It’s pretty easy to tell when I get busy — the blog dies down significantly.  Then again, Gothamist posts are still going . . . I have a bunch of pictures to upload from the weekend, but for now here’s the brief recap:  dinner at Resto with Ali, training session, run, dim sum at Chinatown Brasserie with Ellen, errands, crawfish boil with Joe, karaoke courtesy of Jenn R., Mother’s Day brunch at the new Landmarc TWC, errands, nap, extremely sweaty hip-hop dance class, dinner with Gary at Bar Veloce, collapse.

Sometimes I look back at a weekend and wonder how the hell I managed to squeeze so much activity into it.  Friday night I had a lovely dinner at Barbuto with Matt, Alexia, and their friend Nicholas, then planned to go home, but somehow wound up at Otto for a bit.  I still managed to get to bed early enough to get up to meet Katie for a bike ride.  Our progress was somewhat impeded by a charity walk/run in Central Park, but we re-routed ourselves a bit and had a good ride anyway.  After biking, I met up with the ladies for an extra-special brunch at Florencia 13, perfect for Cinco de Mayo, Greta’s birthday, and a visit from Teddi, who had flown in from Seattle.  After a few hours, I excused myself to go home and prepare for my 10-year law school reunion, which was later that night.  It was much more fun than I imagined — I got to see tons of people I don’t see very often and even more whom I hadn’t seen since law school.  And best of all, some of us ended up at karaoke.

Sunday was the D’Artagnan Duckathlon — a food-related competition of sorts where teams of four, most of which are from restaurants, participate in a bunch of mini-events — everything from racing around Hogs & Heifers in flippers to guessing the weight of a suckling pig.  We certainly weren’t the most experienced or competitive team in the running, but, shockingly, we won the ham-identifying event.  Our prize?  Each of us got an enormous Jamon de Bayonne and a bottle of white bordeaux.  Anyone out there have a deli slicer?  Thanks again to John B., Emilia, and Joe for being such good sports.

Friday was a great day.  Not only was it gorgeous out, but I was back on solid food.  I relished every bite of my first meal of the day — a half of a whole wheat bagel, plain yogurt, blueberries, and some sliced pineapple — certainly not exciting, but man, was it good.  And don’t even get me started on the coffee.  Ahh.  I tried to go easy, sticking to a salad for lunch, but by dinnertime I was ready for more.  I ended up at Mercadito Grove with Matt B., Dave & Lauren and couldn’t have been happier.  In addition to the great company, I thoroughly enjoyed every single thing I ate.  The spices seemed more vibrant and the textures — the crunch of a tortilla chip, the creaminess of guacamole, the viscosity of an oyster — leapt out in every bite. 

I woke up Saturday and went on an invigorating run — the first long outdoor run of the season.  Afterwards, I headed up to Matt R. and Alexia’s wedding brunch at their gorgeous apartment on the Upper East Side, where I got to catch up with some work folks and congratulate the happy couple on their nupitals.  Following brunch, I headed back to Union Square to hit the farmer’s market (for produce) and Paragon (for triathlon gear).  After much deliberation, I ended up with a sports bra that seems supportive enough to run in and comfortable enough to swim in, and some tri-specific shorts.  I’ve already made peace with the fact that I’m not going to win any fashion awards at this thing, so I might as well be comfortable.  Saturday night I headed out to Brooklyn for a wine dinner featuring selections from the $10 and under table at Smith & Vine (given the weather, I went straight for the rose), where I got to catch up with Jenn, Emilia, Viv, Anj, and Jules. 

Sunday I slept a bit late, cooked up a tortilla espanola with my potatoes and eggs from the CSA (which will be my breakfast all week), then did a few errands outside before having a picnic lunch from Caracas Arepa Bar.  By the time 6pm rolled around, I really didn’t feel like going inside for my hip-hop class, but I’m glad I did — it was a blast.  Not only did I work up a serious sweat, but I worked out some major tension — how could you be tense when you’re dancing around like an idiot?  Back home for a veggie stir fry and a little tidying up before bed.