Back To Work {and the gym}

Monday morning was back to work for me.  I enjoyed 4 glorious weeks off, but still wasn't ready for the craziness that would hit me when I returned.


To catch some of you up, I run the Activities Office at a local high school.  I.LOVE.MY.JOB  Working with students who want to plan events and be involved in school is a godsend.  I particularly love that the dress code for my job is pretty relaxed.  I also run the student store part, so I am constantly moving boxes, bending, etc.  Nice jeans and cute tennies are a must!


I am always busy, but there are certain times of the year that are crazier than others.  The beginning of school is one of those times.  We are busy with registration, Freshmen orientation, club sign ups, sports starting, and before you know it, Football Homecoming has arrived!


Needless to say, I feel like in 2 days I have already worked the equivalent of a week.  Especially today.


I ate really well {aka stuck to the food I brought with me} but because of the craziness didn't find the time to take pictures.


***Please note I am now OFFICIALLY a blogger because I am sad I couldn't take picture of the food I ate.  Totally normal***


So when 3:30 rolled around, I was more than jazzed to head to the gym.  I am starting to look at the gym and the times I run outside as a treat, something I GET to do, not HAVE to do.  Plus it gives me time to get my thoughts together before I come home, catch up with Gary & make dinner.


Once again, I was so out of it, I didn't take a picture of me looking a hot mess!!  You all lucked out today.


My workout today was simple, as I want to work my back into exercising and not jump in head first.


I did a mile jog {constant jog for a 12:47 mile}, worked my legs on the weight machines for about 15 minutes, then did a .5 mile cool down {didn't look at the time, but my pace was 3.5}.  I finished in about 35-40 minutes.


Since I was lame with photos so far, here are a few of my favorite vacation photos!  I will close my eyes when I get stressed and think of all the amazing things we saw in Oregon & Washington!

Happy Tuesday!


***How do you deal with stress?***


***How is your week going?***

What a weekend!!

My weekend started Friday night with a trip to the Stanislaus County Fair.  We hadn't been in a few years, so we wanted to support our community.

This guy eats his Wheaties!

 It was about 93 degrees at 5pm, but we stayed cool by drinking beverages.  ;-)


My mom & dad were working the American Legion beer booth, so we HAD to buy from them.

We also enjoyed cheeseburgers that were very tasty!  They didn't taste like a burger you would buy at a Fair, so I was really impressed!

 You KNOW we couldn't leave the Fair without sharing a funnel cake.  This tiny sucker cost us almost $6.

I totally forgot that Bret Michael's was playing at the Fair that night, but I was gently reminded when I saw women of ALL ages walking around like they were auditioning for another season of "Rock of Love."  Don't some of these people realize that certain things cannot be unseen??  

We hung around the Fair for about 3 hours, until we were sick of the farm animal smell, the temptation of food and the lack of clothing around us.

Saturday morning started with a filling breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and strawberries.  NOM NOM 

I then made myself run 2 miles at 9am.  It was already in the high 70's and felt MUCH warmer in the sun.

I made myself some iced peppermint tea once I was done!

It was worth it though.  The energy I had all day was indescribable!

Saturday was also a big day for us technology geeks!  Gary & I finally decided that after 4 years of being cable-less, we were going to have Dish Network install a dish for us!!!  

Yes, we have TV again!!

I am excited, yet nervous at the same time.  I am thrilled we finally get to watch some of our favorite shows in HD, but I still do not see why people NEED 250+ channels!  

We celebrated that night with a glass of orange muscat.  Both of us were so excited we nodded off during the movie we were watching.  Our exciting life!!

Sunday was the BEST day though.  

We could no longer see our friends post on Facebook and Twitter about how amazing Dark Knight Rises was.  We had to see for ourselves.

Take it from me....HOLY MOTHER WHAT THE WHAT?!?!  IT WAS AMAZING!!!!! 

GO SEE IT!  I cannot count the number of times I got goosebumps while watching.  And I totally want to go back and watch the last 10 minutes of the movie over & over.

Instead of spending my July paycheck on fatty popcorn and soda, we brought our own snacks.  I have not had Reese's Pieces in at least 3 or 4 years!  This may be my new movie theater treat! 

What could make my Sunday even better {other than work calling and telling me to take tomorrow off on their dime}??


I AM THE NEWEST FITFLUENTIAL AMBASSADOR!!!!  


What is Fitfluential?  According to their website: "FitFluential is a growing family of fitness fanatics spreading a positive healthy message year-round."

To me it is more than that.  Ever since I started reading blogs, I saw how hard these Fitfluential Ambassadors worked at their health & sharing that with others.  Once I started my own blog, my goal was to become one of these Ambassadors.  Fitfluential Ambassadors are people from all walks of life and all different sizes.  What we all have in common though is that we are doing the best we can health wise and we're sharing it with the world!

I am so glad to be #fitfluential!!

Heaven In My Mouth

Getting back to a semi-normal schedule is hard!  For 2 weeks, we got up at different times everyday, depending on what we had to do, so I've been in extreme need of a routine this week!

Monday & Tuesday I hit the gym for some elliptical time {it was easy since Josh Groban was co-hosting "Live with Kelly"} then did the weight machines for upper & lower body.  Both parts of my body are still screaming, in case anyone is wondering.

Wouldn't you do the elliptical for an hour if you got to look at and hear this guy the whole time??

I decided to take Wednesday easy, since we had Dish Network coming to do an install and did 30 minutes of yoga and stretching on my own.  Which means I did a lot of stretching with my bands ans did as many yoga poses as I can remember {not a lot}.  

I honestly thought I would be fine with that, but my body is craving more activity lately.  I think that being active everyday for 2 weeks made my body realize that it WANTS to move!  Well, if that is what it wants, that is what it will get from now on!

Meals this week have been simple.

Lots of this:

 

 And this:

We have so many wines in our collection that we finally had to say "NO!" to buying anymore before we actually drink the ones we have. Mission accepted, sir!

Today I picked up my mom for a mani/pedi {thank you for the early birthday present}, lunch & shopping!
3 of my favorite things {4 if you include my Mama}!

My toes are bright!

Love the pearl color.  Hate that I already screwed up a nail!

For lunch we headed to BJ's.  It is one of my favorite places toe at, but sometimes the menu scares me because it is soooo big!  I stuck to the Lunch Specials and got half a sandwich, half a wedge salad and some skinny fries {I shared the fries and salad with Mama}.

One thing I DIDN'T share was this:

A Watermelon Mojito!!

Don't feel bad for my mom.  She had a Strawberry Mojito!

What goes well with eating & booze??  SHOPPING!

We hit Sephora, The Body Shop & ULTA to pick up things I absolutely needed and a few I didn't, but wanted {thanks for buying me the Jennifer Aniston Gift Set in spirit, Gary}!  

Before we headed home, Mama & I stopped off at Village Baking Company and shared a slice of this heavenly mocha cake.

It was so good, it deserves 2 pictures!

Absolute Heaven in your mouth!!!!!!!!

***What's the best dessert you have had recently?***