Awesome & Awkward Friday

This week had far more awkward moments than the usual. Thank you mom for talking to me at least once every day...sometimes twice.

Linking up with From My Grey Desk to share my fave 5 awesome & awkward moments from the week.

Awesome

• I was super stoked to share that I had finally gotten a ticket to see Justin Bieber when he comes to Houston next month...
• New Girl is back on! The best part? I got to watch it with Jess+Steven. I hadn't seen S in far too long, and I kinda missed him. So I'm glad Jess invited me over.

• Tuesday night bodyjam! Amanda did one of our (me+Jess) favorites! We got to dance to Chris Brown, B.Spears, and we took it to Paris! She even let me request the jam for next Tuesday! I love doing these throwbacks (or rewinds as Jess calls them).
• Jess and I with our matching gym outfits on Tuesday. I should have gotten a pictures because it was super adorbs with our black tights & dark grey shirt.
• Last Friday Mom called me to see if I had Harry Potter glasses because she found some and thought I might like an additional costume option for halloween. She gets me.

Awkward

• About that concert ticket...I won it on ebay Sunday night. Literally ran and jumped around my apartment, did a celebration dance, and screamed like a school girl. THEN Monday night I got an email that my money was being refunded. ummm...wtf? An hour later the seller emailed to tell me that her daughter had already sold the ticket and didn't tell her so she hopes that I understand that this is a misunderstanding. Oh, I understand, just like I hope she understands the negative feedback she will be getting once my money is showing up in my account.
• Tuesdays there is bodyjam after pump. I don't go because I attend the Monday class and am usually pretty sore on Tuesday. Well this week only one person showed up to pump and Jess and I were watching her one-on-one sesh with Ryan while we chatted. Ryan noticed, and waved at us to join. I didn't even respond and just darted away.
• This is a pre-awkward moment. But Ashley told me that when we start spin class next week that she's not going to turn on the fan so that it'll be extra hard. I'm pretty sure I'm going to drowned in my sweat or just pass out. That's going to be a good time fo sho.
• The new bruises from pole. As I was putting lotion on it was painful when i touched behind my right knee. I thought that was odd...until I saw the markings and remembered I had pole the night before. It didn't hurt when it happened in class so I was a little surprised by it.
• When I woke up Wednesday I thought it was Saturday. Thursday I thought it was Friday. What the heck body?!?

How was your week? Tell me something awesome & awkward!

BodyJam Party For One

I woke up bright and early Friday. I sat in the kitchen munching on Cap'n Crunch while waiting for the sun to come up and just enjoyed being at Grandma's. I know it's just a house, but I've been coming to this house for 26 years. I look around at the antiques and pictures and think of all the memories I've had here. All holidays with the family and the games I would play with Andrew, Marshall, Justin, and Joanna. I took a few pictures because I don't want to ever forget how everything looked.

Baby Marsh through the years.

Who ever would have thought I was an entrepreneur as a kid. 

Dinner Bell

Love the kitchen antiques.

Like A Boss

Since the weather was good (no humidity!) I decided to go for a run despite my fear of stray dogs attacking me (this happened once in Canyon. He was coming so fast for me, I screamed for help, and after a few blocks I guess he reached his limit because he stopped. I was probably running faster than SR when I was trying to get away!). I waited in the front yard for Garmin to pick up the satellites before I took off. It always takes forever when I go home, so I decided to do some BodyJam to warm up. I hope Grandma wasn't too embarrassed to have a dancing fool in her front yard.

After a mini run I stopped at the park to play on the swings for a bit. I didn't feel like I had gotten in enough of a workout, so when I got back I turned on my music and did BodyJam in the foyer. I explained to Grandma that it looks way cooler when the instructors do it.

For me, it's party time all the time! source

JoJo came by for lunch and we discussed the cookout that we would be having the following night. So excited!

The afternoon was pretty chill. I just hung out with grandma, read food magazines, drank hot chocolate, and took a nap.

When Dad got off of work I called him up and invited myself to tag along for the evening.

Fruity Pebbles Treats

I love Fruity Pebbles.

Honestly, I love almost all kid cereals!

If it was healthy, I would totally have cereal for every meal. And I usually end up doing that if I have kid cereal on stock. So I typically only keep multi-grain cheerios on hand. Still good, but I don't want to eat it all.the.time.

I figured that if I buy cereal in the name of baking, then it's totally ok. Right? Plus, I'll end up using most of it on the recipe, but still have enough left over to enjoy for breakfast a few days without getting out of control.

Cereal choice this week? You guessed it - Fruity Pebbles.

Fruity Pebbles Treats
2 tbs butter
1 bag marshmallows
6 c Fruity Pebbles

1. Microwave butter about 20 sec.
2. Add in marshmallows and microwave on 45sec intervals, stirring each time, until smooth.
3. Immediately start stirring in the Fruity Pebbles. I usually do this in three increments.
4. Pour into a greased pan (the smaller the pan, the thicker the treats).
5. Let cool, cut, and serve!

These were so delicious that I'm already wanting more!

I did have trouble getting them to spread out, so I greased a large spatula and used that to flatten them out. You could also grease a smaller pan, and use that to press the treats flat.

There's No Place Like Home

After 8 long months I finally returned home!

I have the worst habit about not packing until after midnight when I have an early flight to catch. What the heck? I finally got to bed around 1 and was up at 5:30 to get ready and head to the airport.

I was so excited that I got a little choked up when I was boarding my flight. I ended up sleeping through most of my flight. Shocking since I got a whole 4.5 hours of sleep the night before.

Everything is flat.

Home. Well...close enough. Palo Duro Canyon.

Grandma, Papa, & Marshall were waiting for me at the airport! I didn't think they'd be able to get Marshall to come, so that was a nice surprise. Marsh even offered to carry my suitcase. What a gentleman. (Turns out the grandparents instructed him on this). I was hungry because it had been hours since I had breakfast. So we headed over to my beloved Donut Stop. It was about 11a, so they weren't warm anymore, but they were still delicious! I got 2 cherry donuts and a dozen donut holes. I can tell I'm getting older because I get sick from the sweetness if I eat more than this. And yes, I'm aware of how terrible this breakfast is for me, but it's not like I eat like this all the time!

Hello, lover.

After I took my first bite, I pulled my donut near and whispered "I love you so much." Marsh heard and gave me the craziest look.

Sam, Mom's husband*, had been in the hospital all week so we headed over to see them. I didn't mind spending the afternoon at the hospital because my only plans were to hang out at grandma's house, watch Hallmark movies, and eat cheese & crackers...but I was tired. I was almost willing to check myself into the hospital so I could get a bed and some sleep!

*Just so we are clear: I call him my Mom's husband because that's what he is. They've been married over a year, and I haven't lived at home in 8, so he obviously didn't play a big role in my life. I just didn't want anyone to think it was rude that I didn't call him 'step dad' or anything.

After we got the result that Sam had survived his quick surgery Mom dismissed us. Yessss! I fly into Amarillo, but my family lives a little farther up in the panhandle, so we still had about an hour and a half (at least) before I was at Grandma & Papa's house. My mom was staying with Sam in the hospital a few more days while he recovered...that's partly how I ended up with G&P.

On our way to Dalhart we stopped in Sunray to drop off Marsh & get him food before marching band practice. He's our little drummer boy! It was 5p, so I was starting to get hungry so Grandma called La Espanol to see if they had tamales that day. They did, so we went straight there! This was always one of my fave places to eat growing up. I honestly don't know if everything is good here because all I ever get are the tamales. Even though I always come to Dalhart, it had been years since I'd gone to La Espanol. So, if you ever find yourself in Dalhart, Texas, you must eat here! They were better than I had remembered. It felt so good to be home. One thing I love about small towns is that my grandparents know everyone. They literally ended up talking to everyone at the tables on our side of the room. But don't get it twisted - I'm not trading in the city for the country anytime soon.

When we got to Grandma's house I promptly found the King Sized Reese's that's now meant for Marshall. I was about to tear into it when Grandma told me to look in the bottom draw of the fridge. OMG! Secret Reese's stash!

*Side story: growing up I loved Reese's. Every Tuesday after Papa picked me up from piano lessons he would make me chocolate milk & give me a Reese's. What a charmed life I once had. But then Marshall came along and kind of jacked it from me. I love him anyway.

I had planned on calling up Dad to hang out, but instead passed out on the couch from 6-9. I sure know how to get crazy on vacation! When I woke up I joined G&P downstairs for some Hallmark movies. I think I feel asleep again within the hour. I wish I could blame it on jet lag...but I was in the same time zone.

I found my room upstairs and called it a night.

MRAZ Is A Four Letter Word

I really like Jason Mraz. Ever since 'The Remedy' and 'Did you get my message.'

Last year I went to my first Jason Mraz concert in DC. Oh, none of that sounds familiar? Yeah, it's because that weekend has been dubed a DC Disaster. It was so bad that I couldn't even be bothered to share the few good moments. I'm talking so bad that when I woke up Sunday morning I kept forcing sleep in hopes that I would magicaly wake up in Houston. No dice. Lesson learned: always travel with your HP wand in case you need to do some magic.

But I did get to see this guy!

For that concert Colbie Callait opened. I love Colbie. I def own all of her albums, and I love them. She was more amazing in person than I ever could have imagined. Such a simple show, but still so powerful! That's about all I clearly remember from that night.

So when Jason announced this Love is a Four Letter Word tour I had my fingers crossed that Colbie would be on board again. Nope, it was Christina Perry instead. She's good, I have the album (even though I haven't listened to the whole thing yet), but I really wanted more CoCo in my life!

B and I made the road trip out to the Woodland Pavillions and had a disaster of a time getting through the merchandise line (ended up not getting anything) and deciding on which food vendor we wanted. I think we were both a little sleep deprived.

We squeezed into a nice spot at the front of the general admission hill. We missed Christina's first few songs, but got to see her perform about 5. She sounded really good! The young girl sitting infront of us (Did I just become old?) was marking a dance to one of the songs. It was so funny! It seemed like it was a ballet dance. I wish she would have stood up and done the whole thing! That would have been good.

After her set she had a meet and greet with about 50 people. We weren't in that group, but the girl sitting infront of us was. When she came back with her signed album, she told her mom about how Christina remembered her. It was the sweetest thing ever!

Finally it was Jason time!

He sounds so good live. He's quite odd, but I love it! He told us a few stories between songs, and I wish I would have written them down sooner because I am drawing a blank. Did anyone catch his episode of Storytellers on Vh1? I watched it 3 times. so good!

Anyway, he played a lot of the new songs, and some of his previous singles. My fave song is '1000 Things.' I wasn't surprised that it didn't make the set list, but I was still a little bumbed.

This was such a feel good - chill out concert. I will def see Jason again!

Awesome & Awkward Friday

Solid week for the books. There were highs, there were lows, but I have made it out alive!

Linking up with From My Grey Desk.

Warning: I get a little obsessive about things...so don't be surprised if I reference Vampire Diaries more than usual. 


Awesome

• I made s'mores cupcakes. I need to mess around with the recipe a little bit more...but they were pretty!

• Finally booked my Christmas flight home. Now time to start coordinating donut and dinner dates with my best ladies!

Kara & Me last Christmas

• I finally gave my blog a makeover. I figured that after 3 years it deserved it. It needs a few tweaks, but I'll worry about that later.
• We might have a Halloween themed jam on Oct 30 (we don't jam on Wednesdays)! This would help to consul my broken heart if I"m not at the Bieb's concert.
• I might have found Florence + The Machine tickets that are not outrageously priced! fingers crossed.

Awkward

• The amounts of Vampire Diaries I have consumed these past few weeks. I have watched seasons 1-3. This being the third time I've watched all of season three since it wrapped up last May. (side note: after watching all eps so close together I realized why I like Damon best. Damon is always doing what ever it takes to save Elena even if it is forcing her to drink his blood and risk being turned just so he won't lose her (I believe that was season 2). While Stefan loves Elena, his focus is more on doing whatever it takes to beat the opposing team.)

Damon FTW!

• I have met two people that looked like very much like Stefan (except his head was buzzed) and Jeremy. This makes me think of the Buffy episode where she wakes up in a mental institution and they try to convince her that she keeps trying to live in an alternate world where she is a slayer...I'm starting to get a little worried. xoxo, Elena. (kidding, I know I'm Jessica).

• Mom: "What are you doing tonight (Friday)? Watching more Vampire Diaries?" 1. I might need to rev up my social life again. 2. I was actually on the way to hang out with Sarah, so no...and watching TVD wasn't even my backup plan that night.

• The Challenge: Battle of the Seasons. What the effff?!?! They totally tricked me. TJ was all "surprise we have another team that's not from real world." And I was all "OMG. It has to be fresh meat." Then TJ confirmed "Meet team fresh meat." I screamed out of excitement because surely they would only bring the best of the best of fresh meat, you know Kenny and Evan. Yeah, totally not them. It was Eric, Brandon, Cara Maria, and Camilla. And you know what else? Wes got eliminated. My heart broke. It's awkward how invested I am in this show.

I love you, Wes.

• The amount of times I've read this series. Here we go again!

Do you watch The Challenge? Who is your fave?
What was one Awesome & Awkward thing from your week?

Racing Season Is Here

I've been on running hiatus while my body has been acting a fool. Since most things are now in order it's time to start prepping for racing season.

As of now my race calendar looks like this:

• October 27 - Monster Mash 15k
• November 3 - Firefly 5k
• November 11 - Color Run 5k
• December 9 - Run Girl 1/2 Marathon
• December 23 - Santa Dash 1/2 Marathon
• March 2 - Woodlands 1/2 Marathon

As long as I can stay injury free this is going to be a lot of fun!

I officially start 1/2 Marathon training on October first - I think that's 10 weeks out from Run Girl...close enough anyway.

September has been focused on easing back into it and working on my base. I'm not going to lie, it's been rough. The heat & humidity combo makes me want to lay down and die. To get me through my runs I've been mentally focusing on what I like about running, how I feel when I'm done, the memories of how much I liked it while it was happening (still just a memory at this point), and the delicious chocolate milk I'll get when it's done!

I'm hoping to add running in and only make minimal changes to my workout schedule.

• Body Pump - 3x a week. This was fine last season, I just won't focus on increasing my squat weight too much because it exhausts my legs and I usually run after class.
• Body Jam - 3-4x a week. Last time this got dropped because it irritated my shin splints. I hope with extra icing and rolling I can keep this in the mix because it's just so much fun! And I've already learned that I'll have to modify some moves because my knees are not all about the jumping around.
• Pole - 2x a week. I'm concerned about this because it irritates and bruises my shins from the pole rubbing on them. But hopefully with the ice and rolling I can keep this in the mix because I love it!
• Body Flow - 1x a week. This will be fine.

I haven't designated the running days yet, but I plan on running 3-4 times a week. That seems to be the magic number to help prevent injury for my legs.

Do you have any upcoming races? Or are you in the anti-running club?

Reese's Peanut Butter Blossoms

I love traditional peanut butter blossoms with a Hershey kiss. Love. But figured it was time to put a twist on that classic!

Enter: mini Reese's peanut butter cups.

Ok, this may also be motivated by my craving for some frozen Reese's. Does anyone else keep them in the freezer? Well, you should!

Reese's Peanut Butter Blossoms
1 c butter (or two sticks)
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 c peanut butter
1 tsp salt
2 1/4 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 bag mini Reese's pb cups (unwrapped & frozen)

1. Heat oven to 350* and prep your mini muffin pan by coating it with Pam.
2. In a large bowl blend the butter and sugars (brown & granulated).
3. Mix in the vanilla & eggs, then the peanut butter.
4. In a separate bowl sift together the salt, flour, and baking soda.
5. Slowly combine dry ingredients into the batter.
6. Scoop dough into the mini muffin pan - about half full.
7. Press Reese's cup into the middle of each.
8. Cook 10-12min or until golden brown.
9. Let cool, remove, and eat!

This recipe made the cookies more like cookie muffins...kind of spongy. And it was co-worker approved!

Theme: Naked Wasted



It really didn't get that wild. I must be maturing with age or something.

So we celebrated my 26th year.

Before my Saturday gym time (and new release day!!!) I met up with Laura at the Farmer's Market and she bought me birthday macaroons! They had some new flavors that were pretty good: Poppy and Orange Burst. yumm! I ended up going back for seconds.

Since I was properly fueled (I seriously need to not eat macaroons before I work out), I hit up new release day. When I got home from the gym I quickly rinsed off and changed so I could meet Kari, R, and Abbers for a late lunch in Katy. I hadn't seen them in a while, so it was really good to catch up. Abby speaks Spanish & English, and was talking so much! It was so cute. I think a highlight was everyone singing the Veggie Tales song with Abby. After lunch I headed home and took a nap. I was super tired from staying out late the night before and getting up early for the Farmer's Market and new release at the gym. I was starting to get cranky and was considering not showing up to my celebrations with the girls that night.

After forcing myself out of bed, I hopped in the shower and got ready to some of my favorite dance songs. Rihanna, David Guetta, and Benny Benassi always know how to cheer me up!

  

I had dinner with B, Taffan, and McCall at Gloria's. It replaced Ruby Tequila's in midtown...but never in my heart! The chicken quesadillas were good, but I wasn't feeling the chips. I would eat there again, but not at my own suggestion. The girls told the waiter it was my bday and asked if they sang. They don't, but she brought me flan. Flan! This was actually the first time I'd tried it, and I didn't love it. No one did really. So I messed with it to make it look like we ate it. Did anyone else ever do that when they were younger? So the bill came and they tried to charge us for the flan. Ummm...we didn't order this, you just brought it over! And if we were going to get charged then we would have ordered something good! The girls got it sorted with the waitress and it was taken off. Sweet! (because that flan sure wasn't.)



concentrating hard on my wish. Does it make it more likely to come true it you wish it every time?



First stop: Shot Bar! We were there so early that they had the house lights on. It was weird. We had some shots that were sugary sweet, a mini dance party, then headed out to Wonderbar.



Taff, B, McCall, Me



Wonderbar was also a little empty when we got there since it was about 10. But the music was so good! More drinks, lots of dancing. There were some rando guys taking pictures of us when we were dancing. B took care of that. How creepy? We are pretty cool, but not stalker warranting cool.

No, the creepers didn't take this picture.

I decided to stop drinking at the second bar because I wanted to make sure I'd be good to go for BodyFlow in the morning. But the dance party continued.

Me & McCall

We ended the night at Red Door. This is usually my fave place to go dancing, but their music selection just wasn't doing it for me. I haven't been in months, so I'm either behind the times or we just grew apart.

Me & Taffan

26 was a decent year...but I think the next will be even better!

Gym Christmas

New Release day is like gym Christmas.

Quality Life Fitness uses Les Mills programs for all of their group fitness classes. Every quarter there is a new release = new routines & music.

The week before the new release at Jam, Katie told us about how we would never have to do 60 ever again. I was heartbroken. Yeah, I missed the first two months because of the janky back, but I would sometimes watch for a sec from the window because the music was so good and the dance moves weren't too bad either. So when I finally got to participate I had the craziest smile on my face. It was all the fun I had hopped it would be! except for the horsey bounce. WTF was that? I loved that release so much that I downloaded the songs and listen to them a few times a day. It gets me going in the morning, and I even bust out some of the dance moves. I just don't get why everyone is so over it. It's def my fave release so far! #2 is the jungle, and #3 is the one with 'Till the world ends.'

Anyway, I scheduled my bday celebrations for Saturday night so I wouldn't risk having a drink too many the night before release day.There's always so much more excitement on this day. The instructors and gym goers are all excited to learn something new! We have a lot of new people trying it out. Plus the gym sets out complimentary protein bars and cold water bottles. 

I'm always excited but scared. What if I hate all of the pump tracks? Then how I am going to stay motivated? Ok, I'd still come it just wouldn't be a gym party every time. And what if I don't like the jam dances? Please don't let it all be Latin dance!

Turns out, everything was awesome!

Lauren even met up with me so she could drink the Quality Life Fitness kool-aid, and I think she approved!

First up: Jam.



Oh, and we did! (source)

 Brian handed out lights to put on our fingers. This was something new, but I'm down. I've been waiting for this day because it's the official return of Amanda! Amanda was my first Jam instructor and we were together a few months before I had anyone else, so she'll always hold a special place in my heart. But I do also love Katie, Stacy, James, and Christina. We seriously have the best instructors ever. Overall, the dance and music was awesome! They had Booty Work, Promises, and Take Care. I.die. I'm not saying I'm good at the dance, because I'm not and actually am going to see if they can go over a piece of the footwork because I'm a smidge off the beat...but I loved it (yeah, totally spent all weekend envisioning that step so I would have it figured out by the next Jam class). Oh, and Brian finally got the smoke machine going! It was like the being at the club, but better because I was in clothes that I don't mind sweating through!

After the hour long dance party we pumped.

Brian, Ryan, and Corina (I'm not sure if that's really her name because this is the first time she's taught) lead the class. My back was feeling like a normal back, so I stayed for class but still kept some of my weight low. It was such a good time! I love Brian & Ryan (sorry Cor, I don't know you yet, but I like you so far!) so it was cool to get them in one class! The tracks were strong and hard and the music was good (except for the Adel track. What's up with that?). They had some throwback Evanescence that made me think "why would they chose this?" but it actually went with the back track perfectly. Well played Les Mills, well played. An added bonus? Chris was there! Who is Chris? Good question. I don't really know, other than he's the boy that is almost always to my left on the front row during Pump Class for many many months. I talk to him occasionally, but the main thing is that I'm use to him always being there, and I like consistency. Like how Jess is always on my right. It really bugs me when she's not there and a stranger takes her place. I think everyone might realize that because no one usually dares to take her place when she isn't there. But I let Lauren use it this day.

Overall, I'll give this release day a 10 out of 10. I loved everything about it. It was so good to get to spend my Saturday morning doing one of my fave things and getting to have all of my instructors there!

Awesome & Awkward Friday

This week was really busy but seemed really long at the same time. How does that happen?

Linking up with From My Grey Desk to share my favorite five awesome & awkward moments!

Awesome

• Catching Fire started production this week! YESSSSSSS!!

• Wild West with Adam & Croc. It's nice to know that I can go a month without dancing and still have the spins down like a boss.
• Dinner with the girls - Thanks Amanda for being a good sport with all of our jokes.
• Jess is officially back on our workout schedule! It had been a long two months not seeing her almost every day.
• I had my first sell to a non friend! Woohoo! I sold this:

Awkward

• Amanda figured me out:

• Apparently this picture looks like a sonogram at first glance. I don't think it looks like it at this size, but I saw a really small thumbnail of it on fb and I had to agree.

• While working on inverts my body started to ware down and I ended up kicking the pole with my bare feet. I wanted to curl up in fetal position and hold my throbbing foot...instead I played it cool because I haven't made friends in my new class yet.
• How overly excited I was when it was announced that Breaking Dawn 2 tickets will go on sale October 1. It was another one of those dramatic gasps followed by a fist pump.
• I Amazon searched for a Damon Salvator cardboard cut out. I really don't think ordering that and the Bieb's one will help the husband hunt. Conundrum.

What was an awesome & awkward moment from your week?

Are you  inappropriately excited about Breaking Dawn too?

Cinnamon Toast

This is my favorite breakfast that Mom made when growing up. I love cinnamon toast. I tried to make it for someone once, but they complained that there's too much cinnamon & sugar on it. Ummmm....it's call Cinnamon Toast for a reason. I don't know why, but Mom's still tastes better than mine. Must be a mother's touch.

I don't eat this often because I don't always have a reason to carb (and sugar) load. But sometimes I like to get crazy and have it for breakfast anyway!

Cinnamon Toast

Butter - I use reduced fat Country Crock

Bread - whole wheat

Cinnamon

Sugar

1. Turn oven on to broil.
2. Mix cinnamon & sugar in a bowl until desired taste.
3. Coat bread with unhealthy amounts of butter.
4. Spoon that delicious cinnamon sugar onto it.
5. Place in oven and broil until it's all melty and delicious looking (typically around 5 min...don't leave the kitchen because it can go from perfection to burnt in no time!).

This isn't really a recipe with exact measurements...you just have to do what your heart tells you. I like a good thick layer of butter (not Paula Deen thick) and heaps of the cinnamon sugar mix. When the butter melts it it makes the bread gooey, and having a lot of the mix helps it to kind of crystallize a bit. 

Anyway, good luck and I hope you like it!

The Celebration Of Me

So the birthday.

I considered doing this as a throwback post and having my mom share my birth story...but figured that was a little ott.

On my bday I'm very adamant about doing everything that I love...like I do most days. I don't make people join in, it's more of a day date/anniversary with myself. But this day, being the anniversary of my birth, does have extra perks!

B started out the day great when she gave me the best Twilight bday card ever!

I made one of my fave things for breakfast - cinnamon toast. I don't have this often because let's be honest, it's terrible for you. But every now and then I like to indulge.

Next up? work. Ok, so this isn't like my fave thing to do, and I would have had a lot of fun taking the day off and hanging with Brittany & Emma (and maybe even Kari and Abby if she was off), but figured I'd much rather show up and share my birthday bliss in the form of cupcakes with my coworkers.

So I brought these:

I'm totally the best, right?

My Mom, Sam, & Marshall sent me a delicious chocolate covered strawberry edible arrangement with some balloons. How sweet! And it was soo good! After eating close to 10 strawberries, I shared it with my coworkers.

Then I got the most delicious smelling flowers from Grandma & Papa. They were so pretty and the scent filled the room. They must have have been genetically altered by the Capitol because they smelt unlike any that I'd ever had before.

My birthday was on a Thursday so I opted to move my celebration to Saturday (Croc's bday festivities were scheduled for Friday).

So I continued on with my "I do what I want" plan and hit up the gym after work for some BodyJam! This was also my one year anniversary of attending Quality Life Fitness, so I really couldn't have it any other way!

After a sweat sesh I picked up RA Sushi on my way home. They have the best vegetable tempura roll and pineapple cream cheese wantons. I.die.

I talked to my family and watched the latest episode of Dallas.

Not a bad birthday! But I def can't wait for the dancing that will ensure on Saturday!

Just Like Middle School

Our insurance rep was in town so he was kind enough to pay for lunch since he was holding a meeting with us from 12-1. Well...he got lost and was about 40 min late.

This was awesome because most of my coworkers ate lunch in the conference room while we waited for him, and it was one of the few times that we've all been together just kind of hanging out since our office has expanded. It felt like lunch time in middle school. I had ordered in Jason's Deli boxes so once everyone opened them up we started trying to trade desserts, I bargained for extra mustard, Laura tried to collect as many lettuce and tomatoes she could get, and Bob was happy with the extra cheese he acquired.

I can honestly say that my coworkers are the best. We probably have more fun at work than should be legal. Anyway, he finally found the office and the info session was really good. I learned so much about my benefits....seriously.

Notables:

• I need the tetanus shot because Jessica won't stop biting me. - Thanks for fueling those rumors B. Once again I would like to point out that we live in separate bedrooms.
• "I'm on my parent's insurance you ass holes."
• But my parents said they'd be charged $500 extra if I stayed on their insurance since I graduated college. - ummm...I think they might be lying to you and just don't love you.
• "This might be a stupid question." "There's no such thing." Challenge accepted.
• *mental health *drug/alcohol detox
• We can get 50% off a new set of legs!
• "Wait, why are your knees bruised." "because I'm on them a lot....doing push ups, duh!"
• "Is this a good one to say that's what she said?"
• HR calls roll play with B

Pole 3.Everything

Exciting news: Amanda at Champagne & Sunshine is letting me cover Monday's posting while she's on vacation! Make sure to check it out and take a look around her blog!

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As I'm pretty sure I mentioned, I had to drop out of pole.

Great news! My back is working again so Honey volunteered to meet up and attempt to catch me up.

I was absolutely nervous because I hadn't done this in about a month. Plus I hadn't been able to work my lower back or abs in about two months.

Yeah, it's not quite like getting back on a bike. Probably didn't help that I went to BodyPump that morning, so my body was a little tired (that and the BodyJam & running).

Honey said that we hadn't really learned that many new skills, and called Jay to verify.

• Twizzler: or corkscrew. You basically walk around, grab and lift while keeping your legs together and your body facing out, try to slightly snake your body around the pole (your back is to the pole) and spin once your inside foot hits the ground. (YouTube it). This is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I got it to the left a few times, but my right side isn't having it...yet. Once I get this mastered there are a lot of cool things you can do with it when you mix and match with a few other skills like the fairy lift (which I haven't learned yet).
• Superwoman: Basically like the K layout. Climb the pole, extend your legs parallel with the floor, cross at the ankles, grip with your hand close to your legs, lay your upper body to be parallel with the floor and arch your back. This would have gone better if I didn't keep slipping down Honey's pole. My legs were not wanting to grip.
• Fire Ball - 3 ways
• Regular - wrap your inside leg around the pole (get kinda low), grip the pole with your hand so that your arm is parallel to the ground (if you were standing straight up, about hip height or lower), then fall to the front and bend your other leg so it's not just laying out all funny. Spin until you land on the ground in a fetal like position.
• Straight leg: same thing, but straighten your lower leg (maybe, I can't remember)
• Backwards: Basically the same thing, but you fall backwards instead. I can't do this one yet. It just feels really weird.
• Marry Me: Not really sure how to do this one yet. You start out with your inside foot facing the pole, kind of lunged out so your thigh is parallel to the ground and hand is gripping straight at shoulder heights. Your outside foot drags the floor as your swing it around the pole while keeping the other foot planted (it might rotate, but otherwise doesn't move much), then end up in a kneeling position with your arm wrapped around your outside leg...kinda like you are hugging yourself. I didn't have my shoes so I didn't want to drag my food and rip off my skin, and Honey's pole is kinda close to the wall so it was hard to get the whole motion going.

And we practiced the invert some more. It gets harder each time I throw it. How does that even happen? At this point I look like a little monkey reverse climbing while I'm upside down. Not exactly what I'm going for.

After I had given up and was pretty beat (literally...the bruises are back!) we watched pole YouTube video's. These were the two faves.

In my weeks off from pole I attempted to maintain my upper strength by doing some additional upper body (non lower back) lifting. Yeah, that did nothing. It was so hard to life myself and my back was sore (in the best way) and knotted the next day.

I stopped by the studio the next day to practice and work on the skills I already have. It was basically a disaster zone. My arms were not lifting me the way they had before my pole time out. To say I was frustrated would be an understatement. On the upside I didn't cry, but I had my bitch face on the whole time. When I got home I took an Epsom salt bath and made plans to increase my ab and upper body workouts because I don't have time or patience for failure.

I can't think Honey enough for taking the time to help me out! It's nice to know that my pole sistas love me as much as I love them! There is a chance that I will be ready for the next level!

Real Quick

ok. So I'm not tech savy at all.

So I'm pretty proud that I now have a banner...even though there is the size issue.

Whatever.

Trying to get it resized is more difficult than trying to prepay for a hotel in Brazil with someone that only speaks Portuguese...when you only speak English. Yeah, booking travel is part of my job....that was a fun morning. Can someone please get this girl Rosetta Stone?

Anyway. I did learn something fun that's also super easy: how to make a gif!

make animated gifs like this at MakeAGif

[Me & Taffy dancing]

Step 1. Go here.
Step 2. Upload pictures.
Step 3. Enjoy your gif!

I also learned how to make blog badges/buttons. So if you are behind the blog times like me, then go here and watch the video. Super easy!

Awesome & Awkward Friday

I love short weeks!

Linking up with From My Grey Desk to share mine!

AWESOME

• Spent Labor Day in the burbs with Brittany & Emma doing some of my fave things such as watching Harry Potter and playing Harry Potter Scene It?

Just playin in the tunnel

• Blue Bell chocolate chip is my fave ice cream flavor. And for some reason that I can't explain, it's one of their seasonal flavors and only available during the fall...well, it's back! I hope to pick some up this weekend.
• Oh.My.Gah!!!!! The Challenge is back this month with Battle of the Seasons. This is def one of my fave shows. I was checking out the lineup and was a little disappointed because I don't really watch the Real World so I don't know most of the players! I miss my old challenge veterans! I'm super sad that Kenny, Evan, and CT aren't on it. At least I still have Wes!

• I made s'mores bars this week!

• The best part of the VMAs?

Get More: 2012 VMA, Artists.MTV, Music

AWKWARD

• The gym switched up the schedule this month and there was a mix up with the Tuesday BodyPump instructor...so we sat there for a good 10 min while Amanda tried to get it sorted out before telling us class was canceled. I voted for another hour of BodyJam, but I don't think she was all about it. 
• You know how I love Blue Bell chocolate chip? I saw it at the store last weekend, and it totally caught me off guard because I can't usually find it until November. Anyway, when I saw it I gasped as dramatically as Elena did when she woke up and started her transition during VD season 3 final epp.
• The VMAs is one of my fave award shows. This year I was thoroughly unimpressed and a little bored.
• Justin Bieber didn't even win an award. How does that even happen?
• Ran my face into a glass revolving door. Revolving doors - 3, Jessica - 0.

Is anyone else excited about The Challenge or Twilight? 

Love or hate the VMAs this year?

Tell me one Awesome & Awkward thing from your week!

Funfetti Chex Mix

Months ago Bennida requested that I make Funfetti Chex Mix. I delayed it because it just didn't sound appetizing.

I was wrong. (This is rare.) It's amazing!

Do you know what I love most about this? How simple it is!

Funfetti Chex Mix
6 cups Chex
8 bricks White Chocolate Bark
2c Funfetti cake mix
1 Large brown paper bag

1. Pour Chex into brown paper bag.
2. Melt chocolate (follow directions on package, or do 45sec intervals stirring in between them)
3. Pour Chocolate onto Chex. Close the top (fold it over a few times), and shake your heart out!
4. Once the chex is coated, add in the cake mix, seal the bag, and shake it like Shakira!
5. Pour the bag onto a cookie sheet to dry (unless you want it to be one big clump).
6. Enjoy!

Feel free to add extra sprinkles into the cake mix! I had eaten used all of mine and didn't think to grab more at the store.