Saturday in Scottsdale

I’m back in Orlando after spending my entire Sunday traveling. It was sad to leave my friends and I had a truly wonderful time catching up, laughing and spending quality time with people I’ve known since before I was a teenager.

Yesterday was a blast! After running around Scottsdale all day, we came back to Steve and Ryan’s house to hang out and make dinner. Before starting our homemade meal, we popped open two bottles of champagne ($7 each.. can’t beat that!) and made mimosas.

The Boys and Their Drinks

Congratulating Each Other on Mimosas Well Made 🙂

We enjoyed our mimosas outside by the pool and played several rounds of CatchPhrase, Scattergories and Cornhole.

The Ladies Enjoying Our Mimosas

Cornhole!

Sadly my friend Michaela and I got our little booties kicked in Cornhole. We’re convinced Ryan and Steve practice this game regularly… 😉

After lots of rounds of various games, our tummies were grumblin’ and we decided to cook our dinner. We sauted red and green peppers with onions for with garlic and herb chicken sausage. We also boiled angel hair pasta for fettuccine alfredo.

Sizzlin'

Sneakin' a Taste

When Steve heard the meal would be posted on the blog, he put the bright plastic bowls away and said we could use his “fine china.” We felt so special using glass bowls. 😉

Ooooh Glass Bowls!

We ate dinner outside and shared a little with Fiona, Ryan’s black lab.

Dinner Time

Yum, Yum

Doggie Love

After dinner, Ryan and Steve’s friends Katie and JJ came over and we changed clothes and hung out a bit more, playing Rock Band and enjoying Power Hour fun.

Katie, Ryan, JJ, Michaela and Steve

Ryan and Katie

Singin' My Heart Out with My Girl Fiona

Eventually we headed out to a karaoke bar for some more obnoxious singing and fun times. Ryan and Steve unknowingly signed me and Michaela up to sing “Take On Me.” We tried our best (my apologies to the crowd for our lack of pitch 😉 ), and thankfully Ryan came up to join us.

Karaoke Fun

We had a fantastic time singing along to other karaoke classics like “Sweet Caroline,” “I’ve Got Friends in Low Places,” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Michaela and Steve Beltin' it Out

"I've Got Friends in Low Places"

Reunited!

After spending quality time at the karaoke bar, we walked a block or two to finish out the night at a casual bar with lots of dancin’!

Dancin'

Good Times, Good Times

Back-to-Back-Buddies

The night was so, so much fun!

Sunday

Unfortunately when my phone’s alarm clock went off at 8 a.m. (to be sure we had time to pack before leaving for the airport) I wasn’t feeling my best. Michaela seemed to be feeling the same way I was… not – so – good. Ick!

Standing in a good 30-minute line in airport security didn’t exactly help my belly. I wasn’t hungry at all, but bought a vanilla and chocolate soft-serve frozen yogurt to get something in my stomach before departing for Orlando.

TCBY

I spent the majority of the flight with my head on my tray table trying to sleep off my nausea.

Once we finally landed, I couldn’t help but smile at what came to pick me up… a smiling Ryan and an extra-excited and wiggly Sadie. 🙂 “Reunited and it feels so good!”

Ryan and I snuck in a quick Sunday night date at Anthony’s Pizza in downtown Orlando. It was nice to swap stories from the weekend and be back with my guy. We ordered the Mediterranean pizza which was topped with lots of veggies. It was tasty! I ate entirely too much, but I was happy to have my appetite back. We also hit up McDonald’s afterward to share an Oreo McFlurry and a hot chocolate. So good.

I am sleepy and have some unpacking to do before bed tonight. I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend!

Thanks again Ryan, Steve and Michaela for such a fun weekend! I loved seeing all of you again and miss you already. 🙂

Exploring Arizona

Fortunately my friends woke up abnormally early for a Saturday too so we were able to get a jump on exploring Scottsdale.

Arizona Mountains

I love the scenery. It’s such a difference from the flat terrain of Florida. Plus, the weather was absolutely perfect. It was in the 80s but with no humidity. This Florida girl was in heaven!

For lunch we drove to Tempe near the Arizona State University campus for lunch at Bison Witches.

Bison Witches

I ordered a big salad that was served in a yummy, doughy bread bowl. I loved the avocado and artichoke hearts and ate the whole thing.

Veggie Bread Bowl Salad

Full Smiles

After lunch we walked around Tempe and even found an adorable store filled with holiday trinkets and crafts. Luckily the guys humored us and ventured inside. They even found some wooden soldiers they thought would look “pretty awesome” by their pool… maybe not. 😉

Guys and Soldiers

Walking around the town was lots of fun and with perfect weather we all had a great time.

We then ran some errands to pick up drinks and food for dinner tonight. Michaela and I are cookin’ dinner for the boys!

The menu: chicken sausage with peppers and onions and fettuccine alfredo. Sounds tasty! Let’s hope it turns out well.

I’m lovin’ Arizona fun!

Great Friends, Great Food, Great Night

I arrived in Phoenix yesterday half an hour early! My flight left Orlando close to 3 p.m. and after Ryan dropped me off, I had a good hour to kill before my plane took off. I explored the airport a little bit and enjoyed a makeshift lunch of a light Starbucks Frappuccino and an Atkins caramel double chocolate crunch protein bar.

Yummm

Chocolatey

Of course the Frappuccino was fantastic as always. I also enjoyed my protein bar. This flavor is my ultimate favorite bar… ever! It is so rich and chocolately and tastes more like a candy bar. Though I’m not crazy about the slew of ingredients, it’s wonderful on occasion.

I flew Southwest which meant I got to pick my own seat when I boarded. Fortunately I got the very last aisle seat. Phew! I get minorly claustrophobic on planes and an aisle seat is a savior for me. The couple I sat next two was very friendly and I enjoyed chatting with them on the flight.

I have never been on a flight where they’ve offered so many different snacks! The flight attendants came around multiple times offering Ritz chips, 100 calorie packs of Chips Ahoy! cookies, crackers with cheese, peanuts and pretzels! I enjoyed a pack of the Ritz chips while reading the lastest issue of Health magazine.

Ritz Chips

The flight was a little bumpy, but I slept for a bit, got through three different magazines and played Sudoko. Not too bad!

My friend Michaela was flying into Phoenix from Arizona and both of our flights were on the ground within 20 minutes of each other. Great timing! Our friend Ryan picked us up and drove us back the house he shares with our other good friend Steve.

We enjoyed a tour of the house, played with Ryan’s super-friendly dog Fiona and sat out in the backyard for a bit before heading off to dinner.

I don’t remember the name of the place we went to for dinner (and everyone’s still sleeping so I can’t ask at the moment), but it was AMAZING. The place was an outdoor restaurant with two bars, multiple fire pits, white Christmas lights, a live band and the most delicious burgers and BBQ sandwiches.

I ordered the BBQ pulled pork sandwich and devoured the entire thing. It was HUGE but so, so tasty and I was very hungry.

BBQ Pulled Pork

(Sorry for the icky picture, but it was dark outside and I had to use my flash.)

We had a great time catching up and laughing over a few beers. I really want to go back to this place! It was so unique.

Michaela and Ryan

Me and Steve

It was so nice to spend quality time with such wonderful friends. I used to live across the street from Michaela and have known her since we were in elementary school and we’ve been friends with Ryan and Steve since junior high. I miss old friends!!

Today I’m not sure what the plan is… since I cannot seem to sleep in, I’m happy I had a chance to blog for a bit! I am missing Ryan and Sadie but it sounds like they’re having fun without me and spent some quality time together at the dog park yesterday.

I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend! 🙂

Hit the Ground Running

Today is going to be a go-go-go kind of day! My little baby bladder woke me up before my alarm and ever since then I’ve been on the move.

I hit the gym to take my typical Friday morning BodyPump class. These classes are awesome and are 60 minutes of total-body weights.

Picture from LesMills.com

I love ’em because they make me do exercises I hate (squats! lunges!) but I know are important and produce results. Plus on my own I would normally skip working out my chest and my back (blah, boring!), so it keeps me focused on working out my entire body. Gotta love it!

After BodyPump, I picked up Miss Sadie for a 25 minute run followed by a mile walk to get her some exercise.

I was quite clumsy in my morning routine today… I cut myself shaving and dropped my hairdryer on the toe next to my big toe (my pointer toe?). Bleeding from two different places on two different legs… nice! Fear not, I’m recovering well.

Plans

I’m working a half day today and then heading to the airport to fly out to Arizona for a weekend with friends. I can’t wait!

I already am getting that “I miss Ryan and Sadie” feeling in my belly, but I know I’ll have a blast and they’ll enjoy some quality daddy-doggie time. Plus, last night I crafted two love notes for Ryan (one for each morning he wakes up without me) to spread some love. 🙂

Love Notes for my Love-ah!

(I’m hoping Ryan won’t check the blog until after he drops me off at the airport. Ryan, if you see this before, check the drawer in the nightstand Saturday and Sunday morning for a little bit o’ love! ;))

I think I get the whole signs on the door/love note thing from my mom. She would always write little notes on my napkins in my school lunch and still puts “Welcome Home!” signs on our front door when I come for a visit. She’s the best!

Breakfast

Sorry to bore you, but my breakfast yesterday was so darn delicious that I had to do a repeat. I swapped out the chocolate-covered soynuts for a dark chocolate Hershey’s kiss though! Not totally boring, right? 🙂

Hot Cereal with a Kiss

In case you missed my breakfast post yesterday, this combo is butter pecan Flax Z Snax hot cereal, pumpkin, sweetener and a bit of the good stuff (chocolate).

I served my breakfast with a hot tumbler of free coffee from my gym. Today I chose Barnie’s cinnamon butter cookie coffee. Sounds pretty amazing, huh?

Friday's Breakfast

Does anyone out there make an egg nog coffee? I bet that would be phenomenal.

Happy Friday everyone! I’ll try to post a couple times this weekend but I make no promises since I’ll be exploring the hot state of Arizona!