Linkin'

Happy Saturday!! Lazy Saturday morning's have quickly become one of my all-time favorites, as I can take the time to make the breakfast of my liking, brew some Dunkin Donuts coffee, and just write away.

chicken sausage/spinach scramble

IF we are being honest, I had wanted to write this post yesterday and link up with my pal Brooke as she is always full of awesome links on Friday. Yesterday was no different, and she even stuck Jennifer Lawrence in her post who I continue to fall deeply in love with as she continues to be awesome in the public eye.

I actually thought of her when I saw this on Pinterest. 

Other links... I jumped on the 'Elf for Health 2013' train this past week, and the challenge starts on Monday. Basically you get paired up with another blogger, and for four weeks follow an assortment of challenges while supporting and motivating the blogger you are paired with. You can check out details here, and the calendar of challenges is below.

Speaking of challenges, I challenged Andrew to a race that I REALLY want to do this upcoming February. There is a Cupid's Undies Run in Baltimore on Saturday, February 15th, which raises money for the Children's Tumor Foundation. It looks like an absolute blast, and is offered in several different cities across the country (cough cough, Chicago & Denver too, cough cough).

Thanks to the other Baltimore Kaitlyn for making me aware of this :)

Last link of the day. Jess over at Blonde Pony Tail wrote a great post about abs, and what you need to do in particular to see definition. In short, she reiterates the common phrase that abs are made in the kitchen. This topic always fires me up, because too many people - girls in particular - have this notion that if they want to have a leaner stomach, they simply have to rip out some more sit-ups.

No.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge advocate of core strength and work it into my workouts almost daily. But the times my abs have 'looked' the best and had the best definition have absolutely 100% been linked to my diet - like during the 21-Day Detox - and now, when I stick closer to a paleo-style diet.

Which didn't happen last night, when I got distracted by sushi and wine and movie night with the roomie. It was my first time ever trying seaweed salad, and I am now a huge fan.

Side note - Asahi Sushi in Fells Point has incredible sushi for incredible prices, for any of you Baltimore sushi lovers out there.

As soon as I hit publish on this bad boy I'm grocery-store bound. All I currently have left in the fridge is eggs, and that butternut squash needs to be whipped up into some delicious chili since that recipe was the unanimous winner. The name is the game today is productivity, as tomorrow my day will be consumed with this:

I scored a few of those as a 'thanks for working hard this week' gift from the boss. Definitely well worth the blindness that was slowly brought on by spreadsheets.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend, I'm sure going to try. It's my last one flying solo before my better half gets back, and to say I'm excited is an extreme understatement.

Make it great, cheers -

K

sushi & shenanigans

I swam today, for the first time this year. I had to take my new purple speedo that my mom got me for Christmas for quick spin.

purple is fo sho my color this year.

A hard, non-impact workout was necessary today after a long night of sushi and shenanigans out in Baltimore on Friday evening. I had to crank up the heat at the gym to burn off the several rolls pieces of sushi that I housed.

Although I must admit, the hour plus spent dancing towards the end of the night got me sweating too.

My coworker Marty & me. She wanted to learn to swing dance like Andrew and I are . We got a few looks. 

A girls night has been in order for awhile, and so several of my coworkers got together to make it happen. I had a blast, and even hit brunch with my friend Meg who I stayed over with on my way out of town this morning.

4 out of 10 or so of us

After the gym today I ran to the grocery store to grab some necessary staples for the week. Wegman's was CRAZY which was pretty confusing to me, as I thought I was the only one who desired to get my grocery shopping done on Saturday nights. Apparently I was wrong?

I'm going to keep this short and sweet because I've found that the later I write on here, the crappier my writing is. I think my brain shuts down past 8 pm. I have a 6 mile race on tap tomorrow (if I can find it) and aside from that I just plan to do a lot of catch-up.

I'm also pretty excited about the post I plan to share with you all tomorrow. It's been in the making for awhile now.

That's all folks. Hope your weekends are going swimmingly.
Cheers!

A new-found love

I got myself a new seat at work.

Hollaaaa

I now switch back and forth between my ball and my chair. On top of helping me to sit up straight and keep my core engaged, it also seconds as a source of entertainment; bouncing.

Second on the agenda: I think I may be in love… with a grocery store.

Literally since I moved to the area in February, people have been talking about the new Wegman’s store that was going to be opening in Columbia. I had never heard of it until then. The grand opening was this past weekend, and people have literally been crapping their pants freaking out over it.

So today, on my lunch, I decided to head over and see what it was all about. And then I crapped my pants as well.

The outside from the parking garage

I didn't get to experience the entire store, as it was still a madhouse from the recent grand opening. It literally has its own gigantic parking garage, and I couldn't find a space until I got to the very top deck. There were even nice men up there directing traffic.

From first glance, and first experience, I want to say it’s like a Whole Foods on crack… with a little less of that ‘granola’ feel. On top of being a grocery store, it is also a gigantic restaurant/buffet/sandwich bar/sushi bar/salad bar… the list goes on and on. You could literally walk in there and get anything you ever wanted for a quick meal. And from what I could see through the masses of people, it offered some super healthy, reasonable options.

The store layout taken from here

 Due to simultaneously feeling extremely overwhelmed, ecstatic and hungry, I just grabbed a thing of sushi and headed to the checkout. I then proceeded to 1 of their 15 outdoor patios to dine in the sun.

Veggie roll

 The sushi was great, and I housed it in approximately 2 minutes. And then I went back inside and did something bad.

Brownie Cheesecake AKA heaven

I really can’t say I regret it; it was honestly one of the most delicious deserts that I've had in a long time. And then I went back to work and bounced on my ball for awhile.

Have any of you guys ever heard of/been to a Wegman’s before? It honestly blew my mind, and I’m super psyched that it’s so close to my house.

Cheers!