We made it through a Halloween weekend and while I didn’t dress up, I did enjoy some fall foods. My weekend was kinda a roller coaster in how I was feeling. I don’t really know why, other than to say I plan to far ahead and so I had this mile long to do list in my head when I can really only focus on a foot of it. Anyone else like that? I am trying to remember to be in the present moment and focus on what I can do NOW and not what happens in 3 months or so.

Anyway, the weekend started off on a good note. Brian and his brother bought some chicken wings for dinner and I enjoyed bbq wings and my leftover broccoli. The pairing was delicious and balanced to me. I then finished off some cookie dough Artic Zero ice cream. I had a free coupon so I got some at the store last week. It was delicious.

Brian and I actually headed out Friday night to do something different, to see the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra perform some Harry Potter music. Thanks to Facebook I found out about the event months ago, but of course, Brian can’t plan anything in advance. When he mentioned last week that he would very likely be home Friday, I begged him to purchase the tickets. Thankfully there were still a few seats left. It was totally sold out by the time Friday came.

It was so cool to sit there and hear the Harry Potter music come alive. They also had the best guy giving little tid bits of commentary and even reading short passages from some of the books to explain the music coming up next. Not only did I enjoy the music, but I also learned about the directors for the movie. Overall it was a great night out. Each time Brian and I go out to enjoy some of the arts, we think, wow we need to do that more. It’s just hard because we have to book things last minute with his job and never knowing when he will be around. I was glad we made this happen though to kick off the weekend.

Saturday morning, I headed to the gym. I’ve had new workouts for a week now and I realized last week I needed to push harder. I did just that on Saturday and it felt really awesome. I also took a couple videos of my squats and deadlifts on my phone.

So I wanted to talk about videos and photos at the gym. I couldn’t totally tell if the one guy who commented “it’s not selfie Saturday” was serious or sarcastic. I take videos so I can see how deep my squats are since we don’t have mirrors and I want to see how I am doing. It’s also a way to mark my progress. I prefer to not have my phone out when at the gym, but I love my new iphone and the videos it takes. It’s also good for me to have some videos or photos to send to my new coach online. Not sure how other people feel about videos and yes I hate to be that person setting up my phone against my water bottle in the gym, but hey, I try to do it when there aren’t many people around and for myself and progress. Just putting those thoughts out there.

After running a few errands Saturday morning, I came home and made Nikole’s pumpkin lasagna and while I would have loved to keep it vegan, I wanted to share it with Brian and I also didn’t have any of the ingredients to make the tofu ricotta so it would have cost me more. I simply subbed regular ricotta. The plan was to have it for dinner but then other plans came up so I had it Sunday for lunch and it will be my dinner during the week. It was really delicious even the next day.

The rest of my afternoon was spent finished season 1 of This is US so now I’m not too far behind and doing lots of reading. My Saturday afternoon was brightened up when I got a Halloween card from one of my friends in the mail. I love snail mail!!

For dinner, we headed out to a new brewery which also has a taco food truck parked outside so you can enjoy food with your beers. I’m not a beer person so I just stuck to water, but I did enjoy a farro arugula salad and one of Brian’s tacos.

The rest of the evening, I needed some alone time to get back to some of my to dos. The day seemed to go by quickly and I felt I didn’t accomplish as much as I would have liked. I know we all have those days.

Sunday morning I woke up still a little annoyed. It was a rainy day with a predicted 4 inches of rain to come. I headed to a yoga class since I didn’t get my Friday yoga. I loved all the stretching and fast flow we did. I worked up a sweat.

When I arrived home, I got back into the kitchen roasting some veggies and then baking some more pumpkin scones, a double batch so I could bring some to work.

I think the baking was the most therapeutic for me and then I was able to get back to accomplishing some to dos in the afternoon. Oh and I also ordered half of the Christmas presents I am getting other people this weekend. Even if the gifts are for others, I just felt happy doing a little online shopping. Now to wait until Black Friday to find myself a new winter jacket because I have only been wearing mine for about 14 years and it’s a child’s XL or something…

 

What’s your favorite Fall recipe?

I can’t believe we are halfway through October already. I guess it is hard to believe because we had another weekend of 70 degree temps. I’m not complaining though. I think this week as we might get our first frost, I may need to bring out my Fall jacket. Though I also wonder by the time I bring out my Fall jacket, it may be too late and I might just need a winter jacket. Speaking of winter jackets, I’ve had mine since I was like 14 years old and I think this year I am finally going to search for a new coat. Any recommendations for a warm winter jacket appreciated.

                Now back to the weekend. Friday at work actually went by fairly quickly. I am starting to get a few projects to do and that helps the day go by. I headed to my usual yoga class after work and it felt so good to stretch. I was good at doing yoga at least 3 times a week a couple months back but now it’s more like twice a week. I need to work on doing some on my own at home, maybe a quick 15 minute morning routine or something.

                When I got home, Brian and I chatted for a while. I called a few people and then before I knew it, it was 9pm and I got into bed, watching Netflix for a bit. Saturday morning I slept in just past 7. It’s getting easier to sleep in with the sun rising later. I had some breakfast and then headed to get an oil change on my car. Luckily I was the third customer for the morning and it was done pretty quickly.

                Once I got home, I had a bit of time to eat a snack and then head out for a massage. I am loving monthly massages. Not only do they help me destress and especially help my tight shoulders from sitting at a desk daily, but it has also improved my workouts.

                I made a quick stop at Target and then picked up with ribs for lunch and headed home. Shortly after eating lunch, Brian and I headed out for the afternoon. We drove to Ithaca and walked around the top part of Taughannock Falls State Park. It was such a beautiful day and the parks were crowded.

                We had planned to make a stop at the lower part of the falls as well, but when we drove down, we found out you had to pay for parking. Apparently it’s the last weekend they are charging but it seemed late in the season to still be charging. Somehow we lucked out with the top being free.

                So instead we just took a ride and Brian (being the passenger) found a brewery to stop at on the way. I think Brian likes me driving so he can drink beer ;). Brian got 4 tastings at Hopshire Brewery. I made him get the hard cider to try and that was pretty good. As usual, Brian made me try each beer as well to see the look on my face, but I was surprised when I actually tolerated one of them quite well and took more than one sip. So my pick would be the Cohoperation that had a citrus and grapefruit taste and I think that’s why I liked it.

                After the brewery, we made a stop at a cider place where Brian picked up 3 gallons of apple cider to make his own hard cider at home and I got a small bag of golden delicious apples for only $5. Golden delicious has always been a favorite of mine.

                Along the drive, Brian and I enjoyed the country scenery. It almost felt like we were on vacation for a minute (at least to me) as we drove around. We then headed to Marathon to meet up with some family friends and join them for homemade pizza night. I don’t eat pizza often, but homemade sounded delicious to me and it was, along with ceaser salad. We enjoyed chatting and catching up since I probably won’t see them again until Thanksgiving.

                We finally arrived home at about 9pm so it was a good afternoon and evening out and about. I wasn’t super tired, so I decided to read in bed for a bit before heading to sleep.

                Sunday morning, I was awake and ready to start the day at 7:15. I got up and quickly ate and then changed for the gym. I was excited to do some squats again. From issues with my right hip to traveling to having a terrible cold, it had been a good month since I have done squats. While the squats were challenging, they felt pretty good. I really have to build strength in my glutes again.

                After a sweaty gym session, I splashed water on my face and turned on the AC in the car and went to Wegmans. I think I looked somewhat presentable…I also think my legs will be like jello for a while.

                I got my groceries for the week and got right in the kitchen when I arrived home. I made some vegan pumpkin scones which turned out so delicious and also prepped my meat to marinate for tonight’s dinner.

                I was amazed how much I accomplished before noon. I’m writing this as Sunday afternoon has just begun so I’m not sure what I will be doing the rest of the day. I’m thinking an episode of This is Us and then some reading.

 

What’s your favorite apple?

Happy Monday!! This time I think it’s actually a happy Monday, because I have gotten past my cold and feeling better. Oh yeah it’s Columbus day too, but I have work. Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends though!!

                Brian finally came home Friday evening after being away for a month. It was nice to be reunited and have the house to ourselves for a bit this weekend. Since Saturday was forecasted to be the best day weather wise for the weekend, we took advantage of that and headed out to the PA Grand Canyon. I forget the name of the exact park we were in.

                The drive was about 2 hours and by the time we left, it was a good idea to stop for lunch first. Brian knew of a restaurant in Mansfield, PA called Cast and Crew with some good food. I opted for a burger and sweet potato fries. We then split the pumpkin cheesecake for dessert because it sounded awesome. It also looked awesome, but it was heavy on the cream cheese for my liking. I picked around and ate pumpkin pieces and the delicious crust, while Brian enjoyed the cream cheese portion. Oh and we did not finish it. It was super large.

                Now that our bellies would be full for hours, we headed to the park to do a couple 1 mile hikes. We both realized how out of hiking shape we are. During our travels through New Zealand, that’s about all we did was little hikes. I missed being out in nature. It turned out to be a beautiful day. The fall colors are at their peak I think and the weather warmed up to nearly 80 degrees so I was able to dress lightly. I dug out my hiking boots and I was glad I did. I still think those are the best investment I made recently. Proper footwear is essential.

               

                On the second trail, we came across the million dollar view that made our trip worth it. Walking down to the edge of the cliff and looking out at the canyon was amazing. Watching as the birds soared below us and looking at the bicyclists down on the path on the East side [we were on the west]. We hung out there for a bit. Brian even was offered a free beer from a guy hanging out there before we got there. He enjoyed that.

                After that view we took the loop around back to the car. By this point it was just past 3pm and we decided to start driving back. Throughout the park, we noticed that the water fountains had been turned off, so we stopped at a Dunkin Donuts on the way back to help our thirst and got unsweetened iced teas. We then decided to make a quick stop at Wegmans for some ready to eat sushi and enjoyed that at home on the patio for dinner.

                The weather was amazingly beautiful and there was a light breeze that seemed to keep the bugs away which was what I needed. Hiking was the much needed escape I needed this weekend. There are honestly so many places within a 2 hour drive we could go see. We just need more weekends together, but they are rare occurrences with Brian’s job.

                I was pretty tired towards the end of the night, but I made it through another episode of This is Us. I just started watching season 1. It’s nice to have a new show to watch for a bit. I think about an episode a day is what I will do until I am caught up.

                Sunday was a less exciting day, but it was exciting in the fact that I was finally back to weight lifting after a two week hiatus. The weights certainly felt heavy and I’m sure I lost some muscle over the last couple weeks, but setbacks happen and I know I will be able to get back to where I was and hopefully continue to improve from there. I think my body really needed the time to recover and now I just need to lay out a new workout plan.

What’s your favorite part about Fall?