Hell Week - week 1

I thought I'd posted this but found it in my drafts tonight so I'll post it even though it's about 2 weeks late.  It gives you the idea of what type of insane schedule I was going to have to work if I'd stayed at the hotel.

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The fact that I work for the military is probably why my mind made this connection that this week has sort of been like Hell Week during Basic Training.  Once you make it through Hell Week everything gets easier and that's sort of what I think will happen.

When I left work Friday night I'd officially completed a little over 78 hours in 7 days.  I've actually been surprised at how well I've done this week.  The exhaustion I'd expected has not set in.  My feet are not hurting as badly as they were from standing.  Having worked a desk job for over 6 years my feet were not accustomed to standing 12 hours straight.  I have plantar fascitis in both feet which compounded the pain.  My purchasing a pair of crocs designed for restaurant workers was a wise decision.

Wednesday:  First night off since starting the second job.  Pure exhaustion.  I came home and took a two hour nap but felt physically exhausted to the point I couldn't seem to do anything.  I allowed my body the rest.  Days like these I think we all need to learn to listen to our bodies and if they say rest then we need to rest.  I was too tired to even read.

Lunch: leftovers
Supper: Brats and mac & cheese

Thursday:  Second day off and apparently by allowing my body to rest Wednesday allowed my body to recuperate.  I felt pretty normal, almost normal energy, although still a bit of tiredness.  When I came home from work I started an oven roast.  It was an easy meal to prep and allowed me to do other things while it cooked.  My focus for the night was the living room.  It took about an hour to clean, dust, sweep, and mop.  I also put a load of laundry in before I left for work, after I got home, and then a third load before I went to bed.  After I completed that I sat down and read my new Country Woman magazine.

Lunch: peanut butter & jelly sandwich, carrot sticks, and apple slices  - I was actually craving the peanut butter & jelly sandwich so I was glad I'd picked up some peanut butter the day before
Supper: beef roast, carrots, and potatoes with gravy and crescent rolls

Friday's Menu:

Lunch:  fattouch salad in a jar
Dinner: leftover beef roast, carrots, and potatoes from Thursday night's dinner

I've been seeing salads in jars and meals in jars recipes recently and decided to try some.  I have tons of mason jars so these type of meals will work great.  The fattouch salad was fabulous. 

Fattouch in a jar

Put 2 to 3 tablespoons of dressing in the bottom of the jar.  I bought a bottle of fattouch dressing at Cedar Grill and used it.  Chop romaine lettuce up and put into jar.  Push down periodically as you fill so it packs it in some.  Add cukes on top.  I chopped up some pitted kalamata olives and added.  I put the broken up pita chips in smaller containers so they wouldn't get soggy. Just add the pita chips when your ready to eat and shake the jar until the dressing is mixed with the lettuce thoroughly. 

You could also add feta cheese on top of the cukes if you'd like.  I was out of feta so I didn't add any.  If you'd like some protein like chicken you could add it either below or above the lettuce.