Hi there! It’s been a minute since I’ve done a post of just normal “life stuff” rather than a recipe post or throwback. This three day weekend left plenty to catch up on and  I’m ready to get back into the writing side of blogging. Recipe creating is SO MUCH FUN but it is a lot of work to stage the ingredients for pictures, photograph all of the steps, and edit them to look extra appetizing.

Since I started working full-time, my biggest challenge is still getting used to the new schedule. It’s quite a transition to go from a full-time student to a full-time employee, to go from living on-campus to living 45 minutes from the office, and to go from easily working out whenever I wanted to struggling to squeeze in workouts at 4:45am. I could go on and on and I’ll probably write a full post on this topic…

Another interesting transition: two months ago I was literally surrounded by people my age. My gym was on campus, so everyone was a student. My classes are filled with other marketing seniors. My apartment complex was primarily a college crowd. The coffee shops and downtown were basically extensions of campus and I always saw someone I knew when I was out and about.

Now, I would say I’m at least 20 years younger than the average at my workplace. None of my friends from high school live in our hometown anymore. And it’s actually been a struggle to connect with people my age. So Friday night, I ventured out of my comfort zone and tried something new. NO, definitely not online dating ;) I found a young adult church group for people in their 20s & went all by myself! It seems weird that the meeting would be on a Friday night….seems like the least appropriate night for a group of twenty-year-olds to go to church. But I went with it! I dusted off my Bible and parked right next to the church cafe so obviously I bought an iced americano to bring inside with me. Caffeine is my liquid courage. So you can imagine my disappointment when I walked to the church doors which greeted me with an obnoxious “NO FOOD OR DRINK.” I had to throw away my coffee….I don’t like this church thing already :( haha, I kid. I chugged as much as I could in 5.7 seconds and walked in empty-handed. The live band was really good, the people were friendly (and dressed so cute!) and I’ll definitely be back. :)

The 4th of July started like a typical Saturday, i.e. at the gym. A lot of people took the holiday off or went out of town, so it was practically empty. After 8 miles on the treadmill, I was positively soaked so I had to head home for my ab and core strength exercises. Having to change clothes half way through a workout….I don’t know if that is more impressive or disgusting. #gymproblems.

Next I FINALLY got to make this year’s red, white & blue recipe…fruit & yogurt popsicles! I also made 4 chocolate protein pops and I’ll be posting detailed recipes of both later on :) Aside from having to wash the dang blender, making your own popsicles is so easy, plus you can eliminate sugars and dyes and chemicals.

Like most of you, we had BBQ for dinner – tropically delicious teriyaki turkey burgers with homemade teriyaki sauce (I’m really in to making my own sauces and dressings) and grilled pineapple rings. Another future recipe post to come!

Sunday was a lazy combination of some of my favorite things. A long 10-ish miles outside, just me & my iPod. A little strength sesh at the gym. A lunch date with my dad (build-your-own-pizzas!) and a walk outside. Iced coffee, blogging, the inevitable chores, and a new novel. We also re-watched the pilot to Parenthood (love) and started packing the suitcases for North Carolina. I’m beyond excited to explore the south so the dozen or so shark attacks along the Carolina coastline are kind of a buzz kill. Let’s pray the sharks aren’t attracted to Viva la Juicy ;)

And now it’s back to the grind! I’ll leave ya with one of my favorite songs from my running playlist this past weekend and see you back here again Wednesday :)

XOXO Kenz.