Good evening! I must admit that I was in a very sour mood around 6:30.  I went to the gym intending to do 45 minutes of cross training, but after 1 minute on the elliptical, I knew I was going to have to leave.  My right knee seriously felt like it was being put through a meat grinder.

If there is one thing I’ve learned from being injured, it’s that one workout is not worth potentially losing weeks of training.  In hindsight, I wish I had listened to my body more and rested when my knee and leg hurt instead of plowing through a 10 miler because it was on my schedule.

LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES!  Seriously.

So, I left the gym at 6:31 after a hot minute on the elliptical.  I decided the least I could do was get some wedding-related errands.  Every time I visualize my wedding, I picture LOADS of candles.  I went to the local craft store (AC Moore) to see if they were having a sale….. and it turns out, THEY ARE GOING OUT OF BUSINESS! Everything was 30% – 50% off!

It was like I hit the wedding jackpot:

I bought 36 candle votive holders to place on the tables; candles for the votives; 6 hurricane glasses and 6-inch pillar candles to be scattered around the reception room and the outdoor patio; and calligraphy pens so I can write out the place cards in fancy script.

Total cost: $80.00!   WOOOO HOOO!  So much candlelight for such a low price!

I also picked up a French Vanilla candle for our coffee table. 🙂

Dinner – 9 Minutes or Less

By the time I returned home from my shopping cardio, I was starving.  I threw together one of my favorite dinners in about 9 minutes (almost as fast as drive thru and waayyyy tastier!).

I made "baked" sweet potato (microwaved for 6 minutes) smothered in black beans.

If you have not tried this seriously divine combo, you must! So quick, so easy, so cheap, AND so nutritious!

And on the side I had a wonderful spinach salad with a plum tomato and cucumber.

Mid-Day Snacks

Work has been particularly hellish, but I see it slowing down in a few weeks. "Slowing down" is not good for my job security.  We’ll see what happens (that was cryptic, huh?).

Around 2 PM, I had a WW pita with a slice of ham and broiled cheddar cheese.  So savory!

And later I had a banana + yogurt + PB, all mushed together.

Off to watch The Biggest Loser!  I’m sorry if I don’t respond to any of your lunch-time or dinner-time comments until tomorrow, I need to unwind…. desperately!

Sleep tight!