Philadelphia Race Weekend and Book Review

    About a month ago the hubs and I headed off to Philadelphia for the Philadelphia Half Marathon and the Rothman Institute 8k.  This year the spilt the races and held the 8k on Saturday and the Marathon/ Half Marathon on Sunday.  This was a nice change because I ran the 8k and then was able to cheer on the hubs as he finished his half marathon since I'm always done after him if we run the same race. I had one of the best races I've had in a long time and the hubs did well too!

yeah thats right don't let that person with uggles knee socks pass you

After my race on Saturday we explored Philly a bit with friends of ours who live in the area (and whose husband is also on the Marathon Team) and we really enjoyed it. We have been to Phily a few times and did not enjoy it, so their guidance really helped.  We went to the Reading Terminal Market where we got our foodie on.

Oprah's fave Mac and Cheese from Delilah's

enjoyed delish ice cream from America's oldest ice cream company at Bassett's

got a desert to go from Termini Bros Bakery- this puppy was filled with chocolate ganache yum!

    Finally we got to enjoy the Art of the American Soldier exhibit at the Constitution Center and it was AMAZING!!! We weren't allowed to take pictures of the exhibit but if you get the chance to make it out to Philly before the exhibit closes at the end of January I highly recommend it.  I hope its a traveling exhibit because I'd like to see it again.

After the hub's race on Sunday our friends took us to a cheesesteak place and it wasn't the traditional Pat or Geno's, in fact I thought this place was way better than both of those!



Tony Luke's nom nom nom






Book Review

    The hubs and I went separately to Philly, he actually get orders for these races and he had to be there 2 days longer than I was able to, so I flew there whereas he drove.  For some reason he decided to steal our iPad for his road trip and left me hanging for something to do at the airport and on the plane!

    Luckily I stopped by the airport bookstore and this book caught me eye.  The Good Soldiers by David Finkel was by far one of the best books I have read in my whole life.

    Fair Warning, this book is not for the faint of heart or stomach.  It describes in great detail the Iraq War and at times made me laugh, cry, and even want to puke.  One story that tugged at my heart was that a soldier's wife gave birth and only hours later her husband was killed in action.  In the back of the book there are photos of all of the unit's KIA and it also lists the unit's roster and indicates how many of them recieved Purple Hearts. It was intersting to take a moment when they mentioned a name, see this person's photo and

realize how real the story is. This isn't fiction, these people actually did not come home and their families will greive forever. It makes my heart hurt for them and at the same time makes me realize that I am so lucky to have my husband home.

    Some part of me likes to read books about war, particularly the Iraq War I guess because my husband has been there twice.  I know some stories from his time there but know that there is many things I don't know and I don't know that I will ever know. These books fulfill my curiosity and also give me knowledge of what is was like for him.

    After reading the book I recognized some names and began to wonder from where, I then remembered that I read a blog of a soldier and this book is about his unit.  He does not bog much anymore but I think it is nice to read in conjunction with the book. You can find it here.

Let me know if any of you read or have read this book and what you think!

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