I spent a lot of time at my mom’s house just hanging out
with my parents and my sister. Although I do love the time I spent by myself and
with friends; quality time with the family was in order and that’s what
happened. I don’t know if its because they miss me terribly when I’m not around
(lets hope that’s the case) but my mom seriously spoils me when I spent time
with them. Funny thing is, I live about 20 minutes away! But I am usually so
busy with work, school, life in general that I rarely see them during the week
and some weekends. So, basically, I was spoiled with great food, as it is the
norm in Spanish families (well, probably every family). Good thing is that my
mom is well aware of my eating preferences so she rarely preps anything overly
unhealthy or “greasy” for lack of a better word. They are also trying to ear healthier,
wholefoods so I enjoy her new found enthusiasm for health very much.
Not to say that when she preps traditional dishes I don’t
indulge. Because I do. And I enjoy every
bite. Still working on this “guilt free” eating strategy so, im trying that
with my mom’s “traditional” foods as well.
On Saturday I went
shopping with mom which is something I hadn’t done in a while. We tacked our favorite stores: Home Goods,
TJMaxx and Marshalls. As usual, we found some amazing deals. I bought a
work-out shirt, a mug for my mug collection (yeah I have one of those), a
beautiful rug set for my bathroom and my absolute favorite piece, this gorgeous
“Paris-themed” painting:
We found that at Home Goods. My mom actually found it and she knows I am
completely obsessed with everything from Paris. And I mean everything. I cant
tell you how many frames, candles, throw pillows, mugs, etc. I have in my apartment with the “Paris” name
on it or pics of the Eiffel tower, etc. I actually went to Paris in 2011 during
a week long Euro-trip and turned out to be one of the best experiences of my
life to date. I actually never got around to posting the "Paris" post not sure why. Maybe I'll put some pics together for a belated post (like 2 years belated).
By the way, while browsing the clearance section at TJ
Maxx I found this disgusting item:
So, basically a chicken patty from NutriSystem just sitting
in clearance. Is it just me or does this sound disgusting?! Made me wonder---
is this real chicken or some chemical-based concoction. According to the
ingredient list, it is chicken:
Disgusting anyways.
Moving on; Monday morning I drove back to my apartment to
complete a training run (there are no running areas/tracks around my parent’s
neighborhood). I think I ran about 3 miles (or 2.5) but not entirely sure as I
realized my Nike+ app had disappeared from my phone. I actually finally updated my IPhone to the latest operating
system this past weekend (another labor day weekend “task” completed). So
basically, random apps disappeared while some stayed. Not sure how apple picks
and chooses what stays. In addition to no Nike App my Pandora (and general
music apps) were not working. Either way, I managed to run with zero
entertainment. Just listening to my heart beat and of course my rambling mind
which I was trying to ignore/silence during the entire run.
Clue numero 1 that you have learned to enjoy running: You
can run more than a mile with zero entertainment.
After my run, I had some breakfast and then tackled my
DVR for some Suze Orman shows I had
missed during he past few weeks (yes I am a huge fan of her show!):
*Clarification: @teachmetoinvest is my twitter account
which is geared to investment/personal finance tips and tricks. I also blog
over at teachmetoinvest.blogspot.com on that same topic. The Dance, Love, Dine
twitter name is @dolcemabelle.
I then took a trip to the hair salon to get my hair ‘did
as I am in the process of renewing my passport and I am looking forward to
taking some decent-looking passport photos. Scratch that: I wanna’ look good.
Lets just say that my current pic was taken when I was about 13 or 14 years old
and its pretty horrible. There’s no sugar coating it. So, my goal for this week
is to take some nice pics and get my passport renewed. Cant wait for future
travels! I think another Euro-trip is in order.
When I got home
that evening I had the urge for some banana muffins and that’s what went down
in my kitchen.
I got inspired by a post on a blog I recently found and
which I added to my blog-roll list: The Real Life RD. This blog really hit home
on a personal level but I’ll explain more why on a future post. In the
meantime, click here for the blog/recipe.
Confession: Although I wasn’t planning on it I ate about
half a dozen (or maybe more) of those mini-muffins. I know that besides the
fact they came out damn good, my triggers were also boredom, loneliness,
something in my personal life that was bothering me and dreading going back to
work the next day. Not to mention the fact that I was flipping channels of
mindless Monday-night television. As I previously mentioned, I am not allowing
guilt to affect me and I am just moving on and accepting those muffins came out
good and I did enjoy my indulgence. However, I figured I shared this with you
guys and not pretend like I simply ate one muffin and put away the rest because
that’s not what happened. Guilt-free
eating is a work in progress. So, I figured I share every step of the way with
you guys!
Ok well, that’s all folks! All in all I enjoyed my
weekend. Looking forward to tackling some more stuff this week. Thank god is a
short work- week!
Tell me, how did you spend your time this past weekend? Do
you have a favorite blog or new-found blog that you feel is great?! Share
below.
