Weekly Recap- March 21-27, 2016

It was spring break but Kory was out of town so it was a very low-key week for me.

Monday--softball

We lost our first softball game of the season.  It was a close one though!

Tuesday--dance

After dance, Chelsea and I headed in to the Flower & Garden Festival to Jardin de Fiestas (Mexico).  I got the Tacos de Camaron (Tempura Shrimp served with Hibiscus Flower, Caramelized Onions, and Habanero Sauce) and a Elderflower Watermelon Sangria.

Wednesday--rest

Dad was in town so we met up for Happy Hour at Fishbones.  Yummy oysters!

Thursday--rest

Kory got back into town and I met up with him, his twin brother, and his dad at Hurricane Gill & Wings for lunch.  Then since it was March Madness, we ate dinner at Ale House so we could watch the games.

Friday--rest

We got up and headed to Disney Springs to have lunch at Earl of Sandwich and then see Zootopia.  I wasn't sure if I would like it, but it was really good!  My friend Derek worked on the movie and did a great job again!

We went to look at the houses we're considering again and then met up with Dad at Bdubs to watch more March Madness.

Saturday--Pig Run of Lake Nona 5k.  Ran 3.12 miles and ate 3 donuts in the middle of the race in 31:23.  Beat last year's time.  Mile 1: 8:33, Mile 2: 13:08, Mile 3: 9:15, Mile 3-3.12: 9:10 Average Pace: 10:16

We took dad to look at the houses.  I think we're getting close to making a decision!

We had dinner at Yellow Dog Eats and headed home because of the storm.

Sunday--rest

Happy Easter!  Kory had to work (so did Faith's husband) so we took the Munchkin to Bonefish Grill for dinner.

Total miles this week: 3.12
Total miles in 2016: 233.36
Total miles: 2773.04

Weekly Recap- March 7-20, 2016

Last Sunday I was still in Asheville for the Marathon so this is a double dose of a weekly recap!

March 7-13, 2016

Monday--softball

We won our softball game.

Tuesday--rest

Wednesday--rest

Thursday--rest

I attended a VIP event at the Melting Pot with Kelly.

Friday--rest

Faith and I flew to Asheville late that night and stayed in the Holiday Inn Downtown.  It was part of the package that Faith had won.

Saturday--rest

We took an Uber over to the Grand Bohemian Hotel where we'd stay for 2 nights.  It was sooo nice!  After checking in, we checked out the Asheville Marathon Expo.  I love expos!

We did a little shopping (and found a Lilly store!!)  Then we went back to the hotel and enjoyed a glass of champagne before checking out our room.

That night we went into downtown Asheville.  We ate dinner at Farm Burger and had amazing dessert at the Chocolate Lounge!

Then it was bed time since we had to be up early for the race.

Sunday--Asheville Marathon.  26.38 miles in 5:57:14 Hardest and most miserable race of my life. Constant hills. Pouring rain. Dirt roads after mile 8 which equaled slippery mud. But we got it done and I'm proud of us for it. Mile 1: 9:40, Mile 2: 12:25, Mile 3: 10:59, Mile 4: 11:34, Mile 5: 13:59, Mile 6: 12:32, Mile 7: 11:41, Mile 8: 11:42, Mile 9: 12:21, Mile 10: 13:44, Mile 11: 14:00, Mile 12: 14:43, Mile 13: 16:07, Mile 14: 16:35, Mile 15: 12:50, Mile 16: 16:02, Mile 17: 21:27, Mile 18: 13:53, Mile 19: 13:09, Mile 20: 13:02, Mile 21: 14:30, Mile 22: 12:41, Mile 23: 12:55, Mile 24: 15:01, Mile 25: 13:13, Mile 26: 12:33, Mile 26-26.38: 10:16, Average Pace: 13:32

The race was seriously the hardest thing I've ever done.  I'm so glad that I had Faith by my side!

After the race we got a wonderful massage then headed back to the room because we were disgustingly filthy and muddy.  After showering and a quick rest, we decided to have a drink in the hotel bar, the Red Stag Grill, and there was a cheese plate so I had to get it.

Then we went to the Cantina and had a feast of chips and salsa, guacamole, queso, and a grilled avocado.  I enjoyed a margarita and Faith had a beer flight.

Then we headed back to the hotel because we were exhausted.

Total miles this week: 26.38
Total miles in 2016: 220.08
Total miles: 2759.76

March 14-20, 2016

Monday--rest

We slept in.  We were going to tour the Biltmore House but for the price, we weren't sure we'd have enough time.  So we walked around to kill time and had lunch at the Corner Kitchen and then dessert at this cute bakery.  Then we caught our flight home.

Tuesday--Dance & Tone Class

I started a new dance class at Epcot.  I loved it!  The first half of the class is learning a routine--each week is a different theme.  This week's was Irish Step Dancing.  Then the second part is toning the body.  It definitely kept me entertained!

Wednesday--rest

Cori and I went to Minnie's Silver Screen Dine at the Hollywood Studios.  The characters were so cute and the food was yummy!

Thursday--rest

I went to Jeni's house for some girl time--watching tv, eating food, and drinking wine!

Friday--rest

The Yelpsterhood went to dinner at the Wine Barn.  Service was iffy but the pizza was delicious!  Then we went to dessert at KrungThep Tea Time.  I had the Monkey's Brick Toast and a Thai Iced Tea.  It was amazing!!

Saturday--rest

Sunday--Excalibur 10 Miler  10.16 miles in 1:42:53   Mile 1: 8:24, Mile 2: 8:52, Mile 3: 9:43, Mile 4: 10:23, Mile 5: 11:22, Mile 6: 10:17, Mile 8: 10:41, Mile 9: 10:36, Mile 10: 10:41, Mile 10-10.16: 10:26, Average Pace: 10:11

There was more dirt roads!!!  I was hoping for a large PR but only got around a 45 sec one.  But it was still a fun race and I'm excited that it's a challenge!

Total miles this week: 10.16
Total miles in 2016: 230.24
Total miles: 2769.92

Weekly Recap- February 29-March 6, 2016

Monday--softball.  We won by run-ruling the other team.

Tuesday-- 3 miles in 30:14  Mile 1: 10:16, Mile 2: 10:00 Mile 3: 9:57, Average Pace: 10:05

Wednesday--rest

Thursday--3 miles in 29:54 Mile 1: 10:20, Mile 2: 9:46, Mile 3: 9:45, Average Pace: 9:57

Friday--rest

Kelly, Ron, Paul and I participated in Goofy's Mystery Tour at the Animal Kingdom.

It's this fun challenge for Cast Members that's divided into two parts.  First is really hard Disney trivia.  Then the second part is where you have to go around and solve puzzles to get clues for the final word.  Usually they're verbal/wordy puzzles that Kelly and I are good at.  This year, they were mostly visual and extremely hard!  But it was still lots of fun!

Saturday--Best Damn Race Orlando Half Marathon...13.22 miles in 2:25:14 Mile 1: 9:20, Mile 2: 9:28, Mile 3: 10:32, Mile 4: 10:58, Mile 5: 11:13, Mile 6: 11:19, Mile 7: 11:06, Mile 8: 11:40, Mile 9: 11:26, Mile 10: 12:14, Mile 11: 11:48, Mile 12: 11:05, Mile 13: 10:53, Mile 13-13.22: 9:56, Average Pace: 10:59

Kory and I checked out the new Skipper Canteen for dinner at the Magic Kingdom.  I love new Disney restaurants!

Sunday--rest

Kelly, Ron, Paul, Mikey and I went to try out some of the yummy eats at Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival.

I tried the following from:
~Lotus House in China: Beijing-style Candied Strawberries and Kung Fu Punch (Vodka, Triple Sec, Mango and Orange Juice)
~Primavera Kitchen in Italy: Mezze Lune Primavera Egg Pasta stuffed with Ricotta and Spinach in a Creamy Sauce with Spring Vegetables and Pecorino Cheese and a Rossini Sparkling wine and marinated Strawberries
~Hanami in Japan: Beef Teriyaki Udon (Thin-sliced Beef, Onions and Noodles tossed on the grill with Soy and Ginger)
~Cider House in United Kingdom: House-made Potato and Cheddar Cheese Biscuit with Smoke Salmon Tartare and the Cider and Beer wine flight (we subbed the beer for a second cider): Sonoma "The Pitchfork" Organic Pear Hard Cider from Healdsburg, Ca, McKenzie's Black Cherry Hard Cider from West Seneca, NY, and Keel & Curley Mad Man Blueberry Hard Cider from Plant City, FL
~Pineapple Promenade: Spicy Hot Dog with Pineapple Chutney and Taro Chips and Ocean Tropical Pineapple Hard Cider from Florida Beer Company from Port Canaveral, FL

Total miles this week: 19.22
Total miles in 2016: 193.7
Total miles: 2733.38

Disney Vacation Club 25th Anniversary Disney Parks Blog Meet-Up!

On Thursday, Faith, Cori and I attended the Disney Vacation Club 25th Anniversary Disney Parks Blog Meet-Up!  It was so much fun!

When we checked in a the Contemporary, we got an adorable Orange Bird magicband!

We started off the evening at the Top of the World Lounge.  I'd been wanting to go there, but since it's only for DVC members, I'd never been able to.

The view is amazing!  I can only imagine watching Wishes from up there.

We headed inside and jumped in line to get pictures with Mickey & Minnie!

And you know we're suckers for any photo op!

Next we decided to check out the food.  So many delicious items!

 My favorite was this seafood/crab cake!

There was also an open bar with different things to drink.

Cori got a picture with Chip & Dale and then it was time to hop on the bus to go over to the Polynesian Resort.

There we headed to this great lookout area set up with dishes inspired by Trader Sam's (which I forgot to get a pic of except for the drink!)

And yummy dessert.

We had great music to listen to.

Cheers!

We headed over to check out the over-the-water bungalows.  I am SOOOO renting one of these someday...who wants to join in?!?

My goal is to sit in that pool one night and watch Wishes!

Then we went and picked up our treat!  It was freezing, but who can pass up free Dole Whip!

Soon it was time to head over to the Magic Kingdom for the Disney Vacation Club 25 and Beyond Bash!  We ran into Kate and Katie and had a great time hanging with them all night.  It was almost time for Wishes so I had this great idea to time it perfectly so we'd be on Thunder Mountain during the fireworks and it worked.  

Such a cool view!

Space Mountain had no line.  As in not a single person!  I don't think I've ever seen it like that!

We also hit up Pirates of the Caribbean right before the rest of the park closed.

We headed over to the party-side of the park and checked out the free snacks..chips, cookies, and free ice cream bars!!

Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, and Goofy were dancing it up!

Kate & Katie told us that with their annual passes, they get free Photopass pictures!  

So we took advantage of all the cool characters out (we didn't even hit half of them!!)

We also went over to the Haunted Mansion to check out the Tightrope Walker and the Cadaver Dans.

We ended the night with the fireworks show that was created for the event, 25 and Beyond Blast!

The fireworks show was simply amazing.  I think it might even be my new favorite one--I wish they'd make it the regular show!!

The Disney Parks Blog Meet-up was truly a great event!  I'm so lucky and glad that we got to attend!