WEEKLY ROUND UP // 33.

Guys, I'm blogging on my mom's computer. The wireless router is officially dead and my only access to internet is either at my boyfriend's house or on my mom's desktop. It's a weird feeling even though I get to use my old monitor (which is huge and I'm an amazing daughter for letting my mom use it). So yeah, this week is sparse, but understand the circumstances.

- The Cheapskate Guide to New York City. Why did it take me so long to find this? Everytime I go to New York, I immediately blow through my budget.

- Five Things You're Doing Wrong Before 9 AM. I'm totally guilty of all of these.

- This sweater is perfect for me.

- Cannot wait to try this recipe from Iowa Girl Eats: Quinoa with Caramelized Butternut Squash and Roasted Brussels Sprouts.

- Yes, yes, yes, yes. I Love When He Says "Take Your Time" While I'm Running Late. I'm so punctual, but for some reason, I'm always running late to meet up with Mike. And it warms my heart when he tells me to "take my time" or "it's fine. I haven't even showered yet." Dream man.

- Make your own Iron Throne. Why haven't I done this yet?

LET'S GET HONEST ABOUT THIS DIET THING.

Guys, this dieting thing is hard.

Even with a partner in crime, I'm having a hard time sticking to it.

The mornings are the easiest. I pack my lunch for work and I have a very easy time logging my calories. Then, things get off track.

Why can't I find the motivation to go back to the gym? Or even run? The weather is nice enough now that I can go running when I get off work and not die from heat exhaustion. But, I come home and I sleep. Or, even worse, I end up at Casey's which leads to completely blowing my calories for the day.

The hardest part comes with dinner. My mom's food is so good that I just want to eat it all. And if I do manage to restrain myself, I find myself digging through the fridge to snack on cheese (my worst enemy!).

Where do I find the motivation to keep going? How do I keep going? And, will this get easier after the winter?

I was doing so well. I had lost sixteen pounds and now I'm afraid to get on the scale. I know I'm not going to like what I see when I jump on.

What I want is to feel good in my clothes. To look good in them. To look even better naked. To live an active and healthy lifestyle. To feel good about myself.

I don't know about everyone else, but this is hard. It's hard to get into it and it's hard to stay on track.

THAT TIME WE HIKED.

A few weeks ago, Mike and I decided to go hike A "Mountain."* It's right next to ASU's campus so we rode our bikes up there and a hiking we did go.

It's not a long hike, but the first part is just this ridiculous 60 degree incline. Walking up there, I claimed it was a 90 degree incline multiple times before announcing that no, I did not have my inhaler. What can I say? I like to live dangerously. And thankfully, I didn't really need it. No harm, no foul. Back to that incline -- people were running up and down it like it was nothing. Weren't they afraid of tripping? I was walking at a snail's pace and I was convinced I was going to trip over my own feet and tumble down.

We passed the big old ASU "A" and made our way to the top. The view is really beautiful and it's so easy to pick out Tempe landmarks ... err, bars. "Oh, there's where Shobbie's was" and "I think I can see Casey's from here!" I clearly have my priorities straight. We hung out at the top for a bit before making our way down. And coming down was much easier than going up.

The "A"

Why, hello Phoenix.

Mill Ave.

I definitely want to do it again. It's a quick hike and it feels so good to accomplish something like that. Now, when I drive past it, I say out loud (Usually to myself, but occasionally to others), "Hey, I hiked that." And it's met with groans because nobody cares after the 80th time of hearing it.


*Truth be told, I have no idea where the quotes are supposed to go. It's not technically a mountain and "A" is technically not it's name, so just roll with it. The actual name is Hayden Butte, but everytime I write it, I just wanna make a butt joke about how I hiked up a butt. I am five. 

WEEKEND // The One Where I Was a People.

I had a lot of fun this weekend. Despite not wanting to do anything.

FRIDAY // After work, I went for a walk around the canal. I'm still not feeling quite up to running so I figure a three mile walk is better than nothing. I came back home, napped, and then started getting ready -- very slowly. Mike and I went out to dinner at our favorite Mexican food place - Mucho Gusto. And then, we went to our friend's birthday. I was not feeling being around people, but we ended up having a lot of fun and it's so good to see everyone.

SATURDAY // I spent most of the day watching My Strange Addiction. Guys, they just put season three up on Netflix and I only skipped one episode because I cannot even deal with a girl jamming scissors into her ear hole. After marathoning that, Mike put on Movie 43. Was it good? No. But, I can give it my highest stamp of approval -- it kept me awake throughout the entire film. If you have no idea what to watch and you're okay with poop jokes, it's an alright thing to watch. Then, Mike and I went out to Casey's to meet up with our friend. When we came home, we watched Friends With Kids. It was really cute and I stayed awake!! (Seriously. This is a huge accomplishment for me. I cannot stay awake during movies). We both enjoyed it even though Jon Hamm's lady (who wrote and directed it) kind of bugs me. She just seems so exasperated while acting. 

SUNDAY // We woke up around 11, which is a beautiful thing. Especially because that's when I usually get off work. And then, we had the most glorious day ever. I got to lay on the couch and watch television and do absolutely nothing. Holy hell. It was a beautiful, amazing day. Eventually, I had to go back to my place to do laundry, but an entire day of marathoning Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23 was exactly how I needed to end my relatively social weekend. 

WEEKLY ROUND UP // 32.

This is a day late and a dollar short, but enjoy all these awesome posts I found over the week.

- I love this post over at Apocalypstick about how we can all be a little bit better people.

- 10 Healthy Salad ideas over at Iowa Girl Eats. All I've been eating lately is salads so I like this post for some different ideas.

- Vegan Almond Joys at One to Nothin'. Since I'm trying (Keyword here is trying) to cut out dairy,  I like that I can still enjoy some of my favorite things ... without milk.

- So, Halloween was a while ago, but CHECK OUT THIS COSTUME. So intense that it needed a video to show it off!

- Apparently, this is what your coffee order says about you, but let's be honest -- none of that is true. Want the real scoop on generalizations about coffee drinkers? Buy me a drink and I can go on for hours.

- Hey Mike, here are some vacation ideas -- 20 Places To Visit In Your 20's. But, Bisbee, AZ is on there.

MODERATE COUPONING.

As I mentioned earlier this week, Mike and I started watching Extreme Couponing. And then we decided, "THIS IS US NOW!" So, we ran to the store on Sunday to get a paper for all the coupons. Cut to me huddled over an Excel spreadsheet with coupons all around me while Mike plays on his phone. Typical men.

We had our first foray into the world of couponing on Tuesday night. I had my list ready and my coupons in hand. I managed to get through the store without buying anything that wasn't on my pre-made list (Except Mike didn't get that lucky because apparently he has to buy tamales whenever they're on sale).

I spent $14.31 and saved $21.26. 

So, not bad. Not bad at all. Obviously, we'll see how long this lasts. I definitely do not want to be one of those women on the show. Dumpster diving for ads is not how I want to spend my evenings. But, saving money is kind of the name of the game right now and this is a relatively easy way to do it. 

We'll see. I don't expect to pay $0.02 for 9 baskets of groceries, but if I can save almost double of what I spent, then it's worth it. 

LIFE LATELY // The Sick Edition.

Being sick is no fun at all. 

Well, I am officially sick. Thank you, varying Arizona weather. One day it's 90 degrees and the next night, it's in the 50's and I'm supposed to stay healthy? So, I'm feeling terrible and the only thing I want to do is watch Netflix, but get this -- our internet works about 40% of the time. That means things are a lot of fun over at my mom's house. I spent the weekend over at Mike's and we watched all the shitty television shows on Netflix. We watched:

1. Extreme Cheapskates
2. Extreme Couponing
3. My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding

What you can extrapolate from that is that I am trying to save money so I can have a gypsy wedding dress.  

I wish I had a better update other than I just want to watch TLC programming and my internet is making that super difficult. But when you're under the weather, isn't the only medicine terrible television?

WEEKLY ROUND UP / 31.

- I love this shirt.

- Guys, who doesn't love sloths?

- Resistance is futile - this is awesome.

- What if police treated women how the internet treated Skylar White?

- This is perfect. In every way possible.

HALLOWEENIE PART 2 // The One With the Pumpkins.

Last weekend, Mike and I dressed up for a party, so our Halloween costumes have already been seen by the masses. We did the same costumes for our Halloween party because who has time for multiple costumes?

On Wednesday, I went over to Mike's place and we carved pumpkins.

Mike's "Fairy Tale" pumpkin.

My pumpkin.

Thursday night was actual Halloween. My neighborhood is insane. The streets are mostly blocked off and majority of the houses go all out. There are two walk-through haunted houses and then a few huge displays. My mom got my cousins to come out so we had actual little kids trick-or-treating since the rest of the family is too old now. I tried to forewarn Mike about just how crazy my neighborhood is and I clearly didn't do it justice. The party bus blasting Halloween music driving from street to street. The lines that just go down the street for the haunted houses. The parents pulling wagons of alcohol. Seriously.

However, the candy this year sucked. I was going through my little cousins' bags and I was sorely disappointed. Where's the Kit-Kats? Where were the Butterfingers? We had a lot of melted hard candy that just ended up in the trash can.

Friday night was our Halloween party and that is when my spirit died. I think that whole "I'm in my mid-twenties" thing finally kicked in and I'm officially done drinking all the time. It was fun while it lasted, but I'm ready to get my shit together instead of just drink all the time and feel like shit. And, that all-day hangover on Saturday was not worth it.

Needless to say, Saturday was a bust. We ate a lot of fattening food and slept. All day. And as for Sunday, I worked 8 hours.

It feels like the older I get, the more into Halloween I become. I loved it when I was a kid and then I hated it when I got into that tween age. I'm finally starting to come around so maybe I'll be super into it by the time I have kids. Wishful thinking.