Mihani - good job on your ETL eating. Do you shred your own beets? I love beets but hate the mess in cooking them.

Carla - I hate the heat. I am having to go to the YMCA and spin bike or walk in order to exercise if I am not out of the house bright and early. It is hot and very humid (81%) here. Can't wait to go to Canada end of July.

Karrie - I love Copic markers. I don't have them as they are so expensive. When we lived in California the classes I took had copics. I have Spectrum Noir pens but I would rather have Copics. Craft stuff is so hard to organize.

I am back on my healthy eating after a few days off.
Breakfast - Cantaloupe and coffee.
Lunch - salad with beans
Dinner - roasted vegetables and maybe veggie black bean burger w/ avocado and heated berries & almond slices for dessert.

Donna, I peel beets and throw them through the food processor with the shredding blade. I often wear kitchen gloves when peeling/cleaning, especially if my hands are chapped. One time I ended up with beet stains in the cracks in my skin lol. I like them roasted, but they are so good raw in salads. Nice job on the workouts and menu.

I agree about the heat Carla... UGH. It is so humid too. Hope work lets up a bit for you so you can get back to spinning!

Still doing well with eating "mostly" ETL this week. Have let a few pretzels and such slip by, but having all my salad stuff and roasted veggies prepped has kept me from going too far off track.

Mihani - that is a great idea to wear gloves! I do have a spiralizer that I could try but I like small beet cubes in a salad.

Carla - the spin bike is a great way to work up a sweat. I don't do the spin classes anymore because the music is very loud and a lot of rap. When I lived in Colorado there was an excellent Spinning gym with classes taught by elite cyclist. They used spinning as a way to keep in shape during the winter. They were all about cycling technique. Now most classes are taught by aerobic teachers who do a lot of jumping up and down to music and more likely to get injured. I am so lucky our club has spin bikes out in the open for people to use and not just a room where you can only use the bikes in a class. My husband actually got certified to teach spin classes but he does not have the time. I have found a couple of you tube videos I follow while spinning to make me work harder. I have also started the treadmill too for the next Triathlon. It is way too hot and humid to walk the dogs 4-5 miles now.

Karrie - I have to pack up my craft room (again). The floors are finally going to get fixed next week. Have a couple of thank you cards to make today. I look at it as a chance to get more organized. I don't have a good system.

B - coffee & cantaloupe, banana & egg
swim -
L - salad with garbanzo beans
spin bike(?)
D - roasted vegetables with quinoa and avocado,

Well that was a work out. We cleared everything out of craft room, office, bedroom, closet and living room in preparation for floor installers. I am so nervous about the color I picked.
I gave away my childhood piano today to a friend's sister who has 4 children and they are taking piano lessons. This was the friend who recently gave me a Garmin Vivoactive heart rate watch to use for biking & swimming.

Even though we just moved here a year ago, this gives us a chance to go through stuff we quickly stuffed in closets when the hurricane hit Texas last August.

Second year in a row Air force is sending Brooks away during my birthday. He is going to El Salvador on a humanitarian mission. He will be giving anesthesia.

Beautiful yarn Carla! Hope the work project is done soon.

Good luck with the floors Donna... and getting past the stress.

I am having a heck of a week here. Work is crazier than usual. I am stress eating too. Blue corn chips and pretzels galore. But still eating lots of salads, so there's that.

Karrie, anything with the house yet?

I love fresh picked lettuce. Rather jealous.

I am stress eating too. Yesterday between tennis and swimming 4 😳 breakfast tacos.

The moisture reading on the exposed concrete read high. At the time of the flood the laminate should have been ripped up then fans and dehumidifiers turned on to dry. The moisture stayed between old laminate and plastic sheet that was poorly Laid down hence high moisture in concrete. For past 3 days living with 18 industrial floor fans and two huge dehumidifiers. Plus the humidity in Texas is 80%. It looks like a crime scene here. Oh and no WiFi. And needed 4 new tires on my car.

Hi all - Just wanted to check in with you and see what you've been up to. I've had a busy few weeks with planning and having our daughter's graduation celebration (it was never a big deal in the region where I grew up, but it's a "thing" where we live now). We had a lovely day with about 80 guests.

It has been my plan to return to work after her graduation and a great job unexpectedly fell into my lap. I start next week! I have not had full-time employment for 20 years so this will be a huge adjustment. I've ordered a couple WFPB cookbooks to keep me inspired to include healthy meals in my routine. I am not going to attempt WFPB dinners, but it will be easy to eat this way for breakfast and lunch. The awkward thing about WFPH is the beans and the gas they create. I'll be working in close quarters with a couple who owns a small business and I'd rather not inflict the effects on them. This is a bummer as beans are my favorite part of WFPB. I'll be looking for filling alternatives to beans. Oh! And I invested in an Instant Pot. I'm loving it!

We are headed into July! This month flew by. Hope you are all doing well -

Jacque

Mihani, thank you for the suggestions - especially easing back into bean consumption. Growing up, beans were a staple in my family and I don't recall gas being a concern. Having a big salad with non-ETL meals will be an excellent way to keep on track. Thanks much!