Mammoth Bound

Guess who's going to Mammoth Mountain this weekend?

Ok, so we're not going to the beach butttt

We are!

Ali (aka running buddy) invited us up to her cabin in the mountains for the weekend! So I have no idea if there will be internet access, but I am super excited to go for hikes, swims, and be outdoorsy.

So for the next few days, I'll be here:

Good night!

The Bigger Picture

Before I get into the rest of this post, I just wanted to say one thing.
I am so, so thankful for my health. I got some really sad news about a family friend today, and while I won't get into it on my blog, I just want to say that I truly appreciate how fortunate my family and I am for being healthy.
The news was a reminder to appreciate my body and not get so caught up in the little things because in the long run, not liking how your stomach looks one day does not matter at all. 

***
Anyway, today I had a bowl or two of Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast along with some fruit salad leftovers.

Lunch was a breakfast burrito with 2 scrambled eggs, cheese, bell peppers, and mushrooms.

 Which was soon followed up by a smoothie (4 frozen strawberries, a banana, greek yogurt, a little bit of milk and oj).

Dinner was a quick "Smart Taste" pasta and watermelon. The veggies are a tad lacking because I realized we ran out of lettuce, but I made up for it with a ton of watermelon pieces.

Ugly pictures get put in a smaller size ;)

Today has been a really laid back day, but I'm really looking forward to going to bed. Tomorrow should be really busy!

Haircuts and Hamsters

Before I get into this post, I want to have a quick tribute to the passing of July (aka my favorite month of the year).

I celebrated the 4th of July,

Went (accidentally) clubbing for the first time,

Baked cupcakes (and cookies)! 

Saw Harry Potter (and hardcore cried),

Ran the Mud Run,

Went to an LA vintage/antique flea market

And celebrated my (and my sister's) 19th birthday.

Plans for August:

- Going back to school (ah!) and all the shenanigans of that

- Trip to Mammoth with Ali, her family and boyfriend, and Scott!

- Trying to standup paddle board (hopefully!)

******

As my last birthday celebration came to an end, I realized something: I am so excited to eat healthy foods (or try to) again. After days (4 to be exact) of eating birthday cake, ice cream, and cupcakes, I can officially say I feel gross. 

And almost burned out on sweets. I give it a day until my sweet tooth will return with a burning passion for all things dessert. 

Starting tomorrow, I am going to officially make some healthy meals and snacks without venturing into the leftover cake for breakfast. Anyway, carrot cupcakes for breakfast was so yesterday. Literally. 

But until tomorrow morning, I can still share my beautiful lemon cake with lemon icing made by my grandmother.

I especially like the homemade cake decorations. Nothing says "Happy Birthday" quite like a hamster holding balloons ;)

Oh, and I got a haircut! I'm a big baby about change so even though it was just a trim, I'm still sulking about the house about how it's so short. Here's a before and after picture (I'm even wearing the same dress!). And I'm realizing now that you really can't see that much of a difference.

Oh well, I promised it looks different in person!

It's time for me to go to bed! I really need to start doing that earlier at night :)

6 Man and Birthday Cakes

On my actual birthday, I celebrated by going to 6 Man--a big beach volleyball tournament event that rivals the crowds from 4th of July. Scott came up for the weekend, and we met up with a bunch of my high school friends to head over together and celebrate.

Seriously this is only a fraction of the people there.

I was given birthday gear by my girlies:)

Hehe I'm loving my new shorts

That night Scott and I went to Sammy's Woodfired Pizza for dinner. We shared an appetizer of cheesy bread and I had a few slices of BBQ pizza. Oh, and a messy sundae the size of my face that Scott and I shared.

The next day, Scott and I had a beach day before heading to my grandparents house for dinner. We all went for a quick swim before digging into the food. My grandmother Wendy is the most amazing cook, and everything she served was absolutely delicious. After snacking on unpictured appetizers (shrimp! my favorite), we had my grandfather's grilled steak, Caesar salad, garlic bread, and potatoes.

Since my grandparents were out of town on my sister's birthday, we were celebrating both of ours...which meant double the dessert.

Enter her chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream cake...

And my carrot cupcakes!

I was clearly too excited to slow down and take a good picture

There was also lots of fruit thrown in for good measure: lots of watermelon, pineapples, and strawberries.

****

I'll spare you pictures of what I ate today because 99% of it was leftovers. Eek I actually had a cupcake for breakfast. Whoops.

I finally attempted a run today. After the mud run, I used my lack of a goal to try new workout classes and slack off different things. But to be honest, I've missed running. Ok, not quite the actual running part, but I've missed feeling in shape and being the high that came from being able to run 3 miles. 

I ended up going for a quick 20 minute run (probably just a little under 2 miles) with my dog. The whole ordeal was a little more stressful than it should have been because after driving there I realized I forgot to bring a leash. I decided to just stick to a trail, and be thankful that my dog is well behaved. If I drove back home, I know I wouldn't have done anything.

The view from where I ran

On a happier note, I got to wear my new present from my parents: a Nike workout shirt! I felt very stylish while running.

It feels weird not recaping July and planning for August like I usually do at the beginning of the month, but I really wanted to get this post done:) Maybe I'll postpone it to (August 2nd I have one last birthday dinner with the other side of the family) August 3rd. There's so much to look forward to!