weekend recap

I've got a mini vacation this week! Next two days off, woohoo.

I like that schedule: two days off, one day on, two days off....

Friday night, I went with my mom to a Taste Fest downtown. 

Aftermath.

For $15, you get all you can eat from at least 20 restaurants. We had pizza, feta cheese bread, chili cheese bacon sliders, prime rib, ahi tuna, honeybaked ham, shepard's pie, pulled pork sliders, salad, wine, stuffed figs, brownies, pie, mini cupcakes (x a few), mushroom crostini, buffalo wild wings boneless wings, pasties, and I know that I am forgetting more. It was the bomb.

Saturday my bf's nephew turned five, which is CRAZY because it feels like he was just born. Where does the time go?

I also went grocery shopping and bought ice cream. I hadn't bought any ice cream since we started P90X in March, which was huge. (I didn't say I didn't eat any ice cream since then -- that would just be crazy.) I finally caved. Same goes for the Cool Whip. I used to go through a container a week.

Reunited and it feels so good...

On Sunday, we went to our favorite flea market, and in good blogger fashion I forgot to take any pictures. The market happens twice each year and marks the start and end of summer. We never walk away empty handed!

Even though I forgot to take pics there, here are some of the goods:

It works!

Expanded my Batman cup collection (plus about 4 more...)

Sick Harley pouch.

Hope you had an awesome weekend!

Feeling fruity....

I love grocery shopping, a little bit too much. Every Saturday I meet up with my mom and we shop with good intentions -- spend less money, stick to the list. The day I achieve this will be a proud day. 

I've been trying to cut back on sugar. I looooove fruit, and even though a piece of fruit is better than a candy bar, the minimum 5 servings I eat a day is probably not good. So I had all these good intentions of not buying too much (since I'd already been to two other stores) and not buying so much fruit. I ended up with six kinds of fruit. #help

Ijustloveitsomuch.

Alsoooo Jell-O has these new puddings out that I could NOT resist. 

Photo from theimpulsivebuy on Flickr

Another problem I have is that whenever I buy a box of cereal, I have to eat a bowl of it immediately when I get home, regardless of if I am hungry or not.

It's just so delicious!

I had every intention of being "good" today in order to prepare for the Mexican feast I will be enjoying later tonight, but my mom showed up with a Biggby Peanut Butter Cup Chill, and that is one thing I will never turn down.

Mmmmm, PB

I did ride 32 (long overdue) miles this morning, though, so I'd say I earned it!

Usually I try to ride my bike as much as I can in the summer, but for whatever reason, I have really been slacking. I was happy to break that (too) long hiatus today! It felt great to get out there. It's really the best way to start the day.

I hope you are having an amazing weekend!

T.G.I.F

Thank goodness it is Friday. I am more than ready for the weekend! It should be a fun one, too, with a birthday dinner for my bf's mom and a baby shower. 

A few things I enjoyed this week....

Expendables 2. God was this movie fantastic. It was even better than the first one (though to be fair, the bar wasn't set that high). So many good one-liners. If 90 some minutes of explosions and gratuitous violence doesn't put a smile on your face then I don't know how to help you. Go see it now. 

It doesn't fall in line with my usual musical tastes (save for the Queen of Pop Britney Spears), but something about Katy Perry's music just puts me in a good mood. I kind of love-to-hate her as a person but I will proudly blast "Part of Me" as I drive down the road.

My mom and I got a really good Groupon deal for 10 Zumba classes for $20 or something equally crazy. It was my first time but I have really been enjoying it. The teacher this past week was aweeesome. It really makes me miss my dancing days! Even though I feel like I am incapable of "shimmying" -- my shoulders just don't want to go that way. Regardless, it's a lot of fun. 

That's all I've got. What made you smile this week?

my motivation seems to have gone missing. if you find it, please return to...

I've been feeling down this week, for no good reason really. I've got way more things to be happy about than sad, but I just can't seem to get out of this funk. I feel like I'm stuck in a rut. I feel burnt out. I think that I should have taken a short break from working out after finishing P90X in June, because now I'm dreading my workouts. I always take one or two (usually two) rest days, but I think I needed a week or so. I just feel like I am lacking direction and motivation, or maybe it is the absence of structure.

I'm going to try and take a short break from working out, but the problem is, 1) I feel guilty and 2) when I don't work out, I just want to say the hell with it and eat a large pizza with a bowl of ice cream. Neither of these are good things -- I should not feel guilty, and I should not feel like I need to give up. My bf found an analogy about how when you drop your phone, you don't say, "oh, I dropped my phone, might as well smash it into a million pieces." You shouldn't do this with your diet, either -- if you eat that large pizza, you shouldn't use that to rationalize adding on ice cream, beer, and french fries (pick your poison). This makes so much sense to me, and I try to remember it, but it's hard to really put into practice. I do want to just dive head first into a bowl of ice cream some days. 

I was thinking earlier that it's completely ridiculous that I even feel bad about trying to NOT eat certain things, when so many people don't even get that option! But again, even though I am aware of this and try to think about it, I still can't seem to change my mindset. 

I don't know where this is going really, but I just feel a bit lost. When I feel bad about myself, it affects everything else I do -- so even though it seems trivial to be down about skipping some lunges or eating that bowl of ice cream, it's all connected.

Does anyone else feel this way? Am I crazy? Do you have any tips for finding your motivation? I'd love to hear them. 

On another note, the 3-day Walk for the Cure is this weekend. I love seeing those ladies walk, it's so inspiring and I feel so much pride. I participated in Ride for the Cure last year and  I hope to do the century next year now that I have a proper bike (I rode 60 miles on a single speed!). The feeling I had when I was done was like no other. So to all the ladies (and men?) participating in the 3-day, you rock!

Also on another note, this morning a GIANT spider appeared in the kitchen. Of course, when I went to go get help, it disappeared. I thought I was getting better about spiders, but considering that I cried after it was gone, I guess the opposite is true! I just couldn't deal. I'm still afraid to go into the kitchen, I keep peeking my head around the corner before I dare enter. Hopefully my cat had a little midday snack. 

Sorry that was so text heavy! Thanks for reading :) 

TGIF!

A few things....

Just a few random snaps from my phone. I need to remember to take photos!

Neon pink toes

Honey vanilla bean (!) greek yogurt, 
chocolate granola, raspberries & blackberries, 
and honey

I like big buns and I cannot lie... 
(and the obligatory bathroom shot)

I've been rocking these for the past two weeks...

Pseudo-smore: black bean brownie

with a broiled marshmallow

Finally made these (plus PB)

Sugar-free caramel & cinnamon dolce
Frappuccino Light

Adult PB&J: Naturally More PB &
 raspberry jalapeno jelly

I'll take one of each.

everyone poops

I found this print on Etsy recently and thought it was pretty cute/funny. My bf stumbled across  it today and sent it me to as well, so I though I'd share it here. 

Everyone Poops print by ilovedoodle on Etsy