Swim Week and Reunion

Lots of pictures today...okay so there are always lots of pictures it just feels like more today ;)

Wednesday morning I went with my husband for the early bird swim special. Left the house at....

I was ready to get in the pool at 4:22 a.m.  Did I mention they don't actually open until 4:30 a.m.?? Depending on who is working the doors sometimes open early. ??

 The whole pool to myself :)

I got in a really good workout. I swam 10 laps then "ran" 10 laps. For my swim laps I started with underwater swimming with frog kick, then doggie paddle and then backstroke. I repeated that sequence three times. The last lap was just a combo of strokes to get from one end to the other and back. (about 25 minutes) For the "run" laps my goal was move as quickly as I could. (about 12-13 minutes). After all the laps, I did squats and lunges until my husband was ready to go home.

We came out of the gym to a gorgeous sunrise.

More oatmeal and peaches. Getting a bit ahead of myself, but there was a minor miracle at our home this week. The peaches lasted all week without going bad. I only have one left to eat Saturday morning. A couple times this week I add just a couple pecans to the dish.

 After the curling iron wackiness of Monday, I was happy to get a new curling iron.

 Lunches were grilled chicken and veggies.  
Wednesday night my inlaws took us out for pizza to help them celebrate their 51st wedding anniversary!!!

I requested brownies instead of birthday cake from my MIL. She brought a pan to our house on Wednesday. I had meant I wanted them when we celebrate my birthday instead of cake. However, I did not send them back nor throw them away. I best not tell you what happened next.  

This...and worse. 

Apparently our relationship bush got jealous of all the pink flower pictures I took the other day. Its white flowers turned pretty much all pink in a matter of a couple of days.

 I don't have near as many daylilies as I used to, but I love this one called "Aglow."

 Friday morning we were both off work so we slept in a bit and got to the gym about 5:40 a.m.

 One of my many flamingo beach towels.

There were a couple of people already in the pool when I got there. (By the way, ff you look closely you can see my curling iron burn from Monday. It hurts a bit, but isn't bad at all.)

There was some pool sharing drama. Normally one lane is roped off for laps. Then the next person swims next to the lap lane, etc. Well, for some reason the ropes weren't out and chaos ensued. Basically, one woman told me I was doing laps on the wrong side (which was completely opposite form EVERY other time I have been there and the lap lane has been roped.) However, I complied, but then she proceeded to take up two whole lanes in the center. I was trying to swim right next to the ladders and steps. At one point, when I was backstroking, I looked up to see a butt right in my face backing down the steps. Who does that?  I am not invisible by any stretch. Then that woman told me I should put the ropes out. Of course, I didn't, so she put the rope down the middle of the pool. The two people doing laps (myself and another lady were banished from her section. It was weird....pool hogs.

Post swim selfie. I either need a cap, a haircut or some other bangs fastener next time I swim.

I knew I was eating out Friday night (and brownies had happened) so I kept lunch super simple - turkey meatloaf and sweet potato. It was the first time I made the meatloaf without the slice of bacon on top. It was still very tasty and I will surely make them that way in the future. We love bacon but don't always have it on hand.

Friday afternoon I met up with a friend I met several years ago through our blogs. Turns out she lived about 40 minutes from me. We met up a few times before she moved to Florida. See a couple of our meet ups here and here. She was here visiting family and invited Millie and I for a bit of a puppy reunion.

We me in a town that just happened to be the halfway point.between us. My friend Google helped me locate a park to walk the dogs and then a place for dinner later where we could take the dogs. The park had a nice mile long walking path

By the time we saw the sign we were already doing it so we kept going. That may or may not be why one couple seemed particularly grouchy and didn't return our friendly hello.

We walked at more of a strolling pace. It wasn't long before the dogs' tongues were hanging down to their knees. The park had a water fountain but we didn't have a bowl. Tiina had the great idea to use one of the doggie dropping bags for a bowl...no worries, it was a clean one and it worked great.

We walked about a mile and a half and then headed off to the restaurant. I called in advance and found out they had a patio and were more than welcoming of dogs.

Tiina was the perfect date because she is a food sharer. We ordered a couple different things and happily split them. We started with a seafood dip. It was a nice cold dip much like crab dip. I wasn't expecting the side of jalapenos, but it was a nice kick on a couple of my crackers.

Before we met up I had posted the menu and got suggestions from our Louisiana friends. When we arrived at the restaurant the waiter said his two favorites were the same as what our friends had suggested - Crawfish Etouffe and Muffelatta. I could feel all the calories from the creamy goodness of the etouffe marching straight to my hips, but in that moment I didn't care. (There are no surprise calories when the menu says "Cream and butter based soup with crawfish and andouille served over rice.") It was so delicious - turns out etouffe is an ultimate comfort food. The sandwich was also very tasty (A New Orleans tradition!  Ham, salami, provel cheese & olive spread, toasted and served on a seeded bun.) And because we are so health conscious, we fed most of the chips to the dogs. So that was a win :)

Who knew such a yummy little Cajun restaurant could be found in a small town in Southern Illinois. I am pretty sure we will be back. We relaxed and chatted for quite awhile on the patio. The dogs were happy to have many people come by to "visit" them.

 Millie and Tiina shared some extra love :)

Millie has never been to a restaurant and I was pleased with how she behaved. Except for one incident when she got jealous of the attention Koda was getting and made some very rude remarks.

 Silly Koda :)

Across the street was a little shop for pets called Uptown Hound. Unfortunately, it was already closed.

I attempted to teach Koda and Orion how to take selfies. There seems to be a problem....teacher or students??

Before we left we got someone to take a group picture of our crew, since the selfie attempts did not go so well :)

It was a very nice evening and I am looking forward to our next meet up.

I have a quick June wrap up and then it is time for a day of adventure with my honey. Our ladies group is doing a summer challenge - weight loss and mileage. For the weight loss we are tracking how much the group can lose over the months of June, July and August. I am not sure what the group total is yet for June, but I contributed 6 pounds to the pot. Honestly, I had hope for more, but there will be no complaining. Those kind of months add up. My mileage contribution was 35.84 (we have a mileage conversion for strength training and swimming - the point is to get us moving). I got smoked by several of the ladies - they are amazing!!  One other unofficial "goal" I had, I aced. About mid-May I wondered aloud to my husband if I could go until my birthday without eating fast food - about 6 weeks. I didn't mention it because I didn't want it to become a big deal. Sometimes the more I try to avoid something the more I obsess about it. Well, I did it. On June 29 I did have Jimmy Johns and my husband isn't convinced it is not fast food....it's not fast - it is freaky fast! In all seriousness, a sub-type sandwich is not what I think of when I think fast food - I am thinking greasy burgers, fries, etc.  Anyway, I did it and it really wasn't difficult :)

Looking ahead to July...I have a goal in mind to double my June mileage. I am already working on it - logged a 2 mile walk this morning. I want to beat my 6 pound loss, but I know I have some challenges ahead because we just found out we are going on a spontaneous vacation to Denver. A former co-worker offered her place for free while she is out of town. How could we resist?  We are planning plenty of walking to enjoy the gorgeous scenery (I've never seen it in person). Fingers crossed the altitude doesn't slow us down too much. Hopefully, that will offset some of those vacation food treats. I am super excited about the trip :)

How do you handle vacations treats?