Valentine’s From Pittsburgh

Who has a weekend hangover?!
Not I, for I woke up at the wee hour of 6:10 AM to get ready to teach PiYo. 🙂 Working out in the morning truly gives me so energy for the rest of the day! Are you a morning person? I definitely was this weekend because my mom and youngest brother, Jake, came to visit!

My brother sent me a Snapchat just as they were leaving 🙂 Friday afternoon felt super busy as I rushed around cleaning the apartment, finished up some class assignments, and got excited to see my people! When they arrived, Jake was READY to take on the town. And I was ready to watch Netflix and cuddle up on the couch because that’s my favorite Friday pastime. 😉 Lucky for him, I made fabulous plans for us to go to the Max Brenner Chocolate Bar in Bethesda. Their menu is divine. We ordered the fondue with milk chocolate, white chocolate, and caramel. Fruit, cookies, and marshmallows to roast and dip! I also drank peanut butter hot chocolate. It was as just as delicious as it sounds.

And then I fell into a sugar coma.

Saturday morning, I woke up READY to take on the day, mostly because there were competitive cheerleaders staying in our hotel and a newborn crying down the hall. #suchfun

Either way, it was perfect timing because I was able to get a workout in before the day started! A little love for myself on the day of love;) I ellipticized (<–my favorite word) and did a short kettle bell workout. Now that I’ve started training for another race, I have to cross train with my dear friend Elliptical. My hip just does not enjoy running every day at the beginning of training! #oldlady

 

It is absolutely frigid in Washington, D.C. so we chose an indoor activity. The three of us love to shop, but one can only do so much shopping. Wait, is that even true??

We went to the Museum of American History and I found my favorite exhibit…food. ❤

It was also really interesting to see transportation as it’s changed throughout time, different types of media (look at those TVs!), and the Berlin Wall. Jake is really into wars (the soldiers, not the politics) and I actually found myself paying attention as we walked through there! I like reading about the lifestyle changes that people in the States faced while different world events went on. And World War II is always fascinating to me. Not sure why!

We definitely did our share of shopping (thanks payday and Mom!) but we missed our third musketeer! Alex stayed home to work and spend time with his girlfriend for the holiday. He was jealous of all our great finds;) Two most exciting purchases: Jake found a pair of True Religion jeans and I got a pair of adorable Cole Haan snakeskin flats that make me feel like I’m walking on a cloud. Too bad it’s 4 degrees. Haha!

Mine don’t have the bow, but stop it. So cute.

After dinner, we went back to hang out at our hotel and opened Valentine’s Day presents from one another. The yellow really adds a shade of quality to these photos, I think. 😉 I got Michael Kors cheetah slippers! So cozy!

Two more weeks until Jake has volleyball tryouts. He’s been practicing at open gyms for a few months and we decided to get in a late night workout to end our Valentine’s Day 🙂 I found this circuit workout on Christine Dwyer’s Instagram and it was the perfect for both time and difficulty! You do 14 of each exercise and then take 60 seconds to rest. In that 60 seconds, I like to walk around, take a Snapchat, get a drink, and pick a new corner of the gym to do the next round in. Change of scenery and stuff;) 14 burpees at the END of each round was killer! Jake did some cardio and lifting. We’re such strong siblings. HA!

Sunday morning we enjoyed hotel brunch and then hit the road! My mom and Jake had to get back to Pittsburgh because Jake was working an evening shift at his job and I had to go to a new employee training at the gym. Seems a little strange to train almost a month into the job, but there was much to be talked about…you know, payroll, customer service, arrive on time, wear your uniform, all that good stuff. 🙂 And I got a free water bottle! Yay!

 

It was such a great weekend! I am so happy I got to spend time with my mom and my littlest brother. 🙂 I haven’t been home much this semester so the quality time was so appreciated! I can’t wait to see them again soon. I love them so much!

Sidenote…those Valentine’s Day presents we opened…yeah, I bought two blue stuffed dogs for my two actual dogs…Colby apparently didn’t stand a chance because Amigo claimed both and showed them who was boss. Hahaha!