Happy Memorial Day! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. Other than some tummy issues, I had a great weekend. I’ll recap mine:

Friday I woke up Friday morning completely unable to move. My stomach felt like there were weights in it. I literally couldn’t get out of the bed, it felt so heavy. It was partially my fault. The night before, I went to a restaurant I love called Citrus. Citrus has an incredible menu of Latin and Asian foods. I’ve been there a few times and always enjoy what I get. On Thursday, I was there with the boy, one of my best friends since first grade Emily and her boyfriend. The four of us shared a trio of dips (guac!) and the boy and I shared this entree, which I have had before and it is every bit as good as it sounds: Ultimate Roll Combinationone yellowtail with mango & avocado, one spicy tuna with banana and one salmon with cucumber & tempura flakes wrapped in soy infused seaweed, served with a trio of latin inspired dipping sauces.

Normally for me, just splitting that entree with the boy would have been enough food. But I hadn’t eaten in forever and I was starving and I ate some of the appetizer. Some appetizer + half an entree = t0o much food for my poor stomach. I knew I overdid it when we left. I collapsed in bed when I got home and expected to wake up feeling better. That unfortunately wasn’t the case, as I woke up feeling like lead was in my belly.

The experience of literally not being able to get out of bed is scary and extremely uncomfortable and I hope no one ever had to go through it. 

I worked from home and by the evening started to feel better. I couldn’t eat all day though. By dinner, I was able to eat again and the boy and I tried to go eat at the Boat Basin. It was PACKED. The wait would have been about 40 minutes and it was loud and crazy, so we left and walked into the city a little. We ended up sitting outside at a Japanese restaurant where I had a much smaller amount of food than the night before!

Although the day was kinda blah, I did get to finish I Know This Much Is True and I LOVED it. I already ordered Wally Lamb’s newest book, The First Hour I Believed. It won’t arrive for a few weeks since I ordered the paperback version which isn’t out yet, but I am eager to read it when it does. Mallory loved it and I trust her opinion — and I believe Wally Lamb can do no wrong.

Saturday arrived and the boy and I had lots of errands to run. We even wrote a list! But first we wanted to eksusis. He went to the gym while I got on my rollerblades! I haven’t used them since last summer when Missy and I had a rollerblading horror experience. We learned the hard way that we don’t know how to slow down. The boy lives right on the Hudson river where there is a flat path that is perfect for skating. I skated for 56 minutes, but every time there was even a slight dip I would turn around. I remember clearly rollerblading with my friends when we were younger all over our development’s parking lots and sidewalks, where there were hills and dips everywhere. How did I do it? How did I have no fear! The entire time I was skating on Saturday, I felt terrified! I went so slowly, much slower than the joggers. That’s because I know I can’t slow down or stop and I am scared of losing control. I did get to practice and felt more confident towards the end. According to my HRM, I burned 400 calories in the 56 minutes. I’m fairly certain my max HR occurred during times I approached a dip and freaked out.

I wore my helmet, knee pads and wrist guards but I went way too slow for falling to even be an option! Rollerblading wasn’t hard on my knees at all, so I think it is an acceptable knee injury activity for me.

We got our errands done and went to eat at City Grill. Afterwards we did more errands and got my favorite summertime dessert – Yolato! For those of you not familiar, this is yogurt gelato. It is low fat and low cal — and DELICIOUS. It is seriously the creamiest yogurt you can imagine, and the flavors are amazing. Missy and I discovered it last summer and literally went crazy. They even have a Ferrero Rocher flavor! They also have flavors like Tiramisu, Birthday Cake, Nutella, Cookies & Coffee and a bunch of sugar free options. It varies from day to day, so it is worth it to go back.

This is what the yogurt case looks like:

Amazing, right! It really is so creamy and amazing. I have been talking to the boy about it and begged him to try it. He was a bit resistant because he isn’t a fro yo junkie like I am. I begged him to at least taste one flavor but he wouldn’t commit! But when we got there he liked the flavor options. He tasted some Birthday Cake and loved it, so he got a scoop of Birthday Cake and Toasted Almond (he loves almond flavored treats), and I  got a scoop of Sugar Free Hazelnut and Coffee N Cookies. Of course, I had a taste of Ferrero Rocher first! I am already excited to go back and try more flavors! The boy has his eye on Strawberry Cheesecake and White Chocolate for next time, but I will see what they have and decide on the spot!

Sunday was a big day for us since we planned to go to a barbecue at the boy’s mom’s house. I made my Raspberry Sherbet Pie the night before so it was all ready to bring! As you know, I had to run around like crazy to get the raspberry sherbet for this pie! I bought 3 containers so I can make this pie twice more over the summer.

As promised, I will now give you the recipe and take you through my pie making process! This is the easiest pie you will ever make and it is the perfect summer treat. It is always a big hit — everyone loves it, and this day was no exception!

Raspberry Sherbet Pie

Ingredients:

Graham Cracker Pie Crust,  Cool Whip Lite, Raspberry Sherbet, Semisweet Chocolate Chips and Strawberries

 

Steps:

Put the raspberry sherbet in a big mixing bowl

 Start mixing in Lite Cool Whip

 Add semisweet chocolate chips

Keep mixing! Throw in more chocolate chips and cool whip as you mix.

Mix until there are no dark sherbert spots and the entire pie looks creamy. You can ballpark it on how much Cool Whip to use. I used about 3/4 the container. Here is how much Cool Whip was left after I finished:

Your pie is set! This is what it will look like before you add the toppings.

 Put this in the freezer.

When you are ready to serve, remove the pie from the freezer and sprinkle more chocolate chips on top and surround the perimeter with fresh strawberries. You can sprinkle the chocolate chips on top before freezing if you wish. You must serve this pie immediately after removing from the freezer or it will melt.

The boy’s birthday is in a few weeks so we celebrated it here!

Below is the completed pie, ready to serve, with chocolate chips and strawberries on top, plus the birthday candles.

 This is the boy and I with the pie. That is not a crack in his head; it is a curly hair.

This is the inside of the pie. It got extra melty because of the birthday candles!

 After everyone finished eating, this is what was left of the pie:

Everyone hated it.

😉

Like always, the pie was a huge hit. This pie never fails, kids! It is just THAT good. A summer party favorite! If you decide to make this pie, let me know and take pictures and report back to me on what people think!

Just so you know, after making the pie we had this much batter left. Enough for a second pie if you wanted to make two at once!

See how easy and delicious that was?! The perfect summer treat!

Monday turned out to be the most beautiful day of the weekend! I woke up feeling ill again from overdoing it the day before (I never learn…) but after a few hours managed to feel better. The boy and I walked over to Central Park where we rented bikes, which I had been wanting to do for a long time! I hadn’t ridden a bike since I was young — and again, fearless. I was shaky at first but it really is true what they say. You never forget how to ride a bike.

We rode around the loop and it was hard! I didn’t realize was a tough workout bike riding was. The uphill portions were challenging and my heart rate went up high. Downhills were just as challenging for me since, again, I was terrified — especially when the downhills were combined with sharp turns! I rode the brake during this time, every now and then trying to go a little faster but often getting too scared of losing control. How did I have no fear as a child! It was a great course for bike riding and I loved it. I especially loved how hard I had to work. My heart rate monitor said I burned 300 calories in 45 minutes, with a max HR of 185. We had planned to go around a second time but we were short on time for the rest of the day so we stopped after just one.

Probably not the best activity for my knees, so I was a bit relieved we didn’t go around the loop a second time.

We ended up getting more eksusis as we had to walk all over the city to run more errands. By the time we got home we were pooped! It was also time for dinner, and we went downstairs to eat at the Pier 1 Cafe. It was impossible to get a table since there were so many people, but after some waiting around I managed to snag one right on the water. We had to wait forever for our food because apparently the kitchen never received our order! Eventually we got it and all was good.

The hot dogs and especially the burgers looked SO good there but I didn’t get them since I had those the day before at the barbecue. I wished I did, though. If you ever go there, do yourself a favor and order a burger (they have veggie too) — trust me!  They also had delicious white sangria. Sangria is my favorite drink of all time and I wish every bar and restaurant served it!

 

We got home early and I was able to read a lot more of my current book, Firefly Lane. I am almost finished with it and can’t put it down. I am sure I will finish it tonight.

Then I get to decide which of my many books to read next!

After my experiences with food this weekend, I learned that I really need to cut down the amount. A healthy amount of food for someone else is not likely a healthy amount for me. What used to be a healthy amount of food for me is now way too much. I don’t ever want to feel weights in my stomach again. I don’t want to have to call out of work because I can’t get out of bed. I  decided that starting today, I am making a change.

I decided to replace my breakfasts (usually Chobani with an Erin Baker’s brownie)with a large green juice instead. Lunches will be light, mostly my old breakfast of Chobani and brownie.  I think I need less food in me weighing me down and making me feel sick. This is what I ate today — and it is an experiment and I am determined to stick with it for awhile to see if I feel better.

I want to do everything possible to avoid needing surgery.

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