Better Late Than Never

I apologize for my lack of posting last night. It was for a good cause. My roommate from college (whom I love and adore) delivered her 2nd baby yesterday evening and I had to fulfill my promised portion of the phone tree. Welcome to the world baby girl! The name they chose is very, um, unique. Makes me want to watch reruns of the once popular Boy Meets World. There was only one female main character in that show, right? Catch my drift? Yes, I’m serious.

Anywho, on to yesterday’s eats. I slept in a little to make up for my late bedtime Tuesday night. Darn you Biggest Loser! I was in a hurry this morning so I plopped two fried egg whites and a slice of 2% American cheese on a whole wheat english muffin and ate it in the car. I did try to snap a picture while I was rushing around like a mad woman, but I got the ever dreaded “Change Battery Pack Now” message on my camera screen. It really wasn’t that pretty anyway.

Wednesday = Coffee Day(!!!) so I arrived at work to find a crimson cup waiting on my desk. It was filled with my standard venti skim gingerbread latte. I opted for the hot version over the frozen this time in honor of it being 2 degrees outside. The battery pack was on charge so no live picture, but this is as close at it gets.

That kept me full until noon when I heated up my Turkey Taco Quinoa Stew. So. Freaking. AWESOME! I’ve had the same thing for lunch every day this week and I’m nowhere near tired of it. Today’s lunch tea was Celestial Seasonings Antioxidant Plum white tea.

After lunch I sat through the most painful training/brainstorming session ever! I love organization. I crave structure. This 1.5 hour train wreck had neither. I left feeling more confused than I was beforehand and I was very anxious. That called for a cup of Tazo Calm tea. Along with the tea I did some breathing exercises at my desk to help me get back to my happy place. Thankfully the rest of the afternoon went by quickly.

I listen to audiobooks a lot during my commute to and from work. I love to read so it’s a great way for me to make the most of my 3 hours spent in the car each day. During my trip to the library earlier this week I picked up Raising the Bar: Integrity and Passion in Life and Business by Gary Erikson, the founder of Clif Bar & Company. I love books. I love Clif Bars. Coincidence? I think not! I started it Tuesday and so far I’m really enjoying it. I’ll post a better review when I’m finished listening.

Early on in the book they outline how Luna bars came to be. I’m ashamed to admit it, but until then I wasn’t aware that Luna bars were made by Clif Bar & Company. You learn something new everyday! In the spirit of the book, I packed this for my drive home snack. I swear this flavor is becoming like crack to me.

It was a quick change into workout gear when I got home so that my husband and I could hit the gym before dinner. Turned out to be a great workout. I warmed up with 10 minutes on the elliptical then did the Week 11, Day 2 workout from Buff Brides by Sue Fleming with bursts of cardio between the sets of upper & lower body exercises. I finished with crunches. I burned 426 calories in 48:13.

Afterwards we headed home and had breakfast for dinner! My husband and I are both big fans of breakfast food so at least one night every other week is devoted to our love of traditional morning fare. Last night it was pancakes and sausage. I had one of each. My pancake was topped with Parkay spray and a little bit of maple syrup.

Not to toot my own horn, but my pancake skills last night were off the hook. My husband deemed them perfect!

I got the baby news just as we finished dinner so I called everyone on my list while I cleaned up the kitchen. My adrenaline was still pumping from my workout so I took a hot bath to unwind and then headed to bed.

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TGIF!

Happy almost-the-weekend everyone! The end of the work week is in sight and I’m looking forward to a three day weekend. The temperatures this morning were hovering around -20 degrees and the high for the day was -5. That’s cold. Really, really cold.

I woke up STARVING this morning. I was in a hurry so it needed to be something quick as well as filling. I grabbed this Clif bar and ate it during my commute. Yum!

Everyone at work was in a pretty good mood. Typical Friday, but I’m not complaining. There was a very pleasant surprise in my e-mail inbox around 9:00AM. The coffee house we order from on Wednesdays had a delivery near our office and said they could stop by our office afterwards if anyone was interested. I rounded up the orders and e-mailed them in. No picture today because it was the same thing I posted on Wednesday, venti frozen skim gingerbread latte. Most of my coworkers thought I was insane for ordering a frozen drink (again) when it was so cold outside and our office felt like a refrigerator.

I really wanted to stay in for lunch and catch up on some magazine reading, but I needed to run errands. I went to PetSmart for dog food. Of course, a new toy snuck in my cart. Then I stopped at the vet’s office for flea and heart worm treatment since we just used the last tube. I ate lunch at my desk when I got back to the office. Today was edamame with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil from the bottle I keep at my desk. I buy the frozen, individually portioned containers at Sam’s Club and microwave them at work. Sometimes I eat them from the pods and sometimes (like today) I shell them all before I eat them. I also had a string cheese and a cup of green tea. I think it was Tazo Green Tips.

The rest of the day was pretty normal and boring. Around 4:00 I started my Friday ritual of cleaning my desk. Before I leave on Friday I sort through the clutter on my desk, get rid of trash, shred anything that needs it, do some filing and then wipe my desk down with surface cleaner. I also make a “to-do” list of any pending tasks so that I can pick right back up after the weekend.

I was really looking forward to getting home. My husband had promised to make omelets for dinner. Breakfasts are the only thing he really likes to make and he’s especially proud of his omelet skills. He got to work in the kitchen while I changed my clothes. I remembered the tube of polenta in the refrigerator and decided it would make a nice accompaniment. I sliced it into rounds and baked it.

When my husband put my plate in front of me he told me there was a “surprise ingredient” mixed in with my eggs. I’ll admit it. I was a little nervous. One bite told me I had nothing to be scared of. In fact, it was really good. He put garlic in the eggs when he scrambled them! It’s something I never would have thought to do, but the flavor was amazing.

My dinner consisted of a one egg, one egg white, mushroom & cheese omelette. On the side I had 2 polenta rounds topped with dijon mustard and parsley flakes. We also opened a bottle of champagne that we received as a Christmas gift. Here’s what everything looked like:

After dinner we played a little Wii bowling and Wii tennis. I lost miserably at both and I’m blaming it on the champagne.

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