Welcome weekend!

I'm glad it's the weekend. A few days rest then back to work again. There are no races planned this weekend but I signed up for a last minute 5k for next weekend. (Am I addicted to this running thing?) The mayor in Nashville has challenged the city of Nashville to walk/run a 5k with him. It's a free event and takes place in downtown Nashville. I'm looking forward to the challenge! I think it's great Mayor Dean is taking steps to make Nashville a healthier place to live. The south has a reputation of obesity and this is a great way to change that. Here's more information about the challenge:
Mayor's 5k Challenge

Nashville Centennial Park

Here is a map of the course: http://maps.nashville.gov/Mayors5K_Challenge/

But this weekend I will rest and enjoy time with my family. Tonight we are playing Rock Band in our living room and having a blast! I hope to spend some time with my one week old grand-daughter too!

Phoenix

I Welcome the Weekend

It's been a long week for me. So I welcome the weekend with open arms. Do you have some exciting plans? I need to rest up for a busy upcoming week. And believe it or not, school starts back this week. Where did the summer go? I suppose back to school shopping should begin soon. I don't have little ones, but a teenager in high school. So I don't have to get the markers, fiskars scissors, and crayons. For my kid, buying new clothes will be on her agenda. Thank goodness Tennessee has a Tax Free Weekend beginning August 5th.

First things first....it's time for some cardio. Zumba, Body Pump or Tae Bo? Let me decide.

Here is my weekly report. I was successful in sticking to my exercise schedule and healthy eating plan for the week. I was able to get some good workouts in and I kept my food log every day. I've been able to stay under my daily calories goal, even if that means adding a cardio workout in the evening. Seriously, I haven't had any problems staying within my limits. In fact, some days I have had trouble eating enough calories. My Fitness Pal has helped me stay on track and I love it.

Last night, I had my monthly massage at Massage Envy. What a wonderful way to end a stressful week!  There's not much better than a massage followed by a glass of Merlot on a Friday night. I slept like a baby.

Now, it's time for me to get started with my cardio. I hope your weekend rocks!

Friday Family Fun

After work on Friday, my family and I attended a baseball game in Nashville. We went with the MTSU alumni association. Its a great deal! A barbeque dinner was included with our ticket. We usually go to this event every year, and were not disappointed again this year. Here are some pictures:

Me and Jan'a

The girls were too cool to sit with us!

Me and my honey

The girls eating barbeque

I'm glad that even though my girls are almost grown, they still enjoy spending time with us. I love family time!

Have a great weekend!

A wonderful wedding weekend

I had a wonderful weekend in Alabama with my mom and sister. We attended a beautiful wedding and stayed in a great lodge located on a golf course, called Farmlinks in Sylacauga, AL. The lodge had 8 bedrooms so other members of our family stayed there too. The wedding was onsite so it was very convenient. We stayed in the Parker Lodge. It was very comfortable. Here are some pictures I took.

Great Room at Parker Lodge

View from Parker Lodge

We were escorted to the wedding in a golf cart, the VIP treatment! It was an outdoor wedding so we had been praying that the rain would hold off at least until after the ceremony. It did begin lightly raining soon after the ceremony began, but it didn't last very long. The ceremony was beautiful!

After the ceremony, we were transported to the reception area which took place under tents that were decorated beautifully.

Me and my sister waiting for the reception to begin

 The dinner was wonderful. I was happy there were several options to choose from. I decided on shrimp with grits, chicken tenders and lots of grilled vegetables. The asparagus was excellent. The beverages served were iced tea and lemonade served in mason jars, typical for a southern wedding.

My dinner plate - shrimp with grits, chicken tenders with jalepeno sauce and lots of veggies and fresh fruit

The wedding cake!

My mom

The reception was lovely. There was a live band named Act of Congress. I enjoyed watching the first dance of the bride and groom and the dance between my cousin and her dad (my uncle).  It was very sweet!

Bride dancing with her dad

My sister and I decided that our uncle looks a lot like Steve Martin in the movie, Father of the Bride. He didn't seem to mind that comparison. That happens to be one of my favorite movies!

After the wedding festivities, we came back to the lodge to hang out with our family. It was a lot of fun. After a restful night, we met at the Clubhouse for brunch on Sunday morning before leaving Farmlinks. The weekend was a lot of fun, even though the road trip was a short one.

Welcome Weekend!

I'm glad the weekend is here! Even though it was a short work week for me, it seemed to last forever. Tonight I did my cross training workout. It was a breeze compared to my running workouts. I biked almost 6 miles on the stationary bike and followed that with strength training. I ate a healthy dinner while the rest of my family had fast food. I'm proud of ME!

I have a busy weekend planned. Tomorrow I am visiting the college I graduated from for Alumni Day in the MTSU Recreation Center. All alumni members and their families can attend for free and use the facilities which include an indoor and outdoor pool. Nice! I also plan on doing my running workout on the track to take a break from the treadmill.

Later in the day, I have an appointment for a much needed massage at Massage Envy. I am looking forward to that! I've had two migraines this week and the best medicine for that is a massage.

On Sunday, I plan on attending church in the morning with my parents, resting in the afternoon and surprising my sister by going to hear her sing her first solo in her church choir. That should be wonderful.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and do something to pamper yourself! You deserve it! Summer is here and there's so much to do. Be sure and stay hydrated if its as hot in your area as it is here! The south officially has a heat wave!

Welcome to Gina's pancake kitchen!

It's a beautiful Saturday morning. The sun is shining and it looks like it will be a beautiful day. My daughter, Whitney has been wanting pancakes all week so I decided to get up and make pancakes for the family.

Tiger is enjoying the sunshine. This is one of his favorite places.

I made a batch of regular pancakes for everyone else and added a few more things for my pancake. Since my family isn't into the healthy eating thing like I am, sometimes I have to prepare my food separately. I added frozen blueberries and flaxseed to the batter. It turned out great!

To go along with the pancakes, I made scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage.

And of course, COFFEE!

Tiger seems a little anxious for breakfast to get finished....

Now that breakfast is done, I'm going to see what I can do today to enjoy the sunshine. It has been rainy and chilly here all week. I welcome the sunshine and hope it decides to stay. I hope to add some walking or jogging to my day, as well.

Enjoy your weekend!!

Weekend pictures

I thought this post was going to be great with the pics. But for some reason, my pics are not posting! They are visible when drafting, but when I publish they disappear. I am somewhat frustrated! I have tried several times and I can't get this to work.

Here are some pics of my weekend fun!  I hope you had a great weekend too.

Me and my hubby at the Predators hockey game

interesting Preds fans!

Whitney eating lunch at our favorite Mexican place!

Jambalya at Big River Grille in Nashville

March Madness

Are you a college basketball fan? At our house, we filled out our brackets and are watching ALL the games. The NCAA tournament takes priority in our house! It's my husband's favorite time of the year and I can honestly say that I enjoy it too. But my bracket picks aren't doing so well. Our favorite team is Gonzaga. Luckily our team won in the first round. I hope they keep winning. Let's GO ZAGS!

John & his sister at Gonzaga for a ballgame

We are having lovely weather in Tennessee. It was in the 80's today. I took off half a day early to enjoy the sunshine! And to watch some college hoops, of course. I believe grilling out a little later will be on our agenda. I have already been to the grocery store for grilling supplies.

I'm glad its the weekend. I plan on spending some time outdoors. Maybe a nice outdoor run in the morning. What are your weekend plans?