Wednesdays are my favorite (non-weekend) day. Naturally, most of us love that mid-point of the week where you’re past dreaded Monday and it’s smooth-sailing to the weekend. I look forward to this day also because it’s my adult gymnastics class. I did competitive gymnastics for 8 years and competitive trampoline & tumbling for 2 more. From age 4 to 14, gymnastics was my LIFE. It’s the reason one of my oldest friends and I stayed so close for so long—after her 4^th birthday party at the gym, we both signed up for classes and competed on the same team for years. We were Alabama State Synchronized Trampoline Champions in ’96 or ’97—of course, we were also the only duo competing in our age group. Ha!

I attribute my work ethic, my discipline/desire to do well, and my overall good health to gymnastics. Although during the 5^th and 6^th grades it took up MUCH of my time (4-hour classes Mon-Thurs, which eventually felt like a job instead being fun), it allowed me to make great friendships and enabled me to travel. I vividly remember watching video tapes of my team and of the Olympics over and over again and tumbling through Harper’s Ferry and Antietam with my older cousin (whom I’d just met for the first time)!

Needless to say, when I found out an adult class opened at the same place my gymnastics journey began, I jumped (cart-wheeled?) at the opportunity. It’s only an hour a day, once a week, but it’s MY hour. I look forward to it all week, and it’s amazing what I’m still able to do. After 10 years! (I still would tumble occasionally during college, but not at an actual gym.) I hope to continue as long as my body will let me!

Another reason I’m excited about today—my first WIAW (What I Ate Wednesday) post. (Thank you to Jenn at Peas & Crayons for hosting.) If you’re new to WIAW, this is a way for fellow food bloggers to link up their entries one day each week.

After possibly consuming one too many mimosas with “brinner” (breakfast for dinner) last night, I needed a little energy boost: a spinach, mixed berry, and banana smoothie. I need to make green smoothies a daily habit to ensure I eat my daily veggie servings.

Forgoing my usual overnight oats, breakfast at the desk was simple: an English muffin topped with Sunbutter & the other half of the banana from my smoothie. Not bad, but not as filling as my oats. They’ll return tomorrow, for sure.

Lunch (again, at the desk) consisted of some leftover cheesy broccoli orzo. Doesn’t look all that appetizing (or healthy with all the cheese), but it’s pretty tasty. I finished things off with a Gala apple. Now that it’s fall, I can’t get enough of apples. I need to stock up on some Honeycrisp before they’re all gone.

I always need a snack around 3:00—that time of the day where sitting at a desk drains you and you count the minutes till 5:00. It never fails. Today’s snack was a homemade mint-chocolate protein bar using this recipe from Oh She Glows. (I substituted hemp seeds for the protein powder & added a ¼ teaspoon or so extra mint.) So good—especially since mint-chocolate is one of my favorite combinations.

While at gymnastics, my husband whipped up another favorite of ours—our go-to soup, really—from Giada. We always add an extra can of cannellini beans and rarely make the whipped cream. The soup is so good, it doesn’t need embellishments. Add a grilled cheese sandwich, and you’ve got dinner. Leftovers make great lunches for work, too.

Well, there you have it. I hope to post more frequently than I have been. If all else fails, I’ll have the WIAW posts to encourage me.