Easter Weekending

I need to start off this post saying that it was my daddio's 70th birthday on Thursday! I love him so much. He's taught me everything I know and has always been my greatest mentor. He's the best. #1 Dad right here.

NOW, this Easter weekend kicked off with my Chicago Quarter Marathon race! I was quite nervous since I woke up with a big stomach issue, but I SOMEHOW made it through without stopping, puking all over the course AND getting a PR post having bronchitis!! Can I get an amen?!

My race bud and I met up (not at the crack of dawn this time) at Soldier Field where the race kicked off. Although the wind was definitely chilly, the sun was out and we were ready to rock!

This was one of the smaller races I've done, but it was very well-organized and the medals were awesome! Sometimes I favor smaller races over the ones where thousands participate just because you tend to run into less issues and people not following runner etiquette... (i.e. stopping right in the middle of the trail!) The Easter Bunny was even there at the finish line. I mean seriously, how awesome is that?

My race bud set a record herself and so we celebrated with a million post-race selfies. Because obviously.

We stuck around for quite awhile just hanging around and got to see the last of the participants cross the finish line. I love cheering people on as they cross. Sometimes you can just tell it's their first longer distance run by the look on their face and how big of a goal it was to finish. Love, love. By the time I got home, I couldn't wait to shower and chill. By the look of it, you would think Luigi just ran 6.5 miles....

I'm also currently in Advocare's "Max Phase" and it's definitely rough getting used to taking all of these supplements. Thanks to the plethora of mimosas and ham I consumed over Easter....it definitely threw off my normal weigh-in. So ya know what? I didn't do it bahaha. Prior to the Easter madness, my results were one belt notch down and -5.5lbs. I've noticed though that if I DO eat something "bad" (i.e. chips or something high in fat) my stomach definitely turns on me. I'm not sure if that's just because I've avoided such foods for quite some time or because of the supplements.

Did everyone else have a great Easter weekend?!

Happy Bunny Day!!!

Since I've long outgrown the Easter egg hunts, visiting the Easter bunny and waking up to Easter baskets in the morning, I've learned to just enjoy the holiday and family gatherings that go along with it. Soon enough I'll be the one in charge of hosting Easter egg hunts for my own little ones....years upon years from now. Easter weekend began with getting up bright and early to get ready to spend the day with my memom for her birthday. However, I felt like it was MY birthday with the surprise my sister had for me when she arrived. She brought JT.

 We celebrated my memom's birthday at one of our favorite French restaurants, L'Eiffel Bistrot in South Barrington. I will also be having one of my bridal showers here and I am BEYOND excited. They even have an Absinthe bar. Perfect.

We chatted over delicious, French fare and coffee. I ended up getting the veggie sandwich that pretty much looked like a work of art on a croissant. Since it was a wee bit early to indulge in some Absinthe, I stuck with water. Snooze. Boring.

After we finished our lunch the waitress surprised my memom with a happy birthday dessert. I can only hope her birthday did or will come true!

My memom is one strong and beautiful woman. I'm so lucky to have her!

After we ate, we went on a little shopping spree. We were perusing the Ann Taylor Loft store and was bummed to find out that they did not have my usual size in some shorts I was looking at but that's when my sister told me to just try on a size smaller just to see if those fit. And that's when it happened....ladies and gents....I FIT INTO A SIZE 4!!!! After I did an impromptu happy dance in front of the mirror, I screamed a little and jumped up and down in excitement. Mind you I've never been this size in my entire life (not including my toddler days) and just a little over a year ago I was rocking a size 14 dress at my sister's wedding. And it wasn't an "omg they fit but sausaging out in them" kind of fit...they actually fit comfortably!! Goals achieved. Bring it on summer, I will rock the hell out of my new wardrobe.

My mom also surprised me with this gorgeous, sheer butterfly scarf from Soft Surroundings. I have no idea how she got away with buying it without me knowing it either...stealthy...

Easter Sunday was spent boxing it out in the morning and then getting all dressed up to visit with my dad's side of the family for an Easter luncheon. It was great visiting with them and catching up. The only bad part of today was that I had to face the realization that tomorrow is....Monday. Womp, womp! I really can't complain about spending a fantastic weekend with family though AND that spring has finally decided to arrive!!! Suck on that one cold, winter weather!!!