Okay, Now I Feel Like It’s A New Year

Back to work today! Ah man! I am trying to be positive about it, ya know new year and all. It always takes a little extra effort and pep talk after a long weekend though. It is also a little chilly out this morning – coldest day we have had yet at a blustery (kidding) 15 degrees.

I somewhat have this weird feeling like today is the official kickoff of 2012 because I am back to work and routine, so I have this feeling of really needing to kick things up a notch.

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Yesterday I did get my first run in of the year, and I did something ambitious for myself, I ran outside rather than on the treadmill. I also tried out the MapMyRun app on my phone to keep track of how long I ran for, my pace, distance, etc. Since I dont ever run outside this was new to me, and I liked it. Though it was nice and sunny, it was pretty windy and a bit chilly so I did wear a sweatshirt with a hood to keep my ears warm.

And Kona rocked a fur coat…lucky for her, brown is totally in right now.

I dont think she has been cold since we have been here. And of course the one time I am trying to pick up the pace she is extra curious and has to stop and sniff every pee spot from every dog. Luckily she got a harness for Christmas which makes it much easier to pull her along.

Even though I started the Couch to 5k program a couple of weeks ago, I decided just to start at week one again (we will chalk the first go around as an extra warm up ) being that we are at the beginning of the year, why not consider it a clean slate? So I did my minute and 30 seconds walking, and minute jogging. It went fairly smooth, and I am pretty sure brown dog enjoyed the extra pace rather than just my usual steady walk with her.

I ended with about 1.4 miles. Though running is a goal of mine this year, overall fitness is a more important goal for me and I want my main focus to be on making it to training 3x per week and I will work a running schedule around that. Running will definitely take place on the weekends since he currently only does training M-F (and I typically dont go to training Friday nights either).

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Torrance had to work yesterday (ha!) but he ended up getting off early because most of his clients had the day off anyway. He got home right after I had took Kona on a run and I was scavenging the kitchen for lunch.

I decided on a toasted turkey and cheese sandwich with lettuce and tomato and a side of grapes.

I spent most of the day relaxing and when it was finally time for dinner, I felt like making something a little different. I had picked up some scallops at the grocery store per Torrance’s request – he is a scallop lover, I like them a little, in smaller doses (they are a little rich for me). Since I usually only eat a couple of them and they were a little smaller, I decided to cook up some little steaks I had to go with.

The scallops turned out really good, but the steaks… not so much – I just really prefer steaks done on a grill – and I did a seared and broiled version which was only so-so and I only ended up eating about half of mine.

Served with green beans, tomatoes, and cous cous.

The scallops were actually super easy to do, and they turned out great.

All I did was melt a little butter (I used an olive oil base butter) and minced garlic in the microwave. Then, dipped the scallops in the mixture and placed on a cookie sheet, topped with a little black pepper and bacon bits (the crunch is a nice texture change) and baked in a 450 degree oven for about 6 minutes and then another minute on broil.

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I am off to get ready for work and make some breakfast!

I know you all are probably “recapped out” with all of the recaps of 2011, etc but I will be posting my December Recap later today, something I started last month to summarized some of the highlights on the blog of the prior month – you can view November’s here.

Have a great day!

• Do you like scallops?
• When were/or are you back to work or school?