Don’t worry its not December. It’s still 2014…. Although the ice is in the local arena and hockey has started. We walked Boyd down to play in the snow and we had a snowball fight. Winter is coming….

I have kids and I’m a teacher- double reasons why September is the start of a New Year for me. If you have kids or are an avid TV watcher, the year begins in September. The kids are in a new grade, with new sharp pencils, new clothes, and new activities. TV is good again with season and series premiers! September has always signalled a new beginning. It’s the time to get back into a routine, after late nights, random dinners, and the lazy days of summer. It’s only one week until MY New Years Eve!
Maybe as you are planning out your weeks (basketball for kid A Monday nights, art school for kid B on Tuesdays, dog training for bad dog on Wednesdays…. etc etc etc.) maybe you’ve managed to save a little time for you. Maybe you want to take September to work on yourself- eat healthier, workout more–those are pretty typical New Years Resolutions aren’t they? Maybe there is that little voice at the back of your head saying- “really?! A gym membership… again… remember LAST time? You went for a month then quit…. Eating healthy… ya right… remember last time…. that lasted until your first stressful day!” I heard that voice last year when I joined Inner Athletes. I almost felt embarrassed telling people I was joining a gym. I thought they would be thinking the same thing I was thinking- again really? It didn’t work last time- why will it work this time? I think you are the bravest person in the world if you do it again. Knowing that (if you’re about my age- 40) you have probably tried Weight Watchers 5 times, South Beach diet twice, you’ve done a couple fad diets- cabbage soup and probably the one where you drink those shakes. You probably have joined a gym a couple of times too and stopped going but kept paying monthly. I did all those things!

When I joined my gym last year all I had was HOPE.
I hoped I would like it.
I hoped I would keep going.
I hoped I wouldn’t let myself down.
I hoped I wouldn’t disappoint MYSELF.

It would have been easier not to join. Not to take that chance. Not to put myself “out there”. Its like getting dumped- its hard to get out there dating again. But then you find great guy and fall in love.

I fell in love with working out. I fell in love with my gym. I fell in love with getting in shape.

I took a chance one more time. It worked.

Before we get ahead of ourselves planning September, it is still SUMMER! Tonight we had another great summer dinner. I had gone to a farmer’s market and bought beautiful fresh potatoes and kale. I made a new kale salad and tried a new marinade for the chicken.

This recipe for Honey and Citrus Chicken is super easy and really good. You need:
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 T. balsamic vinegar
⅓ cup lemon juice
⅓ cup lime juice
3 T. brown sugar **I used 3 T of maple syrup**
2 T. Dijon mustard
¼ cup honey
1 t. Kosher salt
1 t. black pepper
4 T. olive oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half
1 T. fresh parsley
The full directions can be found at http://www.littledairyontheprairie.com/honey-and-citrus-chicken-marinade/. While the chicken was marinading

I made the Ginger Honey Mustard Kale Salad. I first had this salad when I went over to my friend Kathryn’s house for dinner. I added a few ingredients when I made it tonight. The original recipe can be found at http://www.innerathletes.net/recipes.html

Ingredients:
Kale, finely chopped
Cara Cara oranges (sliced into segments) **I only had Navel oranges tonight**
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup goat’s milk feta cheese, crumbled
Assorted Seeds toasted (sesame, pumpkin, sunflower in a little grapeseed oil) **I also added pecans tonight**

Dressing
3 tbsp. honey
3 tbsp. lime juice
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp mint
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Whisk dressing ingredients together. Drizzle over the kale. Allow the kale to wilt. Garnish with oranges and seeds.

The salad is a little sweeter than the other kale salads I have shared. It went great with the chicken. My family also had fresh corn on the cob, but I’m not a huge corn lover so I skipped it.

One week of summer left! Enjoy it!

Choose happy 🙂