Today was full day which ended with full plate of meaty pasta.

I don’t know about you, but I find it a touch irritating that when you need to buy herbs at the grocery, you have to buy them in enormous bouquets. I usually need a sprig or two, and I come home with a garden. Tonight’s meaty pasta was an attempt to consume an inordinate amount of leftover parsley. Thankfully, parsley is very mild so it’s hard to overdo.

Pasta:
Red (tomato veggies pasta); I like that has slightly more nutritional value, but truthfully I just bought it for some color!
1 tsp olive oil
1-2 Tbsp chopped flat leaf/italian parsley (check out how it differs from curly parsley)
1/2 tsp crushed black peppercorns
Pecorino cheese shavings

Boil pasta to al dente doneness, drain, and put back in pasta pot removed from heat. Drizzle oil, toss in parsley, pepper, and shave a little Percorino cheese. Give is a good stir, transfer to a platter and top with the below meat sauce.

Meat:
1 lb lean ground beef
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
salt & pepper

Gingerly combine all ingredients with fork being careful not to over-handle the meat. This recipe makes great hamburger patties (which we had last night). In a large saute pan brown meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Drain excess liquid and set aside.

Not-so-homemade red sauce:
1 1/4 cups Prego pasta sauce or whatever brand you like
drizzle of olive oil
1 clove minced garlic
3 Tbsp flat leaf parsley (divided)

In a separate pan, heat oil to medium-low heat and give the garlic a quick saute. Keep an eye on it because garlic can burn easily. Pour sauce in pan and stir in 2 tablespoons of the parsley, reserving the rest for garnish. Adding fresh ingredients is easy way revive a dull canned sauce. When sauce is warmed through, add the meat directly to sauce and bring the entire pan back up to desired temperature. Ladle over pasta and garnish with cheese and parsley.

Our next stop on the reverse journey through the best day of the week is: Charlie’s first beach experience. He went NUTS!! As expected, he loves the ocean; and the sand? Heck yes! It was so funny watching him prance around. I think we’re going to change his name to Goober.

Rewind a little more and we arrive at my first day of work as a personal trainer! Well, kind of. It’s a bit early for clients, but it was nice to begin my orientation. Oh and I scored two new and very official-looking shirts. Just what I need, more clothes.

The team seems great as well – all very helpful and approachable … as they should be. They are trainers after all. Trying my hand (and other extremities) at personal training has been on my bucket list for quite some time. While moving to Hawaii meant leaving a great company and even better friends, it also meant an opportunity to pursue a different career entirely. Here’s to following a dream!

Before I went to work today, I worked out of course. And this morning it was an exceptionally early gym appearance. Since Daniel and I are sharing a car until we get his Jeep on Monday, we basically do everything together. Not bad, until “everything” includes waking up a 4:00am to go workout. Welcome to the Army.

Speaking of the Army, I’d be remiss not to mention that I am so proud of my strong, honorable, and courageous husband who looks especially handsome in uniform. Unfortunately, Daniel is not exactly a logical segue into why female service-members are awesome, so I’m just going to make that leap. Each day (particularly in the women’s locker room on post) I am gently reminded that the Army is more than a beefy masculine organization. I am so humbled by our unsung female heros in uniform. I mean, I personally don’t think it gets any more bad-ass than a woman in fatigues. Excuse my french, but I looked it up and “bad-ass” is the appropriate terminology. At five in the morning, I stick out like a sore thumb at the gym being the only female with “civilian clothes” on. Sometimes I even feel compelled to salute the women in the locker room but that would just be weird and wrong on so many levels. Instead, I find myself yielding bench and counter space. It’s the least I can do for the women who defend my right to use a public locker room, among other freedoms.

Any-hoo, just felt like giving estrogen a little shout out tonight. Hope you kicked of your weekend wisely!