When my alarm went off at 6 a.m. on Monday morning I considered rolling over and going back to sleep but instead I thought about all the things I wanted to accomplish on Monday and decided to start my day with yoga instead of blowing off my practice.

It was a great decision! My practice gave me all the energy I needed to tackle the day ahead (as it usually does if I can make it onto my mat at 6:30 a.m.).

I came home after practice and cooked a pot of oatmeal while I showered. I am slowly breaking away from my six-month green smoothie kick now that the temperatures are dropping. I cooked old fashioned oats, sliced bananas, dried cranberries, chia seeds, cinnamon, coconut milk, water and a dash of salt over low heat for about 15 minutes and then gave it a good stir and poured it into a bowl where I topped the oatmeal with pumpkin butter and peanut butter. Salty and sweet!

I spent the next four hours in front of my computer working with the help of some coffee. I was laser focused and couldn’t believe when it was 12:30 and time to break for lunch. I made a salad with the sad, sad remnants in my fridge. It was one of those “use the last of everything” days. Mixed greens, arugula, green pepper, carrots, avocado, feta, beets (I am pretty over beets at this point), edamame, sliced turkey and homemade honey dijon balsamic vinaigrette.

I made a cup of ginger tea (good for digestion!) and cut a slice of apple cake after lunch and enjoyed it while I planned for a cycle class that I had to sub at the gym later that night. Yes, you read that right…a cycle class. Y’all know my relationship with the spin bike.

So I put together a killer playlist and a challenging class and I hopped on the bike and taught cycle like I would teach any other class. The thing about teaching group ex is that after you do it for five plus years, you’re pretty comfortable coaching, motivating, cuing, etc. no matter the class format. It felt like something I’d been doing for years. Do other group ex instructors feel that way? I will say though that I sweat more teaching that 45 minute class than I did practicing hot yoga that morning. HOLY COW! My legs were toast when I got off the bike and I spent the rest of the night feeling like mush.

I immediately came home and got started on dinner while snacking on cheese and crackers (every.single.night.). I swear, I get home so late that I can’t make it through cooking dinner without a snack. I never get tired of cheese and crackers. I always pick up a selection of good cheeses (2-3) at the beginning of every week and work on it over the course of the week. This week it’s goat gouda, brie and a sharp white cheddar. I couldn’t decide what I was in the mood to eat for dinner so I just used what I had on hand and heated leftover spaghetti squash and stirred it with some shredded goat gouda, sauteed brussels sprouts and cooked a Trader Joe’s salmon burger (<– the best, no filler! all salmon!). I had a meeting before teaching cycle where I snacked on several slices of really yummy crusty bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic.

I got caught up on Homeland last night and watched the episode I was in. My time on screen was definitely fleeting considering I was on set for 10 hours but it was worth it! And wow, the story line is getting so intense right now!

And that wraps up Monday. Hope it was good one for you too!