Back in the sling of things: Part Two

We're back to pain meds, arm slings and ice packs. Luckily, it's not me this time! Vic just had his surgery yesterday, the exact same one that I had four months ago. His doctor was very highly rated and gave me great information about how the surgery went as soon as he was done. I even got pictures that he had taken while he was in the surgery with the scope. CRAZY! Vic is recovering well, a little sore but nothing too bad. I got a ton of work done in the waiting room.

Things are going great with school, I really like the two classes that I am in right now. I just had to sign up for a third course that will start the first week of September. I've never taking three classes at once, it's always seemed like a really horrible idea, but I'll have four units of tuition assistance left over for the fiscal year that will go wasted, so I figured I would give it a shot! I'll keep you posted on how that goes. At that pace, I should be able to finish my Masters this Spring, a little bit ahead of schedule! Maybe three classes will be a great idea and I'll always do that many so that I can be done sooner.

I'm planning to take the personal trainer exam with the American College of Sports Medicine at the end of this month. As soon as I have that certification in hand I'll be offering online training! I tried that a few months back and really enjoyed that set up and can't wait to start my own little personal training business! I am so passionate about this and I am really excited to be able to help others make healthy, fit choices.

On that note, here's on of my workouts from this week:

I just ordered a bar and weight set, I'm so excited to be able to do even more workouts at home! And here's a great soup recipe that I threw together for today's lunch!

Two pounds of chicken breast
1 48 oz box of 365 Chicken Broth (Low Sodium)
2 cups of water
2 tbs of cumin
2 tbs of chili powder
1 tbs of minced onion
1 tbs of minced garlic
1 large red bell pepper
2 tsp of salt
1 tbs of basil
1 avocado
Cholula or similar sauce to taste.

Toss the chicken breasts and the chicken broth into the slow cooker on high for 4 hours. The broth should cover the chicken. Let that cook until it is easy to shred, remove and shred the chicken. I like to shred it in my Kitchen Aid mixer, that thing is amazing! Toss the chicken back into the slow cooker, with the extra water. Add enough to make it look like a good broth to chicken ratio, 2 cups worked for me. Then add in all of the spices and chopped red pepper and let them all hang out for about 20 minutes in the slow cooker on low. I garnished each of our bowls with half an avocado and it was amazing!

I also got in another order of our Juice Plus+ today, I just had to try the Complete bars and I ordered more of both the chocolate and the vanilla protein. I'm obsessed with putting the protein in my oatmeal and the bars are AMAZING! It's really difficult to not eat the whole box, but I have to hold back so that I have some available for our JP party on the 5th. Interested in trying some (you're crazy not to!)? Head over to ckassel.juiceplus.com or email me if you have any questions!

Oh, and guess what? Ryker is a walking machine! He's all over the place now. He walks to us and gives big ol' hugs. It's very exciting here in our little piece of the world.