WIAW: Teacher Appreciation Week

It should really be called "Teachers Get to Eat a Lot Week," because I feel as though I've eaten my weight's worth in goodies over the last few days. We sure are spoiled at my school!

I made sure to start the morning with a healthy breakfast: whole wheat toast, peanut butter, and sliced strawberries.

The rest of the day was all about indulging!

Check out the other WIAWs!

The parents at our school have been bringing in delicious breakfasts, and today they provided lunch as well. For breakfast, I helped myself to way too many banana mini-muffins, but I was proud that I avoided the donuts. The chocolate old-fashioned looked TOO delicious, so I stuck with the delicious muffins instead. And no regrets, because lunch was just around the corner!

For lunch: multiple platters of sandwiches, Cold Stone ice cream cakes, pasta salad, potato salad, homemade desserts, salads, and more!

After work, a few of my coworkers and I felt even more spoiled, because a local medical clinic offered free facials for teachers! It was so fun to feel pampered after a day at work. I've only had one other facial, so it was quite refreshing and delightful!

Then my coworkers and I grabbed a light dinner at a local restaurant.

A terrific end to a delicious day!

Do you get special treats at your job? Any big perks? Make us jealous!

People-Watching at the Gym

Today I hit the gym a little later than usual, around 5:30 pm. This timing seems ideal for some excellent people-watching (or, as my dad recently dubbed it, "people-judging"--and let's be honest, that's what we're doing). My tiny apartment complex gym (one elliptical, one bike, two treadmills, a cable exercise set, and a set of dumbbells) invites some fantastic characters:

• There's the guy who has done the exact same workout every time I've seen him. He chooses 40-pound dumbbells, sets them carefully on the ground, gets himself all psyched up, does a few squats with LOUD grunting noises, then goes outside to do calf raises on the stairs. Repeat a few times. Done.
• There's the girl who seems brilliantly athletic and hits the treadmill pretty hard--but who leaves the treadmill TV on when she's done. I don't get it.
• There's the woman who brings her personal trainer to the gym with her. And sometimes he brings his little kid. Did I mention how small this gym is?
• There's the couple who clearly have a fantastic way of making sure they stay healthy. They almost always work out together, even though they don't always do the same thing. It's so cute!
• My favorite: The woman who comes to the gym to sit on the bike and watch the TV. She doesn't ride the bike. She doesn't use earphones to listen to the TV. She just watches. And usually she watches a sitcom, like King of Queens. It's hilarious.

Of course, anyone making it to the gym in any capacity is rocking it, and my "people-judging" is all in good fun, I promise. But at least the people-watching makes my time in the gym all the more entertaining. I've mentioned before that Terry would complete his workouts in silence if I didn't badger him with questions (What do you think of the workout? What muscles do you feel you're working? How are you feeling? What do you want to eat for breakfast? What should we do this weekend? Should we carpool today? <--I'm delightful).

So checking out the folks around me certainly helps the time pass quickly. I'm sure they also enjoy my antics: falling all over the place trying to do split squats on the stability ball, sweating like a maniac during HIIT workouts, lip-synching to my favorite songs.

Perhaps I should just work out in the apartment. With my cat. So he can judge me.

Do you people-watch at the gym? Any good stories?

Shoulders, Triceps, & Chest Drop-Sets

Before diving in to the usual blog business, I want to send my thoughts and prayers to those affected by the terrible storms and tornadoes in Oklahoma. Stay safe out there!

This week started with a delicious treat:

Usually starting the work week feels rough, of course, so I thought it might be fun to mix things up and enjoy a fancy breakfast before heading off to work. I topped my French toast with peanut butter, sliced almonds, sliced strawberries, and maple syrup. It kept me plenty full while the students tested and I plowed through some grading. These testing days move so quickly; I have a feeling the week will feel super short.

And no complaints here! Memorial Day weekend means the summer is officially here, even though I'll still have a few more weeks of work. Good thing, too, because we have another act of Romeo and Juliet to read in my ninth grade class!

Switching gears a bit, I thought I'd share a new hypertrophy workout that I created for Terry. Usually, Terry and I do the same stuff in the gym, but lately I've wanted to create some different options for him because he wants to focus on increased strength and muscle mass. That's where hypertrophy comes in; this type of training aims for maximum muscle size.

If you're looking to increase muscle size, want a challenging workout, or want to challenge your muscles in a new way, give it a try and let me know what you think!

For dinner tonight I whipped up a quick stir-fry with onion, bell pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, pineapple, brown rice, and soy sauce. So simple, so delicious. I also roasted some broccoli and dipped it in hummus--my favorite healthy snack lately!

Let's hope the rest of the week moves along without incident!

What's your favorite healthy snack lately?

Scenes from the Weekend

We had a great time enjoying campus and fellow alumni at UCLA Alumni Day yesterday. I'll recap more of the events later, but I was particularly impressed with the food! Everywhere we turned, more food appeared: desserts, fruit cups, granola parfaits, hot dogs, nachos, sandwiches, salads, smoothies...

That evening we headed out for an impromptu date. We had a gift card to Rock Sugar and free movie tickets, but the movie ended up being sold out (almost always our luck). So dinner it was!

Hello, handsome.

But dinner was fun: yummy summer cocktails, Asian fusion foods we hadn't tried before, and a fairly quiet outdoor patio to enjoy the weather.

This morning, after a run, a trip to the farmer's market, and some errands, we met up with Terry's parents for lunch and to check out the Griffith Observatory. Lunch at The Trails Cafe was delicious--a small but mighty menu and really unique pastries.

Scones, pie, and a pastry-wrapped hot dog. So random, but all great.

My sandwich: avocado, tomato, sprouts, red onion, and cheddar cheese.

The museum was definitely enjoyable, but my favorite parts were the show in the planetarium and the views from around the observatory. Even on a bit of a smoggy day, the city looked incredible!

And now we're back into a busy week of work (only four more weeks for me--yikes!) before the long weekend. I'm hoping to improve on my morning workouts this week!

What was the highlight of your weekend?

As always, my highlight was spending time with my awesome husband. He's been back and forth to San Diego for work lately, and I'm thrilled with any time we get together!

Looking Forward

Two nights off from blogging, huh? Even tonight's post promises to be a short one so we can get to sleep before an alumni event at UCLA tomorrow.

It's burger and fries night over here.

Terry took to the BBQ while I baked those sweet potatoes. We topped the burgers with homemade pesto, melted mozzarella, and fresh tomatoes.

There may have been some dessert involving brownies and ice cream.

This week has been hectic, to say the least. We've had some major discussions about what the future holds, which are surprisingly fun, stressful, and overwhelming, all at once. I had also slacked off on my workouts and couldn't wait to get on the treadmill after work today. I ended up completing four miles, walking a little here and there. It felt fantastic!

Instead of dwelling on the rough week behind us and looking too far ahead, I thought I'd write about the upcoming events I'm excited for in the near future:

• delta season - waterskiing, family, relaxation--and long islands :-) 
• the new episodes of Arrested Development
• summer and a merciful break from grading...only a few weeks away!
• taking a BBQ class with Terry in a few weeks
• completing a city-wide scavenger hunt with friends soon
• plenty of birthdays, get-togethers, summer movies, and good times!

Meanwhile, I'm going to enjoy this weekend with my husband and friends and pray for a more mellow week next week. And I might enjoy another one of those brownies...

What are you most looking forward to?

Varying Recovery Intervals

Tonight ended up flying by much faster than I expected. Between a meeting at work and some chores around the house, by the time Terry got home I was only in the mood for a walk. It was lovely to catch up on the day with a stroll around the neighborhood, but that means I'll have to save this delightful-looking workout for another day.

The idea here is that instead of increasing intensity and/or length of the tough intervals, you're varying the recovery time. So the first recovery is five full minutes, but the next is only three and the last only one minute. By reducing the amount of time to recover, you're adding intensity to your workout. I'll definitely be attacking this routine on Thursday for my next cardio day. Let me know what you think!

After our little walk, Terry and I did enjoy a wonderful--but quick--homemade meal of spaghetti alla carbonara and a green salad.

The carbonara is a recipe I've used for years now, so simple and perfect for comfort food on a night like this. And the salad included mixed greens, sliced almonds, crumbled blue cheese, balsamic, and olive oil. Delicious!

Off to bed for an early wake up tomorrow! Hope it's a happy Wednesday for you. :-)

Making this Week Marvelous

Here's why this week is going to rock:

1. When I last left you, I had injured my groin muscle doing a boot camp workout. Thankfully, it's now just sore and definitely not something worse! I'm functioning at almost 100% but still taking it a little easy to be on the safe side. Today's boot camp workout called for mountain climbers, and I opted to skip those. 
2. Today marks exactly one month to the end of the school year. I cannot believe how quickly this year flew, and I'm really excited for the next month with my students. We've got fun projects and plenty of great literature to discuss (The Grapes of Wrath and Romeo & Juliet, anyone?)
3. This Friday, our school starts state testing. While I'm not a huge fan of these tests, I can't help but be grateful for the quiet time to proctor and grade.
4. The weather in LA is gorgeous right now. At 7:00 this morning, I felt perfectly warm walking into school (we're very close to the beach, and usually the ocean air is quite cool especially in the morning). Of course, the heat means we'll need to bust out our bedroom fan again so we can sleep better. I'm already nervous about sleepless nights this summer.
   
   
   
5. Thanks to the warm weather, I felt inspired to whip up another Greek Quinoa Salad for dinner tonight, which will carry over into lunch tomorrow. I really can't get enough of it.
   
   
   
6. And speaking of delicious dinners, our weekly menu also includes spaghetti alla carbonara, burgers, and fish with couscous.
7. So You Think You Can Dance starts again on Wednesday!!! I'm trying to get Jenn over here to celebrate this momentous occasion.
8. It's I <3 UCLA week! If you're alum, join the North/South Campus Challenge and come to UCLA Alumni Day!
9.  Tonight is the season finale of How I Met Your Mother! 
10. While it was technically this past weekend, we had a great time visiting my parents in Palm Springs. 

Sandwiches from Sherman's Deli 

Terry had a liver and corned beef sandwich. I just can't do it. 

View from my parents' balcony. The mountains were stunning!

Fancy dinner out at Cork Tree, which I most definitely recommend.

Short ribs with Brussels sprouts for me and Mom

36-hour pork shank for Terry

Salmon for Dad

We finished off the weekend with a visit to Terry's family and had a great time catching up. Another awesome weekend come and gone too soon!

What are you looking forward to this week?