Really attractive post title, I know.

Lately, I feel like there’s so much random junk floating around in my brain. It’s like they just keep popping up randomly. To quote Mean Girls (aka one of my favorite movies of all time), “Word vomit.”

1. I’ve never thought the age difference between my sister and I felt that big, but it has ever since we moved her into Vassar. I’m in early adulthood and meanwhile, she’s only just starting her college career. I’ll be honest and admit that I am definitely a little jealous. I miss those college days!

2. My hair is getting crazy long! It’s about time to get a trim I think. I’ve decided to keep it long though. Looking back, I’ve realized that not only does it not look great short, but it also was higher maintenance. Not really worth it.

3. My mom gave me the awesome news that my favorite aunt and cousin on her side of the family will be visiting in December! All of my relatives live in China so I’m really looking forward to their visit.

4. A few friends and I are heading to Lake George this weekend. It might be a little too chilly to swim, but I’m loving this brisk fall weather so no complaints here! It makes for perfect hiking weather in my opinion.

5. I’ve been thinking about whether it’s time to let some friends know about my blog. Until now, I’ve only shared my blog with my family and my best friend Chrysanthe. It would really open up what I can write about and share if I let some other friends know about it. On the other hand, most of my friends in the area are people I work with. I certainly don’t want my blog spreading around the office anytime soon and even letting them know about it would make me feel like I have to restrict what I can write about. So for now, it’ll just remain a thought.

6. I’m doing the Fitmixer Bootcamp! It started on Monday and so far, so good. I slept a little too late last night to wake up this morning for a workout so I’m looking forward to the gym for Day 3 after work today! I’m really loving their products, especially the slim shake. Right now, I’m planning to try to stick to the workouts and the 1400 calories a day that have been set for me. I don’t plan on tracking my calories via My Fitness Pal as they suggested though. I tend to just get obsessed with the numbers when I weigh myself regularly or count calories, so I’ll just be eyeballing the 1400 calories and trying to get the right amount of protein, complex carbs, healthy fats, etc. I typically have a pretty good sense of what I’m eating anyway.

7. I miss my dog! I haven’t seen her in a while. I’ll be dogsitting the little bub next weekend though since my parents are going to visit my sister for Family Weekend up at Vassar. I miss the parentals too! Apparently, they’ve been doing some major cleanup every weekend since they dropped my sister off, so I’m looking forward to seeing what they’ve done too.

That’s it for today, friends. That was fun! Maybe I’ll make this a regular thing?

It’s been an eventful few days here!

I had a fun weekend, which finished off with my boss’s wedding on Sunday evening. It was absolutely beautiful and such a good time!

Unfortunately, little miss me seems to have been bitten by some bedbugs at the hotel we stayed at. I have a few crazy itchy bites on my right foot, which I just can’t stop scratching. Yuck.

Worse than that, I’m terrified that I’ll have brought some of those little suckers home with me! I didn’t realize that they could be bedbug bites until late last night so I didn’t get to wash all my bedding until today. Everything was freshly laundered in hot water and dried in high heat a few hours ago though, so hopefully I’m safe. Fingers crossed!

On the other bad news front, I’ve been experiencing some popping in my left hip since Friday. I’ve been resting since then in the hopes that it’ll clear up, but no go yet. I’m terribly antsy and can’t stay away from the gym much longer!

A bout of bad luck here, but to bring it back to some good news, I wanted to share the lovely goodies sent to me by my foodie penpal Jen this month. Oh so late, I know, but better late than never, right?

The following was immediately stashed away into my purse for snacking purposes:

• Raw cashew butter: Saving this and can’t wait to try it!
• Dried cranberry and pineapple: I inhaled this almost immediately.
• The Good Bean sea salt roasted chickpeas: I usually don’t go for salty but these are so delicious. I need to find out where I can get more!
• White chocolate macadamia LunaBar: Love me some LunaBars! I finished this in a day or so.

And the following were immediately stashed in my kitchen:

• Homemade cookie bars: Did I say “immediately stashed?” I meant after one was eaten, of course. These were delicious and I can’t wait to eat the other one!
• A dried chile: I am a little intimidated by the color (it looks so spicy!), but I do like spice in moderation.

It was some gooood stuff! Thanks, Jen.

Last Friday, I had quite an unusual adventure.

A few friends from work and I headed off to Medieval Times after work for a show! I’d never been before and was really excited to check it out.

The first thing we did when we got there was check in and get assigned to the green section. Our next priority? Drinks. Check out these huge souvenir cups! It was $25, but probably about a liter of beer, so not that bad of a deal. I went for the Sam Adams Summer Ale. Yum!

After a while, we entered the theatre, which is kind of set up as a small arena with a sand stage set down in the middle. The napkins on our plates were printed with the menu! And mine only looks so green because we were in the green section with lights shining on us.

Soon the lights came down and the show was starting! It’s about a tournament with six competing knights, one for each section.

The green knight was the coolest, but despite all our cheering, it wasn’t his day! He was out first in the tournament, and if I’m being honest, I was far less interested once I didn’t have someone to cheer for.

I did still have the food to focus on though! The portions were absolutely huge. Each person got a cup-size serving of tomato basil soup with focaccia bread to dip in it, about half a roasted chicken, a BBQ spare rib, a few slices of potato, and an apple danish. Everything was delicious and cooked well, but I didn’t even come close to finishing and was still stuffed! I guess you really get your money’s worth for $45.

Overall, it was a really fun night! Not somewhere I would go back often, but it would make a fun trip every once in a while.

Back to my weekend in Connecticut/Northampton!

On Sunday morning, we set out bright and early for Noho. And yes, our determination was totally fueled by our previous Ivy Day failure.

Our first stop in Noho was Woodstar Cafe. It was just around the corner from our apartment last year and one of Chrysanthe’s favorites! Iced coffee for C, soy chai for me, and muffins for each of us. On our way out, we bumped into someone running out the door and yelling, “I’m totally going to miss my own graduation!” So at least we knew we weren’t going to miss it.

We walked to the Quad and were handed programs.

I was just so happy to be there with my lovely best friend!

It wasn’t too crowded when we got there, but we grabbed seats near the back since we knew we’d probably be living after the commencement speech so I could catch my train.

Speaking of the commencement speech, the absolutely awesome Jane Lynch was our commencement speaker! If you don’t know who she is, she plays Sue Sylvester on Glee. Her speech was funny, honest, poignant, and heartfelt. I loved it and judging from the cheers, so did everyone else there. You should give it a watch.

After the speech, Chrysanthe and I followed the crowd out. We were a little worried about traffic on the way to the train station, so we ended up skipping lunch in Northampton and just getting frozen yogurt. Didn’t get a photo, but trust me, it was delicious.

On the train ride home, I had my lemon poppyseed muffin from Woodstar. So good!

Overall, it was a super fun and relaxing trip! I love spending time with Chrysanthe and it was so fun to bump into various people we knew at commencement too. She’s actually moving to Boston at the end of this month so hopefully I get to visit her then!