I capped off my fast food lunch with a special dinner from Little Cesears. It included crazy bread, that’s all I can say.

And beer. Local beer. As in Molson Canadian – first time having this one and it was good! Easy to drink And Bells Pale Ale. A very nice beer brewed here in Michigan. I picked them both up at the shack of a liquor store located across from the place that made our delicious dinner – Hot and Ready as they say

And the two hours of Mexican Train Dominos with Sue’s ‘rents. I have to get better at taking pics – you’d love this scene!

Then it was a quick, deep sleep and up again at 7:30 – out the door by 8!

This delicious breakfast was served to me in the bathroom as I was putting on my makeup:

And then we were off!!! And then the storms rolled in…as we were loading all the silent auction items into the car. Perfect timing…grrrr…

so wet!

art… (damp art)

damp smiles – blurry pic, my wet finger slipped!

And the lunch…bad, but good – if you know what I mean. Warm, REALLY filling, and totally delicious.

A HUGE bowl of tomato bisque.

And a grilled cheese with bacon (for the record, I only had bacon on the first half! it was soooooooo good!)

I finished it and felt sluggish and tired, but really, really full and satisfied And I do have to say that a huge, junky lunch keeps me feeling stuffed for a loooooooong time.

We were working hard and had an afternoon of hauling Christmas trees (for the theme party), table assignments, silent auctioning. We needed our strength!

Until later! The beer has been poured….

Wendy’s!

Now, I rarely, rarely, rarely ever stop at fast food restaurants and when I do it’s out of total lack of other options or it’s because said restaurant is Chick Fil A and I’m in love with it and I stop because I want it so badly.

Anyway, we were starving and having the typical internal battle of healthy choices vs. good choices. We compromised:

Spicy Chicken Sandwich and a surprisingly very super fresh garden salad!

Also surprising was how good the chicken sandwich was! And further surprises came when I looked up the nutrition of the sandwich after lunch, of course after always makes sense , and found it has a respectable 440 calories. And it was a HUGE sandwich.

I read recently that Zagat rated Wendy’s top fast food restaurant, and now I know why. I will admit to really enjoying my lunch! This didn’t hurt, either:

Toll House Cookie Dough Chocolate Frosty. Oh. My. God. This was GREAT!

Sue and I split it and we didn’t even finish it all.

Here, take a closer look.

How totally hedonistic of me! I loved it – it was a great perk up in the afternoon.

( I didn’t look up the calories for that )

***********

The mornings and evenings are pretty cool here in Michigan, even in August…but, nothing is cooler than my rental car:

Yes! A got a rental Bug. It’s so fun to drive! The woman at Alamo said, “ You can have the VW or you can have the white sedan.” I looked at her and I said, “Well that’s an easy choice!” And then I ran to the car, snapped a photo with my phone, jumped in, cranked up the music and bugged along!"

We are wrapping up here in the office now. Then it’s the evening to with what we would like. We shall see what it holds…

Until later,

your fast food friend

We had a little breakfast before we ran out the door to unload and reload the car!

Look at the buffet Sue’s parents laid out for us:

They also had a toast station I love parents.

Check out the coaster for my mid-morning pick me up:

A little veggie helps the Diet Coke go down, as you can understand.

It’s a Coaster Burger! Gotta love Wendy’s!

Lunch is happening soon…we are starving!!

I woke up around 7AM and had so many things to do around the house and for work before I left for the airport at 10AM, I decided to skip formal exercise and walk walk walk at the airport!

I had a quick, cold, crunchy bowl of Total for breakfast:

Boooooooring. But good! I love cold cereal on hot mornings!

After breakfast, I scurried around the house getting ready to do. I had just purchased this awesome suitcase (photo to come later), but was really disappointed in how much stuff it didn’t hold. Like my sneakers? They just didn’t fit in! And there was no way that would fit in the overhead bin.

So, I finally stopped forcing the issue, got out my trusty flowered small suitcase from 1997 and packed everything and more into it! Phew!

My neighbor volunteered to drive me to the airport, which was so kind. So I packed up the produce that would go to waste and gave it to her. I always feel so much better when food gets USED! She got 2 plums, 2 pluots (I wanted to try one!), 2 lemons, 2 limes and 1 zucchini. Not bad!

My flight was at 11:30 and I knew my little breakfast wouldn’t hold me until a later 1:30 lunch, so I picked up a little snack. Also good in-flight entertainment!

It was delicious. But, I did spill half of the granola all over my tray. Oops!

I also started to read an old Patricia Cornwell book that’s so whacky I don’t really get it. Oh well, I’ll let you know if it starts to make any more sense.

Once in Philly, I walked all through the nice, new terminal with tons of shops and food and spas. I loaded myself on a shuttle bus and ended up at Terminal F. Which I would grade an F. Why do my flights always depart out of the crappy terminals. Food options were: Au Bon Pain, Chinese/Burbon Chicken, Sbarro, Cheesesteaks. Sigh. I made the best choice I could and got soup and salad from Au Bon Pain.

Chicken Gumbo soup – not too bad! And a limp, but chilled tomato, chickpea and feta salad. Call me crazy, but if tomato is in the title of the salad – don’t you think there should be more than just two teeny tomato chunks?! sigh. I topped it with a little balsamic dressing. All that salt had me craving a sweet SO BADLY!

So, I picked up the best:

YUM!

Okay, on to the next flight now.

Check out the Ladies Room sign from my work:

Don’t you think the lady looks a little plump?!

I arrived, finally, in Kalamazoo (sounds like fun!) at 7:30PM. It was a long drive from the airport!

I admit that I was so wrapped up in seeing my cousin and her fiancée that I didn’t take one photo. Which is just too bad b/c the setting was spectacular!

We had delicious vegetarian fare that started with a chunky guacamole with chips and black bean soup. Then we had the most delicious baked zucchini, stuffed tomato and baked onion. All served with bread and olive oil/balsamic. It was tremendous!

Dessert was dark chocolate goat’s milk ice cream! It tasted like goat’s milk ice cream! YUM!

I didn’t leave until 10:45PM – I was having such a nice time visiting. Sorry for staying so late!

Then I headed to Fire-somethings, Battle Creek Michigan’s newest casino (I’m can’t remember the whole name)! I met up with Sue and her friends that and we stayed until – get this 1:20AM! Wowsa! On a school night no less!

We crawled into bed very sleepily at 2:15AM and the alarm sounded for Sue at 6:45AM. She was not happy. My alarm sounded later and I was more on the happy side.

Now she’s eeking out minutes of sleep after returning from her morning errand. Wake me up at 8:20AM…[whispering]…now make it 8:25AM.

We are off for many things this morning, most of which are still unknown to me. I’ll be back in touch soon. Signing out from Jackson, MI!

Lunch today was lovely…leftovers and not. First half was leftover zucchini gratin from the other night – this was the last of it and it was still great!

And the some tomato and mozzarella and balsamic vinegar – I’m cleaning out the fridge before my trip!

All together now:

That’s the greatest balsamic vinegar in the world, from O&Co.

And, I’m cutting back, so only one of these today!

I was STARVING for dinner when it was time. I met my uncle, who was in town for business, for dinner in Cambridge, near MIT. We ended up at Tommy Doyles, a nice Irish place for an Irish lad and las

I was in the mood for BEER! And I saw Magic Hat #9 on the menu, which I love, but haven’t had in some time:

I had 3. I won’t lie to you. One before dinner. One during. One after. And I loved them. They were delicious and cold and perfect!

To eat, besides the beer, I had turkey melts (honestly, it seemed to be one of the best choices on the menu – I was not in the mood for a salad!:

I was a member of the clean plate club tonight! I was sooo hungry and the food tasted soo good. The portions weren’t tremendous – it was more just like a big turkey sammie. 2 pieces of bread total, some thin slices of turkey, a tomato and small piece of back on each triangle and some cheese. I’m not saying it was the most nutritious thing I’ve ever had, but it was okay for the setting and the night! (and the fries were good – there were about 15 total. I ate them all )

I’m stuffed now and think dinner weighs in at around 1,000 calories. Hard to believe b/c it wasn’t that much, but it was a lot of beer and calorie dense foods, soooo…1000 it is.

Total for today:

Bfast:
Bread: 110
Cheese: 80
Egg: 70
Fruit: 75

Lunch:
Zucchini gratin: 230
Tom/Basil/Mozz: 110
Cookie: 50

Dinner: 1000!

Total: 1725 – not the greatest, but at least it’s not a gaining day.

Good night – flight is tomorrow AM. I have much to do between now and then!

PS: look forward to Family Affair Part 2 tomorrow

After I did manage to drag myself out of bed, I strapped on my running shoes and had a small handful of almonds:

(my hand looks HUGE!)

and headed out for a run. This was the first time I’ve run for real since the triathlon on July 19th. Wow have I been lazy. Running has never been easy for me, but my triathlon training did make me a much stronger runner – 3 miles was becoming almost easy for me. Apparently, I can’t take any time off from running b/c today I barely did 2 and it was horrible!

I just have to remember that I can not take more than a couple of days off without a run – even if I just do a short, light 10 minutes – that’s better than nothing, right?I have to remember it’s not ALL OR NOTHING!!

I also did some strength moves – squats, push ups and crunches/sit ups. I was sweaty when I was finished! All in all, with the run/walk/strength, I worked out for about 35 minutes.

For breakfast, I scrambled one egg and one egg white with a splash of milk and served it on a piece of whole wheat bread with a little cheese (it looks like a lot of cheese, but it’s actually only 3/4 of an ounce!

That’s Conan peeking up from below the table top!

Once at work I had a glamorous-eat-at-your-desk fruit bowl:

That orange fruit looks like mango, but it’s cantaloupe – and watermelon!
My oversized bowl looks like a trough…oh well…it’s the beauty of having a 9-5 – whatever works!

Sue called me from Michigan this AM to tell me a funny story about a radio call-in in her hometown. A lady called in and got the question right and won a Car Makeover at this auto place in town. She got: a car wash, an oil change and a tank of gas. She replied, “Great! I need both!” haha! It’s good to go home, isn’t it?!

Happy Morning!

But anyway, cheerios + fruit  lasted me until 11:21AM, which is better than I thought! I only had to survive for 39 minutes until I declared it lunch time!

I ordered a garden salad with chicken and house dressing (on the side). I forgot they served their salad with a pita (and the pita is also what they wrap the fork and knife in!), so it was a nice sized meal.

The salad was fresh and cold and had standard, good veggies. The chicken was great and lean and grilled perfectly. I was so pleased. I dipped salad into the dressing, which was unique and delicious, as I went along. I even tore off the corner of the pita (do pitas have corners?! )and stuffed it with salad and chicken:

That was definitely the best way to eat it, but I didn’t want to eat the whole pita – it was HUGE and I don’t think it was whole wheat.

I also had a diet coke for lunch. Sorry! And snackwells. Sorry again! I’m working on it – we can’t expect miracles overnight.

I need to stock work up with seltzer and a sweet item for after lunch so I don’t have to depend on the junk.

Sue really liked her sammie, too:

I was home around 3:30 today because I had to take Sue to the airport – watch out Jackson, MI!

So, I had a snack – spiced hummus + wasa crackers and some cherries.

Do you spy another DC? That was a mistake. I’m trying to have just one a day, and I’m pretty good at just having one (sometimes none!). But, I was weak today.

I had more cherries around 5PM. YUM!! That was the last of them…can’t wait for more. I didn’t even know I liked cherries until this summer!!

And I checked Sue’s flight from nwa.com – did you know that you can see where the plane actually is in flight? I always watch her flights when she leaves.

Dinner was snacks x2 as I’m a bachelorette tonight – and charged with cleaning out the fridge!

I had chips and guac – this guac is still SO GOOD!

And another POM spritzer! I had about 12 chips total.

And more Cheerios – for lack of other things that sounded good.

(with a little honey, I’ll be honest with you!)

Calorie count today:

Breakfast:
Fruit: 75
Cheerios + Milk: 190

Lunch:
Salad w Chicken: 200
Dressing (1TBSP?): 50
Pita: 75
Snackwells: 100

Snack:
Wasa + Hummus: 160
Cherries: 75

Dinner:
Guac (1/4 cup): 100
Chips: 150
Cheerios + milk + 2 tsp honey: 250

TOTAL: 1425

Maybe I’ll add 120 cals of ice cream tonight? Hmmm…for now, it’s NCIS and Maverick the Cat!

Good night!

Then, there was a flurry of activity and then to the gym!

I did 10 minutes on the crazy elliptical machine that I don’t know the name of and then 10 minutes on the regular elliptical machine called EFX. Then I did 10 minutes of lifting – arms and core. It has been a few weeks since I last lifting and I could feel it!

Even though it was only 30 minutes at the gym, it was sweaty and hard. I loved it!

And the best part – we saw our friend Sarah crossing the street in front of the gym on her way to work. Who says Boston is a big city! That was a fun way to start the day.

I forgot two important things today:

1.) my phone

2.) bowls for cereal!

But, always the solution seeker, I borrowed a phone (and then spent an unexpected 2 hours on it for work calls) and used a red solo cup for this AMs breakfast of champions.

I was starving. I haven’t been remembering (read: also forgetting) to eat a little before the gym. So both yesterday and today, I’ve felt so sluggish upon my arrival to work at 9AM. NOT a great way to start the day. Breakfast does fix things though – so I got it ready fast!

Cheerios and organic milk with cantaloupe and watermelon I had in the fridge. YUM! It was gone fast, I’ll tell ya!

I also ordered one of these from a co-worker who was making a coffee run:

Unsweetened iced tea! It was delicious, but I’m now suffering from a slight headache. I seem to get headaches if I don’t have caffeine and then, when I have it, I get a headache too! Sigh…

It’s almost lunch time and I’m thrilled!!! I have a short afternoon today as I have to take Sue to the airport to fly to Michigan

But I join her on Thursday

Later!

[  ]

Do you see it?! It was delicious and I was proud to have kept myself to two pieces! Though I’m sure that was one more than was necessary; I was hungry and I wanted to feel full!

After lunch, I had two of these Snackwell cookies that taste good but I’m sure are full of chemicals and I have to start to give them up – ASAP!

Fast forward to around 3:30 and I was so hungry again! So, I had some nuts (again!):

And then a small piece of grilled chicken from the lunch that I didn’t eat. And then a small bowl of dry cheerios! I finally felt satisfied after the cheerios. Phew!

Dinner was lunch! The lunch that was not eaten was turned into a wonderful dinner on the deck. It was great!

First, a blueberry-pomegranate-lime spritz which was so refreshing!

The lighting in my kitchen in terrible! I can’t wait for the renovation!

The leftover guac + chips x2. DELICIOUS. This was leftover from a lunch trip to Chipotle over the weekend and I’m so glad I saved it.

And the…da da!…dinner!

Summer squash gratin from last night. Grilled lemon chicken from Saturday. A wheat roll (not very good – way too dry ) from a farmers market this weekend – and the corn was from there, too! I think it was the best corn I’ve had so far this summer. So creamy.

It was a beautiful evening, so we went for a walk after dinner as well. I love walking after a meal, no matter the size. It just feels so good.

And a little late night sweet with House! It was getting melty as I scooped one for Sue, so it had to go in the freezer!

Gym again in the morning. I think I’ll shoot for 20 min of cardio and 20 min of weights. I need to get back to regular lifting. My muscles need a squeeze!

For now, I’m going to enjoy the breeze from the window and settle in for the evening.

Good night!

Vacation started with me running my first sprint triathlon! It was hard, but I finished. I think I am still coughing up salt water We had an active, fun vacation and when I got back, I was so tired. We made a thoughtful attempt every morning at 6:45AM to wake up and go to the gym. But, we just had no desire. So, we just lazily took the week off – gearing up mentally for today’s big return!

We were greeted x2 when we entered “There you are! Welcome back!” It was adorable.

I pounded out a sweaty 30 – 35 minutes on the elliptical and then it was time to hit the showers (hey, it was our first day back, I wasn’t ready to wake up tooooo early yet!). Breakfast at work was:

1 container non-fat plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup Kashi Go Lean Crunch
1 white nectarine

YUM!

Around 11AM, I learned that we are having a celebratory pizza lunch for a co-workers birthday, so I started thinking about pizza and made myself hungry!

So, I had a small handful of Blue Diamond Brown Sugar Almonds – these are incredible.

We have about 1 million bottles of Blue Diamond almonds at work – in about 5 different flavors! They are so good. I eat some almost every day. The last time I had my hair cut, I was really on an almond rampage and was putting away about 1 – 1.5 servings a day (that’s about 24 – 36 almonds). Angela, the woman who does my hair, kept asking – what are you doing differently? did you try a new product? are you using new shampoo? your hair is SO MUCH THICKER! Truly, the only real change in my diet or my hair care was the addition of almonds!

Yay for good hair!

Pizza for lunch – what should my game plan be? I don’t know if there will be a salad option?

Calorie count:

Breakfast:
Yogurt – 100 cal
Go Lean – 90 cal
Apricot – about 100 cal
Almonds – 30 cal
Total: 320 cal.