Hi guys – how is everyone holding up? I hope my at home activities for toddlers post was helpful for those of you also currently entertaining little ones at home all day long… 🙂
My week has been pretty up and down. A few days I felt positive and upbeat about our new reality – so much extra time with Riese! this great weather! more sleep since I’m not doing 6 a.m. workout classes in person! nowhere to rush off to! – and then other days I felt pretty down in the dumps, really grieving our normal social lives/routines and feeling so much empathy and sadness for everyone that is struggling right now, be it physically, financially, or mentally.
It sounds like this up and down emotion is pretty universal right now… I’m doing my best to focus on the positives when possible and to cultivate gratitude for how fortunate our situation is in the grand scheme of things. One of those super grateful moments? Yesterday, which is normally one of my two workdays when we’d have a sitter come, it was gorgeous outside and Riese and I discovered a cool new trail that’s walking distance from our house. It was the best morning, and I was so glad to be out there with her.
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Something else that really helped my morale this week was to have a couple fun fitness dates with Matt! Matt’s younger brother Drew and his wife Morgana work in the fitness industry in NYC and have worked hard to quickly pivot and launch live virtual fitness classes as a way to still make money while the gyms where they normally teach are closed.
Matt and I took two of Drew’s morning classes this week and it was so much fun to actually work out together because normally Matt and I don’t do that these days, and the endorphins helped me big time for the rest of the day, too.
Riese actually joined us for about the first 10 minutes and was so cute following everything Drew was doing on the screen!
This is my new favorite photo (my sister-in-law grabbed it when she saw Riese was in on the action).
After about 10 minutes Riese was over it and we set her up in front of Daniel Tiger and everyone was happy. 🙂
If you want to join for one of Drew or Morgana’s future virtual classes, just let me know – all are welcome! The classes are 45 minutes long, led via Zoom, and $10 per person.
I also did another virtual run date this week – this morning my friend Kathleen and I talked on the phone while we both ran. It was super nice to have “company”… not only because it made the run feel much more fun and easy, but also because it made me actually get out there/make it happen. Accountability!
It has felt good to follow more of a consistent morning workout routine again this week – definitely planning to do so moving forward as well since I’ve noticed it makes a big difference in my mood!
And now, let’s talk food from the week!
First up: taco night! Matt and I have decided we need to do taco night every week because it’s so awesome. Also: this fork idea to hold up tacos was his idea and it’s genius. These tacos had ground beef and pinto beans cooked in Mexican seasoning, plus cheese, wilted baby spinach (chopped and then stirred into the beef/bean mixture at the end of cooking), and green peppers. So good. Don’t forget to toast your taco shells (before filling them) in the oven or toaster oven – it makes them so much more delicious.
Another yummy dinner from the week was a Sun Basket (<- affiliate link for $40 off if you want to try it) pappardelle with pan seared chicken, ricotta, spinach, and peas. It was good – really creamy and rich!
Another Sun Basket dinner: seared garlic shrimp with Spanish rice.
The shrimp was really good – love garlicky shrimp! The sauce was minced garlic, a splash of sherry vinegar, a drizzle of olive oil, and some chopped parsley.
And the rice was cooked with some pre-sauteed onion and red pepper in the mix. It was supposed to be simmered in water, but I used bone broth instead because it’s always more delicious!
Last night’s dinner was Mexican take out from our fave spot in Del Ray – yum. Love their lime marinated beef fajitas… and their guac and chips!
As for breakfasts this week, we did a lot of toast with nut butter, avocado toast, and high protein oatmeal. I also enjoyed our leftover roasted potatoes from the weekend with a fried egg and blueberries one day.
Lunches were mostly dinner leftovers or random leftovers from the freezer, but we also ordered Sweetgreen salads one day and another day picked up Italian subs from the deli down the street.
I will leave you guys with this picture of the sweet castle situation that Matt and I built with kinetic sand. Riese was only moderately impressed. 😉
Thank you for those of you who have taken the time to pop into the comments and let me know that my lifestyle food/fitness recaps have lifted your spirits and provided a sense of normalcy – it means a lot to me to help, even in a very small way. I hope you have a nice weekend and I will see you back here on Monday with a recap of what we get into!
