I wouldn’t believe me either.

[For those of you who may not know, Uncommon Grounds is my house] 

I honestly tried to just get lentil soup and call it → Read on! ]]> Would you guys believe me if I told you that I went to Uncommon Grounds yesterday and didn’t get a bagel?

I wouldn’t believe me either.

[For those of you who may not know, Uncommon Grounds is my house] 

I honestly tried to just get lentil soup and call it a day. I tried. But, then this happened:

A toasted pesto bagel with tomatoes just sort of landed on my table, and I had to eat it. I mean, look at it. 

LOOK AT IT.

Just too good to pass up. I’m tellin ya, I’m addicted.

Let’s not talk about it.

Let’s talk about how I spent ALL day yesterday reading. First, in Uncommon Grounds, and then at my school’s library.

Reading Assignment: A lot of my required readings for class are really interesting and I want to share what I’m learning with you.If you get a chance, check out this Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post article that I had to read for my investigative reporting class, and let me know what you think. If you like it, I’ll keep sharing what I read with you.

As overwhelmed as I am right now with school work, I know I’m going to miss it after I graduate in December. I’m going to miss going to cafes and libraries to read. Something about fall makes me love being a student.

I could not get over how much Saturday felt like fall in Albany. The weather was so beautiful: not too hot, not too cold. As I was walking from the library to my car, I had to stop and take a picture of the main fountain on my school’s campus.

Look at how pretty that is.  *sigh*

In other news, Jeff and I went on a date last night. We went to one of my favorite local restaurants: Brown’s Brewing Co. in Troy.

I thought about ordering wine, but then decided beer was necessary. I was, after all, at a brewing co. 

Can you guess which one is mine?

For dinner, I ordered the Veggie Black Bean Burger.

Description from the menu:

Vegetarian burger made with our brewery barley, black beans, red and green peppers, garlic and Greek cumin yogurt, served on a multigrain ciabatta.

Seriously? Greek Cumin Yogurt?

Brown’s, I think I love you.

Back in January, I ordered Brown’s black bean burger and it was completely different. The restaurant uses a different recipe now and I can’t decide which one I like better. [Note that I talk about going to Uncommon Grounds in the post I just linked to. I obviously have a problem]

Regardless of which version I liked better, there was one thing about last night that made my time spent at Brown’s better than any other experience I’ve ever had there, and it was this:

Carrot cake.

Oh yes. Carrot. Cake.

Drool.

If you’re ever in the area, go to Brown’s. You won’t be disappointed. Promise.

Questions of the day:

1. What is your favorite dessert ever?
2. Share one interesting thing you’ve read this week!
3. What are you doing for Labor Day?

Catching up on posts?

• Local Bloggers/Readers: Have you heard about the meet-up I’m organizing in Saratoga Springs!
• How my ankle injury taught me to love my body

Have a great Monday!! <3

And the winner of the Virgil’s Coffee House Giveaway IS:

Alicia who said:

I’ve never been to this place!! I’m excited to check it out now!! I would use my “technology break” to read. → Read on! ]]> Don’t forget to check out my last post about how my ankle injury taught me to love my body!

And the winner of the Virgil’s Coffee House Giveaway IS:

Alicia who said:

I’ve never been to this place!! I’m excited to check it out now!! I would use my “technology break” to read. Now that the semester has started, all I’m going to have time to do is homework…I will be shutting down my tech stuff to give my mind a break! And to read for leisure!

Congrats Alicia! Please e-mail your info to rebecca[at]roseyrebecca[dot]com

Since so many of you commented that you love the look of Virgil’s, Heather and I are planning a blogger/reader meet-up there!

If you are interested in attending, please either leave a comment or send me an e-mail indicating which weekends this fall will work for you. It will probably be a lunch or dinner.

You do not have to have a blog to attend.

Now, I’m off to read all day. Sounds glorious, doesn’t it? I may even go to Virgil’s since they have this rule:

Have a great Saturday! <3

I woke up thinking about it. I went to the gym with my head so full of ideas that I couldn’t wait to get home to write them all down. Of course, a shower and breakfast were necessary, so I kept → Read on! ]]> OK, so I’ve been writing this post in my head all morning.

I woke up thinking about it. I went to the gym with my head so full of ideas that I couldn’t wait to get home to write them all down. Of course, a shower and breakfast were necessary, so I kept writing thinking about this post as I went through my routine. And now, as I finally sit down to write it, I don’t know where to start. Maybe with this:

I ran today.

For the first time in almost two months, I ran. The doctor gave me permission to on Monday, but I was afraid to. I was afraid that I’d hurt my ankle even more. I was afraid that it would be hard, and that I wouldn’t like it anymore. 

Finally, I decided to just do it.

First, I did the rehab exercises that the doctor gave me for my hip. (If you missed it, the doc. thinks the reason I have ankle tendonitis to begin with is because I have a weakness in my right hip. He gave me exercises to strengthen it)

He said: Do you know how to do a plank?

I said: I hate plank.

He said: That’s why you need to do it.

Then, I wrapped my ankle, put on my FIGHT Bondiband, and headed out the door.

I took it easy. I let my iPod determine when I would run and when I would walk. Two songs: run. One song: walk. Galloway Style.

Thirty-five minutes and two and a half miles later, I hopped off the treadmill and stretched with a smile on my face.

I did it. I felt happy. I felt strong.

A few days ago, Heather wrote a post about how taking a break from running helped her to become a stronger runner. I’d have to say that I agree with her completely.

But that’s not the only benefit I’ve gained from not working out for two months.

I’ve also learned to love my body in ways that I never have before.

A year ago, I exercised to lose weight. If I missed a day at the gym, I’d feel guilty. If I missed two days at the gym, I’d feel like I’d ruined everything I had worked for.

As I exercised more and more, something shifted in my brain. I no longer wanted to exercise every day just to be fit.

I wanted to exercise because it made me feel good. It made me stress less. It made me happy.

Soon, exercising five or six days a week became part of who I was (and who I still am).

So, when I first hurt my ankle (and shoulder) in July, and the doctor told me not to exercise until the end of August, I was beside myself.

What would I do? I thought.

I’m not going to lie. I was definitely guilty of occasional fat talk. I lost muscle tone, and there were times when I broke down and actually cried about the situation.

But, I learned a valuable lesson in the last two months. I learned to love my body just the way it is.

Now, I’m about to say something that is totally cliché, but it’s something I think that needs to be said over and over again:

Nobody is perfect.

Nobody. Not me. Not you. We all have imperfections that make us who we are. And that’s OK.

In the time I spent away from the gym, I learned that I’m no longer the type of person who needs to work out every day to feel good about my body. If my workout hiatus has taught me anything, it’s that:

If the only time you feel good about your body is after you’ve worked out, something is wrong.

You should feel good about your body ALL THE TIME.

You should exercise because you love to, not because you feel like you have to. The mental benefits are more important than the physical ones. If you’re working out just so you can reach a desired goal, you’re never going to be truly happy with your body, because you’re never going to feel like you’ve done enough.

If you miss a few days, a few weeks, a few months of working out, so what? When your body is ready, you’ll get back into it.

Meanwhile, focus on loving your body and yourself just the way you are. I promise, you’ll feel so much happier when you do.

How did you learn to love your body? How can we help others do the same?