Birthday Weekend Recap!

Good morning everyone! Sorry I've been away for a bit but I have two very good reasons: 

1) Rachael was in town visiting!!

2) it was my birthday

It was so much fun to finally meet Rachael in person and she's just as sweet as can be! Amanda and I showed her around the city, and I hope she'll be making another trip back to Pittsburgh. Layla, as to be expected, loved making a new friend and was all over her! Rachael also made me the BEST birthday package full of all kinds of goodies, it was so thoughtful! I realize now that I should have taken a picture buuuut I got way too excited and dug in to everything haha!

I ended up taking Friday off since my hours were pretty flexible so I was able to get a long birthday weekend. I'm not one to make a fuss over my birthday and it probably has to do with the fact that with it being in July I was almost always away on vacation for it. My family had a beach house, and we were usually there every summer for my birthday until we sold it. I just turned 24, and I'd have to guess that out of all the years I've maybe been home for about a third of my birthdays! 

So just having a quiet relaxing weekend is a present in itself for me! Growing up, my parents would always ask me what I wanted to do for my birthday or if I wanted a big party or something but that's not my style. Dinner with friends and family and of course ice cream is all I need! My cousin's birthday is the day after mine so we usually do something combined but he's just as chill about his birthday as me so it's never anything big.  

I kicked off the long weekend Friday morning with a good old back attack session! Working back is strangely growing on me and I think it has to do a lot with the progress I've been seeing lately. I tried out my new protein powder afterwards, and I'm in love! PEScience is quickly becoming my favorite company because I've been using their BCAA blend, and give it two thumbs up. The cookies 'n cream is deeeelish, and I used it to make my trusty cookies 'n cream protein shake after getting home from the gym. 

Friday afternoon, Amanda and I met up with Rachael to show her some of the city and make a Trader Joe's run! Call me crazy but that's one of my favorite stores. I much prefer grocery shopping over any other type of shopping haha!

Saturday morning on my actual birthday, Amanda made me blueberry pancakes! There are pretty much two essential ways to my heart: pancakes and Oreos. And they either have to be plain pancakes or blueberry, no exceptions. Amanda made a batch of chocolate chip ones for her and my mom but I won't bother with those! She set out a whole spread of different toppings, it was so cute. It was the perfect start to my birthday morning! 

I did a leg circuit before breakfast because even though I'm a firm believer in unlimited birthday macros, I didn't want to skip my workout! 

After a day running around in the city with Rachael, we came home for dinner. I felt bad because Amanda grilled salmon as a treat but I could not for the life of me eat anything. It had nothing to do with overeating during the day, but sometimes the heat and humidity can get to me so badly that I get really bad stomach cramps. I didn't drink as much water as I usually do, and my body was not happy with me! This happens to me every so often, and all I have to do is rest up a bit and slowly drink some water over the course of an hour and then I'm fine! 

Which meant I was just in time to enjoy the Oreo cake she made me :)

All it is is Oreos and cool whip. You dip the Oreos in almond milk to moisten them, then lay them in a layer on the bottom of the pan. Top with cool whip, and then do another layer of Oreos and keep repeating that until you fill out the pan! Let is sit overnight so the Oreos soften with the almond milk, and you have yourself one amazing cake. Here's the full recipe if you wanna check it out! (which you totally should)

Sunday we hung out at my dad's house. We made chicken salads together for dinner, and it was the perfectly light dinner for such a hot humid day! I'm telling you, we can't catch a break with this weather. It's 90 degrees every day with what feels like 100% humidity which does not make me a happy camper. I'm trying not to complain and be positive but sometimes the heat can just get to me.

Last night, I found out right before going to bed that it was National Ice Cream Day! Luckily, Amanda remembered that we had some vanilla ice cream from Trader Joe's so I had a small spoonful to celebrate. Even though I took a break from exact tracking Friday and Saturday, I still made sure to eat balanced during the day so I could enjoy some birthday treats. I was back on track yesterday and will continue that way for the rest of the week! I didn't do an increase this week because I knew I'd be celebrating my birthday so I'll have an update for you guys about my reverse diet early next week!

Hope you all have a great Monday!