Marvelous In My Monday [MIMM] #4

It’s no secret that dogs share similarities with people. They eat, they sleep.  They play, they poop.  Anddd they get hiccups.  This morning in between packing my lunch and making a stack of peanut butter puff pancakes, I tried soothe, scare, and burp Charlie’s hiccups away but had no such luck.

Whenever I get hiccups I’m a fan of the Crazy 8’s: 8 quick sips of air, 8 quick sips of water, hold your breath for 8 seconds…  But getting a dog to do that is impossible.  Bummer, poor puppy 😦

Moving onto more marvelous things.  As I mentioned yesterday, this weekend was a good balance of relaxation and preparation, simply marvelous…

Marvelous… Ryan’s birthday month.  I am a huge fan of birthdays, I have been since I was a young child and will be until I’m an old, old woman.  It’s the one month out of the year when it’s all about you and this month it’s all about Ryan!  Only 15 more days until he is officially an old man, eek!

Marvelous…  Fires.  Friday evening we had our first fire of the season to welcome the cooler weather.  It seems like within less than 24 hours the weather switched from fall to winter.  Good bye bare legs, hello leggings.

Marvelous… Sunnier mornings.  Thank goodness we set out clocks back this weekend.  I was beginning to think that I was waking up way too early because it was dark outside for hours after I was awake.  It was nice to see the sunrise while I was walking Charlie this morning!

Marvelous… Fresh cranberries.  The two times a year that tend to cook with cranberries are Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, that is until this weekend.  On Saturday I picked up a bag of fresh cranberries at TJ’s and wanted to make something new.  I took the easy way out and made a stack of ‘cakes and quickly cooked the cranberries in a skillet with water.  Next I’d like to try baking muffins or some sort of savory dish.

Marvelous… Outlet shopping.  Last week Ryan mentioned that he needed a new pair of jeans so I jumped at the opportunity to go shopping.  I’m trying to be more mindful of my expenses so I kept my wallet tucked away [out of sight, out of mind] with the exception of a few “essential” purchases such as a black leather belt, 2 seasonal candles from Yankee Candle, and 2 tasty treats from Williams-Sonoma.

Marvelous… TNT training.  Not only are Ryan, my momma, and I getting our butts kicked every Tuesday and Thursday night, but TNT has also provided us with free sessions on Saturdays, a cardio script, a stretching routine, weekly challenges, and a nutrition plan.  I’m not so sure that we all truly understood what we were signing up for [haha]!

Marvelous… Food prep.  The past few weeks my breakfasts have been delicious, my lunches have been tasty, and my dinners have been easy.  In the morning I have time to make myself a satisfying breakfast and pack myself a filling lunch, but by the time I get home at night all I wanna do is eat, not cook.  With this in mind, last night I prepped some things that Ryan and I can enjoy throughout the week such as veggie eggie cups topped with feta cheese and spicy mustard turkey burgers.

Marvelous…  Personalized card.  If something is free why not take it, right?  Well, when my bank offered me a free opportunity to design a personalized debit card I couldn’t turn down the offer.  Now everyone will know how much I love my little buddy!

Marvelous… Braids.  I started growing out my hair when Ryan and I set a wedding date thinking that I’d have more options with longer hair.  Now that I haven’t cut my hair in about a year [other than a few trimmings], it’s as long as it’s ever been!  After being whipped in the eye and having it stick to my back, I’ve started to braid when I go to the gym.  Now if only I knew how to do one of those fanchy-schmancy braids I always see in Pinterest.

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Marvelous… Sleepovers.  Friday night my BFF is planning to come over for dinner and a slumber party.  I. am. so. EXCITED!  It’s going to be like we’re in elementary school again but this time we won’t have our parents checking-in on us to make sure that we’re asleep!

XOXO,

Allison

P.S.  I was SO touched by Ashley’s story about Jen, a health and wellness blogger living in New York.  Like many people in New Jersey and New York, Jen and her family were greatly affected by Hurricane Sandy and ultimately lost everything.  Ashley has gone above and beyond by creating a Rebuilding Registry to help Jen and her family start fresh…  To read more of Ashley’s story or to donate to the Rebuilding Registry, click here.

Question:  What do you think we’ll be eating like in 2050?  Check out this article, do you agree with their predictions?!

Question:  How do you get rid of hiccups?

Dream Jobs

At the end of the school year, I took a leap of faith and said good-bye to teaching to pursue a career in the events industry.  I have always loved planning, from social gatherings with family or friends, to committee activities throughout high school and college…  Call me a dork, but I enjoy planning and color-coding calendars 😛

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I was so thankful [and lucky] to receive a job offer immediately after school ended in June.  I packed-up my classroom on a Friday and started as an exhibits assistant on Monday.  It was a hard decision to make since I had spent 4 years in college working towards a B.S. in education but as they always say, sometimes life doesn’t always go as planned [no matter how much planning you do] and you have to just go with it…  I went with it and I’m happy I did.

Sooo, where am I going with this?  Well, I am happy to report that I am thoroughly enjoying my new job but after posting the nail namer picture on Saturday I started to wonder what life would be like if I had a different job…  Don’t we all?!

Dog trainer.  Sunday night has become steak night in our house aka Charlie’s whiniest night.  He does not understand why dad gets a slab and he only gets the scraps.  He whimpers and whines, lays down and rolls over, anything to impress dad…  I’d love to be the person who trains adorable pups to sit quietly and wait patiently!

Scent sniffer.  On Sunday Ryan needed to swing by the mall to pick-up a skate tool so I made the most use of the time and stopped by Bath & Body Works.  I seriously think the last time I was in there was when I was…  15?!  There were so many good smelling scents that it was hard to choose just 1 so I took advantage of their current buy 2 get 1 free deal and walked away with 3 [typical girl].  I’d love to be the person who smells brown sugar and sweet pea scents all day!

Taste tester.  Having a Whole Foods across the street from my office is fabulously awful.  I typically will do a working lunch and eat at my desk so I can take a break and go for a walk but everyday I end up walking directly to Whole Foods.  I haven’t looked at my bank account for a while and probably don’t want to.  I’d love to be the person who taste tests all the new products and prepared foods!

Nature photographer.  I’ve said it once, I’ve said it twice, I may have even said it thrice [haha, such a rhymer], but I am falling in love with fall!  The scents, the flavors, and all the colors are truly stunning.  If I didn’t have any commitments, I would spend the whole day outside.  I’d love to be the person who spends the day wandering the woods taking pictures of the fall foliage!

Hotel rater.  Ryan and I are planning a trip up to Boston and I could not be more excited- I haven’t been up there since graduating in May of 2011.  Since recently booking our honeymoon we’ve become a bit frugal and would like to save money.  Currently the big question is should we drive or fly and where will we stay?  I’d love to be the person who receives all expenses paid trips in exchange for rating the rooms [puppies permitted = an appreciated perk]!

Personal shopper.  I’m a stereotypical girl who loves to shop.  For clothes or for food, for someone else or for myself…  I love to peruse through a store and snag a good deal!  I’d love to be the person people contact when they need to pick out a new outfit for a special occasion or need to pick-up a few groceries for dinner!

Health and wellness coach.  Two of the most common places you will find me are at home or at the gym.  I love the feeling I get after a good sweat session and feeling like I’ve accomplished something.  I love taking care of my body.  I cannot control if I have a flare-up [although I can take preventative actions to decrease the likelihood] but I can make sure that I am keeping myself physically healthy.  I’d love to be the person who helps others take care of their body through fitness and health!

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Food holiday selector.  Earlier this month was National Pasta Day and National Dessert Day [two personal favorites] and today is National Boston Cream Pie Day…  I don’t make this stuff up, check it out!  I’d love to be the person who chooses what day everyone should eat abundant amounts of chocolate, peanut butter, or drink cup after cup of coffee!

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I am not trained for any of the professions above so I cannot offer y’all advice and all jobs have their bad days, but I can dream about how fun the good days could be 🙂

“The greatest gift you can give others is your best you—your healthiest you.”

~Joseph J. Sweere

XOXO,

Allison

Question:  What’s your dream job?

Question:  Are you working at your dream job?  Is it the job that you wanted to have when you were younger?  When I was in elementary school, I wanted to be a marine biologist so I could swim with dolphins and whales 😛

Wooden Shoes Like to Know

Sometimes we all have our cheesy moments, this post is one of my times.  Inspiration from my nail color “Wooden Shoes Like to Know“…  OPI, you’re so clever 😉

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Wooden shoes like to know…  Chocolate + coconut Cho + pineapple = sweet tropical treat!

Wooden shoes like to know…  Ryan and I barely made it to the ALR Walk to Cure Lupus because dozens of streets were closed.  After 90 minutes of sitting in the car, we got a little impatient and decided that walking would be quicker than driving.

Wooden shoes like to know…  Washington, D.C. is absolutely gorgeous in the fall!  I say it too often, but I definitely do not take advantage of living so close to the city.  There are so many sights to see, markets to visit, restaurants to eat at, events to attend- I need to make a point of visiting them!

Wooden shoes like to know…  P28 bagels are a-w-e-s-o-m-e!  I am trying to increase my protein intake and if I can get 28 grams of protein in the form of a bagel, that makes this carb feign happy!  A girl can only eat so many servings of beans, poultry, and yogurt.

Wooden shoes like to know…  Brown sparkly nail polish makes me crave a chunk of chocolate.  Thankfully, I’m not a nail biter.

Wooden shoes like to know…  One of my favorite things to do is to grocery shop.  I love perusing the aisles, looking for new-to-me products, and thinking of new [and sometimes strange] combinations to try.

Wooden shoes like to know…  Ryan hung out with a friend yesterday afternoon and came home bearing gifts- candle holders, a vase, a display dish, anddd fresh basil and hot peppers.  His friends know the way to my heart 😉

Wooden shoes like to know…  For the past two weeks, Charlie has woken me up between 5-5:30AM.  His head pops-up as if an alarm just went off, he crawls up from my feet to my face, rests his head next to mine, and then proceeds to climb all over me and give me kisses until I roll out of bed.

Wooden shoes like to know…  Cantaloupe is one of my favorite fruits and when I saw that it’s on sale this week for 4/$5 I bought 2 and will most likely go back for more.

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Wooden shoes like to know…  My shins are still sore from running on Thursday.  I haven’t run in about a month, but sheeshhh.  I’ve been going to the gym daily and doing a combo of cardio + weights, so I shouldn’t be sore for 4 days?!

Wooden shoes like to know…  Today is this guy’s birthday!  Happy birthday BB, thanks for sharing a pickle stick with me!  We’re headed downtown this afternoon to watch the Redskins vs. Giants game at a bar.  Watching football in a bar > watching football on the couch- there’s so much energy from everyone cheering [and booing], it’s hard not to get into the game!

XOXO,

Allison

Question: What’s your favorite fall nail color?  I am usually a pink [and sparkly] girl all the way but also enjoy playing around with different seasonal colors!

Question:  Do your shins ever get sore after a run?  What do you do to relieve them?