You know it's getting to be spring in Boston...

...when you start to see just as many people dressed in Colonial garb as you do people dressed in modern day wear.

Free Daily Smackdown! Metro VS Boston NOW: Live at Broadway T

For awhile there was someone handing out a free Metro at the Broadway T stop and then he disappeared. More recently, there has been a Boston NOW guy there and he's established himself by constantly repeating, "Free newspaper! Read all about it! Baaaaston NOW! Baaaaaston NOW!" Over and over again... Maybe last week I noticed that a Metro rep was back, and I wondered how these two were going to peacefully coexist at the top of the Broadway escalator.
The Boston NOW guy still chants his morning mantra, but the Metro rep is a this tenacious short lady who stands directly in front of the guy and just thrusts free dailies in every direction hoping to get to you before the Boston NOW dude does. It must be frustrating for both parties to have to compete with each other in such small quarters like that and I'm curious to see who the first to go will be.

Blue's Clues

On Friday night, I went to the Cheesecake Factory with Veronica and Candice and we had a great time, despite the fact that the restaurant did its best to ruin it for us. We were told that it would be an hour wait, but we didn't get seated until an hour and 40 minutes later! Good thing we always have a lot to talk about- it was great to see them and hopefully it won't be another 6 months until we can all get together again!

Saturday was a our last official FitCorp group run. We had an 8, 10 or 12 mile option and I decided to run the 12. The weather was a bit rainy and cloudy, but overall it was good running weather at around 45-50 degrees. My legs felt good and I ran it in 2 hours flat. While I was running, the painters arrived and began working painting our apartment. My mom had offered to take Dwayne (our cat), but I didn't think he would be too much of a problem. When I got home around 11 Saturday morning, all of our furniture and books were piled in the middle of our family room (the one room we weren't getting painted) and it took me a little while to spot Nick sitting in the only free chair in the corner. "We now have a blue cat," he said. Turns out, Dwayne scooted through a tray of blue paint, and his tail and right hind leg were now a lovely shade of Cowgirl Blue. In the end, I brought him down the street to our vet so they could shave off the painted areas because I didn't want Dwayne to groom himself and ingest the paint. He's OK, but a bit patchy.

Dwayne, post shave, decided to stay out of trouble and observe from his perch on the mattress

The painters finished all four rooms in one day, and they did a fantastic job. If anyone would like a Boston area recommendation for painters, please let me know. Saturday night Nick and I went to the Coolidge Corner Clubhouse to meet Johnny & Leigh for dinner and watch the NCAA's. I hadn't been there since college and forgot what a fun place it is. A good time was had by all, especially since Memphis beat UCLA...

Yesterday we spent pretty much the entire day organizing and cleaning the house. Nick hung some paintings and re-organized the office, and everything looks a lot better. It's amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do. Tonight I'm going to the gym for a 4 mile run.

Librarians Have the Tightest Buns

So last night's bowling outing was a lot of fun! With our matching team shirts, we certainly looked the sharpest, but I'm not sure we were among the best bowlers there. One thing that the annual bowlathon involves is beer, and by the time Nick came to pick me up at 8, I was pretty sauced. One of my teammates took some photos last night, so I'll post any that come my way. It should also be noted that my wonderful husband had a dozen beautiful roses waiting for me when we got home!
Tonight I am meeting 2 of my former co-workers, who are also 2 dear friends of mine, for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory at the South Shore Plaza in Braintree. Our schedules are such that it takes us 4 months to find a common night to get together. Could be two wild nights in a row, as these 2 chicks are Cruiseazy!
Saturday is the last group run at FitCorp, which is a little unbelievable. I remember looked at the schedule in the beginning of winter and thinking that it was going to take forever to complete all of these runs, and in reality the winter flew by. We have an 8, 10 or 12 mile option, and I'm going to do the 12 mile option. The following Saturday is a rest day and the following Monday is the marathon! Hopefully I'll be ready and won't bring shame to Mass Eye & Ear Infirmary. :) Ta ta.

No NESN at BSC Downtown Crossing = Bad For Business

Last night I left work a few minutes early so I could make sure to get a treadmill with a good view of the TV at the gym. The Red Sox played the A's at 3:30, so I planned on watching the game while I ran. Anyway, when I got to the BSC, I noticed the game wasn't on any of the TVs so I asked one of the trainers if he wouldn't mind putting the game on. Well, turns out the BSC Downtown Crossing doesn't get NESN anymore. The guy told me it had something to do with DirectTV, and I wasn't going to make a fuss about it there, but I know that NESN is available with a DirectTV subscription... I have no idea what the real issue is, but I really hope they find some way to get NESN, because half the reason why I'll go to the gym in the summer versus running outside is that I can watch the game while I run. Talk about bad for business! Anyway, I did run, but it wasn't as enjoyable as I had hoped it would be since I was disappointed with the baseball situation...
Tonight my team, Britney Spares & the Federlanes, will hopefully kick some butt at the Junior Achievement Bowling Fundraiser tonight at Boston Bowl!

"Color Me Beautiful"

I was trying to think of a title for today's post, and the title of this book my mom had when I was younger came to mind. Surprisingly the book is still available on Amazon and it's described as: Using simple guidelines, professional color consultant Carole Jackson helps you choose the thirty shades that make you look smashing! When you think about it, 30 colors is a lot of color to incorporate into your daily look, but then again, this book was published in 1987 and it was more acceptable to wear 30 colors at once then.
I went to the gym last night and used the elliptical machine for 30 minutes set to a hill workout and had another good stretch afterwards. After the gym, Nick picked me up at Broadway T and we went to the Home Depot to choose paint colors. We're having our bedrooms and bathrooms painted this weekend and settled on the following: Crested Butte for the office, Horsehair Brown for my bathroom, Cowgirl Blue for Nick's bathroom (which, based on the name, I'm surprised Nick agreed to) and Blue Mesa for our bedroom. Aside from "Horsehair Brown" the names don't really shed any light as to what the colors really look like, but you can look them up here to see for yourself. Hopefully Professional Color Consultant Carole Jackson would approve!

I Pity The Fool!

Last night I rode the stationary bike for 45 minutes, which was a good leg workout. I didn't want to use the treadmill or a "gait simulator" since I can't breathe that well and didn't want to be hacking and wheezing during the workout. I'll probably hop on the elliptical tonight and see how that goes; I'm not feeling any better than yesterday, but I'm hoping that I'll be less congested by the end of the day. When I got home last night, I was happy to see that the book I ordered from Amazon UK had arrived: "The Miracle at Speedy Motors," by Alexander McCall Smith. The books are also published in the States; however, Mr. McCall Smith is my favorite author and I usually want to read his newest novels as soon as they're published in Great Britain.

Today is my grandma's birthday, Happy Birthday, Nana! I love you!