Many a Late Night

Well I had quite the long weekend. I?m now feeling pretty refreshed and currently am no longer in a rut! I realised that me all alone at home = bad news, and the cure is socializing. People. Doing stuff. That?s it. I know, oh so simple.

This weekend was pretty packed. Three nights out, two birthdays and one very sleep-deprived girl by the end of it all.

Friday night I dragged my bummy lonely self out for a bit of clubbing with a group of people even though I wasn?t really feeling it because I knew I needed to get out of the house and do something different. The night wasn?t overly exciting but I did have a good time, got to see several people that I hadn?t seen in a while, and felt a lot better after just getting out and doing stuff.

I worked all day.

Pre work I ate a tasty pumpkin mess that consisted of pumpkin, vanilla protein powder, Corn Bran and frozen banana.

Then later on at work I chilled out with Dr. Weil and his Pistachi-Oh! goodness. First time hanging out with this flavour. It was tasty, kind of reminded me of a chewy gingersnap? It was a wee bit overly ?spicy? for my tastes but I?d probably still get it again.

You guys seem to want to see my new hairdo but all it is is highlights, I didn?t get a big significant chop or anything. However, to appease the masses, here are the highlights. She threw in some red and some blonde. It doesn?t look hugely different but they?re kinda fun and it looks better than the grown out weird highlight chunks I had scattered through my hair before.

My work lunch was extra exciting today since I brought pumpkin with protein powder. I never bring that. Consumed twice in one day? Heck yes!

Dinner was one of my favourite quick and easy meals: an egg white mess. Egg whites, salsa, spinach and light cream cheese on a toasted english muffin. I never get tired of this.

Then I finished off a container of plain yogurt mixed with flax, banana and chopped cashews.

But my taste buds were missing some serious crunch so I saved a dish and just used the yogurt container all over again to eat up some cereal with.

Then it was time for another night out dancing. Summer makes me crave excitement at night. I ran into my Australian buddy from last week, he apologized for his drunkenness and then we hung out at the bar, drank girly shots, tied his hair into ponytails and flirted with the manager and bartender. Seriously coolest guy ever. He told me he saw me in the grocery store during the week and ran away and hid. I?m so glad we?re friends again. LOL.

I did a terrible job of taking pictures of what I ate, mainly because I was kind of just snacking on and off the entire day.

I did manage to make an actual breakfast bowl. And yes, I did snack around this bowl – aka I was eating things before and after eating these oats. Mainly nut butter. Mmm.

This was super deelish though ? oats, water/almond milk, banana, flax, Peabutter. Going heavier on the almond milk makes all the difference in a bowl of oats. I usually only use a splash but they taste so much better and creamier when I use more of an equal water/almond milk ratio.

Then I ran around all day ? working out, running errands, picking up ingredients?

for THESE!

Sunday late afternoon my friend and I baked up some awesomely awesome vanilla cupcakes from scratch using this recipe for Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes ? aka heart attack cupcakes. They weren?t for our consumption though so all of that buttery sugary goodness was a-okay with us (we still sampled one anyway though, we had to make sure they were at least edible).

They were a ?save us from awkwardness as we arrive at a bbq where we don?t really know anyone? peace offering. We were going to my bouncer buddy?s 30th birthday BBQ and Sunday night Retro celebration. It was filled mainly with people I don?t know at all and a few people who I know casually. I?m terrible and terrified in crowds of people I don?t know. A whole lot of them were big intimidating older men. I may have started hyperventilating when we drove up and I saw a bunch of big scary people I didn?t know standing outside smoking. I was terrified. To prevent this a little we had a couple of ?up my social abilities drinks? while cupcake decorating before going there. I was still terrified when I arrived. We found birthday boy right away though, presented him with cupcakes, broke out the drinks we brought along and started to socialize. Soon enough the awkwardness went away.

Eventually we headed to the bar for Retro night. Going to the bar with a big group of people who work in the night industry, the majority of which are guys, is dangerous when you?re a wee lightweight who?s already had plenty enough before even arriving at the bar. You get handed drinks by practically everyone you talk to! I?m pretty sure I said no to nearly every one and yet somehow still ended up consuming too much? I made it to the end of the night but it all hit me once a group of us got driven back to birthday boy?s house. I got out of the car and instead of going back to the house, immediately walked down the road, sat on the curb and called home. My night was over. My mom wasn?t that impressed that I was sitting all alone on a curb down the road and away from anyone else at 3 in the morning. I wasn?t that impressed that I felt like crap. Darn.

I woke up. I immediately downed a big bottle of water, a banana, a multivitamin and a painkiller. Then I went back to bed and dozed for another couple of hours.

When I re-awoke I was a bit more alive.

And Sunday was my mom?s birthday!

I apologized for her 3am ?birthday present?. I think she was more amused by it than anything.

Then I needed to make a birthday cake. I love baking but it loses a bit of its appeal when you?re slightly out of it, slightly tired and slightly feeling less than perfect. I sucked it up and made this carrot cake that I made for my birthday per my mom?s request.

It was as delicious as the first time I made it apparently. I thought it tasted a bit more flavourless this time around but then I chalked that up to the fact that I somehow have developed a terrible cold (I hardly had any colds all winter and NOW I get a doozie? What gives?) and my taste buds are currently slightly desensitized.

For dinner we went out to Swiss Chalet. Okay so not the fanciest place ever but we like it and that?s where my mom wanted to go. We all ordered the quarter chicken dinner. White meat! Removed the skin. Chalet sauce. Salad. Mini bun. It was good stuff. I?ve always had a special liking for Swiss Chalet chicken.

I needed to go to bed early but my friend wanted to go for a brief night walk and the night was, although slightly chilly, also really nice outside. Plus it was Victoria day and there were fireworks being set of by random people all over the place so we bundled (winter jackets? geeeez May!), got some decafs, walked around and saw some amateur fireworks. I was still in bed by a half decent time.

Annnnd that was my long weekend. I?ll try to get back on track with the pictures of meals thing this week. I didn?t do that super today with taking pictures either. I?m still trying to recover from this dratted cold so my appetite has been a little off, thus so have my meals.

Hope you?re all having a good start to the week. Stay healthy, eat your oranges and avoid anyone with a cough or sniffle!

PS – Contest! Check out a giveaway for a Women’s Health subscription and Simply Bars over at Strawberry Shortstuff!