Tuesday, July 13, 2010

A Perfect Day


Someone once asked me to describe the perfect day.  As I attempted to conjure my ideal plan in establishing pure bliss in a single day, I had trouble putting all of my thoughts into just 24 hours.  You see, there are so many things that I love in life and to only limit them to a single day, I would run out of time.  If I had to choose just a few things that would go into it, they would be, warm sunshine, a beautiful hike, some time on the beach, oatmeal, good fine dining, wine, and of course, quality time with my hubby. 

I guess that is why summer is loved by so many.  To me, summer represents all of these things, particularly when on a vacation.  I guess I am saying this because I am becoming quite anxious to get away.  Thank goodness Toly and I have a little vacation planned next week. 

Before that begins, I must take care of the rest of this week first. 

Today's run was solid.  I did 5.5 miles averaging an 8:30 mpm.  I actually figured out that lowering my body and my arms made me go so much faster.  I once heard that keeping your arms lower when you run is easier on your body because when you elevate your arms, it elevates your heart rate.  Makes sense. 

Breakfast delivered this morning. 

1/4 Cup Raisin Brain, 1/4 Cup Barbara's Shredded Oats (Tastes just like Oatmeal Squares and cheaper), A few Kashi Harvest Nuggets, Applesauce, Vanilla Chobani, Blackberries/Blueberries, 1/2 Banana, Flax and Almond Butter


1/2 Grapefruit and Strawberries



Two things about this breakfast I must point out.  One. I really enjoyed the Barbara's Shredded Oats.  I was nervous because I feared that they wouldn't live up to their infamous contender, Quaker Oatmeal Squares, but I bought this huge box at TJ's last weekend hoping they would be just as good.  Verdict?  They are just as good! And Two.  Chobani Vanilla Greek Yogurt is probably my favorite flavor of all Greek Yogurt.  That's all. 

I had a meeting this morning in the city and I knew it was going to leave me hungry because it was close to lunch time, so I nibbled on some emergency fuel to get me through the 2 hours. 

Chocolate Covered Cherries? Loved this combination! 


Eaten on the drive, while attempting to brush hair, apply lip gloss, and snap a pic of myself all within 4.3 seconds at a red light. Yes, I am one of those drivers! I don't promote it.

After my meeting, I was more than ready for lunch.  I had a long awaited lunch date with one of my favorite guys…



You were probably expecting Toly?  

Nope, this is Jason, my brother in law.  We have such a great relationship but don't get a chance to hang out much these days.  Jason and I try to get together for lunch every couple of months to catch up.  It's so nice to talk to him and get together. 

We met at Brewhouse.  I always recommend Brewhouse on Tuesdays for their Crabopolooza menu that they feature every Tuesday.  It's all you can eat Crab Legs and several other specials that feature crab. 

We both love crab! 

I ordered the Salad Special which was a Catalina Crab Salad. 

Fresh mixed spring greens topped with Alaskan lump crab, fresh peach slices, melon, mango, red grapes, plum tomatoes and roasted red peppers. Served with orange poppyseed dressing.

It was delicious!   Just look at those jumbo pieces of lump crab meat.  Tantalizing!

I had a great workout after work today.  I knew this was going to be my only gym day this week, so I wanted to do both upper and lower body.

Start: 1 mile warm up on treadmill
3 sets of 12 Overhead press (40 lbs)
1 min of jumping jacks
3 sets of 12 Leg Extensions (60 lbs)
3 sets of 12 Deadlifts (20 lbs)
50 crunches on Stability Ball
3 sets of 12 Bench Press (40 lbs)
1 min of jump rope
3 sets of 10 hamstring curls (30 lbs)
1 min of front lunges with 10 lbs weights
50 Bicycle crunches
5 min cool down on Bike

Wow, I was really into it tonight.  I even came home and treated myself to a good 10 min stretch.  Something I need to do more often but often neglect!

After all this, my stomach was screaming for dinner!

Tonight was going to be what I had planned for last night but got rained out.

Grilled Tilapia Club Sammies 

This is one of the best sammies you will ever eat!  I grilled tilapia that was seasoned in EVOO, Lemon Juice, Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder, made a dijon avocado cream sauce (1/2 avocado, 1 TBL dijon, 1 TBL yogurt, lemon juice, capers), layered this on a grilled cibatta roll, added field green, ripe tomato and served it all open faced.  It was a knife and forker! 



I also sauteed some green beans in lemon juice, salt and pepper and had grilled corn on the side.


And all because this meal is so reminiscent of a fresh summery dinner, I added watermelon and green iced tea to complete the theme.  



Fantastic meal!

Even though I wouldn't go as far as saying this was the perfect day, there really wasn't anything to take away from it being wonderful.

So now I must ask, how would you describe the perfect day?





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7 comments:

  1. ahhaha when you said one of your favorite guys, I actually expected to see your amazing dad! I agree- summer = amazing days. The salad looks sensational. I love fruit (especially mango and grapes) on a salad. My perfect day- lots of time for a good breakfast with coffee, lazy time with Josh and Frank, a run outside, lots of fresh fruit & sunshine :)

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  2. You definitely had a perfect food day in my opinion. That salad looks phenomenal. YUM.

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  3. What a wonderful post. I loved hearing about your ideal day...it sounds just perfect. All of your meals looked so fresh and wholesome.

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  4. Oh I am totally one of those drivers, too! Add plucking eyebrows at stoplights and that's me ;)

    I agree...so hard to think about my "perfect" day. Summer, for sure. Though I like Fall, too! Family. Hubs. Food. Sunshine. Fresh air. Children running around. Wine :)

    Hope you are having a great week, dear Lauren!

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  5. Thanks for the running tip! My biceps get so tired sometimes that I end up shaking out my arms every few minutes and wriggling my fingers. It helps, but I'm going to try lowering them too!

    So nice you have a great relationship with Toly's fam... SO much easier when that happens.

    Also, yes! I went to Russia last November when my dad went for business. We were in Moscow for a week, and St. Petersburg for a weekend. One of my friends is teaching there so I got to hang out with her and see more of "real" Russia that wasn't just for tourists! Does Toly go back to the Ukraine? You should go!!! It's so interesting.

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  6. You always find the most delicious looking crab! I even lived in San Francisco for 2 years and hardly ever found a crab salad quite like the ones you find. Just started my own blog, check it out if you get the chance! http://legallygreengirl.blogspot.com. You're in my blogroll :)

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  7. Sounds like a yummy day! Awesome runs always perk me up too especially in the morning...then you have the endorphins running through your body all day :)

    I think my perfect day would involve a fantastic body step class and cuddling with champagne and chocolate covered strawberries.

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