productivity woah

This weekend was a whirlwind. So much so that thinking of where to start is overwhelming me! Here's a tiny recap:

• Friday: IKEA
• Saturday: 10k training run
• Sunday: IKEA build party

On Friday morning, I got up and took Grove to Camp Bow Wow. C had to go to Nashville for work unexpectedly on Thursday evening, and the odds of me fitting an IKEA trip and brunch into 2 hours were slim to none. I got all of his stuff together and loaded us all in the car. Being a single mom is hard! I felt like I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off! I do not envy people who have to do it with actual human children.

Anyway, I dropped him off and headed up to Chicago. I know I'm going to get some hate mail for this, but I hate Chicago. I cannot honestly think of one nice thing to say about it. Alas, the IKEA in Cincinnati did not have everything on my list. Going up to Chicago also gave me an excuse to visit my good friend Julie who moved there after law school (fool).

I picked her up from work, and we had brunch at Wildberry Pancakes & Cafe, which was right down the street from IKEA! It was deeeeeeelicious!

PANCAAAAAAAKES!

Pretty ceiling :)

IKEA was a whirlwind. We went to the warehouse section and picked up all the furniture so we could make a good base layer in the van. Once that was loaded in, we went and wandered around the rest of the store. Let me tell you, the IKEA in Schaumburg is weird. Instead of having what I refer to as "the showroom" top level and then the bottom level where you actually buy all the stuff, everything is intermingled (except, obviously, the warehouse section). So you have to push a cart through the whole thing! Makes it less of an experience to me than just another place to shop. Lame, IKEA. After that, I took Julie back to work and drove home, stopping for dinner at Chipotle. Yum!

The next morning was the 10k training run. It was 26 degrees outside and windy. NOT A FAN. I went anyway though. After being lame last month, I figured it was important that I go. The very beginning was fine. Then it started sucking pretty hardcore. Inevitably, between miles 0.5 and 3 I hate my life. I hate running and everything it stands for. I started considering asking one of the nice policemen who were blocking the streets to take me home. I pushed through, though, and the rest of the run was pretty ok! I did a lot more walking than I had planned, but my running pace must have been faster than usual because I still ended up at under a 15 minute mile. Nice! I'm starting to feel better about my marathon prospects.

Seriously, my fingers hurt they were so swollen

C picked up Grover on his way home from Nashville on Saturday morning, and the 3 of us took an afternoon nap. Later that night, C and I went to the ever-classy Red Lobster (maybe you've heard of it? it's quite upscale.) for dinner, and it was delicious!

Sunday was spent assembling IKEA furniture, finishing the ceiling in the nursery, installing light fixtures in the living/dining rooms, touching up other areas of the ceiling, and doing dishes and laundry. Super productive! I was super worn out, and my back still hurts from bending over on the floor, but feels so good to get that stuff done! The nursery still needs some touch-up work done on the walls, but after that we can actually put the furniture in there (instead of just having it hang out in the living room...)! Quite exciting. C also got paint for the hallway, which will be nice. This big ole house is beginning to come together, little by little. I'm loving it.

Daddy, momma, and baby HEMNES