Week 6 Already?

Hurray for meal prep!!!  I am loving my lasagna this week. Okay, I admit it is a bit dry, so if you are looking for saucy it might be a good idea to save some extra sauce to add when you reheat. Personally, I don't mind. My biggest issue is that the mozzarella on top hardened up that top layer, so it is a bit difficult to cut into pretty bites - layers sliding everywhere. Maybe next time I will put a bit more sauce on top and put the cheese inside one of the layers...or I could probably leave the mozzarella out completely...gasp!!  Despite all that, it is tasty and definitely a make again recipe. I am going to freeze a couple of the portions,so I can have them next week. So many delicious healthy meals, so little time in one week to eat them.

Week 6 of Double Light - is that even possible??  My trainer got a bit creative with naming each day's workout. "Jacked-up Thursday"made me laugh...let's see if I am laughing tomorrow :)

There was a bit of twist for Monday. My trainer introduced super sets. Instead of completing all six exercises in a circuit, he paired two exercises. I had to do a set of the first one and then straight into the second exercise. Then right back to the first, then second, etc. with no rest until after the third circuit. Then we moved on to the second pair of exercises. It was a good change of pace.

Of course, there were squats. I am not sure I will ever be happy with them, but I better just suck it up since they don't seem to be going anywhere.

 Tricep kick backs - I have done them before, but I feel like I was getting better extension this time.

 Bent Rows - Goal is to lift elbows higher than your shoulders.

 I am going to say this even though my trainer is reading this...I like these.

Leg Scissors - Feet up and crisscrossing back and forth until your legs fall off.. Okay, perhaps I am exaggerating, but it feels like it.

 A post workout selfie from the floor...I takes me a minute to recoup.

Dinner was super easy. I put leftovers on my plate and warmed them up. I am definitely going to make another basket of those grilled veggies. Such a delicious simple side dish.

When you don't share with your puppy....she starves to death right there in your lap...or so she would have you believe.

Tuesday morning, the awesome Meg at Running Just As Fast As She Can was starting her organized swim practice and I offered to do an "empathy swim" that morning, which meant I had to go with my husband at his normal time.  See how dark it is?  See they aren't even open yet?? Time check - 4:20 a.m.!!!

By 4:35 a.m. I was on the pool deck taking proof-of-swim selfies. I didn't realize I was getting mirrored goggles when I ordered them. I was not happy when they came because I wanted clear. I thought the mirrored would be too dark. However, I love them. They aren't dark. They are super comfortable on my big head. And I look awesome with bug eyes, right?

I swam, I walked, I ran and generally worked to keep my heart rate up for 40 minutes. I felt really good about pushing myself even though my trainer was no where to be seen. He was doing his workout in another part of they gym. Obviously, I was much happier after the workout.  On a side note, my husband was concerned this picture didn't show I was smiling. Apparently, he is not familiar with "smizing".

The last of my farmer's market blueberries went on my Tuesday oatmeal. I am pretty sure they will have them next week and some will come home with me again.

 Remember how I said I have been gaining confidence in my abilities. This box arrived at our office.

It came to the lower level door which meant it had to go up these stairs to my office. These stairs are the worst steps known to mankind - narrow, steep.

I did have to empty the box because it was falling apart, but I carried the whole stack of books at once up the stairs to my desk!  I did not wait for my boss to come to the office to carry them.  I did it! Truth is even though I can do it,  I do like getting guys to do the heavy lifting cause I also enjoy being a delicate flower. Surely I can have it both ways, right?

Since I did the pool workout in the morning we skipped my cardio Double Light Tuesday. All day I had intended to do it, but for some reason my neck started hurting the last hour of work and I got a headache. When my trainer suggested my cardio was good for the day, I quickly agreed.

Tuesday night was tough. I just wanted to snack. Yet again, I was saved to a degree by the fact we don't have "goodies" in the house. I could have dashed to Farm Fresh to get something, but I felt too guilty. Truth is I have slipped out for a snack (or more) a time or two after my husband has gone to bed. And now he knows.

Wednesday it was nice to sleep later, but I did get up in time to do a little dinner prep. I was grilling these at 6:30 a.m. Yes, it was already time for another batch of the stuffed peppers I made last week. I got the whole dish prepared and ready for the oven. Then into the fridge it went.

I got so involved in making the peppers I didn't leave time to make my breakfast. I grabbed a piece of my veggie lasagna and called it good. I am not super particular about eating traditional "breakfast foods." I knew I'd be eating out at lunch, so I just wanted to stay on track. The lasagna is right about 300 calories. That meant no muffin or donut when I stopped to pick up a couple items for work from Walmart.

We ended up eating lunch at St. Louis Bread Company (known by most of you as Panera).  The company was started in St. Louis and when it became Panera, they kept the St. Louis "Bread Co." branding in this area. Now I know I am about to get controversial....don't mess with Panera. I rarely go there because in my opinion it is a bit pricey and the place is always packed at lunch time. But I am a go with the flow girl, so Bread Co. it was. I know people rave about the Strawberry Poppyseed salad so I tried a Pick 2 with that and the Turkey, Avocado BLT. For my taste, there was too much fruit and dressing in/on the salad. It was simply too sweet for my salad tastes..I should have thought to get the dressing on the side. The sandwich, despite having all the things I love, was bland. The meal was $12, which is more than I want to spend for lunch. On the upside, I've been taking my lunch for the last few weeks, so  the splurge didn't make me feel too guilty. Caloriewise it was was good - 540 according to the Panera website. For the record, I can eat my weight in their Cinnamon Crunch (430 calories) and Asiago cheese (330 calories) bagels

 I know it is silly, but I do love their clear cups.

This morning when I stopped at Walmart for work stuff, I noticed some tank tops. I got this one to troll my trainer a bit.  He actually really liked it and didn't tease me too much about my impulse buying issues.

Even though it is more snug than I would like, I decided to wear it for my workout. According to the schedule it was Washboard Wednesday...the dreaded ab workout.

Dumbbell Russian Twists - Dumbbell I get, twist I get, not sure where the Russian comes in.  Despite the somewhat confusing name this was my favorite exercise of the workout. Feet and shoulders off the ground - twist side to side lowering the dumbbell to your hip while using your legs to counter balance. Hello, obliques and lower stomach muscles. I am going to say it...I kinda love this picture.

Bent Windshield Wipers - Twisting body from side to side with feet up and knees bent. As you twist, don't let legs touch the ground. Trust me, there is a point when you definitely want to let them fall to the side.

 Alligator Planks - WHAT??  I will let my trainer demonstrate.

The idea is to walk along on your hands dragging your feet behind you. I got into position. Was able to move each hand forward one "step", but couldn't drag my feet -- I needed them to stay put to keep from collapsing. I tried a couple times and then we moved on to a modification.

Instead of the Alligator Plank I did a normal plank with knees down.

 I had to hold it until....

Ironically, in most of the pictures while I was working out, you couldn't see "just kidding, I take naps" - those words got sucked into my rolls. Good thing I work out. I am eager to see how the tank will look in the future.

While I was doing my workout,the peppers I prepped in the morning were in the oven. By the time, I was ready for dinner it was ready for me :)

Just in case this post is not long enough, let me squeeze in a quick garden update. The tomato plants are out of control. Even though they are crowded, I think they are happy in their box. However, they aren't staying in the cages as well as I had planned. I am hoping the tomatoes get enough sun to ripen despite being crowded.

I now have tons of green tomatoes. I know I need to be patient because it will probably be 2-3 weeks before I can hope for anything to be ripe.  However, if these tomatoes ripen without getting stolen by birds or squirrels we will be in the tomato business :)

Yellow cherry tomatoes. 

Red grape tomatoes

The tomatillos are looking good too. Inside those green husks a fruit that looks like the green tomatoes is growing.  It will gradually fill the husk and cause the husk to split open. Then it is salsa verde time!!

 My dill has gone to seed. The flowers are so pretty and delicate.

 The jalapeno plants don't seem to be getting very big, but at least I see baby jalapenos!!

I just took Millie out to go potty. For once, I didn't mind that she had to examine our entire yard. I just hung out in the hammock enjoying the breeze and this sunset.

Thanks for sticking with me through this long post. However, after you have seen that face, what else is there to say.... good night!

Building Confidence

Monday means back to Double Light after weekend rest! It was nice to be off work and to be able to do the workout during the day instead of the evening after work.  I think I prefer my trainer didn't take these pictures, but since he did, here they are. Most of the exercises incorporated body weight...ooohh, I can't wait until I have a smaller body. My trainer made a makeshift step from a huge book and a towel. (It worked okay, but I think we will be ordering a real one if he keeps scheduling step-up type exercises.) In the first picture, I am essentially marching and pumping my arms as I step up on one side (then I turned around to step up with the other side). In the second picture, wall push ups (another modification for this not ready for "real" push-ups girl). Finally, the third picture is "box jumps". My "box" is probably only 3.5 inches tall, but when you are jumping up a whole body like mine it seems much taller and takes some concentrated effort. Box jumps are very much a mental challenge as well the physical challenge. Most of the time I had to have my trainer stand right next to me...I was convinced I would fall (I didn't.) I felt pretty good about this workout and I do feel like I am pushing myself in a way I wouldn't do if I were working out alone.

Lunch was my lettuce wraps. This time I used the leftover cold salmon. It was very tasty. I always love looking at my plate when I have lettuce wraps - the colors make me smile.

Monday afternoon I spent a little time in my very neglected garden. I don't know why, but I just haven't gotten into gardening this spring like normal. My planting is very minimal. I moved my tomatoes to the raised beds. I have been super disappointed in my tomatoes the last couple years and felt I need to try something different. So far they are growing very well.

These random tomatillo plants grew up by themselves from last year's plants. I was quite surprised. Last year my tomatillo plants looked great - tons of flowers, but minimal fruit. Hopefully, I will be in the salsa verde business this summer :)  I pulled all my radishes, spinach and lettuce. I replanted a couple rows of lettuce, but I want to get some different spinach seed.

My herbs are all over the place this year. I have a bumper crop of cilantro. I wish there were a good way to preserve it, but dried cilantro just doesn't have good flavor. My cilantro is always ready before my tomatoes, so this year I am going to try to do a second planting and hopefully it will coincide with ripe tomatoes. We do love our pico de gallo!

These dill plants were volunteers from last year too. It was a nice surprise. There was also quite a bit of dill growing in the yard, I picked and used some of it between mowings. I bought some other herbs to plant in this bed...and then I waited two long and most of them died :(  I was able to salvage a thyme plant and some basil - sorry tarragon, thai basil and someone else I can't remember.

I wanted to have some herbs closer to the house. Sometimes when I am cooking, I am a bit too lazy to go all they way out to the garden. I planted some in a pot on the deck by the grill - rosemary, basil and a lime basil. The lime basil died already, but the others are doing well. I've used it several times which indicates the convenience factor is working. My mother-in-law gave me this flamingo solar light. Sometimes it still freaks me out when I take the dogs out at night. I do a double take when I see pink light out of the corner of my eye.

I have been taking my lunch to work faithfully the last couple of weeks. I have only eaten out when invited by someone else (a former co-worker, my boss and my niece). Yesterday's lunch was a bit of mish mash - not well planned. I definitely got my fruits and veggies in!!

I saved the almonds and strawberries for a late afternoon snack. Those berries look amazing, but man, were they tart!   The snack did keep me from gnawing off my arm before dinner, so that is a win. For the record, I chose to eat my prepared (nutritious) snack over the chips that were calling me, so double win.

I confess I did NOT want to do my workout last night. I had been moving and cleaning stuff at work most of the day and was already tired and sore. Office Purge 2017 - Just a tip of the binder iceberg. There has to be a couple hundred and I still have may more to empty and move. I hope someone will want to reuse some of them.

I was also pretty hungry (possibly hangry) by the time I got home. I quickly prepared my potatoes for the oven so they could roast while I snuck in my workout. On the agenda last night....Bumps and Jumps, "Jr."  I think the name is borrowed from my husband's program, but heavily modified for me, hence the "jr.". The planned workout was 5 burpees followed by 7 box jumps to be completed in two minutes and then repeated for a total of three circuits. Any time not used to complete a task became rest time.

The burpees were pretty much a fail. I tried the first one and had a sharp pain in my upper left leg near the hip. I was super frustrated because although I didn't want to do them I was determined to do my best and not be a baby. My trainer ended up subbing 7 push-ups for the burpees. I tried to do one regular push-up, but couldn't quite get it, so we switched to modified knee push-ups. I can tell I am getting a bit better already. On the last circuit I surprised my trainer by trying the burpees again. (I know, who is this girl??)  I managed 4 super ugly burpees, but at least I have a baseline to improve upon. And yes, I am hoping they don't show up again on my schedule any time soon. I didn't have the pain when I tried the burpees later so maybe I just need to do other things before I attempt them to be loosened up.

One thing I have noticed in the last week is my confidence is increasing. A couple of times I have found myself trying to move things I previously would have called in someone else's muscles to do. For example, my husband put our hammock up on the deck while he mowed. (It is on a large metal frame). He was gone when I wanted to use it. Instead of waiting for him to get home, I moved it myself.

Yesterday at work, I moved some heavy desktops by myself. Neither of those tasks were easy but I tried and I succeeded. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to turn in my "Princess Delicate Flower" title and do all my own work, but it is nice to know I can in a pinch :)

Happy Wednesday!!