Breakfast:

Oatmeal carrot cake cookie and grapes

Yogurt with PB2&honey, side fruit

Boiled eggs, toast, juice

Cereal and juice

Waffle and strawberries

Lunch:

Vitamix Tortilla Soup

Skillet cooked chicken & broccoli (Danielle's lunch all week)

PB graham cracker "sandwiches", cucumber, baby carrots

Leftovers

Salami, string cheese, berries, carrots

Dinner:

Sweet and spicy pineapple chicken

Italian Chicken (from last week)

Spaghetti with spiralized zucchini instead of noodles

Soy salmon and stir fry quinoa

Chicken thighs with carrots and tomatos

Snacks:

Zucchini with hummus

Pumpkin muffins from last week

Got a little out of sync last week. Ben was working a different shift, we had watched the kids, and I was just kinda thrown off.  Back to it this week.  I've decided that I'm going to try and make my food for the week on Monday night. Let it cook while I'm cleaning up from dinner or something.  Pack it in tupperware and just let it be easy.  

Got a couple busy weekends coming up. Wine glass painting party next Saturday.  That'll be neat.  Following weekend, tentatively planning a train ride trip to Heidelberg...actually get close to the castle this time!

This past weekend was fun, although we didn't do too much.  Had a dinner out for a friend's birthday on Friday, then hung out afterwards.  Saturday was a relaxing day spent with Delilah and Ben.  It was nice to just kick back for a bit with no real plans.  Went to the gym today (of course).  The rest of the day, I cleaned, took a walk with the family, and played.  

All in all, a good weekend.  I can't complain.  I feel rested, and ready to take on the week. 

Tuesday, 2 days later than normal.

We have had our friends' kids since Friday, as they went to Barcelona for the long weekend.  They've been pretty good, despite being just at our house.  There wasn't a whole lot going on, and Delilah has been congested and coughing, so we've taken it easy.  Ben did get them out on a couple long hikes, so that was good for them.  They're definitely ready to go back home to their parents, and that's understandable.  I'd be ready to get back to my own house too!

I did miss my gym partner on Sunday, but I still went and did it myself. 

I can almost dead lift my weight!  

Split squats are the worst.  Jump Squats too. 

My booty and legs are looking good though, so I'm gonna keep it up.

Saw a movie and had lunch with some girls yesterday. It is always nice to be able to get out and do something with just adults, no kids, once in awhile.  

Ben is working a different schedule this week, so I'm gonna be able to get up and go to the gym early without having to have him hang out with Delilah during his workday.  That's going to be nice.

So far, nothing planned for this weekend.  Hopefully something fun.  This weekend was nice and quiet, but I definitely want to get together with friends and hang.

Now, FOOD:

Breakfast:

Cereal and juice

Waffle and fruit

Yogurt and fruit

Lunch:

PB&J

Annie's Spaghettios

Pizzadilla

Quinoa salad

Dinner:

Italian Chicken

Spaghetti and Meatballs (got skipped in favor of a Doner night.)

Pineapple BBQ Chicken

Chicken Fingers with veggie, maybe mashed sweet potatoes

Quinoa Fried Rice

Snacks:

Pumpkin protein muffins

PB granola bars

Heidelberg!

Had a super productive week. I feel like I'm kind of getting back in the swing of things...either that, or I'm just working through any stress by cleaning and organizing my house!  

Made it to the gym 3 times in the week and then of course TODAY, my FAVORITE day.  I made some leaps from last week and upped my weight on almost everything.  I did 110lbs with my back squats!  I'm really proud at the progress I'm making and really thankful to Amanda for being an amazing workout partner.  I also super appreciate the fact that Ben has been taking Delilah on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I can make it to the gym.  He hangs with her during his lunch time, even if he can't leave the office.  Really great that he's supporting me on this.  I don't do a whole lot of stuff that is just for me, so this has been incredibly wonderful.  

We had an impromptu trip to Heidelberg on Saturday.  The sun was out, and even though it was cold, we decided to get out for a hike.  Ben found a cool trail that led to an old amphitheater that the Nazis used to recruit students from the local University.  

The trail to get there was incredibly steep and hard. I don't think anyone expected it to be as steep as it was!  Ben carried Delilah in our kid backpack the whole way up while I trailed far behind.  Gotta get my stamina back for future hikes!  I don't think the cold or my congestion helped the situation much.  

Sign for the amphitheater

In the doorway to the amphitheater

Panorama of the amphitheater

We walked around the trails some more and found some cool old buildings.

We walked back down and drove to the city center to see the river, a cool old bridge, and have some dinner.  

Panorama of the bridge and part of the river.

On the bridge

We didn't go to the castle this time, but we had an awesome view of it from the bridge!

It really was a wonderful day.

Breakfast:

Blueberry cheesecake oatmeal

Apple banana quinoa cups

Strawberry Chia pudding

Waffle or Yogurt and fruit

Cereal

Lunch:

Quinoa salad

Boiled eggs/crackers&cheese/veggie

Avocado Quesedilla

Chicken avocado burritos

Leftovers

Dinner:

Curry Lentils over brown rice

Crockpot chicken and dumplings

Breakfast (eggs, sausage, English muffin)

Spaghetti (maybe meatballs too)

Italian Pork Chops

Snacks:

Flourless PB choco chip muffins

Vitamix ice cream

Mixed veggies or fruits

Crackers/cheese

Food and working out.

SUNDAY!  I love Sundays.  It's my day to wake up and relax with my sweet little family before hitting the gym for legs and butt.  Then...I get to go back home to my sweet family. It's pretty wonderful.  

Keeping track of what we are doing in the gym now as well as what we are eating.  Time to get real serious.

This was our workout today. Would have ended with a HIIT 10 minute session, but we were both fatigued, and I was a bit dehydrated.  Solution by Ben, get a nice bottle to take to the gym.  

Delilah and Ben have been spending some time together and it has been quite wonderful for their relationship.  I love it!

Ben is asleep right now, taking a nap before he has to wake up for the Superbowl.  See, as you all enjoy the game at a reasonable hour, us folks in Germany have to wait until 12:30am for kickoff.  Needless to say, I have no stakes in either team, so I will be sleeping through it.  Kinda stinks to not have a Superbowl party like we usually do, but I think living here in Europe is a fair trade most of the time.  

Nothing too exciting going on for me this week.  I am going to REALLY try and dedicate some time cleaning out the craft room downstairs.  It's become a catchall for crap we don't want to go through, and it's a big waste of space right now.  I could move Delilah's kitchen and toys to that room and make the guest room less "kiddish" if I could just get in gear and get it cleaned out.  

Weekly stuff going on:

German grocery store

Food prepping for the week

Baking with Delilah

Review A, B, C, Continue with D-H

Gym 2-3 times

Library

Register pets

Gymnastics

Dance

Craft room

Painting order

Possibly Star Wars monopoly this weekend!

And now...for the food:

Breakfast:

Banana peanut butter chia pudding

Waffle and strawberries

Double chocolate oatmeal

Greek yogurt with PB2&honey

Cereal

Lunch:

Chicken salad served in an avocado

Chicken avocado burritos

Quinoa salad (w/Greek yogurt, black beans, and avocado)

Breakfast quesedilla

Leftovers

Dinner:

5 Ingredient white chicken chili

Crispy cauliflower nachos

Soy salmon and stir fry quinoa

Ratatouille

BBQ chicken thighs (in crockpot) 

Snacks:

Whole wheat pumpkin muffins

Peanut butter granola bars

Vitamix fruit "ice cream"

That's all I have in me to write right now.  I'm exhausted.  It's been a long, tiring week.