Breathe in. And…breathe out. A huge calming breath of pleasure to be home and back to regularly scheduled programming. I loved my weekend travels which included many delicious foods, a great city, and watching two friends tie the knot. If you haven’t checked out the recap, do so here. However, as wonderful as all those things were, it felt really nice to be home and back to normal.

I awoke this morning to get some work done on the computer and with the blog. It felt great. I like feeling productive. I also came to the decision to try a different blogging schedule and post around lunch time and then again at night. I want to see if I manage this schedule well, so as to not have my posts be too long. Both for me to write and you to read. Hey. I know I can get wordy. 😉

Back to my morning, though. After my productivity, I rewarded myself with a basic breakfast. A bowl of oats cooked with a mix of skim milk and water. And of course the obligatory peanut butter mixed in afterwards. I didn’t feel like much in the topping department, so I ate a banana on the side instead.

The perfect pre-workout fuel! Which is just what I needed to head to the best workout ever. Although honestly I think every workout after a longer than normal break feels like the best workout ever.

I headed to the gym for the 9:30 spin class. I’m really glad I went early! I completely forgot that school started back up in my area this week. Stay at home mommies who now have extra free time after sending their kids packing on the bus dominated the place. I went into spin and nabbed the second to last bike. All the way in the back corner. I hate that bike since it always feels hotter in the back.

I couldn’t complain though. I was at the gym. Doing one of my favorite workouts and getting a good sweat to rejuvenate me. Spinning = the perfect pregnancy workout as I wrote about in a recent article (CLICK CLICK!). The icing on the cake came after class. On the way out, I noticed they set out a display of Kashi Go Lean Crisp samples. You betcha I got my grubby paws on one.

And ate it immediately upon arriving home as my post workout fuel. This pregnant gal was hungry! For the record, this Toatsted Berry Crumble Kashi cereal tasted amazing. I added a handful of Quaker Oatmeal Squares for more volume, which combined perfectly.

I loved the crunch and flavor provided by the granola and berry crisps. Plus, it packs healthy grains and 9 grams of protein. For cereal, that ain’t half bad. What a great way to start the day!

• Do you prefer reading shorter, more to the point posts or one long post? I admit the shorter post was much easier to type.
• What is your favorite cereal combo? Do you like cereal for post workout food?

Hey, hey, hey! I’m back from our travels. How was everyone’s weekend? I hope fabulous. I look forward to being back to normal blogging and being able to visit you all. I also look forward to being back home with my darling girl and my kitchen. I have no problem eating a few heavier meals over a vacation, but it never fails to leave me craving the best stuff afterwards. Onto the rest of my recap, shall we?

I left you with the wedding rehearsal, but no recap of the wedding. Let me remedy that. The ceremony filled the room with love. The emotion expressed on the bride’s and groom’s faces spoke volumes. And the worship included within the ceremony displayed the firm foundation of their relationship. I love watching weddings and feeling like my own becomes reaffirmed.

Here are a few of my favorite shots of the wedding. Aren’t my friends just glowing with love? 🙂

Look at those smiles!!!! I’m incredibly happy for them. Seeing my close friend marry a woman perfectly suited for him brings me so much joy. I had tears in my eyes when I saw his face as she walked down the aisle. They will no doubt enjoy a long life of love together. Love them both!

After the beautiful ceremony, we had a brief break back in the hotel room before heading to the reception. The reception venue overlooked a small lake and boasted amazing decor. It somewhat reminded me of our rehearsal venue, except at a lake instead of the mountains.

After the cocktail hour, we moved to the main hall for a seated dinner, toasts, and then dancing. The meal started with a Caesar salad and a roll with an asparagus garlic spread.

Then, the main course came out. Filet with potatoes and veggies. They simply brought out the meal without asking how people wanted their meat cooked. Pink does NOT suit me.

I tried to force it down, but around 2/3 of the way through I made a mad dash for the restroom instead. From there the night was downhill. Shortly afterwards, the cutting of the cake came.

I needed food because I had nothing in my stomach at this point and had a slice as soon as possible. I ended up feeling worse and getting a headache from having just sugar in my stomach. It tasted fabulous, but not so sure it was worth it.

I had to leave not too long after that. I felt so terrible! I wanted to be there to celebrate with them as long as possible. We headed back to the hotel by 10 and I immediately crashed. I’m happy I got to see the first dance, cutting of the cake, visit with them, and enjoy some other good company though.

Fortunately I woke up feeling better on Sunday. I took my time getting out of bed and getting ready to be sure. Then, knowing I still felt up to it, we headed out towards downtown Philly after another complimentary hotel breakfast. The trip started off a little rocky thanks to some bad directions, but we found our way. We started off in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Of course, we had to complete the obligatory Rocky climb. I didn’t pose like all the other people though. Haha!

After checking out the views from the steps for a bit, we went around back of the museum to visit the Azalea Gardens and Boathouse Row. What a nice area!

Then we decided to head down Benjamin Franklin Parkway towards 18th street to visit Rittenhouse Square and have lunch. It wasn’t too long of a walk, but it worked up my appetite. We had to search for a place to eat because apparently 1:00 on a Sunday equates to brunch around that area. Everywhere was serving eggs, eggs, and more eggs, I wasn’t in the mood for breakfast so the only decent looking option in the area was a pizza place.

A very good pizza place at that. We decided to share a medium spinach, mushroom, and onion on whole wheat. I liked that the the veggies stole the show. There was very little cheese and sauce, which tasted perfect with such flavorful toppings.

Lunch took longer than expected, so once we finished we had to take a quick walk through Rittenhouse Square and start heading back to the car to leave in time to get to visit Peter’s friends for the night. That didn’t stop us from taking a pit stop for some fro-yo. I have eyed all your fro-yo visits for some time and knew I needed a taste of my own. I picked up a mix of vanilla and watermelon flavors with some strawberries, blueberries, and a few M&Ms on top. Soooooo good!

It topped off our quick Philly day trip perfectly. Then we headed into West Chester to finish out the night visiting some friends we haven’t seen since our wedding. I don’t know them as well since it is a friend Peter used to work with, but I really enjoyed the company. I wish we had had more time to visit them. The few hours we did have to share a dinner with them in their home, play with their daughter, and sit and chat were wonderful though. And that about wraps it up. I really missed Makenzie, but this vacation felt more special without her. I joked that we could almost call it our “babymoon” vacation to get away and have fun before having the next baby. We had a great time…

• What was the best part of your weekend?
• What is the longest road trip you’ve taken? Was it worth it?