Weekly Recap

Hello! I hope everyone had a great week. I had a fairly productive one, and I’m finally at home taking some time to blog and grade papers. Julian is watching the UFC fights, and we sometimes have a couple drinks while watching. I found a couple new interesting ones. This one is supposed to taste like cinnamon sugar cereal. I’m a huge fan of cinnamon but I don’t really get those notes here. I also thought the unicorn was kind of cute, if not a little faded!

This is the new Lagunitas “Super Cluster Ale,” which we picked out because it has citrus!

Now, taking it back to Sunday! I spent most of the day with the pups. It wasn’t terribly cold in Chicago, so my brother and I took them out on a walk for a few miles and they were completely exhausted by the time we got home. They passed out in minutes. Later that evening, I want to say that I did some “meal prep,” but I really just hard-boiled some eggs, so I don’t want to take too much credit! I ended the evening with some self-care, trying out a new “whipped marshmallow” face mask from Target and some collagen-infused pads for the under-eye area.

Monday, I had a smoothie with V8 healthy greens, spinach, hemp oil, flax, chia, pineapple, blueberries, blackberries, ginger, collagen peptides and super-greens. I also had a kiwi and Lara bar for a snack mid-day. My lunch salad (which I ate most of the week) consisted of romaine, turkey, avocado, tomato, hard-boiled egg, and a simple oil/vinegar dressing.

After work, I headed to the gym for an arm day. I used lighter weights to do jumping jacks and a circuit of punches – uppercuts, jabs, and “haymakers” (right and left hooks). I also used the resistance band to do bicep curls and overhead presses and I used a weight machine to do some pull-down exercises for triceps, biceps, and forearms, and I finished it off with some triceps dips, push-ups, and then did 20 minutes of interval cardio.

I was pretty hungry when I got home, so I decided to make a Beyond Meat veggie burger with some broccoli. I also snacked on some vegetable Good Thins (not pictured). The Beyond Meat burger is super-easy to cook. I just add a pinch of salt and pepper and cook on medium heat 3 minutes each side.

Tuesday was a busy day at work, but I had the same meals I had Monday. After work, I did some at-home yoga. I really love the Sanela videos with PsycheTruth. She’s really gentle and soothing in her speech, and she is very motivational and has some great workouts! My husband bought me this yoga mat because I love trees. I think they are so beautiful that I even have a tattoo of one!

After my workout, I had this delicious kombucha while I cooked Tuesday’s citrus fajita chicken! I am a huge fan of blood orange, and this did not disappoint.

I also finished my taxes, which was definitely a relief. My husband and I filed jointly for the first time last year and it is actually way simpler than I thought (at least when you use a service like Turbo Tax). I have two jobs and pay student loans and donate, and I’m not the most organized person, so it took some time to get all the paperwork together.

Wednesday, I had the same breakfast of a smoothie, but my snack changed to an apple and Perfect bar. My lunch was a salad with the leftover citrus chicken and avocado. The gym was super-crowded on Wednesday so I kind of kept to myself and used a resistance band for a leg and ab workout. I did a variety of squats, leg lifts, lunges, leg extensions, crunches, planks, and side bends, and I ran 2 miles on the treadmill to cool down. I much prefer to run outside, but until it surpasses 50 degrees here, I’m trudging along on the machine! I had a Beyond Burger for dinner, but instead of cooked broccoli, I dipped raw broccoli in roasted garlic hummus.

I was excited for Wednesday because The Act came out on Hulu! Does anyone else follow along with the Dee Dee/Gypsy Rose Blanchard story? It’s totally creepy and weird and unbelievable, and this new series does an awesome job of portraying the absurdity!

Thursday went by pretty quickly. We ordered out for lunch at work and I got some shrimp tacos with a side salad (came with cucumber, tomato, and mixed greens with a red wine garlic vinaigrette). After work I watched the Mommy Dead and Dearest documentary (I was on a Gypsy Rose kick) and then went to Target with my husband to pick up some items for the week and to grab a baby shower gift for his cousin. This is my mini Target haul.

I got some pineapple kombucha, Simply Balance sparkling water (my fav – it’s inexpensive and really good, especially the cranberry citrus!), riced cauliflower, crushed ginger (super-easy to add to smoothies), Kodiak Cakes, and sparkling coconut water in lemon ginger!

Friday, I did a step-board and jump squat circuit at the gym. I had honey shrimp and a noodle-less chow mein for dinner, filled with bok choy, green peppers, bamboo, cabbage, and pea pods. Julian and I watched old Cartoon Network shows for a little bit and after I showered, I tried out a derma roller for the first time! Not sure if I see any amazing results yet, but I’ll share as I continue. I was exhausted and ended up going to bed pretty early.

Saturday, I woke up early to head to the gym. I had a Celsius Heat pre-workout drink in Tangerine Grapefruit. It’s like a sparkling water and really good! Today was a heavy leg day, so I did a series of weighted squats, deadlifts, lunges, leg presses, leg lifts, inner thigh squeezes, and finished off the workout by running a mile and then walking on the highest incline. I had to rush home and get ready for my husband’s cousin’s baby shower. It was held at a park near our house and it was absolutely adorable!

They had a ton of different sweets: candy, chocolate-covered pretzels, cupcakes, cake pops, eclairs, and mini cheesecakes and custards. They also had potato salad, pasta, ham, chicken, pork, beef, rice, and fries! I did indulge in some treats, and I had some lemonade!

After the party, we went for a drive through some of the south suburban forest preserves. It was a beautiful day and very sunny out, and we got to pass some controlled burn fires in the forests – it was super-foggy and almost mystical.

Now, we’re just home and I am alternating between blogging, grading, and reading unresolved mysteries on Reddit! Tomorrow should be a chill day – we have some small car repairs and I will probably take the pups out. I hope everyone is having an awesome weekend!