Never a dull weekend

It felt so good to be running again...even if only a few miles. I ran 2 miles on Tuesday, 3 miles on Wednesday, 4 miles on Saturday and 5 miles today. Yesterday, I met Glenn at Green Acres Park and we ran 4 miles in the neighborhood where he grew up, finishing up with a loop around the park. I have lived in the vicinity for the past 3 years, but I am getting to know the area like I never have before, thanks to Glenn.

This weekend was supposed to be a quiet, uneventful one. But here's something that cannonballed it into the Eventful weekend category.

DH and I are watching TV Friday night (about 10:30 pm). It is raining outside. Suddenly, we hear a thunderclap and the lights go out.

DH: What was that explosion?

Me: It wasn't thunder?

We step outside and look around. A car has just crashed right into the transformer sitting on the lawn of the house next to ours. There are 2 teenagers frantically pacing up and down the road. One of them is repeating over and over, "Man, are you serious?"; "It's my car, man". The speed limit on this road is 25 mph...there is no way this car was going under 40 mph. The rain and darkness probably didn't help matters, but the driver clearly had his attention elsewhere.

Our neighbor is not at home. DH and I ask the boys if they are alright. They are obviously in shock and don't hear us. I call the cops while DH opens the door and tells the 3 teenagers in the back of the car to get out. No one is hurt though the airbag has deployed and the engine is damaged. We wait outside till the cops get to the scene.

When things quietened down a bit and the mood was less sombre, DH got some pics.

Scary, huh?

Here's the actual angle the car was stuck at...

The tow truck arrived shortly and by 1 am, everything was cleared up. To PSE&G's credit, they wasted no time in getting the electricity back up...we had power before 6 am.

There is a huge gaping hole where the sidewalk was and part of the lawn is gone, but it is being patched up.

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While marathon training last year, I went through a phase when I dreamed of food, diligently watched Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals on Food Network every day, cooked up a storm every weekend and ate everything in sight.

Around that time, I developed a craving. This has now become my favorite snack.

The older boxes had a grinning Rachel Ray on them.

I imagine you have an approving look on your face...wholesome whole wheat snack...excellent for you, you say.

Or maybe you're horrified: who in their right minds would willingly subject themselves to such torture? I agree. By itself, I think triscuits taste like sawdust mixed with gravel.

But when generously smeared with this...

...(mmm...creamy hazelnut spread!)...ahh! It becomes something else altogether.

A couple of hours after lunch, when my insides crave something sweet, this keeps me sugared up while I work. I've deluded myself into believing it's a healthy snack. Atleast partially...no? You don't buy that? Well, it became clear that tucking away triscuit after triscuit, while hard at work, I failed to notice I have been consuming waaay more than 1 serving (1 serving = 2 tbsp = 190 CALORIES!) every day. I reluctantly decided to put this bad boy away and bring him out only on special occasions. Especially as I am just limping back into my running routine and my mileage is nowhere near where it was a month ago.

Sigh! I need a nutella patch. How in the world do you control portion size of your favorite snack???