Wonderful Weekend

Friday night I decided to treat myself to a manicure.  You guys, my nails were so awful – jagged, short, just all around jenky.  There is a nail salon Hannah and I have been to before right off the train station, so I popped in to see if they had time to do my nails.  It was 6:22 p.m. and when I walked in, they were sweeping up and I asked “oh, are you closing?”  The lady responded “you do you want done?”  When I said a no chip manicure they ushered me in “pick a color!” and from the second I grabbed the bottle, it was like the manicurest (is that a word?) was trying to break a worlds record in getting someone’s nails done.

It wasn’t exactly the relaxing experience I was hoping for, but in the end, I loved it.  In case anyone is wondering, this is OPI “Alpaca My Bags” color.  I took this picture at Walmart when I was done, only because it matched my nails.  Walmart sells this prosecco bottle for only $5.19.   😀  I didn’t buy it though.

My roommates had already eaten and were engrossed in a movie when I got home.  I decided to make myself a picky plate.  Remember when I made Jessica’s butternut squash queso?  Well, I made this recipe even faster by microwaving already peeled and cubed butternut squash (found in the produce section) in the microwave for 3 minutes, then adding everything but the cheese to my blender to puree, then cooked over medium high heat for 5 minutes to let the corn starch thicken, then stirred in an 8 ounce bag of fat free cheddar cheese and stirred until melted.  When I ran that through the WW recipe builder, it came out to just 5 points for the whole recipe!

That bowl is about 1/5 of the recipe, and I counted it as 2 points, the chips were two points, and the rest was zero, so I could spend 4 points on wine. 😀

I went to Weight Watchers on Saturday – I stayed exactly the same, and any time I maintain or lose even a little, I consider it a victory.  Here’s my chart for the year – still time to make it back into the low 160s by the end of the year!  I know the Weight Watchers plan works when I work the plan.  I looked back at my tracking, and realized I’d only tracked portions of my day 4 times last week.  I have to be consistent to see results.  I also didn’t go to the gym last week, and still struggling to get my water in.  

After the meeting, I was off to Madison to meet up with my blog friend Lynne.  She’s been following me for years, and we’ve been lucky enough to meet up a few times – but the last time we did was three years ago – I couldn’t believe it when we figured that out.

Madison is a two hour drive for me, and I listened to my friend Jane’s new podcasts, so the time flew by.  Earlier in the week it was supposed to be rainy, but while warm, it was beautiful.  The farmers market is on the square around the capital building – dozens and dozens of vendors.

Look at these amazing gords!

These buckeyes are all over the city, kind of like when Chicago had cows.  Very cool because each one was different.

Lynne had suggested Graze for lunch and I immediately said yes.  Tory Miller is the “star” Chef.  He’s been on Food Network, been a James Beard winner among many other accolades. 

We were in Wisconsin, so I am pretty sure there is a law that says if you are at a restaurant that has cheese curds on it, you have to get that. 😀

Not sure what that link is like that below – but that should be a video of the restaurant.

I got the fried chicken biscuit – the chicken was cooked perfectly, the pickles were spicy and it was drizzled with a honey buffalo sauce – swoon.  I ate half of this sandwich, and sadly left the leftovers in my car and I didn’t realize it until the next day. 🙁

Lynne got the corned beef with kimchi and it was outstanding.  Lynne has been following me so long that when they put the plate down, she looked at me and said “I know you don’t like a runny egg.” 😀

Here is some of my loot. . .

I’m going to be making buffalo cauliflower one night this week.

Before I knew it, it was time to head home – so great to see you Lynne – and let’s not let three years go by between visits!  I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s worth repeating.  You don’t have to spend any money at Starbuck’s to get a Venti ice water.  They were selling bottles of water for $3!  Just ask for it, say thank you, and walk away.  It’s triple filtered water too and it’s delicious.

Later in the evening I used the meat from my epic leftover burger to make these tacos.  Two ounces of the meat, corn tortillas, an ounce of mozzarella cheese, pickled jalapenos, spinach and avocado salsa – 7 points for both.

I realized that I have to set myself daily goals in order to meet them. I am completely a cross shit off your list kind of person, and if I do something that wasn’t on my to do list, I’ll write it down and then cross it off. 😀

One area of my bedroom is the top of this “dresser.”  My jewelry is left all over the place, so I am happy how this turned out.

I love this 😀

I was at the store yesterday buying stuff for Sunday dinner – Jacob’s grandpa and Dad were coming over for dinner.  Hannah called to tell me that the central air wasn’t working.  Huh.  She was ready to go out and buy a window unit for their bedroom.  I told her to call the number on the side of the unit, they have a 24 hour service that costs $150 for diagnostics, but they will credit you that amount with any repairs.

Turns out there was an electrical short in the unit, and we needed a new thermostat, so an hour later and $363 dollars later, all was well.  But by then, it was too late for anyone to come over, so I have lots of leftovers, although I did send a large steak and 8 chicken legs over to Jacob’s Dad’s house.  And my roommates paid for the repair – even better!  Thanks guys!

And here we are back to Monday.  Can we all start to write a petition to get three day weekends?!  It was a wonderful weekend, both fun and productive.  

What was the highlight of your weekend?  Happy Monday friends – make it a great day!