My Week In Review (otherwise known as WIR) posts are just that: a review of my past week. I post an update here every Tuesday sharing some tidbits of my previous week as well as an accompanying photo recap with selections from my Instagram. Here’s the buzz from my week:
We flew out to Utah on Monday for our annual spring visit at the family vacation home out here. I so enjoy the privilege to stay at this beautiful house in this beautiful place! It truly is our home away from home and we are very comfortable living our daily lives whenever we are here. Don has set up a work station in the big loftice (my funny word for an office in a loft) so that he can do his work just like he does at our home in Illinois. I also follow my usual daily schedule same as at home when we are in Utah. We appreciate the change of scenery, fresh mountain air, and a chance to be reunited with dear friends whenever we come to visit, which is typically once a season.
We don’t treat being in Utah as being on vacation, since we still keep up with our work and usual to-dos while we are here. That includes, for me, staying on track with the Tone It Up #BikiniSeries. I’m working towards my #150BySummer which translates to logging about 2.6 miles of cardio per day during the 8 weeks of the series. I’ve been running 15 miles a week and adding in an extra cardio circuit style workout 3-4 times per week. I was pretty proud of myself for reaching the 30-mile marker just one week into the series! I’m cruising along and will definitely reach my goal by the first day of summer. Exercising here in Utah at an altitude of 6,000 feet is quite different from at home in Illinois where we’re just 500 feet above sea level. My lungs and heart have to work extra hard to adjust since I am used to a much lower altitude. There’s nothing quite like finishing a booty-kicking workout up here with a good long stretch and happy endorphins. Don has even joined me on a workout or two. We don’t usually exercise together and it’s really fun! I’m thinking of posting an updated fitness routine soon to share my #BikiniSeries schedule.
We’re still following our current diet plan of eating as clean and healthy as possible during the week and allowing for some splurges on the weekend while we are here. Don makes the most scrumptious healthy weekday dinners for us. I’m a lucky girl! Lately we’re big into lean protein like chicken or fish with two vegetable sides. I posted the picture on the left on Instagram of a grilled chicken breast with white wine mushroom sauce and steamed green beans we ate last week and received many requests to share the recipe for the sauce. In Don’s own words:
Slice a whole bunch of mushrooms. Heat pan to medium and add a small amount of olive oil. Toss in the mushrooms and let them sauté until they soften and their juices start flowing. Add some minced garlic (I use the stuff from the tube) and some fresh chopped thyme. Let that incorporate and add 1/4 cup or so of white wine. Let most of the wine cook off and add 1/4 – 1/2 cup of chicken stock. Let it simmer and add salt and pepper to taste.
Don’s parents flew in on Wednesday to spend a long weekend out at the house with us. We took them out to dinner on Friday at one of our favorite local restaurants, Glitretind, at Stein Eriksen Lodge in Deer Valley to celebrate Mother’s Day. Can you believe they still have snow up there? Spring in the mountains is quite different from the midwest! The food was scrumptious and the views breathtaking. We had our friends over for dinner (otherwise known as an eating fest) on Saturday night. Don made caesar salad and flank steak with garlic bread. Yum! I baked up a batch of Martha Stewart’s Fudgy Chocolate Brownies for brownies à la mode (served with ice cream and whipped cream) for dessert. It was so nice to be reunited with everyone over good food!
Don’s parents flew home Sunday morning so it was just the two of us for a low key day in the house. I usually take Sunday off of exercise (rest days are important!) and enjoy a more leisurely paced breakfast. I love snuggling with my girl while I journal and plan for the week ahead. I am happy I was able to celebrate with my Mom last weekend with our special outing to brunch and the ballet and with Don’s Mom on Friday night at dinner. Don surprised me with some flowers and a sweet note from Winnie as well as some candles. I never expect anything on Mother’s Day, because I am not a Mom, but I thought it was a very sweet gesture. He’s a very thoughtful guy!
If you’d like to see more about my weekend, check out my vlog:
I hope all of the Moms out there had a wonderful Mother’s Day. You deserve to be celebrated every single day of the year for the love and support you give to your children! I can only hope that one day I will know the kind of joy and purpose that motherhood bestows. Three cheers (and infinitely more) to the women who shaped us and to those who nurture the next generation!
* This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are genuinely my own. *
