I'm Back!

I promise I have a good excuse for last week: it was finals.  I know that finals are supposed to be stressful for the students, but O...M...G: I was beyond stressed.  I cannot even tell you how many essays I graded, how many tests I checked, etc.  It was so bad that I didn't even work out.

I know.

Awful.

But today I got right back on track!  I started it off right with a Green Monster (or a brown monster, whatev!):

It kind of looks like a chocolate shake, doesn't it?  :)  In the mix today: chia seeds (first time I've ever tried 'em!), a banana, one cup UVAB, 1/4 cup mixed blackberries and raspberries, and one scoop vanilla protein powder.  It was delicious as usual!

Unlike half of the country, I had to go to work today.  We had the morning to work in our classrooms, which was much appreciated: I got tons done - but still wasn't able to leave until 5:00 this evening.  Mid-morning, I had a Mocha-walla bar:

This particular bar is 210 calories, 4 grams of fat, 38 grams of carbohydrates, and 4 grams of protein.  While it could have fewer carbs and more protein, the ingredient list is superb, boasting good amounts of antioxidants, beta carotene, vitamin E, fiber, calcium, and iron.

Even though I had to go to work today, I did get to play "pretend grown-up" and actually go out to lunch!  A couple of my colleagues and I hit up Palmer's on Ingersoll.  It is one of my favorite places in Des Moines, as everything is delicious.  Today, I opted for one regular and one new:

I ordered a small spinner salad, which is what I order every single time.  In the mix: Romaine lettuce, black olives, mushrooms, red peppers, provolone, turkey, egg, and raspberry vinaigrette.  I ate about three-fourths of it and then focused on the new-to-me item: red pepper bisque.  Suffice it to say that I will be ordering that again!

After lots of work at school, some meetings, and some more work at school, I picked up my BFF, and we hit up the gym.  Yesterday we added her to my membership (saves us both money!), and today was her first visit to the Y.  Luckily, she loved it as much as I do.  We started with a tour of the facility (led by yours truly), knocked off 10 minutes on the stair-stepper, 20 minutes on the crazy-elliptical, and then killed ourselves in the abs/back class.  It was great.

I then sped home (at a grandma pace of approximately 10 miles per hour) in the ice to prep dinner.  A guy friend came over (same one as last time), and I felt the need to impress him yet again.  So what did I prepare?  Same thing as last week:

Crab cakes with a toasted butter sauce and roasted red potatoes and asparagus.  Interestingly, when I was at the gym, my friend who came over last week sent a picture showing that she had made the exact same thing tonight for her boyfriend.  Great minds think alike!  :)

After a couple of episodes of "Pawn Stars" (we are that cool), the boy braved the icy roads home, and I am about ready to crash.  

Before I sign off, though, I have to do a shameless plug: a local store is running a contest in which the winner gets his/her picture on a product.  (Okay, the "winner" is going to be a kitty, and the "product" is organic catnip.)  Because I obviously have the cutest cats in the world, I submitted a photo and am begging you asking you very nicely to "like" it on Facebook.  So, please click this link to go to the Smitten Kitten page on Facebook and "like" this photo:

Chloe's such a pretty girl, huh?  :)

Today's grand total (as usual, this is guess-timated - who knows what Palmer's puts in their salad and soup...):

Calories: 1,463

Fat: 56 grams

Carbs: 167 grams

Protein: 71 grams

Exercise: 560 calories burned

Water: 64 ounces