Fact: When a scoop shop offers red velvet ice cream, I MUST get the red velvet ice cream.
Happy Monday, all! Tomorrow is the first day of autumn, and here in the butt crack of the south we’re *starting* to witness the tiniest hint of the changing seasons. Though still stuck at 95%+ humidity and 70s in the wee hours, the breeze contains a slight shift into the cooler realm rather than feeling like thick, hot air blowing into my face. The afternoons are drier – albeit with some fierce rains the past couple days – and the morning darkness drifts on a bit later.
That is my favorite thing about these next couple months: longer, darker mornings. Until the time change, which just makes me angry. I love little more than sitting in the soft ambient light with a glowing candle, my steaming coffee, and the blue light of the computer blaring in my face.
Ok, one thing is not like the other there.
This week, again, was just full of work-workedy-work. I’ve had to reframe these busy weeks and narrow in on little moments of interest rather than trying to fit a ton into the miniscule amount of time I have to myself. When I’m not at work, I’m generally working on FMG, cooking dinners, cleaning, and dilly dallying through various other tasks Adulthood recommends I do.
So, slowing down may only be for a small fraction of the day, and I’ve had to prioritize what this looks like for me. This time around, swimming provided a short stint of relief. I managed to take Ba to the pool on Monday for a bit of splash time before a big fat storm pummeled through. Saturday was similar: I craved some outside time with J after a frustrating recipe development earlier in the morning.
Case in point: sunshine and splashes generally help, folks.
I treasure J and I’s Sunday ice cream dates when we have them, and this week Chill Bros featured a red velvet ice cream that I HAD to get. As I hinted in the first line of this post. I am a total ho for red velvet and an ice cream flavor of that profile is pretty rare. Dudes, it did not disappoint. Except when it was over. THAT was disappointing.
Good eats…TJs butternut squash mac and cheese with spinach and chicken sausage; soyaki salmon with rice and green beans; a big ole cheeseburger and fries for National Cheeseburger Day on Friday; shawarma chicken sandwiches with tzatziki; and my cute Sunday breakfast of buttery toast with jam, eggs and tofu bacon, and fruit.
I have two extra days off and a couple doctor appointments this week, but those will be pretty easy and I look forward to the spare time I’ll have to just derp. Plus, my eye doc is right by a Ben & Jerrys, so you betcha I’ll be enjoying an overpriced cone after my checkup.
Take care, folks!
The Fuck We Cooking This Week?
…A cozy pumpkin curry!
…Soft pretzels AND an Oktoberfest-inspired board!
…A sweet autumn punch.
…Pumpkin cookies!
A Few Things I’m Digging
Pumpkin sourdough…This new seasonal loaf from Trader Joe’s is just lovely! Thick sliced, lightly spiced, and easy to toast. I’ve spread various toppings like mashed avocado and simple butter and sea salt, and it holds up perfectly to all of them.
Swimming…Eeking out as many midmorning/afternoon splashes as I can before the water cools down too much. I probably have a good month to month and a half left of pool weather, but not a lot of time in that span since I’ve been working A LOT.
Dry hands trick…Some of ya’ll may have a texture ick with this, which I get, but for hands that are cracking and falling apart, this is the only thing that has worked so far. Slather on Vaseline at night, cover hands with cotton socks or gloves (clean ones, obviously), and wear while sleeping. This is coming from someone whose hands have been in pain for the last two weeks, and it works really well.
Notable Food Holidays
Tuesday, 9.22: National White Chocolate Day & National Ice Cream Cone Day (Craving some No Churn Cinnamon Bun Ice Cream and, for the former, some Maple Bourbon Glazed White Chocolate Chip Cookies!)
Friday, 9.25: National Quesadilla Day (Let’s go for an oldie but goodie in these Cheesy Green Chile White Bean Quesadillas. And I should probably develop a new quesadilla recipe, I am quite overdue.)
Saturday, 9.26: National Key Lime Pie Day (I vote some No Churn Key Lime Pie Ice Cream to celebrate.)
This Week’s Menu
Meatless Monday…Spicy Roasted Sweet Potato Feta and Kale Salad
Taco Tuesday…Crispy Buffalo Pumpkin Pinto Bean Tacos
Wednesday…Sweet and Savory Cheddar, Apple, and Caramelized Onion Pizza
Thursday…Creamy Dijon White Wine Salmon
Friday Happy Hour…Apple Crisp Mojito
Saturday Baking…Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes
Sunday Hosting…Gameday Chili
Fall Fashion Wish List
Five Cozy Fall Skillet Recipes
1. Skillet Spinach Ricotta Lasagna Roll-Ups
4. Crispy Spiced Salmon with Caramelized Onion Risotto
5. One Skillet Apple Cider Glazed Salmon and Butternut Squash Pilaf
Week in Training
Monday, 9.14: 10.35 miles, 11:11 pace
Little pacechanger long run to start the week. 2 mile warmup, then 6 miles of 1200m easy with 400m thresholdish. I felt better the longer the run went and actually enjoyed this session! 2ish mile cooldown and some stretching after to finish.
Tuesday, 9.15: 3.5 miles, 11:51 pace + 17 minute lift
Lovely but humid trot this morning, and a quickie gym workout after my shift that was actually kind of fun!
Strength:
- 3 minute warmup of jumping jacks/pushups/squats/plank
- 2 x 10/1 x 5 biceps curl superset with front squats 20#
- 3 x 10 mid row SS sumo squat 60#
- 2 x 20 hammer curl, 10 at 10# and 10 at 15#
- 1 minute deep breathwork
Wednesday, 9.16: 7.15 miles, 10:14 pace + 3.15 miles, 11:01 pace
A confidence-boosting session! Ran 8 x 600m at 10k effort, which is not a lot of volume but it felt much more manageable than I think it would’ve a month or so ago. Averaged 7:44 and was extremely consistent even against the wind. Maybe there is a November 10K in my future?
Little Miss Ba and I enjoyed a pleasant but WINDY run after work!
Thursday, 9.17: 5.05 miles, 12:17 pace + 21 minute lift
My legs were rotten and sore from Tuesday’s lift, which is really annoying considering I didn’t even do that much! The air was less sticky and the wind, albeit annoying, felt pleasant.
Strength:
- 4 x 8 shoulder press 20#
- 3 x 10 triceps pressdown 41#
- 3 x 10 deadlift 80#
- 3 x 10 narrow press 20#
- 3 x 12 walking lunge 30#
- :60 plank
- 5 minute stretch
Friday, 9.18: 4.15 miles, 12:27 pace + 17 minute mobility
Pretty pleasant but windy morning. Ran 9 x 50m hill, no dramatic fun top speed here but I was against a pretty stiff breeze so I’ll forgive myself for that – and, the effort was certainly there! Finished off with a nice stretch in the gym afterwards.
Saturday, 9.19: 12 miles, 11:54 place
Super weird evening Friday night after my neighborhood was put under a shelter-in-place warning. Apparently there was a fire at a sulfur plant nearby, and they took extra precautions in case the air quality was diminished. Really spook. Nonetheless, Saturday morning there was nothing exemplary in the area except maybe a steam cloud from continuing mitigation efforts. My run felt good, I dropped into a nice rhythm despite not sleeping too well.
Total running mileage: 45.3
