When The Beer Isn't Flowing

Gary & I had been looking forward to this past Wednesday for about a week.  The local brewery was going  to throw themselves a 1 year birthday celebration with deals for their loyal customers.  Our plan was to get there early {between 4 & 5}, drink some brews, eat some dinner and stroll down Main Street.

During my break at work, I decided to check out their Facebook page to see if they had posted an specials yet.  Well, I didn't find specials, but I found this:

FAIL!!!  Why in the world did I think the celebration was on the 25th?!?!  

I was so looking forward to a night off from cooking dinner, but neither Gary or I wanted to spend extra money on dinner & beer when we already knew we would be going there NEXT Wednesday.  Plus, my birthday is this weekend, so the festivities {aka the spending on money} will begin.

Gary was kind enough to stop by the store and pick up some lettuce so I could throw a salad together.

I tossed together some salad, chicken cooked in BBQ sauce, chopped walnuts, strawberries and blue cheese.  SUPER FILLING!

But there's always room for dessert!

We have been consistent with eating fruit after dinner if we are still hungry.  Normally a small handful is all I need to fill my sweetness craving.

Today was a crazy busy day at work.  I had to go to Costco to buy enough hot dogs, buns, chips, water, etc. to feed 400 incoming 9th graders on Monday.  Buy the end of the work day I was already close to 7,000 steps!

I definitely felt tired and had to make myself go to the gym today.

Guess what??  Once I got there, I did not regret it.  Shocking, right?!?!

I played musical cardio machines.  First I went on this torturous machine that resembled an elliptical, but felt more like a stair master.  I lasted about 5 minutes, then had to get on the treadmill, where I ran half a mile.

I then did the following workout from here:  

I don't have a wedding to prepare for, but I figured my arms could use it.

DAMN!!  They are burning!

Working it!

Love my little gym bag!

 After that, I jumped on the Arc Trainer for about 10 minutes.

By the time I got home, Gary had washed the zucchini for me.

All I had to do was chop it, season the heck out of it with Garlic, S&P.

AMAZING!!!

Half a sweet potato and some leftover tri-tip rounded out our meal!

Sweet cherries for dessert!

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?***

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?***

{Almost} Back To Reality

Our bags are unpacked.


Our fridge is full.


Our puppy is home with us again.


We are {almost} back to reality!


I say almost because, luckily, I am on my last week of summer break from work.


That leaves me time to do piles of laundry

Time to get my sweat on

1st day back!

Time to eat my favorite healthy snacks

Greek yogurt with cocoa powder, coconut flakes and blueberries

But then I forget about making a proper lunch, so I have to buy a salad while grocery shopping {better than a Butterfinger}!

Surprisingly filling!

And time to look around all the stores I want to without feeling rushed...

TOO SOON!

...then leave when I realize Michael's is already stocking Halloween stuff in the front and CHRISTMAS stuff in the back.  

You KNOW how I feel about that!

What have you been up to this week??

Oh, Vacation!

I know I normally get a post out first thing Monday morning, but guess what??  I completely forgot to get something together this weekend. I guess my brain is on vacation already!


I don't have any pictures from this weekend, but it was a GREAT one nonetheless! 


On Saturday my Aunt in Jackson hosted family BBQ so everyone could meet the family visiting from Holland.  It was so nice to get together with everyone that I haven't seen in ages.  We all keep up on Facebook, so that's nice, but there is nothing like seeing family face to face!  


BBQ + Family = 2 of my favorite things!


Yesterday morning I woke up before 5:30 with a very upset stomach {I think I enjoyed the BBQ a little too much - I seriously had 4-5 ribs and 2 chicken drumsticks}.  By 10:30 my stomach calmed down enough for me to run some errands.  Once I came home, I was in full cleaning mode!


I did a few loads of laundry, then I finally went through my wall closet, where I house all my pants and tried on EVERY SINGLE PAIR!  Now it is super organized by shorts, capris, jeans & dress pants.  I also have 2 shelves of pants to try on in a month or two.  They were just a bit snug to wear right now, but if I keep my weight loss up, I can fit into them soon!


This morning I woke up at 7, had breakfast, then headed for the GYM!!!  It's been a long time since I went there.  All my exercise lately has been walking and jogging on my own, but I want to get back into the habit of switching up my outside runs with some inside workouts.

Oh, fancy action shot!

 I was a bit excited and tried to do too many different things in one workout...walk/run, hills, sprints.  By 30 minutes in I was pooped, but I just kept walking.  Next time I am going to stick to one workout plan!

Not bad for my first time back!

 I packed small container of the following for a post workout snack:
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
1/4 cup frozen organic blueberries
1/2 packet of stevia

REFUEL!

It was the perfect snack since I had to head down the street to Costco.


I LOVE shopping at Costco when it is empty...I can just explore every aisle that I want to!


So now I am home, doing more laundry and about to get my lunch ready {leftover chicken wraps} - YUM!


**What's your favorite machine at the gym?**


**Do you have a go to post workout snack?**

My Month In Pictures

Even though I'm not a great photographer, I am making a habit of taking more photos.

I love going through my iPhone and seeing all the pics I took that month.

Here are a bunch that did not make it to OM during February {if you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you may have seen some of these}.

Darth Vader dropping the puck at our local hockey game:

 I was VERY proud about this cart of groceries that I bought:

My mom was cleaning up when she came across this.  Great HS memories!

I was KILLING it with Red Velvet recipes this day:

I just love this dog and her face!

"Breakfast" on my last day of vacation...I was hungry within 2 hours.

V-Day flowers from my Leadership kids:

I had a HORRIBLE day on Feb. 15th, but that changed when I came home to these:

Today I went to the gym for the first time in over 9 months and it felt GREAT!  I did 30 minutes on the treadmill, alternating between mostly walking, jogging and a few sprints.  Then I tried out these new resistance machines.  Pretty sure every muscle in my body will ache tomorrow, but it will be worth it!

Hope you have all had a relaxing weekend!