I'm going to earn that burger!

It's Thursday.  One more day and it's Friday.  Two more days till race day!  Ah the anticipation!

Tuesday
After work, Marcin and I went to the gym for my last run of the week before the race.  I did 4.2 miles in 50 minutes.  So I'm thinking that I could possibly do the 5 mile trail run in just little over an hour.  More on that later.

We got home and got ready for, yes you guessed it PINT NIGHT!  Both Marcin and I said that if we rocked out at the gym, we would get a burger.  I believe my words as I was tying my running shoes was "I'M GOING TO EARN THAT BURGER EVEN IF IT KILLS ME!"  Well, ok, it was quite that violent, but I couldn't remember what I said! 

It's been a looooong time since I had a burger (I was BBQ'd out after the Fourth fo July weekend) and Bailey's has a fabulous Bacon Cheeseburger that I adore!

Dinner:

Instead of fries, both Marcin and I got a side salad instead.  It was a great substitution, because I got really full before I finished my burger.  I was a little sad that I couldn't finish my burger, but they had put a behemouth of a burger patty on it, so I told myself that I didn't need all of that urger goodness.

Wednesday
It was my day off, so I did right by me and slept in!  Woke up at about 10:00 am and fixed myself some breakfast.

Breakfast

Black coffee, poached egg and whole wheat waffle.  Simple, light, and delicious!

The goal for today was:

1) To workout (at home)

2) Go on the search for the power cord and cable for our printer that has been sitting in the basement since I moved in.  Now that the office is all set up, we can now bring it up.

3) Get my last hair cut before the wedding

4) Create a new meal plan for next week based on the Clean Eating habits

5) Get started on the Thank you card from the bridal shower

I've pretty much got all if not most of the things done.  I worked out after breakfast.  I did push ups, crunches, and then spent QT time with my foam rollar.  I'm telling you, getting a full workout with the foam rollar cause some major sweat action!  After a shower, I got to work on lunch. 

Lunch

Now this may seem weird for summer, but I wanted chilli and I wanted sweet potato.  I've seen on a variety of blogs, bloggers eating a baked sweet potato with black beans over it.  I sort of took that concept and added a twist.

First up, heated Cambell's Chunky Chilli and added green beans and carrots for more UMPF!

Next, while the chilli was heating up, I took a sweet potato and cooked it in the microwave for 5 minutes (I poked holes all over that bad boy!)

When it was done, I cut the sweet potato into chunks and removed the skin.

Put it all together!

Oh, it was hearty and delicious.  Now that we have our new crock pot, I can't wait to make home made chilli for the fall.  Anyone have any good recipes out there?  Anyone? 

After lunch, I went straight to my hair stylist.  My hair was getting long and a bit unruly.  No shape, no style. As you can see from my bridal shower on Sunday:

But Brittany, my hairstylist, worked her magic.  We talked about how I may want my hair for the wedding and what length it would need to be at and such.  Since this is my last cut before my wedding, she added soft layers and took off about 2 inches . . .after some blow drying, the finished product:

Ah!  So much more manageable. I have to say, I've been rocking a great hair day the past two days!

Well, I had intended on running more errands outside, but Mother Nature yelled at me to go home with a big old thunderstorm and torrential downpour!  Nothing motivates working on something around the house quite like a thunderstorm!  So I got home and went searching for the lost power cord and cable.  They ended up being in a random shoe box that was almost thrown out!  I got everything into the office and found the CD so that Marcin can install the printer driver onto his computer.  All we need is a home computer and this blogger will be one happy camper!

The rain let up and I ran more errands that I really did need to have done.  Got home and was ready for afternoon tea and snack.  Basically I just wanted to try out my new tea cups that Marcin got us for the bridal shower!

Polish tea with Marble cake.  Now that I look at this picture, I so did not capture the awesomeness of my tea cups!  Will have to rectify that soon.

Spent the rest of the afternoon reading.  I know, I know, I should have got to work on #4 or #5 on my list, but sometimes, you just need to enjoy the quiet and read.  Marcin came home and I got to work on dinner.

Dinner

I was in a noodle kind of mood, but not for Udon noodles.  So I went with a spaghetti type dish:

Angel Hair pasta with vegetables and scallops in spaghetti sauce.

Basically, I cooked the angel hair pasta as directed on the package.  During the last two minutes of boiling, I threw in the frozen vegetables (saves on time, energy, and dishes!).  I cooked the scallops (which were frozen) in the spaghetti sauce. 

I am seriously becoming obsessed with my plates!  It's inspiring me to really think about plating food for pictures.  It's still a work in progress, but it's fun!

Finally got around to getting a start on the Thank You Notes.  Marcin installed the driver and I worked on the adress labels for the envelopes.  Tonight, I will be writing the thank you cards.  After that, I worked on my meal plan for next week.  It's going to take alot of prep work and a bit of grocery shopping on my part, but I am determined to stick to it!

Thursday

Breakfast

Basically had the same thing:

This time, I added cream cheese to the waffle.

Went to work and slowly working on a couple of things.  Trying to stretch projects out so that I have something to do everyday that I'm in a different department.  On the plus side, it gives me time to catch up on loads of stuff online!  By 10:30 I was hungry!  I dove into my Oats in a Jar that I had originally made for Tuesday, but never ate.

Nothing to fancy - Oats, greek yogurt, coconut milk, and the last of the Kiwi jam that my friend Claudia gave us.

It did the trick.  It's now 1:16 and I'm still full!  I have to scrouge out some lunch though before I start to starve!

On the healthy front

I've created a meal plan out of the Clean Eating Diet book.  At the end of the book, there are meal plans for weightloss, family, vegan, and gluten free meals.  I went through and left meal and snack options that I would work best with what I already have (so that I'm not buying too much groceries) and the time I have for each day.  I am starting the meal plan on Monday, so wish me luck!

On the fashion front

Remember when I talked about the two wrap dresses I bought at Art Fair.  Well, I finally remembered to take a picture of me in one of the styles:

Here is the basic style

And the back

On the active front

4.2 miles in 50 minutes.  I wouldn't say I was disappointed, but I was hoping that I would have ended up at the 4.5-4.7 range at 50 minutes.  I do have to admit that I did slow down to a walk twice during the run (at 20 minutes and at 30 minutes, and only for about a minute).  My goal for my run is to just keep running.  If I have to slow down to a little jogging shuffle, that is fine.  I'm not aiming for speed this time around, but endurance. 

I'm not sure what my goal will be after the race.  I'm taking about 3 days off to think about it.  I do have the option to continue with the training to a Half Marathon.  I guess I'm trying to decide if I want to get a half marathon under my belt before I turn 30 or after.  Like which would be more fulfilling to me - "I completed a half marathon when I turned 30" or "I completed a half marathon before the age of 30." 

Like I said, I'm taking the time to think about that.