So wow…I haven’t blogged in a week. My goal of 2-3 times of posting per week was shot last week. And I’m totally ok with that.
Why?
Well, because I’ve realized I’ve spent far too much time engulfed in the virtual world that I lost site of what matters most. What’s that? Why family of course. MY family. ❤
So with that, I’ve spent more time reaching out, hanging out, and hugging my kids just a little tighter. Most nights we are wrapped up in blankets on the couch watching previous episodes of “Once upon a time” on Netflix…TOGETHER. And it wasn’t always this way. Before my daughter’s accident, more times than not we would all go our separate ways after dinner. But now, we nearly rush to spend our evenings together most nights.
My training is also back on track, and I managed to log 26 miles last week, which is a distance PB for 2015. I had my 15 miler on Saturday, and it mentally jarred me, briefly…I had forgotten how hard a long run can be, especially when your only distraction is YOU. No one to talk the miles away with, just you, and the road. My first few miles truly SUCKED. No pretty way around it, but I kept going. I’d stop to stretch every few miles, and at miles 6 and 11 I fueled with my Chia HUMA gels. Just when I wanted to quit, I looked back on my first marathon and how hard it was and how badly I wanted to quit. But I had my awesome sister with me, cheering me on every step and I could hear her voice in my head as I plugged along the middle of my run. Mile 11 I started to really fade as I had run out of Nuun and the temps were getting REALLY warm for how I was dressed. (It was 38 degrees when I started and finished up at a balmy 61 degrees). Then Andrea, Carolyn and my hubby shot me texts and suddenly the spring came back to my step and I took off. 15 miles? DONE. And with the help of 7 cardinals, 2 blue birds, and countless squirrels and chipmunks that cheered me on for 2 1/2 hours, LOL!

We booked our family vacation for the summer today, and I am SOOOOO excited. We are headed to Marco Island, Florida for 5 glorious days. We haven’t had a real vacation (we like our Chicago/Michigan staycations, though!) in 3 years, so this is long overdue.
So today I spent the afternoon meal prepping and making healthy snacks. (Gotta get beach body ready! lol) I made Kale chips (not sure how I feel about them, yet lol) and spicy chickpeas to keep handy. Here’s the chickpea recipe:
Spicy Chickpeas
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Rinse and dry two large cans of chickpeas
Place the chickpeas in a large bowl, and add the following seasonings:
1 teaspoon Tumeric
1 teaspoon Garlic powder
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon smoked Paprika
Kosher salt
Toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes, tossing every 20 minutes. YUM!

How was your week? Do you take regular vacations? What’s your favorite healthy snack? Have a great week, y’all!
❤ Michelle