Totally forgot to post last week.

It's saved in my drafts. I just never got to posting it after making it.  Oh well, whatever.  This week/weekend was more interesting anyway.

First, I am really excited that I ran at a faster speed and for longer than I ever have before.  I think I would have been able to keep going, but I got excited and forgot to control my breathing. ha!  I was quite proud of myself, especially because I HATE running.  

Another heart check up on Friday.  Back in October, the battery life had 16 months left. Then in Jan, it only had 8 months!  They were worried that I would have to have surgery in April.  Got it looked at and discovered that I still had 6 months.  Still have to have surgery this year, but it's not draining as fast.  Part of me thinks that it's due to not only eating well, but working out more and getting more physically fit.  I've always been in relatively good shape, but now I'm actually working on being fit and it's definitely helping me in more ways than just appearance!  

Went back to Heidelberg yesterday.  Instead of driving, we took the train and it was REALLY easy!  (really fun too!)  

Train was easy to do. No wonder everyone uses it around here!

Someone was a little sleepy when we first got there...

At the castle!

In front of a bakery. I love Germany.

Inside the castle grounds

A great group to explore a Germany city with!

LOVE.

Hello from a castle!

Yeah, had a great weekend. We were all pretty tired afterwards, totally worth it though.

Breakfast:

Greek yogurt banana muffins

PB/Banana chia pudding

Oatmeal with PB2&honey

Greek yogurt with honey & blueberries

Cereal, juice, and toast

Lunch:

Pizza buns with veggies

Tuna salad (with greek yogurt not mayo), crackers, and carrots

Chicken & quinoa salad

PB/J, apple slices

Leftovers

Dinner:

Stir fry chicken and spinach

Italian chicken bake

Honey apple pork tenderloin

5 Ingredient white chicken chili

Leftovers

Snacks:

Homemade Lara balls

Peanut butter granola

PB2 Granola bars

Chopped fruits

Chopped veggies

There you have it!

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. 

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

Life got in the way...

November/December were a bit crazy.  Along with Thanksgiving and Christmas, we also had THREE birthdays in our little group of friends to celebrate...including DELILAH'S!

Yep, Delilah turned 3!  We had a big birthday party at our house...had about 15 kids and a bunch of adults.  It was pretty incredible.  The amount of friends that we have out here just in this short amount of time really warms my heart.   Everyone really made me feel blessed and lucky to have such caring people celebrating my little lovie's birthday!

My beautiful little princess ready for her Frozen birthday!

The food set up in my living room.

Little bit about the birthday girl.

All in all, it was a very successful party.  

So then we had more birthdays and a trip to Trier for a Christmas market!

Gluwein is probably one of the most delicious drinks ever. It tastes even better out of a boot mug.

The boys got a little out of control.

Of COURSE we had to ride the merry go round. 

Before Trier, we also went to Heidelberg for my FIRST Christmas market.  Seriously, Germany is incredible with these.  Magical. 

I actually have a decoration for my house that's like what is in the background, but this one was a Gluwein house!

What a beautiful place to be during Christmastime!

Now it's the New Year, and I've made some resolutions, but I don't want to share them.  Not because I don't think I'm going to follow through, but because they are some things I seriously need to work on.

One I will share is that (whoa, this is so original) I've been going to the gym with my friend Amanda.  I've been working out with her off and on since summer last year, but I've been getting serious and have decided to not only eat healthy, but get my body into shape too.  I'm thin, but I definitely need to work on my strength and flexibility.  

That's all for now, perhaps I'll be better about keeping up with this darn thing.