Aug 21, 2011

Playing a little catch-up

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It has been a very fun weekend with lots of great thing to talk about so I’m going to share some quick highlights from a busy week and then get on to the fun stuff!

So Wednesday morning Tim and I popped out of bed to enjoy a 2.3 mile run! Before we left I enjoyed a small bowl of Fiber One cereal and Tim had his usual. So on top of the 2.3miles of running we, of course, did about a 5 min warm up and a cool down after so that put us over our 2.5 mile mark which I was very happy with. I don’t know what it is about this week but it has been harder on my legs than usual. I find that it is usually my breathing or my legs that get to me… never both thank goodness. Or one is probably just worse than the other so you don’t notice both! This week it has been my legs… I can’t figure out if they are telling me that they need a break or if I am pushing myself to a healthy limit and really taking them past their comfort zone they have been in. In any case I told myself to keep on trucking, stretch, and don’t push them beyond their abilities.

Fiber One Cereal

So yea Wednesday was a great run. I still am not fond of the path we are taking so I knew I was goning to want to change that part of it up the next day but the weather was nice and cool which helped to make it a pretty great morning. After running and getting ready for work I left after making an egg sandwich with egg whites, muenster cheese (melted of course!), basil, and an everything bagel thin.  It was easy to transport and off I went to work to enjoy another full day of training.

Egg Sandwich- delicious!

These trainings have a pretty set lunch menu and I was not fond of today’s choices. There was pasta (penne noodles) with either white or chunky red sauce, veggies, salad, rolls, and fruit on the side. I got the veggies, salad, and fruit because the thought of eating pasta in the middle of the day made me uneasy and would have really made me feel like a fat kid! I was really glad I didn’t eat it because everyone looked SOOO tired about an hour and a half after lunch. I just felt hungry haha.

For dinner Tim and I went our separate ways… which rarely happens! Turns out there was only one piece of tilapia and at the time Tim was wanting to eat I wasn’t quite hungry enough because I had some left overs when I got home from work since my lunch stunk. So when I was finally hungry I decided to make a grilled cheese sandwich with the works! I put some bacon, tomato, and pickle on that sandwich and also made a side of tomato soup. Tomato soup is a MUST for me when I have grilled cheese. I started with just a can of Campbell’s soup and then added in basil that Karla had given me from her garden, just for the taste!  I also make my soup with milk, not water, because I like the creamy soup compared to the thin soup… either way I have Campbell’s tomato soup. It makes me feel like a kid again and is just so tasty!

Looks at that steam... something tasty is inside!

Yepp- there is something tasty

And a little soup to go with it

Tell me! What food makes you feel like you are a kid again?

Thursday

Thursday Tim and I slowly rolled out of bed, not like the jump we did the day prior, and managed to drag ourselves downstairs for a little warm up food. Today I opted for a serious competitor in my favorite morning meals. Fiber One cereal w/ a bottle of water. Now if this doesn’t look like a good way to start your day I don’t know what is?

What a team!

We ran for about 2.3 miles again and had a MUCH Better route. We didn’t really do much back tracking but rather stayed on a more circular route, which I prefer. The less back tracking we do the easier I think it is because you are more or less seeing new things (even though we have taken this route before haha). Today was once again my legs I kept thinking about and not so much my breathing but it was better today. It never ceases to amaze me how differently you feel day to day during your runs. One day you are quick and feeling great and the next you can be slow and sluggish. I guess it really goes to show that what you put into your mouth and what you do throughout your day really does make a difference in how your body feels. I think we all know this, it sounds logical, but when you are running every day so it is easy to think about how you felt the morning before, it makes even more of an impact!

Before I left for work today I stirred up a smoothie and put it in my to-go cup. Turns out the breakfast for my training had a much better option for breakfast this morning than it had the rest of the week- Egg Sandwiches! I, of course, was in heaven when I noticed this but they are less concerned about healthiness so the bread was really big bagels and other not so great options.  So I grabbed a sandwich, took my seat, and then went to work on it. I took it off the bread and then added a small scoop of hash browns on top. It was egg and bacon so I added just a dollop of ketchup and just made it with a fork.  It was delicious and I was glad to have something that tasty to start off my day with!

Lunch was a little better today and a little less heavy than the day before. It was marinated chicken with mashed potatoes, salad, more fruit, veggies, and more bread. I got a piece of chicken, one small scoop of mashed potatoes that tasted soooo good, and a heaping serving of the cookies veggies. I didn’t get the salad today but I was pretty much sick and tired of that mixed salad…. They always put more shredded carrots in there than anything else and it is a little bit of an overload I think.

After the training was over, Casey and I got into my car and headed home. I was going to my parent’s house to work out but there was no actual class tonight and Tim wanted to go with so I came home first so we could drive together. Since there was no scheduled class my mom had us do our own little thing. We did about 15-20 min of  kettle bell video my mom wanted to watch and then about 15 min of a Zumba video. Ummm… I am AWFUL at Zumba although I bet it is an amazing workout and a ton of fun. I definitely would like to get better, for exercise reasons, but also because I think it would be great to learn to move your body like they do in those videos. I mean oh my gosh they are amazing. It is so sexy to be able to dance like that and well I just don’t have that sex appeal I suppose. Oh well- I think Tim was entertained watching my mom and I laugh as we tried to even come close to moving our hips in the right way.

We stayed with the rents for dinner and my mom made a delicious meal. She also takes the same approach to lettuce that I do. You can put just about anything on lettuce and make it a meal. So she cooked up come bison meat and added spices galore that made it so tasty. She also cooked up some squash and zucchini on the side, which I ended up just putting on top of my salad. I added some salsa to mine as a little dressing. On top of those items my mom also added some “good for you stuff”. She had a little shopping spree on a website called Nuts Online where you can go to purchase organic nuts, dried fruit, and other tasty treats. In tonight’s dinner my mom added Organic Red Quinoa and Organic Goji Berries. The berries added some additional texture, which I really liked. The Quinoa I couldn’t see but I think he added some delicious flavoring.

Bison w/ the Goji Berries

Veggies on the side!

So that wraps up my Wednesday and Thursday! Still going strong- and learning to love to run. I think after these first few weeks I am finally starting to feel more like a runner! Susan G. Komen- BRING IT ON!

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Aug 17, 2011

Taco Meatloaves and Organization Turn Me On

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No rain on Tuesday morning so we laced up the tennis shoes and headed out to hit the pavement. It was a very chilly morning so I had to wear pants and a long sleeve shirt but Tim didn’t care and headed out in his t-shirt and shorts. Again, another reminder that the weather in Ohio gets very cold very quickly. Before we headed out I visited my old friend Peanut Butter Puffins and Almond Breeze Almond Milk. I don’t know why but it felt like I hadn’t had these in forever so it was like going to see an old friend from college when I poured them in my bowl! Tim stuck to the usual peanut butter on an English muffin.

 

Tim's pre-run treat

Hey there old friend!

We decided that since my Susan G. Komen 5K is in just a few weeks I really need to set a plan for myself to make it through the next few weeks so this week we decided on doing at least 2 miles every morning. Next week step it up to 2.5 then 2.75 and then 3. That should take me perfectly into the 5K. This morning we ended up running a little over 2 so that was pretty awesome except that the hill toward the end was almost the death of me. We made it through though and I was at least happy that Tim was struggling just as much as I was! It is always better to struggle together rather than separately right? I mean, of course, I would rather no one suffer through it but hey everyone likes good company.

So anyway, after a great run we came in and I rushed to get ready for work so I wasn’t late for my first day of training. Training this week is rough because we do so much sitting. They do a great job at letting us get up and move around for group projects but we are still sitting uncomfortably in chairs pretty much all day. They feed us lunch so I ended up eating some chicken fingers, I did sneak in a few breaded ones but stuck mostly to the grilled ones, with some mixed veggies, salad, and fruit. I don’t usually like these catered lunches but this one was OK. Not great… but OK.

I was home a little later than usual because on top of the week long training class they also hosted a reception at this restaurant called the Galaxy in Wadsworth. It is a pretty good restaurant- I have been there a few times with my parents and our proms were hosted there.  The good is good and they have quite a variety of different rooms you can eat at. There is a bar, a more formal dining area, and a few others big rooms to host functions. Worth checking out if you are ever in the area and well, kind of the only place in Wadsworth to check out!

When I got home Tim had dinner ready already! TACO MINI MEATLOAFS! My sister introduced Tim and I to mini meatloaves- kind of the typical meatloaf but in mini sizes and Tim mentioned it to a girl at work and she suggested we make them with taco seasoning and TADA… it was so good I wish I could eat it every night. So I just had it one night (well and left overs) with some taco rice on the side and some corn on the cob that Amanda brought us (BEST CORN EVER)! Tim sure can make one of the best dinners! Not to mention it was so nice coming home to a nice meal waiting for me after a very long day. So if you do want to make these yourselves just start with a regular meatloaf recipe, add in taco seasoning, and cook them in a muffin pan! You will not be sorry- I promise!

Looks at that beautiful plate

Ok but on to the BEST part of the evening. So we moved in over15 months ago and we have HATED our pantry area since the day we loved in. I mean it wasn’t even really a pantry it was just a big open space under the stairs and in the kitchen that was the best place to put a pantry. So this area has been this ridiculously messy and disorganized and it sort of makes me twitch every time I open the door. We tried this ugly cheap freestanding plastic shelf and didn’t like it so we bought this nice freestanding steel thing and it has been working pretty well but was still too small. So when we went next door and saw that Mark and Casey put in a Rubbermaid Pantry kit and screwed the wire shelves into the wall and just created this beautiful masterpiece. I immediately told Tim “WE NEED TO DO THAT” and sure enough I came home from my day and Tim had the wires all out and was already working hard. NOW it looks beautiful. I can’t wait for my parents to come over and see Tim’s handy work- my dad also twitched every time he opened that door. So there you have it… over a year later and we are finally making improvements haha. YAY US. So yea you have no idea how excited I get to open that pantry door… I just do it for fun now because it makes me so happy. Who knew that organization could turn a girl on?

My present!

My Handy Man

YAY For Organization!

 

Tell me! What do you HAVE to have organized or you will go CRAZY?! 

Filed Under: Good Eats and Treats, My family is the best · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,
Aug 12, 2011

Note to self: don’t do that again

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Wow- sorry for the lack of updates! It was just a crazy busy week! By Friday afternoon I was really glad the week was finally over! The days went by fairly fast but there is nothing like the weekend being on the horizon. You can see it, touch it even but when it gets here… your whole world changes. Too dramatic hu? Ok well then. WELCOME WEEKEND. I have missed you for the last 5 days.

Wednesday was welcomed with open arms because at some point during the day I would be hitting my half way point to the weekend. So I woke up and literally had to drag Tim out of bed. He has ZERO interests in going with me today but it was way too dark outside for me to go by myself so I needed a big strong man to protect me. So we headed off to do our full 2 mile run with some walking for the warm up and cool down. We had a full half hour conversation about the I-Phone today! Tim is a technological dork genius so he loves talking about this kind of stuff. See, I have a Palm Pixi and while it functionally works great I am ready for a big kid phone that let’s me play games (ha sounds a little backward right?). I am just ready for a phone that can do more than my current one can. Plus, I can’t get any good running apps and I clearly will need those so that is one very good reason to get the I-Phone. Apparently trends say that the I-Phone is usually announced in like June or something but that didn’t happen so I was very sad. Then Tim read it should be announced in September so I was very happy. Now, I am just getting nervous it won’t be coming! So many emotions for 5:30 in the morning! PLUS Tim was saying how much more expensive this one will be because it cost more to put it together so I was thought it would be a good idea to get the I-Phone 4 when the 5 comes out and get a killer deal (always thinking of ways to save money!). But then I thought… will I be mad I didn’t get the latest and greatest? SO MANY CHOICES when it comes to phones! Sometimes I miss the days of that bigger Motorola phone that either had the back light in blue or green. One choice to make. That was it. That was nice.

So we made it home undecided about the I-Phone but hopeful that I will have a choice here in the next month and a half or so. I told Casey maybe I would have a sweet new phone by the time she got married- not sure if that was relevant at all to her wedding but it was a good time reference for me. After our run we got ready for work and I headed out the door. I can’t even remember what I had for breakfast that morning! OH NO! I am so sorry. I am thinking I had a smoothie so- pretty par for the course. I do remember I had a veggie burger salad for lunch. I put lettuce, tomatoes, olive, feta cheese, and used some poppy seed dressing w/ a Morning Star veggie burger to top it off. It was sooo good and that along with a bag of garden salsa chips filled me to the max yet I somehow found a way to eat the 2 sugar wafer cookies Casey brought me for dessert! It was a productive afternoon at work and I went home to head to dinner with Tim’s dad Mike and Karla.

BUT then Mike and Karla cancelled so we were all “what are we going to do for dinner now” and Tim’s dad was kind enough to let us go enjoy the pasta bar at Fairlawn Country Club since he ditched us. It had been FOREVER since Tim and I were at pasta bar so it was really nice to be there! Oh you are probably wondering what pasta bar is right? Pasta Bar is this amazing night where you go to the club and you can “create” your own pasta. You start with telling the nice chef what kinds of veggies and meat you want. I got shrimp, italian sausage, yellow squash, peppers, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, and I think that may be it. Then she cooks it up and adds in basil and some white wine while you pick your noodle type. There was spaghetti, penne, and bowtie (I got the bowtie), and then after she puts all of your tasty veggies on top of your pasta you go over the the sauce station and pick your sauce (red, meat, or alfredo). I figured it was one of those go big or go home kind of meals so I opted for just a little bit of the alfredo sauce. I paced myself and only ate a portion of the pasta (being a good girl!) but them moved on the ice cream bar where I had vanilla ice cream w/some crushed up Oreos and Heath bars. I had a few bites and then sent the rest back to the kitchen so I didn’t overload myself on all of the tasty stuff for you!

After this we were pretty much in a food coma so we made it back home and into our comfy bed ready for another day to start!

Thursday

Thursday’s run was easier to get through because it didn’t happen until 6:15ish. I was headed to the dermatologist that morning so we got to sleep in a bit. We decided we really need to push yourself in the morning because this was going to be my last run before the 5K I was in on Friday so Tim and I ran 2.5 miles in the morning with some added walking for warm-up and cool-down. I thought this run went really well and the weather was perfect and my breathing was good. I was dog tired at the end of it but totally proud of myself for making it!

After the run and a bowl of Peanut Butter Puffins I mixed up a smoothie to-go which ended up tasting more like chalk than anything else. WAY too much protein powder and not enough fruit or something so I only made it through about a ¼ of that thing and decided to call it quits. I noticed when I got home Tim thought it was gross too because he left most of it in the cup in the sink.

Day went by fairly fast since I got to work a little late and I enjoyed lunch with the rest of the marketing team. We were doing some presentation for a new addition to our team so we had a catered lunch of tomato basil soup, a turkey, tomato, lettuce, and onion sandwhich on flatbread along with some regular mixed greens salad and fruit salad for dessert. There were cookies too but I didn’t get any of those little guys. After the work day I headed to my mom’s for workout class where I got my butt kicked! Tim joined us ladies again and he was my “partner” for class so we just worked as hard as we could and got one hell of a workout. We did an interval where one partner rowed for 5 min while the other did a 30 second on, 30 second off workout that contained squats, and burpees, and mule-kicks, and throwing balls and catching balls, and working your butt off balls haha. It was TOUGH and I was sweaty and gross but it was exactly what I needed before I headed into this weekend of fun.

We had some BBQ chicken with my parents for dinner w/ some corn on the side (random side dish I made) and talked about lots of things going on in our lives before we headed home. I have some to really LOVE these weekday dinners with my parents because I feel like it is so easy to let life get ahead of you and sometimes you stop communicating about the little things that matter. So these dinners matter a lot to me and now that Tim has been able to join class it is great that the four of us get to hang out once or twice a week! After class and dinner it was an early to bed kind of night because that class just exhausted me.

Friday

Hello Friday! I knew today was going to be a good day because I had a lot of stuff going on at work and then we had a family and friends day at work in the afternoon that my mom was coming to along with Tim, Paul, and Amanda! So in the morning I jumped out of bed and got ready for work. I skipped my run this morning so I didn’t wear myself out before the 5K on Saturday which turned out to be a good thing because that workout class on Thursday made me SO SORE. Tim too! So at least I knew I wasn’t just being a baby! I put some FiberOne Cereal in a to-go container and took it along with some Almond Breeze Almond milk to work to have for breakfast.

When lunch rollled around I wanted to grab lunch with a few friends so we went to Pizza Hut for their $4.99 buffet- what a great deal! Totally unhealthy for me to have had that much pizza in 2 days but it was the company I wanted to keep so I was down with that! I didn’t eat too much because I knew I would be eating again in the afternoon with my mom and friends!

<3 good friends that come visit me at work!

When 3:00 rolled around my mom was right on time so we made our way around my campus at work to see all of the fun sites! About an hour or so later Tim, Amanda, and Paul got there and we all enjoyed some early dinner/late lunch together. I had a veggie burger, a few bites of the pulled pork I got before I realized there were veggie burgers, and some fruit salad. I stuffed myself and it was probably the first time in a long time I did some mindless eating and should have considered how my body was actually feeling because I ended up eating waaay too much and then feeling kind of bad the rest of the evening! Note to self: don’t do that again.

My late lunch/early dinner

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Aug 9, 2011

Just a few regular days

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Morning morning was ROUGH. Tim and I woke up after going to bed far too late and managed to get our tennis shoes on and out the door. Before we did that I made Tim his delicious peanut butter English muffin and I enjoyed the unstoppable duo of Almond Breeze Almond Milk and Puffins.

What a pair!

I realized that this weekend I have a 5K to support tissue and organ donation so I knew that this week I would need to challenge myself and get my butt moving. Tim agreed to change our mind set this week to mileage instead of minutes. So we decided to do a little walking warm-up and then headed out for a full 2 miles run. I get that doesn’t seem like a lot but I am just trying to take it one step of a time here to get myself moving.

We took a route today that put us past Tim’s mom’s house and we laughed when we saw her light on. She was either up waaaay earlier than I have ever known her to get up or she never went to bed. Turns out…she hadn’t even bed to bet yet! She had been out of town and hadn’t gotten into bed yet from her long trip but gosh it made me tired! Knowing she was about to get into bed to go to sleep. So yea, anyway, the run was pretty good until about 1.5miles. THEN I started to get very tired but I still made it. The route we took was a pretty bad one though because we had to go through a bunch of circles and back track a bit which just makes you feel like the run is never going to end. Still, after a long weekend of beer and ice cream it was a more than needed run. Did I mention I ate 2 scoops of ice cream? Oops!

So got home from the run and finally headed out to work after a smoothie! I picked up a 5lb bag of frozen strawberries at Sam’s Club over the weekend so i was ready to use some of those delicious treats. I had no idea that the workday was going to be so incredibly busy but it was which made the day go by pretty fast. For lunch I took the left overs of the jambalaya from Sunday nights dinner. It was just as tasty heated up and I put it on a bed of lettuce again. Other than that I had some fruit snacks and an apple and called it lunch! It was just enough to take me through the rest of the day and head out to my parent’s house for a kick-butt workout class.

The juice that kept me going throughout the day!

So rowing/CrossFit class we did a lot of things! My mom had an open rower so Tim was able to come and I really enjoyed that. 2 workouts in a day with him! What a treat right? So after doing a 10 min warm-up we did a mix of a lot of exercises for 15 seconds on, 10 seconds off for 2 min.  Here is what we did….

  • TRX Bands Hanging Knee Raises
  • Olympic Bar Curl
  • Dips
  • Reformer Curl
  • Burpees
  • Rowing
  • Squat, Curl, Press
  • Med Ball Clean

I was sweating SO BAD. It was such an amazing workout. In workout class tonight I got to see Faye who I had not worked out with in a long time! It was great seeing her… she always inspires me and pushes me to work harder. Angie was also in class tonight and between her and Kari I was working to do my very best. Angie got stuck doing most of the workouts in-between Tim and I… poor thing haha. She had to listen to our terrible jokes and laughing about nothing.

After the workout I also got a B12 shot, which is supposed to give you more energy, sleep better, and speed up your metabolism. My mom had a nurse in to give shots to some clients and I had gotten one last month and I felt like it bad a difference so I decided to get it again. Do you/know anyone who get B12 shots consistently?

After the shot Tim and I had dinner with my parents. We had grilled chicken with a bunch of seasonings on it along with red potatoes and a frozen veggie/pasta mix thing. It was pretty delicious and kept me full all night long. Mom and I checked out some wedding dresses online and tried to get a better idea of what we both like so that was fun! I LOVE so many of the “beach” dresses that are short and cute but I still want the beautiful big dress. There is just something about having the wedding dress of your dreams that you can’t stop thinking about! Tim and I made the journey home and watched some of the Bachelor Pad (omg this is a crazy show) until I was too tired so we hit record and went to bed! Not an exciting Monday- but a pretty productive one!

Love dinner at my parent's house!

Tuesday

Goodmorning! That B12 shot must have really helped because I sprung out of bed this morning and was ready to run. When I first looked out the window I thought it was raining so I was half disappointed/excited but was pretty happy when I realized it was just left over wetness from the morning rain. Tim rolled out of bed and walked downstairs to a peanut butter English muffin (he sounds spoiled doesn’t he?) and I enjoyed a handful of Puffins. I love just those little bit of Puffins in the morning… it is just a few puffs but it is just enough to get my metabolism going and put something in my tummy.

My puffins!

We did another 2 mile run after a few minutes of walking and I was feeling fast and good throughout the run. Tim was complaining today though so the B12 shot must not have worked for him very well! The hills were touch but my legs were feeling great and my breathing was pretty steady. I hope I can keep this up on Saturday when I am in the race. I am not looking to win but I certainly want to do the very best I can and I know training for it is the way to go. So I made it this morning and realized that I think I am on week 4 right? Well, this has gotta be becoming a habit. My neighbor told me if I keep running I will become addicted to it… gosh I hope so!

Got ready for work and left myself time to pack my lunch and make some breakfast. This morning I had an egg white sandwich on a everything bagel thin with muenster cheese, of course, and this time I didn’t have the tomato but did enjoy a piece of bacon. I know I know I should not substitute a questionable fruit/veggie with bacon but it just sounded good this morning! My packed lunch consisted of some tuna, lettuce, tomato, salsa Sun Chips, and a mix of blueberries and blackberries. I ate lunch with a few girls from work and finished my afternoon up and finally got in the car with Casey and headed home!

When I got home from work Tim and I headed to the grocery store to pick up a few goods for a little girl get-together I am having this weekend for a few friends! I am making this mango black bean salsa that I hope will be delicious. Then we came home to make dinner together…. And we made a killer dinner! We made some chicken fajitas.  So we made the chicken with dry fajita seasoning with zucchini, squash, onions, peppers, and lots of cilantro. I put mine on top of lettuce; see I told you I think a bed of lettuce can make anything a meal, with tomatoes, some salsa, and a little fat free sour cream. Tim put his on a tortilla, which looked exactly as tasty. Then as usual weekday nights go we settled in to spend some time together and I wrote this blog as Tim did some work! We are just a really exciting bunch hu? Enjoy a happy healthy week! Make sure to catch up with me after this weekend; I think I’ll have a fun post to read about!

all the veggies cooking

my tasty dinner

Tm's tasty dinner

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