The Worst Week of my Life...so far

I pray that this situation never happens to anyone, anytime soon. This week has been the most trying, frustrating, and downright sad week that I have had the unpleasantness of knowing in a long time.

It all started Monday, a day that is supposed to be my favorite and most refreshing day after a long, work filled weekend. After class, Mike and I went for a run on the ramps and really kicked it into high gear. We had a test, and then came home so Mike could get changed and go to work, and I could eat a little lunch, go to Publix for some weekly food stockage, and then come home to put some finishing touches on our semester projects that were due Thursday.

I left the house around 3pm and was gone for literally 30 minutes when I came home to this...

The door was ajar...

I freaked out when I saw this from my car and started questioning if I had maybe not closed the door? Did it get caught in something? But, no, I ALWAYS lock the door like an OCD maniac.

Then I saw the deadbolt busted off the door frame.

My first thought was to see if my kitty, Monkey was in the house, hurt, or okay. I went around screaming for him and to my relief, he had burrowed up into the box spring of our bed, and was just scared out of his mind. Can't blame him, so was I. I came back into the living room to figure out what to do next.

They kicked in the door and ripped it right off the frame.

I tried to call Mike, but he didn't pick up right away, because obviously he shouldn't be on his phone while cooking someone's meal at the restaurant. I shot him a quick text that an emergency had happened, and called my mom. She really helped calm me down and figure out what to do next. I needed to call the cops, write down everything that had been taken, and try to get some kind of grip on the situation. Mike must have read the text right away because he called back and headed home when he heard the news. 

As I was waiting for Mike, I called the police, and started looking at everything they stole.

Our Flat screen TV and Mike's PS3 I bought him for Xmas two years ago.

Another Flat Screen TV in the guest room.

All of my Jewelry...

Even my super nice Michael Kors Watch I bought myself for my birthday.

Also not shown, they stole my Michael Kors purse my parents got me for Christmas that I was in love with, my bottle of very good tequila (damn it), and worst of all, both Mike and my laptops with all our semester projects and assignments on them. Months worth of work, all stolen within a span of 30 minutes. After the police came and went, a feeling of extreme vulnerability just washed over us. Someone had been watching our house and things for who knows how long, and then took it from us in broad daylight while the rest of our neighbors were at work and I was at the grocery store for 30 minutes!!! 

After this terrible day, the rest of the week didn't get any better. You know when you hear a song that you don't like, yet it gets stuck in your head for some reason, and no matter how hard you try to do other things, or forget it, it rears it's ugly head into your brain? Thats how the robbery has been for me, just rearing it's ugly head as I've tried to just go about my regular routines. I've had to email all my teachers and ask for extensions on everything that was due this past week. None of whom have been very sympathetic or understanding to our situation, which is very disheartening. I understand assignments must be done, however, we never asked for this to happen, and we are all people, who I thought could have a little heart and understanding. Tallahassee has definitely worn out it's welcome with me.

When I was driving back from the police station on Tuesday, after picking up the report, I found myself not ready, or able, to go back home yet, so I stopped at Barnes and Noble, had another crying session, and got myself a book that I've been dying to read...

What a wonderful book so far! I have only read a little bit, but find myself clinging to it, like it's some sort of life raft in this sea of crap I'm drowning in currently. My eating has been terrible this week as well. I have had no motivation to stick to my normal nutrition and have even been too depressed to run. Just to add to the pile, our air conditioning went out Wednesday as well. 

It is now Friday, and I'm slowing starting to get back into the swing of my life. Our AC is back and on a great note, Mike got offered the job he has been waiting for in Dallas, and we will be moving back to my Paradise! See ya later Sunshine State! Hello to nice people, great Tex Mex food, and all four seasons again!!! Out of all the places I have lived, I can sadly say, I won't be missing Florida, sorry. I guess I'm just a Texas girl at heart. I am so incredibly proud of my boyfriend and don't know how I could have made it through this week without him, the help of my amazing parents, and Monkey flopping around the house like a weirdo to keep my sane. 

I am, however, ready to get back to my normal life...hopefully, that was my storm this year, and the rest will be blue skys and Mai Tais! Or Margaritas, whatever :) 

My first TRX certification class!

Wow what a day!!! After about 9 hours at Midtown's Sweat Therapy gym, I can proudly say I earned my "Sports Medicine" TRX certification. WAHOO!! This was not my first go around using this amazing, diverse machine, however, I learned how to teach it to others, and some very helpful modifications to show to those recovering from injury, or even those who are just beginning with the suspension training.

Normally, my trainer Chris and I do some crazy, whacked out, Sugar Honey Iced Tea (get it?? :) trying to keep this blog "G" rated) on this machine...

Suspended one hand, both feet, pushup...

Like this little beauty right here, but I wasn't sure what to expect of today's class. My nerves were totally at ease though, for one, because I took the course with my trainer, and two, everyone was super friendly and open to helping out, and getting to know each other. Except for one of the TRX instructors, who was a little too OCD for my taste, but to each his own I guess. Plus, if I had come up with a course and expected people to pay me for it, I would want them being able to take as much away as possible, so it was justified. 

I also met a bunch of really cool girls who reminded me of myself. It is nice to hear similar backgrounds and interests in normal looking girls rather than most people I hang out with who find me extremely weirdly motivated to work out. Also, finding out that behind every workout junkie, is a vice they don't necessarily brag about. When we broke for lunch today everyone mainly kept to they healthful sandwiches and salads with healthy drink options until my trainer Chris bought this little disk of dark Mexican chocolate and offered it up to us girls. Without the blink of an eye, or an "Are you sure?", chocolate demolished....Don't have to ask me, or any other girl twice. 

After the class wrapped up, I headed over to the campus for a nice 6 mile jog to stretch my legs. We worked with the TRX all day, but didn't really work up a sweat, and I had a delicious piece of vegan carrot cake from Earth Fare the night before (I love that store) so I felt the need to get my tushy moving up some hills. There is no better remedy to a bad work day than either a long jog, or a good piece of cake! Thats why I have decided to open my very own cupcake shop with a gym attached! Genius idea right?!? After or before you 'house some cake', go burn it off! No harm, no foul in my book! Maybe one day....Well, I'm off to hang out with Monkey (I know, real cool, my cat!) and watch Mad Men, I'm addicted. Peace out!

Mission Zeta Cupcakes=SUCCESS!

And....another hectic crazy week bites the dust! I can proudly say Mike and I put out 150 beautiful cupcakes Saturday morning to the ladies of Zeta Tau Alpha for their Mother's Weekend extravaganza. Even though hectic at times, and causing me to maybe gain a pound or two, (quality control of course) the end experience was very rewarding. When we delivered those little cakes on Saturday, and their house mom gushed over how great they looked, it made all the negative factors disappear. Getting paid doesn't hurt either... :) She texted us later that day and said they all were demolished and tasted great! Whew that's a relief.

Banana Foster Cupcake

Bruleed Banana on top of a Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting.

These cupcakes were so good and moist. Basically like a Banana bread pound cake in a bite size portion!

Reeses Peanut butter Cupcakes

Real Reeses in and on top of this little cake, with a chocolate peanut butter buttercream

Hands down the best chocolate cake I have ever made! We even chopped up peanut butter cups to throw right into the cake mix.

Lastly, Vanilla Bean cupcakes with a Swiss Meringue Buttercream!

We called these Princess Cupcakes to honor Zeta's "Crown" logo. All in all, everything went a lot smoother than I thought. After we dropped these bad boys off Saturday morning we headed for a nice long trail run and some TRX/ Kettlebell insanity. Our trainer Chris just got these new, New Balance Minimus shoes, which are basically the Vibram five finger shoe's soles,

 but in a minimalist shoe. They weigh 7 ounces! Mike was sold right off the bat but I wasn't sure due to how bad my shin splints are, but Chris said they have been doing research lately, that supports the fact that cushioning for your foot doesn't necessarily get rid of shin splints, but make them worse by causing over pronation of the foot in your running stride. This made since because I over pronate WAY too much. They were something to keep in mind.

After we got done sweating our butts off we wanted to go check out the shoes, but the only store that carries them closed early that day, and we had to get ready to see Mike's sister, Ashley, perform in the musical "Chicago," at Tallahassee Community College. It was wonderful, and she did an exceptional job! I enjoyed my Saturday very much. However, I can't even sugar coat Sunday, because it sucked so much, I had to scream when I got out of work to blow off some steam, literally if you knew that we had NO air conditioning all day in the restaurant I work in. Did I mention my uniform is black polyester? Real breathable stuff...not! Mike got home late so we just hit the hay and vowed to have a better Monday!

Today, being Monday, it was time for some "pick-me-up" incentive to help turn a lousy Sunday into the start of a great week! Enter....my new shoes

I wasn't planning on getting any shoes, however, when Mike and I made the trip to the shoe place this morning he tried them on and the sales lady brought me a pair also and reassured me this would be the best way for my shin splints to go away. I was skeptical, but willing to give it a try. Let me just tell you, they are awesome! Mike and I did a "Ramps" workout this morning and I have never felt so stable and balanced in a pair of shoes like I did these ones. Different muscles I don't normally work came into play and my workout was so therapeutic without the jolts of pain running up and down the inside of my calf. I'm gonna try them out in a treadmill set workout tomorrow and I'll keep you posted on the results. So far so good, though. Mike likes his too, his are black and yellow black and yellow black and yellow...haha I could't resist. 

Off to hopefully a newly ventilated and cooled down work place, fingers crossed!

The Sunday I've Been Waiting for....

The thing I used to look forward to most when Mike and I didn't live together, and he was in his fraternity apartments was our Sunday morning breakfasts. Traditionally, Mike and I would either go out, or get off from a long night of work on Saturday nights, hit the hay, and then wake up Sunday morning and make an amazing breakfast for us and a few brothers who would join in on the "Brunch Extravaganza!!!" (Really they just wanted some free, good eats for their hungover bodies.) But we loved the company and it was always fun to digress and discuss what everyone's night had become. Unfortunately, since Mike got his new job and runs their Sunday Brunch EVERY SUNDAY, I am left to make pitiful breakfasts by myself with Monkey as we do laundry and household chores.

Mike let me in on the best news this semester though, when he told me, he would have this past Sunday completely off, and we would go to this restaurant in town especially known for their great brunch fare, "Sage." We woke up around 9, and slowly made our way to the other side of town where Sage is located. As we pulled up on this perfectly clear sky day, you could definitely tell this place was full of its regulars and hipsters that don't miss a Sunday. Luckily, we got there when they opened, so we got seated right away.

He' so cute!

They presented us with menus, and right away we ordered Mimosas to start this celebration day off right. 

***{Side note} I had prepared for this day to be my 'splurge day' with food so don't look absolutely horrified by the amount of food I will soon post. We shared it all, and in no way finished it. However, I found making a menu of exactly what I planned on eating for the week helped tremendously getting me back on track, so I felt great going into today!

Back to brunch! The menus were very nice and to the point. I don't like places that overload you with choices of what to eat, it makes the process less enjoyable.

Lots of things for me to eat :)

We decided early on we wanted to just get a bunch of things and split them. We were in no rush, and everything was made to order so the breaks in between us ordering helped the food to digest a good amount. Plus, I planned on this being breakfast and lunch so I had to cover two meals right? 

Our first round of ordering consisted of escargot, a turkey, raspberry jam and brie croissant sandwich, and corn beef and hash. 

SNAILS!!!

I wasn't the biggest fan of the escargot. It wasn't that I was eating snails, it just didn't taste like anything special, kind of just a lot of butter and garlic, and not in a good way. 

Turkey, Jam, and Cheese...need I say more?

The croissant was so buttery and flaky it almost melted in my mouth. I hoarded most of this away from Mike because I enjoyed it so much. The only problem was it was gone so fast.

Corn Beef and Hash

This was very good too! I had never had corn beef and hash before and Sage did a wonderful job with punches of flavor bursting out of this dish. Just the right amount of peppery, and salty goodness.

After we finished up with these three dishes we needed another round of mimosas! We took another gander at the menu and one dish had my name written all over it...

Brioche French Toast with Orange Butter and Homemade Granola!!!!

I died! It was amazing and I didn't want it to end. Luckily, Mike took the other piece or I would have eaten it all by myself. He ordered their Bacon Blue cheese Burger...

Yummy chipotle Mayo

It was good but mine was better :) So we had planned on stopping there, but then we heard a distinct question coming from the waitress at the table behind us, "Sir would you like to see our dessert menu, we have a Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwich with Peanut Butter Ice Cream that is to die for..." DONE, say no more, Bring It On!!!!

um...yeh, I'm not gonna lie, we ate it all.

If they were not located across town, and I would not gain a single pound from eating these little pieces of heaven put on earth, I would eat one of these cookie sandwiches every single day for the rest of my life. This dessert could stop war, that's how good it was. Mike and I were cracking up at how ridiculous we looked biting into these monstrous pieces. After that, stick a fork in me, I'm done! Thankfully, we ran a couple of errands after this, mainly ones that involved great distance walking so the food baby that had formed in my stomach would disappear. The next meal for this day would definitely have to happen sometime after 8pm. 

A couple weeks ago, Mike had agreed we would make 150 cupcakes, for a local sorority, in honor of their Mother's Day function they hold every year. We decided today would be a perfect day to do a dry run of all the cupcakes, and start getting things in order for the massive order. 

After a couple hours of shopping, thinking, baking, and frosting we had come up with three very distinct cupcakes!

Homemade French Vanilla with a Swiss Buttercream

This is my recipe that I came up with a couple of years ago and is my go to cake for any occasion. 

Reeses Peanut Butter Cupcakes

These have a chocolate cake with chunks of Reeses peanut butter cups right in the cake. Plus a chocolate Peanut butter frosting never hurt anyone.

Lastly, a Banana Foster cupcake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting.

These are almost like a banana pound cake with a light and decadent cream cheese frosting. 

We have to make 150 to deliver on Saturday morning. 

However, for the time being I must find people to eat these...

This Sunday was the best day I've had since Spring Break with my mom. It was much needed, and I'm just happy I got one day to spend entirely with Mike. He is such an amazing boyfriend and I love him very much...I know, mushy mushy. Also, I want to say CONGRATULATIONS to two of my oldest and best friends who got engaged this past week! Katy and Adam, you two are truly amazing people and I am so genuinely happy for you! I love you both <3