Welcome back from the weekend!  Hope you all had a lovely one!  Mine was filled with lots of activity.  I spent Saturday backstagemommin’ at little daughter’s dance recital which could very well classify as its own form of a workout.  Running stairs, yanking costumes on an off, whipping hair into buns and shuffling 10 girls back and forth to the bathroom equals sweating, huffing and puffing!  It’s all fun though.

Sunday started off with an enthusiastic dragging me kicking and screaming run on the treadmill.  I trotted along, finishing up 3.1 miles using 2:1 intervals with the GYMBOSS.  I’m definitely feeling my endurance come back now that I’ve been keeping a regular running schedule again!

Breakfast was an Ezekiel McMuffin – egg and 2% cheese on an Ezekiel english muffin (7 PP) …

  I love this breakfast!  Savory and filling!

After I de-stinkified myself,  I headed to a family bridal shower.  The theme was an “afternoon tea” and given by the bridesmaids.  It was lovely!

The tables were set with an array of tea cups, tea pots and colorful flowers…

The bride-to-be with her Mom and sister …

The personalized tea bags were such a nice touch …

There was a huge assortment of tea sandwiches, homemade individual quiches, cheese, crackers and fruit.  I had a little of everything and doubled up on the fruit (est. 12 PP) …

The bride was asked to play a Question and Answer Game. She was asked a question, gave her answer and then got to see her fiance’s answer to the same question that was pre-recorded and played on the big screen …

It was so adorable!!  Kind of like a modern day “Newlywed Game”!

Desserts were just as plentiful.  I dodged these delicious guys …

But, did indulge in one of these homemade cookies (2 PP) …

Kudos to the bridesmaids (and you, too, Kate!) for putting on a beautiful shower!

After some long goodbyes ( I call it “The 20 Minute Italian Goodbye ) and ride home, I was ready for dinner.  Heat and eat was looking good!  Trader Joe’s Madras Lentils on a bed of much needed veg (6 PP) …

With a doughy side of naan bread (5 PP) …

So, I didn’t get to weigh-in or my WW meeting on Friday since I had too much going on.  My “unofficial” weigh-in looked like I stayed the same.  No biggie though;  I’m ready for an awesome week of tracking, exercise and staying on program!  Who’s with me????!!!

Have a great day, everyone!

Are you a tea drinker?  What is your favorite kind?  I’m not a huge fan of hot tea, but I love iced tea!  I brought the bride a box of Celestial Seasoning True Blueberry to make my Blueberry Iced Tea !

Hey, everyone!  Hope you had a terrific weekend!  Mine was eventful and fun!  There was lots of activity and, unfortunately, a whole lot of eating went along with that.  Is someone following the Weight Watchers plan here?

*cricket…cricket*

Oh yeah, that would be me! 

Well, I do consider this a lifestyle choice and sometimes life throws a curveball, so I decided not to beat myself up about my choices and just move on.  More than anything, what I am focusing on lately is removing the guilt from these “off the wagon” incidents because I know that it does me more harm than good.  It flips that switch in me which actually ends up making me eat worse and for a longer period of time instead of just eating whatever the decadent meal is and be done with it.  I’m not sure if that makes sense the way I’m describing it, but it seems to be true for me lately.  I’m working on it!

So, how about a few highlights from the weekend?

I missed weigh-in and my WW meeting on Friday, but for good reason.  I had a date in the garden with my Mom!  She treated me to a stroll through Longwood Gardens and lunch at the restaurant on the grounds.  

Mom and I had a great time walking throughout the gardens and seeing the gorgeous sights…

We walked about 3 miles before settling in for lunch at the restaurant called 1906 …

We decided to dine outdoors to continue to take in the beauty …

Plus, there was a parking space for my poles …

Yeah, my Mom can’t believe I brought them either!  LOL!

The waiter brought us each a bread pot to nibble on while perusing the menu …

After placing our order, the chef sent out an amuse bouche of black raspberry, goat cheese and lavender honey…

Fancy!

For my entree, I decided on the Black Bean Hummus Wrap served with Multi-Grain Quinoa Salad…

It was HUGE!  I ended up bringing half of it home for another meal.

Mom chose the Prime Sirloin Burger with Ancho Chili Bacon and Trappist Cheese which was very delicious…

We also shared the Crispy Mushrooms  – so addictive!

How’s that for carb loading before a race ?  

Saturday was 5K race day!  The weather was iffy and I had expectations that this would be another 5K in the rain!  Thankfully, the rain held out and it was only sprinkling off and on, so I was feeling better about it.

The husband and I woke up at 6 a.m., got ready and had a little breakfast – Ezekiel toast with peanut butter …

Since our race didn’t start until 9:20, I packed up a couple dates with peanut butter in case I got hungry before the start…

We drove about 20 minutes to the bib pick-up destination.  The Kennett Run is a big race with over 2, 500 runners registered between the 5K run, 10K run and 5K walk.  There were shuttle buses prepared to transport runners to the starting line, however we were able to park in an area that was only a few blocks away. 

We stopped at the Y to pick up our bibs.  I was impressed at how organized it was inside the gym.  They even had laptops set up for registering if you hadn’t done it previously …

This was the first race I’ve done that I didn’t feel nervous at all!  Probably because I had my crack support team with me – the hubs, my nephew, Angel and my niece, Nikki …

We dubbed ourselves “Team Turtle”!  LOL!  They know I’m slow

Honestly, I wasn’t starting off my best this morning.  My stomach was off and I was feeling really dehydrated.  Luckily, there was a water station set up at the start and I was able to down a couple cups before setting off.  It definitely helped!

The 10k racers set off, then it was time for us to line up …

The gun went off and so did we !  I have one thing to say about this race… HOLY HILLS!!!!!!

There were quite a few hills and upgrades …

But, there were a couple of good downhills, too, and I made sure to take advantage of those!  I decided to run using 2:1 run/walk intervals with the GYMBOSS, however, I always start the race by running through the first interval and a half, so a total of 5 minutes straight running to start.  Then, the run/walk intervals kicked in and I stuck with them unless I came upon a downhill.  I decided to run through those since they were easier and it was fun to pick up speed during them!

Before I knew it, we were coming down the home stretch …

I turned it on as best I could and finished strong, along with the husband!  

There was a great post-race party with tons of junky eats – pizza, hot dogs, bagels, soft pretzels, donuts and beer!  I noshed on a piece of bagel, a banana and guzzled some water and spilled it on myself…

Overall, we had a fun time!  Thanks for racing with me, hubs, Nikki and Angel!

And thank you guys for all your support, well wishes and hanging in there for this epic-long post!

Have a great day, everyone!

What fun thing did you do this weekend?

It’s the end of the week!  Happy, happy, joy, joy…

I’m pretty obsessed with breakfast cakes this week.  I like trying out different flavor combos and so far, the banana oat breakfast cake and the carrot cake breakfast bake are my favorites!  This morning, I went with a pumpkin theme…

I was going for a “pumpkin bar” type of flavor – you know, those soft bars with cream cheese icing?  So good!  The bake still needs a little tweaking, so I won’t share the recipe yet.  I also need to remind myself that the cream cheese icing stuff needs to stop because I’m starting to get those sugar cravings again!

Danger, Will Robinson!

Luckily, I burned off some of it with a run.  I hit the trail with my Dad and niece for the last run before the 5K this Saturday!  We finished up 2.75 miles using 2:1 intervals with the GYMBOSS …

I’m excited for the 5K, although a tad nervous because the course is said to be very hilly.  The husband and my niece are running with me, so I’ll have a good time regardless!  Oh, and there’s a chance of rain…but, we’re not gonna think about that.

Lunch was ….um, breakfast!  Easy and quick – gotta love it!  An Ezekiel english muffin, egg, 2% cheese and turkey bacon (8 PP)…

Along with my other big obsession this week – oranges…

They are so perfectly sweet right now!

Later in the afternoon, my eyelids were heavy.  Coffee?  Don’t mind if I do (2 PP).  On the rocks…

Tonight was the last religion class for the year.  The kids were really sweet and wrote me some cute notes saying they would miss me!  We ended with games and a party.  I decided to wait until I got home and made a healthier dinner – Salmon Tacos (11 PP)…

• 4 oz. leftover grilled salmon
• 2 corn tortillas
• shredded butter lettuce
• mango salsa
• cilantro

Served with….

I know.  I have issues.

A super busy weekend is on tap, but I hope to pop in to say hi and give a race recap!  Praying  it’s better than this race !  lol!

Have a great day, everyone!

What is your best race tip?