Weekends: The One Where I Slept. A lot.

Wow. Last week was an incredibly long week and I was not even looking forward to the weekend. Mike and I had three different locations to get to on Friday. The first was Happy Hour with my friends and family to celebrate a friend's birthday along with my last real day at my job. Then, we had to drive up to Mike's friend's birthday at a karaoke bar. Then, we had to hightail it back to Mike's for our friend Kyle's birthday. So, I was essentially drinking from 4:30 pm until 3 am. Adult, I am not.

Needless to say, Saturday was spent on the couch. I think Kyle and I watched every episode of Bob's Burgers and most of Parks and Recreation. And then when Mike came home from work, I started in on devouring Star Trek: The Next Generation's season 5 (Finished! by the way!).

As for Sunday, I slept. We did watch the Super Bowl. But, I probably could have napped my way through that and not have missed a thing. 

Today is the first day of my new job and I am incredibly nervous and excited. So, here's hoping it goes well. And, here's hoping next weekend will be a little more exciting. 

Weekends: The One Where We Had a Great Saturday.

Saturday was my only day off and I wanted to enjoy it -- not sleep in all day like I typically do. Mike and I woke up early, grabbed some coffee, and then got ready for a picnic. We rode our bikes up to Tempe Town Lake and enjoyed a picnic, complete with Tapatio Doritos. 

Afterwards, we rode back to his place and watched the Mitt documentary on Netflix. And truthfully, I really enjoyed it. Mitt is fairly robotic, but this film humanized him more than his campaign ever did. After the movie, Mike and I got ready and went to the Hall of Flame Fire Museum. And then, we went out to dinner at our favorite restaurant - Mucho Gusto. There, I ate too much and was stuffed for the rest of the evening.

It was such an amazing day and the best way to spend a day off. I was so refreshed going into Sunday and then I ended up getting sick Sunday evening. That nose started running and I ended up going to bed before 8 pm last night because I felt that terrible. Which, can explain why this post is up late. Oh well, I got 9 hours of sleep last night and even though I still didnt' feel better this morning, that sleep was worth everything I gave up to get it.

Speaking of sleep and getting things done, I need to nap so I can hopefully finish laundry tonight. I'm hoping that I can just sleep off this cold before the weekend because it's my last weekend before I begin my new job. 

Weekends: The One That Prompted Me to Get Back in Shape.

This weekend Mike and I had awesome plans. We were going to ride our bikes up to the lake and have a picnic on Saturday before heading over to the Hall of Flame. And then, we were even thinking about going to the Desert Botanical Gardens on Sunday. However, Mike got sick and we ended up staying home.

Saturday, in between him sleeping and me Pinteresting, we made some Irish stew that didn't turn out very well (Mike is ready to make his recipe and share it with you all so you don't make the same mistake we did).

On Sunday, I decided enough was enough and getting back in shape has to become my number one goal. I've gained back ten pounds that I lost last year and that's unacceptable. Here's the real plan:

1) Back to calorie counting. I had a lot of success with it. I use an app called Lose It and it works really well.

2) Running. I decided to restart Couch to 5K again.

3) Amazon Prime work-out videos. Amazon has some awesome work out videos that I can't wait to try out.

4) Squat Challenge. Look at these results! I want my butt to look like that.

I keep saying I want to get back in shape and then I keep postponing it. No more. Getting healthy again is going to be my number one priority.

Weekends: The One Where We Had Good Intentions.

The weekend started out with good intentions. On Friday, Mike and I met up with some friends at a bar -- where we limited ourselves greatly. We each had two ciders and we felt fine. We came home and instead of going straight to bed ... we both read on our Kindles. We were incredibly responsible adults!

Saturday morning, we woke up incredibly late though despite having set an alarm for 8 am. Rolling out of bed around 11 am, the plan to hike was still on. And, so we did. We drove up to A Mountain where I had a great time and Mike - not so much. Afterwards, we came back, grabbed the dogs, and decided to get lunch and have one beer each.

Not so fast. The moment we sat down, a liquor rep approached us and offered us free Bloody Mary's that were made with Patron's vodka. Turning down a free drink is bad luck. So, we started off with mediocre Bloody Mary's. Then, I had to have that cider I wanted. And things quickly devolved from there.

I want to be able to enjoy my weekends off. This PARTYDRINKPARTY mentality I've had since turning 21 is getting boring and is losing its luster. Spending all your time at the bar isn't fun anymore -- it's just depressing.

That said. Sunday was low-key. After getting my Sunday paper, we decided to see a movie and I based my choice solely off the fact that Louis CK had a part in American Hustle. I enjoyed it and didn't think it was long. Mike wasn't a fan and thought it lasted for days. So, mixed reviews.

A fairly decent weekend. We truly did try to be productive and we're slowly getting back on that active horse. We're trying, guys. We're trying. 

WEEKENDS // 5K, Arts, and Why ASU, Why?

This was such a busy weekend. Friday night, Mike and I had plans to go downtown, but I ended up crashing hard in the afternoon and didn't wake up until the time we were planning on leaving. We went to our favorite bar - Casey's - instead. That explains why we slept in so late on Saturday.

But, we had things to do on Saturday. Like, pick up my race packet for my 5K on Sunday morning. After grabbing my number and awesome new hoodie, we were thinking of something cheap to do. His parents got us a giftcard for this restaurant Citizen Public House in Scottsdale so we went there and ate the most delicious food. We were stuffed, but decided to go out for bar trivia (Third place!) and the ASU game. 

Here's the thing about ASU football. I never care about it. And then, they started doing well and my hopes got high. Last week's win over UofA felt so good. And, whomp whomp. We lost to Stanford. 

Sunday, we woke up at 5:30 AM to get down to Scottsdale for the Hot Chocolate 5K. I ran this race last year. This year, my baby brother joined me. He beat me -- by 54 seconds. However, this was my best time for a 5K yet and I can't wait to run another one. And maybe get Mike to join me. 

After running and breakfast with my family, I napped before Mike and I rode our bikes up to the Tempe Arts Festival. It was a lot of fun. I love getting to be outside and be cold - definitely not something I'm used to out here in Arizona. 

I was not enjoying the cold this morning before the race.

Getting a little bit more excited to run.

Nate with his Finisher's Cup.

Post race. I look dead.

OOPS... A Recap of Thanksgiving Week.

Wow. I completely fell off the radar last week. Between work, family, and friends, I had no time for anything else. Even my laundry. Guys, that laundry pile was depressing. But, I'm back! And the laundry has been taken care of. For the most part.

Some highlights from this week:
- Addicted to Emoji Pop. It's like pictionary ... with emojis.
- That picture is a very accurate depiction of last week.
- Thanksgiving was great. No tears at my house.
- I cannot stop watching Fringe. Even though Mike has made his "No Fringe-ing" rule at his house.
- I worked all weekend and it honestly didn't bother me because $$$$$.
- A lot of people think I am engaged because I drunkenly may have posted a picture of me wearing a ring on Facebook. I'm not going to correct anyone because Mike even commented on the picture, "You snooze, you lose I guess."

So, overall, Thanksgiving and last week were awesome. I love my friends. I love my family. I'm thankful to be employed. And, I'm thankful to have this blog to get to say stupid shit like this. I promise, I will write some real posts this week. Swear.

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. 

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.

HALLOWEENIE PART 1.

I had a relatively busy weekend. On Friday, Mike, my mom, and I went to my old high school's football game to watch my little sister cheer. 

Saturday, when we woke up, I told Mike we had options for our day and we ended up deciding to go to a get-together. And then we spent the rest of the day trying to find a red bandana for my costume. FOUR DIFFERENT STORES for a bandana. I was not amused. Mike went as Vincent Van Gogh. 

We hung out for a little bit and went to the bar. And then, the fun had to stop there because I had to work in the morning.

Sunday, after I worked, Mike and I went for a bike ride -- we're getting really serious about getting back into shape and dieting. The only bad thing about my costume is that now I have no idea what to be for the next Halloween party on Friday. 

Mike as Van Gogh.

Me as Rosie the Riveter.

WEEKENDS // Sedona.

FRIDAY // Right after work, Mike and I started the drive up north. And by right after, I really mean that after I finished packing and freaking out, we headed out. On our way up to Sedona, I wanted to stop by Jerome since I've never been and Mike wanted to take me to Montezuma's Castle since I've never been. First up, we went to Montezuma's Castle -- which is neither Montezuma's nor a castle.

From there, we went to Jerome -- which is my new favorite place in all of Arizona. It's this small, artsy town on a mountainside. Amazing. We stopped by a winery for a wine flight and then had some delicious Mexican food before checking out all the small little stores.

Then, we left Jerome and went to Sedona to catch the sunset and enjoy some wine at the awesome private lookout at our hotel.

SATURDAY // We woke up really early -- and by early, I mean 6 am! That's insane. We had some breakfast and then went for a hike. We didn't hike very much because it started to rain and Mike "didn't want to be stuck on the side of a mountain with slippery rocks," but I think it's because we ran into some poop on the trail. However, we did hike up a little mountain. 

After our hike, we changed and grabbed some coffee and then we walked around a bunch of little shops until lunch. I had pizza and Mike had some gluten-free pasta at Picazzo's -- the menu there was almost entirely gluten-free. We left and went to another shopping center called Tlaquepaque. We went to Oak Creek Brewery in there and I had the Seven Dwarves -- a taster of 7 different kinds of their beers. My favorite was the Hefeweizen. 

After walking around some more, we went back to the room for a nap. Then, we woke up and got ready for our dinner. We went to a great restaurant called Rene's that was back at Tlaquepaque. We went back to the hotel, saw the lights and then went to bed.

SUNDAY // We had every intention of waking up early to go hiking, but when that alarm went off, I heard the rain and made the executive decision to turn off the alarm and just sleep. When we finally woke up, Mike approved of how I took the initiative since it was pouring outside and he had heard it when the alarm went off too. We packed up and got some coffee and I had a bagel before heading back down to the Valley. 

It was such a nice trip and it felt so good to get out of town and away from everything, even if it was just for a weekend. I'm kind of bummed we didn't get to hike as much as we wanted because of the rain, but that just gives us an excuse to go back up there soon. 

WEEKENDS // The One Full of Biking and Drinking.

FRIDAY / After working all week, I was really excited for this weekend. Mike's parents were in town and we were going to try Don and Charlie's. They have a GF menu, which is reason enough to try out any place. The food was good and I love spending time with Mike's parents. It's very simple and totally drama free -- unlike when we're with my family.

SATURDAY / We went for a bike ride early in the morning down at Tempe Town Lake. And then we went out to breakfast at our favorite breakfast place on Mill Ave. NCounter. We went back to Mike's and saw his parents and the dogs off. And then we went out to celebrate my Grandpa's 71st birthday! I know I've said my family is a little too much sometimes, but Papa's birthday was very low key and surprisingly fight free. Then, Mike and I went out drinking because it was Saturday and isn't that enough reason to drink?

SUNDAY / Nothing cures a hangover like mustard potato salad, a huge Coke, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. And then, of course, Breaking Bad.

Photo Credit: Mike

WEEKEND // Time to Relax.

Finally. An entire weekend off of work. And no obligations. It was amazing.

Friday // After work, I had planned on going to the gym, but Mike texted me and asked if I would rather come take a nap. Uh, duh. So, I went over to his place and napped before I went out to dinner with my friends, which was so nice to catch up with them. Then, I went back to Mike's house, where I stayed for the entire weekend.

Saturday // We wanted to go for an early morning bike ride, butttttttt that didn't happen. We had breakfast and just lounged. We ran to the grocery store, made dinner, ran to Target for some seat pads for our bikes, and then watched Peep Show on Netflix.

Sunday // We were seriously going to go for an early morning bike ride, buttttttt that didn't happen. I watched Cabin in the Woods (I watched an entire movie without falling asleep). Then everyone left -- Mike went to take a practice LSAT. So, I watched a documentary about Jesus (and did fall asleep) and then I watched a few episodes of Star Trek: TNG. Mike came home, we grabbed dinner, and then we went for a bike ride - FINALLY. It was so nice out.

It was just such a relaxing, perfect weekend. And I loved spending all of it with Mike. Now, our next two weeks will be filled with more of my family and then we get to go up to Sedona to relax at the end of the month. August is turning out to be a great month.

Mike working on my bike while I just enjoy the weekend.

WEEKENDS: Peanut Turns One.

Work has been insane lately -- I'm working 6 days a week. And then, when I am off, I'm with my family. Two weekends in a row of family time. Wow.

FRIDAY // I worked and then when I came home, my nephew came over to spend the weekend with us. Mike ended up coming over too. We all went swimming together, which I think wore me out more than it did Peanut. 

SATURDAY // I worked some more and then had more Peanut time -- a lot of Mickey Mouse and swimming. 

SUNDAY // More work! I came home, played with Peanut, got ready, and then it was time for Peanut's first birthday. 

It was a fun weekend, but I was exhausted by Monday. 

Swimming Peanut // On the way to the party.

Pinterest Mickey Mouse cupcakes.

Mike.

My brother and I smiling...together. 

Baby sister getting caked.

Birthday Boy.

Happy Birthday, Peanut! 

WEEKENDS // The One Where I Decided to be a People.

After missing out on everything last weekend, I knew I wanted to be at least a little sociable this weekend.

Friday-- After work, I should have gone to the gym, but my knee was bothering me (Excuses, I know) and I just ended up napping. I woke up from my nap and had to immediately deal with family stuff. And then, I quickly realized it was super late and I had plans. Got ready and zoomed on down to my boyfriend's place so we could go out and see our friend who just moved back home. I had a blast and it was great to go out, see friends, and just get my mind off everything else that's been going on in my life. We left around 11 and I kind of wanted to go to bed, but we ended up watching Orange is the New Black on Netflix. Two episodes in and I'm definitely feeling it.

One of Mike's visitors. 

Saturday-- Saturday morning was amazing. Mike has his LSAT class every other Saturday morning, so he woke up around 8:30 to go to class and he let the dogs out of his room (He's been watching his parents' dogs this week). And I fell back asleep and had the entire bed to myself. It was so peaceful. I woke up around 11:30, grabbed some breakfast and tea, and then crushed some candy until he came back. His parents picked up the dogs and then I decided we had to be people. It was my only day off during the weekend and I didn't want to waste it by sleeping all day. So, we ran to Target to return a skirt -- Why can't I find a good maxi skirt? Please, someone help me. Then we ran to the Thirsty Lion for some lunch.

Here's the thing. I've been having a hard time keeping with my diet lately. I'm super stressed out and I love stress eating. So, I eat shitty foods (chicken fingers, pizzas, tons of cookies, etc.) and then I feel like shit and my stomach hurts and I think, "Why did I do that?" Saturday really solidified for me that I have to get back on track with my diet. Not just to lose weight, but I feel so much better when I'm eating healthy.

Anyway, then we ran to Old Navy on the search for that apparently elusive maxi skirt and I ended up with two new shorts and a shirt. We went to Casey Moore's and my stomach hurt so bad that I just stuck with water. We hung out for a bit, I went home, and then I got my mom to start watching Orange is the New Black. I had to go to bed early though because I had to get up at the buttcrack of dawn on Sunday for work. Boo.

They're all adorable, but not that much fun to share a bed with. Sorry guys.

Finally got to try the Leinenkugel Lemon Berry Summer Shandy and it's delicious -- even better than the original Summer Shandy. 

Sunday-- Sunday was the beginning of my hell week at work / a terrible day. I had to work and then I had some not fun family things to do, which resulted in me getting incredibly drunk at my boyfriend's house and crying about how terrible things are. Yeah, not a whole lot of fun.

Monday-- My only day off this week! So, how did I spend it? Sleeping until 1 pm, pizza, and Orange is the New Black.

Ok, so maybe I was only a person for two days this weekend and then it took an immediate turn for the worst, but we all can't be on everyday, can we?
What did you do this weekend? Let me know in the comments!