Hey friends! Welcome back from the weekend…I hope you all had a nice couple days of relaxation or doing some fun things with friends or family!
Jay and I were lucky enough to have our third Friday in a row out. It is absolutely invaluable having grandparents who live near us! Jay had his company party, which we’ve been going to for a few years now, and this year was definitely a great time.
We arrived a little before the party started and met up with some of his co-workers in the bar for a drink. Once the party got going, there was a cocktail hour (more drinks), and then dinner. Dinner was totally delicious, but then again, I was two glasses of wine in so of course it tasted amazing…
Also insanely good? Dessert. They had three options…I took two. Ate them both. No shame.
Shortly after dinner, they had a comedian (his name was Ray Harrington – he was hilarious!), and then they had the company awards. As luck would have it, a certain special someone came home with a “Technician of the Year” award.
Way to go, babe! So proud. 
We hung out with his co-workers for a little while after the party ended and didn’t end up getting home until a little before 1am. That is pretty much unheard of for us and, dumb on our part, we did not have Lucas sleepover with his grandma…
SOOO…come 6am, and of course, guess who’s awake early (which happens mayyyybe once a month)? Oh yes, Mr. Lucas. He was in quite the mood too, which we attributed to some new teeth on their way in. Unfortunately, between his crabby mood and him being ready for a nap earlier than usual, we had to skip out on soccer. I felt bad (especially since my parents ended up going to “surprise” us!) but it was the right choice.
Once he was up from his nap, the three of us headed over to visit Sarah, Jeff, and their little guy, Chase. Between kids, life, work, and everything else in between, we certainly have not had the chance to see these guys like we usually do this past year, so it was a welcomed afternoon, indeed!
Despite his crabby mood and not having seen Sarah lately, he still loves his godmother!
We all hung out for a few hours and ordered a pizza to have for dinner…which, unbeknownst to me, wound up being probably the largest pizza I’ve ever seen. Then again, I should have known when Jeff said he ordered the “colossal” pizza…
In case you couldn’t tell from the photo above, here’s a slice on a standard sized paper plate.
Umm yeah. HUGE.
The rest of our Saturday was pretty quiet; we came home, put Lucas to bed, and hung out on the couch catching up on some DVR. We were both exhausted thanks to our early wake up, so I’m pretty sure I was in bed before 9:30pm.
Sunday was a super productive day, without much to show for it. We spent the entire morning cleaning – vacuuming, dusting, scrubbing the bathroom, and catching up on laundry. But really, you wouldn’t know it when you have a toddler running around with you…
I also did a little food prep in the kitchen, including making some salad bases, putting together lunches for Lucas, prepping some veggies, and cooking up some hard boiled eggs. And, seriously, is this NOT the most annoying task on the planet?
I posted this photo on Instagram, and a couple of people mentioned to try using an egg piercer. I had never heard of such a thing, but now that I’ve found one, I’m feeling like I absolutely need it. Anyone else use one?
On a different note though, I’ve gotta say…I’m totally diggin’ the planning thing lately. So much so, that I even took some of your advice from Friday and roughly planned out my workouts for the week, too. Granted, morning workouts are always dependent on the amount of sleep I get the night before, but assuming that the sleep is fine, here’s what we’ve got…
Sunday: OFF
Monday: 10lb Slimdown Xtreme Cardio Kickbox
Tuesday: T25 Gamma – The Pyramid
Wednesday: PiYo Sweat
Thursday: OFF
Friday: 10lb Slimdown Xtreme Abs
Saturday: T25 Beta Rip’t Circuit + 10lb Slimdown Yoga (45 mins total)
You guys may remember my love for Chris Freytag and her 10lb Slimdown workouts – I just discovered that they’re on YouTube, so definitely check them out if you need something new. She’s fabulous! Her Xtreme workouts are 40 minutes long but the regular ones are only 20 – perfect!
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And that’s pretty much it for this weekend, my friends! I’ll catch ya tomorrow with a new recipe, so stay tuned.
How was your weekend? What was the best thing you ate? Best workout?
ahhh those date nights?
SAVE THE MARRIAGE :-)
I love Chris Freytag and her 10lb slimdown workouts. I used to do them all the time when they where on OnDemand for free; I forgot all about them. I have been following the Blogilates monthly calendar for a few months now and love it. I also par it with the Bodyrock HiitMax workouts or their Lean workouts (12 minutes) and I love the combo. Right now I am in love with working out from home. Thank you for all the wonderful suggestions. :)
I love Chris Freytag. I used to do her workouts all the time when the were free on OnDemand. I am so excited the are on YouTube; I will definitely be adding her videos into my schedule. Thanks!! I have been doing the blogilates monthly calendar for a few months now and love it. I also par it with the BodyRock HiitMax or Lean workouts (12 minutes) and it is a great combo. Thanks for a the wonderful workout video suggestions; working out from home is my favorite right now. :)
Happy Monday! I tried The Daily Method yesterday [a barre class] and actually really enjoyed it. Barre classes can be very technical with all the tucking and what not but as a first timer at this one I didn’t feel completely out of place or lost. Happy Monday!
holy cow that pizza is HUGE!! best thing i ate over the weekend? probably a fudge brownie ice cream sandwich with peanut butter – oh yes! made with those new special k brownies! so good!
Wow, those desserts from the party look amazing! I would have been all over them! And that pizza…..wow??!?! Glad you had an awesome weekend! Happy Monday :)
Dancing counts as a workout right? I ate some super delicious arepas in Colombia. Arepas are a local flatbread made of corn that is so good!
Happy Monday!
It TOTALLY does! ;) And those arepas sound amazing!
The is a mighty size pizza! We have one here that only one pizza place does called the wagon wheel…it’s 28 inchs!
You can use a push pin in place of an egg piercer ;) My mom always does! Google will give you directions <3 ! I just had cookie dough cereal (recipe by fitnessista!) AND it was amazing!
No way?!?! Genius!
Congrats Jay!! I totally remember you doing the workouts – blast from the past!
I have never heard of an egg piercer. But that’s a great idea. The whole peeling process can be so annoying. Sounds like a great weekend. BTW – I love your hair at the company party. Did you use a curling iron? Looks fab!
Thank you, Lauren!! Actually, I use a straightener. ;) I’m hoping to put together a video tutorial SOON. It’s been on my list FOREVER!
I’ve been looking for a good cardio video. I’ll have to try those slimdown workouts. Gotta love a good YouTube video. Thanks for sharing!
Tip on peeling eggs: add a lot of salt to the boiling water: at least 1/4 cup. I promise it works!
I also had really really huge pizza over the weekend. We ordered two pizzas too, oops!
Your workout schedule looks great. I am trying to do PiYo now but I’m not really feeling anything from it. My workouts are totally dependent on time and if I have energy that day. So exhausted being about 7 months along!
Sounds like an awesome weekend! I still haven’t tried PiYo yet and I keep hearing great things! This weekend I went to a pure barre class and took the dog on a long walk since we had some warmer weather here in Dallas!
I’m not sure what I’m doing differently, but I never seem to have much trouble peeling hard-boiled eggs. I put eggs in a pan covered in water, bring them to a boil, and let them boil for 15 minutes. Then I run cold water over them a couple times until they’re cool enough to handle and place them in the refrigerator. I usually use two in a salad for work, so I take them out and peel them as needed. I just roll them on a paper plate a bit to crack the shell, and then start peeling away. The trick for me is to get through that weird “skin” underneath the shell. If I can do that, the shell comes off really easily. Maybe brown eggs are different? I normally buy white ones …
Thanks for sharing that those workouts are available on YouTube! I’ve been doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred workouts for a while now, and while I like them, I think I’d like to mix it up a bit. I’ve decided I no longer need to have a gym membership, so at-home workouts are where it’s at for me.
I’d never heard of Chris Freytag, so will be checking her out. I am always looking for good YouTube workouts. Have you ever purchased the pre-peeled eggs? Those are my go-to unless I am making deviled eggs or something where the eggs are the feature.
I used to HATE making hard boiled eggs because I would mess them up everytime but got an egg cooker for Christmas and it has CHANGED MY LIFE:
http://www.qvc.com/Eggspress-Egg-Cooker-&-Poacher-by-MarkCharles-Misilli.product.K39370.html?sc=K39370-SRCH&cm_sp=VIEWPOSITION-_-1-_-K39370&catentryImage=http://images.qvc.com/is/image/k/70/k39370.001?$uslarge$
I LOVE IT!
Congrats to Jay on his award!
I love planning things out too, especially meals and workouts. I just feel like I save a lot more money on groceries and a lot of time for working out – things are just more efficient that way.
I HATE peeling hardboiled eggs, too! That is probably why I do not make them very often. Also, that pizza looks unreal. I’d be all over that!
Holy crap, that pizza is huge! My weekend was a little too “fun-filled” with lots of drinks and food and zero workouts, so I’m feeling it today. Time to get back into the swing of things!
Now I’m craving pizza, man does that look delicious :) Best thing I ate this weekend were my Oreo brownies, they were so yummy!! I feel your pain with the eggs! My grandma would always use a pin tack and that seemed to work!
Oreo brownies?!? Gahhhhh!!
They’re insanely delicious :) (http://acupcakeformythoughts.weebly.com/home/oreo-brownies)
Hi Courtney! It’s so awesome you guys get out so much because of family babysitters nearby. That’s a major perk of living close to loved ones. My weekend was awesome! I had delicious food while wine tasting in Napa and like you, some excellent pizza last night! :)
Your weekend sounds fabulous!!
Congratulations to Jay on his award!!! Whoop, whoop! Forgot to mention on your last post – I also love the online grocery shopping. I do mine at Hannaford and even when I spend less than the $125 and have to pay the $5.00 surcharge, I find I save so much more that I would have spent impulse buying. And they do an awesome job too! I’d much rather browse online while watching tv than navigate the busy aisles any day.
Wow, that pizza is totally huge! That’d be perfect for a get together though, because everyone can eat as much as they want ;)
And yeah, our apartment looks like that photo all the time–books, toys, everywhere, no matter how much I cleanup. Ahhh well, at least the kids doing it are cute!
Haha, such is life, right?! ;)
Holy moly that pizza is HUGE! Wow! After remembering you raving about the 10lb Slimdown videos, I found them on YouTube over the summer and have been loving using them here and there to change things up.
Oh, that’s awesome!!
I am not sure how many suggestions you got for hard boiled eggs but this is something I always do (rather do it very day – hubby needs 9 to 11 egg whites per day to meet his protein needs): Boil water to a rolling boil then add the eggs best if you can drop them in gently using a spoon or ladle. Bring water to boil again and then simmer for 10-15 min depending upon how hard boiled eggs you like. Once done dump the hot water and replace it with coldest possible water (if you have at hand and easy add ice cubes). Now the trick is you cannot wait immediately start peeling the eggs by cracking them from top and bottom and press roll them on the counter the shell comes off easily. It is easiest to shell them off at that time because steam gets trapped between the shell and boiled egg and then there are no bits and pieces of egg stuck around.
That sounds SO much different that anything I’ve ever read! But now you have me convinced, haha!
So glad you’re enjoying date nights! I think I may offer our friends a free date night in exchange fo rus to watch their son – they deserve it! Thanks for the inspiration.
Great idea, Ash!
I boil a dozen eggs a week and used to dread peeling them until I learned this trick – put a tablespoon of salt in the water when you boil them, this helps loosen the white from the shell and will not affect the taste. Then when you’re ready to peel them, do it underwater! Before I did it this way, much of my white would come off with the shell but now most of them are absolutely perfect!
Interesting! Thanks for the tip, Jessica – that certainly sounds doable!
That pizza is truly huge. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one that big.
I made some apple raisin muffins that I had for breakfast on Saturday. They were soooo good!
Well don’t they sound delicious?!?! :)
What kind of lunches do u pack for Lucas? Do u have to do all finger food? Thnks! I have a 16 mnth old and just want to get an idea of what others are feeding there toddlers ;-)
It is mostly finger foods – meatballs, pasta, PB&J….I’m actually thinking I should do a post soon because I’ve had a few people asking! ;)
I had to laugh at the idea of feeling so productive for cleaning our own house and it looking similar after, with the little one “helping”. Love the idea of planning meals and workouts ahead. I’ve been starting to do the same. Feels less chaotic!
aww congrats to your husband, and yay for date nights. my wknd was awesome as well — i was at my boyfriend’s in Albany, actually — and we had some great workouts (went to his gym for the first time, Vent fitness in Guilderland), saw American Sniper and went to Hana, which makes the best thing i ate sushi. mmm.
That pizza was huge!! And it looked super tasty :) Glad you had a fun weekend and good job with the food prep!
Not sure if anyone’s already mentioned this yet but I just buy the eggs already hard boiled and peeled. I hate boiling eggs, I am terrible at peeling them (I always tear the white off too!), so I just never do it. But my 1 year old LOVES hard boiled eggs, plus they’re a great snack to keep around. So I “splurge” on the bag of 6 already made for me! $2.50 is a totally decent price to save me the effort :)
That pizza looks amazing! Sadly my one month old has a potential dairy allergy, so no pizza for this mama. Just wanted to share a tip on the hard boiled egg conundrum. You’ve probably already received a ton haha. But this has worked for me, and it’s what my mom has always done too. I cover my eggs in cold water, put a lid on the pot and bring them to a fast boil (let them boil for 1-2 minutes). Then, I simply turn the burner off and let them sit there for 20 minutes. Once the timer goes off, I put the pot under cold water and peel them while hot. I tap them against the sink, and the shell comes off easily! It’s pretty fool proof, so maybe that will help save you some time and stress. :)
Try this, put your eggs in the pot with water, bring to a rolling boil, boil for 11 minutes, remove immediately from burner and rinse out hot water, fill with cold water and ice cubes and let sit for a while it should help you peel them!