Mo in a Box: The Manfriend and That Time I Communed with Nature

The last week has ben about two things: the manfriend and that time I Communed With Nature.

First, the manfriend. I would be remiss if I didn't say that this is partly inspired by Janelle's post on her blog about E$. Shameless plug alert!! Check her out. Janelle is one of the funniest people I have ever had the joy to meet, with a very distinct take on the world around her. You will not be disappointed.

ANYWAY.

Last week kicked off with the opening night party for a show the manfriend designed the lights for at a Very Fancy Theater. Before we went, we had a little celebration of our own:

Why yes - that IS a plastic champagne flute from the Dollar Store.

I honestly know nothing about champagne and usually buy Andre when I have things to celebrate or French films to watch, but I feel like Korbel is fancy. Not Kanye West fancy, but fancier than Andre, certainly.

After an at home celebration of Korbel, Thanksgiving leftovers, and an episode or two of American Horror Story (which I, strangely, have no problem with given my aversion to The Walking Dead), we went to the Fancy Party for the Very Fancy Theater. It was your usual schmoozing and back-patting event. And overpriced drinks. But I'm super proud of him and wouldn't have missed it for anything.

Later in the week, we stayed up irresponsibly late: he was watching Weeds and I was working on my quilt. Shit got cray.

You guys. It has a border. Which needs to be cut down. BUT. It has. a. border.

Since he is bigger than me, I asked him to "try on" the quilt:

Sorry, ladies. He's taken.

I think it'll work.

Finally, we were trying to decide on dinner the other night and after a quick perusal of the pantry, we decided on Chili Dogs!!!

Turkey franks and buns from Aldi, left over onion and cheese we had on hand, Hormel turkey chili, and fries we've had in the freezer forever. I'm only posting about this meal because I was so impressed with the quality of the meal we threw together with ingredients we had on hand - mostly from the discount grocery store.

I was all prepared to just throw the "franks" in the microwave and call it a day, but the manfriend took things into his own hands and boiled them in beer. Because really... what else is PBR good for? Oh, and he seasoned the fries and steamed the buns over the hot dogs while they boiled. I just watched and tried to keep the mess to a minimum.

Pro tip: Beer boils faster than water. If you have your back to the stove while you're doing dishesnand your boyfriend goes out for a smoke (even though HE is the one boiling the beer), it will boil up into a huge frothy mess all over your stove top. But! If it was your boyfriend's idea to boil the beer you can totally guilt him into cleaning it up.

I felt like I had earned that Chili Dog Dinner of Champions because I ran a 10k on Saturday. It was my first longish race since I had to skip the half marathon I was training for. That was back in September and I had to miss it due to the fact that my left hip belongs in the body of a 73-year-old woman. It was also my first trail race! It was super awesome and fun. It was probably the smallest race I've ever run (as in fewest participants), but that just made it awesomer. I ran it with a big group of friends who did the 5k distance. We had shirts made. Obviously. We were the Rum Runners. It's my new favorite shirt.

I was really pleased with my time and the experience all around. It was so nice to be away from concrete and buildings and cars and men hollering at you on the street. Running through the forest was just so refreshing. Everyone was clearly thrilled to be there. The air seemed fresher and I felt like I had to focus more to keep from spraining my ankle. I like zoning out while I run sometimes, but I also liked this new challenge.

I should have been super impressed with my time (54ish minutes), but... Hit the 3 mile mark and 4 minutes later, I was at the 4 mile mark. As much as I would like to think I can run a 4-minute-mile on these stumpy legs, I think we all know the truth. I think I would have finished in just about an hour if they had marked the course properly, but I was still pleased with keeping my normal pace, despite the unknown terrain.

And. Because I know what you people really want... I give you... RACE FACE.