When me and Sean moved in together, we decided to not get cable. The biggest reason for this was to save money. He paints and plays video games at night and I will be studying at night so we saw no need. I figured I’d also be more productive and that is priceless.

Well, I miss TV. A lot. Sure, I’ve been watching my Netflix on my computer but it’s not the same. I miss having the news on in the background. I miss getting ready in the morning with Good Morning America.

So, we finally plugged in my TV and I have basic cable! I won’t lie, after my walk with Sean and my pups, I enjoyed a night with Modern Family. And I will welcome Robin, George, and Sam back into my life tomorrow morning. I am very excited. It’s the little things.

Other than that, tonight has been pretty basic. Immediately after work, I hit up the gym for an upper body workout. I haven’t lifted in over a week because of my strange chest pain, but, it hasn’t hurt as bad lately so I thought I’d give it a go. I avoided direct chest work just to be safe.

I also went old school on myself and lifted Body for Life style.

It was a great and fun workout. I was tempted to hop up on the treadmill after I was done and do some cardio, but I am really trying to cut back because I know it’s not needed. I would not consider myself a cardio addict at all though…in fact…I like lifting MUCH better than cardio and there are many days I don’t like it at all. Cardio has always been a safe thing for me though. I feel “safer” if I do it..with my weight etc. So, I want to prove to myself that if I only do cardio 3 times a week (plus lots of walking with the pups) that I won’t balloon up.

I also got a lot of great comments from you all regarding cardio and your opinions on it…

• Dotsie said: Even when I was lifting heavy and wanted those muscle gains I still did cardio..in my real world, it was great to be able to squat way over my body weight, but in reality, so is being able to walk up and down several flights of stairs, or these days, run behind small kids. It’s fun to watch the meat heads (male) suffer in a spin class though
• Gracie said: Confession: I literally do not even remember the last time I did cardio. And you want to know something? I think I’ve actually *lost* some weight since I gave up my normal cardio routine. With that aside, though, I’m not a huge fan or believer in doing hours upon hours of cardio (unless it’s something you love and/or are training for!)
• Jen said: I wanted to mention that last year I changed my workout regime to 2 days of lifting and 3 days of cardio (rather than 5 days) and have seen results like NEVER before with this regime! I lift heavy and hard and diet to lose the weight rather than kill myself with the cardio and have had great results! I think you will find you enjoy 3 more than 5 sessions b/c you can really make those 3 count!
• Nichole said: If you do a few sessions of strength training here and there, you don’t have to worry about cardio as much at all. We are so use to seeing that pretty number of hours/calories on a elliptical and treadmills, that we don’t realize all the hard work our body is doing during and after a good strength training session.
• Melissa said: I believe bodies are made in the kitchen and fine tuned in the gym. You’ll be fine cutting back on cardio. Even just taking a walk every now and then when you have time is enough to maintain. (and then she said that comment made her sound like a douche…haha…love her)
• Katie said: I used to be a cardio junky, but after cutting back I’ve discovered that I never needed that much in the first place – my body definitely reacted positively to a little less!
• Katie @ Faith, Food, and Fitness: girl cutting back cardio was seriously the BEST thing i did for myself. I only do it 2-3 days a week now and ive never felt better. It made NO difference in how I looked either!! I just had more energy and less stress!
• Mary said: Cardio’s way less important for weight management/being trim as weight training is. I used to be a slave to cardio and never had the body I wanted. Now (when I can get to the gym), I’m there 5 days a week doing 1 hour weights with 15 minutes low intensity “cardio”- like walking..5 minute warm up and 10 minute cool down. I actually end up burning *more* calories weight training than I evr did in the same amount of time as cardio- it really gets the heart rate up if you lift heavy!

I had so many more amazing comments, but these were just a few I thought I’d highlight. I’d definitely go back and read through them if you are a slave to the cardio machines.

Dinner

It was mainly a leftover night for me and Sean, but I did cook my veggies a new way.

I saw this recipe on Courtney @ Ice Cream and Wine’s blog and I knew I had to make it. I am a new lover of veggies, so learning new ways to cook them and make them taste good is a big thing for me.

Yellow Squash & Tomatoes

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 small yellow squash, 1/4-inch sliced
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. When heated, add yellow squash and cook for 8 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings

It was tasty! I loved the Red Pepper Flakes–really kicked it up a notch! Although, I think her picture is much prettier.

I paired it with leftover Pineapple Meatloaf and had a fantastic dinner.

Eddie agrees that it was fantastic. I think he wanted some.

I know I said that I was going to do some 30 Days of Insight tonight, but this post is already long enough. Another day .

Ok, I need help with veggies. I want to get more creative…open myself up to new veggies and new ways to eat them.

What’s your favorite veggie to cook with? Do you have a favorite recipe?