balance

On my quest to find the perfect balance in my life, I'm having a difficult time as of late. Thankfully the biggest stresser in my life-school- will be completely done in 3 1/2 months which is actually only 12 more Tuesdays nights at UMD and 3 weekends in Rochester. But who's counting?
I just got done with a heavenly bubble bath after a kick ass workout. I'm doing an Athletic Circuit class on Thursdays and it is the best workout! For me, a good balance in life currently is a daily workout of at least 45 minutes, 8 hours of sleep every night, a productive day at work, and a couple productive evenings of school work so that I can enjoy my Sundays with Mikey. I've been doing a good job of getting enough sleep, working out and enjoying my Sundays. However, my productivity at school and work is not what I would like it to be. I need to finish up my job re-classification paperwork this weekend and also finish my first case study.

I've been working really diligently on my physical fitness and it is paying off. I am focusing on incorporating some form of strength training everyday with my cardio and my arms are toning up.
I am working on measuring/celebrating good health in more ways than what the scale says. So, I'm taking my measurements on a regular basis, continuing my weekly weigh-ins and most importantly being mindful of how I am feeling. The good news is that I feel great physically and the doc says I'm extremely healthy (106/60 BP and 60 RHR and off the charts "good" cholesterol). I'm still feeling frustrated with the stagnant scale and so I've decided to start documenting/blogging my food again. I'm doing this for a number of reasons: 1) I savor my food more when I have to present it in a way that is photo worthy. 2) I make more mindful meals and tend to eat slower 3) I have some accountability of what I'm eating and can reference back to see what worked during the week.

So here goes...
Dinner tonight was my usual fare from CCC: Falafel sandwich and fruit:

In lieu of wine during the week, I make myself mocktails. Tonight's creation was raspberry fizzy water and a splash of POM and it was good:
Dessert was a couple squares of Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate.
Lunch was a bowl of potato leek soup and the end piece of a loaf of bread.
Breakfast was oatmeal, peanut butter, and greek yogurt sweetened with honey.

Last night, we used up some leftovers and made BLTs with avocado & red onion to liven it up:
The other interesting update is that we had a fun time at a food and beverage tasting last weekend. Mikey and his coworker Jillian represented CCC:
while the 'Rents and I hit up all the other tables.
It was a fundraiser for the Land Trust organization in Duluth which helps revitalize neighborhoods and help low to middle income people buy houses.

This upcoming weekend we have our inaugural dinner club gathering on Sunday as well as the SuperBowl. It's good motivation for me to get all my crap done ahead of time. Wish me luck!