Some Workouts and a Special Announcement

Remember me? This week drained every bit of energy out of me before I made it home each day, so blog posts would have been halfhearted at best. But I survived Friday, and you can expect plenty of blog updates this weekend. First, I'll catch you up on the two (count 'em, two) workouts I squeezed in over the last five days.

Thursday's Workout
I felt so exhausted on Thursday that the idea of cardio actually made me dizzy, so I stuck to a short arms-only workout to at least say I did something.


Upper Body Series 2

• 10 tricep push ups (keep your elbows super close to your ribs and your wrists under your shoulders)
• 50 crunches (I alternated between regular, straight-leg, and bicycle)
• 10 wide-arm push ups
• 2 minutes nonstop bicep curls
• 1 minute Superman swimming (lay on your belly and lift your shoulders/upper chest off the ground; stretch your straight arms out above your head and lower to your hips, then back above your head)

I repeated the whole series three times and felt decently fatigued, but I'm interested in trying this workout again when I'm not as exhausted. I wonder if it would feel too easy, but you could always amp up the repetitions or times.

Today's Workout

I felt desperate for cardio after four days of nothing, so after cleaning house this afternoon I headed to our cozy gym for a workout. (Sometimes, if two or three people are working out in the room and the door is closed, the two walls of windows completely fog up. Disgusting. I absolutely MUST have the door open; how can you work out when you can't breathe?) I combined a past incline walking workout with a touch of running and then hopped on the elliptical for 20 minutes, levels 13 and 9, two miles total. 

(Thanks to Julie for inspiring me to post my workouts in a much more attractive style!)

After all that, I got to enjoy some leftovers from dinner earlier this week. Jenn and I tested an Italian place in Westwood, Pomodoro, which had great service and delicious pasta. I wasn't crazy about their bruschetta (Jenn figured out that it was under-seasoned), but I would certainly go back. $32 for two meals and an appetizer (plus leftovers for each of us) ain't bad!

My eggplant pasta dish

Jenn's chicken with spicy pasta sauce

Tonight's leftover pasta was just as yummy alongside some cheesy garlic bread. I've really taken comfort food to a whole new level this week, and I have some ambitious plans to amp up my vegetable intake as soon as possible. 

But first, I have a special announcement! I'm sure my excitement will far exceed yours, but I am thrilled to announce that I get to host my very first blog giveaway! That's right, I have a special gift for one lucky reader. I haven't decided how to do the giveaway, but I might use this opportunity to shamelessly up my subscribers. So, if you aren't already subscribed (thanks to those who have! You have no idea how excited I get when I have a new "official" reader!), consider doing it! You can also like A Better Life With Burgers on Facebook and/or follow me on Twitter. (By the way, I'm new to Twitter and completely confused by the whole thing. I will accept tutoring - a Twitter tutor? - from anyone willing to help!) I'll have more about the giveaway on Monday.