It was gloriously cool this morning when I got up to go to the gym. Upper 50s! Too bad it won’t be sticking around too long, but it sure felt wonderful.
The gym was quiet again today. I like it that way in the mornings. Today was lighter weights higher reps. Only 3 more workouts to be finished with the FBB! I have now changed to just drinking my entire workout shake before the workout instead of dividing it up. I think I eat breakfast close enough to when I am done. It’s helped a lot to just drink the whole thing first.
| Exercise | Set/rep/weight |
| 1. Plank with alternate arm/leg reach | 2 sets of 10 each side |
| 2. Complex: Deadlift, High Pull, Push Press, Reverse Lunge | 4 sets of 8 each exercise with 20# bar |
| 3A. Bulgarian Split Deadlift | 2 sets of 15 with 10# DBs |
| 3B. Single Arm Chest Press on ball | 2 sets of 15 with 15# DB |
| 3C. Back Squat | 2 sets of 15 with 45# bar |
| 3D. Chinups | 2 sets of 15 with assistance |
Since it was a cool morning, I had a warm breakfast. Cammy went and made me want steel cut oats after she talked about how Wendy’s has them now. So, last night I soaked some steel cut oats (this way they only take about 10 minutes to cook in the morning).
Cooked with mashed banana and egg whites and topped with pecans and 15 grams of chocolate chips (70 calories of chips!). Very, very good. I need to do this combo more often.
Work was soooooo busy today. It was a ‘make my brain ache’ day, but it’s good to have the work. Good thing there were leftovers for a quick lunch!
I put the chicken and balsamic tomato mixture on a potato for something different. I took a little post lunch walk to help clear my head before getting back to work.
Then came my favorite part of the day!
Yay! How about a picture of me without a helmet for a change? I bet no one would recognize me if they saw me without it any more.
I’m thinking of letting my hair grow out again. I can never make up my mind.
Even though both John and I work at home, we actually don’t spend much time together during the day. Obviously because we are both working. We also end up like ships passing in the night during the week. Due to various and sundry things we do, we really only get 2 evenings a week to spend together. Tuesday and Saturday. So, we made tonight a date night. I had a Living Social deal and we decided to go out to dinner.
Irish Times in Saratoga. I was hungry by this time. I made sure I didn’t nibble on anything before we left the house, as can be my habit. So, I decided on a cup of potato leek soup served with irish soda bread.
I gave John half my bread because he didn’t get any soup. This was good, but quite garlicky (sorry John!). I loved the bread, too.
My entree was a pear salad. This was served on mixed greens with pear, goat cheese, and candied pecans. I added some grilled shrimp for protein.
I don’t know what they put on the shrimp to grill it with, but it was delicious! They were giant shrimp, too. I actually didn’t even need any dressing with the salad, but I had some raspberry vinaigrette on the side, which I dipped my fork in a couple times, but that was it. There was enough flavor that it was not necessary. My only problem with this salad was that they used canned pears. Lame! There is no excuse for that. Fresh pears would have really made this salad get 5 stars from me.
After we ate, we walked around downtown Saratoga and did some window shopping and then over to Congress Park.
Baby ducks galore! So damn cute!
I probably have 10,000 pictures of baby ducks and geese in my photo library and I can’t stop taking pictures of them.
We also saw some cedar waxwings by the water. These are cool birds with striking colors.
They look like their wing tips were dipped in red wax.
One of those times when I wished I had a super good camera. I actually tried the sports mode on it and got a cool shot of the fountain.
Guess I should use that setting more often!
This was a nice break early in the week.
Lori, will you come to WI and make me coffee everyday? 🙂 Please???????
I’m jealous of the 50 degrees this morning. I have to scuttle to work so quickly I could barely enjoy the high 60s we had… and more hot stuff is coming. Grr
It’s easy with a nice machine 😀
Nice night out! So lucky to see the cedar waxwing – I’m looking forward to seeing them ‘in the wild’ someday. I agree – they’re really cool.
That salad and shrimp look so delish!!!! I totally agree about the canned pears! What the heck?
I made the balsamic tomato chicken tonight–quite tasty. I was thinking it needed something–maybe some mushrooms?
Yummy bowl of oats. I might have to make that tomorrow morning, even if it is hot!
Mushrooms?? Eek! I mean.. ick! LOL. I think something a little salty like some feta cheese would be good with that topping. I cut back on the balsamic as well.
What a fun night out. I recognize it that you can be in the same house but don’t see each other. R. is often working on his motors in the garage or behind his computer upstairs to look up things. I’m also doing my things. That’s why dinner is important to us. We always eat that at the dining table and use the time to catch up on each others day.
such a fun night and a good reminder to me I need to get us a sitter on a regular night each week and we need to get out of the house 🙂
Your oats look good. Better even than the Wendy’s oats. 🙂 If you switched it to almonds and added a bit of coconut, you’d have Almond Joy oats.
Agreed on the pears. If fast food Wendy’s can serve fresh fruit, I don’t see why a full service restaurant can’t do the same. But giving them the benefit of the doubt, maybe the produce market didn’t have nice-looking fresh pears and the canned variety was just a back-up.
What a great date night! We are having one Friday and I. can’t. wait.
I think the hardest thing about growing hair out is that in-between stage. So hard not to cut it and the only way to grow it is not to cut it.
That’s odd about the pears. I think I would have asked someone.
I love that you & John do the date night! What a beautiful setting too! It is important to take time for this & try to get away from the “stuff” that bogs our mind! 😉
BTW, that chicken mixture looked good! 🙂
What a wonderful way to spend an evening with the hubby. It’s funny you both work from home but rarely get to sit and chat.
I purposely go home for lunch every day to have lunch with Ted. We enjoy the daily crossword puzzle during breakfast and try to finish it during lunch. We always have dinner together even though we eat different meals most of the time. Love time spent with the hubby.
We eat meals together, but both of us have our separate jobs. My job is one that I can’t really talk or do anything but listen and type the dictations, so even if he is in the same room as I am we don’t talk much while I am working.
Married people are so odd! 🙂 I always imagine married couples are happy because they have someone to share their life with every day – and middle-aged singles have boring lonely lives.
I can clearly feel how I’m getting stronger with FBB.
So funny….we are on the same wavelength. I bought two POUNDS of steel cut oats after reading Cammy’s post. And a “stupid Sharon story” about one cup of them will show up on my post tomorrow. Another cup is currently in the crock pot with a new recipe I’m trying and I had them for breakfast this morning.
My second biggest regret about our week in New York is that we didn’t spend a day exploring Saratoga. It just slipped through my planning process, but driving through it on the way to Albany and your reports have made me wish there had been another day. BTW, my biggest regret is not being able to ride with you. Next time……
Saratoga is a beautiful city. We actually would like to live there. We have Saratoga tastes on a Fort Edward budget 😀
What a beautiful place to have a date night!
Looks like the perfect date night to me!!!! Date nights are soooo important, no matter how long you’ve been together!!!! Have a great Wednesday Lori.
I can’t decide if I want those melty chips or those luscious shrimp.
Baby anythings are so cute!!!
Yay for date night!
When I had my point and shoot, I almost always used the sport setting, even for taking pictures of food! Glad you had a great date night, but I agree – lame on the canned pears!
Nice !
That salad looks fabulous. I love getting LivingSocial and Groupon deals. You get to try so many new places. Love that you had a date night. 🙂 We all need those.