Congrats to the Grad

This evening was a special one!

We got all dressed up and everything.

Dressed Up: Dress & Tie

Ryan’s work holds an annual dinner for the graduates of a three-year leadership development program within the company. We’ve attended the event ever since Ryan was selected to be part of the program three years ago, and this evening he was honored as one of the graduates.

The Graduate

As part of the program, Ryan did a year-long rotation in three different parts of his company, and earned his MBA while working full-time. I think he had something to be proud of this evening! 😀

The dinner was held at the Orlando Science Center, which was pretty neat since we had the opportunity to explore a little bit.

Heart Exhibit

T-Rex

Me and the Graduate

When we arrived we enjoyed drinks and appetizers. I had a crab cake which was not very good. I am really picky with my crab cakes though and prefer lots of crab and very little breading.

After mingling and munching, we headed into the main room for dinner.

Dinner Time

 We began with a caesar salad which was very good.

Caesar Salad (or what's left of it...)

 I loved all of the Parmesan cheese!

For my main course, I chose the mahi with a citrus salsa.

Mahi + Rice + Green Beans

I’m not gonna lie, this meal was not good. 😦 I ate half of my fish, all the green beans and the rice, but wasn’t really a fan. The fish wasn’t very flavorful which was disappointing, but at least the salsa added a punch of pizzazz.

After dinner, a speaker spoke about the graduates and Ryan was honored with a plaque and an award.

The Big Speech

I was so proud! 😀

After the speeches, we enjoyed a chocolate mousse dessert that I inhaled!

Dessert

I ate all of mine and half of Ryan’s. Dessert was easily the best course of the evening.

Ryan and I hung out and talked with some of his colleagues and friends for a while after dinner and arrived home not too long ago. I’m ready to hop in bed a little early tonight because I have a 9-mile run planned in the morning.

Time to hit the hay!

Remember How Healthy…

Remember how healthy my breakfast and lunch were today?

Well, please reflect on those healthy meals as I show you what followed:

Cake!

Fro Yo

I just had to take a quick trip to Mochi when I learned they had cake batter and piña colada flavors on tap today.

When I texted Ryan with this news, I received a text that said he’d be there in30 minutes in response.

Clearly he was excited as well. 😀

Mochi Monster

Heaven on a Spoon

Sometimes we need a little sweet treat to kick off the weekend on the right foot!

What sweet treat have you enjoyed (or will you enjoy) today?

Makes My Mouth Water

I know the thought of tuna salad is enough to make some people want to hurl, but when I think of tuna salad, my mouth starts watering and I get really excited!

Just knowing I had this beastly salad waiting for me to enjoy around noon today made me anxious for lunchtime to arrive.

Big Ol' Salad

I made my tuna salad with:

• 1 can tuna
• 1 tbsp. Miracle Whip (light)
• 1/2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp. Sweet relish
• 1 large stalk of celery, chopped

I combined everything and served it on top of a bed of fresh spinach along with a sprinkling of broccoli and grape tomatoes.

Tuna Salad

Something's Fishy

This was the perfect summer salad. Cold, veggie-packed and colorful.

Of Possible Interest

• How Giada De Laurentiis Stays Slim (FitSugar.com)
• The Short Shorts Workout (FitnessMagazine.com)
• The Best and Worst Fast Food Salads (WomansDay.com)

Tonight

Tonight Ryan and I have plans to attend a special dinner in honor of the graduates from his work’s leadership development program. We’ve attended this event for a couple of years now, and this year Ryan will be honored as one of the graduates!

The dinner is being held at quite a cool location this year so I’m pumped!

See ya after dinner!

Green Monster Couple

Ryan has officially come over to the dark side.

As I was making a green monster smoothie for myself for breakfast, Ryan requested a smoothie for him to enjoy as well. When I asked if he wanted spinach in his, he said “Sure, why not?”

All systems go! 😀

His & Hers Green Monsters

I made us his and hers smoothies that contained:

• Lots o’ spinach
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1 frozen banana
• Handful frozen strawberries
• 5 ice cubes
• ½ c. blueberry yogurt
• 1 tsp. Bob’s Red Mill xanthan gum (for thickness)
• Cold water

It's Officially Impossible to Make a Green Monster Look Tasty

The verdict from Ryan?

Exact quote: “This is good. Like really good.”

I think that means he liked it. 😉

Green Monster Duo

(Yes, that is Mario Bros. on in the background. On our last trip to visit Ryan’s mom, he snagged his old Super Nintendo set and fell in love all over again.)

Workout

Our green monsters were the perfect post-workout fuel. I decided to sleep in a bit this morning (if you call waking up at 6:15 a.m. sleeping in…) and did my own total-body weights workout instead of my typical BodyPump class.

My workout looked like this:

Total Body Weights Workout

(Note: The weight noted in the chart above is the total weight used. Ex: For biceps I used two 15 pound dumbbells, totaling 30 pounds.)

I super-setted (did two exercises in a row before repeating them) deadlifts with shoulder raises and bicep curls with tricep dips which kept my heart rate up and made my workout fly by!

Though I’m such a huge fan of BodyPump, I think I may try to start working in one day of my own total-body workout to challenge new muscles and keep my body guessing.

Question of the Day

Have you ever coerced anyone close to you into trying a green monster or other odd healthy recipe? How did it go over?