July 31, 2017

Weekend

by Anne Mauney, MPH, RD

28 comments

Hi guys! Monday already huh? This weekend was a really short and brief one for us because both Matt and I had to work for a large portion of it. Bummer, but gotta do what you gotta do!

On Friday and Saturday, I spent from 8:30 to 4:30 at an intensive two day counseling skills workshop up in Bethesda, MD. The workshop, hosted by dietitian and therapist Molly Kellogg, was all about using the Motivational Interviewing approach with clients. I’ve been on her email list enjoying her counseling tips for years so when I saw she was hosting one of her workshops here in the DC area, I figured it would be worth the investment!

molly kellogg counseling intensive workshop

And it was! I already use Motivational Interviewing with my AnneTheRD nutrition private practice clients, but I know it’s helpful to brush up on and strengthen those skills frequently, and this course did just that. It gave me confidence that I’m already doing a lot of things well, and gave me some things to try to see if they make my sessions even stronger. It was also a lot of fun to network with fellow RDs, both local and from elsewhere – I met some cool new people!

We had those delicious egg sandwiches pictured above for breakfast both days of the workshop – the one I selected had egg, cheese, and arugula with a yummy herb sauce. I believe they were from Modern Market! On Friday, we had sandwiches for lunch (meh – I was not really in a sandwich mood – my pregnancy-fueled love affair with sandwiches is officially over, with the exception of breakfast egg sandwiches and egg salad/tuna salad sandwiches on occasion). I was also really craving some veggies and there weren’t really any available – oh well! Not every meal can be awesome and exactly what you want at that time, right? Those purple heirloom potato chips, however, were delicious. Must find these again!

IMG_2824

It took me ages to drive home on Friday night (it was POURING rain which didn’t help) and by the time I got back I was so wiped from a long day of being super engaged/checked in that I had some random leftovers for dinner and put myself to bed at 8:45 before Matt was even home from work. Party animal!

On Saturday, our workshop lunch was salads – yay! The one I chose had chicken, quinoa, strawberries, avocado, etc. – it was delicious and just what I wanted. I also got smarter this day and packed some string beans (I’m weird and love snacking on them plain) and carrots with me, just in case there were no veggies again, as well as lots more snack options because the day before I ended up too hungry by the time the workshop ended. In addition to the salad, I had a yummy oatmeal cranberry cookie, which I hadn’t been in the mood for the day before when it was also available, but sounded good this time so I went for it!

molly kellogg workshop motivational interviewing

After the workshop closed out I headed to a goodbye party that was happening at a brewery nearby for some friends of ours! I showed up about an hour late and the workshop was nearby the brewery so I just met Matt there. I felt like I hadn’t seen him in ages since we missed each other the night before and that morning, too!

We were at Denizens Brewery in Silver Spring, MD – they had a yummy sounding menu with all sorts of creative salads and bowls, but I was really craving chicken fingers so I went for it. I got a salad on the side but I didn’t really like the dressing, so I ate some of Matt’s instead (he had a yummy kale grain bowl salad) and also shared a big plate of fries with some of the others. One of our friends was like, “Are you taking a photo of those chicken fingers for the blog?!” You better believe it! This blog is about being real, not perfect, my friends. Sometimes you just want chicken fingers and fries for dinner and that’s totally okay! Enjoy them, then move on. 🙂

denizens brewery dinner

On Sunday, the rain had stopped and left us with gorgeous cool weather! I was up early to let the dogs out and made myself some microwave banana oatmeal to enjoy on the deck while they played. Topped with cottage cheese, berries, and slivered almonds.

microwave banana oatmeal

About an hour or so later and I prepared a little tray for the birthday boy! Sunday was Matt’s birthday, and per tradition we get breakfast in bed on our birthdays (and get to sleep in some, too)! He’s never super hungry first thing in the morning so I went with a simple toast (it was a paleo bread – he’s still mostly doing the gluten free thing for now for medical reasons) and some festive berries on top. 🙂 Plus coffee with cinnamon and frothed milk!

IMG_2836

ALSO – while I was making breakfast for him, THIS HAPPENED!

improving dog and cat interactions

We are officially making some serious progress on the Zara (our cat) and Freyja (our new dog that we adopted from my brother) front! She used to chase her like crazy and get super riled up, but we’ve been working on giving her lots of treats with Zara close by, and having supervised interactions, and it has worked! Zara jumped down to drink out of the dog’s water bowl (she loves doing this for some reason) and Freyja was intrigued but let her do it and just watched. Then, they smelled each other and everyone moved on. Hooray! (Ashe, our puppy, could care less about Zara – she basically ignores her.)

Since it was so nice out, after breakfast Matt requested a birthday hike with me and the dogs, so we hit up one of our favorite Potomac trails nearby in Virginia!

IMG_2840

Sooo nice out. We were surprised there weren’t more people out there – maybe because we were out on the earlier side?!

IMG_2838

Freyja is obsessed with sitting down in the water – must feel nice and refreshing!

IMG_2842

Unfortunately when we got back Matt had to head to the office for the rest of the day – boo! His team has a big deadline today so everyone was working a lot of the weekend (he was working some on Saturday, too, but from home). Bummer to have to work on your birthday!

I was feeling a bit blah yesterday – taking on two dogs (one of whom is a very rambunctious puppy) while dealing with pregnancy hormones has been… a lot, especially since we have had some challenges/misadventures with both of them lately. It’s been especially hard since I haven’t had my #1 stress outlet, running with friends, to rely on to decompress, and I haven’t been able to get as much sleep as I need either since they wake us up a lot. I knew sitting all day on Friday and Saturday and not getting much movement was not helping the stress situation, and my body was feeling REALLY stiff and sore (my hips are starting to ache some now), so I decided to pick myself up and go to the pool for a swim. It ended up feeling really good – I just did the indoor pool since it’s close and easy and we don’t have access to a great outdoor pool with lap lanes (I’ve tried the one public one in the area, but there are kids in the lap lanes horsing around half the time so it’s more stress than it’s worth). I’m feeling less stiff today, so yay! I think it helped. I need to keep swimming in the routine at least once per week – it makes me feel so much better physically as I progress in the pregnancy!

Matt got home in time for a late dinner to close out his birthday celebrations! I made us reservations at Rays the Steaks, one of his local faves for special occasions. All dolled up!

IMG_2847

It was delicious! We shared a salad to start as well as the bacon wrapped scallops (the salads were delicious, the scallops were just OK – a bit too salty), and then we both got filet mignon for our main course. We also got some unpictured sauteed mushrooms to put on top – mushrooms are so good with steak! And each steak comes with mashed potatoes and creamed spinach.

rays the steaks dinner

We hadn’t gone out to dinner just the two of us in awhile so it was a really nice treat. 🙂

I’m working downtown today and have a mile long to do list – I got behind on everything on Friday since I was out of the office all day! Better get to it. Have a good one guys!

- anne

join the list

Sign up for my e-newsletter and I'll send you a meal plan packed with a week's worth of healthy meals, snacks and a shopping list. Happy eating!

you might also like:

leave a comment

28 comments
  • Yay! I'm so glad your new dog is getting along better with Zara! Doesn't it make you feel like you've really accomplished something? Like, "Yes! I read the book, listened to the advice, did all the things - and it worked!" *Happy Dance* With the pups waking you up during the night... Are you sleeping with them in the bed? We crate ours at night time to avoid them waking us up and it works like a charm! They love their crates and actually snooze in them even when they don't have to.
    Reply
    • I wish my brother's dog was crate trained, but she has always slept in his room, so that's what we're doing too. She doesn't sleep in our bed, just under the bed or in her dog bed. She's really quiet until about 5:30 when she starts whining to get up... some days I'm getting up around then or 6 for a workout, but on days we want to sleep in it's not ideal. :) I'm sure we'll get into a routine with her - she was used to getting up REALLY early with my brother every day.
      Reply
  • Pregnancy is rough - honestly being pregnant has been my least favorite part of parenthood (and my children are now 6 and 7). But parenthood in general also comes with more of these days where things are just a littler tougher - lack of sleep, not getting to exercise as you want/need, being sick more frequently, etc all makes life more complicated! But it also comes with some pretty terrific highs, too!
    Reply
    • Yeah, definitely - hoping we can get the dog issues sorted out and settled by the time the baby comes, because I'm sure that will be even harder!
      Reply
  • Bummer that Matt had toward on his birthday, but it was nice that you guys still found some time to relax and celebrate together!
    Reply
  • What paleo bread? Did you make it?
    Reply
  • Yay that all furbabies are getting along so well. With the pups waking you up at night - what are they doing? Is the puppy asking to go out so it wakes the older one? Are they in your bed or do they have their own room or bed to sleep in? Hoping we can help figure this out.
    Reply
    • Thank you Beth! The puppy is in her crate downstairs and has been fine recently - she sometimes barks if she gets bored but she's getting better about that. The older one is in our room (not in our bed - she's in her own dog bed or under our bed). She generally starts whining around 5:30 or 6 but is just bored, doesn't necessarily have to go to the bathroom because when we let her out in the yard she doesn't go - she likes waiting for walks. We had her in her own room for awhile but I think she was lonely because she started coming up to our room at night around bedtime and going under the bed, peeking out like "can I please sleep here with you guys?" So we caved! She used to sleep in my brother's room so she's used to it. He also used to always get up really early so she's used to that schedule, too. I think we just need to work on getting her adjusted to a new routine! It's hard because some days I do get up at 6 if I'm doing a workout, but it would be nice to be able to sleep in on other days or on days we are up late. I'm sure we'll figure it out! I'll take any advice you have though! :)
      Reply
      • Mine is the same as Freyja. When I adopted him he must have always slept in the bed with them so it was difficult to break that habit. Two thoughts - do you take them for a short nighttime walk towards bed time? I did that to help make him a bit more tire which had two benefits - no whining from boredom and sleeping a bit later. For Freyja you are both pretty new to her. Right now she is still waiting for her "dad" to come home. It will just take her some time to become accustomed to you and Matt as being in charge and not just the babysitters. Sadly for both it will just take some time and sometimes listening to the whining when you know they don't have to go.
        Reply
        • Yeah, we always do an evening walk - usually about an hour or so before bed. And then they go outside in the yard right before bedtime just in case they need to go to the bathroom, too. And you're right that it will take some time - we will be patient :) Ashe is definitely better about being chill in her crate than she used to be so I'm sure Freyja will get more adjusted too over time.
          Reply
  • Don't know which outdoor pool you tried. Upton Hill Regional Park off Willson Blvd. has a lap lane pool seperate from their other pool. Used to swim laps there and no kids were ever in there just splashing around. So much nicer swimming outside in the summer.
    Reply
    • That's the one I tried! I've only been once, and it was on a weekend, but the lap lanes were basically all kids playing and the lifeguards didn't do much to try to get them out. What times did you usually go?
      Reply
      • Always went on a weekday right after they open. They must relax the rules on the weekend.
        Reply
        • Ah okay, yeah, that makes sense. Maybe I'll give the weekday situation a shot!
          Reply
  • Full disclosure: I work at Vitacost.com, but I don't mean for this to be a shameless plug. I read your blog email every day and saw you wanted to find those Jackson's Honest chips. You can find them on Vitacost.com. In other news, my cat also likes to drink out of the dog's water bowl. It's actually funny to watch, because the dog's water is a on stand. So the cat actually sits upright while slurping. It looks soooo uncomfortable for him. Every now and then, the dog thinks the cat is going for her food and she gets a little feisty with the him. To be fair, the dog drinks out of the cat's water bowl, too. I don't understand them. haha!
    Reply
    • The dog bowl is super awkward for Zara to drink out of - too funny!! She has her own dedicated water bowl but apparently theirs must taste better or something, ha. And thank you for the heads up about where I can find those chips!
      Reply
      • Maybe it's the extra dog slobber that adds some flavor. :-P lol
        Reply
  • I love Molly Kellog's tips and her books - I'd love to do the workshop at some point. I love chicken fingers :)
    Reply
  • I totally hear you on the whole extra stress/being pregnant/not able to run enough and with friends to burn off the stress! I'm 29 weeks and I wish I could go do a long run to decompress! And on top of that running helps sleep so much too. Glad you got some pool time in, I've been trying to get some stress out on the bike trainer! Hang in there!
    Reply
    • Thank you Allison! You hang in there, too! :)
      Reply
  • It's so refreshing to see you post your chicken fingers! So many bloggers hide their treats as if they should be ashamed of them for some reason. I say eat a kale salad and then a cupcake! ;) I'm glad your pets are starting to take to each other a little more! Things will settle down and they will get used to each other soon.
    Reply
  • Something that helped me a ton with hip pain during pregnancy was the chiropractor. I had never been before and was super skeptical but it made a significant difference for me and may be worth trying as you get into your 3rd trimester. A lot of chiropractors specialize in prenatal work! Dogs in the bedroom with a baby is tough, especially if you end up with a light sleeper. We have a 4 month old and had to kick our dogs out of the room because they kept waking me or the baby up just from moving around at night. Do anything you can to maximize your sleep!!
    Reply
    • Interesting - I'll have to look into chiropractors if the hip pain continues! So far swimming seems to help the most with it! And yeah, we'll see how the dog in the bedroom situation is once the baby comes...
      Reply
  • Yay!! Happy Birthday to Matt!! :D
    Reply