Charcoal and Couscous...

Severe thunderstorms all day today aye? Where are they at already? Those perky little liars on the weather channel are full of poop man. POOP! It's barely drizzled all day. I was looking forward to a good, gloomy, grey, rain scented downpour. I love the smell of a good storm. And yes, sometimes I crave bad weather when I'm at home in the cozy comfort of my house. It's soothing.

Soooooooo, I woke up SUPER thirsty with a slight headache this morning. BAD ILDIE! BAD! I immediately chugged a 24 oz bottle of water. I was like a sponge. I also woke up starving. Why is it that when you have a few drinks the day before you wake up starving? Does that happen to everyone or am I just special?

BREAKFAST (meal #1) at 9:00am.

I immediately started prepping a warm bowl of heart healthy goodness.
1/2 cup oats1/4 wheat bran1 cup unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze1/2 water1tsp cinnamon1 ripe banana, torn into chunks (manhandled)(Cooked on low heat for about 15-20 minutes and topped with 1tbs Better N' Peanut Butter and a few raisins.)

I was completely out of sugar free coffee creamer. THE HORROR! I'm not one of those people that can substitute milk for creamer. I NEED ME SOME CREAM! I opted to skip coffee instead of drinking something I didn't like. I was sad. So, so very sad.

After breakfast I forcefully changed for the gym (all I wanted to do was get back in bed and do nothing) and met Ann for a workout at 10:30. I was hoping to sweat the "Friday night induced funk" right out of me.

WORKOUT!

Leg Extensions (cable)
100lb x 15
100lb x 15
90lb x 15
80lb x 15
Seated Leg Curls (cable)
100lb x 15
90lb x 15
80lb x 15
80lb x 15
Outer Thigh Machine (cable)
85lb x 20
85lb x 20
85lb x 20
85lb x 20
Inner Thigh Machine (cable)
75lb x 20
75lb x 20
75lb x 20
75lb x 20
Conventional Deadlift (with straight bar)
65lb x 15
65lb x 15
65lb x 15
Hack Squat Machine (plate loaded)
60lb x 15
60lb x 15
60lb x 15
Free Weight Squat (with straight bar)
45lb x 15
45lb x 15
45lb x 15
Treadmill (13 min. 1 mile)
I did 1 min. intervals of 3.2 walking and anywhere from 5.5-7.0 sprints. I thought I was going to fly off and die at the 7.0 speed. HOW DO YOU RUNNERS DO IT!? Good grief. I bow to you all. I'm going to keep pushing though. As long as my right leg can keep up.
Elliptical (10 min.)
Resistance level 6. I was going to go for 20 minutes but got a cramp in my left side. I took that as a sign and called it quits.

Total time at gym = 1:25
Max HR = 188
Average HR = 138
Total Calories Burned = 683

I can officially report that working out did NOT sweat the Friday night shenanigans out of me. BAH! And I was still soaking up all the water that I was drinking like a sponge. Scary!!

After the gym, Ann and I ran to feed Mama and Papa Babushkas kitties. The folks are doing great by the way and having a blast with all of our family in Hungary. :) I miss them already!! HI PAPA!!!!!!

After the feeding frenzy, I ran to the grocery store with Ann (both of us looking like sweaty, red faced beasts) to pick up some sugar free coffee creamer, Greek yogurt and a head of Cauliflower. Such random purchases. HA! I plan to attempt "pizza crust" made with cauliflower tomorrow. CAN'T WAIT! Another amazing recipe found in BlogLand. I LOVE YOU BLOGLAND!

When I got home, I did two things immediately. Chugged another bottle of water and made a pot of French Press coffee. I NEEDED my caffeine (with cream of course) ASAP! I found some Archer Farms brand Coconut Macaroon ground coffee at Target yesterday. GO GET SOME! It's absolutely delicious!


LUNCH (meal #2) at 2:00pm.

I prepped an acorn squash and a small eggplant for baking. I seasoned both with salt and pepper. I also added a bit of cinnamon to the squash. I baked them in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes (flipping once halfway through). I sipped on my delicious coffee while they were perfecting their tenderness and got caught up on some blog reading. I was SUPER excited to hear the timer go off though. I was RAVENOUS! This called for a mega salad!
SpinachCherry TomatoesYellow TomatoesCucumberBaked Acorn Squash Baked EggplantSproutsHummus

TO DIE FOR! I was going to eat these two Wheat Thin Flatbreads with the salad but after placing them next to me, I forgot about them. No matter, the salad was perfect without them.

We watched a recorded episode of The Office while I ate. Will poor, pathetic Michael ever find love? That crazy little man. LOVE that show!

I spent the next few hours drawing. It's something I love doing but never seem to have any time for. Sad really. I set up in the dinning room and had a blast. I even blogged a bit and listened to music. It was such a perfect afternoon.


Charcoal is SO messy. I love drawing with it though.


SNACKAGE (meal #3) at 4:00pm.

I also snacked (while drawing) on a 0% Fage yogurt, an apple and the wheat thin flatbreads that I forgot about earlier. I had one flatbread with apricot jam and the other with raspberry. :)


After a few artsy projects, I cleaned up the mess I made and started prepping dinner. I completely lost track of the time and I was starving. I was drawing for like 4 hours. :-O

DINNER (meal #4) at 9:00pm.

I wanted try Couscous. Can you believe I've NEVER had it? Insanity! I made a box of Basil & Herb large pearl Couscous as directed. To go with the Couscous, I sauteed some broccoli, portobello mushrooms and leeks. I seasoned the veggies with salt, pepper, garlic powder and red pepper flakes. And finally for a bit of protein, I baked nick a Polska Kielbasa sausage and I had a smoke turkey sausage instead.


I would like to officially declare that I am in love with this Couscous. The flavor of the basil and herb sauce was incredible! This dinner was absolute perfection. Nick loved it too. Win-win.

I think we're about to watch a movie so I'm going to call it a night. Enjoy the rest of your Saturday!

HUGS!!!!