With A Bang

So, I know I'm supposed to be keeping "quiet" while my stitches heal -- no running, no biking, no swimming, and I'm assuming that mandate applied to lawn-mowing as well, but I woke up this morning feeling like a million bucks and saw this:


Yeah, that's the sky - taken from the street outside my house. Not a cloud in it. It is an unbelievably beautiful day, and I was up before any sort of heat or humidity and couldn't resist making the most of it. I started by a very unimpressive lawn mowing -- did a crap job, but hey, at least nobody will get lost out there. Then I realized that some weeds were basically taking my house and yard prisoner, so I did a bit more work out there -- about 90 minutes later, I was sweating but the weather was so gorgeous that I felt inspired.

I came in, threw on a different pair of shoes, and hit the road for a nice long, leisurely walk along the parkway and Minnehaha Creek, all the way to Nokomis:

It was a peaceful beautiful stroll -- there's just enough breeze to keep it from actually being hot, and the air smelled like fresh cut grass.

On the way home, I couldn't resist taking a picture of the sidewalk seating at one of my favorite restaurants -- Cafe Levain, a 5 star joint that just so happens to be located around the corner from my house. It is one of those little teeny door in the wall places where "if you don't know it's there, you don't know it's there," and honestly the food there is some of the best I've ever had (tip: the braised short ribs & brussel sprouts are amazing, as are the scallops).

In total, I think I got about 180 minutes of movement, and about 700 calories burned. Not bad! July is starting off, quite fittingly, with a bang. And since the rest of my weekend will probably consist of lots of beer, grilled food, ballpark snacks, and not much exercise, it's a good thing I made the most of this gorgeous day. It is supposed to be in the 90s and humid tomorrow (too hot for me!) and then in the 70s and raining on Sunday (boo), when we'll be hangin' at Target Field, watching the Twins (hopefully) win. Not sure what firework or friend plans are quite yet - still nailing that down.

I hope everybody has happy, fun, safe Fourth of July weekend... and that amidst the BBQs and fireworks and fun, you take a minute to remember the real reason for this day... and the people who have made and continue to make our freedoms possible.

Smoothie time!

Off and running,

~Jessica