Bring it on Monday. That was my Facebook status at 5:40 AM this morning. Woo – hoo. I actually woke up on a Monday morning feeling energized and ready to start the week. I guess it helps to know that I have a three day weekend ahead of me. (I’m hoping for some decent running weather, too. Not warm – just not raining or snowing!)

I got my show on the road with relative ease this morning because I had planned everything the night before. I had packed breakfast and lunch, got my travel coffee mug ready next to the programmed coffee maker (set to start brewing at 5:35 AM). I had my clothes laid out and my gym bag was packed and already in the car (that was SUCH a help this morning – it is quite hard to leave the house with a water bottle, coffee mug, gym bag, lunch bag, and purse / work bag.)

I was headed to work by 6:20 AM and got to work at 7:20. I had breakfast around 8 o’clock this morning. It came in a couple of layers, so I documented two of them. The berries:

(Would you just look at those awesome fresh berries!?!?)

The second layer was Greek yogurt and the third layer was 1/4 cup of Kashi Go Lean Crunch, chia and flax seeds.

(Basically it looked like one big mess. But it was good!)

I had really high hopes for this breakfast. I really thought it would keep me going until lunch at 12:30. No such luck. At 10 o’clock I was starving. I had already had two cups of coffee… I seriously thought about a third. It might have been a better idea. But instead I opted for a 100 calorie Larabar. It did the trick.

At 12 o’clock I went for a 25 minute walk outside. It was about 40 degrees and the wonderful thing was that there was no wind coming off the water which is pretty amazing – it is always windy on our walking path. But today there was complete stillness. It made for a lovely walk and great exercise. I was with two serious walkers, so we went along our way quite briskly.

Lunch was very good. I had a wrap with hummus, mustard, spinach and chicken (from Saturday when my mom roasted the chicken!). The wrap was a Joseph’s flax wrap and it has only 70 calories and I think 7 grams of protein – wow! I also had several baby carrots:

In the afternoon I decided to have a Vitamin C drink. I am such a weirdo when it comes to getting sick. I find myself worried that I might be getting a cold often. Perhaps that is because everyone in my office has had at least two colds this season so far. I have two fun plans already on my weekend schedule (in addition to a planned 9 mile run according to my training schedule – woo!) and I just do not want to get sick. So, Vitamin C drink to the rescue. I will probably be having one of these every day this week:

Afternoon snack because I was still starving:

Organic gala apple and 1 tablespoon of peanut butter.

I left work at 4 o’clock and headed straight to the gym. I hopped on the treadmill, beating out some newbies, and ran 2.8 miles. I cut my scheduled three mile run a little short because I wasn’t wearing my knee brace and that knee was feeling a little weird / vulnerable. I am so not chancing an injury right now. So, anyhow. I was a little disappointed but I did not want to risk it. I showered, changed and headed home. I was really thankful that I went for my 25 minute walk at lunch. It made me feel a little less lame cutting my run short.

I was really lucky tonight because my mom made chicken and dumplings – a classic Southern dish (y’all know we’re southern transplants, right?). It was really good and hit the spot…

I love dumplings from time to time!

Delish! After dinner, I cleaned up the kitchen and then packed my breakfast, lunch and had some tea. I’m sort of exhausted (it’s 10 o’clock and I’m not in bed yet – wow!) so I will catch you all tomorrow. Have a great Tuesday, please!