Pig-Pen

Today’s workday ended on a good note when I got a call from Ryan saying he wasn’t working late tonight. That meant we would have ample time to head to the dog park with Sadie!

It’s been a while since we’ve paid a visit to the ol’ park, and Sadie was ready and rearin’ to go!

Is that the face of a happy dawg or what?

Sadie’s face wasn’t the only happy one at the park tonight…

After I snapped this picture of Ryan he said, “I feel like Pig-Pen!”

 

He wasn’t lying. The noseeums were out in full force tonight!

I can’t wait until the weather cools off a bit and the pesky bugs are gone. They attack me every time I go outside to take pictures of my food in our backyard. Not fun. The only thing I like about them is watching baby ducklings jump into the air to try to eat them with their little beaks. Adorable!

We played with Sadie at the park for just under an hour before heading home for dinner.

Dinner

Tonight was quite the unusual night: I wanted something cold for dinner.

A “throw a little bit of everything in a bowl” salad sounded good to me!

My salad included:

• Cabbage
• 1 large red pepper
• 1/2 medium zucchini
• 1/2 plum tomato
• Large handful shoestring carrots
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 3 oz. shrimp, chopped
• Kraft Light Asian Toasted Sesame dressing

It hit the spot!

Pumpkin, Pumpkin Everywhere!

Good news!

Not only are pumpkin spice beverages available at Starbucks now (I have a serious obsession with light pumpkin spice Frappuccinos), but other places are stocking up on fall decorations, treats and more.

Check out the lovely autumn display I saw at Bath and Body Works this evening when I stopped by to nab some soap for our kitchen:

I spent a good 20 minutes smelling all of the fall-scented candles. A new favorite: Creamy pumpkin.

I absolutely adore the smell of pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Any candle that combines those scents is a winner in my book.

Here’s hoping grocery stores begin stocking canned pumpkin soon…

Tonight

I’m off to update our wedding registry and add some new dish towels to the list because Ryan someone burnt a hole in one of our nice ones tonight. 😉

See ya on FRIDAY morning! 😀

Honeymoon Destination Revealed

My guess is that about 99 percent of you are going to scroll right past this lunch post to get right to the honeymoon decision, so let’s make all the food chatter nice ‘n’ quick!

Leftovers made lunch assembly awfully easy.

I made myself a buffalo chicken sandwich using the leftover meat from Tuesday night’s dinner.

Pulled Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

On the side I enjoyed fresh strawberries and sliced radishes marinated in Italian dressing.

Berries

Italian Marinated Radishes

The Italian dressing helped take some of the spiciness away from the radishes, but they’re still a little too intense for me. I like them better in salads than on their own fo’ sho’.

Sandwiches Make Me Happy. Seriously. Any Sandwich.

The Spread

Good news: The buffalo chicken was just as tasty a couple of days later.

Thanks to the three of you who read my food mumbo-jumbo. Now onto the honeymoon fun! 😀

Honeymoon Destination Revealed

After months and months of research, planning and talking to everyone we know about travel recommendations, Ryan and I finally selected our honeymoon destination.

We considered a lot of different options ranging from the Dominican Republic to Costa Rica to Hawaii. (Well, maybe I just considered Hawaii. 😉 )

In the end, we decided to go to St. Lucia!

St. Lucia

Thank you so, so much to all of you for your comments, recommendations and emails. Both Ryan and I read every single one and, for a while there, felt like we were on a wild goose chase, visiting all the places you mentioned and weighing our options.

We selected St. Lucia because it met our requirements:

• Caribbean location
• Beautiful beach
• Adventurous activities

While in St. Lucia, Ryan and I hope to relax on the gorgeous beaches, but also enjoy some fun activities. On our possible to-do list:

• Scuba diving
• Jungle biking
• Zip lining
• Rainforest hike

One thing we will not be doing? Deep sea fishing… We definitely do not want to revisit our sea sick ways on our honeymoon.

Question of the Afternoon

• In your opinion, what is the perfect length of time for a honeymoon?

Ryan and I plan to stay in St. Lucia for a week (six nights).

Girl I Want to Make You Sweat

“Girl I want to make you sweat,
Sweat ’til you can’t sweat no more…”

(If you’re looking for a super-fun workout song, definitely check that one out! Sweat by Inner Circle… So catchy.)

As you may have gathered from the above lyrics, my workout this morning was super schweaty!

I did a 30-minute treadmill workout that included 20 minutes of intervals that made my face turn bright red and a sweat ‘stache form more times than I could count.

30-Minute Treadmill Workout

I followed up this heart-pumpin’ workout with 10 minutes of light cardio on the elliptical and a one-mile walk with Ryan and Sadie.

Tastes Like Chicken!

It was such a treat to have Ryan join me and Sadie on our walk! He’s been working some crazy hours at work lately and was able to spend a little extra time at home this morning. Sadie made sure to show him what he misses on our walks every morning by picking up every other stick to try to entice him into playtime mid-walk. She’s like a real woman: Never satisfied. 😉

Breakfast

Ooooh breakfast. You are simply fantastic. Hitting the gym so early in the morning is a little bit easier knowing I get to come home and stuff my face with you. 😀

Today’s morning meal included:

• 1 c. Greek yogurt
• 1 large sliced peach
• 1/2 c. cold Butter Pecan Flax-Z-Snax hot cereal (Now discontinued from Netrition.com because of faulty nutrition facts – eek!)
• Honey

Peach + Yog

Peach + Yog + Hot Cereal

Makes Mouth Happy

What a tasty treat!

Honeymoon Update

Stay tuned for the big HONEYMOON announcement! Ahhh! 😀

Of Possible Interest

• Thwart Thunder Thighs in 3 Steps (FitSugar.com)
• Exercise Can Offset Obesity-Linked Genes (LATimes.com)
• Water Fitness Workouts (FitandFabLiving.com)