Birthday Beach Day

First things first… Thank you so much for your kind words about my plantar fasciitis and for sharing your injury experiences (and recoveries!). After speaking with a guy at my local running store last night, it sounds a lot like I may have a combination of plantar fasciitis and a bruised heel, since I have so much pain on impact. Not so fun!

Workout

Today I nixed the 10-mile run I had on the books as part of my half marathon training plan, and instead opted for some cross training that didn’t put any pressure on my heel.

Ryan and I hit the gym around 8 a.m. and I spent 10 minutes on the stair master before heading over to the elliptical to catch up on my magazine reading for 40 minutes. I have so many magazines piled up since I’ve only been running on my cardio days and haven’t been able to read any for weeks! I am sufficiently caught up on my celebrity gossip. 😉

Beach Day Fun 

After heading home for a quick breakfast, Ryan and I headed to my friend Laurel’s apartment to caravan up to New Smyrna beach to celebrate Laurel’s 25th birthday!

New Smyrna Beach

Through Laurel’s boyfriend, we were lucky to have access to an amazing house right off the beach that we used as a staging area for all of our food and as a nice little refuge from the heat!

The Digs

We didn’t waste much time inside once we arrived at the beach though and headed out to soak up some rays and play in the ocean.

Merri & Me

Me & My Hunk-o-Man

Playing Bocce Ball

It felt great to just kick back, enjoy the gorgeous weather and chat with our buds!

Lunch

After spending several hours out in the sun, we were ready to come inside and enjoy a perfect beach-day lunch.

Lunch

I enjoyed a hot dog on a lettuce “bun” with all the condiments, onion and tomato, four pieces of watermelon (only one is pictured), lots of harvest cheddar Sun Chips (only a small handful pictured) and a strawberry cupcake for dessert!

My Dawg

Such a summery lunch! Beach food is the best!

Unfortunately Ryan and I had to leave the party a little early and head back to Orlando. On the bright side, I’m really excited about our plans!

My mom, dad and sister are coming in town to see Sinbad‘s stand up comedy tonight with me and Ryan after we enjoy dessert at Emeril’s. My family and I have loved Sinbad for years and think he’s hilarious! I’m so excited to see him live!

Have you ever seen a comedian perform live before? Who would you like to see?

I’ve seen Robin Williams and Ron White and both were hysterical! I would love to see Ellen. I think she is beyond funny!

Memorial Day Hike

Since sleeping in is basically unheard of in this household, we were up bright and early on this lovely holiday.

Ryan, my sister and I started our day with an easy and delicious breakfast by Van’s.

Van's French Toast Sticks

The Van’s cinnamon French toast sticks were a hit all around. All three of us enjoyed the crispy sticks topped with syrup.

Memorial Day Breakfast

Since we wanted to take Sadie hiking before the real heat of the day set in, we changed into our hiking clothes and hopped in the car.

While on our way to Weikwa Springs State Park, I drank a strawberry smoothie made with ice cubes, frozen strawberries, strawberry protein powder and ice cold water. I wanted a little protein in my belly to keep me full on our hike.

Strawberry Protein Smoothie

When we arrived, we decided to do a large loop, which we figured would take us around two hours to hike.

Sadie, Leslie & Ryan

Ready for Hiking

The Hiking Gang

Not even a half of a mile into our hike, we came across a deer!

Though he ran before I got a chance to snap his picture, I did manage to capture a little of his hiney!

Find the Deer!

We also stumbled upon a small tortoise, which Sadie wanted to make her new best friend.

Sadie + Torty

Hikers

Hot Dog

I wore my Garmin on our hike to see exactly how many miles we covered.

We ended up hiking just shy of six miles in a little less than two hours.

Hiking Stats

After a morning full of activity, we were ready for a filling lunch.

Lunch

To me, Memorial Day = BBQ time!

Ryan threw some hot dogs on the grill which we enjoyed with cucumber and sliced green and red pepper.

Memorial Day Dog

Peppa

My Plate

After lunch, we headed out back to soak up some sun and read our books. We didn’t last long though because it is H-O-T!

Now it’s time to run some much-needed errands, including a trip to the grocery store.

Question of the Afternoon

What’s your favorite food that’s traditionally served at a BBQ?

I love corn on the cob and watermelon. Yum!