weekend – Page 13

Retail and Puppy Therapy: MIMM#113

June 19, 2017 by Alicia Leave a Comment

Happy Monday!! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine wasn’t too busy, mostly filled with the usual yoga, workouts and running errands. I did enjoy some much needed sleeping in on Sunday as well. Starting off the MIMM with Friday evening.

Friday

After work on Friday, I drove straight to a yoga studio. I decided to try out a vinyasa class. We did a plank series that totally kicked my butt. Plank, such a simple, yet challenging move. Add to plank, some downdog crunches and holding 3 legged dog for multiple breathes…yeah it was a workout. I’ve been doing lots of slow and restorative yoga lately, so I was craving the workout and a vinyasa flow class.

I came home and munched on snacks for dinner. I didn’t really have anything left that was prepped. Soon it was 9pm and I headed to bed. I felt tired and a little sick. I think I overdid it on the cereal for dinner eating. Eventually, though I fell asleep and I woke up in the morning feeling better, though I still felt like my head wasn’t screwed on right.

Saturday

I headed to yoga in the morning, hoping it would help me feel better. It did help a bit. Afterwards, I headed to DSW to look for some new shoes for work. Then I noticed a Banana Republic Factory store in the same plaza, so I stopped there as well. Always, when I am not looking for something, I find something. The good news is that both shirts I left Banana Republic with were on clearance and already had been further discounted. Two shirts for under $20 when one of them used to be $40 full price. Score! I have to say that was the highlight of my day. Sometimes you just need a little retail therapy.

Then I headed to DSW and within 15 minutes, I found a pair of comfy shoes. I paced the aisle in the store a few times with them on and they were comfy. Hopefully they are comfy wearing them in the office. I do know they are at least better than my current pair because they have a wedge and aren’t totally flat. I just really hate flat flat shoes. I would rather walk barefoot.

After that, it was time to go to Wegmans because as I mentioned, I was running low on food. That stop didn’t take too long and then I was home to relax. I had some soup for lunch and drank tons of water. I knew I was dehydrated in the morning when I nearly got a Charlie horse in my leg. I felt my muscle start to spasm and stopped myself from stretching further. Funny cause I was literally just talking to my coworkers over lunch the other day about how painful Charlie horses can be and how they can stem from dehydration. I should probably learn to take my own advice.

Brian was supposed to be home Saturday but plans changed and that was fine so I was able to lay low. I worked on some meal prep, laundry, reading and playing with a puppy (belongs to Brian’s brother’s girlfriend).

Sunday

Sunday was my sleep in day and even though I was mostly awake at 6am, I stayed in bed until 8:15am and you know what, it felt wonderful. By the time I got up, I felt more refreshed and definitely felt better than Friday night and Saturday. I decided to make some protein pancakes, but instead of using banana, I subbed apple sauce. Let me tell you, DON’T do this! They turned out gross and I could only manage to eat a few bites before grabbing a protein bar and just eating that for my breakfast.

After breakfast, I got ready for the gym. It was squat day and I got some knee sleeves last week to try out. Even though I still need to work on getting the knee sleeves a bit higher on my leg, I feel they really helped with my squatting, protecting my left knee from caving in too much.

Honestly the rest of my Sunday wasn’t too exciting so I won’t bore you. But I do want to say Happy Father’s Day!! Dug out this photo from 1993 with my dad.

What did you do this weekend?

Walk in the Woods and the best Ice Cream: MIMM 112

June 12, 2017 by Alicia Leave a Comment

Happy Monday!! I missed you all on Friday. I am heading into my second week of work. I think this week will involve more work as last week was orientation, meeting everyone and shadowing people to see what they do. So far I love all my coworkers and I am already thinking of ways to make things more efficient. All of my jobs post college have been in such different environments and so far I have been continuing the trend of moving into larger companies. Someday I will have to write a post on my experiences. For now, let’s get to the weekend.

It was finally a beautiful weekend. Friday started out foggy, but by lunch, it was so warm and bright outside. I was even able to get in a short walk after work. I took a few more rest days this week as my knee has been bugging me a bit and it was nice to just stretch my legs and get some walking in the sunshine.

I arrived home and was greeted by Holly, Brian’s aunt’s dog, whom we were watching for the weekend. My night was split between playing with her and watching Netflix. By 10, I was ready to sleep as I had a rough night sleep the night before.

Saturday morning I headed to yoga and ran some errands before returning home and seeing that Brian was home. We had the afternoon to spend together. Brian wanted to nap for a bit and gave me instructions for working the smoker. I cooked up some sausage patties for lunch and then we decided to walk Holly to tire her out. She is still a puppy, not a year old yet, so we need to tire her out so she isn’t all hyper. Brian decided we would walk through the woods and park area, except not on a trail. While I was OK with the clothes I was wearing and didn’t mind getting a bit muddy, I wish I had worn bug spray and my hiking boots. Anyway, I survived and Holly learned to jump over tree logs on the ground and enjoyed the water in the creek.

That was a good workout for the afternoon and since we were mostly in the shade, it didn’t feel as hot. After that, I felt we deserved some ice cream. I don’t know why, but I was actually craving some and knew the ice cream place down the road had almond milk ice cream. We headed out and the flavor was orange.

I swear it tasted like orange soda ice cream. It was sooo good. Also sprinkles are always necessary. I ate it so fast and was like, wow that was the best probably since the coconut soft serve with cookie dough bits I had in Melbourne Australia which still ranks #1 best dairy free ice cream I have had and this orange almond milk one would be #2 now. I think they rotate the flavors weekly and this might be a place I have to make multiple trips to this summer. I honestly haven’t craved ice cream much since realizing I was lactose intolerant and suffering in pain after eating it, but it is a nice treat once in a while on a hot day. I am glad more places are offering a dairy free option.

By the time we got back, it was time for Brian to head back to work. Ice cream kinda took away my appetite for dinner (totally worth it) so I snacked my way through dinner. The evening was relaxing which was nice since I don’t have as much down time during the week now.

Sunday morning I was up earlier than Saturday and I didn’t even set an alarm. Don’t you hate how you want to sleep in on the days you have an alarm set but can’t and then the day you can sleep in, you just can’t…

Anyway I made some breakfast and watched Netflix and did some stretching for a bit and then decided to go to the gym. I wasn’t sure if I would go or not based on how my knee was doing, but I decided to go and work up a sweat. I did my box squats but went back to the 18 inch box instead of the 12 inch plus 2 pads. I have been working on deepening my squats and have definitely built a lot of strength my legs didn’t have before. However with my knee aching a bit, I decided to just go back to the 18 inch box that I started with about 6 weeks ago. I have to say, the box felt so EASY!! My first training session in the beginning of May, it was even a challenge for me to get my butt to that box but now it was like, oh the box is there, time to stand up. I am so happy to see these results in my workouts and have it feel a bit easier or increase the weights. I am definitely less sore than I was in the first two weeks as well. I hope to get a new workout routine soon to continue to challenge my body.

Overall the workout went well and my knee was good. I then headed to Wegmans for weekly groceries. Yes I go to Wegmans straight from my workout in my leggings and sweaty because I don’t feel like stopping at home in between when I am already out.

One thing on my list was applesauce. I want to experiment with it in a recipe but I don’t buy it often. I think I spent 15 minutes or so going down every aisle and was about to ask someone when I found it with the canned fruit. I guess that makes sense for location. I am used to the fruit and applesauce to be in the baking aisle at other stores.

After getting all my groceries, I came home and poured myself a bowl of cereal. I bought some of the Love Grown Honey O’s cereal as one of my impulse buys this time around. I was just craving a bowl of cereal. So that was my after workout/pre lunch snack.

The rest of the afternoon wasn’t too exciting. I went back to studying some anatomy for a while, caught up on blogs and played with Holly in between. I then did a bit of meal prep for the week, cooking lentils for the first time. I think they turned out pretty good. I had some dinner and then ended the night with a lavender salt bath and some reading.

Thanks Katie for the link up.

What’s your favorite ice cream?

Acro, Goat yoga and Sunshine: MIMM 111

June 5, 2017 by Alicia 2 Comments

I was brainstorming the title for this post and noticed that this is my 111^th MIMM. That is a lot of MIMM. My blog is coming up on its 3 year birthday in August. The first two years, I didn’t write that many posts, but I am happy that I have been consistent lately. Anyway 111 is special to me ever since learning about Angel numbers. There are certain times in my life when I am considering a change, usually a big change, like changing jobs, moving or traveling the world (just a few recent examples) and I often find I catch 11:11 or 1:11 on my phone or computer or I see 11 somewhere. I have noticed it comes in waves and shortly after moving to Binghamton, I continued to see 1’s. In some ways, it comforts me and makes me smile when I see them. It also makes me feel like I am going in the right direction. It may sound crazy but I definitely caught them nearly every day leading up to getting calls for my interviews. It’s only fitting that today is MIMM 111 as I start my new job today. I know I will be busier and it is going to be a challenge to get up early and workout either in the early morning or in the evening now, but in the moment I am looking forward to it.

Back to my weekend, Friday was my last “weekday of freedom” as I called it. I spent my morning at the yoga studio, doing a flow class and then some acro play. Acro yoga with people you have never met means you have to build trust with them quickly. Something I realized after class was how it is hard for me to trust people at times. Did you ever do trust falls with your friends growing up? I remember I had to do one in a tap dance class and even though it was one of my best friends at the time, I still struggled to totally let go. In the last couple years, I have really been good at being independent and I think trusting people is still an issue I have. I won’t make this whole post about this, but maybe someday I will write more about it. It was just an observation of mine and shows you how yoga, in any form, is more than just the poses.

After yoga, I came home and Brian and I cooked up some lunch. I know a lot of couples enjoy eating out, but I really enjoy going to the grocery store and making a meal with Brian at home. I think because I am picky due to limiting dairy products and such and just know I will feel better in the end if I cook my own food. I also like how we both enjoy cooking. Usually he handles the meat and I handle the veggies, but this time he threw both the meat and some Brussel sprouts on the smoker outside for a bit. I made some homemade hummus which I haven’t done in a while and LOVED! We topped the chicken with hummus and enjoyed the brussels on the side. Perfect and simple meal. I will take a picture next time.

In the afternoon, Brian and I worked on some cleaning up around the house before he headed back to work in the evening. I then heated up some leftovers for dinner and discovered that Jane the Virgin Season 3 was on Netflix, so I was hooked for a few episodes before calling it a night.

Saturday morning I headed to the yoga studio and did a class and a bit of work for them. I then came home and Brian and his brother were working on making beer (yes this is what I come home to…). The weather was beautiful outside and I enjoyed just standing in the sun for a bit and relaxed for a few hours before heading to Goat yoga. The farmers market in the area was having 2 sessions of Goat yoga as the first sold out quickly. I went to the second session and it was a little chaotic. There was no peaceful savasana in class, but I did enjoy the more vinyasa like flow of the class as I have been going to a lot of more restorative flow type classes. One goat decided to sit on my mat and we did boat pose and I used him/her to cushion my back as we did boat crunches. The goat didn’t mind and just relaxed there for a bit until we had to lay down and it took some shoving from me and a helper to get him up again. I guess he was quite comfy.

goat yoga binghamton NY — just enjoying sitting on my mat

goat yoga binghamton ny 2 — holding a goat after practicing with them

I would say Goat yoga was quite an experience. The goats were probably overwhelmed with the amount of people. I don’t think the second session was totally sold out as each session was supposed to have 100 people. They had 20 goats and so many helpers when the goats peed and pooped on and near mats. Luckily my mat remained clear of that, but I did buy a cheap mat at Target for the event and to use outside. I currently can’t get to my storage boxes where I have my cheaper spare mats, so just bought another.

Once I came home, I was able to unwind, write and eventually heat up some dinner. I turned off Netflix early and decided to read for an hour and a bit before getting tired and heading to sleep.

I seemed to sleep really well Saturday night so I was wide awake at 6:30am. I decided to get up and make breakfast. Then I headed out to the gym at 7:30am. I love having a 24/7 gym so I can go whenever I want. I also love having the gym nearly all to myself because no one else really goes at 7:30am on Sunday. I worked on my squats and realized I needed to tone down the weight a bit to work on my form. My left knee tends to lean in and has been aching and I know it has to relate to form. My last set went better and then I moved on to the rest of my workout. After the gym I headed to the grocery store to stock up on food for the week. I didn’t do much meal prep on Sunday though as the first day’s lunch is on the company and I plan to have today as a rest day so I will have time to cook some dinner.

The day was rainy so I read, finishing my book and buying the next in the series. Anyone else understand the dangers of having a kindle and one click payments?! I then baked some cookies and watched some Netflix.

Nothing too much went on in the afternoon. Brian came home and then it was the usual Sunday night dinner. Now to get back into the working world. Hopefully it goes well.

Thanks Katie for the link up.

Would you do Goat Yoga?

Blog Friends, a Musical and Dance Show: MIMM 106

May 1, 2017 by Alicia Leave a Comment

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Hey there and happy Monday!! These days, weekdays and weekends are kinda a blur for me as I job search and am back home. After a week at home and sorting through my things, still downsizing, I am ready to get back into a routine of working again. In a week I am moving to Binghamton, NY and I have been working on applying to jobs so hopefully I find something soon. Meanwhile, let’s look at what I was up to this weekend at home. Thanks Katie for the link up.

It was a very rainy and cold weekend, like 40 degrees outside. Oh and our heat is broken at my house so we have 2 space heaters working overtime and moving from room to room. Basically my room is 63 overnight but that’s not so bad when you are in bed with all the blankets, it just makes it hard to get moving in the morning because you don’t want to leave the cozy bed. Hopefully this rain passes soon, the end of the week and weekend look good. I would rather not have to do my long drives next weekend in the rain so hoping the weather gets better.

On Saturday morning I was supposed to meet up with Susie for a walk for National Infertility Awareness Week, but due to the rain, Susie decided to just do brunch. Most people canceled but I met Ellen from My Uncommon Everyday and enjoyed brunch with her and Susie. I finally got to try the Pancake Flight Susie has posted a few times on her Instagram as we met up at Orange on Clark in Chicago.

orange on clark pancake flight — pancake flight

After brunch, we happened to be down the street from Molly’s Cupcakes, which is my favorite Chicago cupcake place, so I had to make a stop and get the Cookie Monster and Smores Cupcakes to go. I am going to pretend it is summer with that smores cupcake. Cookie Monster is my absolute favorite. I have had a few different cookie dough cupcakes from different cupcake places and Molly’s still wins as the best. Who doesn’t like a cookie dough filling?!

Once I got home, I made a list for the grocery store and headed out to get some veggies and meat to make stir fry. Usually my dad makes stir fry in his wok on the grill but with the rain and crazy wind, that wasn’t happening. My dad was also busy with work, so I worked on roasting Brussel sprouts and sautéing veggies in a pan. I marinated some chicken thighs for about a half hour and then cooked them in the oven. I will find any excuse to use the oven after not having one for most of our 4 months travel. Plus with no heat in the house, using the oven is always good too 😉 .

veggie stir fry and skittles — skittles checking out dinner

My dad was happy to come home right as I pulled the chicken thighs out of the oven. I guess the only thing I have to work on is keeping everything hot when I cook things in batches. The Brussel sprouts were cold after everything was done and while I don’t mind eating them room temp or cold, others might.

We had the cupcakes for dessert, I had half of each and my dad ate the other halves. Then we headed out to my high school to see the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. Apparently my parents both like that musical, but I had never seen it and had to familiarize myself with the story line a bit. I hadn’t been in my high school auditorium in 9 years since I graduated (this makes me feel old), so it was a bit weird to be back, but my high school definitely does great performances and the main leads were amazing singers.

As soon as I got home, it was off to bed. I think that was my first night in a week staying up past 10pm! I slept like a rock too, so that was good.

Sunday morning I was up at 7 which is better than the 6am time I have been waking up. I’m sure the rainy cloudy morning helped me sleep in. I made some breakfast and then waited until 9am when Kohl’s opened and headed out. I needed some new sneakers as I threw mine out after my trip (well worn) and I had $15 in coupon rewards. I finally decided on a pair of the Gel Flux 4 Asics. I previously had the Gel Flux 2. I have been wearing Asics since college now and they work so I haven’t changed.

When I returned from the store, I worked on blog posts for a while before having some lunch and then heading out to my friend’s dance show.

Following the show, I headed over to my friend’s house and somehow we ate a snack and talked and 4 hours went by. I figured by then it was time to head home as she had studying to do and it was getting late. It was great to catch up though as I obviously had so many stories after 4 months of travel.

All in all it was a great and busy weekend. Great time catching up with friends and doing indoor activities since it was raining and 40 degrees. Now that it is May (I still can’t believe that), I hope the weather starts to get a bit warmer, I mean, at least the 60s would be better.

What’s your favorite rainy day activity?

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