Check out this perfection:

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).

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

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. 

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.

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. 

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

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 Joint.  The Huz and I went to Java Joint the last time we were in Palm Coast as well!

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.

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!

The salad was pretty good, too!

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.

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!

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!

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

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.

 

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:

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.

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!