Marvelous (But Sick) Monday
Marvelous In My Monday (MIMM) is coming in handy for me this week because I need a good kick in the pants. Around lunchtime on Friday I was hit out of nowhere with a full-on cold. Being sick sucks for me not just because I feel sick, but also because I don’t know how to just step back and allow myself to get the rest I need to get better faster. I get very stuck in thinking in the short-term: What workouts am I missing? What comfort foods am I craving that I “shouldn’t” be eating? And of course feeling gross from an illness does zero favors for my body image. Missing a couple of workouts and relaxing is going to get me back to the gym and back in full working-order sooner in the long-term, but when that’s way out in the future and sitting on my butt resting is what’s staring me in the face right then and there, I can get pretty down.
Whether you’re feeling marvelous or not, you can join Katie’s link-up today.
Debbie Downer may call this post Miserable In My Monday, but my life overall is still marvelous so let’s cut to the chase. I could use some cheering up. Especially since my morning began with spilling my entire cup of just-purchased coffee all over my desk and its surrounding area. I ma have been totally cliche and cried over the spilled coffee. Just a little though.
Marvelous is…my new gym’s location. I can’t say it enough, joining a gym around the corner from my apartment was an EXCELLENT decision. I had plans after work on Friday so that day’s gym trip was going to be in the morning. I was able to set my alarm for 6:40AM, literally roll out of bed and into my gym clothes, and walk into the gym by 7AM. Heck yes! I did 30 minutes on the stairs and headed back home to shower – no more locker room showers for me! Which means less crazy bag lady packing, most likely involving me forgetting something. I was still at work by 9AM and even had time to stop beforehand at another cool local cafe for coffee.
Marvelous is…my new job. It’s a safe bet that, given part of my Friday work duties involved overhauling a Pinterest board, this job is for me.
Marvelous was…the homemade cake my co-worker brought in on Friday. I decided to take my slice(s) home to enjoy at a later time. That later time came later that night, when I got home at 1AM and realized I’d never eaten dinner. Cake for dinner? Let’s have it. Cake for dinner eaten in bed? I swear that made it taste better.
Marvelous was…trying another new restaurant on Friday. I finally was able to reunite with Kelly (one of the zillion I know) to grab drinks and an app, which is probably our favorite thing to do together. We visited Brookline’s Audobon Circle, and I definitely will return for more apps or a full-on dinner. The place is totally low-key on the outside but very cozy and classy on the inside. I probably would walk right by it if not for the Internet-magic of menu-stalking. Anyway, Kelly and I both went for the New England Manhattan (made with fig bitters) and then shared a St. Germain cocktail (with prosecco and lemon). I definitely need to go back and get one of those to have allllll to myself. For my app I of course ordered the baby cabbages, which came with some fantastic bacon and either walnuts or chestnuts? I forgot to ask. Too caught up in the yum. I also nibbled on Kelly’s white bean dip with grilled bread (as if bread could get any better…oh wait it can, just grill it).
Marvelous was…scoring my first solo-T-ride for free. I took the Green Line to meet Kelly because I figured I should practice, and when I got on board and asked for a Charlie Card, the nice driver just let me on for free. He was out of cards and I think it helped that I looked a bit pathetic and said, “I’m so sorry but I’m new.” No shame, I will look pathetic for a free ride. Saving the $2 made me feel better about spending almost $6 later that night on a cab ride home.
Marvelous was…seeing so many old friends and supporting one of my best friends. Greg joined BU Law’s Legal Follies (a sketch comedy group) this year and their show Bar Wars: Attack of the Loans ran Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Kelly and I went to go watch Greg perform after our drinks and apps, and we saw not only old friends (like Annie!) but also Greg’s parents (AKA my godparents).
Congrats to Greg! Oh gosh my face is so red. #coldproblems
And congrats to Annie, who just was accepted as a Fitfluential Ambassador!
The Follies did an amazing job and the show was hilarious! After it ended we went across the street to Dugout, a very not-me but still fun cash-only dive bar. For some reason (probably my cold?) I was craving beer so I enjoyed two new-to-me Sam Adams varieties, Cold Snap and Irish Red (my fave of the two). Eventually my cold really did start to get to me and I headed home for that cake and my bed.
Marvelous was…trying a new workout. I woke up Saturday and not surprisingly given the prior night’s activities, felt a bit like I’d been hit by a truck. Here comes my inability to rest. Drinks and cake the night before, plus “only” thirty minutes on the stairs, had me feeling like I should still work out. I’d recently been offered a free trial class at Newton’s Studio Empower so figured that would be a better option than the cardio I’d originally planned to fill my weekend with. A full review post is coming your way this week!
Insta-teaser.
Marvelous was…all my groceries being on sale. I picked out two recipes to make this weekend for food prep and went to the store to get my ingredients after my workout. Almost all of them happened to be on sale. Guess that means I picked the right recipes!
Marvelous was…accomplishing a lot on Saturday afternoon. I did all my laundry, made those two recipes, and did ALL the dishes that came with them. I only encountered a couple of recipe fails…burnt a pan of turkey bacon and forgot about my roasting sweet potatoes long enough to over-cook them just a bit. But I had extra turkey bacon on hand and the potatoes were still use-able so the fails weren’t too awful.
Marvelous is…living so close to a CVS. I literally went to CVS three times on Saturday and that would be awful if I still lived in CT, but here it means I leave my apartment and walk one block. If I’d had to get back in my car at 5PM to go buy cold meds, I probably just wouldn’t have gone. All the drowsy medication was within steps, just when I needed it.
Marvelous was…fabulous TV on Saturday night. As you can see I was a busy bee on Saturday and didn’t sit down to just relax and start trying to heal my cold until about 6PM that night. Ugh! My back was killing me from so much bending over while cooking and doing laundry, and my head was in the clouds as soon as I took those cold meds. I spent time flipping back and forth between The Departed (old favorite) and She Made Them Do It (yet another fabulous Jenna Dewan-Tatum cheesy Lifetime movie). Then I went to bed at 8PM and slept for 12 marvelous hours.
Marvelous was…sweating out my cold in Sunday morning hot yoga. Not long ago I purchased three Gilt City class vouchers to Sweat & Soul Yoga. I’m so glad I did because I woke up Sunday feeling a little better, but not at all up for an intense workout (much to my dismay). I decided a hot yoga class would perhaps heal me mentally and physically and I think it did just that. The heat felt great and I could tell I was weaker than I normally am, so I didn’t push it too hard. I really enjoyed the instructor Cara Gilman‘s energy and am excited to return to use my two other vouchers.
Marvelous was…my coffee-appetite’s return. Saturday all I wanted was tea…so you KNOW there was something wrong with me. After finishing yoga on Sunday I strolled down the street to Blue State Coffee to write this post and enjoy some half-caff in a porcelain mug. Cozy!
Marvelous was…a Sunday afternoon of primping. I found a nice nail salon across from my apartment (unfortunately prices really do go up in the city…$10 for a polish change!) and also took my co-worker up on an invite to visit Blo South End to get our hair done for an event. It’d been quite awhile since my last (and first!) blow dry and our event was quite ritzy, so I figured fancy hair would doll-up the short dress I planned to wear. My justification was this: the $40 blow-dry cost less than a long dress I would have gone out to purchase. It’s like when people go all-out on shoes for prom and then wear a recycled dress.
I once again went for the Holly Would because I knew from past experience that I’d love it!
Marvelous was…prosecco at the salon. Blo was more than ready for us when we showed up with prosecco for ourselves, and some for the employees to keep! They had flutes in the back and told us they also always have a cork screw and wine glasses on hand. Now that’s preparation I can get behind.
Blow-outs pair best with prosecco and sweatpants. Source
Marvelous was…feeling well enough to attend an Oscars-themed charity gala! My company sponsored a Red Carpet Gala at a fancy Boston hotel and I was glad that getting my hair and nails did (and day-time cold meds) gave me the pep I needed to rally and make it a great night. I finally got to wear a dress I purchased on Black Friday and the event was a great opportunity to meet new people, get to know my co-workers, and sample food from many different Boston restaurants.
One of several runs to the tasting area.
The fact that I made it home in time to get to bed at a decent hour, and therefore woke up this morning feeling not-worse (in fact maybe even a little better), is pretty marvelous too. I’ll take what I can get…I’m even hoping to make it to my new favorite instructor’s spin class tonight!
Do you have trouble being okay with rest while sick?
What was marvelous about your weekend?
Did you do anything fun for the Oscars?
