Productivity!

I find that I'm productive in bursts: that I'll accomplish a lot for like, a week, and then the following two weeks are far less impressive. This isn't to say that I'm slothful during the post-productive stretch - I'm just...I don't know, more average. What I'm saying is, this week has been ueberproductive!

I've made my reentry into the world of running. Hook and I went running twice last week in the park, and I did a 5K (without stopping!) this morning on the treadmill. (Note: I feel like treadmill runs are "cheater" runs, but this morning I didn't feel like holding my giant-ass keyring and my iPod as I ran, so I opted for the gym instead. I'm paying for a membership, you know? Might as well use it once in a while!) I'm trying to take it easy & not be overly-zealous, but I have a good feeling about the the coming months and finally entering some races.

Despite my lack of formalized plans, I'm pretty excited about the summer. My dad and Donna and my cousin Matt have (tentative) visits to SF scheduled, and Ali might also come out for a weekend. Dan and Alison are taking a trip to Portland, and I hope that Hook and I will meet up with them there. I'm hoping too to go back to Minnesota for a few days (during the State Fair, ideally), possibly road trip to Galesburg. I can almost smell the green of the cornfields. As much as I love CA, there's something so perfect about late summer cornfields, their rustle and sway.
That said, I am never going back to Cincinnati.

Also: I love my Chacos. They are possibly the best shoes I've ever owned. One of the best pairs of shoes I've ever owned, anyway.

ALSO: anyone want to go to the Grand Canyon during the next few months?

Editing time.

Appropriate Query

Does anyone else remember learning about the "combination" food group during elementary and middle school health classes? I was just talking to Hook about this, and he claims never to have heard of "combination foods!" WHAT? Who doesn't remember the doubtful logic used to cast pizza in a healthy light - a healthiness attributed to the fact that pizza contains elements of the grain, dairy, vegetable, and (possibly) meat groups?

Well, I do.

Happy Sunday and happy Mother's Day ! Looks a bit overcast but I think the clouds might clear out before 9:00...

It was a good week, weatherwise and activity-wise. The first declaration mostly explains itself, but I will expand on the second. To start, I went running twice with Hook(!) This is notable not only because I'm not a huge fan of running outside (I know, I know: it's better than using a treadmill, but treadmills are easier on the knees - plus I like being able to regulate my speed), but also because I hadn't gone running in about four months. My knee seems to have healed satisfactorily: it didn't hurt at all after the two runs, though my right Achilles tendon was a bit twitchy. I'm going to sign up for the 5K (on marathon day); keep your fingers crossed that no further harm comes to my knee.

Continuing with the trend of revisited athleisure activities, yesterday Hook and I bought tennis racquets and spent a few hours playing in the park. I played as a kid - with my family and on school teams - but it has been a good decade since I've played at any sort of regular intervals, and it felt really good to start again. (Aside: did I really just say that it's been a decade since I've done a certain activity? OLD PERSON STATEMENT!) I'm glad that Hook had as much fun as I did, and I predict that post-workday tennis will become a trend. It is awesome that the courts are like, four minutes from my house! And that there are so many courts! Yass!

In other news, we went to TARGET yesterday. Score! (Aside: now that I'm living in a place with limited/restricted access to Target, trips to said store are most certainly blogworthy news. Oh, how I mourn the bygone days of recreational Target shopping.) Since I stocked up on granola during our trip last week, I didn't go too nuts yesterday, though I did get a 2-pack of Bumble & Bumble hair lotion. Bumble and Bumble, I heart you.

On the schedule for today: spinning, bronch, chamber music concert, a little shopping (perhaps), and some tennis! Oh, yeah, and maybe some laundry and grocery shopping, those lesser-but-necessary weekend activities...

Dispatch from Stanyan St.

It is a beautiful Saturday morning (er, late morning) - cloudless and sunny, with only the usual amount of traffic noise - and I'm taking a break from the freelance work of the day. This week seemed like the longest week; work was hectic and I had a big pile of freelance projects that all had to be completed immediately, and I feel like I've never been so grateful for a weekend as I am right now. Even while I was in grad school (and presumably swamped with work), weekends never seemed abruptly different from weekdays. Now, though, I understand the difference.

The good news: I somehow received an extra-awesome tax refund, so Hook and I are planning a trip to Mexico for next month(!!!) I'm pretty excited: I've never been to Mexico, and I also feel like I really need a vacation - a beach vacation, with sunny vacant days and beers by the water. Maybe a little hiking, a little kayaking. This trip is going to rock.

In other news...life is pretty much the same. The end of the school year is approaching and the students are getting restless. The rainy season seems to have subsided(?) I'm psyched to do more hiking around here, and also have MORE PICNICS in Dolores Park. Even though this is the land of dubious seasons, it's starting to feel like summer.

For the first time this season, I (may) have a tan.

Oh, to be tan again! This weekend was gorgeous, and fortunately, I didn't spend the whole time indoors! Indeed, I made sure that my time was divided [sort-of] equally between work and bummin' outside, and now - finished as I am with my current freelance project - I'm relaxing on Hook's couch, a cool breeze coming in through the window.

Yesterday, Hook and I joined M. and P. for a picnic in Dolores Park. I'd only been to Dolores Park on a few occasions (read: field trips) - never in the picnic/beer context - and man, is it awesome. We chose a spot at the top of a hill (better for people watching), spread out our blanket, and sipped Tecate and ate cupcakes until the almost-evening. During our stint, we were approached by a canvasser, a lady trying to sell subscriptions to a CSA, a hobo asking for empties, and a grinning old dude selling pot cookies from a rolling suitcase. Indeed, I love everything about this park with the exception of its terrible, inadequate restroom facilities. But hey, nothing's perfect.

This morning, Drew, Hook and I ventured out to Muir Woods for a hike, which was equally enjoyable (though in a much different, read: more strenuous, way). I'd heard from a few people that the woods can be super busy on weekends - so busy that one has to park like, two miles down the road from the trail head - but we got an early start and snagged a primer parking spot. The hike was really good: I haven't gone hiking since last summer, when my mom, sis & I were at Yosemite, and some of the inclines were a little tricky. Overall, though, we did well, taking the Oceanfront Trail to the Lost Trail, continuing along the Ben Johnson trail to the Dipsea. (Note: I did not remember any of this, but instead relied on Hook for the names.) At the very very end, just before we reached the parking lot, we came to a creek that could only be crossed via log - the bridge was down. I did have a moment of panic & almost began crossing the log on my hands and knees (I was dehydrated, people!), but Hook came to my rescue and walked back across the log so that he could encourage me to walk like a biped. And so I crossed without falling into the creek, and the hike ended on a successful note.

This afternoon was mostly business: lunch at Squat and Gobble because the kitchen was empty, grocery shopping (to prevent unnecessary S&G trips), and the completion of this weekend's freelance project. My legs have the good tiredness in them, and I'm satisfied with the writing work that I did, and I think I'm going to have an awesome sleep tonight. This is all.

Weeeeeeekend roundup.

Weekend roundups: that's pretty much all I manage anymore, in terms of blogging. Ah, well: maybe I'll go the way of tumblr? We shall see. My tumblr has been embarrassingly dormant for like, 8 - 10 months, so I'd have to get it up and running before I even converted to that microblogging format...

It was an excellent weekend on the friendship and bargain fronts. Friday, Hook and I met some new pals for dinner @ Acme Burgerhaus (on Divisidero. $1.95 pints from 3 - 10! Excellent fries!), after which we hit the Page for drinks. M. and P. are both from Minnesota (I met M. while she was subbing at my school); they both like biking, good music, cooking, the idea of rooftop gardening, thrift shopping, and whiskey drinks. Good friendship times on the horizon!

The bargain front was slightly less exciting: mostly, I used a bunch of Gap/BR gift certificates I'd hoarded. Also, today I saved 41% on my grocery bill through my crafty use of coupons/noting of in-store sales. Yes, I realize that my mentioning of this on my blog renders me a total, total geek, but the savings! Oh, the savings!
Well, you understand if you know me.

Tonight, Hook and I made a from-scratch pizza that was totally badass; now, Hook is crocheting and I am scanning the internet, about to knit for a bit, and then it's baking time! I love domestic Sundays!

Sentences to describe my day:

1) The transition back to work wasn't as bad as I expected it to be.

2) My right hamstring hurts - maybe in a bad way?

3) I have rediscovered my love of pickled beets!

4) Ke$ha most certainly is a lesser Lady Gaga.

5) Ooooooooh, baby, did I stock up on clearance Easter candy!

6) Hook is here, reading a book of essays while I fritter away time in various online showrooms.