I love not having to think about breakfast this week – day 3 yesterday of a muffin on my way to work and a slice of the breakfast casserole mid morning.

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I’ve been storing the muffins in a ziploc bag so they stay fresher longer.  Just 20 seconds in the microwave and it tastes just like it came out of the oven.

I wore a new necklace yesterday – I bought this charm at the flea market over the summer and it got buried in my jewelry box and I just found it over the weekend.

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That was my workout mantra yesterday – it was legs and calves.  Um, I definitely have more leg muscles than arm muscles – my lowest weight was 40 pounds on the calf raises and I was able to do 100 pounds on the leg press.

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The only exercise I couldn’t do was the wide stance barbell squat:

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I have absolutely no shoulder flexibility at all, and after just 4 squats my left shoulder was hurting too much, so I just used 10 pounds dumb bells in each hand and did my squats with those.

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That set took me about 25 minutes – I am really loving these strength days at lunch – makes me feel like a gym rat. Open-mouthed smile

For lunch I had leftover Cincinnati chili over spaghetti squash and baby spinach.  It’s funny I hardly ever think of spaghetti squash in the warm months, but as soon as the temps start to drop it ends up in my grocery cart.

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I bought chicken legs over the weekend – it wasn’t until I took this picture that I saw that they spelled it CHICHEN!

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I ended up grilling them on our gas grill – our thought was to sit outside and use the Weber, but there were storms all around us, so we didn’t chance it.  I used our tried and true method of cooking the chicken on a rack above a cast iron skillet – the fat drips in the pan and there are no flare ups, but you still get that smokey flavor.

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While the chicken grilled, I made another batch of Austin’s Rudy’s BBQ sauce.  You guys have to try this bbq sauce – it takes minutes to put together, and last night I only let it simmer for 20 minutes and it was perfect.

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The other secret to perfect bbq chicken is to not put the sauce on until the last few minutes – otherwise it will burn with the sugars in the sauce.  I finish them off on the grill so they get some char marks.

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Ready for my tummy!

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This was a five napkin dinner – so good!  Jenn, I wish you liked meat on the bone because this would be an inexpensive dinner for your family – do your kids like meat off the bone, or is it just you that hates it?

Last night was cardio recovery, which I like to call my yoga night.  It’s slow muscle movements, LOTS of stretching and I am completely relaxed after the 30 minutes.  My Zen picture:

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Stats for the Day:

  • 20 minute Insanity abs before work
  • 25 minutes legs/calves at lunch
  • 30 minutes Cardio recovery after dinner

Eats:

  • 1658 calories, 108 carbs, 139 protein, 77 fat and 26 fiber
  • 41% of calories from fat, 33% from protein and 25% from carbs
  • Calorie Count Grade: B

My parents in law are coming into town tonight.  My nephew is getting married this weekend.  AND it’s Tony’s birthday on Sunday!   I think I haven’t seen my PIL since last summer?  I can’t remember!  It will be nice to see them – my MIL is an awesome cook too – she’s the one who showed me hot to make risotto – and knowing my distain for onions, subbed in green apple and I’ve added that to my risotto ever since.

Another rainy morning, but I guess I have to get this show on the road – make it a great day!