Muscle Milk

I got invited to the Muscle Milk warehouse in Tempe.  It's a fun place with awesome people!  I was introduced to Muscle Milk about a year ago by my friend Karleen.  I was hesitant at first because I am lactose intolerant.  She reassured me that there was no actual milk in it, so I gave it a shot.  LOVE.

Warehouse full of Muscle Milk

Muscle Milk Trainers take this jeep out everyday!

ASU designed MM bottles.  Go Devils!

Muscle Milk has so many yummy flavors; some regular, some light.  One of my all time favorites is Cookies 'N Creme, which is regular.  My favorite way to drink it is to blend half a bottle with ice; it's like an oreo smoothie!  My other favorite is vanilla combined with strawberries; YUMMM!

Fun stuff!  I got to bring these goodies home with me; yay.

In addition to the regular bottles, I got to try out the new protein crunch bars in Vanilla Almond Yogurt and Chocolate Peanut Butter.  Both are awesome!  I still have to try the Cytomax Cool Citrus sports drink; more to come on that later.  Anyway, I'm really excited to be working with Muscle Milk so that I can properly recover from my workouts.

House Stuff & Dog Mommy

My parents came out to visit and help us with some house stuff.  My Dad is so handy; he can fix anything.  Thanks for driving 6+ hours to see me Dad, but here's a drill, get to work.  Here are a couple of things we've done so far, more to come!

Filled in the concrete at the front door.  Hopefully this will keep mini critters from getting in the house. I hate you scorpions!

I would love to replace these lovely vanities, but for now new faucets will have to do.

Manual labor is hard work.  Eric and I sweated this out.

Loving our new hardwood floor!  Thanks Dad.

My Mom bought Addy a baby pool and she loves it!  We need to get her in a real pool and see how she does.

We took Addy on her first trip to the dog park.  We're pretty sure she has never been before.  She did more sniffing than playing, but she did great with the other dogs.

Fancy Scottsdale dog park.

Addy LOVES Eric.  Wherever Eric goes, she goes.  It's pretty cute. 

Watching the world pass by or more likely, waiting for Daddy.

I have officially become THAT dog mom.  :) 

Almost Summer

Lululemon Biltmore hosted a fun and free outdoor evening yoga series on the W Hotel rooftop in Scottsdale.  This was a fun and still fairly cool beginning to what will be a very long summer in Arizona.  This particular night was also a bonus because Muscle Milk was there giving away recovery product! 

My bestie came back in town for another visit.  I LOVE when she comes to visit.

Cocktails at Sanctuary!

I had been waiting for Morning Squeeze to open for quite sometime and I was not disappointed. Yummy food and decent prices. It was definitely crowded and we went on a Friday morning.  Don't people have jobs around here?!  I had the Mexican Breakfast Burrito (shocker) and it was excellent. Sharie had the Crab Cake Bennie and said it was awesome except that it didn't have an English Muffin as the base, which was different.

Breakfast at Morning Squeeze.

Bestie weekends aren't complete without mani & pedis.

Just for fun, we got blowouts at Drybar.  Such a fun place.  Pick your style, have a cocktail, relax, and wa-la perfect hair!  In the past I had only been to the one at Scottsdale Quarter, so this time we went to the one by the Biltmore.  I love this place because no matter what style you want it's $35.  You can add on special enhancements if you so desire.

Clearly the before pic!

We had a fun and yummy dinner at North Italian Farmhouse. We started with the Fonduta, which was AMAZING.  A form of bruschetta; the base was a tomato jam with tomatoes, basil, and warm mozzarella on top drizzled with EVOO.  They also make some amazing roasted peppers; we had to get an extra side of them because they were so good.  We went the pizza route and ordered the Salsiccia and the Funghi; everything was perfect.  I loved the ambiance in the restaurant; so fun and hip yet casual at the same time.

I need to get back here again soon!

Poor Eric missed out.  Someone has to bring home the bacon while one of us spends it.

Saturday night we had a fun time at a wine party, but that deserves it's own post.  Sadly, Sharie and Albert had to hit the road pretty early Sunday morning.  I on the other hand, hit up outdoor yoga at Gainey Village with my girls.  So much fun and yet another bonus with Muscle Milk there.

Poolside yoga with all my girls!

Totally irrelevant to the post, but Addy is just too cute sleeping with her baby.

Addy

Eric had been wanting a dog for quite sometime.  He would check out the rescue sites online, but every night he would show me a different dog.  When you pick out a specific one, let me know.  I know, I'm the sweetest person ever.  One Monday afternoon, I get a text message with a picture of a dog.  I didn't think much of it, Eric is a random texter; I figured it was a dog he encountered and wanted to share. A few minutes later he calls and says, I want to bring this dog home.  PUMP THE BRAKES.

He goes on to tell me a very sad story; you can already imagine how this ends.  Her owner was in a minor car accident because he was having a heart attack and later died at the hospital.  Eric responded to the accident and the dog was in the back seat.  Long story short, the family couldn't take the dog and wanted the dog to go to an active home.  I can't make this stuff up.  I agreed to meet the dog and see what I thought.

We met at the Wag N Wash because she desperately needed a bath.

I learned that her name was Angel and her owner was a local Priest.  Talk about going from an angelic home to living with the heathens.  To make a long story short, she was adorable and we brought her home. We have since found out that she's 3 years old and in great health.  We are super lucky; she's completely potty trained, doesn't chew, and minds well.  We're very happy to welcome her to our home. 

Addy and the professional dog walker.  Right.

Settling in with her babies!

Don't even think about stealing my bone!

Marquee Race Report

I decided to race two days before the event.  Last year my plan had been to take a break after IMAZ and then pick it back up to race Leadman.  Due to the fractured foot, my plans were a bit altered.  Early in the year, I spent a lot of time building my run back up and honestly I wasn't riding very often.  The cold desert mornings didn't help with my motivation.  I wasn't sure I was ready to race a triathlon yet, but decided on Friday I had nothing to lose and signed up for the Marquee Olympic. 

This entire weekend was huge for triathlon in Arizona!  The City of Tempe was the host city for the USAT Collegiate National Championship.  Friday and Saturday it was awesome to see so many college athletes racing for their respective schools.  Sunday capped off with the Leadman, Marquee Olympic, and Marquee Sprint triathlons; you  know for us 'older' folks. 

All signed up & realized I didn't have a race kit to wear.  My friend Erica was so kind and dropped this off for me!  

This was my first race on my new Trek.  I went to put my race wheels on and quickly realized that this frame was much more advanced than my last one.  I quickly realized I wouldn't be racing with race wheels; oh well.  Anyway, race morning came and I was off.  The swim was pretty uneventful.  I was passed with approximately 200 meters to go and all I could focus on was, 'who is that?!'  I must've passed her in the transition because I didn't see her again.  Ironically enough, my bike was successful.  Even though I felt like I wasn't bike fit, I didn't suffer too badly.  As of Thursday I hadn't decided I was going to race yet, so I did a lovely leg weight session after the group ride.  Best decision ever.  NOT.  I needed to assist myself onto the toilet come Friday morning.  Needless to say, I suffered on the run.  Heavy and sore legs were not ideal for the running scared scenario I was in come Sunday morning.  There's proof in the phrase, anything can happen.  I was being run down the entire time and I knew it.  At each out and back section, I could see the girls gaining on me.  I just kept telling myself, keep running, just keep moving forward.  Finally, just under the Mill Ave bridge, as we were about to enter the finish chute, someone caught me.  Crap.  She ran up next to me and we were shoulder to shoulder.  I decided I might as well go down fighting, so I sprinted, all the way to the finish line.  Somehow, luckily, I got there first.  We shook hands, I learned her name was Courtney and she was so sweet.  Suddenly I felt bad, she did all that work to catch me and then I stole it back.  Argh.  All my congrats to Courtney; fantastic run and thank you for pushing me.

Heading to the finish.

The stars aligned this day for 1st OA. 

Erica tearing up the Leadman podium.

The swag bag.  Simple, but useful.  I heard people throwing their noses up at the Commitment Day calendars, but I LOVED it.  Hello, office supply/organizer hoarder.  I always love a Headsweats visor.

I'm very to happy to have chosen to race, great things came from it.  More on that in the next post.  Thank you to Erica for the Tri Scottsdale kit, Muscle Milk for the appropriate recovery, Zoot for my favorite shoes, and my Oakley's for never fogging up.

April Birthdays

For our April birthday event we had a lovely lunch and tour at the Wrigley Mansion.  We paid $46 for lunch and the tour, which I thought was a bit steep, but fun nonetheless.

Lunch menu from Geordie's Restaurant inside the mansion.

No girlie lunch is complete without bubbles!

Romaine wrapped in prosciutto with rosemary crostini, melted baby heirlooms, smoked Parmesan with garlic honey dressing.  Wowzers.

Wrigley Mansion club sandwich with turkey, bacon, pesto mayo, smoked Parmesan, Bibb lettuce, & heirloom tomatoes.  It was supposed to come on Brioche, but I requested it on ciabatta. 

Sweet potato fries & mixed greens were brought out for us all to share. 

Ridiculously good flour-less chocolate cake.

The very lovely right side of the table.

And the left.

Trish & Julie, two of the birthday girls!

Leah, another birthday girl!

I took quite a few pictures of the tour, but I won't torture you with all of them. We didn't get to see every room because a wedding party was prepping in some of the rooms.  I very much enjoyed the tour and would like to go back and see all of it.  My only complaint was that the tour wasn't just for our group, it was for a larger group.  That made it hard to get in and out of all of the rooms and listen to what the tour guide had to say.  The tour guide herself was incredibly entertaining and knowledgeable. 

Phoenix view at the top of the mansion.

I love the spiral open staircase at the entryway.

The operator room at the front of the mansion; neat.

Christy demonstrating the in-house phone booth.  Apparently for all those secretive calls.

Mrs. Wrigley had a VERY blue bathroom, complete with a sitting area.

I loved all the gorgeous hallways.  Most of the furniture was original as well.

The piano was so neat; jukebox included.

Another successful birthday event.  Check out the Wrigley Mansion when looking for something new and interesting to do in Phoenix. 

Baby Nolan

My good friend, Kristen, was expecting her very first baby!  Kristen had some bigger showers from her co-workers and family/friends in Chicago.  Amy and I also threw her a mini one in Phoenix for a little extra fun.

Beautiful Mom to be, Kristen!

Adorable clothesline Amy put together.

My pick for Nolan's Daddy.

Mini fish bowls of Swedish Fish & Peanut M&Ms.

My sister is the real Martha in the family, but I try.

Orange and blue was fun to decorate with!

Mini cheesecakes especially for Kristen.

Cupcakes I made that didn't fall apart!  Miracles happen everyday.

Heidi, Kristen, & Amy

Yours truly, Kristen, & Amy

 It really didn't seem like long before Nolan was born on April 8th!

Hands over the head...definitely a swimmer in the making!

Double use for the banner I had made for the shower!