Mom Came to Visit!

Did I ever tell you guys that my mom is a teacher? She teaches junior high. In my head, I think about smelly boys and girls who are super dramatic….that’s probably why I don’t teach junior high. Anyway…the benefit of being a teacher is that you really do get a Spring Break every year! My mom’s school got two weeks this year (kids these days have it so easy). She spent the first week in Florida with my bother and his family and came to visit me the second week.

I had to work on Friday (what a drag) but I came home to a delicious dinner and a clean kitchen (that made me want to kidnap my mom and force her to stay forever!). We spent the weekend doing what we do best: shopping, eating, and watching movies. I was introduced to this salad which I have eaten every day since April 4^th.

We watched Frozen on Friday night – my mom hadn’t seen it yet. This is my favorite seen. I want an Olaf.

We pretty much spent the entire day Saturday out shopping. I was peer pressured into buying 4 pairs of shoes and a new purse among lots of other house decorations and random Target “must haves.” We then went to a shoe shoppers anonymous meeting. Just kidding! But seriously...I need an intervention.

On Saturday night, we ate a ridiculous amount of snack food and watched a double feature of Just Go With It and Water for Elephants. Just Go With It was funny. You can’t go wrong with Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler. Both of us had read Water for Elephants, but never saw the movie. The movie was great but as usual, did not live up to the book.

Despite my kidnapping attempt, my mom did leave when the weekend ended. So sad! She had to get home though to host a “Meet Levi” party. My brother and his family made the trip up to Clarksville and Levi got the meet the entire Huber family. I didn’t make it home, but I did get to skype in after class. These generation pictures are my favorite.

Do you get a Spring Break? What’s your favorite “Spring Break” activity?

What’s the last movie you watched, either at the theater or at home?

Nashville Schenanigans

I had to go to Nashville in late March for work so I decided to make a mini-vacation out of it. It actually worked out perfectly since Justin only lives a couple hours from Nashville – a much better drive for him than his usual drive to Pittsburgh :)

While we were there, we went to the Predators game at Bridgestone Arena. We had a connection and we were able to get a behind the scenes tour and sit in the box for the game. 

Yay for blurry iPhone photos!

I had never been to a professional hockey game before and I have to say…there is no better way to see a game than from a box with tons of free food in it! We got to stand in the area where the Zamboni enters/exits the ice while the players warm up. It is terrifying when the puck hits the glass! This is all I could think about:

Justin’s friend (one of the Best Men in our wedding!) lives in Nashville and he took us out on Broadway after the game. After this trip, I could definitely move to Nashville. There is no cover and every single bar has live music…live country music. It was the greatest thing ever.

Justin’s aunt and uncle live close to Nashville so we got to spend quality time with them while we were there. They took us to the Ryman Auditorium and the Country Music Hall of Fame. I was in heaven. They had a Reba exhibit that blew my mind and it was so cool to see all of the guitars, outfits, and props from country music stars and their performances over the years.  

Instagram @kimberlymhuber

Before heading to the airport, we did an 11 mile run from Justin’s aunt & uncle’s house. They live in the country and there were hills…tons of hills…I do not like hills… It was a great run though. We finished at a much better pace than we thought we would and now our butts are going to look awesome. The only bad part of the trip was the 5 hour flight delay and the amount of money I spent on airport food. Seriously though…I’m ready to go back and visit again. Who wants to move to Nashville with me?

Any Nashville readers out there? What are your favorite restaurants/bars?

Does anyone watch the show Nashville? I want to start now!

10 Miles & March Madness

Did I mention that I ran a half marathon last Saturday?  Well…I did! I promise to eventually give you a recap :) Training for it was a real hassle. Between work, class, and terrible weather, I had to really cut back from my original plan. When I was in Louisville or when Justin was in Pittsburgh, it was easier to get my runs in outside (I do almost all of my runs on the treadmill in Pittsburgh).

For my 10 mile run, we decided to run a part of the Pittsburgh Marathon course. It was actually a pretty awesome run. I even got to see parts of the city I had never been to before! 

We started at Station Square, ran down Carson Street, and crossed the Birmingham Bridge. Our next leg took us into downtown Pittsburgh -> past Duquesne University and almost down to Market Square. We made the turn and took off down Liberty, passed Consol Energy Center (where the Penguins play) and headed towards the strip district. We had to make a few detours when we got to the strip district. There were so many people out walking around! I have not explored that area of town yet and will definitely be headed back now that it is warmer outside. Back to the run -> from the strip district, we headed back towards downtown. We crossed the 9^th Street Bridge to run on the North Shore past PNC Park (where the Pirates play!). We crossed the Ft. Duquesne Bridge (right before Heinz Field (where the Steelers play!) and ran through Point State Park. From Point State Park, we walked back across Fort Pitt Bridge and to the car. It was an AWESOME run. I might just have to add the Pittsburgh Marathon to my bucket list so that I can experience it in all of its glory.

Instagram @kimberlymhuber

After our run, Justin and I went down to the Southside for our Second Annual March Madness Celebration. Even though Butler and IU weren’t in the tournament, we still had fun rooting for UofL, UK, and Tennessee. I always forget how much I love fried pickles smothered in ranch. I should really eat them more often. I also ate my body weight in chips and salsa at Emilianos and tried the weirdest vodka drink I’ve ever heard of at the Library. Get this: the bartender soaked all kinds of veggies in vodka: were red peppers, green peppers, celery, jalopenos…and probably some other things. It wasn’t that bad. Not really my thing, but if you ever get a chance, you have to try it! I only took one picture that day and it was this blurry iphone photo...some day I'll get better at carrying my camera around.

So This Is What It Feels Like...

One last thing to tell you about the month of February (don’t worry, these recap posts will end soon!). One of my favorite people in the whole world got married on Valentines Day. I've known Morgan since high school and we've been friends ever since. Her wedding was a blast: she was beautiful, the food was amazing, and my entire group of high school friends was together for the first time in a looooong time. It was great to catch up with everyone.

 Fast forward a few weeks later: After our trip to Florida, we stopped into Clarksville to spend some time with the family. While we were home, we ran the Rodes City Run. It’s one of the biggest races in Louisville and I have run it a few times before. It was great to be back out with my favorite running friends. I did WAY better than I had planned. I've been training on the treadmill this year (thanks a lot Pittsburgh weather) and I had almost forgotten what it felt like to run on the road. It’s a fairly flat course and the weather was perfect (in the 40’s for race time). Here's the breakdown:

1.5 mile warm up

Mile 1:     8:45

Mile 2:     9:30

Mile 3:     9:03

Mile 4:     9:02

Mile 5:     9:03

Mile 6:     9:00

Last .2:    2:13

1.3 mile cool down

Total race time: 56:38

9 miles total for the day followed by a ginormous omelet from IHop. We had breakfast with friends of ours. 

Their 4 year old was our photographer. She just figured out how to take selfies…..

Have any readers out there ran the Rodes City Run?

What’s your favorite thing from IHop?

Kids at Heart

In February, I [finally] got to enjoy my Christmas present from the Boy. He got me tickets to see Shrek the Musical in Pittsburgh. One of our goals since moving here has been to get out and explore the city. Pittsburgh has a great Cultural District with great theaters, restaurants, and bars. I was really excited when the Boy got me tickets for Christmas it took forever for February to roll around to go see the show.

We started the night with dinner at Bucca di Beppo – I ate too much garlic bread, but it was totally worth it. We had time between dinner and the show so we decided to head downtown and check out a little bar that we had read about on the theater’s website. The Backstage Bar was probably one of the neatest places to grab a drink in Pittsburgh that I have discovered so far. The entrance is hidden and this place truly is a hidden gem in downtown. They had a live jazz band playing and the atmosphere was chill and relaxed. I had a wonderful glass of wine and the Boy tried out a bourbon (we’re so sophisticated!). We also split their Brownie Burst dessert…and by split I mean 80% Kim and 20% Justin…I tend to be a dessert hog.

The show was at the Byham Theater. We were probably the only adults in the theater who didn’t have a group of kiddos with them, but really – what adult doesn’t like Shrek?  We had great seats in the Mezzanine. Cool fact about the theater, if you buy one of their “sippy cups” you can take you drink into the theater to enjoy it during the show – totally worth the $3. I never thought I would drink wine through a straw...but I guess there is a first time for everything. The show was every bit as funny as the movie and the music was wonderful. We’re already looking for our next show to see…

Any theater buffs reading?

What show shows do you recommend?

Have you ever drank wine out of a sippy cup?

Baby Levi is Here!

I left out one very important part of my Vegas Trip. On Wednesday, February 5^th, in the wee hours of the morning (let’s not forget the time change, people!), I got a phone call from my very excited brother who was headed home from work to pick up his wife and head to the hospital. 9 VERY LONG hours later, I got another phone call from my very excited mom telling me that I was officially an aunt!

Levi Samuel was born at 2:51pm. 5 pounds 13 ounces of pure adorableness. I’m biased, but be honest people, have you ever seen a cuter baby? I didn’t think so!

It’s always difficult when you live so far away from your family (my brother lives in Florida), and it really sucked not being able to hop in the car and drive down to visit. I have to live off of iphone pictures for 3 whole weeks! We did get some quality Skype time in which I enjoyed very much…I’m sure Levi would have rather been sleeping :) How did people survive without technology?

Instagram @kimberlymhuber

Justin and I FINALLY got to go to Florida at the end of February to visit and meet our nephew. We read books. We went to the park, the zoo, and the beach. We played cards and monopoly (although the kid never really got the hang of houses and hotels) and watched some funny movies.

True story, the Boy had NEVER held a baby before he met Levi (that he can remember). I think he did a fine job. I left Florida with baby fever. The Boy left Florida excited to get a good night’s sleep (“how can that much noise come out of something so small?”). It’s probably a good thing he has a few years to prepare himself :)

I'll leave you with a few of my favorite pictures from the trip…

 

A $1,000 Ice Cream Sundae

My House. My Rules.
 As usual, my lovely little blog was neglected over the last eight weeks. I’d love to tell you that I’ll be posting more frequently, but I don’t want to get your hopes up. So…maybe this summer when “things slow down…” …although I’m beginning to realize things don’t ever “slow down.” Anyway - I was going through my computer and found all of my half written blog posts from the last eight weeks. Prepare to travel back in time, because I’m going to finish them and post them…

Vegas, Baby!

I flew to Las Vegas on Super Bowl Sunday for a work event. My hotel room was AMAZING. My bathroom had a phone in it…so I of course took a picture and sent it to everyone I knew. If you ever get a chance to stay at the Wynn, DO IT. Also, if you don’t get the Friends reference, well, then, we’re not friends.

I was lucky to travel with a couple of friends so even though we had to work 12 hour days, we managed to find time to walk the strip. This was my second time to Vegas and I still don’t think I’ve seen everything.  I could seriously watch the fountains at the Belliago for hours and not get bored. I think they are so cool.

  

My favorite part of the trip however, was our late night visit to Serendipity. Serendipity is a restaurant in Caesar’s Palace, but they are known more for their amazing dessert menu, more specifically, their frozen hot chocolate. I skipped the frozen hot chocolate and went for the “Lookie Lookie Gimmie Cookie Sundae.” It is worth the plane ticket to fly to Las Vegas to get this sundae!

 Some people go to Vegas to gamble, some go to see the sites, 

I go for the dessert…

I was super tempted to use my work credit card to order the “Grand Opulence Sundae” but I’m pretty sure corporate would never have approve the $1,000 charge. Yes – you read that right, $1,000 for an ice cream sundae!! This is no ordinary sundae – it holds the Guinness World Record, comes with a 23K edible gold leaf, and is made with the most exclusive chocolate in the world. I’m trying to convince the Boy that I want one of these instead of a wedding cake…so far I’m not having much luck.  If I win the lottery, I’m flying to Vegas to eat one of these. Who's with me?

Have you ever been to Las Vegas?

What hotel did you stay at?

What’s the best dessert you’ve ever eaten?