Ok, I am back! Ugh, I have felt out of sorts since I haven’t blogged since yesterday morning! So, let’s just pick up where I left off last. After blogging I went to pick up my friend Melissa and we headed to Body Pump. It was her first time and she loved it.

She commented that she could feel it afterwards while trying to wash her hair. That is exactly what I said when I first tried it.To read about my first time Body Pumping click here!

After we pumped, we stopped at Zume’s and grabbed coffee. I got a medium, medium roast coffee with a little vanilla syrup and some half and half.

I hoped right in the shower once I got home, I had 40 minutes to get myself ready and get to a Bridal Shower. The shower was in honor of my friend Stephanie and her fiance Jimmy. I have known Steph my entire life, our parents are best friends. I was so excited to go to the shower. Here are the bride and groom with their moms!

Aren’t they a great looking couple? The moms aren’t bad to look at either. The shower was actually held were I work part-time. Everything was fantastic, the moms and bridesmaids did an AMAZING job! The centerpieces were so springy and refreshing.

I really loved the favors! So fun and different. They were Crate and Barrel mugs with personalized hot chocolate pouches.

I sipped on one giant glass of red wine throughout the whole shower.

The food was fantastic too!  It started out with a salad:

My plate:

Pasta, Chicken Parm, Chicken with Broccoli and Ziti, Eggplant Parm.

As usual, my eyes were bigger than my tummy and I barely made a dent in my plate. Here is what was left…hate wasting food!

The cake was gorgeous! But, I was so stuffed from the meal, I didn’t have any. I heard it was as good as it looked.

Here is my mom and the Mother of the Bride, Eileen. They are besties!!!

Look at all the guys that showed up to help Steph and Jimmy bring their gifts home. Nice guys!!

After the shower, a bunch of us girls headed to a local bar for a few drinks. I stuck to bud lights, there were many.

At around 7:30 pm, we all got a little hungry. We decided to order a few pizzas from Pallo’s.

I had two small pieces.

Since I was so rushed to get to the shower, I never took a picture of my outfit. But, here is a picture of my friend Neal and I from last night, you can see my outfit pretty well.

Green Ruffle Collar Top (Forever 21), Black Pencil Shirt (Target), Black Knee High Boots (DSW).

I headed home around midnight and hit the hay. I got up this morning, walked Oscar and then made breakfast. When I went to take a picture, I HAD NO CAMERA! I emptied out my purse, looked in all my pockets, searched my WHOLE APARTMENT and I couldn’t find it! I called the bar and they hadn’t seen it. FREAKING OUT does not describe my reaction, there was a lot of panic and tears!!! Finally, my friend Kevin told me it was in the backseat of his car. UGH! SIGH OF RELIEF! Since I didn’t take a picture of my breakfast, I will have to use and old one.

It was exactly the same breakfast as in the picture. An Ezekiel sprouted english muffin, smooth Barney Butter, 1/2 of a banana, a clementine and some coffee. I ate it when panicing and almost choked twice. NOTE TO SELF: Do NOT eat while hysterical!

After the camera was located, I got dressed into my workout clothes and headed over to Adam’s work (our friend Kevin is Adam’s work partner, so my camera was there in his car) and grabbed my camera. Then I headed to a birthday party for our niece Emily and nephew Gavin. It was a pool party that was actually at the YMCA I belong to, so I hopped on the treadmill while the kids were swimming in the pool. I ran 3 miles in 27:35. After my run, I headed upstairs for the party. While catching up with relatives, I snacked on some raw veggies.

My lunch was a mini meatball sandwich (with my future mother-in-law’s homemade meatballs ) with some raw veggies on the side.

Look at this cake she also made…so adorable!

After we sang Happy Birthday, all of the kids got to decorate their own cupcakes.

Of course, I totally made one too, because I am a 26 year old child!!!

AWESOME!!!! My cupcake was so delicious, if I do say so myself. While I was chatting with Adam’s brother, I looked up and caught our nephew Jack climbing up onto the table to get the candy the kids left there after decorating their cupcakes.

After the party I showered at the gym and then headed to Costo and the grocery store. Dinner was Healthy Turkey Chili. There was a secret ingredient that made it super healthy. PUMPKIN! Pumpkin in chilly? YUP! Now you are totally thinking what the heck won’t this girl put pumpkin in, right?!

Ok, so there is what you will need:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 lb. of ground turkey breats
• 1 16 oz. can of kidney beans
• 1 can of pumpkin (14.5 oz)
• 1 large can of peeled and diced tomatoes.
• 2 tablespoons of chili powder
• red pepper to taste

How to make it:

1. Sautee onions, peppers and ground turkey breast until turkey os browned

2. add in spices, pumpkin, tomatoes, and beans

3. simmer for 20 minutes

4. Enjoy!

I topped mine with a little reduced fat cheddar cheese, plain greek yogurt, and a spoonful of guacamole. This recipe is awesome, healthy and seriously delicious! You have GOT to try it. It makes about 10 cups of chili. I froze 4 cups of it, the best thing about chili is it freezes so well!!!

Dessert was the hot chocolate from the shower yesterday.

It was creamy and tasty, it the spot.

In Other News:

So since I was so busy this weekend and didn’t blog since I didn’t have a camera for a little over 12 hours, I owe you guys 2 Self Love Tips, right?

Self Love Tip For Yesterday: Have a Me, Myself and I Night. Remember the one I had on Friday? Make a list of your favorite things to do that help you to relax and do them all in one night. Having a night to yourself filled with activities you enjoy is a great way to pamper yourself. I am super social, but sometimes a night alone just focused on me is exactly what the Doctor ordered.

Self Love Tip For Today: Do a Good Deed: Do something good for someone else. Studies show that doing something nice for someone else can make people happier and feel better about themselves. It can be anything from lending a friend a few dollars when they need it, volunteering at a local homeless shelter, or giving directions to someone that is lost. On Friday evening, while waiting for the train, I saw a girl sharing at the subway map and she looked a little confused and anxious. I asked her if she needed help navigating it and she said yes. I asked her where she was going and I told her where to get on and where to get off, she seemed a little uneasy that she had to switch trains, but I assured her that it was super easy. Seeing how relieved she was to know where she was going, made me feel great. I was glad that I could help her and it took me about 1 minute to help.

Well, I am off to catch up on some of my favorite blogs. See you all in the AM! Please say a silent prayer of thanks that my camera was located!