noBOLOGNA

New Design + Thanksgiving (part 1)

Happy Monday!!

Maybe you notice the updated blog design – I got tired of messing with my own design and my navigation bar continued to not work, so I buckled down and bought a fairly inexpensive design that was super easy to put together!  Etsy is great for finding pre-made blog templates for those of you looking!  I’m excited to be back up and running.  I was having a lot of issues around Thanksgiving with the blog, so I ended up not posting or re-capping at all, but Thanksgiving was a wonderful time had by all.

First, my weekend was pretty basic.  Didn’t have a lot of plans, did a lot of cleaning and rearranging, got the spare room ready for my sisters to come to town next weekend, did an 8 mile run (it was supposed to be 10), had coffee with a friend, and went to Whole Foods!  My marathon training is going…. okay.  I’m just a couple miles behind on my long runs, but I’m feeling stronger and more confident.  I really need to focus on strength training – it’s be lacking.  I also need to focus on being more active in the evenings.  I do my runs like I should, but I also spend a lot of time watching TV or messing with the computer.  Running, but then leading a sedentary life style is not going to cut it!

Breakfast this morning was delicious toast with peanut butter, banana, honey, and cinnamon along with a comforting cup of french vanilla coffee.

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Now for my very late Thanksgiving Re-cap (Part 1)

Nick and I arrived to Gainesville later in the day on Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  When we got there, his siblings weren’t at the house, but we spent some time with Kathryn & Nick’s dad until they arrived.  Nick and his siblings were so excited to spend some quality time together so naturally we had a late night planned.  A good many strenuous games of Jenga ensued!

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We finally headed off to bed only so we could wake up really early for our day at Disney!  We left the house around 6am and got there in time for opening at Epcot.  We definitely picked the wrong line to stand in because the people in front of us had NO CLUE what finger they used for their magic band.I kid you not…. the guy asked him, “What finger did you use the first time you scanned your magic band?”  The guy said, “This one” and held it up.  The cast member replied, “Ok, use that finger.” and then the not so smart person in front of my proceeded to use a DIFFERENT finger.  I didn’t get it, but finally Nick and I made it in line for Soarin’.  Soarin’ is one of our favorite rides!  After Soarin’, we decided to have breakfast in The Land.

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I ordered the eggs, hashbrowns, french toast, and biscuit platter.  It came with sausage & bacon, but I passed that along to Nick.  The hashbrowns were absolutely delicious!  So much flavor to them.  The rest of it was pretty basic, but still very good & satisfying.

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Nick ordered a breakfast Panini that came with eggs, ham, and some other stuff.  He thought it was really good.  He made a comment about how there are good & bad things to me not eating meat… The good is that he gets the meat that I don’t want (i.e. the bacon & sausage), the bad is that when he tries something so delicious, he wants me to experience it as well, but I won’t eat it.  That’s what he said about the Panini.  He really wanted me to try it, but I couldn’t.  He also likes how me not eating meat helps incorporate more vegetarian dishes into his life though.  There are definitely some give & takes when you’re with a non-meat eater, but then again… that’s with any relationship!

After breakfast, we went and did Figment & Captain EO.  We had never done Captain EO before, but It turned out really good.  Not gonna lie, it was kind of nice seeing Michael Jackson performing.  Around this time, we were ready to walk around the world.  I was able to purchase my dad’s Christmas gift while there and I also grabbed some German chocolate for us all to share when we got back to Gainesville.  It was a little chilly, so we grabbed some warm Apple Cider while we looked around.

Our next stop was Animal Kingdom, but unfortunately it was SO CROWDED!  Ridiculously crowded in my opinion…  we didn’t ride a single ride while we were at Animal Kingdom.  We did manage to get a vegan donut, my favorite!

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After that, we decided to head home a little early so we could spend some more time with Nick’s siblings before they headed out of town the next day.  We enjoyed our day at Disney, but I’m so thankful we chose to head back because we had such a wonderful evening together.  On the way back to Gainesville, we saw the coolest sunset.

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I’ll recap part 2 later, for now I need to get ready for work.  If you’re interested in reading about any other of my Disney adventures, then check those out here!

Have a great week and I’ll talk to y’all soon!

First Sub 30 5K!

Hey there!  How did y’all’s weekend turn out?  Mine went well with the exception of Mississippi State’s first loss of the season!  It was unfortunate, but both teams played fairly well.  I’d say that touchdown was questionable, but what’s done is done.

On Friday night, Nick arrived in town with my little sister.  My mom made Mexican and we all just hung out eating & chatting.  I was pretty tired already and I had a 5K planned for Saturday morning, so Nick headed home about 9:30 and I went on to bed.  My alarm went off bright & early on Saturday to get ready for my race.  I went and picked Nick up and we stopped by Chick-fil-A so he could get some breakfast and then we waited for the race to start.  My goal was to do my first sub 30 5K and much to my surprise, I DID IT!

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The course was hilly.  My toes and fingers were numb for the first mile and a half.  It was a rough morning to run – so cold!  Luckily the wind wasn’t a huge issue.  I came up on the finish line and saw 29:30, so I booked it in to finish right under 30 minutes.  The second I slowed down, I dry heaved.  It was a painful race and it made me realize that I certainly don’t run in the cold enough.  I think my breathing had a hard time getting comfortable and by the time I finished, my head & chest hurt that it caused the dry heave.  After the race, Nick and I ate at Corner Bakery.  It was delicious!  I got the Farmer’s scrambler with potatoes and toast.  I ate the entire plate, plus some of Nick’s oatmeal.

When we finished up breakfast, I headed home to shower and change and then we met up with Nick’s dad to help him put in some fence posts.  I had the grueling job of running to Chick-fil-A for everyone.  They worked and I ate all the fries.  True Story.

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We finally headed to the Tailgate party to watch the game.  Like I said, it was less than stellar for us Mississippi State fans so moving on….

After the game, we headed out to Primos to meet Nick’s mom and her boyfriend for dinner.  (I know, we eat a lot.)  I got the 4 veggie plate with mashed potatoes, dressing, pasta salad, & mac & cheese with a side of cornbread.  It was absolutely delicious!  Afterwards, I dropped Nick back off at his dad’s and we watched 2 episodes of Friends.  His dad is borrowing my series collection right now since he was recovering from his open-heart surgery.  He’s loving it as much as I do!

On Sunday, I spent the better part of the morning lounging around and eating cinnamon rolls with my peppermint creamer coffee.  I finally got dressed and headed out to get Nick.  We went to his Grandma’s house for lunch with his mom and her boyfriend.  His grandma just got out of the hospital for fluid buildup in her lungs and they’re running tests for some other things going on.  Hopefully they’ll figure out what it is and get her on a good treatment plan.  She’s 82 and as talkative as can be!  She still lives alone and makes her own trips to the grocery store.  We helped her bring in 4 large cases of water that we later learned she had put in her trunk all by herself.  She’s sweet and we certainly don’t get to visit with her enough.  Nick made a comment that he wishes he had stopped by to visit more often when he was going to school near where she lives.  It made me think that we all miss opportunities like that to spend time with the ones we love.  It was just a good reminder to cherish the opportunities that are presented to us to spend time with family & friends, even when it’s not so convenient.  The time we spent over there yesterday was wonderful and it was good to see her up and about.

Sadly, it was time for Nick and my sister to head home, so I finished off the weekend with some Criminal Minds & cleaning my ridiculous room.  I also did some Laundry.  Well, that’s it!   I had a nice weekend at home.

  • What did you do this weekend?
  • Any races in your future?  If so, what’s your goal?

Big Hero 6 and Food Prep

Good morning!  How was your weekend?  I hope it was full of fun, laughs, and relaxation!  My weekend turned out pretty great, so let’s re-cap.  Friday after work, I attended a Brewery Grand Opening with a co-worker.  You may have seen me blasting your instagram feeds, but a special re-cap of the event is coming to a blog near you!

On Saturday, I spent the morning sleeping in, going on a 30 minute walk, watching Grey’s Anatomy, and meal planning.  It turned out to be quite productive and I had a full weeks meal plan and grocery list ready to go.  Once I was showered and dressed, I headed up to Starkville for the rest of the weekend.  Our first stop was Starbucks and I tried their Gingerbread Latte, let me say.. not a fan.  I politely asked them to replace it with a Cinnamon Dolce Latte and the barista completely understood.  After that, we were both a little hungry so we went out for Mexican.  I got rice with sauted veggies & cheese drizzled on top while Nick went a nice healthy route with a grilled chicken & avocado salad.  After we ate, we decided to see a movie.  It seemed as if Big Hero 6 was the only good option out and it’s Disney, so it was a no-brainer.  If you haven’t seen it, please go see it!! It’s wonderful.  Be warned, you may tear up, there are some seriously sad parts, but it’s a feel good in the end type of movie and I promise, you will NOT be disappointed!

On Sunday, I headed out to Starbucks to get some planning done.  I went with my usual Cinnamon Dolce Latte so I wouldn’t be disappointed and a loaf of pumpkin bread – seriously, it’s my favorite!  I was planning out our Mississippi Women Bloggers meet-up and dabbling with some ideas of a non-profit idea I want to work with.  That’s all up in the air right now and really just thoughts, but we’ll see how things transpire.

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It was good quality time with myself and I personally felt productive.  Later I thought about how it might gross people out that my feet are propped up on a table they may eat on… I moved them.

After Starbucks I went and watched some tv with Nick then we finally headed out to lunch at City Bagel.  It was delicious, per usual.  We then grabbed some groceries for Nick and proceeded to watch more tv.  When we finally got hungry again, we headed out to Stagger Inn before I left Starkville.  I was going to get their veggie burger, but it was Morning Star brand and I find it absolutely ridiculous to pay 8 bucks for a burger that’s not home-made.  I went with onion rings, not exactly a healthy choice, but I did enjoy them.  Nick went with the most ridiculous sandwich I’ve ever seen!  It was 2 large chicken breasts, bacon, cheese, and ranch piled high.

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I finally made my way home and I had grocery shopping and meal prepping to do.  I had already picked out my meals for the week and the majority of them are being used 2-3 times throughout the week.  I think I did fairly well on my groceries and I’m excited to try 3 new items on my meal plan – Morning Glory Muffins, Hummingbird Cake (as a snack) and Pad Thai.  You may remember the Pad Thai & Hummingbird Cake I raved about from our Health Starts Here 28 Day Graduation.

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I forgot that I’m also trying out a smoothie for 3 days this week, hence the large bag of mango.

When I got home, I knew I wanted to make the Morning Glory Muffins and Pad Thai because I want to eat the muffins in the morning as part of breakfast and I wanted the Pad Thai for lunch.  This took a little longer than I anticipated, but I think they both turned out looking great and I’m excited to try them out tomorrow.  With my marathon training, I really need to revert back to my healthier eating to help fuel my body and keep the junk out.

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The rest of my evening was spent typing up this blog post & getting ready for bed.  It’s way past my bed time, but I feel super productive having cooked up some food for tomorrow so I’m now scouring for the quickest & easiest thing without taking the health factor into consideration.

  • What’s on your menu for the week?
  • Have you seen Big Hero 6?  Thoughts?

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The views and statements expressed on No Bologna are my own. You are reading No Bologna at your own risk and I am not providing any type of professional advice. Unless otherwise noted, all material on No Bologna may not be used, reprinted, or published without my consent. I do occasionally have affiliated links on my blog - this does not raise the price of the product, I simply get a very small commission from the regular retail price if something is purchased using an affiliated link on my site. I appreciate any support by you in regards to affiliated links.