Back in Business!

So last week kind of threw me for a loop and I completely abandoned my workout/nutrition plan that I had been working on.  Branden was offered a great new job on Tuesday, so, naturally we had to go out and celebrate... and celebrate we did!  Maybe a little too much celebration?  I've finally come to the realization that any time I drink in excess, the rest of my week is pretty much done.  Therefore, I have decided to stop drinking in excess!  It leaves me completely hungover - so I'm not working out - and craving terribly, greasy food.. the typical hangover, right?  I really want to stay focused so I'm going to focus on my betterment and leave the partying for everyone else.. Not saying that I'm completely abandoning my social life, I'm just going to be drinking in strict moderation from now on.  Please don't get the wrong idea that up to this point I was some kind of party animal, let's be serious - I have a baby!  I usually get the opportunity to go out and go crazy with my friends like once every 2 months or something..
Anyway, back to the topic at hand.. I made it back in to the gym today and did the Monday workout, or well, a modified version.  I only did 2 sets of everything and skipped the last elliptical due to time constraints.  With Branden starting his new job today, I needed to be home a bit earlier to get Nora ready to take over to my mom's house (ALL the way across the street! ha!)  I'm just going to have to start getting to the gym earlier!  (Hear that, Laur and Em?!)
Menu Plan today:
Breakfast:
Choc Protein Shake w/ Skim Milk
1/4 WW Bagel w/ can't believe it's not butter (shared with Nora!)
A few bites of egg whites w/ FF cheese
A few slices of strawberries

Snack:
Low Fat Vanilla Yogurt w/ berries and Grahams

Lunch:
Sun Dried Tomato and Pesto Chicken Pasta Lean Cuisine thing

Snack:
Small Green Apple w/ natural peanut butter and raisins

Dinner:
TBD

I'm hoping to go to Rabbit Hash tonight to bellydance to make up for the cardio I missed this morning (and because it's fun!)  It's supposed to be nice and warm today so Nora can go with me! 
While Nora was gone this past week, although I wasn't going to the gym, I was still getting my sweat on!  We were working really hard on the house so I def burned a few calories, even if it wasn't on the elliptical :)

I should be switching up my workout soon, hopefully after this week?  I'll talk to Branden about it tonight. 

I'm SO excited that it's grilling season again!  I made a delicious grilled meal for Bran, my dad and uncle Danny on Saturday.. wanna hear about it?  Okay, here it goes;
RECIPES!:
Appetizer:
Grilled Bruschetta
Whole Grain Baggette, sliced on the bias, brushed with EVOO on each side, grilled bottom side a few minutes
Diced organic tomatoes, mixed w/ EVOO, Green Onion, Red Pepper Flake, and Garlic.  Spooned on grilled side of bread, sprinkled Feta cheese and grilled bottom side of bread.  Made Balsamic Glaze w/ Balsamic Vinegar and a little brown sugar, reduced down and drizzled over Bruschetta.  Yummy, right?  Not terrible for you either, other than that brown sugar in the glaze!  (and the feta but it was just a tiny bit!)

Salad:
Spinach w/ sliced strawberries, green apple, red onion, pecan halves and feta w/ fat free raspberry pecan vinagrette.  My FAVORITE salad, ever!

Meat:
Chicken marinated in Lemon Pepper vinagrette and good ol' bratwarst w/ grilled red onion for brats

Side:
Grilled sweet potato wedges:
Boiled sweet potatoes until fork-tender, cooled and sliced into wedges, dressed w/ EVOO, grated lemon zest, diced fresh cilantro, grilled a couple minutes on each side then squeeze lime over wedges and sprinkle green onion.

Totally delicious and relatively healthy!!  Grilling season totally speaks to my culinary creativity - so there will be many more recipes to come!!

OH I also made homemade Whole Wheat bread this weekend!  Yum!

Overall - I'm feeling pretty positive!  I was feeling pretty crappy about myself over last week, especially since I deterred from my 'losing path'.  It feels very good to be back on track! 

Well, I'm out of here until tomorrow!  Thanks for reading!