I Go Big

It seems that whenever I eat a meal I always end up with crumbs on my clothes, a smear of food on my face or chocolate on my arm. Yes, chocolate on my arm. This has happened multiple times. I don’t know how.

Today as I was eating my ham unwich at Jimmy John’s with Ryan, he motioned to the side of his mouth, signaling that I, yet again, had food stuck to the side of my mouth.

Pre Food-On-My-Face

Ham Unwich

“Why do I always do that?” I asked. “I always seem to ‘save some food for later’ when I eat!  This is ridiculous!”

Ryan said, “Don’t worry about it. When you eat, you just go big.”

I agreed. Mealtime isn’t for quitters in my book. 😉 Go big, or go home.

Ryan Goes Big at Mealtime, Too. One of the Many Reasons I Love Him.

Once we were done eating at Jimmy John’s, we headed over to Mochi for some soft serve.

I filled a cup with peanut butter soft serve and topped it off with Butterfinger pieces and shredded coconut.

PB + Butterfingers + Coconut

This combination was winner, winner, chicken dinner.

So good!

After finishing our soft serve Ryan and I talked about making tonight a “fro yo for dinner” night. We have yet to visit Menchie’s, a new soft serve place in Winter Park and tonight we may change this.

I also feel like being a little experimental in the kitchen this evening, so we’ll see how things end up!

Totally Random

I know this is totally random, but I am seriously loving the song “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz.

I can’t get enough of it. It came on while Ryan and I were eating our frozen yogurt and I wanted to drop my fro yo and break into a dance party on the spot. (Okay, maybe not drop the fro yo… More like place it to the side to enjoy after the song concluded.)

I wanted this song played on repeat during my bachelorette party last weekend and whenever it came on, it was like Christmas morning. I actually looked over at my sister dancing when it was playing and I felt like I was looking at myself dancing.

Turns out all the Bream girls dance the same: Not sexy, but with utter abandon.

At one point Leslie even busted out the cross your arms over your legs move.

A Classic

Obviously I had to join in.

We’re more of the “spin me around” and do the “Carlton” kinda girls than the “drop it like it’s hoooot” type.

Question of the Afternoon

What is your dancin’ style?

Plantar Fasciitis

Lunch!

Friday Lunch

Lunch today was a simple spread.

I enjoyed homemade tuna salad on top of a toasted bagel with green peppers and smoked almonds on the side.

Tuna Salad

Fishy Bagelwich

Good-for-Me Fats

I followed this yummy lunch up with a quick trip to Mochi.

Ryan was downtown visiting the DMV and when I received his text requesting a Mochi meet up, I jumped at the chance to join him for a quick 15-minute fro yo date!

I opted for cake batter/cheesecake swirl frozen yogurt, topped with mango, strawberries, rainbow sprinkles and cheesecake bits.

Mooooochi

Ryan and I also swung by Starbucks to share a grande Tazo Chai Créme Frappuccino because we’re sweet-tooth soul mates.

Chai Tea Frapp

Those of you non-coffee lovers should give this lil’ baby a try. It’s delish!

I enjoyed most all of the whipped cream and about a third of the Frapp.

Yum!

Now on to some less-than-exciting news…

Plantar Fasciitis

This just in: I may have plantar fasciitis. 😦

Yesterday around noon, I started to experience pain in my left heel.

I thought it was kind of odd and figured it would probably dissipate by the evening.

Unfortunately that was not the case.

I went to bed thinking it might feel better in the morning… Not so.

It doesn’t hurt at all when I am sitting, and the pain is pretty dull when I’m standing, but when I walk or run, the pain becomes fairly intense.

After BodyPump this morning, I approached the instructor (who is a personal trainer, marathon runner and knowledgeable about muscles and sports-related injuries) to ask for her insight about my pain.

After explaining where I felt pain and when the pain started (several hours after my morning run), she said it sounded a lot like plantar fasciitis, a condition characterized by inflammation of the band of tissue that connects the heel to the toes.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the condition is “particularly common in runners.”

• The good news: Ninety percent of people recover from plantar fasciitis.
• The bad news: Recovery usually takes several months.

This doesn’t exactly mesh well with my half marathon training plan.

I am really, really bummed. I am supposed to do a long run (10 miles) in the morning and I don’t see how that’s going to be possible if my heel still feels this pained.

I really want to run the half marathon in Chicago on August 1. I am hoping with all of my heart that the pain will be a passing pain that goes away soon. Cross your fingers!

In the mean time, I plan to ice my heel, stretch it and massage it.

I want to keep my cardiovascular strength up just in case the pain goes away in time for the half, so I will follow the advice of several orthopedic and running articles I read and supplement my running with cross training (swimming, biking, elliptical) until I feel like my heel is healed (Gotta love a good pun!).

I am trying not to be too dramatic about this injury, but I cannot help but remember when I had bursitis in my hip and literally couldn’t walk without pain for an entire summer. It was miserable and I was so upset. I don’t like not being able to walk without discomfort since walking is such a huge part of daily life and poor Sadie needs her morning walks!

"What am I supposed to do? Walk MYSELF!?"

I’m trying my best to look at this as simply an obstacle I must overcome.

It’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, though it’s really upsetting to me right now. I’m mostly upset because I’m supposed to be running the half marathon with my girlfriends at the conclusion of my bachelorette party in Chicago and I was really looking forward to doing something so neat with all of them.

Bummer!

I am injured, injured bad. 😉 (<– Click that link for a flippin’ adorable video that you’ve probably seen 5 billion times already.)

Question of the Afternoon?

Have you ever been sidelined from a sport or athletic training plan due to an injury? How did you cope?

(If any of you out there have experienced plantar fasciitis, please, please let me know how long it took for you to heal and how you recovered!)

Remember How Healthy…

Remember how healthy my breakfast and lunch were today?

Well, please reflect on those healthy meals as I show you what followed:

Cake!

Fro Yo

I just had to take a quick trip to Mochi when I learned they had cake batter and piña colada flavors on tap today.

When I texted Ryan with this news, I received a text that said he’d be there in30 minutes in response.

Clearly he was excited as well. 😀

Mochi Monster

Heaven on a Spoon

Sometimes we need a little sweet treat to kick off the weekend on the right foot!

What sweet treat have you enjoyed (or will you enjoy) today?

Ready for the Weekend

Though I thoroughly enjoyed the change of scenery on our morning run, I think the act of driving somewhere new and spending the morning running with Sadie and Ryan made me feel like it should be the weekend already!

Not too much longer… 😀

This Weekend

This weekend should be a fun one!

Around noon tomorrow, Ryan and I are having friends over to grill out before we head over to Beer Fest downtown around 4 p.m.

Beer Fest!

Beer Fest is an all-you-can-drink festival featuring lots of beer, food and fun! I’m thinking some crazy shenanigans will be in order. 😉

I just about flipped out when I heard Mochi, my favorite local frozen yogurt shop, will have a booth at the event.

Beer + Friends + Frozen yogurt = Fantastic Saturday

I plan to have a long talk at Beer Fest with the Mochi manager about the necessity of keeping the red velvet soft serve on tap always. It’s the best one, after all!

Lunch

Lunch today was spent with Ryan, as it was one of the Fridays he has off from work.

Of course we hit up the ol’ ‘John’s for our respective favorites.

Bootlegger club fo’ him.

My Date

Unwich fo’ me.

Yaaaay, Unwich!

Naturally we swung by Mochi for some dessert.

PB + Strawberry

We split a cup of peanut butter (YUM!) and strawberry frozen yogurt with mini Reeses’ pieces, rainbow sprinkles and a Reeses’ peanut butter cup on top!

Gettin’ Tickets

Ryan and I also had a very important errand to run after we were done eating.

We headed down the block to pick up our Beer Fest tickets.

Tickets!

Gotta love saving $5 by buying in advance!

Of Possible Interest

• BCBG sale on RueLaLa.com today! (I already bought this dress.)
• 10 Fattest and Leanest Cities in America (MensHealth.com)
• Fitness-Friendly Snacks (CookingLight.com)

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to my best friend Leah!!!

Fab 5

(Leah is in the green. We called this picture our “Christmas card,” taken our sophomore year in college.)

I’ve been friends with Leah (and all the girls in the above picture) since elementary school and they’re all going to be bridesmaids in my wedding. I am so excited to see them multiple times this year since they all live a plane-ride away now.

Happy 25th Birthday Kafka! 😀

Question of the Afternoon

How many bridesmaids were in your wedding? If you’re not married, how many would  you like to have?

I will have six bridesmaids: My sister (maid of honor), four best friends from elementary school and my best friend from college.

Mochi Tops The Top

Confession: I had frozen yogurt again today.

More Mochi

I hit up Mochi for some soft serve after lunch with Ryan in Orlando this afternoon, and then hit it up again in Gainesville after dinner with my mom and sister. Both times were equally delicious, though I was hoping the red velvet cake soft serve flavor would be available. Maybe tomorrow??? 😉

My mom picked me up in Orlando after work and we hit the road for the University of Florida to kick off a weekend of girly fun! 

By the time we arrived in Gainesville, we were hungry! After swinging by my sister’s sorority house and scooping her up, we headed out to dinner at The Top, an eclectic restaurant in downtown Gainesville.

The Top

My Sister and Mama Outside The Top

All three of us opted for the portobello mushroom burger served on a pretzel roll.

Portobello Burger on a Pretzel Bun

My mom and I thought the burger was really tasty, but my sister wasn’t so sure.

I loved the pretzel bun, though the bottom of the roll was a bit soggy. Our dinner was decent, but our trip to Mochi for frozen yogurt definitely topped The Top.

Tomorrow should be a fun and very full day. My sister’s sorority is hosting a Parisian brunch at 11 a.m. and a pottery painting party in the afternoon. I love being crafty, so I can’t wait!