Shore Debauchery

Hi All! I'm back from the shore and it's pretty late, so I'll be quick. Well, the weather this weekend was absolutely beautiful which allowed for a lovely time at the beach and pool. We soaked in the sun and had lots of delicious eats. I allowed myself to eat whatever and boy, did I! I went a little crazy on the cheese; my Mom had brought an amazing array of imported Italian specialty cheeses and I made sure to do my fair tasting! On a healthy note, I did keep up with my exercise which included bike riding (probably about 10 miles), a little extra walking and C&K's 10 Minute Strength Challenge that I am participating in this month (it's a great workout - check it out!). But, I woke up this morning determined to get back on track and not let the debauchery continue! I eased my way back beginning with a breakfast of 1/2 bagel with Laughing Cow Light Cheese, 1 oz. smoked salmon and a side of fruit salad...



Then a 30 minute bike ride with my Dad before hitting the pool...


After sloshing in the pool, I came in for a quick lunch before packing up and heading home. I made a wrap with some leftover beef tenderloin, baby arugula and 1 oz. of Gorgonzola Dolce (from Italy) and a crunchy apple to go with it...

I brought one of my Blueberry Apricot Oat Bran Muffins for a snack in the car...

I got home just in time to take a quick shower and head out with the husband for a little date. We stopped at Cosi Restaurant for dinner. I ordered my new fave sandwich , Fire Roasted Veggie, with a side of baby carrots...

We browsed around Borders Bookstore and went for a walk at a local trail before heading back to tuck the daughters in bed. Now, it's our turn to tuck in! Relaxing is very tiring ;P

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend! See you tomorrow =)

Traditional Last Days

Na na na na, heeey, good -bye! Another school year bites the dust! I now get to wear my daily summer "uniform" of a black and white striped referee shirt. Yep, my summer consists of refereeing the "battle of the siblings" game that will start as soon as they wake up and end at bedtime. Hopefully, it won't go into overtime :D


I delighted in my last morning of quiet and solitude. I headed to the treadmill for my final run without interruption for the next 2 1/2 months. It was very fabulous. I cranked out 35 minutes, then continued my enjoyment with a 12 minute pilates ab workout video from Sparkpeople. That was rough!


Then, I made a luxurious breakfast of.... you know it...cereal! I tried to change it up for you by mixing up the berries. Today's mix was 3/4 c. Quaker Crunchy Corn Bran, 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze, 5 oz. strawberries and 1/2 c. blueberries. Super awesome 3 POINT bowl...




Then, it was off to pick up big daughter from the bus stop. My annual year-end tradition when I pick the daughters up is to beep the car horn wildly, with the windows down, yelling WHOOOO HOOOOO all the way home. Since, she is in middle school, she found this extremely embarassing, however, she used to think it was hilarious in elementary school ! Next up was picking up little daughter at her school. I did the same for her all the way out of the school parking lot. She was also less than thrilled. What killjoys! I told them that this was a small inkling of the levels of embarassment that they will suffer at the hands of their parents. More to come, girls. More to come ;P


Another annual year-end tradition is taking them out to lunch on the last day. This one they don't object to :) My parents and Gram joined us for lunch at Cosi Restaurant. I checked out their website ahead of time and planned on getting a Fire Roasted Veggie Flatbread Sandwich. It was delish! A mix of zucchini, red and yellow peppers, artichoke hearts, onion and eggplant with a creamy feta spread....

I chose baby carrots for my side and also got a fruit salad which I shared with little daughter. A wonderful 7 POINT lunch...

We did a little shopping after lunch, then headed home to unpack backpacks and go through papers. Big daughter had sleepover plans, so it was just little daughter, the husband and me for dinner. I made them a Cheeseburger Stromboli and took out a "freezer dinner" for myself. I found some leftover pork with mushroom sauce and paired it with 1/2 c. brown rice and a salad with a bit of Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch for 8 POINTS...

For dessert, I went "untraditional". I wasn't planning this dessert, but it found it's way into my mouth while I was wrapping up the leftovers...

Cheeseburger Stromboli is a very good dessert ;P Um, maybe not the night before weigh-in though.

Hope you all had a great Friday! See ya tomorrow...

It's A Great Day For My First Giveaway!

It's Friday! I am so excited to offer my first Giveaway to my awesome blog readers! The uber-cool folks at NuruPlanet recently sent me their Exercise Anywhere cards to check out and I have to say this couldn't have come at a better time! I have been interested in changing up my workout routine and want to incorporate more strength training, but where to start??? Well, this solved my dilema! This deck of 30 cards has fully illustrated exercises for every major muscle group, includes sample weekly routines and even a Cardio Lab that features at-home interval training workouts. This is everything you would find in an exercise book or on a fitness website, but all contained on these portable cards that are small enough to fit in your pocket or purse. How cool is that????




And it's all in the palm of your hand...

So, NuruPlanet has offered to send these Exercise Anywhere decks to 2 lucky winners-USA and Canada only - sorry my overseas friends:( Just leave me a comment to be entered to win; I'll announce the winners on Monday!!!

Now, let's get to the food! I ate an early breakfast this morning; the husband and I had a "workout date" planned, so I ate before heading out. I went with a "mock egg McMuffin" using a Thomas' Light English Muffin topped with egg white, a slice of 2% cheese and a slice of center cut bacon. Better for you than Mickey D's and only 3 POINTS...

The husband and I dropped the daughters off at school and headed out for our "workout date" (with the dog!). We went on a 40 min. hike through the steep and hilly woods. This always makes me feel so out of shape! I am huffing and puffing up the hills like nobody's business! The husband walks so fast, too , so it's hard to keep up! It was nice though and the dog had a blast crashing through the woods! He got an awesome workout. Then, we came home and the husband suggested we do the Level 3 Shred together! He does the advanced moves and I do the scaled down version, but it is still darn hard and I am SO changing my name to "Anita" when I am done with this Challenge tomorrow! LOL!!

After Shred and shower, I went to meet my friend, Jenn ( HI Jenn!!!) for lunch at Cosi. This was my first time at Cosi; it's a neat place. My eyes immediately went to the desserts, but I shielded them like a horse with blinders and settled on a Bombay Light Chicken Salad with fat-free balsamic dressing and 1/2 of their delicious flatbread. A nice lunch for 6 POINTS...

After a nice chatty lunch, I ran some errands. One of my stops was Trader Joe's where I found this yummy High Fiber Fruit and Nut Multigrain Medley cereal...

Seriously, could that name be any longer?????? Anyway, it is a delicious mix of high fiber clusters, raisins, cranberries, almonds and pecans (although, not much in the nut dept.). A 2/3 c. serving is 90 cal., 1.5 gr. fat and 7 gr. fiber for 1 POINT. It was a great snack mixed with a Weight Watchers Berries and Cream Yogurt for 2 POINTS...

That held me over nicely until dinner. The husband and daughters had pizza but, I had a craving for burgers so I made a Buffalo Turkey Burger! I took 4 oz. of ground turkey breast and added to it some finely minced onion and celery, a dash of salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and 1 tbsp. Frank's Hot Sauce. I mixed it all together, formed it into a patty and pan fried it in a nonstick skillet. Then, I put it on an Arnold Sandwich Thin, topped with lettuce and 1 tbsp. Marie's Lite Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing. So delicious, lots of flavor and a hearty serving! I had a side salad with some additional blue cheese dressing to go with this awesome burger, all for 5 POINTS...

I did have a few nibbles of pizza, but only about 2 POINTS worth. Thankfully, I wasn't that into it tonight. The burger really was satisfying, in flavor and volume. But, I always have room for dessert! My combo tonight was a Banana Fudge Vitatop with 1/2 c. Breyer's Fat Free Double Churn Caramel Swirl Ice Cream and a squirt of fat-free whipped cream for 2 POINTS...

Banana, fudge AND CARAMEL!!! Yes, it's a beauuuuuutiful thing =)

Don't forget to leave a comment here for your chance to Exercise Anywhere!!!!!!

Have a great night!