Hello friends – happy Friday! I’m currently at the airport waiting for a flight to Miami for a fun blog trip this weekend! I’m actually not going for BlogHer Food, even though we’ll be staying in the conference hotel… you can see what I’m up to on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, as usual. :)
On the food front, I had a great meal last night – one of those “throw random things together and see what happens” dinners that actually worked out pretty amazingly well.
We had some leftover Israeli couscous and radicchio on hand to use up so I decided to grab some shrimp out of the freezer to add some protein to the mix. I sautéed some minced garlic in a pan with a little olive oil, then added the shrimp and some lemon juice to the mix and cooked until the shrimp was ready to go. Then, I added the couscous/radicchio mix to the pan, followed by some random roasted yellow squash that needed to be eaten. Topped it all off with some feta! Et voila.
If you’ve never had Israeli couscous, it’s actually pasta shaped like rice. It’s tasty (and cute). :)
On the workout front, one of the highlights this week was playing a few minutes of Matt’s soccer game on Monday night! Matt plays on leagues a couple nights a week and it always looks so fun, and one of the teams he is on is a co-ed one organized by my friend Heather. Last weekend, I met one of the other girls on the team and she convinced me to come out on Monday just for fun. Sure, why not. I ended up kicking the ball around with them for awhile before the game and then hopping in the first quarter for about 5 minutes since they were easily beating the other team. I was super nervous – I literally have never played soccer before besides just kicking the ball around a bit with Matt – but it was fun. :) Do something every day that scares you, right?! I wish they had “learn to play soccer” groups for adults, not just kids. Do they? I feel like I need a basics tutorial so I’d be more comfortable running around with the others…
As for the rest of this week, you already know about Tuesday morning’s hot and sweaty run, and on Wednesday and Thursday mornings I hit up 6 a.m. CrossFit! On Thursday I actually got out of bed, then said screw it and got back in bed… then changed my mind since I knew I’d regret bailing, got up again, and raced to get ready in time. Ha! Glad I made it! Have you guys ever done that before?
It’s hard to get photos at CrossFit since it’s kind of awkward to ask someone to take them of me, but I did get one after class yesterday with my favorite CrossFit dog, Nigel. Isn’t he adorable? He’s a Bernese Mountain Dog and is owned by one of the coaches. You can’t tell in this photo, but he’s HUGE – and super fluffy and sweet, too. :)
As for the workouts, on Wednesday we worked on handstand push ups (I used a band, which you can see photos of/a tutorial for in this post), and our WOD was a combo of pullups, pushups, situps, and squats. On Thursday, we worked on sumo deadlifts (basically a normal deadlift, but your legs are farther apart and your toes point out). The WOD was a really challenging one: 10 minutes of as many rounds as possible of the following: 5 shoulder to overhead (I used 55#), 10 deadlifts (same weight), and 15 box jumps/step ups. It was tough!
This morning, I decided I deserved to sleep in (well, until 8 a.m., which feels quite luxurious nowadays). It was rainy and stormy this morning – perfect for a good sleep. A rest day sounded good to me! My legs will be nice and fresh this way for some running adventures in Miami.
I’ll leave you with a photo of Zara and her new favorite toy. If you have a cat, get this. She loves it! This photo cracks me up – she’s like “Mom, don’t bother me. I’m busy.”
Time to finish up some client work and then hop on the plane! Until Monday, my friends – I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!
D’awww Nigel and Zara are so adorable! And that couscous looks delicious!
!!!!!!!!!!!! ZARA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I thought you would be pleased :)
I love when “thrown together” meals work out. I think it is a gift.
That dog is beautiful. So cute how he leans into you.
Have a great time in Miami. The shrimp creation looks very tasty!
Well done for re-getting up! Having people to spur you on is great that time of the morning, you shuda dragged Matt with you! :) Have a safe trip!
Matt does not do morning workouts :)
Fabio also plays in a soccer league, but his games aren’t until like 9:00 pm so I’ve never been to one (that’s way too close to my bed time! haha). I’ve also never played soccer but it seems like a great way to work out and have fun, so let me know if you discover any classes for adults!
Yeah, same with Matt’s games – I don’t love that they are so late!
Have fun in Miami! Arlington County has soccer classes for adults. I think they are mostly parents who have kids that take soccer, but whatev! :)
I was just telling my husband (a basketball player) that I wish their were sports leagues for people like me who have never played team sports before! Hmmm, maybe we are on to something?!
I think we are!!
where did you get that toy for Zara?!
I linked to the product on Amazon!
Enjoy Miami — and love the Zara picture!
I hope you have a lovely time away. I have never had the courage to try foorball/soccer as i am not good at tackling. Don’t like pain. i used to play it with the boys at school when i was about 7 but not the same!
I LOVE Bernese Mountain Dogs! It’s so great that they bring their dogs to the gym. And, I just bought Israeli couscous yesterday to make this recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/israeli-couscous-with-pistachios-and-apricots-309233 (which I’ve made once before – it’s super yummy).
Mmm that recipe sounds delicious!
I know there is an adult beginner league in Raleigh just for people like you. I bet an area as big as DC would have one, probably would just take some searching!
I’m kind of obsessed with bernese mountain dogs… so amazing.. :)