Running Running Running

I don't know about you, blog world, but these last couple weeks seem to have just flown by in Marie-and-Eric Land. Here's a quick chronological update of some of the things we have been running around doing.

1. Fancy Dinner Night
Anyone who knows me probably knows that I am a pretty frugal lady; I frequently get outraged at the normal prices of things like toothpaste and underwear. Living in Santa Fe, I've started to learn that some things are worth spending a little extra money on, especially food. I'm sure we've written before that most food in Santa Fe is redonkulously good, and lots of the best places use high-quality, local ingredients to make their delicious and creative dishes. After spending most of my college years mostly eating Kroger-brand box mac'n'cheese, I definitely feel privileged to have enough financial flexibility to buy good food when we go out to eat and support Santa Fe. Sidenote: Something like 84% of restaurants in Santa Fe are locally owned!

All that rambling just to get to this: After we moved here, Eric (the true romantic in our relationship) suggested that we pick a day in the near future to dress up and spend a good chunk of money at a fancy restaurant. So a couple weeks ago, on a day that we had both gotten paid, we dressed up like so:

and went to The Palace, where we ordered appetizers, entrees, dessert, and a whole bottle of wine. It was awesome. The first time you order a whole bottle of wine at a restaurant is an important life milestone, right?

2. Whirlwind Trip to Colorado
In 36 hours over Memorial Day Weekend, we drove to Colorado and back so that I could run the Bolder Boulder, and we also managed to squeeze in visits with our families, a short photoshoot, and  lunch with a couple of friends.

That's me in the blue, about to cross the finish line!

Running the Bolder Boulder was one of the best things I have ever done. Growing up, I was never very athletic, and when other people would talk about running the Bolder Boulder, I would always think, "I could never do that." When I started enjoying running a couple of years ago, one of the most exciting things was that I might be able to participate in the biggest race in my home state. After I ran my first 10K in Bellingham last October, I knew that 2013 was the year that I could do it.

After the race I was so happy to be sitting down in the shade.

And even though I was nervous about the altitude, and it was really hot, and I didn't get a great night's sleep the night before, I DID IT! Not only that, but I did it 19 minutes faster than I thought I would, AND it was FUN! I could write paragraphs about how empowered I felt and how quirky the race was (it is Boulder, after all), but for now I'll just say that it really is incredible to have a new appreciation of what I am capable of. And the free snacks and beer I got afterward weren't bad either. (Actually, the free beer was a Michelob Ultra, which is pretty bad, technically speaking.)

3. Our First Visitor!
A few days after returning from Colorado, Colorado came to us in the form of my brother Paul, who stayed with us this past weekend! He was our first visitor and it was really fun to show him around. We also spent a good amount of time in our house, playing with Zeezy, which he definitely appreciated.

Spoiled kitty.

We went on a hike, ate delicious food, played Settlers of Catan (Eric and I finally bought our own game!!), walked around the plaza, and saw an Argentinian band in the park for free!

Siblings!

Guess who won the first game of Settlers of Catan.

We also went inside the famous Cathedral of Saint Francis; it is HUGE and very ornately decorated inside. It was a little weird because half of the people inside seemed to be having a very spiritual experience, while the other half (Paul and I included) were just walking around the periphery, admiring the decorations.

Shrine to the Virgin Mary

Being there as a non-Catholic felt a little sacrilegious, but at the same time, this cathedral has a gift shop. Not kidding. Sometime I'm sure I'll write something more about tourism in Santa Fe, especially since tourist season is upon us. So stay tuned!

Now that I have written a novel, I will leave you with one more photo of Assisi:

"PLAY WITH ME!"