I had a great Monday. It felt sort of strange. I had a good commute to work, I had a great day at work, and the day went by rather quickly. It so did not feel like a Monday – but I will certainly take it!

[On a side note: It is so cold in my house right now that it is hard for me to type. 57 degrees. I just turned on the heat. It is almost April. I cannot wait for spring.]

This morning I took the train, and I broke one of my most stead fast commuting habits. I brought coffee with me on the train! I sipped it and read on my iPhone (caught up on some other food blogs) and then read on my nook. This morning I finished the sample of The Weird Sisters. Note to the publishers: the sample is not long enough. 🙂 I then started reading The Inner Circle by Brad Meltzer. I have not finished it yet – it was a nice and long sample, which I really appreciated. But now that I am home, I am going to continue reading At Home: A Short History of Private Life by one of my favorites – Bill Bryson. I have the hardcover copy, so I will not be lugging it on the train anytime soon.

Bringing coffee with me on the train was a big help on my commute this morning. I know I saved a few minutes by not having to go into South Station to order my usual medium morning blend coffee. I also saved a couple of dollars 🙂

I got to work at 8 this morning. I had breakfast around 9:15. This morning I enjoyed a Chobani greek yogurt – their new lemon flavor. I have stopped buying Greek yogurt lately. I love how much protein it has, but I just am not all that into greek yogurt. I cannot really explain it to you. I guess I’m just more of a Stoneyfield old fashioned yogurt gal. Is that ok? Well, I guess it has to be – because that is what I am! That said…

I really enjoyed this lemon flavored Chobani and loved that it had 15 grams of protein in it. I added my usual granola and mixed it all together. (the granola has pumpkin seeds and flax seeds – two super foods!)

I will definitely get this yogurt again – but it was hard to find it the first time. I had been searching for a couple of weeks.

At lunch I made a conscious effort to get out and go for a walk. I knew that today was my day off from working out, so I wanted to make sure that I got some movement and sunshine exposure during my lunch break. I went for a twenty minute walk and picked up a Starbucks latte which was really good and gave me a bit of a pick me up on a Monday – much needed.

Lunch was great. A huge salad with spinach, red pepper, tomatoes, mushrooms and carrots:

I also had a small piece of the whole wheat, thin crust pizza which I forgot to photograph. I was starving by the time I sat down to eat. But I ate slowly and enjoyed my lunch because it was soo good.

I have to tell you about this dressing which is my favorite. A tad bit of sesame oil, a tad bit of apple cider vinegar, a small smidge of salt and a sprinkle of sugar. It is such a great dressing!! A lot lighter than the traditional olive oil and balsamic, I think. I love both types of dressings, but I’ve been really digging this sesame and apple cider dressing. Loving it, actually.

One of my friends brought some of her homemade banana bread in to work today. I had a half a piece – and it was amazing. She is going to bring in the recipe tomorrow (I hope she remembers)!

It was a great afternoon snack.

I left work at 4:30 and hauled my butt to South Station to get on to the 5 o’clock train. I thought the train was at 5:05 PM. Good thing I was a few minutes early because the train left the station at 5 o’clock. Oops. I have really got to get this train schedule right in my head. Seriously.

Anyhow. I walked very briskly to South Station. I was walking against the freezing cold wind, and it added some huge resistance to my walking effort. I definitely felt like I got some exercise by walking this 1.2 miles. I was glad to get two walks in on my day off from the gym.

I enjoyed a mellow train ride home. I read, listened to music and chatted with a few friends via my iPhone. It was a multimedia ride for sure.

When I walked into the house I knew I needed a snack ASAP. I was starving (why does public transit make me so hungry all the time??) I whipped up some hummus, added a few whole wheat crackers and sliced up some carrot sticks. It was a great snack. I also poured myself a glass of cabernet sauvignon – much deserved after a great Monday.

My mom came home from the gym bearing a gift – dinner. She bought one of my favorite sandwiches from East Side Market. I was so pleased to have a great sandwich for dinner.

Turkey, tomato, lettuce and awesome homemade bread. This half a sandwich was so satisfying.
It’s been a long but good day. I hope you have all had a great Monday, too. See you tomorrow!