Grapefruit spoons, Girl's night, family, World Cup and good food!

For starters, the reason I have not been blogging is that I have been working very hard on my candidacy.  What is that?  Well I have to come up with an original research proposal that is different from any research I am currently doing or have previously done.  I have to present my idea to my committee, and if they approve, then I am officially a doctoral candidate.  I have spent the past few weeks working very hard on an idea that I came up with only to figure out on Thursday that the idea will not work.  I had planned to spend the entire weekend finishing up my rough draft, so instead I worked on coming up with a new idea and taking some time to relax.  I feel much more relaxed, and on a good note I have a new idea.  I don't know all of the details yet, but keep your fingers crossed.

On the 9th, it had been exactly 2 years since I found little Zack on the sidewalk while running.  He used to be as big as a dollar, and how he's a big kitty.  On the 9th Caitlin and I ran the same path where I found Zack.  We did 4 miles in 47:49.  Check out my little Zacky:

June 9 2008 and June 9 2010

Do you enjoy grapefruit?  Here in Florida we have delicious grapefruit!  I have grown up eating it, and for as long as I can remember we had grapefruit spoons.  I recently got a set of grapefruit spoons for myself and found out that some people at work had never heard of them.  I thought I'd share some pictures for those who have never heard of them.

They are also great for eating kiwi

As I mentioned, Thursday was the day I realized my candidacy idea was not going to work.  I was pretty bummed that night.  On Friday, Caitlin and I ran 3 miles in 34:17.  It was really humid Friday morning.  Friday evening I had a girls night out with Caitlin which I desperately needed.  We went to see the movie Letters to Juliet, which I LOVED!  I am still on Cloud 9 after that movie.  Very romantic and cheesy, and I just loved it.  After the movie we went to the coolest little restaurant/bar that I read about from a fellow Orlando blogger, MegNerdRuns.  As soon as I read her blog earlier in the week, I knew I wanted to try The Social Chameleon!  Caitlin and I started by sharing some Nan bread with garlic (delicious!).  Then she ordered the Florentine pizza (Organic spinach, herbs, ricotta cheese, roma tomatoes & fresh mozzarella cheese), and I ordered the Athenian pizza (Roasted chicken, organic spinach, feta, roma tomatoes, artichoke hearts, house made pizza sauce & our 5 cheese blend).  We each ate a slice of our own and one of each others (yay for left overs!) while we shared a glass of amazing passion fruit sangria (YUM!... and yes, we shared because I'm a light-weight when it comes to alcohol).  To finish off a wonderful evening, I wanted to order dessert, so we split a fruit tart.  It was fabulous!  The restaurant also has over 70 beers, which I am sure Chris will enjoy.  I cannot wait to take him there.  The wall that we sat next to had cool pictures and quotes, which I took a few photos of.  There is also a kitty that was just hanging out!  I will definitely be going back!

Chameleon painting on our table

Caitlin's pizza

My pizza

Delicious dessert!

It is a poor picture, but that is the kitty under a nearby table

 On Saturday, while Chris was at a nine ball pool tournament, I watched the World Cup US vs England game!  I'm sure I do not need to tell you about how the US managed to score... but at least the game ended in a tie.  (And that buzzing was seriously driving me nuts... and it still is with every game I watch!)  I also had a chance to meet up with one of my aunts and her family.  I have not seen them in 8 years, and my cousins have all grown up so much!  I had a wonderful time hanging out with them all afternoon and evening, and was happy when Chris was able to join us for dinner and got to meet them all.

With my "little" cousins

Today has been a wonderful day as well.  Today is my little sister's 18th birthday!  This also marks exactly 3 years since Chris and I met (although we did not start dating until September).  Chris and I went out for brunch before he had to head out of town.  We went to one of my favorite places, 903 Mills Market.  I had a side salad and the 903 wrap (minus blue cheese). I love this place because the atmosphere is so pleasant.  I love any place where I can sit outside and enjoy good food and beverages.

Chris left after we ate, and I did some shopping and research for my new candidacy idea.  Then I went for a 4 mile run which turned out to be more of a run/walk since I was hot and tired.  I think it had been too long since I had eaten.


Mile 1:  10:39
Mile 2:  10:32
Mile 3:  11:26 (there was a lot of walking in this mile... I was hot and tired.)
Mile 4:  11:01

I was soooooo hot by the end of that run!  I ended right where I had to wait to cross a busy street.  Luckily there were sprinklers, and I stood in the middle of them!  It felt AMAZING!    I had a nice mile cool down walk before going home.  Since Chris does not love fish, I decided I'd cook salmon for myself while he is away.  I used his dad's recipe, which I love!  I baked the salmon with lemon juice, a little salt and pepper, and Parmesan on top of the salmon.  For the last 5 minutes of cooking, I broiled it so that a crunch parmesan crust was formed.  YUM!  I paired that with some sweet potato fries (Chris also does not enjoy sweet potatoes.) and a glass of wine.  Delicious!  Now I am watching the movie Dear John (it has the same actress as Letters to Juliet, but so far I do not love it nearly as much), blogging, and chilling with the kitties.

My salmon

I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend!  I will leave you with some pictures that made me smile this weekend:

Kirby somehow ended up in the laundry basket (remember, he is my handicapped kitty)

My pineapple plant is growing its very first pineapple!  I'm so excited!