Let's Fall Into Fall!

Yesterday was a turn for the colder--a nice reprieve from the dog days of summer if you ask me! It marked my last weekday of "freedom" before I enter the world of work. Though, if you've been following along, you already know that I don't mind ;) It also marked the first of many days in the gym without my trainer, Kevin.

If I Gotta Do It Solo...

I'm gonna make the best of it, duh!! And let me tell you, yesterday morning I realized it's not going to be as easy as I thought. Walking into Gold's at 5:30 was weird, knowing that I don't have anyone to joke around with--okay that's not fully true, Toni & I are pretty silly sometimes. Yesterday was a shoulder day, so I wasn't expecting it to be too tough of a workout, but mind you that working with a trainer means having a spotter aka lifting a tad heavier. First set of shoulder presses was with 20s, and while challenging, I felt like I could go up in weights. So naturally, I moved up to 25s for my second set. Or at least that's what I was hoping...

I wasn't even one rep in when my arm started going downnnnn. Complete fail. Insert frustration here. Especially since I've busted out sets with 30s before. So yeah, working out alone is going to be a bit more difficult than I had hoped. But it will be doable I'm sure. I moved back down the the 20s and finished my last 2 sets--awkwardly embarrassed, hoping no one witnessed my utter failure.

All that aside, I got through the rest of my workout yesterday, complete with abs, and finished up with intervals on the treadmill:

• 5 min warmup @ level 7
• 30s on @ level 9
• 90s off @ level 7
• Repeat 6 times
• 1 min cool down @ level 7

I do realize I could have made this a bit more challenging, but lately I've been in less of a treadmill mood and more of a stairmill/elliptical mood. Like I said before--baby steps!

Last This Friday Night Day

Katy Perry's song isn't as catchy if you change the main chorus... But I promise I had almost as much fun yesterday as she has in the song. Maybe a little less eventful. My friend Stacy asked me to join her in a mini road trip to Short Pump, a really nice mall in Richmond, yesterday. She had to get her wedding ring inspected (apparently she has to do this every 6 months), and it so happened to be a good excuse to go shopping. I really didn't need that much, but wanted to check out the Dick's Sporting Goods down there--everything in Richmond is at least twice as big as in Charlottesville. After a little perusing, she ended up with a cute pair of red flats, some MAC makeup, and some Bath & Body Works goodies. 

I, on the other hand, was trying to be good and only left with a new pair of compression shorts (because  apparently I can't have enough!) and 3 mini candles from B&BW. I had to be good considering there was a pair of boots waiting for me at Loft with my name on them and I had yet to go to Sam's Club to try to find prep-friendly food in bulk.

Did I mention the mall we went to was dog-friendly? Archie would have loved it! We even stopped into the Doggy Bakery to get a treat for Stacy's dog, Maggie. And of course, I found the PERFECT birthday "cake" for the pups!

Awww! Mark your calendars: Archie & Murdoch entered
this world on Columbus Day!

On the way back to town, we were greeted with this skyline:

Fall(ing) sky

It was pretty (cool)--it looked like it was going to rain, but the sky wasn't dark enough. I didn't even mind yesterday's overcast skies--it was a welcome break from the unseasonably hot days earlier this week. And perfect bulk shopping weather haha.

Last year I borrowed stole my mom's Sam's Club card--she never uses it, and my grandma always renews it for her. I decided that I might as well put it to good use so those membership fees don't go to waste (or so I tell myself). Unfortunately, my last experience at Sam's was less than stellar--they didn't have anything I was looking for, and it was a crazy busy Friday night back in May. I literally just left my empty cart where it was in the store and walked out. It was impossible to navigate and the lines were not just one but TWO miles long!

Because of that Friday night experience, I was hesitant to go yesterday, lest I end up in the same situation. I figured it was safe though since it was about 5:30, so people were probably at home getting dinner ready before going out and doing their Friday night thang. For once, I actually assumed right! AND they had all the items I was looking for! Last time I went in, they didn't even carry egg whites, but this go-round they do!! So of course, I stocked up on those suckers, an ungodly amount of chicken breasts (which are currently in the slow cooker), turkey tenderloin (to switch things up a bit), broccoli, pickles, multivitamins (hello, 3 month supply!!), spinach, and gum. I think that's everything. Food to last OVER a week, all for $90. And to top that off, I found out that they sell 5lb bags of MuscleTech protein powder for ~$34. Never tried the brand, but the stats didn't look bad, and you really can't beat that price. Next time, I will be taking that home with me. Just warning you...

Now that I've relieved all my over-enthusiasm about bulk grocery shopping, something to which I previously alluded:

Jealous?

 Sorry about the grainy pics, but it's overcast here again today, which means indoor iphone pics = much worse than normal. And side note: I normally don't wear lounge pants with boots, but I was just too over-zealous to show you my greatest steal in recent time. Those boots you're looking at? Yeah, they currently sell for $179 at Loft online. My store is not fortunate enough to sell boots, but some lady returned these. They're size 7.5 which is a half size smaller than I normally wear, but when I put them on, I felt like Cinderella--they fit PERFECTLY!! How much did I pay? Oh, after tax, only $56.

Nope, that's not a typo! Working at Loft, whenever we meet our monthly sales goals, every associate gets two coupons for an additional 40% off one item (on top of our generous employee discount), but they can only be used in the associate's home store. Which means they can't be used online. Which made me completely frustrated...until that lady returned these boots. You should have seen me when I saw them come into the store--I was like a kid on Christmas opening a box with a puppy inside! Yeah, that's a LOT of excitement to live up to. I seriously cannot wait to wear these! I'm going to be the overprotective mom though and make sure not to wear them anywhere they may get ruined though, haha.

Here's to the Future!

Aka Monday. Aka Liz's first day at her first real job. I woke up today thinking it was Sunday, after getting slightly confused as to whether yesterday really was Friday or if it was Saturday (hope you followed that). I had a mini freakout moment where all I could think was "I have so much to get done!!!!" Then I remembered that it was Saturday, DUH! But regardless, my to do list was still the same size. I've actually managed to get through a bit of it today:

1. Light a Fall-scented candle. CHECK--pumpkin spice is currently burning on my desk.
2. Cook massive amounts of protein. CHECK--the turkey tenderloins came out of the oven a couple hours ago and the chicken is still cooking away in the slow cooker.
3. Check-in with Pleasants. CHECK--BF% and BMI% went down. Body fat more so than BMI, i.e., still maintaining muscle mass! Trouble areas have again been pinpointed (stupid side obliques!) and WILL be trained daily!
4. Trek to Target. Repeat after me: "Mousse, draino, sweetener." CHECK--even had coupons for 2 of those 3 items. Score!
5. Stop by Lowe's dang it! CHECK--this has been on and off my to-do list since I moved into the new apartment. I NEEDED paint swatches to find a new color for my walls. Grabbed numerous ones and have it narrowed down to 3 possible colors, though one is a definite frontrunner. Oh, can anyone vouch for that primer and paint in one thing?? I'm contemplating buying that when I make my color decision so I don't have to do like 4 coats on these terrible brick-red walls! I figure that will knock it down to 2 coats (and only 1 gallon...?) of paint.

I'm leaning toward the middle small one...

Thoughts??

Currently, the draino is working away in my shower (it's about time!), my chicken is almost done and ready to be portioned, and my belly is full of broccoli and a green protein shake (courtesy of my bulk supply of spinach). And of course my candle is burning away, making both my nose and me VERY happy.

What are your favorite seasonal scents?? The other candles I bought are the following aromas: lavender macaroon, salty caramel, and apple crumble. But I do love me some pumpkin!

What is your most recent shopping steal?? Do you like to buy in bulk??

Lastly, WHO WANTS TO HELP ME PAINT!? Kidding of course!