Weekend recap from November 3 and 4.
This was the final weekend before the election (eee!), and as expected, things were a little hectic trying to make sure I finished strong, as people kept telling me to do. But how do you “finish strong”? With 80% of the ballots already turned in, it didn’t necessarily make sense to host an event or send out more flyers. My goal was just not to cause a scandal in these last few days 🙂
Friday night, my friend Vickee hosted a “holiday handmade” market at her house, inviting boutique businesses from all around the area to bring their wares for neighbors to browse and shop. My mom and I were amazed how many vendors managed to fit in Vickee’s home, and we had a great time chatting with neighbors and, of course, shopping. My mom picked up some beautiful handmade dishes that she was in love with, while I got a really cute printed bowl cover for myself. All my big mixing bowls don’t have covers, but I frequently use them to take dishes to friends’ homes, so I was excited to have a more earth friendly way to do so rather than always using saran wrap or tin foil.
Mom and I were both exhausted, so we ended up calling it a night pretty early, and heading home for dinner and an early bedtime. Or at least, that was the plan… I ended up getting stuck catching up on emails / messages until 10:30pm. Oops! Luckily, I was able to sleep in until almost 7am, so I was still in pretty good shape, sleep-wise.
As soon as I woke up, I immediately threw on some running clothes and headed out the door. I knew I wouldn’t have much time to sneak a workout in, so this was my chance! It was still pretty dark out when I headed out, and also cold, but I put on the Dear Evan Hansen soundtrack and it really inspired me – I had a fabulous time in spite of the cold / dark. And I arrived home to find my mom was just putting a batch of scones into the oven – yum!
I was glad it had been so cold, because I didn’t really sweat – and right after my run, a few neighbors came over for coffee / the aforementioned scones. This was a really fun meeting! I had met Uwe at my Saturday Sundaes ice cream social the week before, and we discovered that he used to live in my house before I bought it. He and his daughter came over to see the changes I’ve made, and they also offered a lot of valuable tips on issues they had / things to watch for. They live just down the street now, so it was also just great to meet another neighbor 🙂
After my neighbors left, I finally got to hop in the shower, then head over to my friend Carolann’s for a ladies’ brunch date. Carolann is one of the teachers at Rock Creek School, where I visit to read to the kids once a week, and it was great to get to see her outside of school! She recently moved into a brand new (custom built) home two towns over, and I was in awe of how beautiful it is. Plus, I got to meet lots of new-to-me friends!
When I got home from brunch, though, I was surprisingly wiped out. I was supposed to do some door-to-door, and I also tried to do a little bit of cleanup around the house, but I was just zonked. Instead, I headed up to bed and took what turned into a two hour nap. Napping at all is unusual for me, so clearly I was exhausted! But I woke up feeling at least marginally ready for the night ahead.
Around 6pm, I started getting all dolled up for my HOA’s annual Casino Night. I’ve never had the dates work out for me to attend this before, but I knew it would be one of my last chances to meet neighbors at a big event before the election. I arrived at the Renaissance Hotel, where it was being held, to find a line of people that wrapped all the way around the lobby. Wow! This was a big deal. It took a little while to get in, but in the meantime, I had fun chatting with neighbors in line.
The event itself was great – lots of yummy apps (and a cheese platter – my downfall!), plus a cash bar; then lots of casino tables (blackjack, craps, poker) and a trivia game in another room. Everyone was given a ticket for one free drink, and I ended up getting another from a friend, so that meant I didn’t end up spending anything for the night of fun. Extra fabulous 🙂
The highlight of the night, though, was the dance contest around 9:30pm. Several friends had told me this dance contest is the main reason they come to the event, and it did not disappoint. There was one older couple who was really all-out with their practiced moves, reminding me of Ross and Monica and “the routine” from Friends. But the contest seemed to be decided by applause, so that couple unfortunately stood no chance against my friends Molly and Suraj, who had a huge crowd of supporters. And after the contest was over, the rest of us jumped onto the dance floor ourselves.
While I was dancing with my friends, I was surprised that several people I didn’t know came up to me and wished me luck on Tuesday. All these people knew who I was, and I didn’t know them – while I was incredibly grateful for their support, it felt so odd to be recognized! It also made me wonder if I really ought to be out there dancing (and probably making a fool of myself)… until another person came up and told me that they were going to vote for me specifically because I was up there dancing. While I don’t necessarily condone that as a decision factor in voting, it did remind me that I just need to do my own thing and not worry about how it affects people’s votes. And if I do get elected, I’d better get used to all eyes being on the things I do!
I finally called it a night around 10pm… but thanks to the wonder of daylight savings time, was able to get another solid eight hours of sleep in before waking up just before 6am. I was thrilled I had still been able to sleep that well despite my nap in the afternoon! I quickly ducked out the door as fast as I could to try to get a quick run in before watching the New York City Marathon on TV.
The run was great, and I marveled at how light it was compared to going out even later the day before and having it still be dark.
I didn’t have time for as long a run as I would have liked, and I told myself that once I got back home I’d watch the race from the treadmill… but instead, I called it done at 3.3 miles and didn’t run any more. I was too glued to the epic race that was unfolding between the men for second and third place! (And too busy yelling at the TV for having such terrible coverage… they kept showing special interest pieces instead of the actual race, which was really frustrating.)
While it’s always nostalgic for me to watch NYC Marathon, I didn’t feel any regret at all to not be there myself. I love Colorado so much, and rather than making me miss New York, watching the marathon made me realize how far I’ve come since 2007, when I stood on the sidelines watching my boss run and wondering if I could somehow, maybe, someday attempt a half marathon. I never would have imagined the journey that marathon running would take me on… several thousand miles away, to the best town in the country!
The rest of the day / night was pretty low-key, and I thought it was really fitting that the last Sunday night before the election, my mom and I finally got to just veg out on the couch and watch a movie. We hadn’t had a chance to do that this whole (five week) trip! We grabbed Book Club from Redbox, and while it was cute, I started falling asleep during the second half. I didn’t know how I could still be tired, given all the sleep I had gotten over the weekend, but I heeded it – and trucked up to bed the second the movie was over.
TWO DAYS BEFORE THE ELECTION. I closed out this weekend feeling good… but you never know. There’s no polling, so it could be anyone’s game. Fingers crossed, hard!