Biking is so fun!  It’s been my choice of exercise during vacation since I don’t get to do it at home.  I may have to find a way, though.  I really enjoy it!

This morning, I rode 7.23 miles (calculated on www.dailymile.com) in about 39 minutes.  It was a windy ride, but that only made it a better workout!  My quads were feeling it by the time I was finished.  Glad I didn’t plan a brick workout today!

Once home, I got breakfast going – Peanut Butter Banana Oats…

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup organic nonfat milk
• dash salt
• 1/2 banana
• 2 tbsp. PB2 
• 1 tbsp. chopped walnuts

Filling!

We decided on another beachin’ day, so I packed up lunch….

A Kitchen Sink Salad ( Iowa Girl Eats would approve!)…

• romaine lettuce
• carrots
• tomatoes ( or tomahtoes )
• cucumber
• leftover chinese takeout broccoli
• turkey breast
• lite string cheese
• 1 slice crumbled bacon
• evoo + vinegar

and some Mary’s Gone Crackers Stick and Twigs for more crunching…

I sat and read and read and read.  And helped the daughters with sand castle construction

And snacked!  My first sweet honeydew melon of the season…

We packed up earlier than usual to shower and make a trek back to Smithville.  When we had gone the other day, the shops were closed and the daughters were disappointed that they didn’t get to visit their favorite store.  The shops were closing by 6 p.m. again, so we made sure to get there in plenty of time. 

First stop, the favorite store…

The daughters started collecting these miniature glass figures, so we get a few every time we visit…

It’s also their favorite store because of these…

They tried, but NO WAY was I agreeing to another one.  Three is already a crowd.  Sorry, hermies…

Ick.  I know, I’m a hater.

After shopping, we stopped for dinner at The Lantern Light Tavern again.  The husband and daughters liked their last meal here and wanted to go back…

I started with a house salad with raspberry vinaigrette…

and chose the Walnut Encrusted Salmon for entree…

It was just okay.  Nothing to write home about.  I ended up eating about 2/3 of it and called it dinner.  Hey, but I didn’t have to cook it or clean it, so it’s all good

We strolled around the village after dinner, taking in the sights…

Hi!!!

Tempting…..

Back to the house for a nanosecond before taking Rocky on a 2 mile walk with a coffee run in between…

Pooped!  And not just Rocky   Time for chillaxin’!

Have a great day, everyone!

Do you own a bike?  For serious or joy riding?  I don’t own one, but would love a cruiser!  I’m all about joy riding

It was the first day of my new early morning workout.  It feels a little strange being at the gym 2 hours before I normally get there!  You get used to seeing the same people when you go at a certain time and now, there’s a whole new crowd.  Well, “crowd” is an exaggeration.  Not as many people there at that hour.  Only the nutjobs

Anyway, I had a good workout – 25 minutes on the Arc Trainer, then the 30 minute express circuit.  I’m really loving lifting weights.  Surprisingly, I get a good sweat going and feel so strong when I’m done.  I’m going to stay with it and take measurements.  I’m interested to see if I can change my body with strength training along with running on the alternate days!

When I got home, the husband already had little daughter up and settled into her routine.  He is the best and so supportive of my new workout schedule.

Since all was calm on the homefront, I hit up the press right away…

And got breakfast going, too…

The “daily special” again!  This time, I went full tilt and added egg white to the turkey breakfast sausage, cheese and Ezekiel english muffin.  Lookout, Mickey D’s!

I had plans to help my parents who made settlement on their new home today.  Before meeting up with them,  I made a huge salad for lunch.  I knew I’d be doing a lot of lifting and carrying, so I powered up with greens and a dose of Omega 3’s…

• romaine lettuce
• canned wild Alaskan salmon
• feta cheese
• kalamata olives
• evoo + red wine vinegar

Crunchy, salty and satisfying!

Time to move it, move it…

My Dad and I drove to their storage unit where they have been housing many of their belongings for the past few months.  My Dad rented a truck to load up, too.  It didn’t look like that much stuff…

But then……..I went into the light….

Holy guacamole.

I slammed the door shut, hopped in the car and sped away as fast as I could.

Okay, that last part was a momentary day dream.  

Being the true princess bruiser that I am, I cried hefted those boxes and loaded up the truck with my Dad.  No problem! I’ll be sore and have to lay in bed all day tomorrow.

We drove the Dukes of Hazard truck back to their shiny new empty home and unloaded…

More to deliver tomorrow.  And probably the next day and the next…and the next… Moving is such a pain!

All this movement called for a snack.  I packed some Mary’s Gone Crackers and homemade almond butter…

Crunch, dip, unpack.  In that order

We decided on Chinese take-out for dinner.  I haven’t had it in so long, I had a hard time figuring out what to order!  I ended up just choosing the Chicken and Broccoli with fried rice…

Probably not the best choice, but it sure was tasty!

Time for some R & R now!

Have a great day, everyone!

How many times have you moved in your life?  I’ve moved 4 times in my entire life and they have all been within the same county!

Are you tired of seeing my morning press, yet???

Maybe, I’ll get some new mugs to entertain ya!

I’ve been a little tired of pre-run smoothies, so I’m sticking with half a Peanut Butter Cookie Larabar…

It seems to give me enough energy without weighing me down.  I’m pretty sure I won’t get tired of them as it is an exercise in restraint to not eat a box of them!

I met my running partner, Kerry, for a nice run at the paved trail.  We cranked out 3.75 miles in 46 minutes doing a 3:1 interval, which seemed pretty comfortable for both of us.  I talked her into a post-run sweaty pic for the blog so that you guys don’t think I have an “imaginary friend”…

I may talk to myself sometimes, but I draw the line at imaginary friends   Thanks for being a good sport, Kerry!

After running some errands, I headed home for a yogurt bowl breakfast …

• 1 cup nonfat greek yogurt
• 3 drops liquid vanilla Nustevia 
• 1 cup blueberries
• sprinkle of Fruit and Nut Granola

Lunch was a repeat of the other day.  I had salmon on the brain!  More smoked salmon on an Ezekiel english muffin with Laughing Cow cheese and arugula for a twist…

Along with some wilting leftover broccoli slaw and dried cherries salad…

For a drink, I made a pitcher of iced tea.  Not any old iced tea…

I wanted to recreate a Blueberry Iced Tea that I had at a cute tea house with my MIL last year…

• brew 8 tea bags using 4 cups water
• let cool
• pour into a 2 Quart pitcher and add another 4 cups cold water
• sweeten as desired (I used 2 packets of NuStevia white stevia powder for the entire 2 Quarts)

Garnish with fresh blueberries and sprig of lemon balm or mint…

Fruity and refreshing!  It would exceptional with some vodka.  Kidding, kidding

Afternoon snack was crack…ers and hummus…..

I like these Mary’s Gone Crackers a lot, but they are so seedy (in a good way, not a dark back-alley way) and super crunchy that I fear my old, dental work lovin’ teeth cannot withstand its heartiness.  I may need to stop eating these.  That may not be a bad thing.

On to dinner…

Again, I am the leftover sweeper, eating up all that no one else wants.  Salad seemed like the best option for it all…

In the mix…

• baby spinach on its way to veggie heaven
• grape tomatoes
• leftover grilled chicken breast
• 1/4 diced avocado
• 3 big tbsp. organic fresh salsa
• cornbread croutons
• drizzle of olive oil and red vinegar

How’d I do, TJ?!

Today is the final chance to enter the NuNaturals Giveaway!  Winners will be announced tomorrow morning.

Have a great day, everyone!

What’s your favorite summer time drink?