Are You Ready for Some Football?

Meh, I’m not really ever ready for some football. I can get really into the Olympics and World Cup, but football just isn’t my thing. I was once dragged to a Penn State football game in the rain in the student section where I had to stand the whole time. Everyone else with me thought it was the best thing ever. I wanted to go home.

Normally, I skip the Super Bowl all together and watch the Puppy Bowl instead. Have you ever seen the Puppy Bowl? It is true bliss. Puppies run around on a little football field and halfway through the “game” there is a kitty half-time show. I have been a loyal viewer since Puppy Bowl I.

These pups are hardcore.

Source

This year, I DVRed the Puppy Bowl to enjoy later in the week, and hosted a small gathering for the Super Bowl. Chris wanted to watch the game, so I decided it would be most fun surrounded by friends and food.

I tried to have some healthy options to make up for our beer-filled weekend. I made a large salad, my famous guac to serve with multigrain tortilla chips, and spaghetti squash.

I heart you, too.

It looked prettier in person.

The night ended up not being so healthy, because we ordered pizza. There were also cupcakes. I may have had one two.

Tasty frosting covered frienemies.

The most surprising part of the night was that I actually enjoyed watching the game. It was close all the way through, so it kept me entertained. I didn’t really care which team won, since I had no connections to either, but we all picked one side to get more into the action. In the end “our” team lost, but it was still good fun. Maybe I’m okay with football after all? Probably not.

What were your Super Bowl eats?

Beerkend

This weekend was all about beer making it a beer-weekend or rather a Beerkend. I enjoy a nice draft with a veggie burger or a nice drink at the end of the week, but over all I am am a glass of wine type of girl.  This weekend turned out to be a beer-themed weekend. Granted beer isn’t exactly healthy, so I need to make up for the empty calories I consumed over this next week.

Friday night, Chris and I meet up with friends from my high school, Jeremy and Nathan, and Nathan’s wife, Rachel at the Jersey City Beer Garden. We got a little lost finding it, but once we got there we discovered that it’s actually the coolest place ever. The hall is huge and the whole place is filled with long wooden tables where you and your friends sit wherever you choose. There was a live band that was pretty good and an overall community atmosphere. I can see how people can hang out here and make some new friends. In addition to the many draft beer options – most which I never heard of – they also had some yummy eats.

Chris's big beer.

Giant pretzel, veggie burger, and frankfurter. The giant pretzel stole the show.

My veggie burger close-up.

Chris's frankfurter close-up.

We had a great time catching up, sharing high school stories, and enjoying the atmosphere. I can seem myself coming here a lot in the summer when they open the outdoor patio.

Saturday afternoon was nice and relaxing. Chris and I slept in and ate breakfast  in bed. Then, I went to get my nails done with Melissa. I finally tried out  grey nail polish.

The color is actually much lighter than it looks here.

 

At night, it was time for part 2 of Beerkend. To celebrate my friend Evan’s birthday, a group of us bought tickets to go out to the Beer Expo at the Meadowlands. There were over 50 breweries giving out samples of their brews.

We had a fun time trying different beers from around the world. My favorite ended up being the hard cider. We even got this souvenir glass.

Today was Superbowl Sunday, but my drink of choice today was Diet Coke. 😉 I’ll update tomorrow on our game-time meal.

What’s your favorite type of beer? Mine is Ithaca Apricot Wheat. Yum!

Cause You’ve Got to Have Friends

And now I am quoting Bette Midler. But, really, it’s been true for me lately. Chris has been working on super overtime (he literally slept at his office on Sunday and is off to Miami for work today) so it’s just been Hadley and I for the last two weeks or so at home. That is why it’s so nice for me to have friends to hang out with while my boyfriend is busy being a lawyer.

Last night, I was lucky enough to hang out with some of those friends. Sorry about not posting in the evening, but I got home pretty late and then Chris finally showed his face, so we had quick catch-up-it’s-good-to-see-you-are-still-alive time. Anyways, this is how my day after work went yesterday: I left work and it was still actually light out! That is the best healthy boost I can get – sunlight! I know that by the time I made it home from work it was dark, but just that little time in the sun rejuvenated me and made me feel like I could do something other than lie under the covers when I got home. 

So, when I first got home, I did lie under the covers. But, just for a little bit – I am in the midst of vacation planning, so I wanted to check out the daily specials. When I was done, Hadley and I were productive. We went to the library to drop off some books and then headed over to the bigger dog park. Normally, I take him to the littler one in our area, but today it was nicer out, so I figured the extra walk to the bigger one would be fun. Hadley was so happy to have the space to run around in, you could literally see him smiling (I swear, the dog smiles). He is a small guy – around 25lbs -, but he loves to play with the big guys and immediately made friends with both a 90lb lab and a 200lb small bear. It was amusing to watch.

After the dog park, Hadley was ready for a nap and I was ready to head over to my friend Melissa’s. Melissa, Cheryl, and I had a lovely girl’s night while enjoying food from potentially my favorite chain restaurant, Bertucci’s. Bertucci’s aka the Tuc has a soft spot in my heart. There was one right off campus at my undergrad that took our college cash cards, so my friends and I went several times monthly. Nothing is as good as a warm roll from the Tuc. I haven’t been to one in over a year, and had no clue there was one by Melissa, so I was really excited when she mentioned we could order food from there. I’m not going to lie, I went a little over board enjoying the Tuc last night and found myself eating two slices of pizza, salad, and a delicious roll. Good thing I can do a little bit of working out now! Since I’m used to having Chris around the apartment, but have been “on my own” lately with just Hadley, it was so nice to see friends on a week night. We are planning on making it a weekly thing!

I love you.

 Also, I am planning on buying new running sneaks today. Does anyone have any sneaker recs for a person with bad knees? They will be used mainly on a treadmill/elliptical and for gym classes. Hopefully when it’s spring, I can convince my knees that they can also run outside a little, too.

Do you go out with friends on “school nights”? When you do, does it always feel extra special?