Cookie Monster

Well, our 3-day weekend is quickly coming to an end. It’s been fun, but now it’s time to get ready to get the work-week started.

We had a great day, though. After our yummy breakfast, Anthony and I went for a nice 40-minute or so walk on this great greenway by the lake…

Love the lake views!

And, then I did a bit of shopping – I found a great deal on a swimsuit for our upcoming anniversary vacation…

Lunch was not that photogenic, but it was definitely delicious! Leftover tofu and veggie pad thai + some barbeque pop-chips.

We spent our afternoon just doing some things around the house….laundry, cleaning, and I got the urge to make another batch of dark chocolate chip cookies- so good…we each had 2 as an “appetizer”.

For dinner, Anthony grilled this great mahi-mahi and we added a baked sweet potato and a Greek salad…simple and delicious. The fish was so good and such a huge piece- I ate about half and I’ll probably take the other half for lunch tomorrow.

I’m off to spend the last few minutes of the weekend relaxing- see you tomorrow!

Goodnight!

Oodles of Noodles

This girl is definitely not afraid of carbohydrates! After my amazing dinner of Drunken Noodles on Friday, today we hit up a new place in town for lunch, Pei Wei.

It is a casual dining bistro owned by P.F. Chang. I loved the Mandarin Green Tea.

For lunch, I ordered Vegetable and Tofu Pad Thai – the lighting wasn’t great, but the food was fantastic-I totally enjoyed it…and the service was super-quick.

The website also has all of the nutritional information, which I love. I ate about half- which was perfect and the rest will be awesome later.

Dessert: Fortune cookies – Anthony’s and mine….I love fortunes!

Now, we’re spending the afternoon lounging around lazily – I love it…the perfect Sunday.

I just had a great snack – some berries drizzled with Nutella – perfection.

Have a great Sunday afternoon!

Football Time in Tennessee

Happy Saturday!! How’s your day going so far?

I woke up around 7:30 this morning and powered up with cup of coffee #1. I headed to the gym to teach my first step class in 2, maybe even 3 years. Luckily for me, another instructor was able to teach at the last minute – so I gladly attended the class as a participant instead of the instructor- it was fun – maybe I’ll even have to think about starting to teach step again occasionally.

After class, I had a nice breakfast outside at Starbucks – the weather is amazing here today, there was still a bit of a chill in the air as I enjoyed my banana-walnut bread and Pike’s Place brew (cup of coffee #2)….

Then, I went shoe shopping! I took advantage of the fact that most of Knoxville was either at Neyland stadium or in front of their TVs for the first football game of the year…so, the shopping areas were pretty empty. I may have told you before…I’m a horrible shopper – meaning, I don’t really enjoy shopping, I’m super impatient,  and I usually can’t find clothes that I like, so I often go shopping and come home empty-handed. Today, I did great! I scored a great new pair of New Balance running shoes and some nice dressier shoes for work.

When I got home, lunch was leftovers from last night’s Drunken Noodles – seriously, the. best. meal. ever…even as leftovers. This photo totally doesn’t do it justice.

And, after being so busy for the last few weekends, we are so excited to have a day at home…Football on the couch. (I’m not even a big football fan), but this is a new era in Tennessee Football…new head coach Lane Kiffin….

And, even I was excited when TN scored 4 touchdowns in the 2nd quarter!

So, at halftime – it’s 28 – 0 – TENNESSEE – Go Vols!

Hope you’re having a great Saturday!

Step it Up!

Happy Friday night!!

Today was my department’s Silent Auction fundraiser for our upcoming walk….Different hospital departments provided baskets/items for auction and they were so creative….Here’s a few of the items up for grabs…Michelle’s football cake…so cute…

A great garden-themed basket – very impressive….

A Lady Vols basketball to be personalized by Coach Pat Summit….

Our department put together a basket full of coffee and teas…

Great job Dana, Michelle, and our volunteers for a successful fundraiser!

I had leftovers from Anthony’s great homecooked bean dinner for lunch today…delicious again!

After work, I decided a walk on the greenway was in order…

So relaxing with a beautiful view…

I walked by this guy several times…

After my walk, I got home and just wanted to relax- I crawled into my cool bed and relaxed for awhile before dinner. We went to one of my favorite restaurants for dinner and I had my favorite meal, Drunken Noodles, Pad Kee Mao + a glass of Chardonnay- possibly the most perfect meal ever!

Now, I’m trying to remember how to teach Step aerobics….my friend Tammye isn’t feeling well, so I’m going to step in for her 9 am class tomorrow- it’s been over 2 years since I’ve taught Step…hopefully it’s like riding a bike.

Hope you’ve had a great Friday….Goodnight!

Early to Bed

How was your Monday? My day was pretty good – I taught a gastric banding nutrition class this morning, a pre-surgery gastric bypass nutrition consult and bunches of odds and ends paperwork this afternoon, and boot camp to finish the day!

Lunch was so deelish…this photo totally doesn’t do it justice! Leftover Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao) from Friday night….I think I could eat this meal every day!

This afternoon at my desk, I snacked on half a container of fage 2% with blueberries, raspberries, and a drizzle of honey stirred in…

Then, a hard boot camp class….We did…

With heavy weighted bars…3 sets of each…

• chest presses
• pullovers
• narrow chest presses
• wide squats
• narrow squats (weight in front)
• rows
• push-presses
• bicep curls

A walking lunge, pushup, judo crunch, and plank drill.

Medicine ball drills outside….partner drills, backpedal and sprint, and partner medicine ball passes with shuffle…whew…Great workout!! Thanks to our leader Chad for today’s great class!!

Anthony joined me at the wellness center to get his quick workout in, and then we headed home to our planned meal…turkey Italian sausage sandwiches with baked french fries. Anthony also picked some more veggies from our garden!

I nibbled on a handful of these while I cooked….

I decided to leave off the bun, so I had my Italian sausage with sauteed onions and peppers, and my homemade fries…easy and good.

My goal now is to get into bed relatively early…in bed by 10, asleep by 10:30- we’ll see how that goes!

Goodnight!

Strong Women, Weekend Warriors!!

My morning started early today with a 6 am alarm clock!! I threw on some clothes, grabbed a quick breakfast and headed to meet Tammye. My friend Tammye is one of the best personal trainers and aerobics instructors in the world and she has started teaching an outdoor bootcamp class, Weekend Warriors, on some Saturday mornings. Breakfast needed to be quick and a good source of energy…I had two 5-seed almond bars (from Trader Joe’s), a cup of coffee and a big water….

A breakfast like this works out great for me before a long/hard workout because it is a good source of carbohydrate, a little fat, and a little protein. And, the coffee is vital!

Tammye and I taught boot camp together for years and we work really well together…She is the brains behind the whole operation….she does all the planning and I help her with the teaching. With 20-30 people or more, it is helpful to have an extra instructor to help manage everyone. We met at the gym where she works and at 8 am – we all headed out for a little walk to the park with all of our equipment. Here is the before photo….

What a strong group of women!! We didn’t waste any time getting started….this was a sprint and backpedal drill- isn’t this a beautiful park setting?

Football run drill on the steps…

Quick rest between some leg exercises…

Throw in some medicine ball drills, ladder drills, jumping rope, relay races, triceps dips, lunges, squat jumps….and many, many more….and before we knew, it was 10:00 – we headed back into the gym for a quick snack and Pilates to finish. The walk back through the park was gorgeous.

I had a banana and some apple juice…

And, Tammye led everyone through some Pilates and a few stretches…

We finished with big SMILES and lots of sweat! Great workout…great job Tammye- thanks for leading and inspiring us! And, thanks to such a great group of women…everyone was so encouraging to one another…cheering each other on…just a great way to start the weekend.

I came home and had my leftover drunken noodles…all I can say is amazing! With more water.

Now, a nap is looking pretty appealing…that may be a possibility. Have a great Saturday!

Best Meal Ever!

Dinner tonight was one of my all-time favorites, drunken noodles (Pad Kee Mao) at Little Bangkok…if you’ve been with me awhile, you know I LOVE this meal and it certainly did not disappoint tonight. The flavors are outstanding…it has such a great balance of heat and spice. I think I could eat this meal every day. And, we love the restaurant in general…the service is great and the atmosphere is cozy.

Luckily, Little Bangkok is extremely close to Anthony’s parents’ house, so after dinner we visited with them for awhile. Now, my bed is calling me…I have an early wake-up call for Weekend Warriors tomorrow morning. Here’s a glimpse of the last Weekend Warriors class….Awesome Workout post.

Hope you’ve had a great Friday night! Happy Weekend!

Good night

Hey everyone! I had a long day today…just now got home around 10:00 and I can’t wait to crawl into bed.

Lunch was a repeat of breakfast (I was in a hurry this morning)- Barney butter and pumpkin butter on double fiber bread and a blueberry Oikos courtesy of Dana, our bariatric coordinator. I hadn’t found Oikos in any of my usual stores, and Dana was kind enough to bring me one to try.

I was so excited to try the Oikos for the first time – I really liked it, great flavor, loved the whole blueberries, and good creamy texture. If I had to compare though, I would say that I still prefer the richer texture of Fage.

I was so busy this afternoon and evening that my eating was not very well balanced at all. I taught boot camp this afternoon, and afterwards had a small portion of leftover drunken noodles at my desk while preparing for weight loss class.

There was just a little left from our dinner Saturday night…but it was still so good.

When I finished weight loss class at about 8:00, I went to visit my friend Tammye and her daughter, my love, McKenna- I don’t get to see them enough, so even though it was late, I wanted to stop by. Tammye offered me a yummy plate of homemade macaroni and cheese with butternut squash….it was delicious.

So, I hung out with Tammye and McKenna awhile, we chatted, and played with some dolls…check out this cute face!

McKenna has been special to me since the day she was born, and last year she was my flower girl at our wedding…I love getting to spend time with her.

So, I finally got home about 10:00  – still a little hungry because I hadn’t eaten a real meal tonight, and not much protein…so I decided on a bowl of Kashi Honey Sunshine as my bedtime snack….

And, woo hoo! I found out this morning that I won my first ever blogging contest on Jordan’s blog…I’m so excited.

I’m exhausted and I’m heading to bed. Have a great evening….goodnight!

 

In love with noodles

Today has been such a busy day! For some reasons, my Mondays are always busy and long days. I’m lucky because I love my job, so I can survive!

Quick snack at my desk this morning….Fage 2% with a spoonful of TJ’s pumpkin butter.

What a great combination….

Then, a late lunch at my desk- leftover drunken noodles from yesterday’s lunch with a Pom seltzer. I am so in love with this meal.

Next on the agenda -

• 3:30 meeting
• 4:45 teach boot camp
• 6:00 weight loss class weigh-ins
• home to Anthony and 24!

Have a great Monday afternoon!

Drunken noodles

If I had to choose my VERY favorite dish at the moment- this would be it.

After church today, we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Little Bangkok. We started out with some veggie spring rolls- I usually just take a couple of bites out of one of them and save the rest for Anthony. The dipping sauce is SO good!

And, this is one restaurant where I almost always order the same thing- Drunken Noodles, or Pad Kee Mao. I order the beef version and 3 out of 5 stars (level of spiciness). I can’t even begin to describe how great the flavor is. It contains red and green peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, cilantro, and lots of spices….and something that gives it a great licorice taste…it is absolutely my favorite meal right now.

I ate about half and hopefully (if I don’t dig into my leftovers this afternoon), I can have drunken noodles for lunch tomorrow.

I hope you’re enjoying your Sunday. It is rainy and yucky outside here, so the rest of the afternoon is perfect for relaxing inside with the newspaper and maybe a good book – or a nap.