Weekend Recap – Page 37

Finger Lakes: MIMM#14

October 6, 2014 by Alicia 2 Comments

I had a wonderful 3 day weekend since I took Friday off from work to head up to the finger lakes area of NY for a wedding this weekend. I was very nervous about the trip knowing that my tire light had decided to once again turn on last weekend, but after multiple checks and making sure they had enough air throughout the week, I drove with it on. I focused so much on the road in front of me, every little bump and crack (probably a little too much focus on the road), and after 3 hours, I finally arrived in Binghamton, NY shortly after 9am on Friday morning to meet up with Brian. From there we drove to my hair appointment I had scheduled to get my pink hair for hope and also a bit of a trim, since I last had my hair cut in February.

Then we stopped for some lunch and headed to his grandma’s house. His friend met up with us there for a bit to troubleshoot my laptop. Brian had bought me a new laptop in May which worked great for a month and then we thought it got a virus but after replacing the hard drive, the same problem happened and it shuts down randomly so basically his friend said we need to get the warranty and return it. Another task on my to do list.

We got on the road about 4pm to head to our bed and breakfast we were staying at in Penn Yan, NY. On our way, we stopped at a restaurant along Seneca Lake for dinner. It was a great way to spend our anniversary together. We have been together for 5 years!! I still can’t believe it!! We dined outside right next to the lake and it was beautiful!! I had delicious BBQ chicken and pork ribs and they served some yummy garlic bread as well. I was stuffed. I actually took home some of the BBQ and ate it for dinner last night after I got home.

After dinner, we enjoyed a quick walk out on the pier of rocks. I also did a nice warrior 1 pose. It was quite windy. I was having fun with my wind blown hair though.

We finally arrived at our bed and breakfast around 7:30 that night and crashed around 9pm. I am not sure how we were so exhausted, but we were.

Saturday morning and early afternoon, we headed to the Windmill market and the Finger Lakes Distillery before getting ready for the wedding.

The rest of the evening was the most amazing wedding I have ever been to. Really it was!! The rain had passed and the view during the ceremony was breathtaking. Then it was followed by a lovely cocktail hour and reception. Me and Brian didn’t know anyone at the wedding, but the group of people at our table seemed to all be from the Buffalo area and we talked about how we knew the bride and groom and what we did, etc. There were so many stories, we were talking and talking for hours. I didn’t even realize the fact that our table was called last for food and it was 7pm already by the time we started to eat. We had such a great time.

We ended the night with sparklers, fireworks and lots of dancing.

When the fireworks started, everyone was like “are these for us?” and then we realized they were and enjoyed the show, not knowing when it was going to come to an end. There were probably 3 times at least everyone stood there, thinking it was the finale and then you’d see another firework coming up. It was amazing!!

Sunday we had breakfast and then packed up our bags to get on the road. We got to Binghamton shortly after noon and I caught up with Brian’s parents a bit. Then I got back on the road alone for my 3 hour drive back to Philly, with a stop at Wegmans for food on the way back. It was such a great weekend, from the people, food, friends and wedding celebration. I can’t believe it’s already time to head back to the real world and work today. These three days flew by way too fast, but it was a great time and I was thankful my car survived the whole trip. Still have to get my tires checked out again soon.

Then of course something had to go wrong in my evening, as my phone was updating, it decided to delete the charging battery file or something so now it won’t turn on or charge, so I am currently phoneless and will be spending my lunch at the Sprint store. Luckily I work in the city and the store happens to be across the street from my office. I’m kind of hoping they just let me get a new phone…but we will see.

Hope everyone has a good Monday!!

Thank you Katie for hosting!!

Bryn Mawr Day and Some Yoga

September 8, 2014 by Alicia Leave a Comment

Another weekend, come and gone. I can’t believe we are a week into September already. August went by so fast and September is already moving by quickly. I just don’t want to think of the cold coming. This first week of September was in the 80s and 90s and humid. I know some people don’t like the humidity but I am kind of enjoying it. I have been embracing all the warm humid air here this summer after last winter.

Anyway, Friday night was relaxing and I didn’t do too much. Saturday I went to the gym early. They have been party closed for a shut down week all week, so I mostly went to my yoga studio this week. However the weight room and treadmill area is open in the gym, that’s about it. The gym, the pool, the studios, all closed. My last gym would never have done that. They did updates and cleaning, but they did one thing at a time. They also did the pool, but they did the indoor pool while it was summer so we had the outdoor pool….I really miss my old luxury gym so much! It may have cost more, but it was such a better value. Anyway I digress…moving onto the rest of the weekend.

I had a good strength workout at the gym. I felt so strong and increased my weight doing squats. Yoga will definitely make me stronger. I was amazed how sore my body was this week doing yoga 3 days in a row. I can only imagine the soreness to come with yoga teacher training, but it will definitely whip my butt into shape even more. I can’t wait!

Once I returned from the gym, I checked out Bryn Mawr day. That’s the town I live in and they had the usually farmer’s market plus some of the restaurants and places around the town. At least the rain held off until later in the afternoon so it was sunny and warm…well maybe a bit too warm since it was in the 90s and I could feel the sweat dripping down my back just from walking around, but there were many families that made it out.

They had Radio Disney Philadelphia there also. It was catered a lot towards families but I think I found a new dentist to go to, so it was good for me to go. I even got a little goodie bag with some toothpaste and a pen inside!

I have gone to the same dentist my entire life. This is the first time I have to find a new dentist. I’m a little nervous as I hear about so many people who hate their dentist. I have always loved mine, but I may be a little biased since I have never had a cavity nor did I need braces (just retainers). I guess I just got lucky, but planning to make an appointment at this place soon. The best thing is I will be able to walk to the office, so I don’t have to worry about parking. It’s also located next to the train station, so I can hop off the train and walk right over after work, since they don’t have Saturday hours, but they have some evening hours.

Once I was done walking around there, I headed to Target and Dick’s Sporting Goods. While I was out shopping on Saturday, I exchanged an exercise ball. At my last job, I brought in this large orange exercise ball to replace my chair. I absolutely love it and use it as my current desk chair at home. I found that my back was hurting sitting and slouching in an office chair after a while and then once I made this switch, it wasn’t hurting anymore. I think it helped my posture and it’s also fun to bounce on when you are bored at work haha. Since I am using my orange ball at home, I need a new one for my new office. I purchased the same size and brand from Dick’s Sporting Goods on Saturday, blew it up and it’s still smaller…I don’t understand. I emailed the company asking if they discontinued the apparently super large 75cm size and they just responded with a different brand 75cm ball that is on their website and comes with a DVD so it makes it double the price, so not sure I want that. I will just keep looking other places I guess.

As I type this I am sitting on the black ball at my desk and it’s just a little too low. I mean how can they say these are the same size?!?

On my way back from my errands, I decided to get some lunch while I was out. It was 94 degrees outside and my tire light popped on on my way to get lunch. I was pretty much freaking out (as I always do when it comes on).

It is never wrong and I have had so many flats and so many tire problems in 5 years….I JUST spent over $100 last month fixing my tire indicator on one tire and now perhaps another is leaking…I don’t know if it was the heat that caused it to turn on or what because after returning home and checking all the tires after about 2 hours to let the car cool off, they all seemed fine.

I made it home successfully from picking up lunch and stayed inside doing some cleaning and such. It also started storming a few hours later so I was glad I was inside.

Sunday morning I checked my tires again and they were fine (which is why my car is being looked at today). Hoping I don’t have to shell out another $100 for a repair….

Anyway I drove cautiously to yoga in the morning and then stopped at Whole Foods on my way home. Then I had some quick lunch and headed to Wegmans for my main grocery shopping trip. Luckily my car made it the 20 mile round trip.

I spent the afternoon doing some food prep for a bit while listening to music in the kitchen. I love that my dad and sis brought my boombox from home. I have not updated my ipod in ages (years) and lately I have been playing a bunch of old CDs and mixes I made many years ago. So fun to listen to old songs and still know all the words!

Around 4, I decided I needed to get outside. The weather was beautiful on Sunday and I wanted my 10k steps in for the day and I was only half way at that point. I took a walk to the park and did some yoga and read for a while.

It was the perfect 75 degrees and sunny, until the sun started disappearing behind the trees as it was starting to set. I was chasing the sunlight with my towel, moving it constantly, then decided it was time to walk home around 6, have dinner and watch a movie on Netflix to end the evening.

What did you do this weekend?

Are you nervous about going to the dentist?

Treats upon Treats Weekend: WIAW #7

August 30, 2014 by Alicia Leave a Comment

(first published on blogspot on August 27, 2014)

This past weekend I got to spend some time with my boyfriend, Brian, traveling around between New York state and Pennsylvania. As I recap my weekend, I thought I would share some of my food on the road, which I will add was not the healthiest and my stomach did not always enjoy it, but hey I was traveling and enjoying myself.
I left work at 1 on Friday and we were on the road to Albany by 2:15pm. What was supposed to be a 4 hour drive turned into a 6 hour drive and I was not a fan of the stop and go traffic. Eventually we passed the red spots on the map and stopped at a rest stop. Being that it was past 6pm and we still had about 2 hours left of our drive, I decided to get a Starbucks iced tea and cran bran muffin. At that moment it seriously tasted like the best muffin ever and settled my stomach.

We finally arrived in Albany at Brian’s friend’s house at 8pm. It was a BBQ party and there was some food leftover from 2 hours prior to when the party started. I didn’t think I would eat anything with it being so late, but enjoyed a BBQ chicken breast and too many chips to count. No picture as I ate it too fast and did not even think of taking a picture.

Saturday morning, we went out to a cute little restaurant in Ballston Spa, NY calledIron Roost. We met up with another one of our college friends, Marc, who lives in the area and enjoyed catching up on each other’s lives and work and such. My breakfast was so delicious!! I enjoyed a waffle with chocolate chips (and hardly had to use the syrup because the chocolate was so good) and some sausage.

After breakfast we walked around the cute little town and farmers market they were having. We picked up some treats for later from a bakery.

Marc and me

Around 9:30 we were on the road again, headed to Penn Yan for my roommate from freshman and junior year of college. It was about a 4 hour drive (with stops) and I enjoyed a treat from the bakery we stopped at this morning while riding in the car.

peanut butter chocolate chip cookie

We arrived at the bridal shower just a half hour late, but it worked out perfectly as we enjoyed the appetizers and then played a game and chatted. It was a couples bridal shower and it just so happened Brian had off from work to attend. He wasn’t looking forward to it, really, thinking he was going to be the only guy, but I was also the only girl at the party Friday night so I think it evened out. Plus he ended up not being the only guy and enjoyed chatting with the bride and groom to be.
Now I must get to all the delicious food we ate there. Appetizers included cheese, crackers and pretzels. For a drink, I enjoyed iced tea in the cute mason jars!! I think I may have drank my weight in iced tea while I was there as I kept getting more.

A little later we enjoyed some lunch/dinner. Somehow my friend knew exactly what I have been craving, BBQ, corn on the cob and baked beans! It was perfect! Also some unpictured corn bread (clearly I was a little hungry).

After eating, we played another quick game and then it was time to bring out the cakes! We got a preview of the wedding cake flavor, strawberry filling with vanilla cake. It was really good! I split a piece with Brian since I was so full though.

Then it was time for the bride and groom to be to open gifts and we were instructed to help ourselves to cookies to take home or eat then. I ate one and took 2 home. Let’s just say after all that food and sweets and iced tea, my belly was not too happy with me and I guzzled down water only for the rest of the evening.

Me and the Bride to Be

The shower ended around 5pm and it was time to drive to Brian’s brother’s apartment. Another 3 hour drive! Luckily the drive went pretty smooth and quick. I even got a yoga break at a rest stop.

We reached our destination at 8pm and I chatted with Brian’s mom, who was also visiting, for a couple hours before heading to bed. Well I was super full with a sugar overloaded belly and then sleep time came and I was rolling and my tummy started to growl, but I made it through the night somehow, even though our air mattress completely deflated to the floor even after refilling it at 2am.

Once the morning hit, I was so hungry and had to wait to go out to breakfast. We drove around the area for a bit first though and let’s just say that involved driving on hills and curvy roads which I am not too fond on. So not only was I feeling a bit motion sick, but I was already feeling sick from not eating. I had reached that point where I was beyond just hungry and just feeling sick and not even wanting to eat, but knowing I need to eat. Anyone else ever get that? I hate it, because then I have to force myself to eat.
We finally got to the restaurant and honestly by the time we arrived I didn’t even want food. I had realized I had gone 17 hours without food. I had tried to drink tons of water though which helped some during that period and yes I was sleeping for 9 hours of that or so, but it was still off and on sleep and rough. I don’t know how people do 24 hour fasts. I could never do them when I was younger for the reasons of feeling so sick I described above.
Anyway I decided to order French toast with a side of sausage. French toast was a treat for me since I don’t buy bread for myself. I can never eat a whole loaf and I also don’t have a toaster so freezing it would not work either.

The french toast was a little too eggy and buttery for me, but I got myself to eat it while also guzzling down 3-4 glasses of water with my breakfast. I guess I was more dehydrated than I thought… I was just happy they left the pitcher of water at our table. I hate it when you finish your glass and have to wave down the waiter for more water.
For the afternoon, we drove around more at the state parks near by and then took a trip to the Piper Aviation Museum. For lunch I got a salad while the others enjoyed 14 inch subs that only cost like $4! My salad was like $9…(and again no picture, but it was just a grilled chicken salad).
We ate our lunch after the museum and then Brian and I drove back to our apartment. On our way back we made a stop at Wegmans for my groceries for the week and stir fry ingredients. I was able to make us a wonderful dinner at home once we got back and was so happy to sit at my new table and eat with him.

Home cooked meal full of veggies was a great way to end the weekend, considering all the sweets we had on the road!! Just remember life is about balance!!

Thank you Jenn for hosting!!

Productive Weekend: MIMM #11

August 30, 2014 by Alicia Leave a Comment

(first published on blogspot on August 18, 2014)

It’s Monday again. Ummm how are we half way through August?!? Suddenly we have had highs of 70 degrees and I was expecting August to be hot, but the mornings feel like Fall and I am not ready for that. Hopefully it warms up this week.
Anyway this weekend was super productive, between shopping, food prepping, cleaning and working out. I know those probably don’t sound that much fun, but they were for me.
My weekend started Friday with about a 2 mile swim. It was so nice to be in the pool when it wasn’t crowded. I love Fridays at the gym! My workout fuel included a cupcake, banana and homemade protein bar in the afternoon and I made sure to drink lots of water.

Yes I realize cupcakes are probably not the best fuel for workouts, but for a long swim, it kept me satisfied to make it through and not be starving mid way. I then went home and finished off my pulled pork for dinner.
Saturday morning I headed to the farmer’s market where I picked up some blueberries and it will probably be the last week for them. I freeze the blueberries right away so that they stay fresh and I don’t have to use them everyday. I like to top the frozen blueberries on my hot oatmeal in the morning.
I then headed to a zumba class which was fun! After dancing away and being all sweaty, I went straight to Wegmans for my weekly shopping trip.
The rest of the afternoon was pretty relaxed catching up on some tv shows and doing my daily yoga. I was also playing around with editing photos for a while, some fun mirror images.

Sunday morning I slept in until nearly 8am. I got up and wasn’t even that hungry so I prepared the pork for the slow cooker first before making my breakfast. I decided to make myself some chocolate chip protein pancakes with sausage. So delicious!!

It was a bit of a rainy morning as I headed to Target and shopped around some other stores just for fun since I wasn’t in any hurry to be anywhere. I was super excited when I found Lisa Frank stickers at Five Below!! I thought they didn’t make Lisa Frank products anymore. Oh childhood memories… since they were only $1, I bought them.

Then I came back home and ate lunch while meal prepping for the week.

Pulled pork does not photograph well, so that’s what that blurry photo in the middle is. Saturday I had also made some mint watermelonade, inspired by The Healthy Maven. I was planning to follow her recipe, but then I just had some lemonade, so I didn’t do the honey and water and lemon part. I took some cut up watermelon and mint and blended it then made it 50/50 watermelon mint mixture with lemonade. It was better once cold and nice for a change of a drink.
I also baked some cookies since it had been a while and made my typical roasted sweet potato and brussel sprouts and homemade guacamole. I was constantly cleaning up the kitchen as I went along and yet it still needs some cleaning.
Once my meal prepping was pretty much done, I decided to go out for a short bike ride. The rain had passed and my dad brought my bike to me last weekend. It was so nice to ride to the park and it took a short 7 minutes as most of it was downhill, I hardly pedaled and then I came to the stony part of the path AND it was uphill…that did not go as well and I ended up hopping off the bike and walking it a bit lol.

I then stopped at the park for a short yoga break. Have to enjoy this beautiful weather while I can!

I think my favorite is the bottom left photo with my foot coming at the camera in flying side crow. I love how my leg is slowly beginning to get straighter in that pose.
Then it was time to ride around the trail once more, before I headed home. Since most of the way to the park was downhill, that meant an uphill ride home. I am from the flat lands of Illinois and not used to even slight hills, so it was quite the workout and I am glad I got my gears switched while riding the path to make the pedaling slightly easier, but I was definitely sweating on the short 1 mile trip back home. I think this means I should take my bike out more and work on this whole riding uphill thing.
Once I returned to my apartment, I did a couple ab workouts from blogilates. She does some killer ab workouts and I think I need to add one of her 15 min videos into my routines daily. This was actually my first time trying her workouts and I am sure I will feel it later today.
That wraps up my weekend, now it’s time for the work week to begin. Happy Monday!! Thanks Katie for hosting!!

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