Happy Sunday... be ready for the week!

Hope everyone had a great weekend.  I really had an awesome one.  After I posted about my long run yesterday, I went out for the day.   I started with a trip to Dunkin Donuts for a delicious and yummy bagel that my body was just craving.  The trip was memorable beyond just the bagel, because first, the store had this sign up that almost brought me to tears.

Boston strong.  Here in a random Upstate New York Dunkin Donuts.  Seriously, choked me up.  I love this togetherness feeling and although I know that sign won't stay there forever, I hope that the feeling sticks around for just a bit longer.

The other thing that made this trip memorable was that when I went in to get the bagel (everything bagel with butter in case you're interested) I noticed the new ice cream flavored iced coffees.  Now, I haven't had coffee in a while but it sounded delicious and I thought I deserved it, so I got a small iced Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream coffee with just skim milk.

And ya know what?  For the first time in my life, it was TOO SWEET.  Seriously, this thing was just loaded with some sort of sugar syrup that I was sucking up my straw like crazy.  And yes, it was flavorful and good.  But just far too sweet.  I had a few sips and threw it in the trash.  Where did I take that picture and where was this said trash can, by the way?  Oh yeah, at the nail salon.

I treated myself to a pedicure yesterday at a new nail salon that I'd never been to before.  I told the woman doing my toes that I had run 12 miles that day and was training for a half marathon.  I don't know if that caused my pedicurist to give me some extra love or if she is just amazing at what she does... but the foot massage and pedicure seriously was out of this world.  She spent so much time massaging my feet and legs (which really, isn't it everyone's favorite part?) and I was in heaven.  I gave her an extra special tip and will definitely be going back for my next pedicure.

I then went and met some friends downtown for a charity pub crawl.  I don't think I've been on a pub crawl since my senior year of college (where, side note, we thought it'd be funny to literally CRAWL from pub to pub...) and wasn't sure what to expect but it ended up being a ton of fun and for a great cause.  The money from the pub crawl went to Building on Love, which is dedicated to supporting the Ronald McDonald house and families.  I highly recommend you go to their website and check out the great work they are doing in the capital region!  In addition to supporting a good cause, the pub crawl was in honor of a young man who passed away this past December.  Saturday would have been his 21st birthday and the event was in his honor.

It was a beautiful day in the Capital Region.

And such a fun way to support a good cause by enjoying a few of these guys...

And these guys...

With some great friends!

Despite the late night pizzas, I woke up hungry this morning so I prepared myself a delicious and nutritious breakfast.  Scrambled eggs (1 full egg + 2 egg whites) with spinach, grated muenster cheese, and crumbled bacon on top.  With lots of water and a clementine on the side for some sweetness.  SO GOOD!

This meal really got my day going right and I actually was out and about at 9:30 trying to run errands, only to find out that all the stores I needed to go to weren't open until 11, haha!

I pampered myself a bit more today by heading to the Roosevelt Bath and Spas in Saratoga for a little R&R.  I seriously just love it here.  The relaxing area is beautiful and incredibly calming.  The staff is friendly and helpful.  The place is beautiful, inside and out.  And honestly, the baths do wonders for your skin.

I wanted to take a picture to show you the baths, and I know that by looking at this, it looks disgusting. But the water is mineral water, which is why it is that dark color.  It may seem odd to some people to pay money to go take a bath somewhere, but as I've written before, it is a great experience.  It makes your skin so soft and smooth and in my opinion, really helps with skin conditions, such as psoriasis.

This picture was taken with the curtains open so you can see what it looks like.  It honestly is very clean, and the staff is just wonderful. In addition, the tub is actually set about 5 inches below the ground, so it is a very deep tub that you're in!  More so than what you see here, because you step down when you step in.  Here is where I relaxed today.  Ahhhh.

This was again, exactly what I needed.  I left feeling so rejuvenated and honestly, so happy that my legs are really, not that sore from yesterday's run.  I haven't felt sick or tired today at all, which I have been sometimes the day after a long run.  I am so glad I did the full 12 miles yesterday and my recovery has been so good.  I am really feeling confident for next weekend.

On the way home from the bath I stopped at my favorite store, Marshall's, and did a little shopping.  I bought a special "post-half-marathon" new dress to wear out in Nashville the night of my race!  I also stopped into a new frozen yogurt store I saw.

I know, I know.  I am a bit disappointed in myself that I went as well.  I have been doing really well with avoiding fake sugars and processed foods.  I want to write more about the changes that I've been making in my diet, and I'm sure once I'm past this half marathon I will spend more time sharing it with you.  I can already feel differences in my mood and energy levels by avoiding processed foods and sugars.  You may be thinking I'm crazy because I wrote about eating a bagel, beer, and pizza yesterday.  But that was a special run day, and carbs are supposed to be good post run, I think.

But anyways, I got sucked into the frozen yogurt shop and got myself a small bowl of a few of the flavors they had, and topped it with just a couple yogurt chips and a nonpareil.  Which, generally my frozen yogurt cups are 1/2 filled with froyo and 1/2 filled with crap like oreos, M&Ms, caramel, sprinkles, etc.  So this cup actually does reflect a big change in me.

The other big change is that I didn't finish the whole thing.  Because as I was eating it, it wasn't making me feel good.  I immediately felt full, bloated, and just as if I was polluting myself.  Maybe it's mental or maybe just having avoided processed sugars for a couple weeks now, my body really is starting to change.  I mean, I also threw away the sugary sweet iced coffee yesterday!  So yes, I slipped a little today buying the froyo, but I really think I learned from it.  I felt gross after eating this.  I don't think I'll be tempted to go back soon.

Writing up my weekend recap this week and thinking about the delicious meals I cooked myself, the pedicure, bath, etc. that I treated myself to, my new dress I bought myself, etc.  I am sort of thinking to myself, "Damn... I treat myself pretty good!"  I mean, I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of, right?  If I'm not going to spoil myself, who will?!  But, I do feel a bit gluttonous about everything, as I see it all spelled out here.  I don't think it's every weekend I spend so much time and money on myself.  If it were, I would probably want to balance it out a bit more maybe?  However, I will say this... any future men in my life are going to have a tough act to live up to, because I treat myself pretty darn well.

Well, I hope you all had as wonderful a weekend as I did and are as excited for the week ahead as I am as well!!  If not, I will share with you the following link.  40 reasons the world is a beautiful place to live.  Take a look and be thankful for the life we have.  I certainly am feeling that way right now. XOXO.