Weight Update, 580 Calories in 50 minutes, New Pesto Recipe

Happy Wednesday! All is good here - just coming off a great Tuesday! Beckett was in high spirits yesterday and we had a great morning, and then went to the gym for her second day at the Infant Room with Miss Shannon. She did great, and I went to a Cardio Class and almost died. Not really but OMG.Just think if I had gone the full 60 minutes?! I had never been so happy to see the Infant Room lady, Andrea, come tell me that Beckett had a #2 diaper. I raced out to go change it and didn't come back. LOL But really, I couldn't have lasted that much longer. I personally think 580 calories in 50 minutes is insane - I love this teacher and can just feel the weight coming off.

Speaking of the weight - new number two days in a row!! Brief weight history reminder: 149 post-baby in February after freaky 36-pounds-in-two-weeks weight loss; 148 in April, May and most of June despite workout efforts; on June 22 me, Monica and Austin put together a workout plan to step it up! Since June 22, I can safely say that I've lost 5 pounds! 5 weeks = 5 pounds, 1 pound a week lost! And my gosh this has been the hardest 5 pound to lose EVER but I really feel my body responding to my efforts and that's making everything better - my eating habits, my attitude, etc.

ANYWAY, enough about that! After the gym we had lunch, Becks had a nap and I got ready for a party with my old co-workers! The guy I ultimately reported to at AutoTrader for 7+ years was retiring and, even though I no longer work there, I was included in the retirement party which I think was so nice! It was awesome to see his send off and hear his words to the group - such a nice guy. And I enjoyed seeing my co-workers so much - in some ways it felt like it had been forever and in others it felt like yesterday. I just loved catching up with everyone, seeing the other girls who had babies when I did (3 of us on my floor/in my department were due within days of each other!), seeing other AutoTrader 'alumni' I hadn't seen in years - so. much. fun! I stayed way too late but Austin insisted as it was our FIRST time having a babysitter with Beckett. Our cousins Arlie and Allyson came over and did such a great job with Becks! They got over around 3:30 and Austin came home at 6 - a successful first time!

Before I get back to this rainy Wednesday, I want to share a new recipe, Pecan Pesto Shells with Sausage, that I adapted from a Real Simple Recipe!

LOVED IT - full recipe is posted over at Healthified Kitchen. So glad to be back to cooking again - 5 new recipes this month - woo!

Q: Pesto fan? What is your favorite? I love a traditional pine nut pesto, but at-home my favorite to make is probably the lemon almond pesto. I just love having so much basil around that we can try different nuts and flavors!

Q: For all you HRM wearers - is that data normal? Don't get me wrong - I was sweating up a storm and working super hard, but I guess it still seems high to me or too good to be true!