weekend – Page 2

A Weekend with No Plans 9/9/19

September 9, 2019 by Alicia 1 Comment

This was the first weekend with no plans in over a month!! It’s no wonder August totally wore me out. It was so nice to sleep in both on Saturday and Sunday and ease into the days. Friday night I got home from work and I honestly wasn’t feeling great. My throat had started to get sore and I was very sneezy throughout the day with a stuffy/runny nose. Brian figured it was allergies, but it felt more like a cold to me. I decided to take my economics quiz Friday night right when I got home. Economics feels like it will be my harder class this semester and one that I was worried about. The quizzes have no give because they are all true/false questions pretty much, so you are either wrong or right and my 50/50 selections are usually wrong when I guess…I was further annoyed when I submitted the quiz and I couldn’t even see how I did. In the first quiz we could immediately see what we got and got wrong or right, but I’m guessing the teacher blocked that because with a week to take the quiz, maybe students shared answers? It would at least be nice to see your score even if you couldn’t view what was wrong or right, but I’m not the teacher.

The rest of Friday night was spent relaxing. I was wiped out and Brian and I just watched some tv. We both headed to bed early and slept nearly 10 hours which was so needed. Unfortunately, on Saturday morning, I felt worse. I rolled a lot overnight and didn’t sleep great due to my throat burning and I must have been dehydrated because I got a charlie horse in my leg when I woke up. I amped up the vitamin C in the morning and the only thing that sounded good for breakfast was a smoothie. I had to improvise a bit though because I didn’t have any spinach or frozen fruit. I used a full banana, some frozen cauliflower, protein powder, almond milk and ice to make it extra cold. I love our powerful Blendtec blender for blending all the ice up smoothly. I also cooked up some bacon for me and Brian. I used to buy bacon all the time, but then stopped and switched up breakfasts to more avocado toasts, eggs or mini bagels. This past week I went back to oatmeal though as the temps have lowered and I wanted something hot for breakfast.

my smoothie basically looks like a milk shake

I still headed to the grocery store Saturday morning. It was the only thing on my agenda for the day besides homework. Brian joined me since his truck was at the shop getting new tires and it worked out that I could drop him off to get his truck after shopping. Brian returned with his truck and also a Tim Horton’s iced tea for me. Iced tea is my thing when I don’t feel good. It started sometime in college with Brian, actually. There was a day I really didn’t feel good so I requested Tim Horton’s iced tea and a bagel. Now when I don’t feel good, iced tea is my go to and sometimes the bagel or a mini bagel at home.

Saturday I worked on my business analytics homework. So far we have only worked in Excel, so most functions have been familiar to me and simple. I finished up the homework within a couple hours, had a snack and then asked Brian what he wanted to do. I didn’t really feel good, but I also wanted to get out of the house for a ride and see how Brian’s new tires were. Brian suggested going to Salt Springs Park for a quick walk. So we headed there.

Salt Springs Park PA — smiling even though I didn’t feel great

It was my first time to the park, but Brian used to work nearby, so he has explored the park. Honestly the hiking was a bit much for my body, but the fresh air felt good. We only stayed maybe 30 minutes or so, just took a short trail around, which was all I could handle for the day. The afternoon, I spent cuddled up on the couch watching the last season of Jane the Virgin.

After 4, I decided to get started on dinner. Even though the prep time said 20 minutes on the recipe, I didn’t have everything chopped and ready, so it took a bit longer, but I thawed the chicken and marinated it. While that sat in the fridge, I started to make mini donuts. Both recipes from the new The Healthnut Cookbook that I just got.

My timing worked out well as I had everything ready to eat around 5:30 and called Brian up from his office downstairs and we enjoyed dinner. Then I continued to watch Jane the Virgin for a bit before decided to take a bath before bed.

Sunday morning I felt a little better. My throat didn’t hurt, just my nose was still bugging me. My body had ached on Saturday, but besides the Charlie horse in my left leg, my body felt much better Sunday. Hoping if I do have a cold, it is working its way out of my system.

I made some green smoothie pancakes for breakfast from The Healthnut Cookbook for me and Brian. Brian said they were good so that’s a success in my book.

After eating breakfast, I got to work on my next economics lesson for the morning. Again I love 2 classes because I can focus on one class on Saturday and one on Sunday.

Brian finally hung up my painting!!

I stayed in my pajamas on Sunday until about 2:30pm when I decided I needed a walk outside in the sunshine.

Then I baked muffins.

Then it was time for more study time before winding down for the night with dinner and some short TV time. Overall the weekend was much needed with lots of quiet time and down time to relax. It also helps to get back into my homework routine for the Fall as we enter week 3 of classes already.

Have you tried any new recipes lately?

Movies and Cookies and more Weekend

July 1, 2019 by Alicia 1 Comment

And just like that, we are halfway through 2019. I really don’t know where this year is going. I was just reflecting this weekend and thinking how I’m 29 years old and that’s still weird to say. I don’t feel that old (which is probably a good thing). Friday was month end at work, but we actually got a great early start so it was shortly after 5 that I was able to leave. I had dinner at home and then Brian and I went to see Secret Life of Pets 2 which was really good. Next on my movie list is Toy Story 4, maybe next weekend.

wore a dress to work and the office decided to be cold go figure

Once we got home, it was time for bed for both of us (an old married couple already lol). Saturday morning I enjoyed sleeping in. Somehow Brian was awake before me, though he didn’t get out of bed. I enjoyed laying in bed until 7. Brian recently bought black out blinds for the bedroom so that helps with sleeping in, but I have mixed feelings about them since I enjoy waking up to the sun. It was nice to sleep without an alarm though. I had some breakfast and shortly after 8 I headed out to yoga. I haven’t made it to many yoga classes lately with all my homework, but trying to do some at home when I can. I enjoyed the class as it challenged me, holding poses for longer than I would on my own and really giving my arms and shoulders a workout.

After yoga, I headed to Target and Wegmans. I picked up some sushi for Brian and I for lunch and we enjoyed the afternoon and evening at home. Our neighbors were having a graduation party from 2pm onward so our street filled up with cars and it was nice that we stayed in. My homework load is finally light this holiday week, so I actually used the time to get a jump start on the following week’s homework. The last week of classes in the first week of August will be crazy with having homework assignments and finals so I feel the jump start now will be good.

I decided to make some sugar cookies and use my wedding cake cookie cutter. I want to make some sort of cookie table for our August reception so this was a test. They turned out delicious and I will frost them when I make them for the reception. The only downside was using the oven because it was 90 degrees out and we only have an AC unit in our bedroom, so the house was about 80 degrees.

Saturday night, I made dinner while Brian was napping. I made turkey burgers, but this time I cooked the bacon and onions first before mixing them in. It seemed to add more flavor, but the bacon was light so I need more next time. I also cooked up some potatoes. I will soon be talking about our latest vegetable delivery that I am loving, but we got some good small potatoes I sliced up and cooked like potato chips but without frying. I also topped my burger with a bit of avocado as I had a half to use up.

Sunday morning was time with Brian. We ate breakfast and then headed to the gym together. It was my first time doing squats in a couple weeks as I ordered a size up in my knee sleeves and was waiting on those. Then Brian wanted to go for a walk. Sunday was only a high of 72 and the coolest day of the week so it was actually perfect for a walk.

We then were going to head to Dunkin for iced teas, but the line was crazy so we drove a little farther to Tim Horton’s and as we pulled in, I was thinking a donut would be good. For some reason I can’t eat Dunkin Donuts because they make me feel sick, but Tim Horton’s donuts don’t. I don’t know what the difference is, but my donut was delicious. Also, I have found that Tim Horton’s iced tea taste better and is cheaper for the same size, so worth the extra 5-10 minute drive.

We came home and Brian experimented with some stir fry making, first ricing some cauliflower and then mixing in ground pork, eggs and frozen peas. We also used coconut aminos for a soy sauce replacement this time. Last time he made a similar dish, I had quite an upset stomach after and I think soy sauce could have been a culprit, but I had also not eaten my normal foods that day so it could have been other factors, but played it safer this time. It was funny to watch Brian cook in the pan outside with his turkey fryer burner, but it was also nice to not heat up the house too much. The cool and windy day was perfect for opening the windows and cool the house down to 75 which was better than 80 the previous day.

My afternoon began with the only thing on my agenda for the weekend which was my supply chain simulation. It was kind of like playing an online game (except that I am graded on it), where there are 4 “players”; manufacturer, distributor, wholesaler and retailer, and your only job is to place an order and see how it affects the supply chain. It was quite interesting as I quickly learned, do not place high orders as the object is to keep the lowest inventory without too many backorders either. I definitely learned a lot doing it and it was interesting as we didn’t know who the other players were or what they were ordering until it came to my turn. I then did a short write up of my strategy, which developed as the game went on. Now I am free of homework for a week before the last 4 weeks of classes sneak up on me. It will be nice to enjoy my day off on July 4^th. Work will be busy this week with month end and losing a day on Thursday, but that will also make the work day go by more quickly and at least I can focus on the first 3 days and then have a day off and then work Friday and weekend. It already seems so fast!

I even had time for yoga play!!

Any plans for the 4th of July?

The Weekend it did not Rain

June 24, 2019 by Alicia 1 Comment

We finally had a weekend without rain!! It has been raining here pretty much non stop it seems and even if we get one weekend day without rain, it seems rain is on the radar the next. Water levels are high and there has been flooding in some areas. Luckily we are safe from all that, but I was happy it was finally not raining, as was everyone else. It was obvious everyone was out and enjoying the weather this weekend whether it be camping, cookouts or just riding their bike outside.

My weekend started with getting my finance test out of the way. It was on my mind all week and I planned to take it Saturday morning. Seeing as I couldn’t sleep in with the test on my mind, I was up at 6am on Saturday and made a quick breakfast before sitting down to start my exam. I had a 5 hour time limit and was hoping to be done in about 2…well time flew by and I took 3 hours total before submitting. I checked over my answers at the end and made sure everything at least had an answer. It was multiple choice and there were a few I spent quite a bit of time working on trying to get one of the multiple choice answers. I don’t know my grade yet, but hopefully I did ok. The best part was I was done and it was only 9am. With that off my mind, it was time to enjoy the weekend. I didn’t feel like jumping right into the next homework lesson.

Brian and I decided to take a drive to order a grill. We have a specific one picked out but it’s kind of top of the line and not really sold in this area so we put in an order and hopefully will get a price quote and order it this week. Then we headed to the Syracuse mall. We used to walk the malls together when we were in the Philadelphia area and didn’t have anything to do and it was nice to get out and go to the mall since I hadn’t been in a while. I didn’t have anything in particular I wanted to buy, but we did grab lunch at our favorite Cantina Laredo. I even got a coupon for the first day of summer on Friday in my email and I was like, OK we are going there for lunch.

The mojitos there are my favorite, but I don’t recommend them on an empty stomach especially when you don’t drink often. 2 sips in and I was feeling it and dizzy. I had to wait to drink any more until I loaded up on chips, salsa and guacamole when we got that. Even then I could actually only drink half my drink and shared with Brian at the end. And yes this is why I don’t drink, besides the fact that I don’t like the taste of alcohol and I really don’t like simple syrups as they just upset my stomach.

We ate lunch first and then spent a while walking the mall to walk off some of the food and drinks. Brian wanted a quick massage so he did a 30 minute massage while I wandered the stores and sales racks. I tried on a couple things, but just didn’t love anything. Once we met back up we started making our way back towards the car and passed Old Navy. I found a couple tank tops I liked and tried them on. Since I never know how the clothing sizes will be, I tried on a small and medium. Both fit and looked fine but I decided to go with the medium in case it shrunk at all. I have had that issue in the past where a small fits fine until I wash it and suddenly it’s a crop top.

So I left with 2 tank tops and a full belly. The mall wasn’t crowded at all for a Saturday as the weather was nice and everyone must have been out. We only spent a couple hours there and then stopped to catch up with friends on the way back. By the time we got home it was around 5 and we were still quite full from lunch, but I did make a nice salad.

We also finished Ralph Breaks the Internet which we had started to watch Friday night while eating before I went to study a bit. I actually can’t remember if I saw the first Wreck it Ralph, but oh man the Ralph Breaks the Internet was so good. I was just amazed at the creativity in the movie and the Disney Princesses were a riot!

Once that movie was over, I actually watched a Netflix movie, Mystery Murder with Adam Sandler. I enjoyed just laying around for the evening and decided Sunday would be more of a homework day.

Sunday morning I was surprised I slept in until 7am. That is sleeping in when you usually are awake around 5am for the gym. I had a nice relaxing morning and then made a quick trip to Wegmans for some groceries before starting some homework. Late morning, Brian and I headed to state park to rent paddleboards and enjoyed an hour paddling. We brought along the Go Pro (which I recently had replaced) and it worked great for taking photos while paddling. I need to get some other accessories for the Go Pro though to wear it to get some nice shots.

Sunday weather was so beautiful and with the nice breeze it didn’t feel that hot paddleboarding. On our way back, we grabbed some spedie salads to go and then ate and I finished some reading and working on homework in the afternoon.

In the evening we had dinner with family and then just relaxed. I was so happy to be done with my test and enjoy the weekend out and about. I got some nice sun and finished another bottle of sunscreen. Also my sun shirt worked great for paddleboarding and it was nice to not have to worry about sunscreening my back and shoulders.

Now it’s back to the work week and the last week of June. June just flew by. I hope we have some nice weekend weather coming up just like this one.

Spring Semester Ends and Weekend

April 29, 2019 by Alicia Leave a Comment

This weekend was the perfect mix of busy and relaxing, if that’s a thing. Friday morning I had gotten up early before work because the exam questions for my stats class were finally up. It felt good to get some work on them before work. I had planned to get back to doing them Friday evening, but then decided to be lazy, have dinner and go to bed early.

After a nice long 10 hours of sleep, I woke up refreshed on Saturday. Brian was heading to visit his mom so I had the house to myself. I left around 8am and went to a yoga class. It was a great class. I got to meet a few new people who were checking out the studio and chat for a while and also learned a new trick. Try doing tree pose in a side plank and keeping that leg up while flowing through a vinyasa. I would collapse in the vinyasa in class, but I did it again at home on Sunday and held it, which was fun. I posted a video on my other Instagram account @ilabk if you want to check it out. I love learning new tricks and being challenged in a yoga class.

Since the yoga studio is located across the street from the Target plaza, it was perfect to stop there after for a few items. I got some travel items for my upcoming wedding and honeymoon. Then I made a quick stop at Staples for some school supplies to prepare for summer classes. One book I ordered came as a loose leaf so I needed a binder. I think the loose-leaf means it costs less, but still $100 for the book and I still had to buy a binder, so expensive.

Finally I stopped to get groceries and Wegmans was an absolute madhouse. I know it was late morning Saturday, but just the week before I had been around the same time and it was not like this. I even had to wait for a cart. I think it had something to do with the plastic bag collection they were doing. Wegmans in NY plans to go plastic free by the end of this year so Saturday they were collecting plastic bags and giving each customer a coupon for a free reusable bag if you brought in plastic bags. I followed my usual route through the store but had some cart traffic jams for sure. If I passed something and had to turn around, it was the worst!

I finally made it home and it was the perfect lunch time. I decided to be like a kid and make a snack plate with goldfish crackers included. I’ve been wanting goldfish lately so I grabbed a bag at Target. Don’t you love when you are craving something and get it and it’s just so satisfying?! Also this is my favorite weekend lunch: ham, cheese, crackers and something salty like goldfish or pretzels. It was perfect!

Luckily I got all my errands out of the way Saturday morning so then the afternoon was spent running through my stats problems and getting all the information I needed for the exam. Then it was time to make hamburgers for dinner followed by banana bread for dessert because I loved the recipe I found a couple weeks ago and I had some bananas to use.

I winded down the evening with The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 movie before heading to bed.

Sunday morning I was up early and after having a quick breakfast, it was time to take my stats exam to get that out of the way. I took my time going through the questions, but there were definitely some tricky ones. I was upset I didn’t do as well as previous exams but my grade is not definite yet as the teacher goes through and sometimes awards partial credit and gives points for showing work that we attach at the end. The best part was, the exam was done!

Next it was time to head to the gym. I decided to work on squats and deadlifts. Not following a real plan right now, but my goal is to write up my next workout plan in the next week for after the wedding. It still feels good to go to the gym and lift.

The rest of Sunday was pretty laid back. I caught up on some youtube videos and did a little yoga. Once my group project was submitted for stats, I celebrated by taking a nice hot bath and using the bath bomb I got at my bridal shower. It smelled good and I forgot how fun bath bombs are.

I started gathering a pile of things to pack for our wedding. I don’t want to forget anything and I also need to make sure my suitcase stays under the weight limit thinking about all the things I need to bring.

I am excited to be done with another semester. I don’t have my final grades yet and don’t expect those until sometime next week, but at this point, I can’t change anything so time to enjoy a little downtime before the wedding. I have 2 weeks of freedom and then my summer classes start the week of our honeymoon so I will check into them while we are away, but hopefully the first week won’t have too much work.

The weather here over the weekend was 40 with snow flurries and I just feel like we are going backwards because last weekend was 70 and beautiful. I can’t wait for some beach time and shorts weather and vacation. My wedding and honeymoon is my first week off work since last August and that week was for school, so I’m excited to enjoy a week on the beach and some time with friends before my wedding.

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