11/15/2009 14:27
Habitual
I've discovered one other downside about a lot of travel. Spending so much time in airplanes with recycled air greatly increases the chances of catching some bug and then being down for the count. I got back from Tbilisi, Georgia on Thursday morning and have had a particularly gross cold since then. It's pretty awesome to be sitting on the couch hawking up green chunky snot balls. Thankfully, I think I've gotten over the worst of it, thanks to spending most of yesterday napping, waking intermittently to do umpteen gazillion loads of laundry. D and I have a deal, you see. He takes main responsibility for the dishes (which I loathe) and I do most of the laundry. Unfortunately, as he's had to work most of this weekend, I seem to have gotten stuck with both, in between naps!
Now that the travel is going to slow down for a while, it's time to get serious about getting back into a fitness routine. Given that we're getting close to the holidays, it seems like there's something nearly every night, which makes going to the gym after work a real challenge. Last year around this time, I managed to haul my lazy butt to the gym every morning before work. It helped that D was traveling during the week then, so I didn't have a man-sized electric blanket tempting me to stay in bed! Nevertheless, I figure if I've done it once, I can do it again. I've been stuck at the same weight for a long time, and I'd like to shake it up. Truth be told, I don't care if the numbers move on the scale, but I feel like I'm getting jigglier around the midsection which I don't like. I have to get beach-body-ready, as we're going to be in lovely summery Australia in six short weeks.
So it's back to tracking on The Daily Plate, it's back to a regular gym routine. I'm a creature of habit . . . I just need to get the habits going again!
*** Edited to Add ***
In addition to spending the day at home in pajamas loafing about and doing laundry, I have also just made the most delicious (and relatively healthy!) breakfast bars and need to share them with you all. They're a Nigella Lawson recipe from Nigella Express, which is a great cookbook. The measurements are in grams, but I'm sure you US folk are smart and can do the conversions - I promise you it's worth it! D and I have been exclaiming over how good these are for most of the afternoon.
Breakfast Bars
1 x 397g can condensed milk
250g rolled oats (not instant)
75g shredded coconut
100g dried cranberries
125g mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame)
125g natural unsalted peanuts
Preheat the oven to 130C and oil a 23 x 33 x 4 cm baking tin or use a throwaway foil on.
Warm the condensed milk in a large pan. Meanwhile, mix together all the other ingredients and then add the warmed condensed milk, using a rubber or wooden spatula to fold and distribute. Spread the mixture into the tin and press down with the spatula or, better still, your hands (wearing disposable vinyl gloves to stop you sticking), to even the surface.
Bake for 1 hour, then remove from the oven and, after 15 minutes, cut into four across and four down to make 16 chunky bars. Let cool completely.
YUMMY!