Hello. It’s early Sunday afternoon and currently raining in Chicago. It’s thundering and lightning, but it’s a bit of a welcome relief from the very hot temperatures we’ve had all week. I am going to bring this recap back to last Friday!
I took the day off work because I was going to the “Disrupt Tour Festival.” It had a Warped Tour sort of feel to it, as it was an all-day concert and held in the same venue Warped was always held at. I was excited to see some of my favorite bands that I’ve loved since I was a kid: The Used, Sum 41, Thrice, and Circa Survive.
I woke up early and did a full-body workout in my bedroom. I focused on cardio and did lots of burpees, squat jumps, jumping jacks, and kicks. After, Julian and I went to the trails and ran about two miles. When we got back, I made eggs with potatoes and tomatoes. We wanted to fuel up since we were going to be out in the heat for several hours.
This was my concert look.
I made sure to have lots of sunscreen on. I wore shorts, which is kind of a first for me. I’ve always had some pretty significant self-image issues, but I’ve been working so hard to eat well and take care of my body that I am starting to feel a little more confident. I’m also working on not caring what other people think of me. If it’s 96 degrees, it’s okay to wear shorts!
The concert was really fun and definitely a good throwback. Saturday, I woke up and completed a leg-focused workout. I did my own circuit that consisted of 5 rounds of sumo squats, step-out squats, deadlifts, lunges, side bends, calf raises, standing crunches, kettle bell swings, and squat jumps, and I went for a run after. For lunch, I had a veggie sandwich on wheat bread from Jimmy John’s and then I spent the rest of the day cleaning and watched another episode of Stranger Things. I’m loving this season and it is so hard not to binge it in one day.
Sunday, I woke up and did a 10-minute morning yoga flow. It felt good to stretch after such intense workouts the days before. I had a smoothie with spinach, berries, superfood powder, and collagen for breakfast. We went to Julian’s family’s house for a barbecue in the afternoon. His great aunt was visiting from Mexico. I had grilled chicken, grilled zucchini, and some hard seltzer. Later, I met my mom at a neighborhood carnival to see a band play for a bit.
I was not happy about going back to work Monday, but I was excited to get home. Last year, I started writing a novel – it was supposed to be a thriller about a cabin in the woods. I’d written 70 pages, but for some reason, the flow just wasn’t working for me and it was hard to work on. Well, I struck inspiration and started re-writing it with a different plot in mind and the words have just been flowing out, so I couldn’t wait to get home and work on it. I did an arm-focused workout, went for a run, and had a wrap for dinner. This wrap was made out of cheese. It’s low-carb, but I probably won’t do it again. I’m not a huge cheese fan and it seemed overly salty/greasy.
Tuesday, I walked Oliver after work and then did a yoga flow with Sanela. I made tuna steaks, veggie pasta salad, and cauliflower gratin (which I got from Target) for dinner. I also had a strawberry kombucha.
Wednesday was fun because my mom came over after work to watch Stranger Things (I re-watched the first two episodes of Season 3 with her). When I got home, I did a quick workout with a 30-lb resistance band and focused on legs and abs. I straightened up the apartment (I always have to impress my mom) and made a quick dinner of veggie tacos. I sauteed onions, garlic, zucchini, and mushrooms in Sazon and served them in corn tortillas. I also whipped up a quick sauce of mayonnaise, lime juice, hot sauce, paprika, garlic powder, salt, cayenne, and black pepper. It was pretty good! It kind of tasted like the Potato Taco sauce from Taco Bell.
Thursday, I did a short ab-focused yoga flow with Sanela and then I was kind of restless. I tried to watch The Handmaid’s Tale, I tried to read a new thriller book I picked up from the library (the Woman Inside), but I couldn’t really concentrate on anything. I decided to take a drive to Mariano’s for a snack haul.
I got sparkling waters, water enhancers, Lara Bars, Kind Bars, cherry sparkling water, Pop Chips, and the new Nature Valley wafer bars. I’ve been seeing them all over Instagram and I used to love Reeses Sticks so I thought they would be pretty good!
Friday, my morning started with a full body workout. I did shoulder-tap push-ups, pull-ups, and an arm workout that alternated between no weights and light weights. The exercises with no weights were harder for me because they were all about endurance. My arms were burning! I went for a run around the neighborhood and then had to get ready for work. It was so hot that I started sweating after I got out of the shower.
Later, I went to go spend some time with the pups, who were super-happy to be with me even though it was insanely hot. I did not want to take Oliver on a long walk because it was just too hot out, but he was happy nonetheless!
After hanging out with the boys, I made dinner. I made a Beyond burger for me, a regular burger for Julian, and a veggie-packed pasta salad. I know that pasta made from veggies is not the healthiest thing on the planet, but it offers some more nutrients than plain enriched pasta. I just threw a bunch of things together, but if I had to measure, I used 6 ounces of pasta, one medium crown of broccoli, 10 cherry tomatoes, one medium zucchini, and half a cucumber. I mixed two tablespoons of avocado oil, one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, around 1/4 cup Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper.
After dinner, we watched the sixth episode of Stranger Things. The ending was so intense that I started crying! I cannot wait to see the last two episodes but I am sad that it is going to end. I love getting caught up in fictitious worlds. It’s such a great escape from the monotony and reality of day-to-day.
Yesterday, I did another leg-focused workout. I did the same circuit I did the week before but I added a MadFit workout in after. It was composed of three super-sets of sumo squats, squat jumps, deadlifts, side lunges, step-ups, and split squats. I did not run yesterday because it was so hot and I wanted to give my body a break. We headed over to the river/House of Blues.
It’s very pretty and super-busy. We saw tons of boats, barges, kayaks, jet skis, and paddle boats. It was really nice to sit out by the river and have a couple drinks.
I had a hard cider. It’s funny that I mention my lack of confidence to wear shorts earlier when I also have a terrible habit of covering my face because I don’t like my nose. At this point, it is almost automatic. I am working on trying to slow down and remember that life is too short to care whether or not someone thinks I am ugly or does not like me – I want to focus more on being a good person and not worrying about others.
It did pour on us while we were down there, but we still had a great time! Being by the water is very calming.
Today, I have some laundry to get done and would like to spend some time outside (if it ever stops raining) because it is supposed to be in the 70s, much cooler than the weather we’ve had all week. I hope everyone had a good weekend!
Breeanna Living Brilliantly 