Monday, October 11, 2010

Scrapbooks, running and mole de puerco

I had quite a weekend.

With the money my dad gave me for my birthday, I treated myself to a weekend scrapbooking retreat with my friend Diane. Three days of photographs and memories ... blissful! On Friday evening we settled in to our "spots" in a conference room at the Country Inn & Suites in Naperville, and got to work. The group of girls at these events are just awesome. We laugh and joke with each other all weekend long. I got a lot of work done and enjoyed the company even more than the work I got done on my books.

On Saturday morning, I agreed to go for a run with Diane. Now, she is an accomplished runner. I am ... not. But she assured me she would let me establish pace, and we'd go however long I wanted. So I went.

It. Was. Hard.

Over three miles of sidewalks in the area surrounding the hotel, we ran. Well, she ran. I ran and walked and kept reminding myself that all forward motion counts. We went three miles. It took me 50 minutes. Everyone has to start somewhere.

But as difficult as it was, and as much as I hurt the following day, running with Di was so good for me. She talked with me the entire time, reminding me to focus on my breathing, telling me how to place my feet and use my arms to propel myself forward. And she talked about her kids and the family and did her darndest to take my mind off of the fact that my legs were burning, begging me to take a rest. By the time we got back to the hotel, lemme tell ya - breakfast never tasted so good.

Too soon, it was time to leave scrapbooking behind to head out and tend to home and cat. Sunday also brought the best kind of dinner - food from a Mexican hole-in-the-wall with a too-loud Mariachi jukebox. Mole de puerco (pork in mole sauce) just about made my toes curl, and it was a good calorie choice, too! I chose a meal without frying or cheese or creamy sauce, and I was treated to an amazing plate of slow-braised pork in the best mole sauce I've had since Dale, accompanied by a small amount of rice and beans, and real corn tortillas. Halfway through the meal, I was full. Guess what I'm having for dinner tonight?

No comments: