Confession: my will to workout wavered slightly this afternoon – I know, it’s only Tuesday! I got to thinking about all the stuff I had to do this afternoon, tonight, tomorrow, etc. and freaked out a little. I repeated my little mantra from Monday morning and before I could give it another thought, I marched straight to the gym. Sometimes you just need to push all thoughts aside and GO. Just get there. They say getting there is half the battle. I disagree – I say getting there is 99% of the battle!

In the interest of maximizing the short amount of time I had, I ran my heart out. 4 miles in 34 minutes at speeds ranging from 6.5 to 7.3. I was a sweaty fool by the end – but a happy one!

When I got home, I was once again thanking my Sunday morning self, because dinner was 90% ready to eat! Spaghetti with Turkey Sausage Marinara Sauce.

On Sunday I sautéed some low-fat Turkey Sausage, drained and combined it with a jar of my all time favorite marinara sauce – Gino’s. I am seriously sorry that my non-Iowa friends cannot get their paws on this stuff because it is to die for and is the only bottled marinara/spaghetti sauce I buy. Look at the ingredient list – I couldn’t have made it better myself!

Ruby red and ultra-fresh – just what a good marinara sauce should be. It’s a little more expensive than the other national brands, but it’s local, free of preservatives and hidden ingredients, and darn it, it tastes great!

So on Sunday I let my sauce bubble away for about 15 minutes, let it cool, packed it up tight and let it hang out in the refrigerator. Tonight I warmed it up in a sauce pan while I cooked some whole wheat penne, assembled and dined. EASY!

I absolutely love the mild spice factor that the turkey sausage gives the marinara sauce. It just gets better the longer it sits in the fridge, too!

This was a perfect, post-workout, refueling dinner. And again, with just a little bit of effort during the weekend, I reaped the rewards on a busy weekday. Sweet!

Oh, a couple of people asked me what kind of egg noodles I used in Grandma’s Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. I use Reames Frozen Egg Noodles – which are the ying to chicken soup’s yang, if you ask me

OMG I almost forgot to show you…look what I found waiting for me in my car this morning. Sweet Ben left me my favorite chocolate treat as a surprise and a way to start my day off with a smile. Isn’t that nice??? I’m saving them for a treat this weekend…hopefully!

Ok, off to decorate sugar cookies by the light of The Biggest Loser – perhaps it will prevent me from trying too many "samples"?!?!?! Here’s hoping!

Have a great evening everyone!

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What’s the last thing you “treated” yourself to?

A big cookie, pedicure, fresh flowers or a luxurious vacation? Let’s hear about it!