The long weekend is winding down

I figured I would smush Sunday and Monday together.  There wasn’t a whole lot to Sunday.  We woke around 8AM (my body attempted to REFUSE to waking up) and headed back to Douglas’ for a brunch.  I have to admit, I was done with events and family things.  I was ready to hit the road for the long ride back.  But unfortunately, there was no saying no.  We got to Douglas’ and I was SO surprised to find out that I was hungry because I was so STUFFED the night before.  I ate some damn bread (yes, that is the name of it…I think because it is so damn good.  Cream cheese and soft sweet bread, yum!) along with some apples and zucchini bread. 

As we were leaving Douglas’, my brother Will and his wife, Becky, asked for Justin and I to go outside.  I had no idea what they wanted to talk to us about (I always assume the worst) and he actually had amazing news/question for us.  They asked Justin and I to be Godparents to my little niece, Grace.  I was beyond thrilled and touched.  Justin answered before I did because he was so excited he couldn’t contain himself.

Here is sweet little Grace (who according to everyone in my family—looks EXACTLY like me.  Kind of bizarre.  We definitely have the same cheeks.)

It definitely made it worth going to the brunch!!!  We aren’t sure when the christening will be, but Justin and I couldn’t be anymore honored!

After leaving the brunch, we got in the RV and started heading home.  It took about 8 hours to get back to the in laws, where we unloaded the RV and then hit the road for another 45 minutes.  It was a VERY long day and I felt so bloated after the whole weekend.

I talked Justin into going for a late night run.  This meant that I had to run with my light-reflective vest and a head lamp.  We actually ended going much longer than we had expected to.  We kept hearing live music and we went on a mission to find it.  We found the most amazing Labor Day party in a random neighborhood up in Mclean.  They had a live band, a full stage, lights, etc.  It was a production.  We ended up running for about 60 minutes.  We stopped on the way home and put in an order for pick-up from Dogwood Tavern.

I got the apple and chicken salad with the dressing on the side.

and I had a tasty beer on the side

I also had some left over wedding cake that is in the fridge that we never eat (yes, we got married almost a year and a half ago!)

And then we crawled into bed for some much needed sleep!!!  So happy to be in my own bed!

Monday

We slept in late this morning, more than anything, we just laid there and dozed.  It was fabulous and what every holiday should be like!  Finally motivated, unpacked and started some laundry.  Then we headed out on a long bike ride. I had half of a Luna iced oatmeal cookie bar before we left.

I liked this bar, but it wasn’t one of my favorite.  Too sweet tasting.  And it really didn’t taste just like an oatmeal cookie.  I ate another half while out on the ride. We did a little over 17 miles in a bit more than one hour and probably would have gone further, but the trail was simply too packed!

After the ride, I made lunch.  I had a handful of edamame while I tried to decide what I wanted to make.

In the fridge, I found the following:

2 pieces of light italian bread, 1 slice of fat free turkey salami (Gross, but it was in the fridge!), some mayo, some mustard, lettuce and tomato.

Then I had a side with cottage cheese, 1T of peanut butter, 1/4 cup of all bran, and some raisins.

Despite all this eating, I still had a sweet tooth, so a few meringues were in store.

Then we headed out to the house.  We found out this weekend that we are closing on the 24th of August.  A little more than 3 weeks away.  INSANE!!!

I had this on the way out there:

The house:

The kitchen….still waiting on the granite, the bar and appliances.  But those cabinets look fabulous!

Can’t wait to start cooking in here!

The front of the house.

THRILLED!!!

Then went grocery shopping at Wegman’s, got home and made dinner.   Justin made the entire dinner, which was a wonderful change.  We figured the perfect way to end Labor day was by grilling out.

That is a whole romaine head, with carrots and tomatoes on top.  It was grilled for about 2 minutes a side.  Then there is 5 ounces of flank steak and 2 scallops.  All of this food was HEAVENLY!

We also split some bruschetta.  I had two of these slices.

and one last beer.

As a whole, it was a wonderful weekend.  Spent time with tons of friends and family and ate way too much.  I didn’t keep track of any of my weekend eating, so it will be impossible to do my calorie counting math for the week.  I am going to aim to simply not gain any weight since last week.  Fingers crossed.

One of the longest and hottest days of my life

Saturday recap:

I honestly thought I may collapse/pass out in the middle of the day.  There was no half-a$$ing this day.  It was 100% from start until bed.  When the alarm went off at 7:00AM, I honestly wondered why in the world I was getting up this early!!  We got home and in bed at probably about 1:30AM.  And well, thanks to the many many drinks I consumed the night before, I was definitely hungover.  And when you are hosting the tailgate, there is no being late.  I grabbed a quick shower and a diet cherry coke and we headed to the tailgate. 

There were at least 60 people at the tailgate.  Tons of food, tons of drink, etc….it was a total hit.  The only problem was that is was UNBELIEVABLY hot and humid.  And we got out into the sun at around 8:30 and didn’t get an ounce of shade until nearly 5.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the tailgate.

My friend Larry and I.  He is getting married the last weekend in September.  I can’t wait.  Larry was my first boss when I started lifeguarding at 16.  Still can’t believe we have been friends for almost 12 years now!

Justin, my brother Douglas and my friend Clark who I have known since I was 11 and lived in Connecticut.

Me and my good girl friend Karen who just moved to Charlotte from Iowa.  I am SO excited she is close again!

I did not drink much at all at the tailgate.  I had 2 mimosas and that was it.  I snacked on some of the awesome food here and there. 

Our seats at the game were terrible.  Glad we give a decent amount of money to Virginia Tech every month plus paying for ticket to have potentially the worst seats in the stadium.  I watched the game with Justin and Kristen until she abandoned us for better seats (and shade)

(yes, that is the back wall of the stadium behind them!)

There were moments in the game were it was so hot that I thought I may fall asleep.  My body was simply shutting down.  There was a lot of water drinking and potentially a little diet coke and bourbon.

So, the hokies lost.  The hokies deserved to loose.  They looked horrible, played horrible, had terrible play calling and even the fans half-a$$ed it.  I am okay with my team not winning when they don’t fight to win.

After the game, we went back to the tailgate at the RV.  I tried to drink as much water as possible.  I also snacked on way too much of the dessert table.

Then Abby and I went back to her apartment to grab a MUCH needed shower.  Then we headed to my brother Douglas’ house for an after the game BBQ.  I was so happy to get there because my other brother, Will, and his wife + two kids were there.  I hadn’t seen my little niece, Grace, since April.  She will be a year old in September, so I was amazed how much she has grown!  It was a very fun party (my brother Douglas is an event party so no detail is missed and he takes your average BBQ and makes it as spectacular as some weddings!)

Here is what I made for the BBQ

Angel food cake, blueberries, strawberries, raspberry, sugar-free cheesecake pudding and some light whipped cream.

This was a hit, as always, and was gone in no time.

At the BBQ I ate too much!  Half a hamburger, about half a dozen chips in buffalo chicken dip, a bunch of other sides and way too much dessert.  I had one beer and one glass of white wine.  And a few jell-o shooters. 

The party was great.  There was about 30 people there.  Everyone was EXHAUSTED from being in the sun all day, so it was nice to finally sit down and just talk with everyone. 

When we got back to my sister Abby’s, I literally walked into the bedroom, changed and went to sleep.  Screw my contacts, screw washing my face….at least I put on PJ’s!!!

Because calories still count when it rains

Friday recap:

I got up this morning around 6:30AM and went for a jog.  It had rained during the night but it had stopped when I went out for the run.  I managed to get halfway through my run when it started to POUR.  I got SOAKED.  I loved every minute of it.  I love the feeling that even when I am in a concrete jungle that I can still enjoy and appreciate nature.  I ran for 40 minutes and it was probably the strongest my knee has felt on a run.  I am figuring I did almost 4 miles. 

So I had the morning weigh in.  I was sure that I was going to have gained or be the same because I ate an average of about 1950 calories per day last week.  That is an insane amount of calories in my mind!  Even when I have tried to gain weight in the past I didn’t eat that much.  (Which shows that you really can destroy your metabolism with dieting/restricting!)  I got on the scale right when I woke up and it said 137.0, I was THRILLED.  Then I got on the scale after I had run (and taken my medicine and eaten a few bites of an Odwalla bar.) and taken a shower and I weighed 136.2.  I was so surprised!!  Obviously that included some sweat-loss from running but I was in the rain, so I figure my skin soaked up as much water as I sweated out.

Before I ran, I ate the remaining 1/4 of that Odwalla bar.

On the way to our in laws, I had about 1 3/4 cups of skim milk mixed with a carnation instant breakfast.  I also snacked on a banana.  This was a little too ripe for my liking though.

 

Once we got to the in laws, we packed up the RV and hit the road. 

I have to say, this is a nice way to ride when you are doing an 8 hour trip.  Bathroom, fridge, sofas, movies….Not too shabby!

At about 11 I was hungry for a snack so I had a clif bar mixed with some TJ’s blueberry greek yogurt.  I had never had this kind before and I really liked it.  It so so fluffy and creamy, almost whipped and it had real chunks of blueberries!!  And I always love the peanut butter crunch Clif bars.  I mixed them together and it hit the spot!

Now back on the road.

And at one point, it was decided that this was a good idea:

I was SO scared.  I asked if I could wear a crash helmet!

This is about the point that my eating derailed and I quit keeping track for the rest of the weekend.  We had lunch about half way down to Charlotte–I had 1 slice of whole wheat bread with some white chicken breast salad.  I also had 2 oreos.  When we got to Charlotte, I had a 100 calorie pack of Lorna Doones and a Coors Light while we unpacked the RV and waited for my sister to pick us up.

We all went to eat dinner at a restaurant Brixx.  There were probably 12 of us, quite a few of my siblings and then a few of Justin’s siblings + parents and others.  I ordered a house salad with salmon on top and the dressing on the side.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the salmon but the rest of the salad was good.  I also had 2 pieces of bruschetta from the appetizers.  And I had 3 beers that were very tasty.

Then the kids decided it was time to go out.  There was quite a few more beers consumed (and a shot of So-Co and Lime).  Here are some pics from this night:

(My sister Abby, Justin’s brother Dan, Justin’s sister Kristen, me and Justin)

Kristen, me and Aiken (Dan’s friend from ECU)

 

We went to my sister Abby’s apartment about midnight, knowing it would be an EARLY EARLY morning.  And I ate some late night pizza when we got back to my sister’s because I Was drunk.