Autumn

I think we need to have longer weekends, how about you? It seems that the weekdays drag on and on and once Friday afternoon gets here, it fast forwards to Monday. I don’t like that. But alas, this past weekend was great while it lasted and I guess that’s all I can ask for.

I headed up to the mall at lunch time on Saturday to meet my sister-in-law Jenna, cutie-pie niece Autumn, my mom, and Bea. Bea is my dad’s cousin’s wife and they spend January – March(ish) here in Florida. We love it when they are here! The plan was for all of us to have lunch at Red Robin and then Jenna and I would go for some much needed pampering. A mani/pedi to be exact. But first… Lunch! Red Robin. Yum. This was to be my first time eating there where I was not going to cave and have the ginormous mushroom burger, fries, and coleslaw. I was a good girl after my WW meeting in the morning and went online to decide what I could have that wouldn’t kill my points for the day. So, going in I knew what I was ordering. I’m telling you, that’s the way to go. Know what you want and then there is no going back on forth on everything and you’re less likely to cave and order something really high in points. I ordered a garden salad, balsamic vinaigrette on the side, and a cup of chicken tortilla soup. I took the sour cream and cheese off the top as I forgot to ask them to leave it off. And I had ice water with lemon. It hit the spot, all for 9 points. Not awful. The best part? Sitting across from this cute face… I’m not lying when I say she is THE cutest niece ever. EVER.

After lunch, we headed to the nail salon. I was entertained by Jenna’s excitement and giggles as we sat in our comfy chairs and got ready for our pedicures. I’ve had them for years and yes, I am extremely ticklish. I told her that she would love it. Yes, it would tickle, but just for a minute, and the wonderfulness of it all would make her forget about the ticklish part. Needless to say, there were a lot of giggles and laughter. Did she love it? Yes! Welcome to the dark side, Jenna!

I can’t tell you how bad I needed a pedicure. My feet were begging for some TLC, and they got it. We both chose the same color, Opi Skyfall, I always seem to pick the dark red / burgundy colors for my toes (Opi Malaga Wine is also a favorite) and this was perfect. See how happy my toes were? Bliss!

We also had manicures. Jenna had a French manicure which came out beautifully – I should have taken a picture. I opted for clear as my nails are still growing. I am a nail biter and if my cuticles are out of control, I bite more. Don’t judge me… I am so happy with my manicure and clean cuticles and soft hands, now I won’t mess with them and they will grow.

We walked around the mall for a bit afterwards. Jenna and I grabbed a Starbucks (yes, I cheated on my Keurig!). One a week isn’t bad. We both tried the new Vanilla Spice Latte, with soy milk of course. It was very good – the vanilla is very subtle. And I love soy milk in all coffee drinks – it makes them so smooth and creamy.  Hello, old friend….

My mom and Autumn had Dairy Queen and we sat around chit chatting for a bit. A great way to spend a cool Saturday afternoon!

See my hair in the picture with Autumn? it’s getting crazy long. I may have to cut it soon because when it gets this long, it has a mind of it’s own and I can’t deal with it.

I headed home after our mall fun and before I knew it, it was time for hubby and I to go out to dinner with our friend Rachel. She plays paintball with hubby and she is a trip. Five minutes with her and you are laughing your butt off. It was a great dinner, and I stayed on point again. Go me! Salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing, broiled tilapia with broccoli and asparagus, one biscuit, and a glass of wine. A very filling dinner and the biscuit was a nice treat. After dinner and a lot of laughter, we headed home. For dessert, I had a slice of the pineapple cake I made last week with some fat free Cool Whip. Hubby loves it too – score!

Sunday morning after hubby headed out to play paintball, I put on my running shoes and headed to the park for a run. I intended to go to a 90-minute Power Hot Yoga class but I was slightly scared, plus I had not run since last weekend at the Glow Run and I keep thinking about the 3 races I have coming up next month. I had a great run. I tried not to look at my Garmin during and went with what felt right. I alternated running and walking (I like to go from sign to sign, tree to tree, etc… Keeps my heart rate up!) for the whole time. I know the exact route I have to take to hit 3.11 miles so I know when I’m done. I finished with a solid 42:59. Not too shabby for this girl. Despite the cool morning, I was soaked when I was done. It was a great run (but I MUST get back to yoga this week!!!).

After my run, I headed home for breakfast. I was starving! I don’t like to eat before my run (unless it’s a long one) so I was ready for food. I made scrambled eggs with fresh diced tomatoes, onions, and mushrooms with basil, and a cup of coffee. My favorite coffee right now? Green Mountain Limited Edition Golden French Toast. It is so good! When it’s brewing it smells like maple syrup. So good. And it’s not too sweet, it’s just the perfect flavor.

After breakfast and some blogging, I headed to the store. I make noise about grocery shopping but I actually do like it because I enjoy starting the week off prepared. Nothing sends me into a tailspin faster than when we have no meals planned for the week. I have to be prepared. I spent about an hour at the store, but we are set for the week for lunches, dinners, and snacks. I even put celery and carrots in snack bags and cut up strawberries for hubby. The topic last week at WW was all about your refrigerator and being prepared. No convincing needed on my part, I know how important it is. When we don’t have food on hand to cook, that’s when I cave and want to pick up take-out or order a pizza. Right now, I just can’t do that. Our refrigerator is ready for this week! Chicken, turkey sausage, and lots of fruits and veggies. YUM!!

The rest of Sunday was spent cleaning the bathroom (the worst thing ever), laundry, a quick nap, more blogging, and spending time with Blue and Ozzie. They love days when I am home, there’s a lot of snuggling and snoozing and cuteness. Blue is doing much much better and today he will stay home after going everywhere with me last week to keep an eye on him. He still has a few days of meds left and is still eating chicken and rice, but he’s Mr. Saucy Pants again and that’s how we know he’s feeling good. By the way, you should pop on over to hubby’s blog and read his post about Blue and Ozzie, appropriately titled Crazy and Lazy.

I hope you all have a great week!!

What foods do you keep in your refrigerator for go-to snacks? How often do you grocery shop?