Post-Vacation Life

Well friends, Erik & I survived our first week back at work after 2 glorious weeks of vacation.  And you know what?  It wasn't half bad.  

On New Year's Day, I got a little depressed thinking about how soon our vacation would be coming to an end.  I knew New Year's Eve was the last "big hurrah" of our trip and what a FUN hurrah it was.  (I promise to post the rest of our Montana & Seattle vacation soon!!)  So I was quite sad to see it all coming to an end.  But when Erik & I were in the airport January 4, we talked about how we actually liked our jobs and weren't completely dreading going back to work.  (But I mean, who doesn't want to stay on vacation forever?!)  We also couldn't wait to sleep in our own bed again, finally!  

We got back to Phoenix late Saturday night, and drove back to Tucson early Sunday morning.  We I unpacked and started laundry in record time and OH. MY. GOD. it felt soo good to be sitting on our own couch catching up on all the TV shows we missed.  We also decided to have some of our friends over that night for an early BBQ and were in bed by 8 o'clock.  So far, post-vacation life wasn't shaping up to be as bad as I thought!  And when Thursday hit, I really started thinking, "Wow, this has been one of the best weeks ever!"  A thought I don't think I've ever had post-vacay.  Erik & I tried to do something semi-fun each night, to help ease our vacation ending woes, and I think we're going to carry this "doing fun things durning the week" goal out for the rest of 2014.  So here's how Week One went:

Monday.  We brought back some Steelhead Salmon from Seattle & Erik grilled it up Monday night.  He topped it with a light brushing of mayo (a trick he learned from his Mama), lemons and rosemary.  I was on side dish (and wine drinking) duty and made some garlic green beans & rice pilaf.  The salmon was perfection & oh so delicious. 

Tuesday. UGH. Alright story time... Every year my Aunt & Uncle host a football pool for the college bowl games.  I don't think I've entered it since I was in college but this year I was feeling frisky and did.  There were only a couple teams I picked with intention (Arizona State & University of Arizona), the rest I picked based on their team colors or whether I'd want to visit the place they're from.  ANYWHO.  There's like close to 30 games, cut to the last few and I realize I'm tied for first.  TIED FOR FIRST!!! I became obsessed with watching these last few games and winning.  I am so competitive, I can't help it!  The last game (Auburn/Florida) was played on Tuesday.  I had chosen Auburn to take the cake & the 2 guys tied for first with me picked Florida.  I could smell victory!! In case you didn't see the game, it was cray.  Auburn had the lead for 4 quarters.  Then some bad bad bad things happened and victory slipped right through my their fingers.  Although a football pool victory was no longer in my future, Erik & I still had a fun night of cheering like maniacs for Auburn.

Victory was not mine.

Wednesday.  Erik & I finally made our first trip to the gym in 2014. Wooooo! The gym isn't necessarily my favorite place but I always feel better after I leave.  And bonus! Subway is conveniently located between our gym and our apartment complex, so sometimes we decide to stop their on our way home to grab some dinner.  I love Subway nights for many reasons, but my favorite being that it means I'm gonna have a bomb lunch the next day! And going to work is so much better when you know you have a tasty lunch waiting for you. 

Thursday.  One of my friends got me a movie gift card for Christmas, so Thursday night Erik & I decided to use it to see Wolf of Wall Street.  Who doesn't love a movie mid-week?! Especially one starring Leonardo DiCaprio. And what a fantastic movie it was! I would highly recommend it if you're thinking about venturing to the theater this weekend.  It is on the long side (THREE hours) but who doesn't want to spend 3 hours with Leo?!

Friday. Girls Night!! Two of my coworker besties & I had a pho date.  After our first week back to work, some pho and boba drinks (infused with alcohol!) were just what we needed. 

What a perfect start to the weekend!