Booze Clues

No, the title is not another of my mishaps; rather, it is the name of my trivia team, the second-place team in Des Moines!  Tonight ended the month-long trivia competition, and we squeaked by over 20 other teams with a second-place victory.  September?  We'll get first.  :)

Today was an interesting day of emotions: I found out that my ex-boyfriend, the boy I was with in college, the boy I lived with after college, was engaged.  I am very truly happy for him - I really am.  However, my emotions did drop when I heard the news, and I'm not really sure why.  I'm not sad that it's her and not me - not at all.  We were not right together, and (as cliche as it is) everything really does happen for a reason.

I'm not going to lie: at first I did feel a bit of...hurt?  When we broke up, he told me that one of the primary reasons was because he didn't want to get married, and he knew that was important to me.  At first I was sad about this (duh), and then I was thankful; I do want to get married, and if he didn't, I'm glad we separated.  But now to see that he is getting married - to the girl he started dating almost immediately after the break-up - is just a little rough.  What was wrong with me?

Overall, though, I think their engagement just brought more of the same ol', same ol' questions to the surface, most notably, when is it my turn?


To end the little pity party I was having for myself this evening, I popped in my yoga DVD...

...and I felt all better - well, mostly all better...  The sharp pain in my chest every time I took a deep breath really hindered my workout, but emotionally I felt better.  :)  Yoga truly is a relaxing, rejuvenating, meditative practice.  I. LOVE. IT.

(By the way, have I mentioned how much I adore Bethenny Frankel?  We're Facebook friends :), I watch RHONY, I watch Bethenny Getting Married?, and I feel like she's like one of my best girl friends.  It's only natural that I follow her workout regime, too.)

And now to stop being a creepy stalker and get on to the rest of my day:

OMG.  Breakfast was amazing.  Remember how I said I hated overnight oats and could not believe how others loved them so much?  Okay - I was wrong.  I was just making them incorrectly.  The first time I made them, I mixed them with water and UVAB, just like I do when I make them in the morning.  THIS time, I mixed them with a Chobani Greek yogurt.  Observe:

Well, I guess they don't look amazing, but take my word for it: to. die. for.  I'm actually going to hurry up with this blog to make some more for tomorrow.  :)

I packed another full cooler for work today, not knowing just how long I'd be there:

Lunch was early today - 10:45.  Who eats lunch that early?!  This girl.  Every other day.  I ate the leftover orzo salad and was stuffed - after all, I had only recently filled up on overnight oats!  After school, I chowed down the grapes and the yogurt while organizing my lesson for tomorrow.  The rest will accompany me to school tomorrow - wasn't hungry for it all today, even though I didn't leave work until 5:00.

After I ran errands, arrived home, and did yoga, I heated up the last bit of orzo salad and ate it along with a warmed Flatout wrap:

And don't worry: I've been chugging my Nalgenes and taking my vitamins every day!  :)

Happy Monday!

I think I time-warped this morning because the seven hours I supposedly slept felt like about three.  I guess that's what a jam-packed weekend will do to a girl!  (Speaking of...  I never cease to be amazed by how icky my body feels after a weekend of not-so great eating and drinking.  This morning was no exception.  Lesson [hopefully] learned.)

After waking up in five-minute increments to my four alarm clocks, I finally awoke for real at 5:45, hopped in the shower, and made breakfast.  I tried something new today, courtesy of the wonderful blogs I follow (specifically Angela at Oh She Glows):

Pumpkin oats!  In the mix: 1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup UVAB, and 1/2 cup pumpkin.  Angela has so many recipes involving pumpkin, so yesterday I grabbed a big can and am attempting to work some magic.  As she says, it is such a great volume food.  However, I noticed that I was famished by about 10:45, so I was glad that I brought a SOYJOY (blueberry!) with me for a morning snack.

Speaking of bringing food to school with me, here's the loot:

I chugged the iced tea as soon as I got to school - I am in dire need of caffeine in the morning!  During my team's planning period, I ate the SOYJOY.  And for lunch, I inhaled the spring rolls + peanut sauce and the grapes.  It was just perfect!

Packed and ready to go!

When I finally got home from school at 5:00, I ate another SOYJOY (mango coconut!) and two string cheeses for some extra protein; I would've just made dinner, but I had to work out first and didn't want to be too full.  I was intending on an abs/back class followed by an hour-long yoga class, but I arrived at the Y to discover that the aerobics room was closed!  I almost headed home because I was ticked, but...instead...I did the elliptical from hell for 30 minutes, did an ab workout, and then worked out the arms.  While I definitely did not want to go, I'm really glad I did.

Side note: those of you who know me and my rampant OCD well will not be surprised by this.  When I go to the gym, I have to have the same locker - every single time.  I'm pretty sure that if "my" locker wasn't available, I'd just take my stuff out to my car.

I have to say: the dinner that I made tonight (prepped before the gym, eaten after) was AH-MAZE-ING:

Chicken Orzo Salad with Goat Cheese!  I adapted this recipe from Cooking Light by using spinach instead of arugula, omitting the red onion because I just don't like it, and guess-timating on most of the ingredients.  It was SO GOOD, and I can't wait until lunch (and dinner!) tomorrow to indulge again.

Another side note: my all-time favorite foods - sushi, spring rolls, and GOAT CHEESE.  Yum.

I'm going to cut this entry a bit short for a few reasons:

1. The Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion show is on, and I can hardly stand it.  It's like a train wreck - and I love every minute of it.
2. I "need" some ice cream.  I'm going to go grab a dessert from the fridge - don't worry: it's Weight Watchers.  :)
3. I'm not totally prepared for school tomorrow.  Another teacher and I are working on a new reading intervention class, and I'm a little stressed about how that's going to go tomorrow - I need to hop to it!  But, on a similar note, get ready for a description (and pics!) of a fun activity tomorrow!  My kids are LOVING it so far!

*Yes, I do notice that I put Real Housewives above school work.  Oops.

Unfortunately, I don't have a "grand total" for today.  I could guess-timate, but I have no idea the nutritional value of the glass noodles or the rice paper for the spring rolls...  I'm sure I could figure it out somehow, but that sounds like it takes work.  :)  Maybe next time!

Slacker

I know.  One of my goals was to write everyday, and I have not written since Thursday.  And you're going to be even more disappointed in me when you hear about my weekend.  Get ready.  Brace yourselves.

Friday was our second day of school, and it went fairly well.  It was looooooong compared to Thursday, but it was good.  I have a great group of kids - or at least they're good actors for the first two days.  :)  I thought I'd take a couple of pics of my classroom to show y'all where I spend the majority of my time:

That is one white classroom!  I'm not going to spend a lot of time decorating, though, since I'm moving out in (hopefully) December.  Be sure to check out the cement floor; on Thursday, I had my smokin' hot teacher outfit - heels and everything - and quickly switched to flip-flop mode for half of Thursday and all of Friday.  My feet still hurt; I'm pretty sure it should be illegal to have to stand on cement for eight hours a day.  This is the first time I've had my desks in pods, and so far I love it.  I have the kids moving around all the time, so I think they like it, too.  And like a good teacher, I have my agenda on the board.  :)

Here is the other view of my classroom - the interesting view.  Please first note the stacks of boxes.  Again, I'm refusing to do much work here because I'll only be staying for a couple of months.  Second, please notice the pink foam insulation that is covering the door and the ginormous window into the band room.  It may have muted the noise a bit, but nothing is drastically different.  Third, look at my student teacher: she is so freakin' awesome.  I love her already.

On Friday after school, I was peer-pressured into going out with my colleagues; but I'm really glad I was!  It was such a wonderful wind-down with an amazing group of people.  I'm so thankful for my friends/coworkers: good peeps.  I did an awesome job and had two HUGE waters and two vodka tonics - in about four hours.  I had one slice of a chicken quesadilla because I ate lunch at 10:45!  And then I went home, cooked up some whole wheat spaghetti with an interesting sauce (consisting of whatever I could find in my cupboards), and ate...ice cream.  Oops.  And then I crashed at 8:30...and slept for twelve hours!

On Saturday I woke up bright and early and ate a bowl of Cheerios: 

I have been absolutely obsessed with blueberries lately.  And even though they're a little pricey at the store right now, I'm gobbling them up like crazy.

After that nutritious meal, I hopped on my bike and pumped out my longest ride yet: 29 miles!  I did, however, stop for a couple of brew-skis halfway...  I think it was well-deserved, though!

A long ride home, a cold shower, and a quick power nap later, I met up with some friends to celebrate my BFF's birthday.  We first hit up Ingersoll Live, a fabulous street party in my neighborhood:

Ingersoll was blocked off from 28th to 29th Street, there was a huge stage with bands like Faculty Lounge, the Isiserettes performed, and there were several vendors selling beer (yes, I had two), food, and trinkets.  It was such a great time, and I saw so many familiar faces!  It was a toasty day, though; we were all "glistening" by the time we left, and this guy, as you can see, was wiped: 

Around 7:00, we headed downtown to a favorite restaurant, Dos Rios, for dinner and drinks.  OMG.  I cannot begin to tell you how much I love this place.

This was my dinner: shellfish molcajete.  I'm sure it wasn't the healthiest since there was an entire layer of melted cheese on top, but it was delicious.  Plus, it was for a special occasion, and I didn't eat the whole thing...  But, I did eat my share of table-side guacamole.  Oops.  And, it was Sangria Saturday.  Oops.

We went out downtown for awhile longer - and I had another half a beer - and we were home by midnight.  It was a great day with girlfriends and The Mojo.  :)

That brings us to today.  Finally.

I woke up around 8:30 again today, which is fairly early for me.  I had a lot on my agenda!  First, I had to clean my apartment and do random chores.  Then, I had to run to the grocery store.  Third, I had several things to get done for school this week.  And fourth, I had a fantasy football draft to host!

Again, the morning started with a heart-healthy bowl of Cheerios:

Because I was out of blueberries, I topped them with half a peach today.  Yum, yum, yum.

I did too many chores around the house, made too many lists of things that needed to get done, and then set out with my BFF for errand-running.  We had a near-incident with a flat tire, but thankfully that was quickly remedied in a humorous fix-it-yourself at the closest gas station.

When we finally arrived home, I took my first shower of the day (eww, I know), went tanning (dermatologist-recommended, I swear!), and ate a filling lunch:

Let me tell you just how delish those grapes were.  OMG.  I think I'll eat the rest for breakfast tomorrow.  :)  I ate this Flatout chicken wrap and hunk of grapes while creating a pre-test and other fun things for class tomorrow.

With mission accomplished, there was only one thing left to do: FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFT!  I set out for prepping right away.  My contribution:

YUMMY spring rolls.  Honestly.  To. Die. For.  I ate several of these half-sies and piled a few more in a Tupperware for school tomorrow.  Like sushi, I could eat these for every meal.

However, I also had to try what everyone else brought.  After all, I wouldn't want to look rude.  :)

This is just about as unhealthy as it looks, but it is soooooo good.  I had a spoonful of it with baked, multigrain chips - so that makes it okay, right?  :)  This is BFF's recipe for Buffalo Chicken Dip, complete with the Midwesterners' favorite (ranch), blue cheese, and tons of other amazing ingredients.

BFF also whipped up some Southwestern Sliders - sauteed onions, chipotle mayonnaise, and sharp cheddar cheese really made these taste exceptionally awesome.  Of course I had one.

Here is the beautiful Texas salsa that BFF made on Tuesday - how pretty?!  And this one really IS healthy!

Along with samples of all of those appetizers, I also had quite a few veggies (sans veggie dip), peanut M&Ms, and half a Bud Light.

I'm telling you: weekends are hard.  I didn't necessarily go over the top on Friday, Saturday, or today, but I didn't do my best on any of those days either.  There are plenty of healthier substitutions I could have made each time I was tempted with the unhealthiness above, but I chose not to.  And I need to be better about that.  Oh well - tomorrow is another day.  And it will be another healthier day.  I promise.

But now the moment you've all been waiting for...

...my Fantasy Football roster!  It was my first draft ever, and I was lucky enough to get first pick!  So...here goes:

• QB: Tom Brady
• RB: Chris Johnson
• RB: LeSean McCoy
• RB/WR: Ricky Williams
• Bench: Jahvid Best
• Bench: Fred Jackson
• Bench: LaDainian Tomlinson
• WR: Larry Fitzgerald
• WR: Marques Colston
• TE: Vernon Davis
• Bench: Hakeem Nicks
• Bench: Steve Breaston
• Bench: Robert Meachem
• Bench: Jake Allen
• D/ST: 49ers
• K: Rob Bironas

$100, here I come!

Until tomorrow...  Peace out :)

And So It Begins...

Today was the first day of school!  I awoke - albeit not so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed - before the crack of dawn at 5:20.  I knew that if I slept any later, I would feel way too scrambled before school.  And I was right!  As it was, I barely had enough time to finish everything I needed to before kids started arriving - the first cheerful ninth grader bouncing in at 7:10, a full 30 minutes prior to school starting.

I was so hurried this morning that I didn't even take a picture of breakfast or of lunch!  Both were deliciously healthy, though, and you've seen them plenty of times already.

• Breakfast: a guess-timated 3/4 cup of Honey Nut Cheerios and a guess-timated 1 cup of UVAB.  I think I devoured this in a mere two minutes - while preparing my lunch!  On the way to work, I also stopped at Caribou for a first-day-of-school treat: an iced vanilla Northern Lite latte.  That was just what the doctor ordered!
• Midmorning Snack: today I had a new-to-me flavor of SOYJOY - Peanut Chocolate Chip.  Like all things peanut-y and chocolate-y, this was yummy, but surprisingly, I think I like the strawberry one better!  To accompany the SOYJOY and the meeting I had, I drank an entire Nalgene - and had to pee pretty much every 15 minutes after!
• Lunch: I bet you're shocked to hear this...  For lunch today I brought a Flatout wrap.  Weird, huh? :)  Today's deliciousness consisted of Queso Fresco & Chipotle Laughing Cow cheese, lettuce, and chicken.  Yum.  I also brought along a fresh peach, on sale at Hy-Vee this week.  I wish those were never out of season.

When CS texted me this morning about working out after school, I may have scowled at the fact that I ever agreed to a workout buddy; I was so utterly exhausted and knew that the end of the day would bring about even more fatigue.  However, after such a wonderful day with my munchkins, I jumped at the chance to join CS.  Because of the gorgeous weather today, in lieu of the gym, we opted for a brisk walk through the hilly cemetery and beautiful old neighborhood near her house.

I used to be so scared of cemeteries - like, so scared that I would hold my breath while driving by so that the spirits couldn't get me.  However, the Woodland Cemetery has always looked so calm and peaceful, and I have wanted to walk through it for the longest time.  I think I am going to have to go back by myself and bring my camera - it was absolutely breathtaking.  The cemetery was created in 1848, and so many of the gravestones are from that time period.  The roads through them are cobblestone and extremely hilly.  The serene atmosphere would be the perfect spot for a relaxing, contemplative photo-walk.

Just across MLK from the cemetery is Des Moines' oldest neighborhood, Sherman Hill.  Walking the hills through the area was also a wonderful experience.  While it used to be kind of a sketchy area, many residents have recently renovated the beautiful old houses, and it is such a charming area of town.  Again, I would like to walk through sometime soon with my camera - gorgeous.

By the time we were done with our hour-long walk, I was ready for some grub!  Because it was my BFF's birthday, we went to dinner - at Bonefish!  For months we have been talking about it but kept putting it to a later date because it's a bit pricey, it's out West, etc.  What better occasion than a birthday, though?

Be prepared: it wasn't the healthiest of meals.  However, I have been doing a pretty darn good job of eating well, working out everyday, and chugging water.

Prior to the meal beginning, I drank quite a bit of water.  I think this helped fill me up a little, but I was still starving.  When the server brought us a basket of bread to dip in olive oil and pesto, I ate one piece.  Normally I would have inhaled one basket and probably have asked for more, so I chalk that up as a victory.

For an appetizer we had to try the Bang Bang Shrimp - after all, we had attempted this for one of our dinner parties and had to see just how we compared.  Let's just say that Bonefish knows how to prepare some shrimp.  :)  Their sauce seemed a little lighter - perhaps a little runnier - than ours, and it definitely had more sriracha sauce.  It was so good.  And yes, I devoured my portion.  Oops.

At least the fried shrimp was followed by a lightly-dressed salad.

BFF's birthday dinner was shrimp and scallops in a lime, tomato, and garlic sauce (I think).  I had a bite of a scallop, and it was superb - cooked perfectly.

I, on the other hand, opted for the Imperial Longfin: tilapia stuffed with shrimp, scallops, crab meat, and a lemon caper butter.

I have one word (phrase?) to say about my dinner this evening: OMG.  For real: oh...my...gosh.  It was divine.  Obviously the seafood and the capers were very healthy, but look at the fish and the beans swimming in the lemon butter sauce.  Perhaps it wasn't the best choice...  However, I only ate half of the fish and half of the beans, saving the rest for lunch tomorrow.  That has to count for something, right?

Birthday Girl opted for dessert tonight - as she should.  A scrumptious creme brulee:

Of course, I had to make sure it wasn't poisonous (and eliminate the berries from BFF's plate)...  I tried a few bites.  But that's it: while I could've split the whole thing - had she let me :) - I limited myself to three small bites. 

A couple of issues, though:

• Since this whole "being healthy kick" has started, I have become obsessed with calories and with knowing what exactly I'm putting in my body.  Every time I go out to eat - which isn't often - I want to know the precise nutritional value for the meals I am consuming.  It stresses me out when I don't know and feel like I'm overeating.  I just feel guilty - the bread, the appetizer, the lemon butter sauce, the creme brulee bites.  
• How do I get "okay" with eating unhealthy foods in moderation?
• Along the same lines, I am really nervous for the next couple of days.  I am tempted to count today as my free day since I ate unhealthily and had a glass of wine.  However, I know my colleagues are going to want to go out for happy hour to celebrate the first week of school; I know I'm going to want to go, and I feel like it's going to be hard not to drink.  On Saturday, I also have plans for a birthday celebration, and I know that is going to involve dinner out and a night on the town.  I just don't know what to do...  
• How do I socialize - especially at bars and restaurants - and maintain the relationship I have with my colleagues and friends while still grasping firmly onto the healthy lifestyle that I have adopted?

Today's grand total:

Calories: I don't even want to know

Fat: a lot

Carbs: ugh

Protein: not enough

Short & Sweet

Are you ready for a picture-filled, word-lacking blog this evening?  Yes?  Good.  I'm exhausted and have my first of four alarms set for 5:20 tomorrow morning.  I need to hit the sack now!

I tried something new this morning: blueberries (and almond butter, of course) in my oats.  The tartness of the berries was yummy.

This first Nalgene took me awhile to finish this morning...  But, in the meantime I had a glass of water at lunch as well as an iced tea:

I'm pretty sure Diet Gold Peak Tea is the best iced tea I've ever had - and it never fails to perk me right up!  I switched it up a bit with a new midmorning snack:

I was a little apprehensive to try this bar because the original Lunas aren't my favorite, but the flavor sounded too good to pass up.  The first taste was delicious: chocolate-y and peanut-buttery.  But, it was too...much.  Like some other protein bars, this one took for-ev-er to chew and kind of stuck to the top of my mouth.  I have one more like it to eat, but then I will probably stick to Larabars and SOYJOYs.

Because today was my last "free" day (read: day without students), I decided I had to go out for lunch.  While I was really craving super unhealthy food from a local Mexican restaurant, I opted for a healthier choice with my BFF: La Mie, a cute little French bakery.

How beautiful was my sandwich?  And let me tell you how it tasted...  YUM.  It is a grilled portabello sandwich with roasted red peppers, spinach, and chevre.  O...M...G.  I inhaled it.  And then BFF and I shared a bowl of fruit as well:

After work today I noticed something odd on my car.  At first I thought it was a giant scratch, a dent, some sort of damage that is easily accrued in a high school parking lot.  But...no.  See for yourself:

A giant praying mantis!  Interestingly, one decided to join our volleyball team tonight as well.  I rarely see cool creatures like this, so it was a pretty neat thing.  (Geek alert!  Geek alert!)

After work I did my weekly yoga with my kick-ass instructor/friend, and then I headed out for school supplies and groceries; after all, I was going to run out of Flatouts this evening!  Just wait until tomorrow to see what else I found!

I was absolutely famished after running those errands and had a quick, impulse snack before dinner.  It was too good to resist, though:

BFF whipped up a batch of salsa today and brought me a sampling.  Wow, was it delicious!  The only "unhealthy" ingredient she added to a massive Tupperware container was one cup of fat-free Italian dressing.  Otherwise, it was all vegetables, herbs, and beans.  She accompanied the salsa with whole-wheat scoops that really did the trick!

For dinner I made the quickest, easiest thing I could think of:

A Flatout pizza!  I took one Flatout wrap (Italian) and topped it with 1/4 cup of pizza sauce, some turkey pepperoni, 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, and 'shrooms.  I nuked it for about 30 seconds and called it good. And good it was!  I'll definitely be making this one again!

After volleyball this evening, I prepped a bit (but not enough) for school tomorrow, polished off another Nalgene, and ate a Weight Watchers ice cream bar:

Honestly, people: try 'em.  Unbelievable.

I have no idea the nutritional make-up of the sandwich I had for lunch or the few bites of salsa I ate, but not counting those two, I did well today.

Today's grand total*:

Calories: 861
Fat: 43 grams
Carbs: 86 grams
Protein: 49.5

*I'm guessing the calories are more like 1,300 or 1,400, and the other counts would also be much higher.  I think today was pretty close to perfect regarding nutritional values.  :)

Classy Lady

Tonight I am blogging to you, dear readers (hi, Mom!), from bed.  I am oh-so-exhausted and can barely keep my eyes open, but I have to stick to my goal of writing every day!

I am so tired because today was jam-packed full of way too many activities.  First, I woke up (duh) and ate a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios and UVAB:

I can't even tell you how much I love cereal.  And even though Honey Nut Cheerios aren't the Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs, or Fruity Pebbles of my childhood, they are sweet enough for me - and the UVAB makes them even more delish.

The minute I slurped down the last of breakfast, I hit the road for school and was swamped all day: lesson planning and syllabus writing took all morning.  My breakfast fullness wore off at a strange time - about 10:30 or so - and I had a hard time deciding whether to eat the Larabar that I brought or to hold off until lunch.  When I almost threw up because of the hunger pang, I decided to inhale my midmorning snack.  :)

And that iced tea definitely helped in the energy boost!  This flavor of Larabar - cashew cookie - was not my favorite...  It didn't taste horrible, but it just didn't suit my palate.

Halfway through the morning, a drummer started practicing in the band room, which is, as you know, where I teach.  It was so loud - one drum, not the whole marching band - that I couldn't even hear my student teacher talking to me ten feet away.  I am so nervous for Thursday.

For lunch I met one of my best friends and colleagues downtown for lunch.  We ate at Baratta's at the top of the Historical Building in the East Village.  While everything on the menu looked absolutely delectable, I opted for the salmon salad with sesame dressing.  I am not a huge salmon fan by any stretch of the imagination, but this salad sounded soooooo good, so I went for it.  It definitely wasn't a mistake!  I wish I had had my camera with me - it was beautiful and tasted just as amazing.

Following the lunch "meeting," we attended a district-wide meeting regarding curriculum.  While I would've much rather spent the afternoon in my classroom, it was relatively productive, and I am excited for what's on my plate for the year.

Afternoon snack: two pieces of string cheese and a granny Smith apple.  (And I ran out of both and am almost out of Flatouts, so that means a trip to the grocery store tomorrow!)

The real fun started after school.  First up on the agenda: soccer practice!  I joined an adult, coed soccer league, and we had our first practice tonight.  Very few of us knew each other, but all of us got along superbly and had an absolute blast scrimmaging tonight.  However, we also all realized just how out of shape all of us geezers are!  We were pooped from playing a short-field game!

After soccer I quickly ran home, blow dried the sweat out of my hair (CLASSY), threw on some deodorant and perfume, grabbed my dinner, and skid-addled yet again...  After all, it is Trivia Tuesday!

I arrived to trivia shortly before it started and mowed down my second huge salad of the day:

Who brings a huge Tupperware full of salad and her own fork in a lunch sack to a bar?  This girl!  Tonight I topped it with the light balsamic vinaigrette again but also sloshed in some Rasta sauce.  O...M...G.  Yummy.

While we did not do well at trivia for the second week in a row, we are somehow in third place overall for August.  As next week is the final week, team Booze Clues had better bring it.

Because I have no idea the nutritional value of what I ate for lunch, I am not going to give you a grand total today.  Just know that I did a pretty darn good job.  :)

Nighty night!

Good-bye, Summer

It's crazy how different I feel after two days of not eating the best and not working out: absolutely awful!  If this weekend - which wasn't even horrible regarding food and activity level - had happened just two weeks ago, I would've thought nothing of it.  But because of how healthy I had been the last week, I noticed a huge difference.  Perhaps it was the sodium in the sushi and/or soy sauce, or maybe it was not drinking enough water, but I think that made the biggest impact.  Back to chugging water like it's going out of style!

I have not been sleeping well lately for some reason, but the last two nights - one in Minnesota, one at home - I have absolutely crashed.  I'm pretty sure had my alarm not gone off at 6 a.m. - and 6:05, 6:10, and 6:15 - I could have slept several more hours.  I'm already excited to go to bed tonight, but I definitely have to make it through some Danielle and Caroline drama first.  I don't know what I'm going to do with my Monday evenings after this week!

Although I much rather would've stayed in bed, I woke up and ate something new: overnight oats.  I mixed 1/3 cup of uncooked oats, 1/3 cup UVAB, and 1/3 cup water and stuck it in the fridge overnight.  This morning, I mixed in half a peach and a tablespoon of almond butter.  Despite the rave reviews I've read on other blogs, I was not impressed.

Today was the first official day at school - for teachers, at least.  Essentially, it consisted of meetings, organizing classrooms, meetings, planning lessons, and meetings.  It went well, but like I said before, I am pooped!  And a little nervous...  I am teaching ninth-grade English in the band room.  Not like, I am teaching when the band isn't playing: I am teaching all four periods the band is in there.  Needless to say, it'll be interesting.  I brought a morning snack with me for the meeting:

(How do you like that beautiful presentation?  :)  Hey, it had to be easily transportable!)

I walked to the meetings this morning (just across the street!) and headed home instead of going out with everyone else for a healthy lunch:

I'm not kidding: I am OBSESSED with Flatout wraps: best invention ever.  I switched things up a bit with chicken instead of turkey and topped it with the usual: lettuce, Laughing Cow cheese, and avocado.  Mmm, mmm good!  I accompanied the wrap with the other half of the peach from breakfast and a side of carrots.  Although the yogurt is pictured, I wasn't hungry for it and put it back in the fridge!

After work today I headed straight to the Y for a workout with my accountability buddy, CS.  On the way I ate yet another snack - it looks like all I did today was eat!!!  

CS brought me a SOYJOY last time we worked out, and I finally ate it today.  It was soooo good - tasted like an even more delicious Fig Newton.  At only 130 calories a pop, I will definitely be purchasing more!  It was the perfect pre-workout snack: a not-too-filling energy boost!

Thank goodness CS and I have each other because both of us would much rather have gone home and taken a nap!  We started the workout with a brisk 15-minute walk and a chat on the treadmill, a short ab workout, and another killer spinning class.  I am not sure how I'm going to be able to move tomorrow!

Tonight's dinner was a massive salad.  I made two, thinking I would eat one tonight for dinner and one tomorrow for lunch.  However, I couldn't even finish half of one!

In the mix: lettuce (organic spring mix, I believe), half a cucumber, a Roma tomato, three radishes, a carrot, a handful of garbanzo beans, a handful of blueberries, half an avocado, goat cheese crumbles, and light balsamic vinaigrette. 

I'm not going to take a picture of it, but I believe I'll have a Weight Watchers ice cream bar for dessert/bedtime snack.  :)

Today's grand total*:

Calories: 1,204

Fat: 55.5 grams

Carbs: 135 grams

Protein: 58.5 grams

*Quite an estimate: I'm not sure exact amounts of everything I put in the salad...

A Weekend of Twins..

...the Minnesota Twins, that is!

This weekend my dad and I headed up to Minneapolis to redeem his Father's Day present: tickets to see the Twins play at the brand-new Target Field.  My dad has been a die-hard Twins fan for as long as I can remember, and by default, I have been a fan as well.  When they opened the new field and my high school classmate Brian Duensing started pitching, I knew we had to make a trip north.  Thanks to a good friend for helping us acquire tickets, we were able to watch a beautiful (although not-so-pretty-for-the-Twins) baseball game.

Obviously I made yesterday my free day (for food and for not working out!).  I made sure it started off well with a Nalgene of water and a Larabar for breakfast, but then I succumbed to the Snaps and Whoppers (mine and my dad's favorite candies) that we had brought along for the car ride.  Yum.  And when we finally arrived at the ballpark, undoubtedly had to inhale a Murray's steak sandwich and a Bud Light.

It might not look like the most appetizing thing in the world, but it was simply delectable.  Dad and I hardly talked at all - we were too busy chowin' down!  And boy, oh boy: that beer tasted delish!

After the sad loss for the Twins, Pops and I headed on a mini-tour of the city: Dinkytown, Seven Corners, the Metrodome.  Then we hopped on the interstate and headed north to my aunt's house for dinner and fun.  We ate a late dinner of the best Chinese take-out I've ever had, chugged some much-needed ice water, and settled in for a night of fun and good conversation with a glass half a bottle of wine.

We woke up before the crack of dawn at 8:30, ate some delicious, healthy vegetable frittata, and hit the road.  With some more Snaps and Whoppers to keep us awake, we made the journey in no time.  Dad helped me with the bookshelf that I was too stupid to figure out on my own:

(Not bad-looking for $15, huh?!)  After my dad continued on his journey home to Omaha, I made a Flatout wrap - that, oddly enough, I had been craving all weekend!  Sorry for no picture, though: I was too hungry and forgot!  And then because I had a meeting to attend for work - and because I'm always lazy after a vacation - I took yet another workout-free day.  Instead, I straightened up the apartment a little, went to the grocery store, and just chilled; after all, school starts tomorrow.

At the grocery store, I picked up some of my favorite food: sushi with brown rice.  It definitely wasn't the best I've had, even from Gateway, but I inhaled the whole plate anyway!  I just love me some raw fish!

And while I've been slacking on the water consumption today, I have chugged a half gallon of Kool-Aid.  That has to count for something, right?

I am going to spend the rest of this evening flipping through some old magazines to tear out recipes for this week.  Tomorrow is going to start way too early - and will certainly be followed by a hardcore workout and a deliciously healthy dinner.

I'm sorry to see the summer end, but at least it did so with a bang: it was such a great weekend with my favorite guy in the whole wide world!  Muh.