Happy Wednesday everyone! I hope “hump day” is treating you alright because I know how many people tend to dread it. And if you’re a teacher or working in the education field, happy summer!
Today was the last day of school for the kids that Greg and I get see every week through the MAD Club. I had some business to take care of so I went to see them today while they were having a grand ole’ party after school. I have to admit that I was getting really emotional inside, and tomorrow is their graduation day so we will be going there bright and early. 
I hope you’re sitting down as you read this and that you don’t lose your appetite, because…
Aaahhhhhhh! This nasty little critter was in our office room this morning! Oh my goodness, was it big enough to cause me to jump like a little girl. It was big, fat, and super quick. Greg wasn’t in at the time, so I decided to go to great measures and kill that spider. I’m still not sure what kind of spider it was, but I do know that it was smart because it kept trying to hide from me.
*shivers*
After a 10 minute ordeal of swatting it high up on the wall and duking it out with him [or her], I finally calmed down and let my adrenaline rush subside. You should have seen me, I was grunting and yelling loud like a man while batting it down.
*Phew* I think I’ll go ahead and delete this picture from my computer now, thank you very much.
Jenn has been hosting a really cool and creative WIAW, and as you can see it has to do with sensible snacking and eating “beautifully”, as I like to call it. 
Breakfast
Today’s breakfast was a delicious and hot bowl of steel cut oats. I haven’t been eating oatmeal as often as I used to, and I figure that it’s due to the changes with marriage and all.
This bowl contained oats, soy milk, water, flax seeds, cottage cheese, and banana. We’ve been out of peanut butter for almost a week now, so I was more than happy to use our new Earth Balance PB as the topping, along with dark sea salt chocolate, strawberries, greek yogurt, and Love Grown cranberry pecan granola.
Yayyy! 
I finally got to try Love Grown because they are now being sold in some stores like Sprouts. If you haven’t tried their goodies before make sure to check out your local store.
And Gloria Jean’s hazelnut coffee on the side.
Lunch
I loved today’s meal because it was packed with nutrients, flavor, and color. It really hit the spot.
I made myself a bowl of salad and it had spinach, tomatoes, strawberries, shredded mozzarella, avocado, pastrami slices and a drizzle of lemon juice. Of course, I had to have some crunch to go with it so I ate corn tortilla chips and pita chips with Oasis hummus and salsa.
Then I had some Yerba Mate early in the day because it’s one of the “things I do” whenever I get the chance. After all, I love to reminisce of my Argentinean roots. 
It’s also really good for digestion and aids in going to the you-know-what.
Post Workout Snack
After today’s workout, I was pretty hungry so I chugged down a Green Monster protein smoothie as I drove to see the kids. I’ve been using the Magic Bullet for my smoothies and it is so convenient! All I needed to do was to throw in some protein powder, soy milk, ice cubes, spinach, cherries, peanut butter, and chia seeds.
Since lately I’ve been going to the gym mostly for running, spinning, and body weight interval circuits, today I decided to tackle Leah Sarago’s download routines.
It’s been a few weeks since I’ve done any of her videos so it was a lot harder than I expected! Perhaps it has to do with the fact that spinning does something different to my leg muscles? Whatever the case may be, my muscles felt stretched and almost like they were burning.
Are you ready for vanity?
[Ah, sorry for the terrible lighting! It's really hard to take photos of myself with the DSLR]
Of course I had just finished doing Leah’s leg and upper body workouts, but I have to point out that they really do work! Whenever I do her workouts I end up stronger and my muscles feel harder. It may be that I do a ton of different types of exercises, but I think I’m the type to gain muscle rather quickly. Sometimes I think too quick, especially considering the fact that I’m petite and only 5’1″!
Okay I feel really awkward showing you that picture. Judge not, though! You know you’ve done that at least once in your life too!
Any crazy bug stories??
How has your sensible eating (or snacking) been lately?
What are your favorite things to throw in a smoothie?
Do you tend to gain muscle quickly or slowly?
Have a blessed day y’all!
Love,
Ellie <33
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Haha! I totally do the same thing and then I get embarrassed because I’m flexin’ in front of the mirror like a 14 year old boy! Your arms look awesome–so flex away!!
Oh man….thank you for empathizing with me!
You look great Ellie! Show it off! My favorite smoothies usually have milk, frozen banana, chia seeds, peanut butter or almond butter, honey, and spinach. I just bought some Carnation malt powder, and if I put that in with some cocoa powder, it tastes like a chocolate malt!
can you believe that I’ve never tried malt? in fact, I still don’t even know the difference between malt and shake!
show off those muscles Ellie! they look great.
I’ve been trying to eat sensible, but it’s hard with a family who doesn’t like the “health foods” I would like to eat. It’s also hard to make smoothies too, since we usually don’t have the ingredients to make them, yet a good blender to make them in.
I remember me and my sister tried swatting a huge fly. It was a pretty smart fly and stayed by the fan, so we were unable to swat it. It took like an hour until we were able to. I know. so sad. xD
My thigh muscles tend to bulk up pretty quickly, which I don’t like since the fat doesn’t “melt off” as quickly as the muscles develop, making them look fat. Maybe ballet would help, like the videos you’re doing. I used to do ballet when I was younger.
haha my dad will chase a fly for over an hour too, if that’s what it takes!
lol. And I don’t know as of yet what the effects of ballet body give to leg muscles for most people, but I think giving it a try won’t hurt much?
I love your muscles! So impressive
You look gorgeous in that picture. The spider, in contrast, is horrid!!!
Wow, those are some nice guns you’ve got there
Nothing to be ashamed of– just the result of dedication and hard work!
I have a question about your oats– when you mix in the cottage cheese do you do it while it’s cooking? I’ve been trying to tackle this, but something just freaks me out about combining the cold cottage cheese in hot oats! Any tips?
haha cool~thanks Brittany!
And I know it seems weird to put cottage cheese in! But I think you won’t regret it. I basically let the oatmeal cook thoroughly, and then the last minute I add the cottage cheese and stir it around so it’s slightly melted and mixed up, OR I let it melt completely and end up with creamy oats.
Thanks Ellie! I think that was my error– I’m pretty sure I mixed it in from the start! I’ll let you know how it goes
you are a beauty!! love those muscles and all the lovely eats.
Whoa Ellie!! I am impressed!! Slow down so I can catch up! hehe
Although I reduced the intensity, I’ve been working on my guns too =) Hopefully they will decide to show up…someday?
eeks and now I feel like there’s spider crawling on me!!! I HATE spiders!!! And that one’s HUGEMONGOUS!! You brave soul. I would’ve just left the house
believe me I wanted to do that, but I knew if I let it escape it would be crawling on who knows where
Oh my gosh! That spider freaks me out. Your breakfast is out of this world. and I’m super obsessed with my Magic Bullet. I love the handle cups. I think mine only knows how to make green smoothies.
Your muscles are bomb! I wouldn’t want to cross you in a dark alley.
aren’t those handle cups awesome?! My husband loves them too, and he can now make himself shakes really easily so the Magic Bullet is cooler than we expected! haha you’re so funny Maren!
Oh my goodness, that spider is HUGE!!! I literally would have started crying, so great job trying to kill it. Also, you’ve got some nice guns!
Haha I get a total adrenaline rush when I see a bug too! Your posts are so fun to read and I love looking at your yummy recipes
Thank you so much Helen!
{ 1 trackback }