Small Recap

Hello! It’s a beautiful night in Chicago – today has taken on the sort of aesthetic I love. It’s slightly warm but there’s a cool breeze, and the sky is gray and a little dark, but the wind in the trees rustled in a way that the movement of the leaves and the birds made everything seem dramatically beautiful.

Last week, I kept up with my workouts and healthy eating and went to the zoo, which was one of the highlights of my week. I had salads on repeat for lunch (Romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, and avocado) and dinners of fried cauliflower rice, veggie burgers, broccoli, and zucchini.

On Friday, I started my morning with a full-body HIIT workout (along with a 15-minute ab session) and then went for a run. I finally found the Alani Nu Mimosa flavor and it was really good!

After work, I went for a walk around the cemetery. I really enjoy looking at all the gravestones – there are a lot of interesting pieces there and it was a beautiful day to be outside. When I got home, I read for a while and did some laundry and then Julian and I drove through the woods with all the windows rolled down and the cool breeze and scent of the forest coming in. I also picked up this new eyeshadow quad at Walgreens – the photo doesn’t do it justice. They are beautiful and shimmery, very rich in color.

I was up early on Saturday to get my leg workout in. I had a C4 sparkling water as my pre-workout and then did some circuits that included lunges, deadlifts, squats, squat kicks, squat jumps, and followed that with a 15-minute ab session.

It was too rainy to go for a run, so I did some yoga for a cool down. Breakfast was eggs with fresh veggies.

After I ate, I spent some time working on cleaning up my room. I wanted to do some heavy spring cleaning this year, but unfortunately never got around to it, so I am working on organizing and donating some of the clothing I don’t wear. After folding laundry, vacuuming, and dusting that room, I got started on the rest of the apartment. I did a full deep clean and then relaxed on the couch with my favorite beer ever – Southern Tier’s Pumking. I know it’s a little too early, but the stores are already selling it and I had to grab some because it always goes quickly!

A little later, we had some friends over to watch the UFC fights. I am not really into that, so I spent some time on my laptop reading some interesting paranormal stories.

Sunday ended up being a lazy day, which is pretty rare for me. I started to watch the Hulu show “Light as a Feather” and I really liked it. Some of it was a little cheesy, but I thought the concept was interesting and I enjoyed the plot. Later in the day, I took Oliver for a walk and spent some time out in my parents’ yard.

Monday, I started the day with a green smoothie and had a vegetarian “chik’n” patty for lunch with cauliflower. After work, I did an intense arm workout consisting of push-ups, triceps dips, shoulder taps, wall push-ups, and used my resistance bands and pull-up bar. I went for a run after. The new flavor of Beyond Raw Lit helped push me through it.

For dinner, I tried the new LightLife vegetarian burgers. I prefer the Beyond burgers flavor-wise, but these weren’t too bad. I would suggest marinating them in some seasoning before cooking them, though, because they are a little bland. I used soy sauce and a blend of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika.

Tuesday, I had another green smoothie for breakfast and a Chipotle salad for lunch. I also had a Lara bar and apple as a snack. After work, I met up with an old friend from school. It was fun catching up! I had to go to Target for a few things and picked up V8 healthy greens, Nut Thins, cauliflower rice, some veggie pasta, and an apple cinnamon candle. I managed to squeeze in a “yoga for bedtime” session because I never go a Tuesday without yoga!

Today, I got up and had a green smoothie (surprise, surprise) and snacked on cashews. I had pasta made from veggies for lunch and spent the rest of my break on a walk outside. After work, I came home and had a great full-body workout. I started off with a 12-minute HIIT workout and did a circuit of squats, squat jumps, wall push-ups, different kinds of planks, and combination moves (like lunges to overhead triceps). I had a Celsius sparkling water – these are delicious!

After, I ran to Aldi to get some spinach for my smoothies and also picked up some blueberries, raspberries, chocolate hummus, Perfect bars, broccoli, and salad dressing. Now, I’m winding down for the night with some seaweed and Zevia.

I’m not totally sure what I’m going to do for the rest of the week, but I’m feeling good about the nutritious and fitness choices I’ve made this week, and I picked up some great thrillers from the library so I am looking forward to reading those. I hope you all have a great week!