Back to Reality–And Meeting Friends!

Guys.  You know what the worst thing is after vacation?  SETTING AN ALARM!  While I woke up every other day to make biscuits, some days I just went right back to bed for a couple hours and it was glorious.  When my alarm went off yesterday morning it took me a second to realize that oh yeah – I had a job to get back to!

I ended up making a low carb black bean, spinach and egg white wrap with a 100 calorie guacamole and some fruit on the side.  I got the guacamole at Aldi – I’ve only seen the individual packs by Wholly Guacamole, but those can be a bit pricey.  Mine were $2.99 for six packages and it was really tasty and I loved that I got a bit of it with each bite of my wrap.

I was busy yesterday catching up on filing, printing emails, etc., when I realized it was nearly 1:00 p.m. and I hadn’t left for my walk yet.  I headed out, got a mile in when I looked up and saw giant storm clouds coming my way.  I just had to chalk it up to #wycwyc and called my mile walk my lunch time workout.

When I got home from vacation I went through the fridge and realized I should have thrown out some stuff that I knew wouldn’t freeze well or just would go bad by the time we got back.  I found two small heads of broccoli that I bought at the farmers market the week before last that was on its last legs, and while it wasn’t enough to make a whole pot of soup with, I decided to take inspiration from this recipe to make a broccoli and zucchini soup.  I ended up adding a cup of cooked cheese tortellini to bump up the protein so it would be more filling.  Look at how pretty that soup looks!

Mine?  Not so much.  It kind of looks like baby throw up, but it was super tasty and filling.

I ended up going to the gym after work to crank out my strength routine and finish with 2 miles on the treadmill – still home by 6:45 p.m. – nice!  It was actually nice to get back to a routine after vacation.

I had steak on the menu for dinner for myself and Jacob.  I texted Jacob that and his reaction is always “YES!”  I told him Hannah could have breakfast for dinner, since that’s what she usually has if we eat meat.  I stopped at the store on my way home to pick up a couple things, and I picked up some sushi for Hannah and she was very happy!  I also picked up some of this cheese – holy balls is it good!

Tony would be so proud of me.  He tried for years to get me to like sautéed mushrooms, and now I really love them – especially on steak.  These were cremini mushrooms that I got from the farmers market and on the greens on the side were from the farmers market too.  I am loving my new steak knives that I got at the cooking outlet a few weeks back – I didn’t realize how crappy mine were until I got new ones.

I texted that picture to my brother and sister last night, and Charlie’s response was “you can keep the mushrooms!”  And he’d probably tell me to keep the steak too.

So even without a morning walk, and a short walk at lunch, I still managed to get in a decent amount of steps yesterday!

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So when I was planning my trip to Virginia I decided to see if I could put together a blogger meet up or two for some of my blog friends who live in the area.  Super bummed that circumstances beyond her control, Janine and I could not get together last week, but I did manage to put a lunch together with Robin Sue of Big Red Kitchen and Errign of A Tablespoon of Life.  Neither one blogs as much as they once did, but we’ve been “friends” online for going on 5-6 years.

We decided on Williamsburg, because that was equidistant from my Aunt’s river house and where Errign now lives and Robin Sue now lives there with her family.   Robin Sue and I had a little bit of time to walk around before meeting Errign at the restaurant, so we went to Bruton Parish.  My Aunt has done a lot of research on our genealogy, and turns out my 11th great grandpa on my Mom’s Dad’s side of the family is Col. John Page who was very influential because he donated the land that is now William & Mary College.  When I told the woman at the church that I was related to him, she didn’t believe me – she just said “yep, that’s what a lot of people say!”

Since Robin Sue was familiar with the area, I asked her to pick a restaurant, and she ended up picking out The Blue Talon Bistro.  I had to laugh at the water brought to the table – “Historic” Tap Water!

Errign brought her friend who was staying with her Hilary, who is a school teacher at a private school and had the summer off.  We both got the summer pasta dish and it was so light and delicious.  Robin Sue got the French onion soup, and Errign got a French dip.  Errign is going to be a new Momma come November – so excited about all the new things happening in her life!

I knew Robin Sue was tiny because I had met her before, but Errign was tiny too!  She was also a bit shy to begin with, but before we knew it the conversation was flowing and we all had a nice time.  Hope I didn’t talk too much guys!  I have a tendency to do that when meeting new people in real life

I met Robin Sue at her house – she and her family have downsized considerably – from a 5000 square foot house to a 1500 square foot house.  You can read about it in this post.   Hannah and Jacob dropped me off so they could go to Jamestown and when I got back to Robin’s house she sent me off with some loot!  Sweet and spicy pickled jalapenos, half of the jar was eaten within the first two days of having it!  And the most delicious granola from a bakery in Williamsburg.  That didn’t even make it home – I ate it throughout the week.

Thank you so much for taking time out of your schedules to meet up with me!  The weather was still gorgeous when I got back to the river house, and Hannah and I wasted no time getting in the river.  I love that I am wearing Hannah’s sunglasses because I forgot mine up on the porch.

And most every weekend before dinner was spent outside just relaxing, drinking wine, and enjoying each other’s company.  Here is a picture of me and my cousin’s husband Paul – love him!

And then my favorite selfie of the whole trip with Hannah and my brother.  This makes me laugh out loud!  I should make it my computer background.

Oh don’t worry – you are probably thinking “are those the only pictures from your trip you are sharing Biz?!”  Nope – you’ll get to enjoy more pics every day this week – you’re welcome.