Road trip to Chicago and Indianapolis!

My love of the Midwest, especially Indianapolis, can't be a secret at this point. I first visited Indianapolis in high school actually, as part of a band trip (oh, yes, I was in band in high school), and I loved the city! I love that being a fan of the Colts gives me an excuse to go back there pretty much once a year. And having friends and family in Indianapolis/Chicago/the Chicago area gives us even more reasons to head to the Midwest.

So for this trip, we headed to Chicago first to see my cousin for her birthday. We had had tickets for the Colts/Giants game for awhile, and it happened to coincide with my cousin's birthday, so we extended our trip by a day, and swung through Chicago to celebrate with her. My other cousin flew in from DC for the weekend as well, so it was a nice little cousin reunion!

My cousin had cardboard mustaches for all of us to wear, so we stuck one on Marek's whale on his tee shirt.

Dashing

Here's the three of us doing a little impromptu dancing. As you can see, we have a lot of fun together! I really wish we all lived a bit closer so we could get together more often, but it makes for fun trips. I'm going to visit my DC cousin in October, and possibly back to Chicago in December, and then I'll see both of these girls at Christmas - I can't wait!

Love my girls! I can't believe we've only been hanging out for a year (even less)!

We partied for a long time on Friday night, but had a ton of fun. Saturday morning I had made plans to meet up with Julia. She and I connected through our blogs sometime last year, and met up in Chicago last year when Marek and I swung through on our way to Indianapolis. We both had pretty full schedules for the weekend, but were able to meet up at Ann Sather's for breakfast/brunch, which was great.

Saturday night I headed out of the city to visit with some more cousins of mine - and even meet some whom I had never met before! It was a nice visit, and we had a lot of fun!

Sunday morning we got up and got breakfast (third straight day of eggs/bacon/toast/pastry, blech), and then started the drive down to Indianapolis.

I LOVE the drive from Chicago to Indianapolis, really. We made the same drive last fall, but it was a bit later in the fall and a bit later in the day, so the sun was heading down, and it was just beautiful. There is this great stretch of road, heading south on I-65, for about 5 to 10 miles maybe? And there are wind turbines everywhere. I love it. I drove to Indy this time, so didn't get any pictures, but I imagine we'll make that drive again at some point, so maybe next time.

Once we got to Indy, we parked at a lot and then headed out to get some "must-dos" done: get my mom an Indianapolis Starbucks mug, make a stop at the Colts Pro Shop and get some new gear for the season, and get my Peyton Manning 2011 calendar. Living on the East Coast (and my state in particular), they don't sell Peyton Manning calendars around here, but luckily the Borders near Circle Centre always has them in stock...or at least has for the past 4 years!

Marek and I then hit up our favorite restaurant in Indy, Weber Grill! We really like this restaurant, and have made it one of our regular stops when we visit the city. We were really looking for a place to watch the Patriots/Jets game, and ended up scoring a table right near the TV. I was curious who the Indy fans would root for. They seemed largely indifferent, but there were more cheers when the Jets scored. (There were Giants fans around, too, though, so maybe it was them? Or do Giants fans hate the Jets?)

After the Patriots/Jets game, we headed over to the stadium (aka The Barn) for the game. Normally we get to the stadium an hour and a half to two hours before the game, and we get to watch the players warm-up and stuff. This time we got there about half an hour before the game started, so we missed getting our "Scout" magazines (free game programs), which made me super sad. (I ended up getting one that some guy in our row left behind though!) We also made a second trip to the Pro Shop, so that evened it out I guess.

They are doing a lot of work over near the stadium at the site of the old RCA Dome. The Indiana Convention Center renovations look pretty cool, and it looks like the Marriott is putting up a shiny new hotel. At least, we assumed it was the Marriott. Right now it's just the "Rriott".

Here's the view from our seats. We buy our tickets secondhand, so usually end up pretty high up, and this year was no exception. We did get tickets close to the 50-yd line, which was a nice change though. Lucas Oil Stadium is pretty big, and I always love going there. They had the roof open the night of the game, which is always pretty cool, too.

Here's the Colts' opening drive. Normally I take a lot of pictures of the game, but I left the SLR at home for the weekend, and felt like just relaxing and taking only a few pictures. I love game pictures, but you spend so much time taking them (especially with just a point-and-shoot) that it's easy to miss the fun!

I had to take a picture of Air Blue though. The Colts have a main mascot, Blue, who is a blue horse. There is a Junior Blue, who is a mini version of Blue, and then this buffoon, Air Blue. Poor guy is in a blow-up mascot suit, and he can sort of waddle around, but not much else. He has a long floppy tongue that flails around out of his mouth, too. Very strange. I love watching him though - always like to see if he falls over, haha!

Here I am after the game! (We won, woo hoo!) It took us awhile to get to a spot where we could take this picture, as people kept coming over to where we were. I love my Peyton Manning shirt. I get to wear it basically once a year when we go to the game, and I'll pull it out for playoffs (or the Super Bowl) occasionally, and I got new beads for the game this year (left my horseshoe beads at home). It was a very fun game, and we made sure we stayed until the end!!

Colts championship banners! I love the way they have them displayed! Wish the one on the right was for the Super Bowl Champions (not just AFC Champions)!

After the game, we met up with my friend Erin, whom I've known since freshman year of college (so long ago!). She lives in Indianapolis, and was kind enough to meet up with us after the game was over (after midnight!). We met outside the city at a Steak 'n Shake, which was my first time there, and I have to say, it was kind of awesome! We weren't able to catch up for as long as I would have liked, but we were able to hang out for a little over an hour, and then Marek and I had to get on the road. (Marek was probably grateful for this...last time Erin and I got together we were chatting nonstop for 3 hours.) Erin is someone I get to see very rarely, so I was really glad we got to hang out! Love this girl so much!

After Steak 'n Shake, Marek and I headed home. Normally I would drive for 2, maybe 3 hours, and I was ready to call it quits just outside of Columbus, Ohio, but instead, we might have gotten into an argument, which gave me the energy and adrenaline to drive until 7 AM (so about 5 hours). Marek drove the rest of the way back to New York (about 6.5 more hours), and so we actually made the drive home straight through, without stopping for any naps. New personal bests for us!

All in all, it was a really fun trip! I love seeing friends and family, and we got to see so many on this trip! Thanks to everyone who made time for us. And of course the Colts winning their home opener and winning their first game of the season wasn't so bad either. :)

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Let's talk about Ohio

As part of our road trip this past weekend, we had to spend a lot of time driving through Ohio. I tweeted extensively about it. I HATE OHIO. Have I mentioned that on this blog yet? No? Oh, well now you know. And if we're real-life friends, then you probably already know that. (And if we're real-life friends and you didn't know that, well, then I don't know what to tell you.)

Really, I cannot properly express how much I dislike Ohio. I suppose to be more specific, I hate driving through Ohio. I have never actually spent any significant time in Ohio, but I've spent plenty of time driving from the East coast to Indianapolis/Chicago, and Ohio happens to be in the way, both there and back.

You're probably thinking, Oh, gee, what's so bad about driving through Ohio? Well, here, let me explain.

But before I do, you should probably sit down. Ready?

Here's a map I drew freehand of the United States...in 2004. I'll wait while you let that sink in.

Done laughing? Good.

Now you see, notice where Ohio is on my map. See how it isn't even on the WAY to Indianapolis or Chicago? Sure, it's apparently wider than both Indiana and Illinois combined, but it's NOT ON THE WAY to Indianapolis.

Oh wait, except it in real life, it is. When we drove out to Indianapolis the first time, I was thinking about my own map, where Ohio is south of Indiana, and thus not an issue. So imagine my surprise when it took us 4 hours to drive through the entire state of Ohio.

And it's not just the 4 hours. It's the 4 hours plus the flat, flat terrain with nothing to look at. It's the 4 hours plus the fact that Indiana is riiiight on the other side, so close and fun! Maybe you're thinking, Jenn's just a Midwest hater. Ummm, NOT TRUE. I love the Midwest! I want to move to Indianapolis!

On the trip out, we have typically driven through the entire states of Massachusetts and New York, and on the way home, we drive through the entire states of Pennsylvania and Connecticut (in the running for the second worst state to drive through). But they all pale in comparison with the Seventh Circle of Hell that is driving through Ohio.

I mean, what's even there? We've criss-crossed the state 4 times now, and I have never seen anything of interest there. Ohio tries to make things interesting (Thomas Edison's birthplace, something about Rutherford B. Hayes), but it's just not.

You know what else baffles me about Ohio? How did it get not one, but two football teams? And not one, but two baseball teams? There are entire states (or regions, cough, New England, cough) who only got one team, but Ohio gets TWO? WHY??

Oh, and when you enter Ohio from the East, you get a dinky little highway-exit-style "Welcome to Ohio" sign. But when you enter Ohio from the West, you go under a fancy pants arch. What the hell?

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To the middle and back

Wheeee! I'm off work from today through Monday, which means a 5-day weekend! So excited.

The mini vacation looks like this:

*Drive to New York to pick up Marek

*Drive to Chicago for a little cousin reunion/family fun time and see a lovely blog friend

*Drive to Indianapolis for the Giants/Colts game, which I've only been looking forward to since the NFL announced the 2010 home and away opponents, and see a lovely college friend

*Drive to New York to drop off Marek

*Drive home

This weekend is going to be so much fun. I'm going to get to see so many of my favorite people! Catch you on the other side of the weekend!

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Change in the Island 5, and a little football tangent

A change in mine, of course, because Marek still hasn't revealed whose on his. Even I'm curious. But anyway.

Thomas Kretschmann is out - sorry, Tommy! Thanks for playing!

So who's in?

Philip Rivers.

Philip Rivers is the quarterback for the San Diego Chargers.

He's also age-appropriate (28) - not too old or too young. He looks good with his helmet on AND off (always important for a football player).

He is forever linked with my #1's brother, Eli Manning. Do you know this story? In the 2004 draft, the Chargers wanted to draft Eli Manning. But he didn't want to play for San Diego, so he made it clear, pre-draft, that he refused to play for the Chargers if drafted by them.

So the Chargers drafted him and had already worked out a deal to trade him to the New York Giants for Philip Rivers and a couple of draft picks.

Chargers fans hate Eli Manning.

People generally assume that I like Eli Manning because I like Peyton. Untrue. I think he's decent, but I certainly don't think he deserved to be the highest paid player in football at one point, nor do I think he deserved to be the Super Bowl MVP the year the Giants beat the Patriots. I laugh at his Citizens Eco-Drive watch commercials where they call him unstoppable.

But I digress.

The point of this post was to let you know that there's been a change in my Island 5. Also, I'd put Philip Rivers at the #2 spot now, and move David Beckham to the #4 spot.

Davide Beckham might get bumped soon anyway. I was trying to think of who I would bump for Rivers, and I couldn't even remember he was on the 5, which is never a good sign.

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Less than a month till the Boston half!

As of today, there is now less than a month until the Boston Half Marathon! This means less than 4 weeks of training, and only 3 more long runs (which is good and bad).

This will be my third half marathon (second "real" one, as I don't really count the first one), and my first non-Mini half marathon. After the Mini this past May, I kept running off and on, but I find I have more motivation to run consistently when I'm training for something.

I'm back living with my parents now, so I've had to adjust my running routes, which, if you know me, has not been fun. I'm a creature of habit. In our old apartment, I had at least 7 "main" 3-5 mile routes I could pick from each day, so I was able to switch it up a bit and not get bored. I was able to pick loop routes, out-and-back routes, and whether I wanted to do hills that day. Now at my parents' house, I basically have one 3 (4 if I stretch it) mile route that's a whole bunch of little hills, which are good for the legs, but take some getting used to.

I'm not training for this half marathon as diligently as I should be (today's Tuesday...I haven't run since Friday...I skipped cross-training last night in favor of parking my butt on the couch and eating ice cream (and laughing at the Jets, but that's another story for another time)), but that's okay. Because if you'd told me 10 years ago...or even 3 years ago that I'd be running my third (second) half marathon, and second one in a year in just under a month, I totally would not have believed you.

I joined the track team in high school. For two days. I hated it so much. I couldn't understand how people could just RUN around for the fun of it. (Okay, the truth was, I really just wanted some sweet Umbro shorts, which my mom so kindly bought for me. If I was going to try to be athletic, then I was going to dress the part, dammit!) I'm not sure I understand it any more now, but I've come to enjoy my alone time when I'm running. I'm not a group runner, and I prefer to run by myself, to be alone with my thoughts.

I find running to be more of a mental exercise than a physical one. My biggest hang-up about running is the amount of time it takes me to get ready. On a basic run, I have to change/change into: running underwear, sports bra (or two), heart monitor, shorts, t-shirt, socks, sneakers, iPod, GPS, and possibly my fuel belt. I know you might think this is silly, but God, it's such a hassle getting ready!

I have to finish in under 2 hours and 30 minutes to be considered a "finisher" and get a pretty medal (the most important part of any race, after the FREE T-SHIRT). I finished the Mini in 2:29:07, and am running an average pace of just under 11 minutes/mile (hovering around 10:50, even on my long runs), which I have to say, is what I'm most excited about. (In January, I was running a solid 12 minute/mile, even 12:30.)

Anyway, so yeah, the half is less than a month away now. If you're around that day, come say hi!

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Hodge and podge

So, it's been awhile! Let me get you caught up.

• Marek received a job offer from the company he's been interviewing with! It was a long and at times stressful process, but he is very excited!
• The position requires him (so us) to relocate to New York City, the one place I always said I would never live.
• The last couple weeks of August were quite possibly the two most stressful weeks of my recent life. I spent a great deal of that time on the verge of tears due to stress.
• You know how some people lose weight when they get really stressed out? I'm not one of them.
• But honestly, looking at my food diary - I'm just glad I haven't gained any weight, based on all the bad food I've been eating.
• I finished the book One Day. It was a fairly quick read and I enjoyed the book quite a bit. I do have to say though, I'm not sure I like Anne Hathaway in the adaptation.
• I'm back living with my parents at the moment. I'll be there for a week as of tomorrow night, and it's been great so far.
• My parents celebrated being married for a long time last night. I cooked them dinner and we had a nice time.

And then some revelations of sorts:

• We own way too much stuff. Especially clothes. A 1300 square foot apartment might be nice, but that plus a shed and a deck are conducive to owning stuff that you just don't need.
• We are related to some really great people.
• We have fantastic friends.
• Someone needs to be in charge of taking my phone away from me the next time I decide to drink.

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