Weekend Full of Events

Hello friends!

Sorry for the slight blogging hiatus.  This weekend was action packed with a lot of fun activities, and a little bit of behind the scenes blog work (more on that later this week!).

Saturday started out with my Body Pump class.  I am getting more comfortable with Pump each week, and I find myself adding in more little jokes, singing a bit more, and just having more fun with everything overall.  I absolutely love starting out my weekend with this amazing class and workout.

 

After teaching Pump, I headed over to visit Brian at an open house for the student run dental clinic that he is a part of.

I was able to meet the dean of his program as well as some of his class mates.

 

The facilities were so new. I was very impressed by how nice everything looked.

 

 

Once we were done with the clinic open house, it was time to shower and clean up for the evening.  We had not one but two cookouts to attend.  The first cookout was for Brian’s clinic group in dental school, and the second was for our friend, Tori’s, birthday.

 

 

 

 

It was a perfect night to be outside, so the cookouts were great to have as our evening plans. At the dental school cookout, everyone brought a different dish, and there was such variety!  I brought my homemade hummus along with some veggies and pita chips.

 

There were so many things to sample, I didn’t know what to pick.  The dessert table looked pretty darn tasty, so I kept my pickings pretty small in order to save room.

Celery with some corn and bean salsa, corn chips, potato salad, more veggies, cheese, and some plantains.  Yum!

 

After our food settled, Brian and I shared some goodies from the dessert table.  Not quite sure what everything was, but there was a little chocolate and peanut butter goody…that little gem was by far my favorite!

 

After chatting and hanging out for a bit, we then headed over to Tori and Kegan’s house.  We were happy to celebrate Tori’s birthday, but we were super excited to meet the newest member of their family…

TEDDY!  Isn’t he adorable!?

 

We spent the evening chatting outside, drinking a little wine and just relaxing…so perfect!

 

Sunday

I made sure to limit myself to one small glass of wine last night early in the evening because I knew that I was heading out for my long run today.  9 miles was on the agenda, it felt oh so good to check it right off the list!

 

I then made a delicious breakfast of carrot cake pancakes for Brian and I (recipe coming soon..), showered up and got ready for the day.

 

Brian and I had plans to attend Dig IN-A Taste of Indiana with Tori and Kegan.  This event showcased Indiana growers and their high quality dishes in sample sized bites in the beautiful White River State Park in downtown Indianapolis, IN.

This event was so amazing, and I can’t say enough great things about the people, the food, the atmosphere, about everything…so I will be dedicating an entire post to this wonderful event later in the week 😉

 

 

After Dig-IN, Brian and I were definitely ready to go home.  We ran a couple of errands, then came back home to prepare for the week.  We weren’t exactly starving for dinner, but we needed a little somethin’ somethin’ in our bellies, so I whipped up some veggie and cheese plates.

 

The cheese was from Trader’s Point Creamery.  Trader’s Point is an organic dairy farm in Indianapolis, IN.  They had a booth with delicious gazpacho soup at the Dig-IN event, and while we were in line I think that we just hit the lucky spot because the marketing manager just happened to be standing there and gave us some cheese to take home to sample!  You know how I feel about free things…

She didn’t just give us any cheese, she gave us some of their famous Fleur de la Terre.   This cheese was slightly salty, and had a slightly sharp flavor…so delish!  I made sure not to eat it all and save some for a recipe later in the week 😉

After such a busy and fun weekend, I am more than ready for a good night’s sleep.

Hope you all had a great weekend too!

What was one fun thing that you did this weekend?

• Attended the Dig-IN A Taste of Indiana event…can’t wait to share the details soon!

Why You Should Go to the Gym Today

 

 

Last night, I wanted something really quick for dinner.  I was tired and hungry, and those two things are NEVER a good combination.

Luckily, I had some veggie burgers in the fridge that only took about 8 minutes to cook.  These burgers were a new brand to me, Franklin Farms, and I truly loved them!

 

The ingredient list wasn’t too lengthy and the first ingredient on the list was “vegetables!”  Each burger has 100 calories, 12 grams of protein, and tasty flavor.  These little burgers are going to be hopping into my grocery cart more often!

This Morning

This morning, I woke up on the tired side of the bed.  I’ll admit it and say that I simply wanted to curl up back into my blankets and close my eyes rather than heading to the gym…but I didn’t.  Of course there are days when a little mid week break is needed, but there are also times when you need to simply push yourself just a bit and say “come on, think about how you will feel after you go to the gym…”

A little self-motivation never hurt anyone 😉

If you are lacking that little motivation to head to the gym this Friday, here are some self-motivating tips that I use when the bed sheets are calling my name:

• I like to think about how I will feel after the workout.  That energy boost and that feeling of strength and accomplishment is priceless!
• Put it into your schedule so that if you are a “list” person (which I completely am!) then you can physically cross that thing off the list.
• If I am not feeling like creating my own workout or really thinking about it, then I will go to a group fitness class so that someone else can plan my workout for me.
• The end goal is always important for me.  Am I working to build muscle?  Am I training for a race?  I like to keep whatever that end goal is in my head and think about how completing the workout will allow me to go one step closer to that goal.
• To get that endorphin high!  Enough said 🙂
• Remember how this exercise, whatever form, is benefitting your health in the long term.

How do you motivate yourself to get to the gym in the morning?

Honeymoon Mystery and Deliciously Simple Asian Tofu Salad

Yesterday, Mom and I spent the morning driving up to Michigan to meet my dad and be with family for the morning.  On the way up there, we saw about a bazillion hot air balloons.  I know it’s hard to see in the picture below, but all those little specs are hot air balloons!  We had no idea why so many were out on a Wednesday morning, or even that so many people owned hot air balloons, but it gave us some nice scenery along the drive.

The trip to Fort Wayne and Michigan was short and sweet, so before I knew it, I was in the car and heading back to Indianapolis to meet with our Travel Agent to speak of honey moon plans.

It was a long day of driving, so I needed snacks in the car.  Mom packed up some cucumbers, radishes (yum!  I don’t eat these enough!), green pepper, and dried apricot.

It was great talking with the travel agent.  Brian and I just keep getting more and more excited about the wedding and our honey moon each day and can’t wait for next summer!

We haven’t booked anything yet, but hopefully soon we will have our arrangements all settled to travel to one of these locations…

Cinque Terre, Italy

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Negril, Jamaica

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The Bahamas

source

Any guesses as to which location Brian and I are trying to make our honeymoon destination? We will let you know the answer once everything is all booked!

Dinner

When we arrived home, it was later than our usual dinner time and both of us were a bit hungry.  Luckily, I had prepped a meal on Sunday so we had to wait almost no time for dinner to be on the table.

Asian Tofu Salad

Yields:  2 Servings

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp Hoisin Sauce
• 2 1/2 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
• 2 1/2 Tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce
• 1 tsp Honey
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 cup of cubed tofu
• 2 cups of lettuce, chopped
• 1 cup of chopped cabbage

 

 

 

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, and olive oil.  Stir until combined.  Pour about half of the Asian dressing over the cubed tofu to marinate.  Spray and grease a baking sheet, and lay the tofu on the sheet.  Place in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes.  Remove from the oven, stir the tofu around and place in the oven for 10-15 more minutes until it reaches your desired crispness.

This tofu can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days so that you can have this meal later in the week, or you can serve it right away.  

Divide the lettuce and cabbage into two bowls.  Top with the tofu and the remaining dressing.  Eat and enjoy!

This meal was delicious and tasty, so simple, and we both cleaned every bite from our plates!

Hope you all have a great Thursday!

Of Possible Interest

• 16 Healthy Lunch Sandwiches:  Fitsugar
• Why Aloe Has a Place in Your Diet:  Vegetarian Times
• Top 5 Fitness Classes to Get You Back in the Game:  Fitfluential Blog

 

Scrumptious Greek Chicken with Quinoa Salad and my First Encounter with Feta

A couple of days ago, I showed you this tasty picture without giving you a recipe or even telling you what it was!

This meal of Scrumptious Greek Chicken with Quinoa Salad is a fabulous week night dinner that is tasty enough to be impressive, yet simple enough that it can be whipped up in no time.

When I headed to the grocery store last weekend, feta cheese sounded delicious.  I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to use the feta in during the week, but I knew it sounded great so I tossed some into the cart.

Whenever I think of feta cheese, I can’t help but think of my first encounter with feta.  When I was in high school, one of my best friends was very Greek.  On one occasion when me and our other friends were at her house hanging out, we were hungry and wanted something to snack on.  Upon opening the fridge, I saw a giant white tub with a clear lid full of some sort of giant white block.  I had no idea what it was, but I knew that I was not going to eat whatever that mystery block was.

The tub looked much like this, but with a clear lid.

source

When I questioned what the tub was full of…FETA was the answer.  At that moment I simply knew that I did not like feta and I never would.  Well, I was wrong.  Because after actually tasting the salty, crumbly cheese I realized I couldn’t get enough of it!

So, after throwing the feta into my cart last weekend, I needed to figure out a meal to pair this delicious cheese with.  Scrumptious Greek Chicken with Quinoa Salad fit the bill.

Scrumptious Greek Chicken with Quinoa Salad

Yields: 2 servings of Chicken, and 2-3 servings of salad, can easily be doubled

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp Greek salad dressing, can be purchased OR recipe follows
• 2 chicken breasts, thawed
• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (about 1 cup cooked)
• 1/2 cup cherry tomato, quartered
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup chopped cucumber
• 1/2 cup raw spinach
• 1/2 cup reduced fat feta

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Coat the chicken breasts with half of the Greek dressing while poking holes into the chicken with a fork to get some of the dressing inside.  Place in the baking dish and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the quinoa salad.  The quinoa can be prepared at an earlier date or right before serving this meal, allowing that it has time to cool.  Prepare the quinoa according to package directions by placing 1/2 cup of the uncooked quinoa into a sauce pan along with 1 cup of water.  Cover the quinoa.  Allow the quinoa to come to a boil and turn the heat down to low for 12-15 minutes, or until the water is gone.

If preparing the quinoa right before the meal, stick it in the freezer to allow it to cool while the chicken is cooking.

Chop the tomato, onion, and cucumber.  Place in a large bowl with the spinach, feta, and the remaining Greek dressing.  Once the quinoa is cool, combine the quinoa into the feta and Greek dressing mixture.

Remove the chicken from the oven, serve along side the quinoa salad and enjoy!

Homemade Greek Dressing:

• 1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp evoo
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/8 tsp pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.  Mix until combined, and serve over salads or use as a marinade.

ENJOY!

*This recipe is being entered into the Mr. Food Ultimate Weeknight Meal Contest.  Keep your eyes peeled for voting opportunities!

Friday in a Nutshell and the Foodie Blogroll!

I had a pretty eventful Friday…here is what went on (in a nutshell 😉 )

I was invited to be a member of Foodie Blogroll!!

Foodie Blogroll is a blogging community that features different blogs each week, allows members to participate in exclusive promotions with various food companies, and is a great way for food bloggers to connect with other food bloggers. I am so excited to be a part of this community, and I can’t wait to be involved in my first promotion.

Lunch Date

Yesterday, Brian showed me just how great of a fiance he was by stopping by the hotel to take me out to an unplanned lunch date!

 

It was very unexpected, but much needed.  Panera was our restaurant of choice.  Seriously, I don’t think that I could ever get sick of that place.

 

My lunch was one of the You Pick Two combos including the vegetable soup with pesto, and the Thai chopped chicken salad…sans the chicken.  So good, I need to figure out how to make that salad at home!

 

After we were finished with our lunch, we ran next door to Bed Bath and Beyond to pick up a wedding gift for the wedding we are attending later today.  Unfortunately, we had to order the gift to be delivered to the couple, but luckily they had a coupon code that I could text to receive on my smart phone!  Gotta love savin’ some moolah 😉

 

Running

My work day ended with a meeting downtown.  Since my workout scheduled for the day was my long run for the week, I totally took advantage of this and made sure to pack workout attire.

I stopped by one of the gyms I teach at to change, then headed out along my usual path.  Sadly, I didn’t charge my Garmin last night and she died about .2 miles in…so I think I ran just about 6 miles.

 

I got pretty thirsty along the way and forgot to bring my mini water bottle, so I stopped at a hotel and creeped around until I found this little beauty.  It was glorious!

 

Dinner

After the run, I was pretty hungry and so thankful that I had leftovers from last night’s salmon patties.  Even though they weren’t perfect, they were still a tasty and quick dinner.  I just added a side of green beans and called it a day!

 

Ella’s Frozen Yogurt

The other day, Brian and I stopped by a friend’s on our way home just for a moment to say hi and see her new house.  On the way we drove past this cute little frozen yogurt shop!

 

We didn’t stop then, but I knew we would be making a trip in the very near future.  Ella’s Frozen Yogurt was decorated so cute, the toppings were displayed perfectly making Brian and me want to try each one, the staff was incredibly friendly giving us samples and recommendations, they had live music, and special discounts every day of the week! They had a live band playing outside too. Not to mention the frozen yogurt tasted delicious!

Topping Station:

 

More Toppings:

 

Even More Toppings:

 

Tara’s Creation:  1/2 Snickerdoodle and 1/2 Cake Batter Frozen Yogurt topped with granola, peanut butter drizzle and a few cookie dough bites to snack on in the car.

 

Brian’s Creation:  1/2 Cake Batter and 1/2 Strawberry frozen yogurt with cheesecake bites, butterfingers, strawberries, and peanut butter drizzle.

 

The best part about the whole thing was that it only cost $5!! Friday’s promotion is 40% off for students, and Brian and I completely took advantage of that discount.  A delicious Friday night treat!

Breakfast

This morning, I woke up pretty hungry, so I immediately ran upstairs to make myself a delicious strawberry protein smoothie bowl (strawberries, almond milk, Sunwarrior protein powder, spinach, ice and water, raw oats, and a bit of peanut butter on top).

It totally hit the spot!

 

Now, it’s time to review some Body Pump before teaching my class later this morning.  I hope you all have a great Saturday!

Question of the Morning?

• What were your Friday night plans?
• Anyone else eat some fro yo? (or ice cream??)
• What is your favorite Fro Yo topping??

My absolute all time favorite fro yo topping would be….granola!  I love the crunch, the sweetness, everything about it.  Yum!

Friday Tangents and a Mixed Bag Workout

Yesterday morning, I taught my Cardio Intervals group fitness class.  I have been teaching this class since May and have had a pretty solid little group of participants.  Most weeks, I would have a new circuit style routine featuring alternating cardio and strength exercises to get the heart rate up in quick bursts.

Because next week is the last class (this gym changes classes each semester based on a school schedule), I decided to throw a little curve ball at the class.  Yesterday, I let THEM create the workout!! It was actually really fun!

I took each of the exercises that we had completed in workouts throughout the summer and put them in two baggies.  One for Cardio (C) and one for Strength (S).  The participants then alternated and picked 4 from the C bag and 4 from the S bag.

The workout turned out to be challenging, fun, and a great workout!!  We will be picking from the bag next week too!

 

I then got home and had the best kind of mail waiting for me…..the kind where I get something free!!!!

I entered a Peanut Butter & Co. Twitter contest last week, and won a free jar of peanut butter plus a ton of other coupons for discounted PB!! 🙂

 

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the jar of peanut butter right there because I was pretty hungry and ready for dinner…so I got to work in the kitchen creating some salmon patties…

Dinner Kind of Flopped….

 

They tasted good, but they didn’t quite turn out the way I wanted.  The consistency was a little crumbly…so back to the drawing board for that one!  At least this flop was still edible 🙂

 

Breakfast

This morning was a morning for protein pancakes.   I wanted to make sure to eat a hearty breakfast because after work I am planning on running between 5 and 7 miles.

 

I am running a half marathon in late September and really need to kick my butt back into training gear.  I was doing pretty good (I had gotten up to 7 miles) about a month ago, but had to take a break so that I could focus on putting together group classes and learning Body Pump choreography.  Now that I am all caught up (kind of…) and the race is soon, back to training I go!!!

Have a happy Friday, and don’t forget that you can still enter my contest for a Grocery List Consultation and Evaluation simply by liking me on Facebook and commenting on yesterday’s blog post!! The winner will be picked tomorrow morning.

Like Me? Then “Like” Me!

Last night, I made a deliciously simple meal that was nearly made of all local ingredients.

The wine was from Easley Winery, the main dish was a U-Relish Farms crockpot meal (review coming soon!), and the salad…well it came from the grocery store.  But even still the salad, crockpot meal, and wine were the perfect end to a long work day.

Like Me?

Having this blog is great because the blog time is like “me time” and I am really able to focus, write down my thoughts, get creative, and do things that I truly enjoy.  One of the great things that I love about the blog is the opportunities that it gives me and the people that it allows me to meet.  I know that I am only getting started and there is so much room for me to grow, but I continue to want to sink my teeth in and bite off more and more projects that allow me to promote a healthy lifestyle, experiment in the kitchen, meet people with similar interests, find new ways to be active, and learn new lessons.

As I have recently been researching more opportunities for me to “put myself out there”, I have come across a small obstacle.  Some promotional opportunities require a certain amount of Facebook “likes.”  Currently, I am at 89 Facebook “likes.”  Here is where I need your help.

I need your help to get me to 100 (or more!!) Facebook “likes!”

In order to make this a little more fun for you, (and for me ;)) I am going to host a contest through Saturday morning.

The prize:  Grocery List Consultation Evaluation

As a young professional and recent college grad attempting to eat a healthy diet on a dime I have a few tricks up my sleeve when it comes to saving money on quality ingredients.  I will look at what you are doing now, listen to your goals about where you would like your budget to be, what changes to your current food intake you want to make,  and look at potentially new foods you may like to try.  I want to help you save money and show you some healthier alternatives to current foods you may be eating because healthy living doesn’t have to be expensive or out of your price range!

Previously, I did a Clean Shopping On a Budget Series, and in the past year I have learned even more tips and tricks of the grocery shopping and healthy eating trade.  To check out the series, click on the links below:

• Part I
• Part II
• Part III

The consultation and evaluation will include:

• cost saving tips and suggestions
• coupon sources
• healthy food swaps
• meal preparation tips
• anything else you may need help with!

In order to enter this contest simply “like” my Facebook page, and comment down below on this post letting me know that you did!

It won’t take many to reach the 100 mark…so let’s see how far we can surpass it!

Summary

What:  Contest to get 100+ Facebook page likes

Prize:  Grocery List Consultation Evaluation

When:  Now until Saturday, August 11 at 9am

How:  Like my Facebook page and comment below telling me that you did

Florida Recap: Never Too Old For Disney

Day 1:  Disney

We didn’t waste any time on this vacation.  Ever since my sister and I knew that we were going with my parents to Florida to celebrate my brothers graduation, we were asking that a trip to Disney be put into the plans.

As children, we went to the theme parks several times and have never truly out grown them.  My cousin works for Disney, and he wanted to meet up with us to spend the day in the park, Monday worked for his schedule and we made sure that it worked for ours.

We had an amazing day riding several of the rides with VIP fast passes thanks to our little family connection.

It was a long day starting with Hollywood Studios, Epcot in the middle, and ending with the Magic Kingdom.  We were dog tired at the end…but it was sooo worth it!

Pool Time

While we never actually made it to the beach on this trip, we did make it to the pool…several times.  And in the spirit of the Olypmics, we practiced some synchronized diving!

After spending the beginning portion of our day on Wednesday at the pool, we headed to Publix, which is a Southeastern United States grocery store chain…but I totally wish we had it in Indiana.

We stopped by their bakery section to pick up some fresh rolls to go with our Grandma’s planned meal of pulled pork or caprese sandwiches for those not to fond of pork (that would be me!).

Just walking through the Publix bakery made me want to buy just about every item they had out.  I love this grocery store so much because they have so many fresh items, it doesn’t seem too unreasonable priced, and it just has a nice clean look and feel.  What can I say…there is just something about the store that I like.

My grandparents were camping in their little mini motor coach (they call it the “Trek”) that they literally drive all over the country in the the Disney campground, Fort Wilderness.  This is where my family used to stay during our Florida vacations we would take as children, so my sister and I had big plans of hanging out at the pool…unfortunately, the afternoon got a bit rainy.

So, we put on the ponchos (ok…I put on the poncho), and we just walked around and explored the campground.  Soon enough, we were ready to head back for a couple of card games, and dinner.

Like I mentioned, my grandma made pulled pork for the family with a barbeque sauce that was low in sugar and absolutely tasty (I must get the recipe for that!), and caprese sandwiches for her and I to enjoy (neither of us really have ever enjoyed pork).

The sandwiches were served alongside some of her homemade secret ingredient potato salad…betchya can’t guess what’s in it.

Cauliflower! Another recipe that I need to make sure I ask for 😉  We then enjoyed some of my grandma’s favorite breakfast bread grilled with a little butter and apricot jam for dessert.  My grandma loves this breakfast bread, but she can only get it at Publix.  So, whenever she is in the Florida area she picks up some extra bread and freezes it for a special occasion.

After trying this bread, I completely understand why she carries this stuff back to her Arizona home.  It is a hearty bread with raisins, dried cranberries, dried apricots, and nuts all mixed in.  Seriously…it’s good stuff.

While I love going out to eat and trying new local places, when I am with my family, I really enjoy the home cooking provided by my mom or grandma.  We can all relax in our comfy clothes, play cards, and just hang out…I love that!

Time for You to Share:

• When you go on vacation, do you prefer to eat out at a lot of different restaurants and try new things, or do you like to hang around in the evenings in your cozy clothes and just relax with some home cooking?? Or, do you like a bit of both?

Baby, I’m Back!

After an amazing week long vacation in Florida with my family, I am back home in Indiana.  I took so many pictures attempting to capture each moment, and plan to recap the vacay within the next few days, but I thought that I would start off today by recapping today and the end of our journey.

Leaving Florida

After packing up our bags and making sure that we had everything out of the condo, my family headed up to Ocala, FL.  Ocala is a small town a couple of hours North of Orlando, and it just happens to be where my Aunt and Uncle call home.  It has always been a tradition to stop at their house on our way home to fill our tummies with a delicious meal before hitting the long road home, and yesterday was no exception.

My grandparents were there too, and my grandma picked up some special treats to serve as appetizers to our lunch.

Fried Alligator

and Crab Legs

 

Now, I have tried crab legs before…and I love them!  So when it came to that dish I (and the rest of the fam) dug right in!…literally

 

My dad and grandpa stayed out of the mess.  To them, crab legs are a lot of work, for not a lot of food…but I think that the work is all the fun!

Now, as far as the alligator goes…I would be lying if I didn’t say I was apprehensive.  It took a little coaxing to get me to agree to trying a piece:

I would also be lying if I told you I didn’t go back for seconds ;)…I liked it!

After chatting and catching up for a bit, my aunt then laid out some delicious salads and toppings for us to “build-our-own” lunch salads.  Just the kind of meal I love! Create-your-own…and veggies!

Grandma and Brenna

Uncle Chris, Mom, and Grandpa

Aunt Doreen, Dad, and Me

It was a great afternoon and a great way to end our vacation.  Thanks Aunt Doreen and Uncle Chris!  And thanks Grandma for the gator and crabs 🙂

Surprise Breakfast

We then drove through the night, switching drivers every couple of hours so that we could all stretch our legs and by around 8:30am we were pulling into the Rochford’s driveway…and they had a surprise breakfast made up for us!

 

 

 

There was delicious fruit and yogurt, bagels, hashbrowns, and Greg (Brian’s dad) was making eggs however we liked…it was delicious and much needed.  My parent’s were especially thankful considering they were dropping my sister and I off in Indianapolis with another two hours to go until they reached their destination of Fort Wayne.

Thankfully, we all made it back safe and in one piece!

Sunday Prep

Rather than heading straight to bed or scheduling a nap in during the day, I decided to be productive and work on getting things done in order to prepare for the work week so that I can go to bed early and not worry about anything I didn’t have time to get done.

I made some hummus:

I baked some peanut butter cookies…seriously delish!

Greg shared the harvest from my tomato plant with me…

Two baby baby tomatoes, with a third one still green on the vine!

I really owe a big thank you to Brian’s dad…he watered that tomato plant, while I barely even looked at it!  And thanks to his water pot…we have three baby tomatoes, and they were tasty!

Getting Back in the Groove

Now, that I am back and laundry is done, I have grocery shopped, and prepared food for the week I am sooo ready to get back on track.  I absolutely love vacation and spending time with my family, but I am the kind of person that needs to function on a schedule, I thrive on it!  So, I am completely ready to dive in head first to get back into the routine of my half marathon training, Body Pump practicing, group fitness teaching, and healthy eating regular schedule 😉

Shout Out

And one last shout out (to the longest post ever…).  Thanks so much to Sam at Fit for my Fork, Courtney at Sweet Tooth Sweet Life, Clare at Fitting It All In, and Andrea at A Doctor in the House for guest posting while I was spending a wonderful week in Florida with my family.

Rough Ride Home

I am home for the weekend in Fort Wayne, but I did not have an easy road getting there last night.

 

 

That would be my car, with a giant flat tire on the highway.  Luckily, it didn’t cause any accidents and I was safely able to pull of the road.  Shortly after I pulled to the side, a kind police officer stopped to help me out, call the tow truck, and wait with me until everything was finished.  He even stopped traffic on the highway to get everything moved over into the far lane.  What  great help he was!! I couldn’t thank him enough.

After my adventure on the highway, I finally ended up at home about an hour later than planned.  Thankfully, my mom had a delicious meal of salmon, sweet potatoes, and veggies all plated up for me and ready to go.  I was hungry and the food tasted good!

My mom made a new rub for the sweet potatoes and salmon that is to die for!  Don’t worry, I got the recipe and will share later 😉

 

My mom and I then spent a good portion of the evening trying to photograph our dogs…we finally gave up and deemed them both cute in person, but horribly un-photogenic!!

 

This Morning

Today, Mom and I got up nice and early to head to a diner owned by one of her friends.  Literally, they just reopened the doors on Tuesday!!  I’ll go into more detail on Minnie’s diner in a later post 😉

We both had veggie omelettes, mom’s with a side of potatoes

 

and mine with a side on plain oats.  I seriously think that was on of the biggest bowls of oats I have ever seen!  Tasty, but I couldn’t finish it.

 

We then ran a couple of errands including mailing a package to a special giveaway winner (yes, I know the giveaway was a while ago, but we have been in contact and she understands!)  It should be there by Monday!

 

Next on the agenda was Body Pump.  I had to have a sub teach my class for today in Indianapolis, but I made up for it by attending class as a participant this morning.  I upped my weights today…and all I can say is OUCH!!! (in a good way of course!)

 

Then, it was time to head home, shower, and eat some lunch.  For me, lunch included tuna with some low fat cottage cheese, cucumbers and carrots, some leftover sweet potatoes from last night, and grapes and berries.  So summery and tasty!

 

 

Now, I am off to get a new tire for my car, meet up with a friend, and mom is at a baby shower.  Enjoy your Saturday!