Category Archives: Restaurants

The Trifecta: Restaurant, Book & Movie Reviews

Good afternoon all! I know I promised you a book and restaurant review today and I wanted to get them up earlier, but then I decided to just lump them together with a movie review and make a GIANT post. My apologies in advance for the length. So let’s begin.

Restaurant Review

Nobu
I was admittedly very excited when I learned that Hubby’s co-workers were planning a dinner at Nobu that would include significant others. Score! Besides being excited to see some of his co-workers and their signficant others I’d met before, as well as meeting some new team members, more importantly, I was thrilled to hear we would be gathering at Nobu!!

And so it was that I left work last Thursday and headed to Nobu on 57th. The restaurant is actually a bit hidden and set inside a little covered area.

Once our party arrived, we were escorted upstairs and Bill’s boss promptly spotted Ace from American Idol. For those who know me, I’m awful at spotting celebs, so I truly appreciate when people spot them and point them out to me. Apparently, I am oblivious.

Once we got down to business with the Nobu menu, I turned from oblivious to clueless and overwhelmed. Thankfully, I was with some people in the Nobu-know who guided our table to make the right selections. The downside of that – I’m at a loss to tell you what some of these pictures are. I will do my best…

Pretty sure this was the sashimi salad.


Some sort of mushroom salad that was soo tasty.


Rock Shrimp – Hubby’s favorite and might be mine as well. This was amazing. A must-order if you ever go.


Holy sushi and sashimi selection! All the ones I tried were amazing.

All of the food was soo delicious. I’m sorry I can’t go into more detail – I wish I had paid more attention during the ordering. There were also some other dishes that I didn’t post because  literally had no clue what they were. There wasn’t  a single thing that we ordered that I did not like. However, it was not a cheap meal by any means. That is my word of warning to everyone. Be prepared to spend some dough. And also be prepared to see some of the most pretentious and well-dressed people you’ve ever seen. There were some people there like our table – low-key, fun and laid back. But you could also spot a ton of uptight business folk or freshly bo-toxed glamazons . And I swear to you that just as we were about to leave the Jonas Brothers came in, but they were seated behind a wall and I knew it would be inappropriate to try to scale it. Not that I’m a fan of the JBs – just desperate to actually recognize some celebs from time to time.

Book Review

The Girl Who Played With Fire

By: Stieg Larsson
[photo source]

I’ll assume that if you want to read this book or already bought this book that you’ve read the first book: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. If not, I’d like to kindly ask you to stop right there and go back to the first book. You can not read the second book in this trilogy without reading the first.

That being said, this book does have a completely new story-line, but you need the history to gain the full understanding. It’s so difficult to explain Larsson’s plot line within these books. I’ll leave it at saying that  Lisbeth Salander is back and is working with journalist Mikael Blomkvist again on unraveling some criminal activities and mysteries. However, the relationship between Salander and Blomkvist has changed drastically since we last heard from them, so that adds a twist to the feel and direction of the plot.

General thoughts on this book – it made me immensely nervous right from the beginning. I was terrified for Lisbeth and worried about what would happen to her next. I felt this way a little bit in the first book, but this book intensified those feelings and did so right from the start.

As per Larsson’s first book, it’s a fast-paced, intriguing page turner. I cancelled plans and skipped the gym to go home and read this book. I did not want to put it down. However, toward the end there were a few details and situations here and there that I found to be a bit unbelievable or far-fetched. This disappointed me momentarily, but did not affect my overall opinion of the book.

The end of this book way okay, but nothing entirely amazing. Overall though, if you liked the first Larsson book, I can pretty much guarantee you will enjoy this one as well. But remember – it’s not for the faint of heart, there are some serious thrills and chills in these books.

Movie Review

Get Him to The Greek

We watched this movie last night and I have to be honest and say that it did not live up to my expectations. Perhaps it was because before we popped in the Netflix DVD, we had been watching “The Hangover” on HBO. It’s hard to think anything is as hysterical as that movie. So maybe not such a good pre-movie choice.

Regardless, this movie has its funny moments. Hubby doesn’t really like Russell Brand, but I found him to be amusing and a pretty decent actor. He’s got potential. His character reminded me of the washed up rock star from “Love Actually.” Now that was a great movie.

Anyway – this is a short movie and it’s probably better off that way. You’ll enjoy it if you go in with some realistic expectations and a willingness to forgive some predictability. I did really like that they tied it to “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” – now that was another great movie! Somehow, I doubt that I’ll ever say that about this movie though.

That’s all folks!!

“Good Health Cafe” Review

As promised, I have a restaurant review for you today. Yesterday I mentioned a great little hole in the wall place on the UES – I’m talking about  “Good Health Cafe.” Located on First Avenue between 74th and 75th, you would surely miss this place if you weren’t specifically looking for it. Once you enter the unassuming building, you find yourself in a small dining area with about 6-8 tables. Don’t let this deter you.

Sit yourself down and then try to decide what to order off of the fairly expansive and interesting menu. There’s some asian fusion in there, a little mexican, some hearty appetizers, wraps, burgers, fish, delicious sounding salads, and finally a smashing brunch menu.

When I visited this locale, I was firmly set in brunch mode. Thankfully, they serve brunch until 4:30 p.m. Sold! But then the problem became what to order? Look at this brunch list: banana pecan whole grain pancakes with blueberry; whole wheat pancakes; multigrain pumpkin spiced waffles  or pancakes; wholesome belgian waffles topped with banana blueberry sauce;  wheat-free very berry pancakes; organic buttermilk pancakes; corn & wild rice whole grain pancakes; baby blueberry pancakes; very berry multigrain pancakes; cinnamon vanilla french toast.

And my brunch choice isn’t even on there! I ordered whole wheat pancakes with warm apples and cinnamon. It came with veggies patties, homefries and eggs on the side. It was amazing.

Soo yumm! This totally filled me up. Next time though, I may have to give the french toast a whirl. 🙂 Also – they have a big omelet section on their menu as well. There really is something for everyone.

My friend’s boyfriend wasn’t in the mood for brunch, so he got a salad that he absolutely loved. I think it was the Green Tea Soba Noodle Salad: chilled japanese noodle with julienne tofu and vegetables in peanut sauce, served over greens.

I’ve decided this place would be the perfect post run  brunch spot – do I hear a blogger run and brunch calling? 🙂  Who is in? I’d surely have to try to make some sort of reservation to fit more than 4 people in this joint, so let me know. I’m thinking the weekend of November 20th – who’s around?

Thursday Reviews: Firenze and Sedaris

Happy Thursday all! Having two days of training this week meant that the week has flown by, but I also have a ton of work piling up! Today should be a productive day. So today I have two reviews coming your way; a book review and a restaurant review.

Firenze
Hubby and I postponed our anniversary dinner until last night. We had to wait until the Yankee game was over to head to dinner, but once it wrapped up, we walked over to Firenze on 2nd Avenue between 82nd and 83rd.

It is a tiny place. I’ve walked by it a bunch of times in the past, but never really looked in. It’s small and if you’ve got a noisy group of drunken middle-aged parents behind you (which we did), it can get pretty loud.

The waiter seated us and promptly brought over some bread with what I think was marinara sauce on top, along with some olives, regular bread and cheese. (I apologize for no photos – Hubby doesn’t like it. And in this place, people would have gawked.) So then the waiter asked if we wanted to see a wine list. I said sure and was handed a 20-page book. I became overwhelmed and handed it to Hubby. And then finally we each had a single glass of wine.  (I had Chianti and Hubby had Cabernet.)

I started off with the insalata mista, which was good, but a little heavy on the dressing.  For my main dish, I had the Tagliolini Gamberi & Radicchio, which was fresh pasta with shrimp and radicchio in a light cream sauce. It was good, but I’m not sure if I liked the radicchio all that much. Hubby tried a bite and said the same thing. It would have been better with something else, maybe broccoli?

After dinner, they offered us a complimentary after-dinner drink, which was very nice. I declined, but Hubby had the amaretto and then we were talked into ordering the Tiramisu, which was delicious.

All in all, I enjoyed the meal and would come back. There were definitely other things on the menu that both Hubby and I wanted to try.

And now, how about a book review… 

When You Are Engulfed in Flames

By: David Sedaris

This was not my first go-round with David Sedaris. I read his “Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim” a few years ago and thought it was hysterical. Therefore, when my mom passed along this book, I took it more than willingly and moved it high up on my reading list. Although the front cover threw me a bit, I quickly reminded myself that it was simply Sedaris’s quirky style.

This book is a set of short stories that are taken from many different points of Sedaris’s life – both younger and older. I really can’t go much into plot, since each chapter is a brand new story with a new theme or focus. The common thread between them all is that they are laugh-out-loud funny. No seriously, the people next to me on the train (I was reading it during 3 train rides) must have thought I was a nut to be laughing so much at a book. Instead of thinking I was crazy, I told myself they were simply looking at my book jacket so they could jot down the title and buy the hysterical book for themselves.

Sedaris’s style and voice is so unique, quick and witty, that you can’t help but feel like you are good friends with him and he is confiding in you about these ridiculous stories. I also decided that I must meet him and am hoping he’ll release a new book and have a book signing in NYC soon. I want him to be my friend.

Simply put – read this book. And if you’re like me, you’ll probably end up wanting to buy or borrow all of his other books too. My only word of warning: this book is not for the modest or timid person. Sedaris lays it all out there, so expect the unexpected. And laugh it up!



A Weekend of Exhausting Fun!

Good morning all. Happy Tuesday. How many of you had to work yesterday? I did and I felt like I was the only one! And there was even a fair happening in the street outside my office – talk about torture!

So I’ve been MIA for a bit because I’ve been so crazy busy. On Friday, I headed upstate for my friend Jess’s bridal shower and bachelorette activities.

On Saturday morning before all the events started, Lauren and I ran 8 miles together. Her last long run before the Baystate Marathon the 17th. I still felt like I was slowing her down a bit (don’t kill me for writing that Lauren – she gets so mad when I say it), but I at least felt better for this run and not so exhausted. Here are our stats:

Mile 1 – 8:55
Mile 2 – 8:54
Mile 3 – 8:46
Mile 4 – 8:36
Mile 5 – 8:28
Mile 6 – 8:23
Mile 7 – 8:48
Mile 8 – 8:54

Total mileage – 8.06 in 1:10:17. Average pace – 8:42 minute miles.

So I got some decent pacing into that run and felt pretty good afterwards. I haven’t trained as strictly as I would have liked for the half marathon I’m running in conjunction with Lauren’s full, but this run made me feel a little better.

After our run, we headed to our friend Jess’s bridal shower at Apertivo Bistro in Schenectady. She got a ton of great stuff and I really enjoyed their food. I chose the chicken maria for lunch.

It was very good. Others at the table had the personal pizza and that looked amazing as well.

After the shower, we all headed to our respective homes to freshen up and I might have taken a little nap. I had to be rested for the evening activities! And we had so much fun – good thing I napped.

Her MOH did such an amazing job with everything! Look at this spread:

And here are some of our girls with the bridey…

We danced the night away and finally called it quits at about 2 a.m. and headed back to our friend’s apartment for some snacks and bed.

On Sunday I headed back to NYC, feeling less than stellar and possibly like a cold was coming on. I think I’m wearing myself out. The month of October has been, and will continue to be, pure mayhem and my body feels like it’s revolting. I just need to make it through this Sunday though – I don’t feel like running a half marathon with a cold.

So that brings me to Monday. I went to work (and scowled at the people enjoying the street fair outside my office), and then forced myself to go for a run after work. I swear I don’t think it’s actually a cold – I think it might be allergies. But whatever it was, it was all located above my neck, no coughing or respiratory issues, so I felt it was okay to run.

And actually, running really helped last night. I think it cleared out some of the junk that was in my nose (sorry I know that’s really gross). My stats from Monday night’s run:

Mile 1 – 8:53
Mile 2 – 8:39
Mile 3 – 8:38
Mile 4 – 8:49

Total mileage – 4.03 miles in 35:12. Average pace – 8:44 minute miles.

Not too bad considering my stuffy head and runny nose. After my run, I made dinner (stir fry – yumm!), vacuumed, did the dishes and then promptly passed out fell asleep at 9:45. My body just gave out.

And now it’s Tuesday already. How was your weekend and your Monday off – if you had it off?

5K Race, 12 Mile Run & A Baby Shower

Holy busy weekend. It went by so fast that it left me spinning. The next two weekends will be more of the same I think.

On Friday, I took the train home, hung out with my parents a bit and then went to bed early. Saturday morning was the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 5K run in Albany. A bunch of my girlfriends and some of their family ran or walked the race. We took the requisite group shot at the race.

I’m the one with my face hidden in the shadow! It was soo sunny outside that day. I was a little nervous about this race because I haven’t been running all that much. And I know how competitive I am. I want to PR in every race and sometimes that is just not possible.

We started the run going up a hill and already I knew that it was not going to be a fast run for me. My legs were very heavy. The first mile felt okay. The second mile felt like it took 10 years and then finally there was only 1/2 a mile to go. I finished with a time of 24:36 and was not entirely pleased with that. However, I have no one to blame but myself for not training more.

After the race, I headed back to my parents house to quick shower and get ready for my friend’s baby shower. It was held at the Century House in Latham, NY. She got a ton of stuff!!

Our group of friends gave her a Jeep running stroller and a maternity massage. That way she can get back out there running with us and bring the baby along! The food was really good, but unfortunately I totally forgot to take a photo. But here is a group shot of our girlfriends.

Wow – I am soo short! The shortest in this photo with the gray and black dress on.

Saturday night I went out to dinner with a few friends to Mexican Connection in Saratoga. A friend of mine bartends there, so we hung out with her and ate some delicious food.

Then on Saturday morning, I met up with said bartending friend (Lauren) to go for a 12 mile run. Lauren has been training for the Baystate Marathon (Oct. 17) and so this was the start of her tapering. I was nervous going into this run that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with her. And indeed, it was pretty tough.

Have you ever run with someone and you just know you are holding them back?

Well that was this run. I had to ask her to slow down a few times. And I could tell the difference in our breathing and exertion of energy. I was really struggling and Lauren was just out for a nice easy jog. It made me feel completely out of shape. And made me nervous for my half marathon in two weeks. Although I can always use the half marathon as a training run to help me get back into shape for marathon training coming up in December.  Anyway – here are our stats from the run:

Mile 1 – 8:19
Mile 2 – 8:42
Mile 3 – 8:40
Mile 4 – 8:39
Mile 5 – 9:04
Mile 6 – 8:52
Mile 7 – 9:12
Mile 8 – 8:45
Mile 9 – 8:56
Mile 10 – 8:59
Mile 11 – 9:10
Mile 12 – 8:51

Total mileage – 12.01 in 1:46:17. Average pace 8:51 minute mile.

I’m sure this is much slower than Lauren has been running. She is trying to qualify for Boston so we can run it together next April and I know she has been working really hard and working on her speed. But I’m telling myself that it’s her taper time and me slowing her down a bit won’t really make a difference at this point. We are running 8 miles together this coming Saturday, so I’m mentally preparing myself now.

After our Sunday run, I took the 2 p.m. train back to NYC and then did laundry and passed out fell asleep early.

And then all of  a sudden it’s Monday and I’m wondering where the heck my weekend went! I have a feeling that the month of October is going to leave me exhausted!!

How was your weekend?

P.S. – I can’t tell you how excited I’m getting for the NYC marathon runners (and for my friend running her marathon on the 17th)!!!

Busy & Tiring Day at Social Media Conference

Hi all. I’m still in Jacksonville, Fl. at the social media conference. I am utterly exhausted. Today we went from 8:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. with really only a 30 minute break for lunch and then a few 10 minute breaks here and there. I am spent.

But, I have to say that it’s been a very good conference so far. To date, social media (blog, Facebook, Twitter) has really only been a part of my personal life because the company I work for has been very slow to accept and realize the benefits. However, I think I see changes coming in our future and I’m very happy that I have this chance to become more prepared.

I’ve found out about a bunch of great resources through this conference, and I’m sure that many of you social media gurus out there already knew about them, but they are pretty exciting to me:

Tumblr
Four Square
Compete.com
What the Hashtag
Paper.li
Blogpulse.com
bit.ly.com
posterous
Yammer
flipvideospotlight.com (non-profits can buy one flip camera and get one free)
Haro
Profnet
WeFollow

I’m not going to go into what each of these sites is for – you can browse if you haven’t already checked them out. Some are geared toward social media and others toward more PR-based efforts. I’m very excited to have a list like this started to help us with our efforts.

Ok – enough of the boring stuff. I don’t have much exciting food to share with you because we haven’t had many choices. However, my co-worker and I did make it to a decent restaurant last night called Marker 32. We started off by sharing a shrimp cocktail and beet salad. The salad was amazing!! Then we both ended up ordering the same thing for dinner. A fish called Trigger with a quinoa pilaf and artichoke sauce overtop. It was simply amazing!!! I am not a huge fish person, but the waiter sold me on this and he was soo right. It was delicious.


Seriously amazing!!! So good. We were stuffed afterwards. And it sounds awful, but we might go back to this place again for dinner.

Ok – it’s getting close to dinner, so time to log off. Hope everyone had a great Tuesday. My question for today is:

What is your favorite social media tool? And what social media tool do you most often (Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Blog, etc.)

The Results Are In…I’m Competitive

Happy hump day all. I hope today flies by for everyone. I am in training all day again today. Yesterday’s training was actually really interesting. It’s being given by the American Management Association and the class is Getting Results Without Authority.

I’m not exactly high up on the power list in my office, so it should be very helpful for me. It was also interesting because we took a Personal Style Indicator test by the Consulting Resource Group and it was pretty enlightening. Basically it told me I am a combination of Cognitive and Behavioral or C-B. What that amounted to was the label “Competitive.” Oh yes, I guess I have to face the truth now that this test confirms it. And after reading the description in the accompanying booklet, I have decided not to fight the label. It described me to a T, 100%.

Apparently it means I can be sensitive and challenging; I pay attention to detail; I find it difficult to adjust to unexpected changes; I accumulate stress and tension without releasing it; I can be a bit overly critical of myself and others; and I should engage in plenty of cardiovascular exercise to help release blocked tensions.

No seriously, it really said the last part about cardiovascular activity and I thought that was hysterical. Another page said that people under this descriptor feel the need to be very active, but then can also relax 100% when they know things are accomplished. That’s me!!

It was so funny to read this material that really speaks to me directly in almost all cases. And it explains why I react the way I do in certain circumstances and why, for me, running is all about goal setting and achieving milestones. And now I don’t feel as bad about it – it’s just who I am!

Have you ever taken a style or personality test? What did it tell you? Was it on the mark or way off?

I’ve taken another one before and it was pretty accurate. I enjoy taking them and like reading about my strengths and weaknesses.

Restaurant Review: Gonzalez y Gonzalez
After my full day of class, I met up with my friend Katie for dinner in Soho. We went to Gonzalez y Gonzalez for some Mexican food and margaritas. We contemplated starting off with guacamole, but at $16.25 for an appetizer, that seemed a bit steep.

Instead, we both ordered the passion fruit frozen margarita and had some nachos (much more reasonably priced).

I have to say that the nachos we just meh. I don’t think a plate of nachos means 8 chips smothered in beans and fake cheese with salsa, guac and sour cream on the side. I want a heaping plate of chips, with melted shredded cheese, some pico de gallo and beans. Yes, the salsa, guac and sour cream should be on the side, but you need to build the base of the nachos with love. 🙂 Sorry – I am a bit of a nacho freak.

Anyway, our main courses did not disappoint at all. I had the Burrito Vegetariano filled with zucchini, yellow squash, corn, tomatoes, cheese and black beans with brown rice on the side. YUM!!

Katie had the steak quesadillas and she enjoyed that entrée as well.

The only other thing that slightly annoyed me was that they were offering a happy hour special from 5 – 7 p.m., but only at the bar. I contemplated having us go get our drinks at the bar ($5 vs. $9) and then get a table, but Katie had a train to catch and we didn’t have time to dilly-dally. Still, I think if someone is coming in to spend money on your food, they should most certainly get the same deal on their alcoholic beverages as other bar patrons.

After dinner I headed home, read for a bit and then went to bed early. I didn’t watch Biggest Loser, but Tivo-ed it, so that might be on the agenda for later tonight.

Have a good hump day all!

Tying Up Loose Ends

Happy Saturday all! I’m up at my parent’s house dropping off Mr. Murph (my parents are cat-sitting while we’re away) and doing some pre-vacation laundry. I can’t believe we are leaving tomorrow. It’s a 10:40 p.m. flight, so I am considering taking some NyQuil or Tylenol PM to knock me out on the flight. Has anyone else ever done that with an overnight flight?

My last few days of work were crazy with trying to get stuff finished and tie up all my loose ends. My department co-workers and I also went out to a late lunch/happy hour on Thursday as a goodbye lunch to our boss.

For lunch I had the turkey club (they noted it was free range on the menu, which I loved) from PJ Clarkes.

The only problem with the sandwich was that the bread was so hard, I could barely bite through it. I probably only ended up eating about half of the sandwich because it was so tough.

Then we all shared a celebratory cupcake (or two).

And here is our cute little team…

It was such a gorgeous day outside by the Hudson!

Friday was a whirlwind. Last minute projects and requests were flying my way, so I was shooting off emails and writing like a crazy woman. But it felt good to power down at 4:30 knowing that I had taken care of everything! And now I am officially on VACATION until September 13th! And it feels amazing. 🙂

Tonight the real packing and preparatory mayhem begins! Have a nice weekend all!

The Countdown Begins!

Happy Monday all. How were your weekends? Mine was pretty low-key. Today is a dreary and depressing day in NYC, but I’m not letting it get me down because at this time next week I’ll be in Ireland!! Hence, the countdown to our Ireland Vacation 2010 has officially begun.

I’m a little bit nervous that this week is going to drag by because I’m so anxious and excited for vacation to get here. But then again, I do have a ton of stuff that I need to get done before I leave, so maybe this week will be busy and just buzz right by. I suppose I’ll find out soon enough.

So anyway – this weekend was very nice, although not filled with any running to speak of. I have determined that I will not be motivated to run until after our vacation. It’s just not where my head is. I k now it’s awful, but I just haven’t felt like forcing it. Maybe this means I’m not a “real” runner, but I’m pretty tired of giving myself the guilt trip. I know that I’ve got a half marathon in October and I think that once we get back from Ireland, that looming deadline will really hit me and I’ll get into gear. Until then, I’m not going to beat myself up.  

If you’re a runner – do you ever “guilt” yourself for not running enough?

I had this conversation with my friend who is currently training for a fall marathon. Hearing her talk about her training makes me feel guilty for not running more and not running a fall marathon. That sounds pretty crazy – I know. She doesn’t experience the “runner’s guilt” like I do and I just wondered if any other runners out there get it?

Moving on, so last Friday was a busy day and then I went to the Yankee game with two of my girlfriends, one of which is pregnant. We did not eat healthy anything at the game…but we sure had fun!

Despite watching the Yankees lose pretty miserably, we still had a great time together. And the weather was amazing.

We called it a night after the game and went to bed fairly early. And then on Sunday morning, I took them to my favorite crepe place for breakfast – The Yorkville Creperie right around the corner. We debated between ordering savory or sweet crepes and then made the wise choice to split a savory crepe and each have our own sweet crepe.

Our savory crepe:

Filled with ham, egg and mozzarella.

Then my friend Becky and I ordered the Country Crepe:

I added some granola to mine. It is filled with strawberries, banana and nutella – YUM!

Lauren has this heavenly crepe:

It was filled with lot of fruits and topped with whipped cream. Doesn’t it look like the 4th of July?!

The rest of my weekend was very low-key. I read some more of my book “Once a Runner,” I watched Law Abiding Citizen with Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx and thought it was pretty good. Then I cleaned a bit and watched Trueblood on Sunday night. I’m so sad that Trueblood is almost over. 😦 

I hope you all have a good Monday!

Saturday Date Night and P90X

Hi all – how has your weekend been? Mine has been pretty good. On Saturday I decided to sleep in bit and try out one of the P90X videos instead of running. I probably should have just gone running because I’m soo sore today from it that running is out of the question. I woke up with soreness I haven’t felt since after my very first long run.

Before I jumped into P90X I ate a yummy oatmeal breakfast with strawberries.

I want to preface this by saying I am NOT really doing P90X. We have the DVDs, but realistically, our apartment is not conducive to the actual training program. We don’t have a lot of room to move around and do all the activities to the fullest.

That being said, I wanted to finally see what this program was all about. So I popped in the Plyometrics DVD and wondered what I was in for.

The answer – a lot of cardio, sweating and heavy breathing. It was tough. There was a ton of jumping, lunging, squatting, etc. It was really intense. The video was a full hour, but I think we were probably really working hard for about 50 minutes of the DVD.

At the end of the DVD I was pooped. But I felt really good. My legs had been worked in ways they hadn’t been in a very long time. I think today I may try the ab DVD.

After I finished the DVD, I ate a protein bar (still a few left) and then cleaned a bit. A little while later I was hungry again, so I threw some veggies in a bowl with balsamic vinegar.

That held me over until Hubby and I headed out for date night. A Shake Shack just opened up on the UES and I’ve been wanting to try it out. There is always a line out the door, so we gave ourselves a little extra time. When we got there, there was indeed a long line, but it moved pretty quickly and soon enough I was ordering a cheeseburger with fries and a diet coke. And it was yummy! We sat in the outside area and enjoyed our not-so-healthy summer dinner.

After dinner, we headed to the movie theater to see Inception.

We happened to talk to an older couple a Shake Shack and mentioned we were going to see this and they told us they hated it and actually walked out of the theater mid-movie. Well that didn’t exactly excite us, so I was a little hesitant when things started. However, I really liked it. The couple said it was too confusing and hard to follow, but both Hubby and I were able to follow everything okay.

All in all, I enjoyed it and it had me thinking and attentive the whole time. I certainly recommend it. It’s not a mindless movie though.

So that was our Saturday. And I’m sad that it’s Sunday already. On the agenda today – laundry at the laundry mat, cleaning, possibly P90X abs, dinner and True Blood.

How has your weekend been? What’s your Sunday look like?

And yes, I am upset with myself that I didn’t run, but I’m planning to ease back in on Monday night on the treadmill. I think setting a lofty 9-11 mile run goal might have intimidated me. I’ve decided to take baby steps now.