great lakes. great times.

this weekend i went to visit my friend martha in detroit.  i visited her several times when she was living in oakland, and she is in new york all the time, but this was my first trip to detroit (and michigan)!  i wasn't sure what to expect from detroit, but it was pretty great.
i got in on friday night and we dropped off my stuff at her apartment, then headed out for some beers and a quick bite to eat.  it was kind of late so we didn't want a huge sit-down meal.  we ended up sitting at the bar and ordering fries, lamb perogies, and pulled pork sliders.  it was the perfect amount of food.
on saturday morning we woke up super early, laid in bed and girl talked, and then walked to breakfast at the clique restaurant. i was in the midwest so i was going to do full on grits, bacon and eggs.  and a side of pancakes.  i mean come on! the favorite was definitely the cheesy gritz--a bowl of grits with a slice of american cheese layered in.

after breakfast we did a mini walking tour and then headed over to the eastern market for groceries, then had a mid-afternoon beer at bert's.  after walking around all afternoon, we went back to martha's house and took a long nap.  then we got ready, hopped on our bikes, and headed downtown for dinner and the tigers' playoff game.  martha raved about sweetwater tavern so we headed over and ate our weight in chicken wings (and blue cheese).  the tigers won and, even though i'm not a tigers' fan, it was fun to be wrapped up in the excitement.  also...i'm a yankees fan, so it's never hard watching the red sox lose.
since saturday night's bike ride trial run turned out so well, we decided to do a mini bik tour the next day.  we biked down the dequindre cut to the riverwalk and then over to belle isle.

i noticed a beautiful conservancy and we pulled over to take a bike break and to check out the greenhouse.  i wouldn't call myself a huge nature fan, but i do love the feeling of being in a greenhouse.  my favorite room is always the one with all of the cacti.

halfway around the island i started feeling like maybe this wasn't the greatest bike i'd ever ridden in my life.  it was fine for going out on saturday night, and even for cruising over to belle isle, but the gears were messed up and my butt. was. killing. me.  we were heading over to the art institute and it's probably best that i didn't know how far it was.  martha sensed that i was about to collapse and we stopped for pizza and a beer on the way.  it helped my mental state, but NOT my butt.  the art institute was awesome--i'm a diego rivera fan and the murals there were amazing.  on our way home we stopped for one more beer.  it was just a little push to help us home...

neither of us could move very quickly by the time we got back to martha's house.  i asked her how far she thought we had biked and she casually said, "probably like 8 miles."  i don't usually bike 8 miles at a time, but i knew my legs had done more than that.  i decided to mapmyride and when i finished our little afternoon ride i discovered that we had biked 20.12 miles!  needless to say, we drove when we went out that night!
it was so great to spend a weekend with a friend in the city that they grew up in and love.  i was impressed by how bikeable detroit was and how friendly everyone was.  whenever i visit a place i think, "could i live here?" and i could definitely live in detroit (not that i'm moving). in the autumn at least...
i could DEFINITELY live there if it meant i would get to hang out with this little guy:

the list!

summer!  sweet, sweet summer vacation!  everyone loves summer but teachers love it more than anyone.  it's not just because we don't have to go to work--don't get me wrong, that is pretty great, but there is something so wonderful about not talking all day and sleeping through the night without waking up in a panic and making a mental to-do list.  i haven't heard my last name once in an entire week and i have read every night for at least 20 minutes without falling asleep with the light on.  it's pretty magical.  as usual, i have set some summer goals for myself.  i have a tendency to be super motivated for the first two weeks and then fall into summer insomnia where i sleep all day and watch netflix/troll the internet all night.  i need a list because a) i need structure and b) i love making lists in little notebooks!

1. read!
i have so much reading to do!  i set a goal for myself to read 25 books in 2013 and after a fantastic start, i sort of lost my momentum.  i'm on my 10th book and i need to make the effort to read every day.  i am also starting a new job in the fall where i will be teaching reading and writing for the first time in a few years, and i am definitely behind in my knowledge of children's literature.  i have a couple of trips planned this summer and i'm hoping that sitting poolside will be the perfect setting to help me reach my goal.

2. catch up on projects around the house
mike and i moved into our apartment a little over two years ago and, while i decorated like crazy for the first few months, i definitely hit a wall with some of the projects i had planned.  there are a couple of pieces of furniture i need to buy, a wall to paint, and some closets to purge and then our apartment will almost be done!  someday we will get rid of the cheapest of the ikea furniture, but for now it is serving its purpose.

3. sweat it out
i was doing sooo well for sooo long when it came to eating healthy and going to the gym and then the last month...yikes.  seamless = dangerous.  outdoor patio happy hour = kryptonite.  this summer i need to make going to the gym a priority and keep healthy snacks around the house so that my netflix addiction is not paired with a junk food addiction.

4. new york city
get out!  do things! live in new york city not just in my apartment! sometimes oppressive heat and humidity makes leaving my central air cave of an apartment difficult to leave, but i need to take advantage of how light the crowds are during the week at some quintessential new york locations.

i think that's it.  i have obvious goals with regard to my new job but those goals are separate and will be for a post later this summer!

oh get positive

tonight is my last night of february vacation.  of the vacations i've had over the past few years, this has probably been one of the best.  it was a great combination of productive and relaxing.  i got a massage, went to the nail salon, cleaned my apartment and read a ton.  staying in town sometimes causes me to feel stir crazy, and leaving town sometimes makes me feel like i didn't have enough time off.  this week was perfectly balanced.  what is even better is that i don't feel suicidal at the thought of going back to work tomorrow.  i've been getting myself into a better head space about work, and have planned some changes to implement in the classroom starting this week.  i'm also excited thinking about how march (and spring!) are right around the corner.

this photo was taken last year on my walk home from the gym.  the arrival of spring seems to happen when i least expect it and then all of a sudden i notice that all of the trees on 5th avenue are in bloom and i wonder how long i went without noticing.  i'm looking forward to longer days, warmer temperatures and spending more time outside instead of my (cozy) cave of an apartment.