Hello all! I apologize for my prolonged absence. No real excuse, just that I’ve been LIVING up summer 2011!! I have been spending loads of time with friends, the boyfriend, and doing as I please. It’s been quite…lovely 
But what EXACTLY have I been up to…?
- summer reading (um, BOO)
- working out (hittin’ up the WEIGHT ROOM…no longer afraid of ‘dem boys)
- tanning
- photography
- Starbucks & pool dates with friends
- organizing email inboxes, installing Quicken, and other odds & ends that needed to be done on the computer…
On the FITNESS front…
I decided to get over my fear of certain parts of the “macho men” weight room. Hellloooo there, squat rack, nice to meet you 
. No more hiding in the ‘Group Exercise’ room for me!! I squatted 95 pounds on Monday!! A definite first for me.
Today was hamstrings/calves day. (I also did “workout B” of the Advanced Ab Workout Plan For Figure routine found HERE!! + other abdominal moves) This is what my workout looked like…
- Good morning 3 x 8 85 lb
- Dumbbell straight leg dead-lift 3 x 12 50 lb
- Leg curls 3 x 8-10 75 lb
- Hamstring machine 3 x 8-10 105
- Dumbbell static lunges 3 x 10 50 lb
- Calf raises 3 x 12 170 lb
- Calf presses 2 x 12 (per leg, in/out) 140 lb
- Calf raises on step 2 x 10 (per leg) 50 lb
- Calf press 2 x 12 (both legs, in/out) 280 lb
- 45-degree donkey calf raises 3 x 10 90, 140 lb
- Seated calf raises 2 x 8-10 50 lb
I loveeee leaving the gym with shaky legs. 
So now that we’ve covered the “Squat” part of this post…what about the SWEET POTATO part? As you may or may not know, I normally eat a sweet potato a day (to keep the doctor away!!) and I adore them. I typically eat them post-workout…
chicken + sweet potato + cucumber + tomato
whole foods hot bar… two different types of chicken, tofu, collard greens, marinated grilled vegetables, steamed vegetables, half of a smoked sweet potato (AMAZING!!), brown rice, and tropical sweet potato mash
chicken + sweet potato + tomato + cucumber + red pepper
lettuce + sweet potato + cucumber + steak + chicken sausage + tomato + salsa + broccoli
chicken + sweet potato
Other eats!!
creamy peanut butter “Think Thin” bar…NEW FAVORITE BAR!!
lettuce + chicken + black beans + tomato + mixture of light ranch/salsa + hard-boiled egg + avocado
banana + maple almond butter
vanilla chobani + raspberries + blueberries + chopped almonds
chicken + sweet potato + tomato + avocado
That’s all I have for now!! I have a busy night tomorrow. One of my friends travelled to Mexico on a missions trip, so tomorrow night she’s making us a homemade Mexican meal. Then, we’re going shagging, followed by a midnight showing of the final Harry Potter movie. PHEW!!
Love to you all!!
<3 jess
xoxo
Nice job with the weights!! I love lifting heavy
love love love sweet potatoes !!! Have fun with your friends tomorrow night!
By: Allie on July 13, 2011
at 3:24 pm
love the sweet potato love! have you had yuca? they’re peruvian root veg sort of like sweet potato mixed with yam. delicious!
i’m glad you’re having a great summer! what’s your summer reading list?
By: teabagginit on July 13, 2011
at 3:44 pm
Great eats, girl! And I love the Think Thin bars! The brownie crunch one is my favorite!
By: Rach @ This Italian Family on July 13, 2011
at 4:46 pm
yayyyyy i get so excited when you blog sweet girl!!!! I love those bars- i love the white chocolate one! LOVE that cobb salad- so pretty! LOVE you!
By: kbwood on July 13, 2011
at 7:44 pm
Yum! Now you’ve really got me craving a sweet potato (or six).
That whole foods combination looks particularly delish, and the sweet potato mash…mmm, I’m drooling just at the thought.
I wish they did THink Thin bars in the UK!
xxx
By: ~Jessica~ on July 13, 2011
at 11:38 pm
Oooh so jealous of everything you ate! There’s some nutrient dense foods I need in my belleh! Your salad looks delish and your workout sounds killer. I am still working up my nerve to go to my gym for the first time!! Haha. You rock
By: owlmazing on July 14, 2011
at 12:01 am
Love all the sweet potato goodness! So glad you’re enjoying your summer to the fullest… that’s definitely the way to live.
Have fun at the Harry Potter showing!
By: Heather @ Health, Happiness, and Hope on July 14, 2011
at 1:01 am
All your eats look great! So many sweet potatoes which is exactly the way it should be!
I love the think thin bars they are such a great soft texture!
By: Sarah - feeedingbrainandbody on July 14, 2011
at 1:45 am
Sounds like you’ve been enjoying your summer!
I love ThinkThin bars too. I just can’t eat them often because of the sugar alcohols.
By: The Candid RD on July 14, 2011
at 1:49 am
Yay for summer fun!!!
and way to go with holding your own with the boys at the gym–awesome squat too! I’m such a sweet potato addict, so thanks for the tasty new inspirations chica!
By: Alexandra on July 14, 2011
at 3:35 am
Those are some good eats!
Have a great day!
By: Foodie (Fab and Delicious Food) on July 14, 2011
at 3:49 am
Woo hoo for taking your place among the boys in the weight room.
I just had lunch featuring…sweet potato!! Yum!
By: Emily on July 14, 2011
at 5:16 am
your salads are always so gorgeous! I want to try making one like that. usually I just throw everything in a bowl and shake it = a very unpretty photo, haha.
Think Thin bars, I love them!! I think those will be a staple for me in college this fall for sure. that creamy pb is my favorite flavor!
By: Sweet Cheeks on July 14, 2011
at 5:16 am
Good for you for living up the summer! Hope your having a blast, it sure sounds like it!! Oh yeah, and give me some of that tan…I have had NO time to tan and I’m getting kinda pastey
By: em on July 14, 2011
at 7:05 am
OOOOH YUM! Definitely loving all those sweet potatoessss! The one you got at Whole Foods looks downright heavenly!
And so happy you’ve been livin’ it UP! Have fun tonight girlyyyy!
♥
By: paoang on July 14, 2011
at 10:54 am
95 pounds!? Thats awesome girl!! way to show those boys
By: fashionfitnessfoodie on July 14, 2011
at 12:51 pm
Im waiting till next week for HP..totally dressing up. Why boo to summer reading…unless you dont mean fiction because that sucks than
By: pawsitivelife on July 14, 2011
at 1:29 pm
Yay for enjoying your summer! Sound like some great workouts.
I’m currently procrastinating summer reading
By: aflourishingfoodie on July 15, 2011
at 11:14 am
I had a massive sweet potato for lunch today and thought of you
except not in that creepy way. In the way that you always have sweet potatoes and that I’ve now eaten one everyday for the past 5 days. hahaha! Your workouts are intense keep it up! I’ve been seeing that think thin bar everywhere now. Are they good?!
Enjoy the Harry Potter movie! I hope to make it to a showing tomorrow
By: Alexis - PumpedforPumpkin on July 16, 2011
at 9:59 am
Like always I love your workouts! I’m totally checking out the ab routine. Glad you’re no scared of them boys anymore. You rocked that squat!
By: Heather @ Get Healthy With Heather on July 16, 2011
at 10:41 am
YAY squat rack explorage
I still remember when I first started playing in the big boy area of the gym…I always thought the guys would be like WTF is she doing but (in 14+ months!) no one’s ever been rude to me.
By: SquatLikeALady on July 16, 2011
at 11:41 am
I LOVE sweet potatoes. I have one right now that I’m thinking up what to do with!
By: dana @ my little celebration on July 16, 2011
at 1:25 pm
For some reason I’ve spent the past week feeling just REALLY HUNGRY all the time and it’s occuring to me that maybe I should be fueling my workouts as well as you do. So… I may start eating a sweet potato a day
By: Lele on July 16, 2011
at 4:20 pm
you treat your sweet potatoes so well- always pairing them up with other delicious friends
mmm those think thin bars are one of my favorite snack foods- they have saved me from mid afternoon blood sugar dips hundreds of times
xoxo <3
By: Kelsey @ Snacking Squirrel on July 17, 2011
at 2:32 am
hooray for enjoying your summer! sounds like you have intense workouts, awesome
and your food, as always, looks delish!
By: Meesh on July 17, 2011
at 3:00 am
yum! you have me drooling!
By: dolly on July 17, 2011
at 10:54 am
Loving the awesome work out! U go girl! I bet you are really to ing up!!
Hope all is well and we are seeing Harry potter this week!! Xoxo
By: Katie on July 17, 2011
at 4:05 pm
I have never tried a Think Thin bar, but I have been wanting too!! They look fab!! Are they fab?!
xxoo
By: Kris | iheartwellness.com on July 17, 2011
at 5:20 pm
nothing wrong with a blog absence! live it up girl! omg harry potter was sooooo good. I just saw it! ahhhh, now that its over, im so sad. now its time to reread the books.
xoxo
LO
By: lora on July 18, 2011
at 6:05 am
Love the salad presentation. It looks SO good. It sounds like you’re having a wonderful summer!
By: Sarah on July 18, 2011
at 2:51 pm
because all of your food pictures aren’t making my drool or anything
nice squat weight girl, you show em’ whose boss. so glad you have stepped out into the ‘macho men’ weight room and outta the group fitness studio. BALANCE is key, I love my group exercise but solo heavy lifting is nice too!
By: Sarah on July 18, 2011
at 3:02 pm
aww sounds like an absolutely wonderful summer ! so glad you are living it up!!
I hear the last harry potter is amazing!
go gurl go!
and, I MISSED YOU TOO!
take care sweet Jess!!
By: glidingcalm on July 18, 2011
at 3:22 pm