2009 December 20

Aside from a couple of homemade gifts I plan to make this week… I am happy to say I am officially done Christmas shopping for the year!

The malls this morning actually weren’t as bad as I was expecting. I think it helped that Derek and I got in early and knew exactly where we needed to go and what we needed to get.

I may have picked up a few things for myself as well.

I have a serious sweater shortage and found some great deals at Old Navy to fix that problem.

A morning of shopping cardio caused me to work up quite an appetite for lunch, so I was thrilled when I discovered Evos in the food court.

Evos is a healthier fast food option developed by a few friends who wanted to enjoy a fast burger, fries, and milkshake with out that greasy feeling afterwards. Nothing at Evos is deep fried and all their ingredients are organic and fresh.

I love their business model: Profitability and Social Responsibility go hand and hand.

Ironically enough Ryan was going on and on on how great Evos was at our lunch yesterday, so with her seal of approval I knew it had to be good.

I knew from the moment I saw the menu exactly what I wanted: a burger and fries.

Not just any burger – a veggie garden grill burger to be precise.

The burger was great. I loved how they each burger is topped with lettuce, tomato, and cucumber. All the veggie toppings taste fresh and crispy and the burger was not greasy at all.

And not just any fries – airbaked fries.

Dipped in mesquite magic ketchup.

The fries were some of the best fast food fries I’ve tried. They were fresh, not greasy, and didn’t leave me feeling weighed down at all.

All was washed down with a citrus green tea.

Delicious.

As great as my burger and fries were, I spent the whole meal stating “I wish I would have ordered a milk shake.” They looked so good and it had been years since I had had the all american burger, fries, & milkshake combo. I figured if there was ever a place to enjoy that combo again, this would be it!

Derek grew tired of my milkshake wishes and made the decision of ‘should I or shouldn’t I’ when he ordered me an organic vanilla shake.

Heaven!

The milkshake was awesome! I gave Derek a few sips, but was pretty selfish in downing the whole thing myself.

Derek’s parents were nice enough to invite Derek and I over for an early dinner before I headed back to Orlando.

The meal started with a nice glass of merlot.

I loaded my plate up with plenty of salad, a big sweet potato, and bbq pork.

a slice of pumpkin pecan pie for dessert

Derek’s parents were sweet enough to present me with a collection of wine glasses and an ‘M’ wine topper for Christmas.

They know I love my wine.

Thankfully the drive back to Orlando was much more enjoyable then the one to Tampa yesterday. I made it back in record time and am now enjoying a cup of hot tea before crawling into bed.

I can’t believe Christmas is this week! Eeekkkk!!!!

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I slept in until 9:00 am this morning! Can you believe it?

20 mile run + no nap + 3 hour drive to Tampa (Damn you traffic!!) + staying out past my bedtime = one wiped Meghann!

Traffic from Orlando to Tampa yesterday was AWFUL! I don’t know whose idea it was to close off two lanes of I4 in downtown Orlando on a Saturday afternoon after for construction, but I am NOT very happy with that person.

It took me an hour just to get through Orlando. Needless to say, I was a bit cranky on the drive. Being stuck in the car was not how my legs wanted to spend their post – 20 miler day.

I brought a bag of cherries to nibble on during the drive

And had to stop at a Starbucks for a much needed pick me up

Grande Non-Fat Awake Tea Misto with one pump of peppermint. It was a very festive drink.

By the time I actually made it to Tampa I was STARVING! I told Derek I was in the mood for something ethnic and he took me to a hole in the wall Thai restaurant he had went to with some co-workers the other week.

I ordered the Thai Indian Curry with Tofu spicy level 1 (should have ordered level 2 )

I was sad they were out of brown rice, but settled with the white

I ate the whole curry dish with about 1/2 the rice.

I also stole a couple of bites of Derek’s cashew chicken.

We headed to one of Derek’s co-workers house for a holiday party and for the first time I was too shy to break out my camera in front of a bunch of strangers I didn’t know. Derek even dared me to break out the camera, but I clammed up and couldn’t do it!

I am usually a very out going person who doesn’t care what other people think, but every once in a while I get in a room of people I don’t know and I turn into a shy, quiet little girl. I think the fact that I was beyond exhausted at this point also contributed to my shyness.

We only stayed for a couple of hours before setting out on a mission to find a frozen yogurt place that was opened after 10:00.

We settled on Ritas where I ordered a combination of vanillia ice and coffee frozen custard.

Blah. It was ok. Ritas has NOTHING on Jeremiahs back home. I just wasn’t impressed at all.

I crashed as soon as we got back enjoyed over 9 hours of sleeping bliss. Derek was even sweet enough to take Maddie out at 6:00 am when she started begging to use the potty. Thanks Derek!

He even made me breakfast!