Back To Reality...But Only For 4 Days

Today I was back to work trying desperately to stop looking at wedding pictures and actually pay attention to what I needed to get done.  It was difficult to say the least. Not only do I still have wedding on my mind, but now I have honeymoon on the mind which is steadily approaching! Good thing I was super busy at work, or I might have actually fallen asleep.  The HVAC system was broken once again and it was 82 degrees in our office by the end of the day.  That didn't even compare to the 97 that it reached outside.  I so desperately wanted to run outside, but decided that it wouldn't be a good idea for me to have a heat stroke today.  So I headed to the good old gym.

I started off with some weights machines concentrating on my arms and abs since my ars is killing me from mine and Matt's workout yesterday (we did a 45 minute weights workout in our basement yesterday morning since our gym was closed and once again it was a million degrees out).  After that I got on the treadmill to run 3 miles in 28 minutes:

5 minute warm up

2 minutes at 6.0

2 minutes at 6.2

2 minutes at 6.4

2 minutes at 6.6

2 minuts at 6.8

repeat until you reach 3 miles.

Then it was time for dinner...on our new plates!!

I made these almond crusted chicken fingers, but this time I used walnuts instead.  Salad on the side and bbq sauce for dipping.

In love with our new "casual" china.  We are not fancy enough for regular china.  I would probably just end up breaking most of it anyways.

Now we are just working on unpacking some of the amazing gifts that we received for the shower and wedding now that it's not bad luck to use this stuff.

Sign from my brother and his girlfriend.

There's a big storm heading our way. Fingers crossed that the power doesn't go out tonight. It's way too hot for that. 



5:45am Wake Up Call!

Today was a slap in the face.  After several days off and getting 9+ hours of sleep every night, it was hard getting out of bed at 5:45 this morning.  By about 8am I was feeling more awake and ready to work.  After work I went to the gym since it was FREEZING out today.  I did 20 minutes of weights and then I did a 35 minute treadmill interval workout that I got from Carrots 'N' Cake.

Time:  Speed

0-0.30:  5.0

0.30-1.00:  5.3

1.00-1.30:  5.5

1.30-2.00: 5.8

2.00-6.00:  6.0

6.00-8.00:  6.2

8.00-10.00:  6.4

10.00-12.00:  6.5

12.00-14.00:  6.6

14.00-16.00:  6.7

16.00-18.00:  6.8

18.00-20.00:  6.9

20.00-22.00:  7.0

22.00-24.00:  6.9

24.00-26.00:  6.8

26.00-28.00:  6.7

28.00-30.00:  6.6

30 min until 4 miles:  6.5

I got home and I was starving.  Good thing I had already made dinner for tonight last night.  All I had to do was pop it in the microwave and eat.

I made Crispy Almond Crusted Chicken Fingers and popped a sweet potato in the microwave for 8 minutes (4 minutes per side) and added some veggies on the side. 

Other accomplishments today: I finally figured out how to add the daily mile widget to my blog so I'll get ot see how many miles I run this year!! I also contanacted an officiant for our wedding and we are meeting with him next Monday night to go over some details for our ceremony.  Matt and I are still out on the write our own vows or do traditional vows question.  I think I might actually have a nervous breakdown if I have to read my own vows because I hate public speaking, but I do like the idea of writing something original that comes from the heart...we'll see.



Lazy Sunday

Today was a nice relaxing Sunday. I went on a couple long walks with Champ and got some cleaning and cooking done.  My legs are in a bit of pain from yesterday, so I decided to take a day off from the gym.  For dinner I made Almond Crusted Chicken Fingers.  I got the recipe from http://www.eatingwell.com/ and it turned out great.  I made some sweet potatoe "chips" on the side.

Recipe:

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1 1/2 tsp olive oil

egg whited for dredging

1 lb chicken tenders

Preheat the oven to 475.  Line a baking sheet with tin foil and place a wire rack on top.  Put all dry ingredients in a food processor and blend.  While running, add olive oil and contine to blend until  crumbly.  Transfer the mixture to a shallow bowl.  Add egg whites to a second shallow bowl.  Add chicken to egg whites and coat, then add chicken to almond mixture and coat.  Bake chicken fingers for 20-25 minutes.  Enjoy!

Along with the chicken I sliced up a sweet potatoe as thin as I could get it, mixed the slices in olive oil s&p and baked them along with the chicken for about 15 mintues, flipping them halfway through. 

Well it's back to work tomorrow but it's only a 3 day week! I can definitely handle that!!  I'll sign off with a couple more pics from my race!