Slowing Down

We’re packing up to make our way back to Charlotte but I wanted to post a quick update first. This break has pretty much been exactly what I needed. In case you haven’t noticed, I tend to cram my days full of as many activities as possible. Before leaving for this trip, I was averaging 5-6 hours of sleep per night and felt like every second of my days was scheduled. This break has allowed me to slow down and just enjoy life and time with my family. I have averaged 8-9 hours of sleep per night, given myself a break on intense workouts and relaxed enough to just sit by the fire and hang out. As a result I feel truly rested for the first time in months and totally stress-free.

After I left you guys yesterday, we met some of our college friends at The Vortex for lunch.

(Tyler, Brandon, Clay and Charlie)

The Vortex is a popular Atlanta burger bar that we have somehow missed on previous trips. When Clay suggested meeting here Brandon was totally excited, especially after Clay assured him there would be “healthy options for your wife.”

I’m not sure if I would call the Vortex Veggie Melt “healthy” but it sure was delicious.

It was huge and my fingers were coated in butter every time I picked it up. I managed to get half of this delicious sandwich down before throwing in my (grease-covered) napkin.

It could have been worse…

Check out the Grilled Fluffernutter X-Treme – sounds intense. 😉

After lunch we met up with my mom for a trip to the High Museum of Art. The “Dali: The Late Work” exhibit was in its final weeks so we decided to check it out.

(source)

The verdict – Salvador Dali was a strange man. It was fascinating to learn about his life and the stories behind his paintings. The stories ran the gamut from an obsession with marsupials to a dabble in nuclear physics. Crazy, crazy stuff. Although I’m not sure that I’d want a Dali hanging in my living room, I enjoyed the exhibit.

We roamed around some of the permanent collections before calling it a day. The High is a great museum and I recommend a visit for anyone visiting Atlanta.

Yoga, a lunch date and a trip to the High was about all I could handle in my relaxed state yesterday. We came home and I promptly settled myself in front of the fire and literally did not move all night. My mom suggested ordering pizza for dinner. Brandon and my dad braved the cold to pick it up.

House salad.

Veggie pizza.

Veggie pizza in front of the fire. Yes, I was that lazy. We talked about eating at the table and then we all just kind of migrated back to our spots in the living room instead.

I did take a break from vegging to torture play with Sullie.

Brandon and I got her a new reindeer toy for Christmas and made her sit there and look at it before we gave it to her. We are so mean (and she is so good!). 😀

I updated Bakin’ and Eggs last night with the beer bread recipe and then read in bed before getting another night of nine glorious hours of sleep.

After going two days without breaking a sweat, I was ready to run this morning. It was 32 degrees out so I had to bundle up but it felt great to run. My parents neighborhood is super hilly so I quickly warmed up running all the hills.

After my run I had a major oatmeal craving. I hadn’t had any since we left Charlotte last Friday.

I whipped up a bowl of apple cinnamon oats with raisins. I topped it with a little bit of blackberry jam and crunchy peanut butter.

Off to finish packing and head home. Back to work tomorrow but it’s only a two day work week so I can’t complain!