Late Recap

Hello, everyone. This is the longest I’ve gone without writing a post, but I’ve been very sick since Monday and today is the first day that I am finally starting to feel a little better.

It’s been a rough few days, but it really reminds me of how much I take my health for granted, and it’s really pushing me to jump back on the self-care train after my recovery is complete. So, since there isn’t much to blog about for this week, I’ll take it back to the week before and start at last Sunday.

Julian and I decided to hold a little impromptu gathering to celebrate some good news we had recently. Even though it is still September, I decided to decorate a little early for Halloween.

I spent most of the morning cleaning the house and lighting one of my new Bath & Body Works candles, “The Perfect Autumn.” I love to go there during the fall because there are so many amazing scents, and I really find them to have some of the most quality candles. I went on a “Buy 2, Get 2 Free” sale day and also had a $10.00 coupon, so I saved about $88.00.

I spent the rest of the morning cooking a few different dishes. I made jalapeno poppers, slow-cooked shredded chicken verde, guacamole, mango salsa, and broccoli salad. Everything was delicious!

My brother, mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, and a few friends showed up, and it was a fun time.

On Monday, I spent a lot of the day working (especially on grading papers) and then did an arm circuit. I did a series of various push-ups, triceps dips, curls, flys, chest presses, forward arm raises, wall push-ups, and used my resistance bands and went for a run. My post-workout meal was leftover broccoli salad.

Tuesday, I did yoga and had a kombucha after.

I spent some time just relaxing and started watching the show Younger on Hulu. I ended up getting sucked in and recently finished the fifth season. Later, Julian and I decided to go out to dinner at a local pub in Willow Springs. It was a really warm evening, so I decided to wear shorts.

We got to sit on the patio for a couple drinks and enjoy the beautiful evening. Wednesday, I had the day off and decided to do some exploring. First, I did a full-body workout. Lately, I’ve been starting my workouts with a 12-minute HIIT warm-up, and then I do a lot of combination moves, like lunges to arm presses or squats to curls. After finishing up with a run, I had some eggs and fruit for lunch and then decided to visit a local cemetery. I find them to be so aesthetically beautiful but also filled with mystery and tragedy.

Later, I went to visit my parents and spend some time in the yard with my dogs. It was another really nice evening. Thursday, I had a bunch of errands to run. I had to go to the library, go shopping for some new work clothes, and pick up some things for the house. After I was done running around, I did some errands and relaxed.

Friday, I did two 20-minute full-body workouts from MadFit. I was going to go for a run after, but I decided to go for a hike instead since it was a beautiful day. I cooked a Beyond burger for lunch and had a green smoothie to go with it, and then I headed out to the trails. I chose to do one that has a lot of hills and climbing.

This trail is beside a beautiful lake.

After spending some time by the water, I started the trail. I think I stayed on it for about 1.5 hours.

As I was walking along, I saw what I thought was a large object in the middle of the trail, but as I got closer, I saw it was an enormous snapping turtle! I got a little nervous because he took up the entire width of the narrow trail and I wasn’t sure how to go around him without disturbing him or prompting him to snap. I eventually sort of tip-toed around the back of him and all was fine, but I was really lucky to see that!

After getting a great hiking workout in, I went home and ate some noodles with cabbage and shrimp. Later, Julian and I decided to see Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in theaters. Before we left, I put on my new Halloween socks. They’re so cute.

Saturday, I did a leg workout in the morning. It consisted of squat jumps, step-out squats, leg raises, calf raises, lunges, deadlifts, and a few resistance bands workouts. I went for a run after and then ate a Beyond burger. I went to meet a couple friends later on.

That about sums up my week! For now, I am resting and hoping to feel much better soon. I hope you all have a nice weekend.