Weekend Recap

Happy Monday!

I had a weekend without a wedding related activity, say what?!?! 

Hopefully all of my NJ friends have survived the heatwave. It was brutal here folks. Temps and humidity reaching into the 107's?  Not ok. 

In traditional Erin fashion I was a weekend warrior. I don't know why but I don't like casually relaxing or lounging around. It's funny because the morning of Amanda's wedding her mom asked if I ever just sit home and chill. I started thinking and answered her by saying, "I don't think I've done that since college!"  

Maybe a new blog post should come to life about being able to relax and chill?  However those words don't seem to be on my vocabulary. 

Annnywayyyyy, back to the weekend. Friday morning I was off from tutoring so I went for a run. Worst decision ever. Wayyyy too humid for a run. Those 5 miles felt harder than any half marathon I've ever run. Not a fan. I came home showered grabbed some breakfast and headed to the gym for a little TRX training session. Whenever I can't find motivation I usually find myself on the TRX. I love all of the different exercises I can do and it keeps me motivated. It's good to mix it up a little bit. Your body gets used to the same routine. 

After he gym I ended up laying out and finishing Emily Giffin's Love Comes Forst. So so so good and I highly recommend it. 

That night I went to the Phillies game with my dad. Jim Thome was being inducted to the Wall of Fame and since he was my favorite player when I was younger we knew we weren't going to miss it. 

Fun story about this jersey. So my dad always gets me a Phillies jersey or shirt for Christmas and so when I was in 6th grade my dad got me a Thome jersey. I was super excited until I put it on and realized it was a men's XL. I was 12 and maybe 108 pounds. Not quite the right size 😅

Jersey or dress? The choice is yours!

The ceremony was wonderful and full of Phillies alums who greeted Jim and welcomed him to this exclusive club. 

Schmidt, Dutch, The Bull, Samuels, Bowa, Taylor, Burrel, Manuel just to name a few of the alums that were on the stage for Jim's big night. Charlie Manuel introduced Jim and gave a very moving speech about his impact on the younger  players who went on to win the World Series in 2008. Jim always had the reputation of being the nicest, most humble, and happiest guy in the club house. Jim then came out and gave a short speech thanking Philly and her phans for everything. I may have shed a few tears at that part. Next, we watched a video of Jim's highlights and messages from his friends around the MLB. Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins even made guest appearances on the video. Finally, Bobby Abreu was instructed to reveal Jom's plaque in Ashburn Alley and the whole place started cheering. It's hard to get 20,000+ Philadelphia phans to give you a standing ovation, but Jim managed. Next, Jim and his son Landon were driven around the warning track and waved to everyone. 

To keep the focus on the Thome family, his daughter Lyla sang the National Anthem. Girl has some pipes!  Jim's wife Andrea looked more nervous for Lyla than she did for whole rest of the ceremony.  

The Phils went on to win the game with a 10-6 victory thanks to a Ryan Howard Grand Slam! I guess it really was a throwback to 2006 over at Citizens Bank Park. 

It was a great game and great honor for Jim, but my God it was hot!  105 degrees?!?!  The AC in the stores was not working either so when we went to get some relief we were greeted by sweltering workers and an even hotter store. You know when it's really hot and you can feel the moisture just standing still in the air? Yeah, it was like that. 

Saturday started in true Saturday fashio- sweat session at the gym. I'm getting sad that I only have 2 more classes left before my subbing stint is up. I'm going to miss teaching that class. 

After the gym, I went to Wegman's and indulged in a little Sample Saturday party! 

Good cheese, juice, and wine samples!

Then I came home did a little snack prepping for the week and headed out to the Darius Rucker concert with Cait. 

As soon as we spread out the blanket a girl came over to us and asked if we wanted her 200 level tickets. We were like, "Ummm, yeah we do!  Thank you!"

So inside we went. Michael Ray was the opener and he did a really good job I didn't like his skinny jeans and actually wondered what kind of fashion engineering skills he has to be able to pull up skinny jeans when it is so hot out!  Teach me your ways!  Side note all of the acts except Daeius were wearing skinny jeans and I'm gonna have to be honest and say I don't like guys in skinny jeans.  Just not a big fan. 

Dan and Shay were the second openers and they did a much better job than before. I've seen them a few times and they always seem a little vanilla to me. Their songs sometimes come across as pastel and forced. Not this time. They were awesome. Cait and I marveled at how different the two guys seemed in their stage personas. Dan was a skinny jean rocker tank with tats and a blonde faux hawk kinda guy whereas Shay wore dark skinny jeans and an army green tee. 

Also someone proposed to his girlfriend on stage at the show. There was another proposal Friday at the Phillies game, too. Not sure what it means when you see 2 proposals in 24 hours l, but I think it's a good sign?!  Yes? No? Maybe? 

They came out on stage right before Dan + Shay sang From The Ground Up. She totally knew what was happening as soon as they came on stage. Her fiancé said that they had been together for 7 years and 7 months ago she declared this their song. And now he wanted to ask her to be his wife. So so so cute! 

I guess I can't escape weddings can I? 

At 9 it was time for Darius to come on the stage. He did a fr eat job like always. I love that he performs his old Hootie stuff, too. Cait and I jammed out to all the oldies and newbies. 

It was a much more mellow crowder this concert than a lot of other country concerts so you really get to enjoy the music and artist. Darius does a great job of combining storytelling with singing. Sometimes artists will talk too much and you're like just sing already!  But he blends his stories with his songs perfectly. Plus he does these cute little dad dances that make your heart smile. 

Sunday was a beach day for Deb and me. It was so hot that we ended up leaving at 345 because it was just too hot!  I got a 3 mile beach walk in since it was too humid to get a long run in this morning. Deb and I each had grilled shrimp. I grabbed a lemonade and we both snacked on some banana nice cream from The Bashful Banana. 

Is there anything better than Boardwalk Lemonade?  I think not. 

Banana whip with peanut butter, fruit based chocolate syrup, and pretzel sticks!  Food swooning hard over here. 

OCNJ 9th Street Beach. 

We went to dinner at the Tortilla Press because who feels like cooking when it's 105 out? I got a baked chicken fajita and a salad since I was lacking the green stuff in my life. 

One of the things I get asked most often is how do you stay on a healthy track when you go out to dinner?  We'll here are my tips. 

1) ask the waiter not to bring chips or bread to the table. These kinds of munchies are not my favorite indulgences so I feel ok skipping them. If they are on the table unknown I'll eat them just because they're there. 

2) Go in with a game plan. Look over the menu before you go to the restaurant. Pick something healthy before you even go to the restaurant that way when you get there you won't be tempted. Chicken fajitas are actually not awful for you. I nix the wrap and instead opt to eat it like a burrito bowl. Saves me carbs and calories. 

3) Pick one splurge. Let's face it, life is short and if you want the cake eat it!  I'm a sweets person so I usually opt for dessert instead of bread or alcohol. But if you have another vice indulge it. If you're a French fries lover have them but then keep the rest of the meal clean. 

4) Ask the waiter to box up half of the meal. A lot of restaurants bring you 2-3 times the actual portion of the meal. Ask them to box up half of the meal so you're not tempted to eat it just because it's there. 

5) Don't be afraid to order off the menu!  I do this all the time. If I don't see something I want or something healthy I'll ask the waiter to bring me grilled chicken and fresh greens or a salad. It's easy and they usually don't care or mind. I usually start my order with, "Hi, I'm going to be the most annoying customer you have all night." Then I go into my order. It breaks the ice and usually the waiters are relieved because you're probably NOT the most annoying customer they've had all night. No one wants you to have a bad time at their restaurant so most places oblige. If I'm ordering off the menu I never make it a super complicated order, keep it simple like grilled chicken and a side salad. 

I hope you all enjoyed this post about my healthy eating tricks to employ when you go out to dinner. 

Xoxo,

E