I must say, yesterday was quite the whirlwind :-)

After all the hype of Irene’s arrival, the people of Philadelphia and surrounding areas were running around like we were preparing for 4 feet of snow. The BF and had a different kind of preparation starting on Friday night.

We hit Penn Tap room for dinner outside before the skies opened up. The pub now has a “Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em” list for what’s on tap.

I decided to love the Smutty Nose Old Brown Dog Ale. Ahh and love it I did! It was terrific!

I loved my grilled Portobello Sammie as well. This place never gets old ;)

And then the heavens opened up. We gave up and scooted inside as the rain continued sideways.

Saturday the mayhem set in as my mom (We call her storm tracker Suzie) called to make sure I had supplies for the quickly approaching hurricane. She loves when huge storms approach and this was no exception :). She was my partner in hurricane errands crime.

 Stopping by the gas station was a chore in itself. Wawa had run out of gas at one point, and the lines were amazingly long. 

I figured this was just another nasty thunderstorm predicted to be bigger than it would turn out. Nonetheless I took certain precautions.

That is how you prepare for a hurricane my friends. Bake some goodies and buy the booze.

I also protected my outside summer staples. Grill in- check. Lawn chairs in- check. Groceries including a 6-pack and magnum bottle of wine- check. Laundry done and covered in garbage bag to keep rain out- check.

The BF and I made a Spanish inspired dinner of gazpacho and quesadillas. And RIGHT in the middle of our movie (around 9pm) the power was knocked out. Sweet. So we slept through the storm, tornado warnings and all of the excitement.

The good news, our power came back on right in time to perk some coffee :-)

Dry and safe wishes to my friends in the big apple! Irene is a real bitch I hear ;)

Question of the day- Did you feel any of the effects from Hurricane Irene?

Well as everyone who owns a TV, twitter feed or Facebook profile knows, the East Coast today was rocked by an earthquake. For us East Coasters (born and raised), an earthquake is the last thing we expect.

I, like many others, was at work in Center City, Philadelphia. As I sat at my desk, I began to feel a tremor that I accounted for dizziness from a recent bout of headaches I have been experiencing. In the middle of my self pep talk "Shannon, pull your sh*t together!" I looked around to alarmed co-workers faces.

And just like that, it was done. Now this is not to say that for the 30 seconds or so the shaking was not scary. 11 floors up and the bouncing of the floor felt like Beaver Stadium during "Zombie Nation." Except this time there was no chanting and no football.

Luckily our office staff responded quickly and calmly and we went without any damage or injuries. Needless to say, this is not an event I envy from my left-coast friends. I'll take blizzards any day over the earth moving under my feet.

Question of the night: For the east coasters, was this your first earthquake as well? For the left coasters, does this eventually become second nature to you? 

This week has been eye opening for me on numerous levels. A Pinch of Ginger has been my adventure into finding a healthy balance in life. That balance includes work, nutrition, exercise and emotional/spiritual stability.

As I mentioned before, my work and personal calendars have been packed to the gills, often causing me to multi-task, think of the next task and therefore unable to savor and be in each moment as it happened.

I often struggle with this schedule because it feels emotionally exhausting before I even begin. This is not to say I don’t enjoy a full social calendar, because I certainly do. And I also enjoy a busy work day, but when they begin to become tiresome, I often start to re-evaluate “Is this what I really want?” “Where do I fit into this equation?” When the answer is “Well I could squeeze in 30 minutes here and I guess I could relax on a Saturday 3 weeks from now” it becomes daunting. This is all leading somewhere – I swear.

A dear friend of mine lost a family member this week, and as we gathered at the church on the beautiful Friday morning, I soaked in the moment and the range of emotions from empathy to peace. The priest during the service talked about living in the moment- about trying just to be. This is a story I’ve been told many times during yoga practice, but easily dismissed as a thought only practiced by the greatest of yoginis. 

Reflecting more, I began to take on a new approach. Why would you live for anything but the moment? Life is so fragile; it could be taken from each of us tomorrow. Savoring each moment would be to live fully. So, I have pledged to myself to make a more conscious effort to just be. Stop planning, stop anticipating, and start living. And really  there is great balance in living in each moment. That means work problems are not carried home, and relationship stress (bf, gf, family, friends) do not leak into other areas of your life – because you are already moving on to the next moment.

This quote from college buddy Trish has stuck with me and I hope you take it in too.

"Our lives are mere flashes of light in an infinitely empty Universe. In 12 years of education the most important lesson I have learned is that what we see as “normal” living is truly a travesty of our potential. In a society so governed by superficiality, appearances, and petty economics, dreams are more real than anything in the “real world.” Refuse normalcy. Beauty is everywhere, love is endless, and joy bleeds from our everyday existence. Embrace it. I love all of you, all my friends, family and community. I am ceaselessly grateful from the bottom of my heart for everyone. The only thing I can ask of you is to stay free of materialism. Remember that every day contains a Universe of potential; exhaust it. Live and love so intensely that when death comes there is nothing left for him to take. Wealth is love, music, sports, learning, family, and freedom. Above all, stay gold." - Dominic Owen Mallary

Contrary to popular belief I did not fall off the face of the earth this week :) My MIA-ness is attributed to a busy work and personal schedule. I promise I didn’t forget about you ;)

This weekend was full of more marital fun with a bachelorette party to celebrate my good friend Alli! She and Vinnie will be tying the knot in September and I was on board to make sure we sent into her final month of singledom in style :)

Alli and her bridal party spent the day wine tasting at Broody Winery in Maryland where Vinnie had proposed :) So The BFF Kait and I had a drink while waiting to meet the girls at the hotel in Baltimore that was located next to Camden Yards.

After prettying ourselves up for the night, we headed out to Federal Hill for dinner at Metropolitan restaurant where we promptly killed 4 bottles of wine. After dinner, we headed out on the town thanks to an awesome map drawn by our waitress.

The stalking horse was our first stop, known for their frozen Redbull and Vodkas. It also where I met a team of guys trying to “Free Shannon”. I thought I was funny until I learned that one of them had a girlfriend named Shannon that was convicted for murder. Wamp Wamp! Talk about taking a serious turn fast!

The rest of the night was spent a McGerk’s dancing and singing to Eddie Money and planking in the street. You know, no bd.

Lots of fun was had by all!

Question of the night: What is your idea of a great bachelorette party? Or if you’re already married, what did you do for your big night out?

Whew! I cannot believe it is Sunday evening already! This weekend was jam packed full of friends, and fun and I would like another day of that instead of Monday morning thank-you-very-much.

Friday was community service day for work. I look forward to this day because it is a nice time to mingle with co-workers out of the office while doing something that will benefit others. Every year we visit a Philadelphia school and this year I was with a lovely bunch of ladies painting a mural in the Nurse’s office. It was a lot of fun and I know the kids will feel that much better while visiting the nurse.

After leaving the school on Friday, I headed to the BF’s for a nap and then a coffee catch-up with an old friend and coworker. While I waited for him I drank this DELICIOUS coffee that was at least 700 calories (an so worth every sip!)

It was great to catch up with him and hear all about the new baby he and his wife are expecting at the end of the month! :)

Saturday brought more fun and friends as two college friends tied the knot after almost 6 years of dating.

We were honored to be asked to celebrate their special day with them! It really seems like yesterday that we were heading out the bars in State College to meet up for ‘happies’ (happy hour to the non-PSUers out there).

We enjoyed dancing, socializing and the amazing cookies made by the bride’s grandmother :)  It’s always so much fun to have the old gang back together again to celebrate big life events!

Wow those days flew by, weekends like this always make me crave a couple more days to enjoy.

Question of the Night: Is it just me or do big events like this always make you reminisce a little too about days gone by?

Its that time of year again, training season. After the Broad Street Run in May I mentioned that I was “over” training for a race. Glad that lasted long ;)

I am now training for the Savannah Rock N’ Roll Half Marathon on November 5th.  This will be my 4th long distance run, and second half marathon. I’m super pumped to be running it in Georgia through beautiful historic Savannah!

A key part of my training this time around will be the incorporation of yoga and strength training. I have come to find with my ITBS, the amount of yoga I practice directly affects my running. I feel less achy, my breathing is more concentrated and I am more focused as the miles tick by. I have already noticed the difference of my addition of strength training (via body pump) when chugging up the many hills in the greater Philadelphia area.

Yesterday to stay on schedule, I did a quick 5k from my office in Center City to the Art Museum and back.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia :)

I cannot wait for the weather to break (and be cooler than 85 degrees with 60% humidity) so I can really enjoy runs without looking like a tomato.

Next part of training to tackle, my nutrition.

Question of the night: Do you feel like practicing yoga helps you with other physical activities? Running, swimming etc?

Hello friends! I’ve missed you so much!! I have a lot to share so keep checking back for many exciting updates :=)

This weekend the BF and I celebrated our 2 year Dating Birthday. I hate saying “Anniversary” unless its for a marriage – it’s just a personal pet peeve so instead we celebrated a dating birthday. Its hard to believe so much time has already passed!

Of course celebrations in our relationship are marked with awesome food. This time dinner was created by yours truly.

The BF looooooves crabby patties, probably more than me, I can deal with that as long as he loves mine the most ;) I found an easy peasy recipe that I’ll share tomorrow. Believe me, this one you want to have in your recipe box for company, to impress the BF/ hubs family or just for a seafood hankering.

My gift was dinner and his was beautiful white orchids. I really love flowers and especially THESE flowers. Not only are they beautiful but maintenance is comprised of 3 ice cubes per week. Perfect.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going from my relationship bliss to watch the drama onfold on the Bachelorette. I know I am a sucker for reality tv. I.just.cant.stop.