Lazy Bum!

I apologize for not posting yesterday.  I was a lazy bum all day!  I woke up fairly early (because I crashed on my couch around 10:30 Friday night!), watched a little TV, and then made breakfast:

A Green Monster!  In the mix: a big handful of spinach, one cup UVAB, one fourth cup blackberries, one banana, a scoop of protein, and a drizzle of agave nectar.  It was yummy, as usual.

Then, I went over to my friend's house and lounged around with him - watched football, watched "The Blind Side," etc. - for hours.  I know: busy day.

In the middle of all of that strenuous activity, we headed to Skip's for lunch.  I had never been there, but since my friend really likes it and I'm always up for a new restaurant, I gave it a shot.  It's really cute: pretty much a dark, classy restaurant in an old house.  I love Des Moines' local eateries!  We started off with an appetizer of calamari.  Generally, I LOVE this dish; however, this particular version was way too greasy and just...bland.  I let the boy eat the majority of it and waited for my entree: the Pecan Chicken Salad.  Here's a pic of the leftovers, which I ate about an hour after Round One:

I really liked this dish: big chunks of Romaine (my favorite lettuce), delicious flavoring on the chicken, and yummy honey mustard dressing.  I'm kind of excited about replicating this at home: I think I can make it much healthier, as I'm sure the restaurant's version had huge amounts of oil and other less-than-healthy ingredients.

After I left my friend's house around 7:00 - I told you, a busy day of doing nothing! - I headed to the mall.  I was in dire need of a new pair of tennis shoes, and I found just what I was looking for at Scheel's:

(Please disregard the curious kitty.)  I got a pair of Asics.  Supposedly they are really great shoes, especially for running, as they are lightweight, have a gel sole that has great cushioning, and come with great arch-support.  My old shoes, Nike Shox, were about three years old at least and not at all supportive.  With my horrible ankle sprain and the aching arch that has resulted from that, I knew it was time for a new pair.  I'm excited to try them out today!

While I was at the mall, I just had to stop by Barnes & Noble.  I mean...it's not like I have enough books already:

So, I added to my bounty with three more:

Alice I have Been was totally an impulse-buy.  I was on my way to check out and stumbled upon the display with "new to paperback" books.  This one caught my attention with the cover, and I was really intrigued after reading the back.  It's a historical fiction work that claims to be "part love story, part literary mystery," documenting the life of Alice, the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland.  It sounds really, really interesting.

Naturally Thin: Unleash Your Skinnygirl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting by Bethenny Frankel is a book that I have wanted for months.  I really like Bethenny and appreciate her tips on realistic diet and exercise and thought that now, with my newly-devoted attention to the two, would be a perfect time to finally buy the book.  I'll let you know some good tips when I find 'em.

Finally, as embarrassing as it is, the book I actually went to buy was Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris.  This was the first time in, um, ever that I ventured into the "fantasy" shelves at the bookstore.  Among they stereotypical fantasy lovers, I hid among the shelves, hiding my face, praying I did not run into someone I know; I was that embarrassed.  I really wanted to read this book, though: the basis for HBO's True Blood, a show with which I have recently become obsessed.  It should be a good, mindless read!

However, I am currently reading a book already:

I'm only a few chapters in, but so far it's really, really good!  I have to admit: I was hesitant to buy this book, as I've never really believed actresses/actors can write, and I don't want to read something crappy. However, hearing Ellen talk about it (despite her obvious bias) and then seeing bits and pieces of the Oprah interview while I was at they gym, I was convinced it could be good.  So far, I haven't been disappointed.  It's a raw, real-life look into someone with disordered eating.  I'll keep you posted.

Finally, to conclude last night, I headed to Trader Joe's and came back with quite the amount of groceries for $25:

The purchases: a box of organic, low-sodium butternut squash soup; a huge box of blackberries; a batch of bananas; a package of Babybel Light cheese; a can of vegetable-lentil soup; a crate of cage-free brown eggs; a bottle of Two-Buck Chuck; and a bottle of TJ's Tempranillo.  If I had bought this all at Dahl's or Hy-Vee, it would've cost at least $40, I think.  And while I hardly drink anymore, I can't seem to get out of TJ's without at least one bottle of wine.  :)

I came home for the evening around 9:00 and made a late dinner (lunch's salad kept me full for awhile!):

I heated up two cups of the TJ butternut squash soup,

toasted one 100-calorie bun and sprayed "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" spray on it, and ate about half of the giant salad I had intended for Friday's lunch.  However, it was clearly meant to be eaten on Friday because it did not taste so wonderful on Saturday...

And then, despite having plans and several people call to see if I wanted to go out, I crashed on my couch watching reruns of House.  I was just tired!  It's funny: even a year ago I would've been out and about every Friday and Saturday night, regardless of whether or not I was in the mood.  Now, though, if I'm not in the mood, I'm just not going to go -  I don't care if it's the weekend or not!  I feel like had I gone out last night, I would've just been sleepy and no fun at all anyway, so why not just chill at home?!

Okay: this post was quite long enough.  I'm going to sign off for now because I have a lot to do today!  Cardio and yoga, grading essays, and dinner with my BFF!  I'll see y'all later tonight!

Saturday's grand total:

Calories:
Fat:
Carbs:
Protein:

Water:
Exercise:

I'm not even going to compute this because I have zero idea about the salad I had for lunch.  I drank a lot of water at lunch, I didn't work out, and breakfast and dinner were very healthy.  So, let's just assume I did a good job.  :)