Good morning and happy Black Friday! Who’s shopping the sales? You know, in all of my 22 years (I’m ancient, I know ;-), I don’t think I’ve ever gone shopping the Friday after Thanksgiving. The crowds sound terrible! I heard on the radio that some stores opened as early as midnight, 3 and 4 AM. Craziness! I hope you all had wonderful Thanksgivings, whatever you did. We had a very nice day, but by the time we got home last night I was so tired that I went right to sleep!
Yesterday morning I was up at 8, with the full intention to go for a run early in the morning. Well… that didn’t quite work out. I was really tired, and wanted to relax a little around the house. Around 9:30, I made a protein shake using the Fair Trade Dark Chocolate Tera’s Whey Protein powder (which I won from one of Holly‘s contests), frozen strawberries, and skim milk.
It was good, but needed a little something. Over-ripe banana it was!
The result was perfect: rich, chocolatey, and with the slightest hint of fruit.
Around 10:45 I finally got my act together: I laced up, piled on the layers, and went for a run. According to my training schedule I needed to run 5 miles and work on speedwork. Because my heart rate monitor doesn’t have GPS and not all of the streets are marked in Riverside Park, I had to approximate “2 x 1600 @ 8:47”. Basically, I warmed up with a mile, ra really fast for 4 minutes, resumed a regular pace, ran fast around a mini-track for 3 laps, and ran slowly home again. Not ideal, but it got the job done. How do you concentrate on speedwork when you’re not on a treadmill or a calibrated path?
When I got home, I had a quick lunch: salad and miso soup leftover from my bento box.
I iced my knees (I’m trying to get in the habit of doing this after every run that’s longer than 2 miles) and helped my mom with our caramel pecan rolls.
We make these “sticky buns” every year (recipe can be found here), and they’re always a hit.
It was very hard not to dig in before the feast!
I wanted to bring something vegetarian, so I made Heidi Swanson’s Carmelized Tofu & Brussels Sprouts recipe. I’ve made this a few times… I just love this.
Everyone (besides me) is carnivorous, so I wanted to make a sweet recipe that would make tofu a little less intimidating.
We got to George & Judy’s house, and went straight upstairs to look at the view from the top apartment in their building.
Note: when lusting after a piece of real estate, speak in earnest and rub your palms together with enthusiasm.
Fondle the exposed brick…
… and allow your photo to be taken, however camera-shy you may be.
We went back downstairs to partake in cocktails and appetizers.
I was very excited to see Cowgirl Creamery cheese, which I’d coveted from the re-caps of the Foodbuzz Food Festival.
I may have overdone it on the crudités… my stomach was upset for most of dinner :-(
Jack on the rocks made it a little better…
… and the company almost healed me.
The turkey was lovely.
We ate buffet-style…
… and I loaded my plate to the max with red cabbage with apples, rutabaga, mashed potatoes, corn pudding, my Brussels sprouts & tofu, sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, and a sticky bun.
I didn’t know if I’d be hungry for dessert, but I managed to pack in slivers of pumpkin and pecan pie, with a little homemade whipped cream.
It was another fabulous Thanksgiving. Can’t wait to see how you celebrated!
I’m off to scrounge for leftovers and head to Ari’s family’s house (though he will not be there). Have a great weekend!