Sunday Catch-up

Yesterday was so full of things to do that I didn't have time to blog!  Here's what I wanted to post yesterday:

Faith Find
I think I found the church that we will join down here in Florida!  During worship, as the minister was giving the blessing and talking about how he knew that it was God speaking through him today, I got a tingly sensation.  I always feel that, when that happens, God is there with me!  To me, it's kind of like Him saying "Amen!" or "Make sure you're listening here", and I feel as though God said "Amen!" during this service.  I just feel His presence any time I'm at this church, and I always get a message from the sermon (which I can't say has happened at every church we've visited).  I'm so excited about this, and I can't wait to become more involved in this church family.

Diet Tip of the Day
After my run/jog/walk on Saturday, I was really craving some ice cream.  I knew I needed a treat, but instead of driving to Coldstone like my little heart desired, I created this smoothie as a recovery drink/sweet tooth satisfier:

Here's how to make it:
Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie

• 1 frozen banana
• 5 whole frozen strawberries
• 1/2 scoop strawberry protein power (I used this one from GNC)
• 1 1/2 spoonfuls of Hershey's Natural Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 1% milk-I poured until the milk covered the other ingredients

Blend until smooth, then enjoy your healthy treat!

If you want a stronger chocolate taste, add another spoonful or two of the cocoa powder.  The one I made had just enough chocolate to not be overpowering.  After drinking my smoothie, I entered therecipe on MyFitnessPal, and surprisingly, the worst things for you in the smoothie is the milk and the banana (by worst for you, I mean highest sugar content).  Next time, I may try almond milk to see if that will help reduce the amount of sugar.

Today's Training
My legs were feeling a little sore and shin-splinty today, so I decided to skip my run for the day.  But, here is this week's workout schedule so that everyone can keep me on track:

Monday: BodyPump class
Tuesday: Treadmill Tuesday run for 35 minutes
Wednesday: Weighted Wednesday (Lower body/Core)
Thursday: 35 minute run (outside, preferrably)
Friday: Yoga/pilates class or Core/Upper Body workout
Saturday: 5 mile run
Sunday: REST

I'm trying a new gym this week (the school system I work for gives us free gym memberships through our insurance...how awesome!), so I'll be sure to report back about how these classes are.

Bonus: Halloween Fun!
As a little extra today, I wanted to share with you why Joe and I were so busy yesterday!  After church and planning for this week/studying, we decided to carve pumpkins and have some Halloween-themed treats!  Here are some photos from our fun and festive evening:

Tollhouse Break-and-bake Halloween Brownies

Joe hard at work on his pumpkin

Joe's is the ghost, mine is the bat

With my finished product

I'm going to be putting together some Halloween goodie bags for some of my co-workers this week, too, so I'll be sure to share those with you, as well.

Back later with today's post!