WIAW: Wednesday is the New Friday, Y'all!

Happy de-facto Friday!  In case you couldn't tell, I'm just a smudge excited about the impending 4-day weekend.  I have a busy day at work to get through before the fun can begin, but as my dad used to tell me  whenever I was halfway through final exams and starting to run out of steam, you gotta keep your eyes on the prize.

(Side note: speaking of final exams, can we please talk about the HUGE relief of never having to deal with those heinous things ever again?  I've been out of grad school for over 4 years now, but I still breathe a behemoth sigh of relief whenever I think about the lack of final exams in my life.)

But I digress.

Anyways, Wednesday may be the new Friday (for this week, at least...although I really think all weeks should be like this), but it's still, y'know, Wednesday -- which means it's time for What I Ate Wednesday!  WIAW is a happy little cyber-potluck hosted by Jenn over at Peas & Crayons, and it's always fabulous.


We're hosting Thanksgiving dinner for a bunch of our DC-area friends tomorrow, so I spent the better part of last night in a cleaning frenzy.  This meant I didn't get to bed until later than I'd hoped, so I was extra sleepy this morning.  That is, until I had a huge cup of coffee.  There's going to be a moment of spastic, rapturous, caffeine-induced euphoria in 5...4...3...2...

Caffeine is my shepherd; I shall not want. It keepeth me from lying down in green pastures and sleeping through the day: it leadeth me beside the coffee machine. It restoreth my soul: it leadeth me in the paths of wakefulness for its name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of fatigue, I will fear no faceplanting into my breakfast: for thou art with me; thy coffee and thy tea they comfort me.

Capitalizing on the caffeine high, I hit the gym and did 30 minutes of cardio plus 15 minutes of circuit training that covered lower body, abs, and upper body exercises.  I also did my LungeforLeftovers for the awesome folks at Girls Gone Sporty, and a 1-minute plank for Plank-a-Day.

I followed this up with my usual fruit n' kale smoothie (I know, I know: my breakfasts have no variety whatsoever):

Snacks for the day included a Larabar Uber, which I freaking adore, a banana, a pear, an apple, and some celery and hummus.

Lunch consisted of a huge salad topped with balsamic-herb chicken, red onion, grapes, and some Italian vinaigrette:

Dinner was a bit of an improvisation: I'd intended to make crock pot chicken tacos, but I'd apparently added too much broth to the ol' crock pot while the chicken was cooking.  D'oh!  Upon realizing that I'd inadvertently made crock pot chicken taco soup, I decided to just roll with it and turn it into a legit soup dish.  I added black beans and sauteed peppers and onions, and I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be delish!

I hope everyone has a fabulous Wednesday -- have a safe and happy almost-Thanksgiving!