Back to work?

So, to any of you who may be jealous that I am now on summer vacation, don't hate TOO much - I had to go back to work all day today, and will have to work again tomorrow!

This morning I woke up feeling pretty nauseous from a large dinner last night. I love, love, love lasagna, and I can never limit myself to one helping. (In fact, I helped myself to three "formal" servings, and then later after the company left I dug in again with a spoon.. shameful I know!) I don't make it that often so I really can't help myself. I also had quite a few of those Fabulosity Cookies, and thus I woke up with a bit of a stomach ache.

Who came to the rescue? A Green Monster of course!! It really hit the spot and was so light and refreshing :) Over the summer I'm trying to lighten up on my coffee intake in the mornings, and to try to get by on GMs instead, since they usually provide me with a ton of energy! They did that today, but not as much as I would have liked. However, my lack of energy can probably be attributed less to the beneficial qualities in the GM and more to the fact that I didn't get enough sleep last night!

Today I had to attend a mandatory training for work. It is an empirically- and evidence-based practice for working with students with anger issues. If you think about it, many of the issues that school social worker address - lack of focus, verbal aggression, lack of social skills, fighting, low frustration tolerance, etc. - often comes down to anger, plain and simple. Unfortunately, many of my students have gone through troubling and traumatic events, and many of them are so hyperaware of the potential for violence around them that they jump to anger because this reaction is often the safest thing for them to do. I may complain about having to go to a training during the first week of my summer break, but I think it's going to be a great program and I look forward to learning more tomorrow!

I was SO excited to find out that the training took place not on the other side of Chicago, but only a few miles from my condo!! Because I live so close, I was able to drive home to make some lunch here as opposed to eating leftover cold lasanga. I liked the green bean/blue cheese combo that I made a couple days ago, so I switched things up this time by making scrambled egg whites with the green beans and blue cheese. I love blue cheese!! (When I was little I remember people thinking it was weird that my favorite salad dressing was blue cheese, since many adults don't even like it!)

When I arrived home after the training, I really wanted a Green Monster before my run, but I had some leftover Romaine lettuce that I wanted to get rid of. Hmmmmm, I thought. I wonder how Romaine would be in a Green Monster? Turns out... NOT BAD!!! I added Silk soy milk, ice, and a banana. I could taste the lettuce a bit, but it was not at all a bad taste, just a bit "fresh" and slightly, slightly like lettuce. However, I didn't want there to be a chance of feeling sick on my run because of the new flavor, so I also threw in 2 T. of PB2. Perfect!! I would certainly recommend this combo to anyone who enjoys the regular GM!

Today was yet another 3 miler. The short runs (at least for the plan I'm using) stay pretty short for the first couple weeks, which has helped me segue in the training schedule. I had a nice, easy run, and ended it at the gym where I did 10 mins of elliptical. I cut my workout short so that I could walk from the gym to the Harold Washing Library (the main Chicago lib) to meet Mike. It was our first time at this lib, and his first time getting a CPL library card! I actually didn't find any books today since I spent so much time browsing, but Mike got a couple books about jury selection... and also a couple about how to become a better gambler, in preparation for our upcoming trip ;)

For dinner, I knew that I really wanted to use up the red peppers and green beans that were on their last leg and wouldn't make it until we got home from our trip. So, I threw together vegetarian fajitas made from Morningstar vegetarian chicken starter strips, red peppers, onions, green beans, and seasonings.

On the side, I made some guacamole per Mike's request.. made with our HOME GROWN CILANTRO!!! Cilantro is such a key ingredient in guacamole, and it's been awesome having fresh cilantro at our fingertips, for free!! Thanks to Mike, The Constant Gardener :)

This dinner filled me up soooo much, but the flavors were so intense that I really wanted something sweet. I also wanted something with peanut butter (I used PB2), so I experimented with making a new cookie recipe. Basically, I just wanted to eat the dough, and it was good (although I will tweak it more in the future!)

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OK readers, exciting news!! Jay Robb - the maker of my all time FAVORITE protein powder - is giving my readers a 15% coupon!!! Check back tomorrow and I will list the discount code!! :)