothes I wore to the visitation), I went shopping with BFF for a new phone: a smart phone.  I had already talked with the Verizon salesman (who, by the way, is smokin' hot), and I had settled on the Droid Incredible.  After quite a bit of flirting and too much money later, BFF and I headed out to dinner to one of our favorite Des Moines restaurants: Trostel's Dish.  We messed around on the phone for a bit and talked with the chef (one of our friends), we settled on two delicious small plates to share:

Pear & Goat Cheese Pizza with a Balsamic Reduction.  O-M-G.

Duck Quesadillas - YUM.

Even though it was only 10:00 by the time dinner was over, I was set to head home and mess around with my new gadget.  After all, I was reminded that we had a 5k in the morning - more on that later.  Shortly after I plopped on my couch with the Incredible, I was accosted by text messages from my friends saying that my phone had resent every single text message from the last week.  Um...huh?  This prompted me to call tech support and unsuccessfully troubleshoot the problem with them for a solid hour.  Essentially, nothing was resolved, and I had to exchange my phone today.

But, did I mention that the Verizon guy is smokin' hot?  He was sure to tell me to call him anytime I had a question - I'm wondering if that's just a question about my phone...  :)

Anyway...as I was saying: yesterday I was reminded of the fact that BFF and I had told one of our besties that we would run a benefit 5k with her; this was when BFF and I had dedicated ourselves to a 5k training schedule (that lasted two days).  Although I had completely forgotten about this commitment and had not trained a lick, I don't go back on my word: I was going to do this.  What does a non-runner eat an hour before she races?  Ah, yes: Honey Nut Cheerios swimming in UVAB:

How does a non-runner warm up for a race?  Ah, yes: by acting like a fool on the nearby children's playground:

(How I didn't get injured, I have no idea.)

How does a non-runner pose for pictures prior to a race?  Ah, yes:

Me and BFF before the race - still smilin'!

All of us goofballs prior to take-off.

Shockingly, we didn't do too horribly.  Our friend, A, ran with us, and she was a drill sergeant freakin' awesome coach and told us when we could walk, force encourage us to keep running, etc.  I would've taken it a lot easier had it not been for her motivating me.  Plus, she had a sweet little running gadget to time our miles and check our pace.  We did not win by any means, but I am proud of our finish.  It was my first race ever, and I am not a runner - I do every sort of training but running.  We finished in 39 minutes.

The banana and bottle of water after the race didn't cut it, so the six of us (Charlie the pup stayed in the car) went out for the best breakfast EVER: Waveland Cafe.  This is what non-runners eat after a race:

O...M...G.  I hadn't been to the Waveland in a few months, and this was just what the doctor ordered!  I had the usual (everything hashbrowns and wheat toast) with some extra protein: two over-medium eggs and two sausage links.  I topped off breakfast with several glasses of water and two cups of coffee - and loved every minute of it.

And then BFF and I took her pups to the cemetery to burn off the breakfast we just inhaled.  CS and Misha joined us, and it was a beautiful, breezy walk.  I'm telling you: I'm obsessed with the cemetery.  I think we'll go back tomorrow, and this time I'm for sure bringing my camera.

After a hugely busy day, I came home, washed my long overdue sheets and towels, straightened up the apartment, and went on a date!  This was the third date, and we went to see The Last Exorcism.  O...M...G.  It was so scary.  But, it was perfect for a date - had to be close to protect each other!  The movie was super scary, and the date was awesome.  The Boy is really fun to hang out with, and we have so much in common.  I'm already looking forward to next time.

This post is far too long as it is, so I'm going to sign off and finish my glass of wine - and then hit the sack.  I'm absolutely pooped!

Nighty night, y'all!