Special Needs Prom, Wedding Fun, Beach Day, and Eats

Good-morning and happy Monday to you! Marco and I had such a full weekend. It was EXACTLY what we were both craving. A weekend full of friends, fun, and fulfillment.

Friday we volunteered at A Night To Remember, our favorite prom night in Ventura – a prom put on by our home Church, Mission, for special needs students (ages 12-25). It’s awesome. After prom we got together with some of our Ventura friends which is always a favorite thing to look forward to!

(Haha, this photo that my friend Kelly captured cracks me up ^. It’s very “us” in the moment – Marco with Coors Light being fun and me making one of my many expressive faces – apparently I have many)

Saturday, I met up with my auntie and her friends and we walked at the beach and got coffee. By noon, Marco and I were headed back to San Luis Obispo to our friend Jess and Tommy’s wedding! Ah, we had so much fun. After the wedding we all went out downtown SLO.

On Sunday, Marco and I slept in, had a cozy morning at home, made breakfast, and headed to the beach to meet up with friends. We had a long and relaxing beach day, it was lovely. In the evening, we landed in our nice cozy bed, watched Life In Pieces on Netflix, and slept SO good. SUCH a full and fun weekend.

Today, I am sharing daily eats with you from Tuesday of last week. Tuesday was a “creation” day of work, meaning it was dedicated to writing (and taking food photos like these, as you can see). I love these workdays!

Before we dive into this daily eats post, I want to set the stage: these posts are NOT for comparison, rather, they’re to encourage you toward freedom in your own body, as I experience freedom in mine. They’re to encourage you to listen to your body’s wants and needs apart from rules around food.

Tuesday morning started with a 6:00 am wakeup, a little bit of quiet time, and writing. I sipped coffee from my Self-Love Summer mug and enjoyed the other half of my GoMacro bar that I’d started my day with on Monday (those eats here). I loooove early mornings and writing.

Several hours later, at about 10:00 I had two eggs scrambled on sourdough toast for breakfast before walking to the gym. After the gym, I jumped in the car with Marco (he drives there) and we visited an open house. It was such a fun afternoon of peeking into the possibilities of home ownership for us, though, I don’t think we’re QUITE ready to commit to living in ONE place yet.

Next, we came home and had lunch together. I made a southwest salad from Trader Joe’s with added chicken, and Marco had the last of the ribs that I so did not enjoy from the night before! That experience is in last Monday’s daily eats post.

We had a low-key great afternoon. We walked downtown and watched the Amgen bike races which I thought were SO cool. I guess they bike all of California! Marco told me I didn’t have a childhood since I hadn’t seen them before. But, thankfully, today I’m just a grown up big kid and enjoyed them just as much 😉

When we got home from the bike races we spent some time cleaning up the camper and getting the house together. Once we’d done that… we enjoyed my FAVORITE part of the afternoon. I got into cozy clothes, made tea, and Marco and I sat down (with a candle lit – very important) and went through this book of questions I’d made for us. I called this book “Paige + Marco’s Life Exploration Book.” (Haha, ahhhh to be married to me). We answered questions like “What’s important for us to do before we have kids?” “If we were to live life bigger, what else would we do?” “If it’s true that money alone doesn’t make you happy, what will?” Marco was such a trooper and totally did the “life exploring” with me. He even noted that he’d given me a solid hour and “11 minutes” to doing the book. I thanked him and said “See! Look at you… dedicating an hour and 11 minutes to something I love! Thank you!” Seriously though, highly recommended. This was so fun, and made me feel like I got to know my hubby, someone I see everyday, even more. I loved hearing in HIS words what he wants.

After filling out our book, I made dinner, which was really just re-heated leftovers! I got to thinking as I was making this dinner, HOW MUCH of what I cook is leftovers re-heated in a pan.

The best tip I learned (and I learned this from IIN) was to cook once and eat twice. Or, as I say, cook once and eat multiple times. Cooking at home becomes SO much easier and more rewarding knowing you’ve cooked once and have lots of leftovers to enjoy throughout he week. Plus, food tastes better the next day!

This night we had chicken, rice, and stir-fry veggies. I even threw in an egg and cooked it all on high heat. Yum!

And for dessert, I had this row of dark dark dark chocolate. Mmm! Hits the spot every time. I grabbed my book (finishing up The Gratitude Diaries), a cup of hot mint tea (always feels so good on my stomach), and cozied up on the couch while Marco watched his show. Such a GOOD day. So fulfilling.

I’ve been craving lately to be IN my life and less out of my life. The things that make me feel out of my life are: being on Instagram too much, scrolling mindlessly on my phone, or watching TV that isn’t a designated fun movie night, for example. Things that make me feel more IN my life right now are: doing things like filling in that book of questions, reading, drinking tea, listening to music at home, opening all the windows in the house, taking walks, and having FUN. It’s been a good week.

Alrighty guys, well I’m off now! Oh, and if you’ve been curious about working with me one on one in health coaching, I’d love to meet you. Fill in this form to get more information, a link to schedule a consultation, and to let me know where you’re looking for support. I have another space open this week and don’t expect it to stick around long!