Setting the Tone for the Week

As work nears an end and summer inches closer, I find myself suddenly quite socially occupied. I absolutely love being busy, and I'm so excited to spend time with friends, coworkers, and family, so the full calendar doesn't bother me at all.

This is my family, minus Terry. We are amazing. Terry is also amazing but couldn't be there for this spectacular moment.

But I also have to be aware of the potential down sides: less time to work out, more eating, more temptations to eat indulgently, more drinking, and less sleep.

It's only Monday and I already feel the effects of an oncoming busy week, so this afternoon I hit the gym in hopes of being proactive. I hopped on the treadmill for 35 minutes. After 5 minutes of warming up, I walked:

• 5 minutes at 4.5 mph and 4.0 incline 
• 5 minutes at 4.0 mph and 8-12 incline
• Repeat twice (three times total)

I haven't been hitting the treadmill too hard, especially since my legs are still tired and sore (and hopefully not injured) from Friday morning's long run. I've had a tight hamstring ever since, and all the foam rolling, yoga, and stretching is only minimally helpful. So I'll continue with light cardio and no running until I'm back to normal. 

I also busted out a three rounds of each of the following supersets: 

Triceps:

• 10 tricep dips
• 5 one-arm tricep push ups (per side)

Shoulders:

• 10 overhead press
• 10 L-raises

Chest:

• 10 push ups
• 10 chest flys

Not a bad workout, overall, and a great way to set the tone for the week. While I can't run, I plan to keep active and get in at least 30-40 minutes of cardio per day.

We're officially in crunch time at work--or at least I am. We only have eight more school days, which leaves very little time for grading, wrapping up last minute stuff in the classroom, and ensuring that all the students' grades are entered before the deadline. But I can't complain too much about only two weeks until summer!

Speaking of summer, I've been trying to get myself motivated lately to feel excited about healthy foods. For some reason, I totally crave healthy meals but just cannot think of creative snacks. I usually just end up eating a piece of fruit and then coming back to the kitchen 10 minutes later because--let's be honest--a piece of fruit just isn't going to cut it.

So I'm on a mission for healthy, filling, nutritious snacks. I'll compile a list and share with you soon, but meanwhile feel free to share ideas below please!

What are your favorite summer snacks?