Mileage Monday

Stats for the week of April 20th - April 26th... I finally made it through my reign of being in charge at work. Thank goodness that is over. I can't tell you how happy I was with my supervisor came back from vacation and I no longer was the one that was hounded with management questions from my co-workers. PHEW! However, once Thursday came and she was back in the building I felt like my body just crashed. It was like during the time she was gone I knew that I had to be at the top of my game and when I finally no longer had to be my body just felt physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted.

Monday, April 20th, 2015 - 19,920 total steps / 7.9 total miles / 511 calories

Tuesday, April 21st, 2015 - 20,007 total steps / 8.0 total miles / 528 calories

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2015 - 25,396 total steps / 8.3 total miles / 628 calories

Thursday, April 23rd, 2015 - 9,991 total steps / 3.4 total miles / 216 calories

Friday, April 24th, 2015 - 8,237 total steps / 2.8 total miles / 150 calories

Saturday, April 25th, 2015 - 2,238 total steps / 1.4 total miles / 79 calories

Sunday, April 26th, 2015 - 1,529 total steps / .9 total miles / 43 calories

Totals for the week : 87,318 total steps / 32.7 total miles / 2,155 calories

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Stuffed Shells

When I ran across this recipe I really didn't think it would turn out that great. It was just something that didn't look too hard and didn't take a lot of ingredients. However, it turned out so much better than I ever expected and Dan even said it was one of the best meals I have ever made! WHAT!

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Stuffed Shells (www.sweetdashofsass.com)

Ingredients

• 1 jar (16 oz) alfredo sauce
• 2 cups canned chicken 
• 2 cups cooked broccoli, chopped
• 1 cup shredded cheddar (or mozzarella) cheese
• 1/4 cup shredding parmesan
• 21 jumbo pasta shells, cooked
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups spaghetti sauce (optional, but I love the combination of alfredo with tomato sauce)
• salt/pepper to season (if needed)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix alfredo, chicken, broccoli, and cheeses.

Spoon mixture into pasta shells.

Grease 13x9 baking dish with butter or cooking spray.

Evenly spread spaghetti sauce on bottom of baking dish.

Arrange shells in baking pan.

Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes until heated thru.

Remember that the noodles need to be cooked prior to stuffing. I cooked them 1-2 minutes under what the package says... that way they will fully cook when baking in the oven!

Dan rated this meal a 4.75 out of 5 stars! He raved about it for weeks!

Mileage Monday

Stats for the week of April 13th - April 19th... My supervisor has been out on vacation which means I've been in charge of our department for the past 12 days! YIKES! This also means the entire building is my responsibility... and that my friends means a tremendous amount of walking! PHEW! I made it through last week without any problems, but dang I came home most nights soooooo tired! All I know is that this job keeps me in good shape!

Monday, April 13th, 2015 - 20,179 total steps / 8 total miles / 521 calories

Tuesday, April 14th, 2015 - 22,865 total steps / 8.2 total miles / 578 calories

Wednesday, April 15th, 2015 - 27,007 total steps / 8.6 total miles / 695 calories

Thursday, April 16th, 2015 - 25,563 total steps / 8.4 total miles / 631 calories

Friday, April 17th, 2015 - 18,390 total steps / 6.3 total miles / 492 calories

Saturday, April 18th, 2015 - 2,002 total steps / 1.3 total miles / 69 calories

Sunday, April 19th, 2015 - 2,191 total steps / 1.3 total miles / 71 calories

Totals for the week : 118,197 total steps / 42.1 total miles / 3,057 calories

Easy Baked Salmon - My Favorite Meal So Far!

If you didn't know... I'm a huge salmon lover. When I go to a restuarant and the salmon isn't too pricey I will almost always pick it! I love it so much and it's also healthy for you! When I came across this recipe I thought to myself... "it doesn't get easier than that!" And that is how this became my most favorite meal I have tackled so far during my cooking experience.

Easy Baked Salmon (www.sixsistersstuff.com) 

Ingredients

• 1 large salmon filet
• 1 bag of frozen brussel sprouts
• 1 bunch of thin asparagus
• 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons of butter
• Garlic salt, salt and pepper, fish seasoning

Place the salmon skin side down in the middle of the pan.

The trick for cooking brussel sprouts is to buy them frozen in the ready to steam bag. Cook them as directed on the package. Once they are cooked put them on one side of the salmon. Place the raw asparagus on the other side of the of the salmon.

Drizzle olive oil over both vegetables and sprinkle with garlic salt.

Sprinkle your salmon with salt, pepper, garlic salt, and fish seasoning. 

Cut your butter into small chunks and place it all on top of your salmon.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes (or until salmon is cooked through - check the thickest spot).

Now you have salmon, and two veggies for dinner! So yummy and good for you!

Dan rated this a 4.5 stars out of 5, but my rating is what matters on this one and I give it a 5!

Try it! I promise you won't regret it!

Mileage Monday

Stats for the week of April 6th - April 12th... Not much to report for this week. It was a short one for me as I had Monday and Tuesday off, then went back to work for three days, and was lucky enough to have the weekend off as well. I felt pretty good all week long except for being so dang tired. I have so much I need to get done yet I find myself coming home and going to bed by 7:30. On the weekends, I sleep for 14-15 hours straight. It's ridiculous! I feel like I am giving so much of myself during the week that when I do have a few days off I just crash. My supervisor is on vacation for the next week and a half so I'm hoping all goes smoothly while I'm in charge. Hope everyone has a great Monday!!!

Monday, April 6th, 2015 - 3,971 total steps / 2 total miles / 115 calories

Tuesday, April 7th, 2015 - 3,418 total steps / 1.9 total miles / 103 calories
 
Wednesday, April 8th, 2015 - 15,640 total steps / 4.5 total miles / 354 calories 

Thursday, April 9th, 2015 - 7,959 total steps / 2.7 total miles / 140 calories

Friday, April 10th, 2015 - 12,053 total steps / 4.1 total miles / 320 calories

Saturday, April 11th, 2015 - 2,075 total steps / 1.3 total miles / 76 calories

Sunday, April 12th, 2015 - 1,996 total steps / 1.3 total miles / 71 calories

Totals for the week : 47,112 total steps / 17.8 total miles / 1,179 calories

Cheesy Hasselback Chicken

I was so excited when I saw this recipe! It looked so pretty yet so easy! It definitely was those two things, but it just didn't taste as fabulous as it looked. Don't get be wrong it was still good, but I guess presentation isn't everything.

Cheesy Hasselback Chicken (www.wearychef.com)

Ingredients

• 4 thick boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4-6 oz. deli-sliced ham, cut into strips about 1" by 2"
• 4 slices cheese, cut into strips about 1" by 2" (colby jack, pepper jack, cheddar, provolone, etc.)
• seasoned salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Slice slits about 1" apart in chicken breasts almost all the way through, leaving the bottom surface connected. Slide strips of ham and cheese into each slit.

Sprinkle chicken liberally with seasoned salt and pepper to taste. Place on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Serve and enjoy!

Dan and I thought this meal looked pretty fancy, but sadly the chicken turned out kind of dry. Dan rated this a 3 stars out of 5.

30 Weeks

As I get closer to the end of my pregnancy... only 10 weeks left but who's counting... I'm having more and more emotions come to the surface. Mainly I'm pretty much terrified at the thought of physically having this baby. I know, I know... millions of women do this all this time, but I am so scared at the thought of pushing this human being out of my body. YIKES! Dan has been really good about giving me encouraging words and promising that he will be right by my side the entire time, which does help with my anxiety (a little bit).

I have increasingly become more uncomfortable and frustrated as time passes. I hate how extremely exhausted I feel all the time, how I can't physically do what I use to, how shaving my legs is almost impossible, how I just plain hurt all over, how I'm suffering from horrible acid reflux, how I have to pee constantly... and the list goes on. I know it's all part of being pregnant and this is something I wanted and feel blessed to be capable of, but it has been a really hard adjustment for me recently when I'm use to living a different way. I also am having a really hard time wrapping my head around that I no longer have any usable muscles in my stomach. My brain can tell my stomach muscles to flex, but there is nothing there to do so. It's a very odd feeling to me. And how long will it take me to get myself back into shape? I'm already looking into the next 5K I can run this summer!

Yes, I'm complaining... and truly I shouldn't be because in the grand scheme of things I have had an easy and healthy pregnancy so far. Life is good and God has blessed me a thousand times over with this amazing experience. I need to soak in every moment that I have because one day I'll look back and wonder where the time went. I am truly grateful even though I may sound like a Negative Nancy.

My sweet Remi Bear saying hello to his baby brother or sister! Goodness I love this dog!

Anyways... back to the stuff you might want to hear about. Currently, our June Bug is the size of a cabbage and weighing in at about 3 lbs. The baby will double or even triple in size up to my due date. When the baby moves... boy do I know it!!! I usually feel it mostly during the evening time when I'm settling down from a long day. It's nice to lay beside Dan and have him feel all the jabs I'm getting. I had my glucose test several weeks ago and passed all my labs just fine, which I was so thankful for because several of my friends who have had babies have not. More recently, I had an appointment and the baby's heartbeat was 158 and I'm measuring right on target. Currently, I have only gained 22 pounds, but it sure feels like a lot more to me. The doctor asked me if I had been having any contractions (which I have been since 5 months along, but they are just Braxton Hicks) and told me that if I start having really hard ones that I need to rest for an hour and if they continue then come in. There has been a lot of talk about pediatricians, touring the hospital, classes I could take, etc. Since I have not been having any problems I will have my next ultrasound at 36 weeks just to ensure there are no surprises before the baby is born and that the head is down.

Other than that, my parents have been a big help with assisting us in arranging the nursery, assembling the crib, and moving all sorts of furniture around since I'm pretty worthless with lifting anything at this point. For the most part Dan and I have things where we want them to go, we just need to hang shelving and pictures up to finish it up. I'm sure there will be a nursery post come along when we are ready to show it off. 

I think that is all the news I have to share with you right now. The time is getting closer and closer so I will try to make sure to update you as I find things out along the way.

Celebrating Baby Logan

If you were to walk around our place of employment you would probably think to yourself... "Don't drink the water" because there is definitely several of us ladies who are pregnant and waddling around the building. One of the good things about this is that we have a lot to celebrate and recently we did just that for our Assistant Director of Nursing!! Here are some pics of her "work" baby shower.

Our building is very large and often times you really don't get to build relationships with your co-workers because you are constantly on the move and just don't see one another. It was nice to take an hour and celebrate Baby Logan and him coming into the world soon! Plus his soon to be momma is super sweet! Love you Jenny!

Mileage Monday x 2

Stats for the week of March 23rd - March 29th... And once again I'm behind on my blogging! How does this happen people! Too many other things on my mind I suppose and an insanely busy schedule. Anyways... I have still been truckin' along and walking a lot! I have a feeling that walking will not be something that brings on labor for me because my body is so use to it :)

Monday, March 23rd, 2015 - 9,719 total steps / 3.3 total miles / 200 calories

Tuesday, March 24th, 2015 - 8,199 total steps / 2.7 total miles / 143 calories
 
Wednesday, March 25th, 2015 - 13,352 total steps / 4.3 total miles / 347 calories

Thursday, March 26th, 2015 - 9,891 total steps / 3.4 total miles / 214 calories

Friday, March 27th, 2015 - 10,478 total steps / 3.9 total miles / 241 calories

Saturday, March 28th, 2015 - 13,292 total steps / 4.2 total miles / 357 calories

Sunday, March 29th, 2015 - 10,003 total steps / 3.5 total miles / 211 calories

Totals for the week : 74,934 total steps / 25.3 total miles / 1,713 calories

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Stats for the week of March 30th - April 5th... I was so thankful to see this week come along. It was the week that my 7 days of vacation started and that was such a blessing. When you work the way I have been for the past year you get really burnt out after awhile. The first day I had off started on Wednesday and then I will go back on Wednesday of this upcoming week. I had lots of stuff I wanted to accomplish this week around the house, but exercising wasn't one of them. My feet got a rest!

Monday, March 30th, 2015 - 10,971 total steps / 3.6 total miles / 225 calories

Tuesday, March 31st, 2015 - 7,249 total steps / 2.9 total miles / 156 calories
 
Wednesday, April 1st, 2015 - 5,640 total steps / 2.4 total miles / 148 calories

Thursday, April 2nd, 2015 - 3,581 total steps / 1.9 total miles / 102 calories

Friday, April 3rd, 2015 - 2,053 total steps / 1.3 total miles / 65 calories

Saturday, April 4th, 2015 - 1,910 total steps / 1.3 total miles / 62 calories

Sunday, April 5th, 2015 - 2,296 total steps / 1.4 total miles / 78 calories

Totals for the week : 33,700 total steps / 14.8 total miles / 836 calories