Feeling random?

Randoms

1. What's your go-to recipe? My mom's meatloaf with my own twists: ground turkey instead of ground beef and whatever random veggies I have in the fridge.

2. When you hear "American food" what comes to mind? So sad, French fries.

3. What would you say is one of your "weirdest" quirks? I obsessively adjust my glasses on my face, when I'm wearing them.

4. What color do you mainly wear? This is a tough one, but I think blue. Even when I'm wearing a different colored shirt, I'm usually in jeans.

5. Always have to say everything on your mind or never speak again? Always say everything on my mind... because I already do a pretty good job of that anyway!

It's Halloween weekend, what are you doing? Are you wearing a costume? If so, what/who are you dressing up as? Happy Halloween!

An itinerary for my town

Guess what, I am coming over to your house! What would we do, eat, go, see... tell me 5 things!! Oh yeah where do you live?

Well, let's start at the start; I live in northern Rhode Island in a suburb of Providence. It's a nice town, but I haven't discovered too much in the way of going on around here. So, if you came to visit, here's five things we'd most likely do... assuming you were from out-of-town.

1. We'd eat at Gregg's restaurant for lunch. Gregg's is a strictly Rhode Island restaurant, and they have the best cake. 

2. We'd go to the Roger Williams Zoo. I love the zoo, and this one is pretty cool. 

3. We'd wander around the East side of Providence, especially if the weather was nice. This is my favorite part of Providence -- gorgeous houses, tree-lined sidewalks, Thayer Street, Brown University, Rhode Island School of Design... so many little treasures.

4. We would take a drive down to Newport. This is the first place I think I ever went in RI, and I love it still. Beaches, clam shacks, bars, restaurants, marinas, Salve Regina University... and let's not forget the mansions!

5. We would shop at Providence Place... it's still my favorite mall in these parts.

Ok, so that's like three days worth of things to do, but oh well! 

{Images via Destination360, Britannica Online, DonnaMontalbano.com respectively}

Major fail!

I only ran two days last week, and I didn't post on either of them. Fail.

I am determined to run three days this week, plus a long walk tomorrow. Today I had to cut it short by about five minutes because I got an awful cramp in my side. Don't you hate those? Grrr...

Patience is crucial, and I'm trying. I'm not sure what I'm so anxious to do that I can't just enjoy this journey for what it is. I guess I want to be able to run those full three miles because, in my mind, then I will be a runner -- as compared to the wannabe runner I apparently think I am now.

Anywho, here's today's playlist:

• Walla Walla -- The Offspring
• She's Got Issues -- The Offspring (the iPod really liked them today!)
• A Message 2010 -- Coldplay (off the Hope for Haiti album)
• Show It to Me -- T.I. featuring Nelly
• Stay Fly Remix -- Three 6 Mafia

The plan for the rest of the week:

• Walk a mile to the library tomorrow to return Catch-22 (hopefully completed) and check out Walden by Henry David Thoreau
• C25K W2D2 Wednesday at the gym after work
• Walk around Fenway/BU Thursday night before the Lady Antebellum concert (yahoo!)
• C25K W2D3 Friday morning, followed by house cleaning

Hopefully I'll be a little better about updating this week.

Before I wrap up this post, I just want to note one thing I am grateful for: this gorgeous autumn weather, perfect for outdoor running!

Hope Monday was nice to you all... 

Drawing a blank...

Two posts today! I know I've become a spastic blogger, but, hey, it's my blog, and I'll do what I wanna! ;-) 

1.   The first thing I do in the morning to start my day is       take a shower and make a cup of coffee .

2.  Today I wish I was   on a cruise ship in the Caribbean... even though it is the perfect fall day here in RI   .

3.  If I had an extra $100 in my bank account today I'd      give it to Jed since I owe him so much money   .

4.  Tomorrow    I am running, cleaning the house and going to grocery shopping. Tomorrow night, we're going to see my BFF's husband play in his band  .

5.  Two things that don't go together are     love and selfishness  .

6.  Something I can never pass up at the grocery store is        an item we regularly use on sale (like pasta sauce), no matter how much we may have at home already   .

7.  The last time I tried something new was        Monday when I started strength training with resistance bands. I miss strength training and know I need it, so I'm trying to make do with what I have available    .

Thanks Lauren for another great Fill in the Blanks Friday! I hope everyone has a lovely fall weekend. I know I'm looking forward to some R&R!

I'm not supposed to have favorites, but I do.

It's time for another Friday Fives, and this week forced me to do something I have avoided doing in all the time I've been blogging: go back and find my favorite posts. I dreaded this, and I'm not quite sure why because it wasn't that hard to do. I'm sure there are other posts that received more comments, or even additional posts I really love, but I chose these five as ones that really stood out in my mind. I think these five posts really show not only who I am, but what I wanted this blog to be.

Remember, if you play along, click the "5" to visit our lovely host, Beth.

of your favorite posts that you have written on your blog

Boston Stay-cations

This was my very first post on this blog, and it's an article I wrote for another publication that I loved so much I wanted to share it with the world. It was this article that inspired me to start a blog -- a place to showcase my writing and share my random thoughts.

Hugging Taboo?

Coincidentally, this was my second ever post, and I still think of this news story. Again, this post is a great example of the direction I wanted to go with this blog. I don't talk about current events nearly as much as the journalist in me would like. I'll try to do better with this, but now I spend so much time reading all of your amazing blogs, I don't read the news as much (shameful confession).

Lost, but never forgotten

This post is so dear to my heart. I think of it -- and the events that inspired it -- often. I became vulnerable by posting this; I shared a piece of my heart and soul I haven't bared in a while. I wrote this for me, knowing that no one would truly understand the meaning behind it.


Blind-sided
Another very vulnerable post. I posted about the events in this post as they happened, but it wasn't until I wrote this post that I put my true feelings out there. I was honest. I wanted to capture the moment. I wanted to document this huge event in my life.


As we are
I could have chosen several other posts over this one, but they all kinda lead back to this. I have to remember the theme of this post every day. It's so important to me, yet it is also so difficult for me. I, we, have gotten better though. I don't often talk about my relationship in depth... ok, I don't ever talk about my relationship in depth on this blog, but I do like to share the valuable lessons I am learning along the way as well as the struggles I face.


I hope you enjoyed the trip down Nifer Musings memory lane!


Have an awesome weekend!

A wee bit of a post

I have just enough time for... 

{one} grilled or fried?

Grilled. It's healthier and usually tastes better. The only thing I must have fried is calamari.

{two} if you could change one thing about where you live, without worrying about money, what would you change?

Redo the kitchen, dining room and bathroom floors. They are laminated wood and vinyl now. I'd like tile of some sort.

{three} what is your favorite time of day?

After dinner, when all the to-do's are usually done, and I can relax.

{four} what’s your favorite cereal?

Kashi berry granola... that's about the only "cereal" I eat these days.

{five} do you open your mouth when you put mascara on?

Yes! I tried once keeping my mouth closed, and it didn't work out so well.

{six} if you could make any fictional character come to life, which would it be?

Julia Roberts in "My Best Friend's Wedding." I'd love to hang out with her!

{seven} what are your favorite pizza toppings?

Mushrooms and black olives. Or Hawaiian. :)

{eight} are you a heavy or a light sleeper?
Heavy... except when it comes to the dog; I wake up when he so much as moves.

 

{nine} what is your favorite board game?

It's not really a board game, per say, but I love Apples to Apples!

 

{ten} what star/celebrity do most people say you look like?

It's a cross between these two lovely, amazing, talented, beautiful women.

{Images via Haircuts & Hairstyles and Technorati, respectively}

Fall TV, it's so good to see you!

I did this last week, and I think it's going to stick around for a while: Beth's Friday Fives. Don't worry, I may still throw in a Fill in the Blank Friday or something here and there. Let me know what you think, and I hope you will join in; you should be able to click the "5" to link to Beth's blog, Just Me and My Life.

shows that are coming back on this fall that you have missed over the Summer!

I just got into Glee mid last season, but I fell hard. This was probably the show I was most looking forward to, although it creeps me out that Rachel has bangs and Quinn is back to head cheerleader.

Ok, I might have a secret crush on Gordon Ramsey. I know there are many haters out there, but I really can't get enough of him. I'll gladly hand over my entire paycheck to dine at any one of his restaurants, and I love watching him weed through chefs in Hell's Kitchen.

This show has become predictable, but I still find Patrick Jane's character amusing. I love the smirk and irreverent way he solves homicides.

Whoa baby, gimme more of that Agent Morgan. When he leaves the show, I will leave the show. Until then, I'll put up with the disturbed plot lines.

It wouldn't be fall without football! Besides Glee, this is really what I was looking forward to this September. I've enjoyed three blissful Sundays so far watching my beloved New England Patriots, and I'm looking forward to many more through... February! Yeah, I'm cocky.

What shows were you looking forward to this fall? I know more than a few of you out there are football fans too! How are your teams faring?

{All images via Google images}