Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Things That Made My Weekend Wonderful

This weekend was a good one for me.  After being gone 14 out of the first 20 days of October, I was ready for a low key weekend in Charlotte.  I have learned that I need to plan out my weekends so that I don't have too much free time as I tend to get lonely easier in Charlotte.  This weekend was the perfect mix of having things to do, being productive, but also having some downtime to relax.

Here are of the things that made my weekend awesome.

1.  Dinner Party Deliciousness.  I needed to practice some Julia Child recipes in preparation for the big event in 2 weeks and luckily a couple I am friends with are open-minded eaters and were willing to help me eat the mushroom soup and nicoise salad that I prepared.  I bought a really high quality sushi-grade tuna so just seared it off.  I know rare fish is not for everyone, but I sure love it (and my guests did, too).  My guests brought some GF dinner rolls which were surprisingly good (GF bread usually kind of sucks) and to cap it off, I had vanilla ice cream and a selection of macarons for dessert.


2.  Spinning.  I am still not back to running, but I can do low impact exercises, like biking.  After biking on my own for a couple of months, I figured I was ready to check out a spin class - and I loved it!  I went to classes on Saturday and Sunday and both classes kicked my butt - in a good way.  I ended up buying some capri workout pants at Target, pictured below, which I love as I did not care for biking in shorts.

I look kind of mean in this photo, but I was exhausted after an hour long spin class.  I was exhausted but satisfied as it felt great to get my sweat on and be challenged.

3.  TLC.  My SIL from the Chicago area is an occupational therapist.  She is familiar with therapies that work well for people with RA and one of those therapies is paraffin wax treatments.  So she sent me my own at home kit.  My hands really bug me, especially my left hand but doing these paraffin treatments on a weekly basis seems to help!  I am lucky to have such a thoughtful SIL.


4.  Planner.  My new 2014 Erin Condren planner has arrived and I have started to fill it in.  Know what's awesome?  Not having to plan out a study schedule or write down exam day on the first weekend in June.  It's going to be awesome to actually enjoy the late winter/early spring season for a change.  I've already scheduled some things for January-March, including a trip to Charleston, SC to cheer on some run club friends who are running the marathon, a trip to Austin to visit my best friend Heidi, and a trip to Florida to visit the 4 sets of aunts & uncles who live or winter there!


5.  SBUX.  I treated myself to a PSL on Sunday morning after mass as I didn't get a chance to get one on Friday.  The PSL was awesome but can we all agree that it's just a little too early for holiday cups?  It's not even November!



Was there anything in particular that made your weekend wonderful?  One other thing that made my weekend wonderful was finding out that my best friend in Minneapolis got to bring her baby home from the NICU after he spent nearly 4 weeks there.

21 comments:

Abby said...

Sounds like a great weekend! I'm so glad you liked spin!! I knew you would! It gives me the same high that a good long run gives!! Now we need to get you a road bike.....;)

That salad look amazing! Tuna is my favorite food! Especially raw like that!

I had a really fun weekend (despite working Saturday). My days off I went from social event to social event trying to get one on one time with all my friends! My highlight was going to the farmers market with Ryan Sunday, and then we shared a waffle that had fresh blackberries and Greek yogurt at this neat restaurant we discovered.

Jeanie said...

I laughed when you described your calendar and not having to write down certain things. That's how I've felt since mid-September -- the only things in it are lunch dates, dinner gatherings, appointments and a little bit of travel!

I love rare tuna. Hoping to make the soup this weekend. I made sweet-potato/carrot soup last weekend and realized soup season is here to stay! I'm glad you know some flexible eating friends to enjoy with!

Thanks for the info on the paraffin treatments. My doc told me the continual annoyance in my right thumb is indeed osteo-arthritis. Less serious than what you are dealing with but annoying nonetheless. He recommended heat (hands in water in the morning, and I have taken to heating one of those bags that have corn or rice in them that can go in freezer or micro to use other times. It's somewhat helpful.

Marlys said...

Cheers that the baby was able to come home! Best news I have heard this week! Your salad looks great and am anxious to taste it very soon!
Sounds like a perfect weekend! I'm happy you found an exercise class to replace running for the time being!

Anonymous said...

I have an EC life planner as well - it's kind of the best thing ever. I have special colored pens I use with it, too.
Yeah, It's a little too early for the SBUX red cups. I haven't seen those here - but then again, my SBUX proved to be out of both pumpkin syrup and heat sleeves this morning. I guess we're a little ghetto like that.

Nora said...

So glad that the baby is home and no longer in the NICU. I can't imagine how tough that must be!

Love that your SIL sent you the paraffin wax treatment. I had no idea it was good for RA.

Things that made my weekend great: helping my friends settle into their new home, getting to see their 2 yr. old son and him telling me he's going to be a "poppy" (puppy) for Halloween. Nachos on Saturday night, with wine, and girl talk. So good for my soul. And some really hard workouts; I love pushing my body and knowing I can do it!

Also: finding out from you last Friday that we'll be seeing each other again soon!!!

Stephany said...

Yay for spin classes! If I could afford a gym membership again, I would totally go back because spin classes are my FAVORITE way to work out. So glad you're able to get in a tough workout through that.

And yayyyyy for no exams in 2014! Woo hip! :)

Let's see... last weekend, good things that happened were seeing my cousin's baby and her being SO loving and happy to see me and giving me those wonderful open-mouthed baby kisses. My favorite!

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

It sounds like a great weekend to me :) I have found that I do best with weekends that are a mix of a little bit of a plans and a lot of relaxing. This past weekend I basically did all relaxing which was good on Saturday but then by Sunday I was like blah. But now my upcoming weekend is WAY too many plans. Difficult balance.

Your new planner looks awesome- I am SO excited for you that you don't hvae to study this winter and spring!

ALSO so excited Wyatt is home! :)

Amanda said...

I am seriously considering an Erin Condren planner this year...maybe my new job gift to myself :) and I totally agree about the red cups. I saw some Sunday and I was happy but sad because I refuse until at least next week!

Cherry Blossoms said...

I so wish I was your dinner guest as that meal sounds amazing! You have become such a good cook.

So excited for our bday girls weekend in Feb! It will be here before we know it and yes, what is up with the holiday cup?! Not cool SB.
PS: That was so sweet of your SIL to send you a paraffin kit. I had it done a few times at a place that I would go for manicures in AZ and I thought the treatments were nice.

qwerkyqook said...

The salad looks awesome, excited to try. I LOVE spin! I started going about a year ago, and now i'm up to at least three times a week, I'm totally addicted it such a great workout! And Abby is right. I was skeptical but it really does give me a runner's high if its a high intensity class :)

Leigh said...

Sounds like you had a great weekend! Glad to hear that your dinner turned out well for you and your friends. Can I be invited over? :) I've only gone to one spin class in my life and it definitely kicked my butt! It was before I was running, so I am curious to see how I would do now

Becky said...

"Know what's awesome? Not having to plan out a study schedule or write down exam day on the first weekend in June."

SO MUCH YES! Also, paraffin is amazing - glad it's helping!

My weekend was wonderful because I got to spend my time being proud of Ben and his artwork (and if I can get my act together I'm going to blog about it soon). I'm always amazed by him but it was so great to see others impressed by his talent!

Carolina John said...

Glad you had such a fun weekend!

Lauren @ Sassy Molassy said...

I agree that capris are way better for the bike than shorts. Everything just feels "secured." I've never heard that the parafin wax can help sore joints, but I'm sure it feels awesome. I hope things are starting to feel better with all your joints and various soreness!

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

Mmmm, I'd help you eat that food fo sho!

Charis Faith said...

Your Chicago SIL is awesome. I remember we had this conversation at dinner about your left hand and I love love love that she sent you that gift. Sending hugs and I can't wait to see you again!!!

Shoshanah said...

I've been really thinking about an Erin Condren planner for next year. I'm not normally a huge planner user, but I feel like if I had one I'd use it more. But we'll see... I think what I'm most afraid of is hearing how big they are and wondering if it's really something I'm going to want to carry around with me.

Elizabeth said...

These all sound GREAT! I'm glad you're loving spinning and are able to get some regular exercise in now. I LOVE Charleston so am glad you are headed there :) Sounds like it was a wonderful weekend. You sound...content here... :)

Amber said...

YES! Too early for holiday cups! Starbucks Canada brought them out yesterday (November 1) and even that I thought was too early. I know last year we put up our tree SUPER early but I told Eric that this year we need to hold out until after November 15 at least. Though it was snowing this morning so that kind of put me in the Christmas mood and I even did a bit of Christmas shopping this morning...

Nilsa @ SoMi Speaks said...

My to do list includes ordering my 2014 Erin Condren planner, too. Cannot wait! Also, when I started running this year, I sort of fell in love with athletic capris (like the ones you bought) ... I never was a fan of running in shorts, but wearing long pants when it's 90 degrees out is ridiculous. Capris were the perfect compromise!

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

I am glad you liked spin class; it's one of the classes that I really like at the gym. I used to go to a 5 pm Monday class until we started working overtime. Now I don't get off early enough, but I was really loving it when I was going! It was a great way to feel like you are really working it, even when you are not running!

My weekend was fun; I had a girls night on Friday, had to work on Saturday, but then got some much needed relax time. I caught up on Top Chef, cooked a bit and finally (as you can see) got a chance to read some long neglected blogs!