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.

The shortest I’ve ever had my hair

Slightly longer

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.

Drinking my Fitmixer chocolate velvet slim shake at work

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?

My little sis is officially a college student! I’ll miss this lil nugget:

Please excuse my super awkward smile.

Here are some photos from her last weekend at home!

My mom who is actually Superwoman makes a feast every night (this is seriously our dinner table almost every single night – no joke).

My dog gets a bandana after every haircut! Cute, right? I guess she’s ok too.

We went to our favorite sushi place, Koo, on Sunday night. My sister had the chicken pad thai with no veggies. Good, but no veg?! Are we related?

Koo Special roll for me. Yum! Loved this, especially the spicy fish.

My mom had the Thai beef with broccoli. Not really my thing, but it was tender and cooked well.

Last but not least, my dear dad had the sushi and sashimi combo. I love that the fish at Koo is always so fresh.

On Monday night, we packed up the car so we could set out bright and early in the morning for Vassar. After a few hours of room-arranging frustration and fervent unpacking, we said bye to Steph and left her at a picnic for new students.

On the way home, we stopped by Woodbury Commons, which is only about an hour or so from Vassar. But we were all starving, so food had to be had before the shopping could start.

I know a lot of people think Applebee’s is low rent and not that great, but it’s a convenient and lowkey favorite of my family. The food’s not the best, but it’s good enough. We’re not snobs or something.

We started with the buffalo chicken wings. I like them spicier but they were good anyway!

My dad ordered the garlic sirloin, which came with a portabello mushroom with spinach on top. I had high hopes for the portabello, but sadly, it was flavorless and limp. The steak itself was well-cooked though.

I actually have really liked Applebee’s salads in the past so I decided to try the fiesta chicken chopped salad. This one was awesome! I loved all the flavors and the dressing was delicious and not too heavy. Not a bad choice at all!

A weeee bit of shopping was done after that.

One more (half)day till the long weekend! Whoohoo! I’ve got plans to go to a wedding on Sunday, but not too much else yet.

My dog Cissie turns 5 today! I can’t even believe we’ve had her for so long. I feel like a parent – it seems like just yesterday that she was a puppy!

Happy birthday to my little bear!

Now onto the weekend recap!

On Saturday, Steph and I completed the required pool dive for our scuba diving certification! It was hard for me to figure out how to breathe at first, but a lot of fun once I got the hang of it. Even though we were just in a pool, it was cool to swim around at the bottom and be able to look up at all the people bobbing around above us. I can’t wait to go open water diving in Hawaii in two weeks!

By the time we were done, it was 4 and we were both starving since we hadn’t had a chance to eat lunch. On our way back, we went to Satay Malaysian in Hoboken and had a bite to eat.

Steph ordered the chicken pad thai. She was excited!

I had the coconut milk bubble tea and a brown chicken curry. The bubble tea was delicious and the chicken curry had quite a kick to it! It filled me right up.

Later, my sister was in the mood for a second dinner so I made her one of my egg white and hummus wraps and we shared some sweet potato fries. I love when she comes to visit because I usually don’t get the opportunity to show her that eating healthy can be quick, easy, and delicious.

The next day, we hit the mall before going to my favorite Indian place, Raaz, for lunch! It was all really delicious, as usual. I finished off with two gulab jamun.

For dinner, I threw together the following in a bowl: lemony whole wheat pasta with kale and chicken sausage. Yum!

Lastly, I’ll leave you with these two photos of the birthday girl being sleepy!

Hi friends!

How were your post-July 4th weeks? Mine just felt weird. It felt so sluggish yesterday and today while I was at work but at the same time, it feels like the weekend has come unnaturally fast!

On July 4th, my sister and I had some serious shopping planned. Independence Day sales are no joke – especially at an outlet! We went out hard at Jersey Shore Premium Outlets, but unfortunately, didn’t come home with as much as we wanted. I didn’t find much I liked or in my size and my sister already has so many clothes that she was afraid of incurring the wrath of my mother if she bought more.

Photo op while in Tommy Hilfiger:

Later on, my parents wanted to go to Applebee’s, so we popped over for an early dinner. To start, my dad had the Sam Adams summer ale, I ordered the berry sangria, my sister had the mango lemonade, and my mom wanted to join in on the photo with her glass of water.

For apps, we went with the spinach artichoke dip (Steph’s very favorite) and the classic buffalo wings. Both were good!

I ordered the seasonal berry and spinach salad, which is similar to my summer salad with strawberries, but with grilled chickens and without the avocado. It was exactly what I wanted after having heavier chicken tenders for lunch and hit the spot!

My mom had the 7 oz house sirloin, which she enjoyed. I thought it was cooked perfectly! The waitress asked her to cut into it before she left to make sure, hence the butchered-looking steak and the knife on the plate.

My sister ordered the bourbon street chicken and shrimp, which came on a sizzling plate. I tried a bit of the chicken and it had way too much seasoning on top in my opinion – super salty! Then again, I season very lightly and consider a lot of things oversalted.

I don’t remember exactly what my dad had but I think it was the grilled shrimp and island rice. I love roasted vegetables so I was stealing that zucchini off his plate! No shame here.

As for the past two days, I’ve had two of what I’ve now decided officially qualify on my favorite foods list. I can’t decide what I like better!

Vegan chocolate mousse which claims to be only 42 calories but tastes like heaven?

Or authentic tzatzki filled pitas from Mamoun’s Falafel in Hoboken? Hmmm. Quite the food toss up!

My half eaten falafel hummus pita. Yum!

My sister’s visiting this weekend and tomorrow (or rather later today!) we’ll be doing the pool dive portion of the PADI open water diver certification! I convinced (okay, bullied, just a little) her into doing this with me and we both just passed the test online about an hour ago. She’s excited after getting our gear at the scuba shop today. I can’t wait to get certified so we can go diving together in Hawaii at the end of the month. Yay!

Have a lovely weekend!