New Scene, New Opportunity

5am, my alarm for the day starts buzzing. I feel like David After Dentist: IS THIS REAL LIFE?? I remember the last time I woke up before 6am, and it was the only option I had if I wanted to be on time for my marathon in Savannah. 3 months later, I'm saying hello to the dreaded wake up time again. Only now this will last for a full month... sigh...

Surprisingly though, I was excited. I was ready to take on my new off-site project, and looked forward to the change of scene. I'll be working at a client's office for the next month and leaving the Propel office for a bit so I can be totally focused on this all-mighty task. It's exciting that at 23, I was given this BIG responsibility by my company. I honestly can't believe it.

But still, 5 am is early. Peachtree Street has only one or two other cars on it at this hour, traffic on 400 is cruising, and there is not a trace of the sun coming up. It's kind of exhilarating, plus I get off work at 4 which leaves me time to take my running outside in the cool afternoon rather than running in pitch black. I still have the same count for almost getting hit though. Once in the day, once at night. I wonder if I could have cleared that Mercedes... I might have had to.

So new project, continuing my running (and upping the speed if you've seen my tracker) and my final week of the sugar free diet! I honestly haven't kept to it though. I baked a ton on Sunday, trying some recipes to figure out which ones to use for my new little side project, and I kind of became the guinea pig for my testing. So this next week will be the final push and mental challenge to stay on track. It seems that I can keep with it during the week, but the weekend it just falls apart. One more week, let's go!

I did make one of my better crock pot recipes this week. It seems like nothing bad can come out of this thing. This is olive and artichoke chicken, making 6 servings

Slow Cooker Artichoke and Olive Chicken 

• 6 chicken breasts
• a cup of white or rose wine (I used Zinfandel)
• a can of chicken broth
• 14 oz can artichoke hearts
• (2) 14oz cans of olives (I used black and kalamata)
• medium onion, chopped
• throw in a bunch of spices - black pepper, salt, Italian seasoning and some garlic powder

Let that cook on low for 6 to 7 hours and you will fall in love with this recipe! I froze the other 5 servings (as usual) and it is just as good re-heated. I'll be trying out more recipes soon and sharing since I really don't have much time to cook at the moment. Happy hump day tomorrow!