A Mini Vacay

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Check out this perfection:

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I love Florida!

 

Our mini vacay at our in-laws’ was very nice and relaxing.  I got a run in, we rode bicycles, and I even got to sleep in! Yay!

 

Friday Evening

 

I left immediately after work to drive 1.5 hours to the in-laws.  I packed a little ziploc baggie of carrots to hold me over until dinner.  Eating these in front of Maggie was basically the equivalent of torturing her, but she can’t eat in the car (she yaks).

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After arriving, the Husband (who was already there) handed me a sensibly-sized glass of red wine.  Yum!

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My mother-in-law made a very delicious and interesting dinner.  The main dish was a Shepherd’s Pie fish casserole that contained white fish filets, veggies, and hard boiled eggs

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It was a very rich entree, so I tried to fill up my plate with steamed veggies.

 

Dessert was a-maz-ing.  My mother-in-law proudly presented a divine Apple Crumble, proclaiming that she made it as "healthy as possible" for me!  She used whole wheat flour, organic butter and milk, and didn’t add extra sugar to the apple filling.

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I had a small piece with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  It was QUITE HARD not to go back for a second portion, but I sat on my hands and restrained myself! 🙂

 

Saturday (Today!)

 

We woke up today at 8:00 AM!  The little puppies let us sleep in — it was wonderful. 

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I made the Husband and myself a wonderful batch of banana oatmeal.  My portion contained:

 

  • 1/2 cup oatmeal
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 sliced banana
  • Toppings:  Pecans, Granola

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We actually had an appointment with our Accountant this morning at 9:30.  I’m SO happy our taxes are done!  We actually got a load of money back as well, which is always nice.  I usually put off my taxes until…. uhhh…. April 14th, so this was a nice feeling.

 

We headed back to the house and met up with the in-laws for lunch at their absolute favorite restaurant, the Java JointThe Huz and I went to Java Joint the last time we were in Palm Coast as well!

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Beachside dining = perfection!  I actually saw a SHARK in the ocean.  It was riding a wave into the shoreline — ahhh!!

 

I started off lunch with a Skinny Vanilla Latte.  For my meal, I ordered the Cuban Sandwich.

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I kindly asked the waitress to make some modifications to my Cuban Sandwich so it was a little bit more healthy.  I asked that they not butter the bread, and I asked for a side salad instead of fries.

 

Cuban Sandwiches have ham, Swiss cheese, and pickles, so you know I love them!

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The salad was pretty good, too!

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After lunch, we hung out at the house for a few hours.  I napped a little bit in a big, squishy chair while the doggies played around me.  Maggie and James love visiting my in-laws.

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When I woke up from my nap around 3:30, I had a pre-workout snack. Meghann ate a delicious "trail mix" the other day that totally inspired this snack!

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This mix contained: 1 Ghirardelli dark chocolate wedge, a handful of mini Shredded Wheat, and about 10 pecans.

 

After my snack digested, I went on a run on the nature trail.  It’s right along the intracoastal, which is so beautiful.  I love staring at the ocean as I run!

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There’s a portion of the trail that’s a boardwalk over a mangrove swamp.  Very Floridian!

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I did three miles, and then I looped back to the house to grab the Husband (he hates running).  We hopped on the in-laws’ bicycles for a loop around the community.

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Here are my statistics for the run + bicycle:

 

  • Duration: 1 hour, 6 minutes (3.0 miles + bike)
  • Average Heart Rate: 129 bpm
  • Maximum Heart Rate: 184 bpm
  • Calories Burned:  391

 

It was a great workout, and I am happy to say that I *think* my new shoes are comfortable! Knock on wood!

 

I immediately re-fueled with a fun snack platter:

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I had 1 serving of pretzel crackers, organic PB, and mixed fruit.  Delish!

 

Then, we drove back to Orlando (in separate cars; boo!).  After unloading the cars, I started on dinner.  We have all this food that is on the verge of going off, so I made a mish-mash dinner.

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Dinner included: brown rice, pinto beans, 1/2 a sweet potato, and broc.  Sometimes, all I’m craving is a warm vegetarian meal!

 

So… it’s 8:15 on a Friday night, and I’m POOPED!  See you tomorrow morning for a gloriously long run!

{ 20 comments }

 

  • ashley (sweetandnatural) January 31, 2009, 6:34 pm

    Yay vacations! Looks like you had a great time. I love the Florida scenery pictures. 🙂

  • Erica January 31, 2009, 6:36 pm

    Gorgeous! looks like so much fun. The apple crips looks amazing as well-yayyy for your MIL!

  • VeggieGirl January 31, 2009, 6:41 pm

    INCREDIBLE!!

  • chasedaylight January 31, 2009, 6:43 pm

    Yay for Palm Coast! I’ve never been but I hear it’s great! Looks like you had SO much fun getting away for a little bit. Enjoy your evening!

  • Meg January 31, 2009, 7:07 pm

    What a fun weekend! It looks beautiful there. ENJOY!

  • Trust, Hope, Believe January 31, 2009, 7:08 pm

    Sounds like you had a great weekend!! Florida looks so prettyyyy! I’m stuck here with all the snow haha! Yay that your running shoes are feeling good 🙂

  • Mica January 31, 2009, 7:42 pm

    Oooh, what a fun mini vacation! I’m totally jealous like WHOA! (Sun? Warmth? Ocean? What are these things of which you speak?)

    Maggie, as always, looks a little confused. 🙂

  • Erin January 31, 2009, 8:00 pm

    Looks like a wonderful weekend!
    Love the lunch and snack plate!

  • brandi January 31, 2009, 8:03 pm

    Glad the mini vacay was fun!

    It’s beautiful there!

  • strongandhealthy January 31, 2009, 8:40 pm

    What a fun day! Beautiful pics!

  • molly January 31, 2009, 8:45 pm

    That looks so amazingly fun! I wish I had a beach to run next to 🙂

  • Meredith (Pursuing Balance) January 31, 2009, 8:51 pm

    What a great little vacay! It looks like you had amazing weather for it too!

  • Elizabeth (thelongweigh) January 31, 2009, 8:56 pm

    I looks beautiful there! I loooove the beach. How fun! I’m glad you had a good time and everything looks great!

  • Maggie January 31, 2009, 9:20 pm

    If I lived in Florida Cuban Sammies would be the one thing that keeps me from being vegetarian – YUM.

  • Nicole (anotheronebitesthecrust.wordpress.com) January 31, 2009, 10:33 pm

    It looks like a fabulous mini vacation! I’m jealous that you get to run along such a beautiful path!!

    Your dinner is one of my favorites! I love all my favorite, simple foods put together 🙂

  • Elina January 31, 2009, 10:34 pm

    What a nice little vacation!
    I love that Maggie loves carrots… like mother like daughter 😉
    Delicious foods and very healthy! I totally get into vacation mentality (read: unhealthy eating) even if it’s a one day thing so I’m impressed when others are able to eat well on vacation. I need to remember to ask for no butter next time I get a sandwich out!

  • Laura January 31, 2009, 10:42 pm

    I’m glad you’ve had such a great time! I would love to be able to run along the beach this time of year! I’m jealous of the fact you’re getting a lot of money back. Meh, taxes don’t have me happy this year.

    And don’t worry, rum will make it’s way into my tropical smoothie at some point. 😉

  • Sarah (lovINmytummy) January 31, 2009, 10:56 pm

    It looks so warm and fab in Florida!

    Glad those new shoes are working out for you and yay for having taxes done EARLY (the sooner we can start spending the return)!

    Have a great rest of the weekend.

  • ChickPea January 31, 2009, 11:32 pm

    Everything looks fabulous: the scenery, the pups, and oh yeah, the eats:) Hope you’re having fun!

  • talesofexpansion February 1, 2009, 11:14 am

    what a perfect setting for your outdoor workout!! when i finally finish grad school, i am so booking it out of ny and heading south!

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