weight...

You'd think after training & running a marathon one would experience weight loss.  Not me.  I lost a few pounds at the beginning of this training season, but I still have 5-7 lbs that my belly has been holding on to for the last 3 months.  Yes, regular exercise is good for you but eating healthy is key.  Why is it so challenging?

Salad vs Sandwich

I like salads and I like sandwiches.  They both take about the same amount of time to make but clearly can have different caloric effects on my waistline.  I'm just saying.

Sun Fun

We went to my parent's house for a BBQ this past weekend and they set up their swimming pool.  It was fun watching them both make a whirlpool with LQ in the water.  It reminded me of when I was a kid and they'd play with me, my sister & brother.

Love Rock

The hubster went to play disc golf this weekend without me.

(I was busy hemming a prom dress.)

He came home and told me he thought about me the whole time.

And he found this rock.

And he played his best game to date.

Awe :)

**********

Linking up with Joyce today
Click the button below and visit her blog and other hodgepodgers

1. What are your plans for Easter Day/weekend?

Friday, the kiddos are off from school for Good Friday.
I'm thinking we can have a picnic at the park and go hiking or something.
Saturday, LQ has a birthday party in the afternoon and we'll probably go play disc golf and watch movies.
Sunday Church, Easter Egg hunt, then to Mom's for BBQ & cascarone wars!!!


2. Besides Jesus, what one person from The Bible would you most like to meet and why?

Esther.  She was young & beautiful and although she didn't always understand why she was chosen to be queen to Xerxes and what her position was, she prayerfully and faithfully acted in obedience.
Esther 4:14, "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but and your father's family will perish.  And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"


3. What is one modern day convenience you didn't have as a child that was easy to live without?

Cell phones.  I do use mine all the time, but the times I forget it, I don't miss it.


4. Are you more right brained or left brained?
I took this little quiz, here, and it concluded that I am more right-brained than left-brained (52% vs 48%).
..."I'm a creative thinker who uses feeling an intuition to gather information.  I retain this information throught the use of images and patterns and am able to visualize the 'whole' picture first, and then work backwards to put the pieces together to create the 'whole' picture."...

Mmm... Maybe


5. What is something you intended to do today but didn't? Why?

Put a roast in the crock pot.  I wanted to do this yesterday but needed to get to the grocery store for some extra ingredients but never made it there.  I had to go to the county clerk's office to pay a traffic ticket.  Eke!


6. Cadbury Creme Eggs or Reeses peanut butter?

REESES PEANUT BUTTER!!!!!


7. Who was your favorite cartoon character when you were a child?

Mickey Mouse


8. Insert your own random thought here.

I am on a mission to lose 12 pounds.
Started back to the gym and have started running again.
Now all I need to do is get this eating thing under control!
I finished off a really good salad for lunch today and since it's Wednesday,
Q, V, & I eat an early dinner at Subway between our music lessons and bowling.
But I'm really looking forward to those Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs on Sunday!

Basketball and a Hotel

Last weekend, LQ & I, went on a road trip to Dallas to see my nephew play in a basketball tournament with the SA Hurricanes.  LQ was really excited about staying in a hotel.  We got there on Friday night and if you ask LQ what the best part about staying in a hotel is - he'd say "the pool."  He woke up on Saturday morning and was ready to dive in!  I, however, was not.  It was 75 degrees outside and there were 21+mph winds so it was not exactly hot Texas weather.  So being the good Mom that I am, after breakfast, I let him get in while I sat poolside and finished my coffee.

Then we looked up and saw these little boys peeking from their window.

Then a nice couple came out to the pool with their kids, so I gave in to parent-peer-pressure and got in the pool with my boy.

For the record, I do not have a "duck foot."

We had a real good time watching Patric and all the teams play - it amazes me how big these boys are...

Patric is on the left and LQ is the little one in the middle (in case you didn't know - heehee).

One of the team dad's took some really good pics.  Here's a good action shot of Patric.

I love watching Patric play basketball.  He plays with so much passion!

I'm looking forward to watching him play again.  He plays in Houston next and I think his team will be travelling to College Station in a couple of months.

The other very cool thing about staying at a hotel, especially the ones that have complimentary breakfast available, is none other than...

TEXAS WAFFLES!

YUM!

FUN!

ROAD TRIP!

** Visit some of these blogs while you're here from the Company Girls **

Friday Coffee

Friday is one of my favorite days.

I work part time, Mon, Tue & Thu, and I normally stay in on Friday and catch up on any lifetime recordings.  But, I am going to the office today for just a couple of hours to finish up next week's email campaign.

Before I leave, I wanted to fill you in...

LQ started t-ball this week.  We got him registered late so the team already completed 2 practices, so his first practice was a scrimmage game.  He was SO CUTE! 

All the kids were adorable and some of them were so small, I just wanted to scoop them up and run them around the bases.  It was fun watching them all light up and learn what to do.  When it was over and we headed to the car, LQ looked up at me, smiled, spoke lightly and said, "Mom, that was fun.  Can we do it again?"  My heart melted :)  We have practice again tomorrow and the Boy and his "Cardinals" team have 14 games scheduled between now and the end of May!  Wow!

-----

I overheard a conversation a few days ago - is that eavesdropping? - whereby someone was saying they avoid blogs and facebook because people normally only post 'the good stuff' of their life.  Another person said they feel like their life is boring or that their role as a parent is lacking. 

I guess I'm guilty of posting only the 'good stuff.'

So, right now, I'm admitting that I dislike housekeeping.  Don't get me wrong.  I enjoy being in a clean house, but I'm not thrilled about being the one to clean it.  The downstairs of my house is normally in OK shape, but if you ever decide to 'drop in' for a visit - be prepared to see ME and not look at my floors or the counters or the shelves or the coffeetable or the pantry.  Paper, magazines, mail, cups/glasses, and shoes make their home over all these areas.  And you can forget about 'seeing my house' cuz the upstairs is even crazier!

-----

Next week is spring break!  I wish F was coming home for a visit but she got a new job and has lots of studying to do.  I really miss her but had a sweet phone conversation with her earlier this week. 

Here are some pics of the day trip we made to see her a few weeks ago.

-----

V let me color her hair this week and it's back to black :)  Here's a serious pic she sent me whilest she was studying in class.

She is so pretty :)  Don't let the bullet bracelet worry you... lol

-----

Made one of our favorite meals last night.  King Ranch Chicken!  It a rotel recipe and I encourage you to make it.  Chicken cooking tip: bring to a boil in salt/sugar water and the chicken comes out M.U.Y..D.E.L.I.C.I.O.S.O!  It's a top family favorite.  PLUS, I followed it up with a fruit bowl.  We absolutely LOVE FRUIT and the strawberries are coming into season - YUMMO!

-----

Have a great weekend!  Mine starts now at 1:15 when I head to LQ's school to help a classroom of 1st graders FLY KITES!  Wish me luck and pray for my patience!  LOL

Yay for Today!

Today is Pancake day!  Woohoo!!!  I don’t know why I’m excited about this – this is the FIRST TIME I’ve ever heard of it!!!  So I must join the celebration and make pancakes for dinner.  Gotta make sausage & eggs too – gonna go all out and make the pancakes from scratch!

Today is my brother’s 31^st birthday.  He came over last night (my Mom & Dad too) and I made him dinner and baked chocolate chip cookies.  I made chicken, beef & bean chalupas – which I made my own tostadas.  I normally buy them made so all I have to do is warm them up.  I do admit, they do taste much better when they are fried right then & there – yummo!

Today my 6 year old son has his first t-ball practice.  He is super excited and so am I.  If you know my son, he’s a talker – full of knowledge & ideas… you know… vision.  Please pray he doesn’t try to become the team coach or team statistician the first day.  Really.  Lol

Today is Devin’s 1^st birthday.  Sweet Devin is the most precious gift & blessing and I Thank God for delivering him to my sweet BFF, Christina & her hubby, Derek.  I love being his “auntie.”

Today I worked out for the first time since I ran the Austin marathon.  I’ve been instructed not to run or walk a lot since I’ve developed tendonitis in my right foot which was hurting a lot post race.  But today I went to the gym and got on the stationary bike and did some strength training.  Whew!  It was rough but felt “oh so good!”

Yay for Today!

Dish Report: Restaurant Quality

"I'd order this at a restaurant."

"Mom this is the best I have ever had."

"It had a lot of onions, but it tasted really good."

These were the "dish report" lyrics of a yummy tune sung by my family last night over last night's out of the ordinary dinner.

Before I tell you what I made, I have to catch up on "Snow Day 2011."

I'm sorry it's taken me 7 days to the date to post our name-sake's event of the 2011 winter season.

I meant to post it that day, but no matter...

LQ got to see snow for the first time at the ripe age of 6 yrs, 9 months.

See how he had to get really close to the ground to make sure he was really seeing snow?

(Please, pay no attention to lack of snow on the grass or under the cars)

Then, we had to work quickly - with a kitchen spatula - to make one of these...

We called him Teeny Tiny Snowman, my friend Cathy called him Snow-gnome.  Haha!

He measured in right under 7 inches tall.

Then we went inside and made pancakes & hot chocolate.

In case you weren't aware of the Arctic Blast in San Antonio, schools closed for the day, restaurants & other businesses waited until the noon hour, because we, San Antonians, know only how to drive on hot sticky asphalt.  Snow & ice freak us out!  It all worked out and by 11 am, the snow was quickly melting and the sun was absolutely brilliant for the rest of the weekend.  On Saturday afternoon, I believe the temp was over 65 degrees - Oh, how I absolutely love South Texas weather.

The week had other distractions, both LQ & V were home Mon-Wed with the flu.  They went to school on Thu, and had a snow-day holiday on Friday.  Plus, Q came home Thu afternoon with a fever so I loaded him up on nyquil and other flu meds.  Praise God everyone was feeling better by Saturday and Q, LQ & I went to the Live Oak park and played frisbee golf.  V had to work but she was back to her beautiful self... See?

Hard to believe my baby girl will be graduating from high school in May.

*sigh*

*** DISH REPORT ***

While we were playing frisbee golf on Saturday, Q called his Dad to ask about their dinner plans.  We were already out and I knew that I was not in the mood to cook dinner and burgers sounded good.  They were already cooking up sausage and had some meatloaf, green beans & salad to go with it.  Naturally, Q worked his "son magic" and received an invitation for dinner.  Everything was delicious, of course, and let me state right now - I love meatloaf.

I searched the allrecipes.com website, meatloaf recipes, and found a Chipotle Cheddar Meatloaf.  Sounded really good and I already had most of the ingredients at home except for chili sauce and an onion.

It was really good!

Did I tell you what my family said...?

"I'd order this at a restaurant."

"Mom this is the best I have ever had."

"It has a lot of onions, but it's really good."

Have a great weekend!!!

Good Hodgepodge

Joining the Hodgepodge Wednesday "From this Side of the Pond" blog.

1. Would you rather be seen as a person who did their duty or forged their own path?

In most cases, "the duty" is one that another before me has done and, for whatever reason, now has passed "the duty" to me.  For the sake of completing "the duty" one must forge their own path in doing dutifully "the duty."  Therefore, as I do "my duty", I forge my own path.

2. This week's Wednesday Hodgepodge happens to fall on Groundhog's Day. In keeping with that theme, if you could have a do-over of any one day out of the last seven, which day would it be and why. If you haven't seen the movie Groundhog Day this question will make absolutely no sense but that's okay....you can answer anyway.

My hubby thinks it's insane that I've never watched Groundhog Day.

If I had one day out of the last seven to do over it would be Sunday - it was my birthday and the day was beautiful, warm & sunny.  We spent most of the day outside at my parent's house sitting on the patio enjoying each other's company.  My dad made the yummiest bbq ribs - per my birthday request - the kind that are so tender & juicy they melt in your mouth and dripping in so much bbq sauce that you are tasting your fingers for at least an hour after you're done eating.  Mom made yummy potato salad and a crockpot of beans.  V & my niece made me the best turtle brownies for dessert.

You thought my question was going to be weather related didn't you?

3. Hot cocoa...yay or nay on the marshmallows?

YAY!  Must have miniature marshmallows.

We've just discovered & tasted coconut covered marshmallows.  Yup, and we ate them right out of the bag.  Sadly I've not had the opportunity to enjoy them in a cup of hot cocoa since my sweet, generous, & caring hubby took the bag to work with him and decided he needed them more than me and opted not to share.

4. Do you wear makeup every day? What are the top two must haves in your daily makeup routine?

I'm OK with going mostly bare.

My must haves are lip gloss & a little eyeliner.

5. Is it more important to you in a relationship to be loved or understood?

Being understood would mean that I'm being listened to and cared about, therefore loved.

How can a person love another person, when they don't understand them?

6. Parsley sage rosemary or thyme... your favorite?

Parsley.

I've been working on expanding my recipe box and I'm really liking Basil too.

7. What do you do when you feel angry?

Clean the kitchen and make mean faces.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I don't like when my kids are sick.  LQ & V have both been at home sick with the flu all week.

I ran 21 miles on Saturday in preparation for the Austin Livestrong marathon on 2/20.  That's marathon #2.  I wish that training for a marathon would mean that you would lose weight.  I've been struggling with 10-12 lbs since November.

My hubby made me chocolate cupcakes for my birthday that have a burst of fudge in the center.  There are 2 left and I'm gonna eat one for lunch and the last one for dinner TODAY and not share them with anyone.  Hmm... THIS is probably why he's decided not to share those coconut marshmallows and I'm struggling with 10-12 lbs.

Dish Report: Spicy beef casserole

Last Thursday, for my "out of the ordinary" dish, I hadn't planned ahead, so I was going to stick with an ordinary dish.  When Q asked what was on the menu I said, "soft chicken tacos."  He said, "Awe, what happened to the Thursday special dishes?"  He then asked if I'd make a taco ring with the crescent rolls or something like that.  So I put my thinking cap on - mind you I was already in the HEB parking lot with my shopping list in mind, therefore I had to rethink what I was going in to buy.  I sat in my car in the HEB parking lot and performed a little google action on my iPhone while LQ talked about his 1st grade adventures.  I found a recipe with ground beef, taco seasoning, cheese, mexicorn, onions, bellpeppers, rotel, tomato sauce, and biscuits (cut into quarters) but I have no idea where I found it.  It could have been at allrecipes.com or maybe I found it at the Pillsbury.com website.  Who knows...  But I made it, and it was good.

LQ had a cheese quesadilla in lieu of this dish since it was very spicy, but very tasty.  Q got home and was very happy.  See?

Home Sweet Home...

Thursday I cooked my "out of the ordinary dish" and it was very good.  I grilled some striped pangasus (fish) - I brushed it with butter, sprinkled it with garlic/onion seasoning, dill, & salt, then grilled in a pan with some olive oil.  It was very good.  I also gave spaghetti squash a 2nd attempt.  Last time I made it, I had a hard time with it - too crunchy.  This time, I let it ripen for 4 days on the counter and it came out of the oven perfectly tender.  I sauteed some onion, garlic, zucchini, & italian seasoning, then tossed in the spaghetti squash.  It was very good - yummo!

I took a picture of it all plated but I didn't like the quality of the photo - the lighting in my kitchen is not good.  Could be cuz one set of our flourescent lights are completely out.  Maybe Santa will fix it for me by Christmas morning.  I'll put it on my Christmas list.

Dinner was good, Q & LQ were happy, then we all sat down and watched the recordings of Charlie Brown.  Oh, and LQ & I decorated our gingerbread house.

Very Fun, Very Sweet, Very Tasty...

Elf your Face

I'm behind on my blogging.
I've started a number of posts but they remain unfinished, therefore, they are growing stale.
I really don't like it when that happens.

Today I'm joining the "Wednesday Hodgepodge" by
Joyce's "from this side of the pond" blog.

1. What does it mean to have the 'holiday spirit'?

The true holiday spirit is about love and kindness, not materialism and shopping.

Do your best not to get caught up in the latter.

This past Sunday our church gave us all a

"12 Days of Christmas" Challenge.

I invite everyone to try it out.

 

2. What sits atop your tree (s)? Why?

An Angel.
We've had her since our first Christmas together, 15 years ago.
Every year, I say I need to get a new tree topper.
Every year, I still put her on top of the tree.

3. When was the last time you gave yourself a pat on the back?

We went to a Christmas party on Monday night and we were all to bring finger foods.
I made peanut butter & jelly 'sushi' rolls (as per Q's suggestion).
I thought it was gonna be lame, but they were very tasty,
and quite a hit, if I do say so myself.

 

4. Which of your senses is most sensitive this time of year?

SMELL!
From food to fragrance to candles to more food.

 

5. What do you have too much of in your kitchen?

MAIL!
I really do try to throw away all junk mail, but I simply can't.
I almost always, always, always, keep a coupon, or a magazine, or postcard, that I think I'm going to need or use later.
Sadly, I rarely ever, ever, ever do.
BUT, when I do - I am very happy &
experience a 'pat myself on the back' moment.

 

6. What do you do for meals on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? Big meal? Breakfast tradition? Open the cookie tins and have at it?

Tamales & Ham on Christmas Eve & Christmas Day.
My sister & I are making tamales with my Mom this weekend.
They are so very good when they are freshly made.
Christmas morning, I like to make a big breakfast,
complete with pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast & coffee/hot cocoa.

 

7. What is the best thing about winter?

Warm thick socks & big fluffy blankets.

 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I installed the "Elf your Face" app on my iPhone

and LQ 'elfed' a pic of grapefruit.

Dish Report: There's nothing to make...

I have been without a car since Wednesday morning and as far as groceries were concerned I figured I was doing OK even though I hadn't really gone grocery shopping since before Thanksgiving.  Believe it or not, there are still Thanksgiving leftovers in my refridgerator that I must throw out.  Anyway, I started to plan what I was going to create for my Thursday night "out of the ordinary" dish and realized that my ingredients were limited and I was having trouble putting together a complete meal for the evening. 

Q got home from work and I tried to muscle him into leaving to either go to the grocery store or to go out to eat...  not really...  I didn't really muscle him...  remember I'm an overzealous optimist - I count on him eventually saying "yes" to something...  I kinda half-heartedly suggested going out, then after he had already changed into his Dallas Cowboys pajama pants, I ranted out a couple of options that I could make like...  tacos, but I had no tortillas...  picadillo, but I had no potatoes...  I have everything for spaghetti & meatballs, but he really doesn't like the spaghetti sauce that's currently in the pantry and I don't have what I need to make one from scratch...  are you seeing my optimism slowly fading?  LQ wanted me to order pizza, but Q was not really wanting to over indulge on pizza.  Yes, it's quick, but it's too easy for each of us to eat a whole pizza.

So I made this for Q, LQ & Me (the girls were both working). 

Who doesn't like breakfast sandwiches?  Egg, 2 slices of cheese & ham, on buttered & grilled potato bread.  I added the tomato for me and LQ dipped his in ketchup (not surprised)... and Q added an onion & garlic seasoning which gave it an extra special touch.  I remade the sandwich for me this morning since I forgot to take a picture of it last night and it was so very yummy... and, Yes... That is a skull on the plate.  That's how I roll in the morning. 

Then I cut one of these juicy grapefruits for LQ & me.  They were delivered to me for FREE from one of the vendors at the marathon expo. 

I entered so many raffles that day and I filled out so many information cards, I'm not sure if I won them or if they were sending them to everyone.

It was all quite tasty.  In fact, Q & LQ each asked for another sandwich.  Which I ate more than half of LQ's cuz he couldn't finish it.  What a good mommy I am - it's no wonder I can't fit into my summer shorts!

Have a great weekend :)

Potato chip sandwiches...

Today is Dec 1st.

I'm not sure why that has became a big deal today but for some reason it did.

Today is the first day of the last month of the year.

Really?  So soon?  WOW!

THAT'S why it's a big deal.

HURRY!

Time to meet get the ball rolling on those resolution goals that I made at the beginning of the year cuz time is running out.

But first...

Today I'm linking up to a linking party "From This Side of the Pond" blog.

There's some pretty funny stuff over there along with other bloggers who have linked up and answered 8 random questions.  Make sure you go take a look.

1. What is the most interesting thing you've done in the last year?

Made New Year Resolutions that was 12 items long.

Met 3 of the 12 which included 1-get better with my guitar which I started taking lessons, 2-journaling more often, I even started a blog, & 3-read 10 books, currently reading #10.

I don't think I'll get to the other 9 but looking back at it - what was I thinking?

A chore chart?  Really?

I started bowling again with Q.

Makes us both super happy to spend Wednesday nights together.

See?

I ran a full 26.2 mile marathon!

My children keep growing up and have kept me smiling, laughing, crying, yelling, and all other -ing's you can think of.  I am so blessed!

F turned 20, LQ turned 6 & V turned 18.

 

2. What is your most meaningful family heirloom?

My Great-Grandpa's bible.

It's in Spanish and very old but I have fond memories of watching him read it.

My Mom has it right now.

3. What food festival would you most like to attend? If you're not sure click here to see a list of possibilities.

San Antonio's FIESTA!

And our church festival at River City. 

4. Snow...do you love it or is it considered a four letter word where you live?

Umm... I love it - it's my last name!

There's hardly ever ANY snow where I live.

5. Can you ski? Do you ski? Are you any good?

I love skiing.  I've been a total of 3 times.
Does that make me a novice?

We have to travel far for it cuz we get none of that here in South Texas.

I'm still looking for a picture from our last trip.
I am pretty good.  I think.  I haven't broken anything.  That's gotta be a good thing.

6. What quality in your spouse or best friend are you most thankful for?

Q is a realist which balances out my overzealous optimism.

Yes, he really is... Really.

7. Describe the coziest spot in your home.

Q's leather lazy-boy in the living room.

My worn out recliner in the bedroom.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

My favorite snack is a potato chip sandwich.

Lay's Thin or Ruffles Ridges with white bread.

Yummy.

Dish Report: Pizza & Dance

Not take-out pizza
Not frozen pizza

It was...
HOMEMADE PIZZA

Tomato Basil

Meatball Marinara

Italian Cheese

Caesar Salad

For the record...

All family members ate and were happy.

So we spent the rest of the evening doing this...

Cute, huh?

Check out these moves...

Hunny bunny looks good :o)

Xbox Kinect Dance Central

Created to give children an eye to a time

when their Moms & Dads had it going on!

YES!

51,107...

... How many steps did I take running my first 26.2 mile marathon?  And I burned over 2800 calories - Wow!

There is no denying the anticipation that I had for this event.  I counted down the days, made sure that I hydrated, carb-loaded, and passed on the wine.  It was all I expected it to be...

Fun... Long... Grueling... Exciting... Exhilarating... Painful...

I ran with a great group of friends, shout-outs to Connie, Karen, Diane, Jim & Chad.  We kept each other motivated and on-track.  There's something exciting that happens when you do something with a group of people that are all running toward a common goal.  A kinship - a community - a family is birthed where you least expect it.  That in itself is priceless.

Running through downtown San Antonio was nice.  The weather was great and the scenery was beautiful.  The crowds all through downtown were excited - which we all appreciated.  I felt great all thru mile 18, then I started to feel shakey and hungry and if I were by myself, I might have considered quitting had this one woman not shouted "Come on!  You can do it!  This is what you trained for!"  Lady - whoever you are - Bless You!  You kept me focused and I needed it bad. 

Around mile 19, I had to take a potty break and told my buddies to go ahead and I'd catch up.  That break made my leg muscles tighten up and it took me longer to get back into a running rhythm.  I ran by my husband, son, mom & sister at mile 21 and they cheered and yelled and all I thought to myself was "Ok, less than a 10k left.  It's a new race, I can finish this!"  About 100 yards past my family, my calves just cramped up and did not want to run anymore.  If calves could speak, mine would have been saying, "Hey! You've never made us run this far before so we're not doing it!"  I spent the next 2 miles walking and stretching A LOT!  By this time, I knew 2 things - I was not going to catch up with my group, and I would not finish at the 5 hour mark.  But, I kept trying to run and FINALLY - shortly after passing the mile 23 marker, my calves gave up their fight against my determination to finish.  My pace was not as strong as it had been but I was moving.  Hallelujah!

That last stretch to the finish line is all I've heard it could be.  It felt great.  I had my "moment."

My official time was 5:20:32 and I'm looking forward to beating that!  You heard that right - I will do this again.

I look goofey in this pic - My smile looks bigger than my head and I should have straightened my shirt and centered my bib but I think at this point it took every ounce of energy to hold up my "bling" :-)

Q & little Q met me at the finish line and I was so grateful they did.  Q helped me stretch out and then drove me straight to Big'z Burgers to eat one of these...  (I passed on going home to shower, cuz I was starving!)

As I hobbled thru the restaurant to a table, I saw 2 others wearing their bling and chowing down on some burgers and then another fellow marathoner came in after me.  They, like me, came straight from the finish line.  Happy to report that the restaurant smelled like a burger joint and not stinky marathon runners.