Back to Reality

End of Vacation
First off, I want to say thank you all for your continued support regarding this trip. I didn't have time (for obvious reasons) to reply to each comment. I did indeed read them all - some multiple times even. You guys are the best! I wish you all could have been there with me.

Unfortunately, all good vacations must come to an end right? But I was determined to cram in more vegetarian/vegan food! On the way to the train station, we ended up stopping by Grocery 13 (we had stopped in previously and wished we had more time to sample the food) rather than the Reading Terminal. I think this was a better option to be honest. Wandering around the Reading Terminal with luggage would have been tricky. This kept us on track and let us sample more food. We got a tofu, carrot, pistachio wrap, a falafel-feta wrap, and sampled 2 items from the salad bar: a yam and apple salad and a tofu and bell pepper linguine with peanut sauce. Everything was SO good. I was very impressed. Though, eating it in the train station wasn't exactly the ideal location of course. But sometimes you just have to make do. Sorry the pictures are kind of sucky....

Last night we got home around 9:30 pm and the temperature was 98 degrees! Apparently we missed out one one extremely hot weekend with heat indices reaching 115. Anyway, exhausted is an understatement of an adjective. I did start to unpack things and got all the workout clothes in the wash. I immediately realized that there was no way I was going to be making it to work by 7 am, so I texted my boss and let her know I would be in late. I promptly hit the bed and crashed hard.

Getting Back to Workout Routine
I didn't sleep in as late as I was hoping - 7 am. Figures right. I did decide to go ahead and get my workout done though before I was able to talk myself out of it. I opted for legs with a focus on hams, glutes, calves. I did the following as 3 sets of 8 reps unless noted.

SS#1
Step up with rear leg lift
Deadlifts

SS#2
Plie squats - 3 x 8 single, 4 3-count low-end pulse, 1 7-count low-end pulse -
Calf raises - 3 x 15

SS#3
Rear leg slide back lunge
Single leg dead lift

Front leg elevated lunge
Glute roll ins on ball - 24 reps
Single leg glute presses on ball - 2 x 16

I followed it up with Cathe Friedrich's MMA Boxing. I ran out of time for abs though so I did abs from Low Impact Circuit after work. It was actually a bit funny to watch the DVD and think about the fact that just days ago, I had been standing on that same filming set. I actually giggled. It was also a little depressing not having the over-the-top energy of 100+ other people pushing through beside me and hearing Cathe live and in person. Alas, next year.

Getting Back to Reality
Work was tough I won't lie. I felt so incredibly out of sorts, distracted, and plain old frazzled. I kept thinking about all the things that needed to get done around the house and errands that needed to be run. Ahhhhh post vacation chores and errands.

While I really enjoyed my vacation (understatement), I am ready to get back into my normal routine. But man is that hard to do. You'd think it'd be super easy to just jump right back into the swing of life, and it's really not. Part of me is still on the vacation high, part of me is desperate for reality, and part of me wants to incorporate the high and reality (if that makes sense). I want the best of both worlds please.

Right now, the one thing I am craving more than anything, is home-cooked meals. The problem, however, is that I don't even know what to make at this point. What is the one thing you always want when you're on vacation - food? your bed? your shower? I realize how much I love my own toilet!

I do enjoy my own cooking too, and rarely take vacations where I can't be the one doing the cooking. Jason was very kind and made a stop into the Argenta Market on the way home. Neither of us was in any mood for a full on grocery trip. He picked up some necessities to get us through until the weekend. Oh yes, fresh veggies galore!

I decided to make Roasted Veggies & Tempeh with Garlic Barley. For the veggies, I simply cut up carrots, onions, green bell peppers, sweet potato, new potatoes, squash and zucchini and tossed in a small drizzle of olive oil, sea salt, black pepper and rosemary. I marinated the tempeh in balsamic vinegar and then roasted everything at 450 for about 15 minutes then I added the squash and zucchini and cooked another 10 minutes.

I cooked the barley per package directions flavoring with a liberal amount of minced garlic, black pepper, and parsley and topped with green onions and nutritional yeast flakes. 

This soooo hit the spot for a healthy, home-cooked meal after being away from my own kitchen.