For The Love of the Run

The Sweet Spot

2009-08-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

I've finally found the sweet spot in my workouts, the three days on and one day off is working perfectly. My legs feel fantastic and last week I was able to push out 6 quick miles (for me) on my 3rd day. My lats and biceps were pretty sore today from yesterdays workout but because of the way this week lays out I had to get a gym workout in today. Here are the details:

Cardio: Run on treadmill for 15 minutes @ 1.5% incline with varying speeds. Average speed was probably right around 7.4mph. 5 minute cooldown

DB Chest press on stability ball: 3x10 @ 22.5 (I wanted 27.5's but they were in use as were the 25's. I can do 30's but it's hard to get them up on the ball without a friend).

DB shoulder fly: 3x10 @ 10lb dbs (still getting my right shoulder back in shape, at least the pain is gone).

Tricep kickback with pronation: 3x10 @ 12.5lb db

Cardio: HIIT sprints for 6 minutes (alternating 1 minute @ 6.0, :30 @ 10.0). 3 minute cooldown

Tricep dips 3x10 bodyweight
Vogue press 3x10 @ 15lb db
Pushups: 3x10

Cardio: Elliptical for 15 minutes. Varying ramp and resistence (between 7-11).

Tonight for dinner I made the delicious Pulled chicken in the crockpot. I just eat mine out of a bowl since I'd rather have baked sweet potato fries than a bun. I also sauteed some squash, zucchini, and mushrooms in a little olive oil and then drizzled some balsamic vinegar over them. So ono!

I have a late morning run planned for tomorrow morning, not sure how far I'm going to go. I'm thinking 4-5 miles since Wednesday is an off day again.

Productive Sunday

2009-08-16T19:26:00.000-07:00

I admit I didn't sleep much last night, maybe six hours total. This is not adequate for my body so I was hurting today. DH and I left early this morning and stopped by Starbucks, we went down to Husky stadium again today for picture day. Admittedly we didn't stay for player pix....we just went to upgrade our seats finally. They are pretty great, I don't know how these two seats were still available. We did some grocery shopping on the way home and then I forced myself to the gym (I took yesterday off and it was much needed as my legs were SOOOOOOOO sore). They felt great today though and I was not mad at my decision to get to the gym (despite how tired I was). Here is my workout

Cardio: HIIT 24 minutes.
0:00 - 5:00 7.0mph
5:00-6:00 8.0
6:00 - 7:00 6.0
7:00 - 8:00 8.0
8:00 - 9:00 6.0
9:00 - 10:00 8.0
10:00 - 11:00 6.0
11:00 - 11:45 9.0
11:45 - 12:45 6.0
12:45 - 13:30 9.0
13:30 - 14:30 6.0
14:30 - 15:15 9.0
15:15 - 16:15 6.0
16:15 - 17:00 9.0
17:00 - 18:00 6.0
18:00 - 18:30 10
18:30 - 19:30 6.0
19:30 - 20:00 10
20:00 - 21:00 6.0
21:00 - 21:30 10
21:30 - 22:30 6.0
22:30 - 23:00 10
23:00 - 24:00 8.0
5 minute cooldown

Pull ups: 1x10 @ 30lbs assist. 2x10 @ 50lbs assist for negatives.
DB curls: 3x10 @ 15lbs very slowly/concentrated
DB pullovers: 3x10 @ 20lb db
Y's T's and I's: 3x10 @ 5lb dbs
Cable curls w/ rope attachment: 3x10 @ 50lbs

Tonight for dinner I made the chicken and spinach cheesy stuffed shells again, they were excellent. DH and I had them with a side of steamed broccoli and cauliflower.

Slacker!!!

2009-08-14T15:08:00.001-07:00

I've been slacking big time the past few days. Not really super busy, just not into blogging I guess.

Wednesday's run:

Yesterday's workout:

Cardio: 10 minutes + 3 minute cooldown (roughly a 8:20 mile)

DB front squat 3x10 @ 17.5lb dbs
Romanian deadlift 3x10 @ 25lb dbs
Plie Squat with calf raise 3x10 w/ 30lb db:

Cardio: 10 minutes of hills @ 8:30 mile pace. 3 minute cooldown

Sumo squat and leg raise 3x10 with 30lb barbell
Toe touch 3x15
Ball twist (3x15

Cardio: 18 minutes on the elliptical plus 5 minutes cooldown.

5 minutes of stretching

I thought when I went out for my run this morning that I would keep it slow, my quads were tired like crazy. I kept glancing at my Garmin and making myself back off. I'm happy about these splits but I wish I could have gone slower (I couldn't make myself). I will probably pay the price tomorrow but fortunately it is an off-day. I think this 3 on, 1 off schedule is perfect for me.
I'm really looking forward to sushi tonight with DH! I haven't had sushi in far too long. I wanted to go see The Time Traveler's Wife but he suggested we go next weekend instead since we have a busy day planned tomorrow. We are going to the early Husky football practice at 8:45. Get some errands done and then we are going to the Taste of Edmonds in the evening with some friends (DH's bff from KINDERGARTEN and his wife...they've been friends for 31 years)

Another day at the gym

2009-08-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

My eye is still all gross but it seems to be healing a little bit more. I feel like I've been so busy lately but I honestly don't know what I'm so busy with. Does that make sense? I ate most of the usual suspects today. Dinner was a new recipe for chicken enchiladas (I've been burnt out on the one I used to use). I found this simple recipe on Jenna's blog and ran with it. The only change I made is that I used 2 4oz cans of green chiles (one inside the enchiladas and one on top). What can I say, I love green chiles! I also used 9 whole wheat soft taco sized tortillas. I love the Safeway Select enchilada sauce, it is so good and was the perfect amount.

Here is my workout for the day:

Cardio warmup: 8 minutes run (avg pace 7.0mph)

Dumbbell skull crusher (on incline bench) 3x10 @ 12.5lb dbs
Push press 3x10 @ 15lb dbs
Push ups 3x10

Cardio burst: 8 minutes (avg pace 7.5 mph)

Cable crossover 3x10 @ 12.5lbs each side of the machine
Dumbbell frontal raise 3x10 @ 15lb dbs

Cardio: 22 minute run varying speeds between 7.0mph and 8.5. Average pace ended up being 7.8mph. 5 minute cooldown

Crunches 3x20
Stetched out for 10 minutes or so afterwards.

I'm going to go finish up Season 2 of Entourage and read a little more of my book. Nite!

Sunday run

2009-08-09T09:46:00.001-07:00

I admit, I had a hard time getting the shoes on and heading out for a run this morning. I finally just put the new shoes on and took off. I ran some pretty nice splits today, not quite negative splits (hill put me a little down). The 'skid' is still sleeping so I can't get upstairs to upload the Garmin so here are my stats:

Time: 43:44
Miles: 5.37
Calories: 578
Average Pace: 8:08

From my memory, I will update with the actual numbers...

Mile 1: 8:40
Mile 2: 8:20
Mile 3: 7:55
Mile 4: 8:08
Mile 5: 7:47

I stretched out really good after my run, I'm trying to make this a habit since I've been bad about stretching and as I start ramping up for a half marathon next spring I need to make it a habit NOW. I'm enjoying a nice Green Monster right now to refuel my body and then need to shower and go to Costco.

Behind schedule!

2009-08-08T16:26:00.001-07:00

So this morning I got up at 7 and was going to be off and running to get in a gym session before meeting my friend Debra for some shopping at the outlet mall. I went to put in my contacts and found this...I've never had this so it freaked me the F out. Excuse the extremely attractive pic LOL. It's bloody all the way up. I waited until 8 and called my eye doctor and found out that I shouldn't be freaked and it should heal on its own in a few days. Whew. I don't mess around with my eyes.

So I got out the door an hour early but still got in a full workout! Here is what I did:

Cardio: 5 minutes warmup on treadmill (roughly .8 miles with my cooldown).

Pullups 3x10 @40lbs assist
21s 3x10 @ 30lb barbell

Cardio: 5 minutes on treadmill (roughly .9 miles with my cooldown)

Superman: 3x for 1 minute count
(Superset) Dumbbell hammer curls 3x10 @ 15lb dbs
Crunches on stability ball 3x25

Cardio: 5 minutes on treadmill (roughly .9 miles with my cooldown)

Bentover DB row 3x10 (each arm) @ 25lb db
(Superset) Flat bench crunches 3x15

Cardio: 15 minutes on the elliptical

I came back home to shower and have a Green Monster and headed off to meet Debra. I didn't end up buying much, I got some new running shoes at the Nike Outlet since they had the shoes I'd been looking for in my size. The only size 9! All the others were either 12's or like 5/6. I also got DH some dri fit socks, hopefully those will help his feet along with his new Skechers steel toe work shoes. His feet have been killing him for awhile now. They had so many pairs of Nike Tempo shorts in so many colors, they had my purple ones but only in Large or X-Large. BOOO I would have bought some. I was hoping to find a rain jacket for running and a warmer pullover but I didn't like the colors they had. I am going to buy those online since the Clearance prices online are very comparable to the outlet store. We wandered around a bit and then headed to Bob's Burgers and Brew for a late lunch. I had a cajun chicken wrap and fries (and a lot of water) which really hit the spot. I was STARVING, all I had after my GM was an americano lol.

So I'm just relaxing now, see my super sexy sweats lol (the bottoms are actually the VS Pink Huskies capris from last year, I don't like the latest ones. :().

I am so excited for football season...I am watching a 'classic' game on Fox Sports right now (Oregon State/Washington from 2000, which I was at of course). I also watched the first press conference of the season online yesterday. What can I say, I'm a glutton for punishment?

Leg day!

2009-08-06T18:31:00.000-07:00

Today was leg day at the gym, here is my workout:

Cardio: 15 minutes on treadmill avg pace 7.5mph. 5 minute cooldown.

Double Leg Lift 3x15
Calf raise with stability ball 3x15
Reverse lunge with dumbbells 3x10 @ 15lb dbs
Booty blaster on stability ball (can't find my link to it grr) 3x15
Stability ball pass 3x10 my abs were still sore from Tuesday so these were killer.

Cardio: 15 minutes on treadmill avg pace 7.5mph. 5 minute cooldown.

All the typical food for today, for dinner I didn't feel like doing much since I was only cooking for me. I sliced up a zucchini that I desperately needed to use, also about five jumbo mushrooms. I sauteed those in some olive oil and seasoned with black pepper and cayenne pepper. I then cooked up a box of Annie's shells and cheese and threw a can of tuna fish in. I ate about half the mac n cheese and tuna with a healthy portion of hot sauce (gotta have hot sauce on mac n cheese).

I finished Janet Evanovich's latest Stephanie Plum novel last night, Finger Lickin' Fifteen. It was very funny, almost back to her usual. I have to admit, I'd like to see her mix it up and have Stephanie finally pick a love interest. Lula was hilarious as usual, there could have been more Grandma Mazur too. But overall plenty of laugh out loud moments.

I'm going to watch another chick flick tonight, this time Confessions of a Shopaholic. I've already seen it but had put it into my Netflix queue anyways for fun. I really enjoyed the Shopaholic series of books (even though Bex is an idiot). So I already know that it is light, humorous, and something to veg out to.

I did like Bride Wars last night, again just something light to veg too...totally unrealistic but you can just drone out the real world and use it as escapism.

I've got a lot on my mind right now so it's nice to escape in a dvd or a book. I'm also starting a new book tonight, I can't wait to curl up in bed with it. I hope Cooper joins me (Jada won't sit still she just wants to rub on the book and stand on me). The book is A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand, this is my first book by her so I'm curious if I will like her writing. Has anyone read any of her stuff? I love to chat about books. :)

It's amazing what a good run will do....

2009-08-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

for one's mood! It's gonna be a quick one tonight, I just popped Bride Wars into the DVD player and am going to watch that. I'm a single lady until Saturday, gotta enjoy my time! I went to dinner tonight with one of my BFF's, Michelle. We did Indian. Yum yum, split an order of vegetable samosas, and I had baigan bharta and roti. Sooo yum. I wanted to lick the little dish clean.

Did a run with the 'skid' today. Temps are sooo much lower than last week. Last Wednesday our high was 103 in Seattle, today it was barely 70. My body was in heaven, I even ran in a long sleeved shirt today because the 62 at noon was FREEZING to me. I loved that we did negative splits, what a great workout.

For lunch I had mongolian grill leftovers from last night (brown rice, chicken, tofu, a million veggies).

One of my fave stores just started carrying Chobani, I picked up a couple of things of it last night and will be sure to give my opinion. I'm a total Fage girl out of necessity so we'll see how it compares. My mom said she much prefers Fage to Chobani so we'll see what I think.

Okay, I'm going to kick back and watch this movie. :)

Happy Birthday to Me

2009-08-04T12:16:00.001-07:00

So today is my 31st birthday...I don't feel any older, and quite frankly feel younger than I did when I was 21. I'm in a lot better shape, y'all I wish I had my old pics somewhere. I think around 2001 I gave up on dropping the weight and trashed all my old pictures. I'm glad I didn't give up, I don't know when it hit but in May of 2006 was when I had my weight loss epiphany. I never thought I could control my portion sizes...one day I said 'f' it and started going to 5-6 smaller meals a day. That did the trick for me, I stopped feeling hungry and overindulging. At the peak I know that I weighed 178lbs, this was in 2000. I could have weighed more but that is the highest I ever knew of. In 2001 I got down to 155lbs with exercise alone. But I couldn't ever break the plateau. Between 2001 and 2006 I hovered between 155 and 165lbs. On May 14, 2006 I weighed 165lbs. By late Summer 2006 I was down to 145lbs. PORTION CONTROL was my friend. In the Fall I got engaged to the hubs but I was feeling a plateau, I had lifted weights a lot in high school so I started adding weight training back into my routine.

By the time we were married I'd gotten down to 135lbs and felt great. I don't really consider myself to be in a 'maintenance' mode. I honestly don't want to necessarily lose weight. I want to get stronger. I want my muscles stronger for lifting and running. I want my mind stronger for learning. I try hard to keep my nutrition in line because I straight up feel better when I eat better. I know that the number hasn't really changed on the scale over the last 2.5 years but I see the differences, I feel the differences in my performance.

So yeah, that was one big useless tangent. LOL. I guess it was just a recap of where I am today...

For breakfast this morning I had a big Green Monster. Same ingredients as yesterday. I have a small sample of PB2, how should I use it? I was thinking in a Green Monster, or maybe mixed with some greek yogurt and puffins? Any ideas?

For my snack I had greek yogurt, pb puffins, kashi heart to heart, and strawberries.

For my lunch I am going to eat leftovers of the delicious cheesy chicken shells from last night.

I have an amazing workout planned for after work, I wrote it all out even! Here it is, obvi weights could change.

Cardio: 5 minute warm up on tread (varied speeds)

Dip assist machine 3x10 @ 30lbs
DB Shoulder press 3x10 @ 25lb dbs

Cardio: 5 minutes gradually increasing incline @ 7.0mph

Leaning lateral raises 3x10 @ 10lb db
Supine chest press 3x10 @ 25lb dbs

Cardio: 5 minutes of speed intervals (7.0 for 40 seconds/9.0 for 20 seconds repeat)

Frog crunches 3x15
Bicycle crunches 3x25

Cardio: 15 or 20 minutes of moderate running (7.0mph or so). Depending on how much time I have and how I feel.

I almost forgot! I have a couple of new songs on my little iPod Shuffle too, I love when a new song comes on. Here are my new faves:

El Gitano Del Amor by Latin Soul Syndicate
Love, Sex, and Magic by Ciara (feat. Justin Timberlake - yum)
Whatcha Think About That by The Pussycat Dolls (feat. Missy Elliott)

Okay I'm going to go make my lunch in a few! Have a good afternoon all!

Happy Rest Day

2009-08-03T19:31:00.001-07:00

So I've been doing a 3 on, 1 off rotation with working out lately. I think this is best for my body, after that 3rd day of exercise I need to rest my legs. I didn't do a dang thing today and loved it. I had this rather scary looking Green Monster this morning.

Don't fear, it was delicious. I bought a huge thing of Strawberries at Costco yesterday so we are eating a lot of them right now. In the GM was:

1 cup of Cow's milk 1 scoop Optimum Nutrition vanilla whey protein powder 1 TB Trader Joe's raw creamy Almond butter 5 strawberries 1/2 frozen banana 4c spinach 1/2c frozen blueberries 1.5c crushed ice

I just haven't really been feeling like taking pics of my food, I think it makes me self conscious. Maybe more than 4 people would read my blog if I took more pics, what do you all think? Though, I eat the same stuff most every day so it really isn't exciting. I'm much better about workout blogging than food, which is true to form because I'm a good exerciser but am pretty lax about my nutrition.

For my morning snack the strawberries made another appearance....

1/2c Fage 0%
1/2c Peanut Butter Puffins
1/2 Kashi Heart to Heart cereal
6 sliced strawberries

I was starvin marvin' by lunch time...

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Lunch was a wrap:
Morningstar Farms tomato basil pizza burger
1 Flat Out wrap
1c spinach
1/2 tomato
1 Laughing Cow Light Swiss

All grilled up because it sounded freaking good...served along side a handful of riceworks sweet chili brown rice chips.

Afternoon snack was a Kashi Honey Almond Flax bar (my least fave of the Costco variety pack, but DH won't touch 'em so someone has to eat them while he gets the nummy Trail mix ones...how is THAT fair?) and a big juicy peach.

For dinner I tried something new, I went out on a limb that the 'skid' would eat it but he isn't a super picky eater so I wasn't too worried (DH said he thought he'd eat it). Thanks to Danica for this delicious recipe! I only had a 10oz package of frozen spinach so I went double chicken (DH is a huge carnivore and I need the extra protein on my rest day). OMG, so delicious. I ate two of the shells along with about a cup of steamed broccoli and cauliflower. The 'skid' actually said (unprompted) 'This is really good!'. So two thumbs up for Danica's recipe. I used Newman's Own marinara since I haven't been to Trader Joe's in a few weeks.

I plan to eat a serving of Dreyer's Tart Honey froyo later. I picked up a tub last week because all Dreyer's was $2.99 at Safeway. I really like this but I don't like that the honey is a swirl, I wish it was more mixed in. There's definitely a tart lemon taste (which isn't suprising because there is lemon juice concentrate in the ingredient list). It doesn't compare to my fave froyo with coconut but it will do for a treat, it's a lot cheaper.

picture courtesy of Dreyer's

Okay I'm off to get some laundry done and to read some more of the latest Stephanie Plum novel, Finger Lickin' Fifteen. It's hilarious!

Quick Sunday post!

2009-08-02T11:26:00.000-07:00

Last night was really fun, DH and I went out to dinner and to the theatre. We saw Catch Me if You Can, I've never seen the movie or read the book so it was all new viewing for me. Overall we both really liked it.

Dinner was amazing, we went to Palisade. I hadn't been there in YEARS. It was just as good as I remembered (if not better). I forgot my camera, which bummed me out because the restaurant is beautiful. We started with drinks, a lilikoi mojito for me and a mai tai for DH. Then we split a calamari appetizer, unlike a lot of restaurants they use big strips of calamari. They soak it in buttermilk and then do a very light breading. I loved the wasabi aioli they served for dipping, even DH liked it (and he isn't a fan of wasabi). After that we made the fatal mistake and went for the seafood chowder. It was delicious but soooo rich. For entrees DH had a big NY strip steak with mushrooms, mashed Yukon Gold potatoes, and asparagas. I had crab and mac nut stuffed prawns. They served it over summer veggies (delicious) and mashed potatoes (I had like 3 bites). The prawns were so much bigger than I thought they would be, I think there were six and I was able to eat 4.5 (and all of my veggies). This is so rare for me to feel full like that, I'm normally the bottomless pit. I think the richness of the food just did me in, I don't normally eat really rich foods. Sooo delicious though!

After dinner we had time before we had to head downtown to go for a walk around the marina, I think this really helped me digest so I didn't fall asleep during the show!

This morning I got up for a good workout. It was already hot and I didn't want to deal with it so I did a treadmill workout.

I did a variation of this workout from Fitness magazine.

Minutes	Pace
0:00–10:00	Warm-up jog; worked my way up from 3.5mph to 6.5mph gradually.
10:00–10:20	Sprint at 9.5 mph
10:20–11:20	Jog at 6.5 mph
11:20–14:00	Repeat minutes 10:00–11:20 twice
14:00–17:00	Jog at 6.5 mph
17:00–27:00	Run at 7.5 mph
27:00–31:00	Jog at 6.5 mph
31:00–35:00	Run at 7.5 mph
35:00–39:00	Jog at 6.5 mph
39:00–55:00	Repeat minutes 31:00–39:00 twice
55:00–60:00	Gradually slow pace to cool down at jog/walk

This ended up burning 700 calories for me with the cooldown, I varied incline between 1.0% and 2.5%.

After that I had to go to Costco to get more spinach. YUM!

Saturday....

2009-08-01T13:28:00.000-07:00

Ugh, I woke up with a pounding ass headache this morning. I tried to get it to go away naturally but it just wouldn't go. I ended up heading out for my run, which quite frankly sucked (I slept later than I wanted and it was already hot in the sun plus the headache). Here are the stats, I'm too lazy to upload and quite frankly it is one of my slowest runs in 5 years. I originally wanted to do a 6.75 mile loop but knew my headache would prevent that.

Time: 41:04
Distance: 4.5miles
Calories Burned: 478
Best Pace: 7:38
Avg. Pace: 9:07

I came home and treated myself to a huge Green Monster and shower. LOL.

I then went for a much needed pedicure and manicure. I'm now back home eating some lunch. I had some leftover Sloppy Joe's (without a bun, just the meat and veggies) and some sweet potato discs. I finally gave in and turned on the oven, I had to have them. Seasoned with some Johnny's Seasoning Salt and cayenne pepper.

I'm just relaxing and enjoying a little Beverly Hills 90210 on the SOAP network.

Happy Friday!

2009-07-31T07:59:00.001-07:00

This Friday is extra happy, our temperatures have finally cooled off. Yesterday was a busy day for me at work and then I met my mom after work to see Jewel at Zoo Tunes. Zoo Tunes was a lot of fun, plus it benefits the Zoo...what is not to love? I would definitely go again, even if it wasn't someone I was super interested in seeing. It's a small venue, all general admission lawn seating. I was afraid that we weren't going to get any shade so it would be super hot (it was 93 when we got out of the car). Fortunately the entire West side of the lawn area has trees so we weren't in the sun for long (maybe 5 minutes).

Here is a picture of Cooper trying to stay cool! So he really only stayed like this for a few minutes before he got up. One thing I found about him is that he doesn't mind water (or maybe he was so hot he didn't care?). I would wring a towel out on him and wet him down. He also liked me putting a frozen bottle of water (wrapped in a towel) in his little cat house with him.

I'm currently enjoying a delicious Green Monster.

I have to work super late tonight for our quarterly server updates so I'm going to hit the gym for a long lunch (and take a long dinner break LOL).

Here is the workout I have planned (weights are all estimates):

Cardio: 10 minutes on treadmill
Bicep curl 3x10 @ 20lb dbs
Lat pulldown 3x10 @ 75lbs
Cable hammer curl with rope attachment 3x10 @ 40lbs
Two arm dumbbell row 3x10 @ 15 or 20lbs
Stability ball back extension
Cardio: Run on treadmill probably 2.5 miles (20 minutes) plus 5 minute cool down.

Okay, time to get to work!!!

More Hotness

2009-07-29T20:49:00.000-07:00

I've been a bad blogger, actually I've just been straight up lazy. It is so hot outside and Seattle just isn't equipped for this shiz. Today was the hottest day EVER in Seattle. We did eventually hit 103 at my house...in the shade. I really wasn't wanting to workout at all today, the 'skid' and I got our portable AC (usually lives in our bedroom) downstairs to try to keep the living room cool. Fortunately the temp stayed steady down here all day, so it worked. However my work laptop has a steaming pile of ish for a wireless network card so I kept getting dumped offline all day and got next to nothing accomplished. I finally found a solution around 1:30pm and got an old USB wireless card I had working on it and just disabled my crappy POS internal card. Whew.

I was frustrated with it all so I went to the gym at lunch. I was trying to be super quick so my workout was much abbreviated (I figured something is better than nothing). Here are my stats:

Cardio: 20 minute run (2.61 miles). Plus five minute cooldown.

Box Step Ups with dumbbells 3x10 @ 17.5lb dbs

Calf raises on the step with dbs 3x15 @ 17.5lb dbs (superset)

Seated Oblique Twists w/ medicine ball 3x15 @ 10lb ball

Wall squat with stability ball 3x15

Stability ball crunches 3x25

Hamstring curls 3x10 @ 60lbs

I had a Green Monster for lunch as my appetite was finally a little off from the hotness. It also turns out that Cooper doesn't mind water, he let me wet him down to cool off. I even placed a frozen towel over him and he didn't mind. My sweet boy.

The 'skid' and I went to Starbucks when I finished work just to enjoy some AC (and iced drinks). I had a venti iced americano with caramel and the 'skid' had the strawberry banana smoothie. He said it was really good, and the nutritionals weren't horrible (although I'm sure there is added sugar in the strawberry puree they add).

For dinner we all went to a new Mongolian Grill tonight. It was so delicious! They had a great selection of veggies, I went with mushrooms, spinach, zucchini, broccoli, onions, celery, tofu, chicken, and brown rice with their mongolian sauce. I had tons leftover (I did the one bowl option while the 'skid' and DH did the all you can eat option). So I got to bring my leftovers home. :) They also gave us a sample of their tart frozen yogurt...I loved it but DH wasn't a fan (I ate both of ours lol).

Hopefully the pic I posted works...I'm using a different computer than usual (and IE 6) and it's not showing up in my Compose screen...I added it via HTML code so hopefully it will work. Note: yeah it didn't work and I don't have the patience to deal with it...so I'll post it tomorrow from my other computer.

It's getting hot in here...

2009-07-28T08:38:00.000-07:00

Le sigh! At 10:00 last night when I went to bed it was 85 degrees in my living room....this morning when I got up at 5:45am it was still 79. I'm just thankful we have AC in our bedroom so we can sleep at night...I actually moved my work laptop in there yesterday afternoon and worked on documentation from bed. LOL.

Last night I made a delicious dinner though I was breaking a sweat the whole time. I really wanted sweet potato fries but really didn't want to turn on the oven. No SP fries for me. :(

Super Sloppy Joe's
Adapted from Rachael Ray 30 Minute Meals

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
1 1/4 pounds ground turkey breast
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon steak seasoning blend, such as McCormick brand Montreal Seasoning
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1/2c chopped carrots
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Trader Joe's multi grain hamburger buns

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and meat to the pan. Spread the meat around the pan and begin to break it up.

Add sugar and Montreal Steak seasoning to the skillet and combine. When the meat has browned, add onion and red peppers to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and cook onions, peppers, red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce with meat for 5 minutes.

Add tomato sauce and paste to pan. Stir to combine. Cover and reduce heat to simmer and cook Sloppy Joe mixture 5 minutes longer. Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, pile sloppy meat onto bun bottoms and cover with bun tops. I personally eat mine open faced so I can fit more meat/veggies.

This recipe is a fave of ours, and it appeared the 'skid' liked it a lot as well (he went back for a 2nd sandwich). The hubs wasn't hungry when he got home from his 2nd job, when it gets hot he doesn't eat as much. I hear a lot of people say that, I am so envious...my appetite is not deterred by anything (except for stomach viruses). I swear I am a bottomless pit.

We also went for froyo before DH had to go to his 2nd job yesterday...which hit the spot.

Last night when I went to bed I asked the 'skid' if he wanted me to wake him up this morning for a run. He said yes...I figured he'd just roll over and go back to sleep at 5:45 when I woke him up but he got up and was ready to run. Here are the stats from our run, I think the ascent/descent numbers are a little high but I could be wrong I suppose. Our first mile was all uphill and we were still waking up. I'm very happy with miles 2 and 3. I woke up with a raging headache this morning (despite drinking a gallon of water yesterday easily), so I wasn't into more than 3 miles.

We came back and made protein shakes, mine was a Green Monster with the following:
1 cup ff cow's milk
1 scoop Optimum Nutrition chocolate whey
1/3 frozen banana
5 strawberries
1 TB Natural Peanut butter
4c baby spinach

The 'skid' had
1 cup Simply Orange Orange Mango juice
1 scoop Optimum Nutrition vanilla whey
2/3 frozen banana
5 strawberries

Definitely hits the spot after a sweaty morning run (it was pretty humid).

I think we'll either hole up in the bedroom with laptops or maybe make a trek to Starbucks for awhile to keep cool. Our house has zero shade and has east/west facing windows so we just get hammered, oh and crappy insulation. I'm bitter, can you tell? Oh well, I guess at least our house is still worth more than the mortgage so I should be thankful for that!

We're Jammin'

2009-07-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

I can't think of a better way to start a sunny Summer day than a little Bob Marley, so that's what I listened to on my way home from the gym this morning. It's going to be mucho hot here all week so early morning workouts are in my cards for the week. I find that I entirely lack motivation by about 2pm on days when it is HOT in my house, so even a gym workout is going to be in the morning.

I got up at 5am with the hubs, ate a slice of Faux-zekial cinnamon raisin toast with some blackberry preserves and headed out to the gym.

Here is my workout:

Cardio warmup: Treadmill, 7 minutes - .9 miles.

Dumbbell lateral raise 3x10 @ 15lbs
Standing Dumbbell Triceps extension 3x10 @ 20lb db

Cardio burst: 5 minutes (1 minute @ 6.0mph, 30 seconds at 10mph for 5 minutes alternating) 2 min cooldown

Dumbbell chest fly 3x10 @ 15lb dbs
Dumbbell upright row 3x10 @ 15lb dbs

Cardio burst: 5 minutes + 2minute cooldown
0:00 - 1:00 6.5mph
1:00 - 2:00 7.0mph
2:00 - 3:00 7.5mph
3:00 - 4:00 8.0mph
4:00 - 5:00 8.5mph

Dumbbell bench press 3x10 @ 30lb dbs
Pushups 3x10
Crunches 3x25

Cardio: 10 minutes on the treadmill average 7:50 pace I think. 5 minutes cooldown.

I came home and made a big bowl of yum, 1/2c Fage, 1/2c Kashi Heart 2 Heart, 1/2c Kashi Go Lean crunch, and a bunch of sliced strawberries. Sooo good.

Megan @ MegaNerdRuns is having a sweet Chobani giveaway! Check it out now. :)

Lazy Sunday

2009-07-26T17:13:00.001-07:00

So I had the intention of running this morning but decided to take the day off. LOL. I got up and had a delicious berry green monster and read blogs. I finished the new Jennifer Weiner book today, Best Friends Forever. I'm a fan of most of her books, but I was a little hesitant on this one. I took my book and headed down to the local Starbucks this morning for an iced, venti americano with caramel drizzle and settled down to read for awhile. I ended up finishing the book this afternoon and really enjoyed it, the book definitely did not end the way that I thought it would (in a good way). It had a little bit of a mystery to it, but basically told the story of two girls that were best friends growing up but drifted apart during high school. I highly recommend this book.

I went to Trader Joe's after a little reading to get my Fage and Morningstar pizza burger fix. I came home and made myself a big bowl of Fage, kashi go lean crunch, and some strawberries.

For lunch I had leftovers from last night's dinner, dinner tonight is flank steak, chicken satay, roasted zucchini/squash/mushrooms, and some whole wheat sourdough from TJ's.

It's so freaking hot in my house, it's supposed to be very hot here all week so I'll be getting up early this week for my workouts. I find that by this time of the day I have ZERO energy when it's hot, so even a gym workout is out of the question.

Happy Saturday!

2009-07-25T16:18:00.000-07:00

So my morning was super busy and I didn't have time to blog, hopefully I can remember my workout.

Last night I went to Happy Hour with two of my oldest friends (from Middle School) and a couple of newer friends. :) What I thought was going to be a fairly early evening ended up being 6 hours of happy hour. No complaints, and I kept myself in check by only having 3 Corona Lights. But even that was enough to make me retain water all day long, alcohol has that effect on me. I knew at the gym this morning before I stepped on the scale that the number would be up. My engagement ring is pretty loose most of the time and it took a few pulls to get it off. So when I hopped on the scale and the number was UP 4lbs this week, no biggie. No way did I consume enough calories this week to actually gain 4lbs LOL.

Here's my workout from today:

8 minute treadmill warmup (avg 8:45 mile).

DB bicep curls 3x10 @ 17.5lbs
DB pullover on stability ball 3x10 @ 15lbs
Hammer curl with rope attachment 3x10 @ 40lbs
Triceps pushdown with rope attachment 3x10 @ 50lbs
Lying dumbbell triceps extensions 3x10 @ 12.5lb dbs

HIIT cardio session 23 minutes.
5 minute warmup (6.5mph)
3 sets (1:00 @ 8.0 mph/1:00 @ 6.0mph)
4 sets (:45s @ 9.0mph/ 1:00 @ 6.0mph)
4 sets (:30s @ 10.0mph/ 1:00 @ 6.0mph)
5 minute cooldown

I then rushed home for a green monster and shower.

Then off to meet the BFF for an early matinee. We saw The Ugly Truth which I actually really enjoyed, I laughed out loud a lot and was entertained. I was naughty and snuck in a big bottle of water and some of the peanut buttery bars I made the other night for us to share. I also bought a small popcorn because quite frankly I have a hard time watching a movie without it in the theater. I could probably eat a whole large size by myself (and then feel like warmed over ass after the movie, I lack the filter that tells me I am full).

I went into mall because I wanted to get some new running socks, all of mine are losing their elasticity. With the Nordstorm Anniversary Sale going on I thought they might have some socks on sale and they did! I got 2 packs of new socks to try.

Nike no-show Shox cushioned socks Normally $16 for 2 pair, on sale for $10.00
Nike Drifit no-show sports socks Normally $15 for 2 pair, on sale for $9.

I'm thinking I'll try out the cushioned socks tomorrow since I'm planning a 6.5 mile run when I get up.

I also may have stopped for froyo on the way home. I stopped at Coldstone first but they only have some berry froyo and I'm a plain girl. So I got back in the car and went to my usual place. Mmmmmm.....plain froyo with coconut. I sat outside and caught up on some blog reading while I ate. :)

Okay, my Netflix of Entourage season 1 arrived today so I'm vegging out to that tonight and cooking dinner at home (quinoa, veggies, marinara).

TGIF!

2009-07-24T13:41:00.000-07:00

Busy, busy Friday. I've been on the phone all day it seems. :)

Quick update for the middle of my day, and a few fun links.

Breakfast this morning was the last of my container of Fage (I used the tub for a bowl LOL). 1/2c Kashi Go Lean Crunch (Honey Almond Flax) and 1/2 Multi-grain Cheerios, and 6 sliced strawberries.

Morning snack was a Key Lime Pie Larabar. This was my first time with a Larabar and it will NOT be my last. This was so delicious, the texture was great and I love the short ingredients list of whole foods that I recognize.

I managed to sneak away for a lunch break run, the 'skid' wanted to go with so off the two of us went. I don't know if he was going easy on me, or if I'm not as old and slow as I think but there was never any separation in our running. At the end he was going fast and I kept up (though his legs are WAY longer) and even pulled ahead! Here are the stats from our run, I am going to really like running with him while he's here and quite honestly it is nice to have something that just him and I can do WITHOUT the hubs.

After our run I made a quick Green Monster and got back to work. I made my choco PB cup flavor one, the 'skid' had a sip and I could tell he was surprised it didn't taste like spinach (I could see him watching me add the spinach). Maybe we'll get another convert to the GM Movement?

Without further adieu, here are some fun links if you need some Friday/Weekend reading material.

First off some EYE candy for the ladies.... Becks courtesy of Twirlit.
Yummy Tummy courtesy of Twirlit, I'd like to give the cami a try!
Electronic Cigarettes? WTF! Courtesy of Fit Sugar.

My laptop can suck it

2009-07-23T21:23:00.000-07:00

I had this great post planned out that I wanted to write....about 4 hours ago. I finally have my laptop up and running again, from a July 7th restore point. Go me. I have gotten through 4 episodes of Entourage. I'm officially HOOKED. I was watching last season on HBO On Demand. I need to get my hands on the first 5 seasons ASAP.

Anyways, I also made some of Tina's Peanut Buttery Bars too. This time I used honey in place of agave nectar, I think I like the honey better.

Okay, I'm tired and want to read. I took today off from working out, my body needed it.

P.S. I also wanted to thank everyone for their kind words yesterday, I think it was a lot of PMS and stress from being the 'go-to' support person for a week that just drained my sanity. I was much better today, it's hard when everyone is testing for new deployment and I just want to help out (and the only thing I can really do is to take support analysis off their shoulders).

Colossal Meltdown

2009-07-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit it. I had a freaking meltdown this afternoon. I don't know if it's the heat (and lack of AC in my office) getting to me, or the fact that I've been doing email support for work for like a week straight now due to vacations...or some PMS. I think it's likely a combination of all three. To be honest, I don't know what I want to do with my life. I wish I did. I like to think something to do with fitness and nutrition would fit me, but maybe I'd get sick of that too. In an ideal world I'd of course be independently wealthy, travel a lot, and of course sit by a pool with handsome pool boys to fan me with huge leaves. But we all know it isn't an ideal world. So I sucked it up and finished my work just in time to sign off and head to the gym.

I did the following workout (variation of Gina's Summer Shape up)

Warmup: 10 minutes on the treadmill plus 5 minute cooldown (worked out to about 1.7 miles).

-Leg extension machine 1x10 @ 100lbs, 2x10 @ 80lbs
-Calf raises on a step 3x10
-Squat jumps (as many as you can for 1 minute total)
-Lunges (twisting with medicine ball) 3x10 @ 10lb ball
-Jumping jacks (as many as you can for 1 minute)
-Stability ball hamstring curl 3x10
-Wall squats (Hold for 30 seconds with 30 seconds rest in between; 3 times)
-Dolphin plank (hold 30 seconds) then do a side plank for 30 seconds, other side 30 seconds, then back to dolphin plank for 30 seconds) - I did 3 of these.

Cardio: 10 minutes on the treadmill plus 5 minute cooldown (worked out to about 1.7 miles).

After that I went to Costco because I needed spinach (fortunately Costco is right around the corner from the gym).

So I made a new recipe for dinner tonight. It was VERY easy and VERY delicious. I was nervous, I admit....but it was delicious. I made the following recipe (from recipezaar.com) for pulled chicken sandwiches in the Crock Pot.

http://www.recipezaar.com/Pulled-Chicken-Sandwiches-Crock-Pot-242547

Ingredients

1 medium onion, thinly sliced or 1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
Note: When I make this again I will likely use 2 onions, they were the star of the dish.
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Sauce

1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
Note: I didn't have any on hand so I omitted this and it was fine.
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 pinch salt

Directions

Cut the onion in half and slice into thin half rings. Line the bottom of the crock pot with the onions.
Trim the chicken breasts and place on top of the bed of onions.
Mix all of the sauce ingredients together and pour on top of the chicken covering completely.
Cook for 6 hours on low setting. The sauce thickens and turns into a dark rich brown during cooking. At the same time the onions dissolve into the sauce.
When the chicken is falling apart tender, take two forks and shred the chicken.

I actually had mine in a bowl since I didn't feel like a sandwich roll.

I also had a sweet potato (wanted fries but didn't want to turn on oven) and some sauteed zucchini, summer squash, and 'shrooms.

Jada has been busy tonight sleeping in her saucer bed. We call it the Little Grey Bed. For a little grey cat, obviously!
Cooper is lounging on the couch with me.

Make sure to get in your last minute votes for Danica!!!!!! Danica's Nectarine Raspberry Sorbet

Super Busy!

2009-07-22T12:31:00.001-07:00

Today is one of those days were I just can't seem to eat enough. It's weird because it has been hot here, and I know the heat lessens the appetite of a lot of people. I wish it would reduce my appetite! I seem to eat as much as ever. Last night we ended up just going out to Thai food for dinner because we wanted to sit in the air conditioning. The hubs and I shared some chicken pad thai and chicken pad see ew. I was craving pad thai (which is rare for me...lol). It was really good though.

I came back home and chatted with my friend Brian online while the hubs went somewhere with his son. I was so tired last night from my lack of sleep the night before. I took a melatonin too, I don't know if it was just being tired but about 20 minutes later we were watching tv and I just passed out. I slept until DH's alarm without even a potty break. I usually wake up at least once to pee, I drink a lot of water and it's just par for the course. Even if I don't drink any for a few hours before bed I still wake up at some point and have to go.

I'm planning to hit the gym and Costco (need spinach) after work. It's a pretty light legs workout (okay a lot of legs, not much cardio which I'm cool with).

I had oats for b-fast this morning (1/2c oats, 3/4c water, 1/4c ff cow's milk, 1/2 mashed banana, 1 big TB natural chunky PB, and a sprinkle of Kashi Go Lean Crunch). I also had a small bowl of cold watermelon.

I had a pb cup Green Monster mid-morning. But only had about 3 cups of spinach left.

Lunch was a leftover bb burger, some pepperjack cheese, avocado, and tomato on a toasted Orowheat sandwich thin with 1 wedge of Laughing Cow Light Swiss smeared on. It was soooo good. I also ate a Kashi Trail Mix bar...I really want to eat more.

Janetha is having a sweet 100th post giveaway you should checkout!

Labor of Love

2009-07-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

This morning was TUFF (yes, I meant to misspell tough...inside joke). I knew I had to be up at 5:30 for my run, to start work at 6:30 since I have to leave at 8:30 to pickup the 'skid' from the aeropuerto. I tried to go to sleep at 10, but of course I had another bout of insomnia (mental note: pickup melatonin tonight). I don't think I fell asleep until 11:30 or closer to midnight. The hubs overslept this morning (his alarm goes off at 4:45, which he turned OFF. I told him at 5 that it was 5 and he bit my head off....so of course I was gloating when he freaked out at 5:15 about the time). I couldn't fall back asleep so I just got up (if you can't beat 'em, join 'em).

I choked down a Kashi TLC bar because my tummy was about to eat itself. Leaving the house at 5:30am is as close to a sunrise run as you'll get in Seattle in the Summer. It was already very light out, but the sun was just starting to rise. I didn't take my running sunglasses 'cause it wasn't super bright, thankfully I didn't regret that decision.

I started off super slow, as you can see by my Garmin stats:

I think it takes a few miles for my legs to wake up. I did my fave 4.2 mile loop (with the monster hill). Some dude was hanging out the window of his truck waving at me, I seriously wonder about people sometimes. I ran to the top of our hill, and wanted to run a little more so I ran around our little neighborhood a few times. Came in the house to this:

His tummy was also eating itself...you can see their catnip banana in the background. The hubs laughed at me when I brought it home for them, but the love it. What can I say, my cats like fruit? They also LOVE their catnip cherry (they've gone through two of them, one had the stuffing coming out).

Fed the beasts, took a shower, then made a green monster. I'm a nice kitty mommy and don't turn on the blender while they are eating since they hate loud noises.

By request...a pic of my haircut. The cut looks the same, I just got color done. I should have taken a pic on Saturday, I have ZERO patience for doing my own hair, so it never looks as good.
Pardon my messy kitchen.

I have my Starbizzle FREE PASTRY coupon printed out. For those on the West Coast you have until 10:30 to get your free pastry. :) I'm going to stop and get mine on the way to the airport. :)

ALSO! Make sure to vote for Danica's Nectarine Raspberry Sorbet over fresh fruit! She's in the top 5 for the myrecipes.net best summer dessert contest! The contest ends on THURSDAY!

Enjoy the Silence!

2009-07-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning my stepson is arriving in town to stay with us for three weeks. So tonight I enjoy my freedom LOL (kidding, kinda). It's funny but it does change a lot in our household when he's here. The little things really. He's 16 so it's not like he's a little kid, but I still like to make sure he eats while the hubs is at work. LOL. I'm trying to plan dinners for the week, tomorrow night is kind of up in the air but I am thinking about making shrimp and goat cheese risotto. Wednesday night is pulled bbq chicken sammiches (easy because I can dump it all in the crock pot on Weds morning). Thursday I'm thinking about making the Shrimp po' boys in this month's Cooking Light that Jenna was raving about a few weeks ago.

Not much went on this afternoon, just work and then I ran to the library to pick up the new Jennifer Weiner book (I was lucky enough to get on the hold list as soon as they opened it up, so I got a "first" copy).

My bestie is in town this weekend from Spokane so I've got plans with her Friday and Saturday. YAY!

My afternoon snack was the usual...1/2c 0% Fage, sliced strawberries, 1/4c of Kashi Go Lean Crunch - Honey Almond Flax.

Dinner tonight was chopped veggies and chicken in TJ's Thai red curry sauce with quinoa. I chopped up 1 zucchini, 1 red bell pepper, 1 can of bamboo shoots, 1/2 Walla Walla sweet onion, and a bunch of mushrooms. Quick and easy. :)

At the request of the hubs I made Choc. Chip cookies for his co-workers. I did not eat a single one, yet it is the only food I took a pic of today. LOL. I did lick the Kitchen Aid paddle though (hellooooo Salmonella). He already picked up the cookies to take to them, so no chance of eating one.

This recipe is delicious and I like how 'pretty' the cookies come out looking. I use this recipe from allrecipes.net.

Amanda @ Run To The Finish has a great tofu giveaway going on make sure to check it out!

Manic Monday!

2009-07-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

Okay not really. But the weekend was pretty busy. My eating choices weren't always the best but I did manage to abstain from alcohol, which is something that is a huge trigger point for poor eating decisions for me. It's like a double whammy, not only do you get all the added calories from the alcohol (plus the water retention) but then Taco Bell sounds gourmet and you want to eat about 10 dang quesadillas. Who else is with me on this?

Work is busy today, I have a co-worker out on vacay for a few weeks. But I like being busy. I took a little extra time and did my workout at lunch today, tomorrow is super busy so I have to have a run EARLY in the morning.

Today's workout:

Cardio warmup: 7 minutes (.92 miles I think). Plus 3 minutes cooldown.

Lat pulldowns: 3x10 @ 75lbs
DB Chest press: 3x10 @ 35lb dbs (my arms were shaking)
DB Shoulder press: 3x8 @ 20lb dbs (my arms were too tired to go for 10 reps)

Cardio: 7 minutes (.95 miles) Plus 3 minutes cooldown

Standing barbell Upright Row: 3x10 @ 40lb
Cross body shoulder raises: 3x10 @ 8lb dbs (I can't actually find a pic of this, it's like a snatch motion with a lateral raise). I'll keep looking and update if I find one. LOL

Cardio: 17 minutes (2.2 miles approx). 5 minutes cooldown

I slept a lot last night, I only got 6 hours of crappy sleep on Saturday night. Last night I seriously was dosing off between 7:30 - 9:00 and finally fell asleep at 9 for good. Woke up at 6:00 feeling great.

Eats:

2 cups of coffee

Oatmeal (1/2c oats, 3/4 c water, 1/2 mashed banana, 1/2TB natural PB, and a couple of melted chocolate chips + 2TB ff cow's milk).

Mid morning snack was a PB cup Green Monster.

Lunch was a leftover Black Bean burger from last week (with a little pepperjack cheese melted on top to hold it together) with guac, spinach, and tomato on a Orowheat whole wheat sandwich thin. A bunch of grapes and a handful of pistachios.

This post officially sucks because there is no picture...so I shall pick something random out of the My Pictures folder to entertain all 7.75 readers.

First two images are of course courtesy of LOLCats.

I have NO idea where I got the pic of Mark Mangino and Obie (the Syracuse Orange mascot). Maybe here?

Taking it Easy yo!

2009-07-18T08:57:00.001-07:00

Last night the husband and I cooked up a delicious dinner! He manned the grill, we had 3 small steaks we needed to use up (two little pieces of filet mignon and one small top sirloin). I sauteed up some shrimp in a little olive oil and canola margarine with some garlic and cajun seasoning. I also sauteed some zucchini and mushrooms in olive oil and cayenne pepper for some zip. Dinner was delicious. We also went for froyo after dinner, I had my usual a plain yogurt with coconut on top. Sooo good, I just love the texture.

This morning the hubs had to go into work for awhile, I more or less woke up with him at 5:45. I got a solid 8 hours of sleep last night and felt great this morning. I laid in bed and petted Cooper and Jada. I got up and fed them (and myself). I had a slice of spelt flour cinnamon raisin toast with a touch of almond butter and headed out to the gym.

I knew I needed to take it easy on the legs so I started with 12 minutes on the elliptical at a moderate pace.

I then did bits and pieces of Gina's Summer Shape up.
Dumbbell hammer curl 3x10 @ 20lb dbs
reverse plank (hold 30-45 seconds) 3 x held for 45 seconds each

I then did a cardio burst on the tread. I did 4 x of 1:00 @ 6.5mph and 1:00 @ 9.0mph. Then did a 4 minute gradual cooldown.

Triceps dip assist 3x8 @ 24lbs assist.
Straight bar cable bicep curl 3x10 @ 50lbs
standing triceps extension 3x10 @ 20lbs
long arm crunch 3x20

I skipped the rest of the cardio to rest my legs, came home and made a huge Green Monster.

There are a few sweet giveaways going on!

Erica is giving away some Mix1!
Ruby is giving away a copy of Jillian Michaels' book Making The Cut.

I'm about to shower and head out to get my hairs did. Enjoy your Saturday everyone. :)

Friday's run stats

2009-07-17T14:20:00.000-07:00

Here they are:

Friday Almuerzo

2009-07-17T12:15:00.000-07:00

I got up at 5:45 for my mile repeats this morning, my legs felt like bricks to be honest. I didn't get 8 hours of sleep last night, whether that played into it or not I don't know. What I do know is that I felt like I weighed 400lbs, but my times were less than last week so I obviously pushed through it but I never felt great during my run. I have the stats on my Garmin but they are upstairs, will upload a pic in a bit. I did 3 mile repeats and then a cooldown of a slow 1.5 miles (I just kinda kept going, it was a beautiful morning and there was a beautiful hawk sitting on the fence by the track, so I was intrigued by him/her when it left, I left LOL).

I came home, gave the cats breakfast. Once they were done eating I made a Green Monster (Chocolate PB cup style, soooo good).

Morning snack was 1/2c 0% Fage, 1/2c Kashi go lean crunch, last of my strawberries all sliced up.

Lunch was leftover chicken/beans/corn from last night into a flat out with some hummus and pepperjack cheese like a dang quesadilla. And the last of my riceworks Sweet Chili brown rice chips (it's mostly crumbs though, sadness). I'm sure I'll have some grapes after for dessert.

Never mind our crappy coffee table, I'm watching some fine tv (Real World: Cancun) on the DVR.

Freebie alert: Print this out for a free pastry (with beverage purchase) from their new line on 7/21! Starbucks is debuting their newly remastered pastries, I'm excited about the changes they've made. :)

Changes include: no trans fat, no artificial ingredient and no high fructose/corn syrup. I'll be stopping by for sure. :)

Happy Friday Eve!

2009-07-16T20:01:00.000-07:00

It's a beautiful, warm evening here in the Seattle area. I was so happy I got my run in early, and I'm going to do the same tomorrow (mile repeats at the track) since I know it's going to be warm again tomorrow. Saturday morning I'll hit the gym for my bicep/tricep workout.

I was feeling lazy after work today so I did some basic strength workout. I did 4x10 sets of scorpion push ups. I also did some bicycle crunches.

I'm sitting here watching the KFC World Cup of Softball. I admit, I am super in love with Jennie Finch's hamstrings, I know weird fascination right? I seriously cannot stop staring at them. Sadly I cannot find a good pic of her hamstrings (surprising some dude hasn't put up a picture to gawk at her butt). But this pic shows just how strong her legs are, love 'em seriously.

So for lunch today I had leftover quinoa, chicken, and veggies from last night. Seriously so good, I'm obsessed with this meal.

My snack was 1/2c 0% Fage, 1/3c Kashi Go Lean Crunch - Honey Almond Flax, and some sliced strawberries.

Dinner tonight was a Hugh Jass taco salad. It had: romaine, chicken, corn, black beans, red bell pepper, tomato, guac, and a lot of salsa. I also added a few riceworks red chili chips for crunch. It was delicious!

And now some cute kitty pix!

Cooper stretched out on the floor, you can see the tip of Jada's ear along the bottom, she was trying to get all up in my bidness. :)

I guess what goes around comes around, Cooper stuck his tail in Jada's pic.

I can't think of anything better...

2009-07-16T08:02:00.000-07:00

Nice title, right? I don't think anyone reads them anyways.

So I actually woke up before my alarm went off this morning (only 4 minutes early). Which is surprising because it was far less than my usual 8 hours. I strapped up with my gear and took off for a run. My intention was to take it super slow this morning, which is good because my body didn't want to go any faster. I didn't think about it, but I did my leg workout yesterday afternoon and I finished at 5:15pm. I left for my run at 5:50am, yeah barely more than 12 hours of rest.

I also didn't eat anything before I left, but I really don't think they played into it. One thing I've noticed is that when I workout first thing I don't drink as much coffee (if any). I did drink one cup this morning after my delicious Green Monster (chocolate peanut butter cup style).

I have to leave at 9:30 for a 10:30am meeting, I'll probably be home at 1:30pm. I have a quick Costco stop I'll make on the way home because I need more spinach, and I will drive right by a Costco. I'm trying to figure out what food to take with me to eat during my meeting. Probably a wrap and some grapes. I'm already the weird food person and I rarely go into the office. The last lunch time meeting we had there was pizza, I took a bar of some sort to eat while everyone else had pizza. I made a deal with myself that if it was GOOD pizza I would eat some (like Pagliacci, for the Seattle locals). But if it was crap like Domino's I would eat the bar. Yeah, it didn't look good so I ate the bar.

I don't think I look overly skinny (I hate that word btw) because I do carry a lot of muscle mass (especially around my shoulders) but I got some comments like "you need to eat some pizza, put some meat on your bones". Ahh, typical "Lazy B" culture...

I digress, I suppose I should do some work before I leave. ;)

Over the Hump

2009-07-15T20:58:00.000-07:00

I'm really looking forward to this weekend, I'm getting my hair done Saturday morning and hopefully meeting the lovely Debra for lunch after. :)

I was a busy bee again this afternoon, I like being busy at work though it keeps me out of trouble. Tomorrow will be super busy so I will probably only do an evening post. I have support duties again tomorrow, and have to drive into the office for a meeting in the middle of the day (in Renton, at least it is after the morning rush hour(s) and before the afternoon rush). I'm going to try to wake up early to get in a run BEFORE work hours. LOL. Famous last words (although I'm usually very good about it when I know that is the only time I have during the day).

I had a pre-workout snack before I headed out to the gym (a Kashi TLC trail mix bar and a couple of dried apricots). I'm trying to decide if I should buy a foot pod for my Garmin so that I can use it at the gym on the treadmill, the husband rolled his eyes at me when I suggested it (okay so we were on the phone, but I KNOW he was rolling them). What do y'all think?

My workout was A-MAZING (like I predicted HA).

It was based off of Gina's Summer Shape up Leg day, but I didn't like some of the exercises so I mixed and matched.

Warmup:
10 minutes on the tread (2.25 miles) plus 3 minute gradual cooldown.

Stability ball back extension - 3x15
reverse lunge 3x10 @ 15lb db
captain's chair leg raise 3x15

Treadmill hill run: 9 minutes alternating incline between 1.0 and 6.0 @ 7.0mph. 3 minute gradual cooldown.

booty booster (slide 5) 3x15
dumbbell squat 2x12 @ 22.5lb dbs
dumbbell front squat 2x12 @ 15lb dbs
Stability ball Ab crunch 3x15 done very slow with a pause on both passes (abs were on FIRE)

Cardio: 17 minutes on elliptical, varying incline, resistence between 7 and 12.

I came home and fed Cooper & Jada, took a quick shower, and made dinner. I was so hungry I forgot to take a pic. I cut up 1 whole Walla Walla sweet onion (love), 1.5 red pepper, 1 zucchini, and a bunch of big mushrooms (stuffing size), and 1 chicken boobie. Sauteed in a little extra virgin olive oil (1 turn of the pan). Added 1 cup of marinara and simmered while I cooked up 1/2c quinoa. This was two HUGE servings (and I was HANGRY).

Gonna kick back and rot my brain with some Bejeweled Blitz.

Oh, I almost forgot. Danica @ Danica's Daily has an AMAZING Annie's giveaway, you'd be CRAZY not to enter.

The Best Laid Plans...

2009-07-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

So I had actually planned to lunch/relax during my lunch break today. Unfortunately for me it didn't happen. :( I decided to spend my time chopping veggies for tonight's dinner, I'm heading to the gym after work and it's nice to be able to just throw dinner on the stove after I get home and shower. By then my stomach is usually about to start eating itself. While chopping veggies, the DH called and needed computer help so I was multi tasking. UGH...but here is the cute kitty pic of Cooper and Jada yesterday. We have this ugly as sin old Ikea chair that they love to sleep on (they also have a heated cat bed that detects their weight and activates, but I unplugged it for the Summer). Spoiled little beasts!

Breakfast was what I call the GI Jane Green Monster. It came out Army Green today. Lots of spinach, blueberries, and strawberries. LOL. It tasted amazing though!

Morning snack was 1/2c 0% Fage, 1/2c Kashi Go Lean Crunch (Honey Almond Flax), and some sliced strawberries.

For lunch I heated up one of my leftover black bean burgers for a wrap. A wrap is much better because they are super fragile.

Leftover roasted sweet potato wedges

And a bunch of camera shy grapes that I am currently munching on as I type this (and listen to a conference call). I cannot wait for my workout this afternoon, I have a feeling it's going to be a good one.

There are some fantastic giveaways right now!

Some compression shorts and amazing running socks @ Run To The Finish.

Kelly from Every Gym's Nightmare has an amazing Artisana nut butter giveaway.

Busy Worker Bee

2009-07-14T14:36:00.000-07:00

So I've been meaning to post since before lunch but I've been too busy with work, every time I clear something off my plate something else comes up. Tuesdays are always busy for me at my job, it's the day I have to answer all support queries for our project so it's a lot of email all day long. I was happy that I got my run in at lunch (I pretty much cleared my plate and marked myself away for lunch as fast as possible LOL). I'm happy that I shaved about 5 seconds off my time for the hilly mile. But otherwise my times are almost identical to the times I ran this route at a few weeks ago.

So I was going to post last night after I made the black bean burgers...but I was really just too pissy and wanted to wallow in self pity. First I blended the peppers and onions together, which resulted in an epic failure because I blended too much and it was liquefied. A food processor is really necessary for this. Next time I'd just saute the peppers and onions and call it good. So to try to save my mixture I added ANOTHER can of beans and another scoop of oatmeal. It helped but they were still a little soft.

Well to add insult to injury I was slicing a sweet potato for oven fries, and a couple of baby reds for DH and I freaking cut my finger with the sharp knife. Right around the finger nail bed. BRILLIANT! Stupid thing wouldn't freaking stop bleeding, it didn't hurt but was just an annoyance. So yeah, all I wanted to do was feel sorry for myself. I had my burger on an Orowheat sandwich thin (my first time with one), some TJ's guacamole and tomato. The flavor of the burgers was outstanding (I used cumin, chili powder, and Tapatio hot sauce). I can't wait to make them again and recitfy the issues I had.

I had a delicious Green Monster for breakfast (along with my java). Morning snack was pre-run fuel (Rainier Organic bakery cinnamon raisin toast with TB of Almond butter).

Lunch was a wrap (morningstar farms, hummus, tomato, avocado, cucumber, and spinach), some rice works sweet chili chips, and a bunch of grapes.

I have a cute cat picture but I don't have time to upload it now (have to use my other computer), but I will post it later. :) Work beckons.....the things we do for a paycheck!

Sleep!

2009-07-13T14:14:00.000-07:00

Yeah last night I slept like crap, I took a long nap yesterday afternoon so I know that factored in. There was also a cop that pulled someone over right in front of our house flashing his lights in the window. I went to bed at like 9:30 and finally feel asleep around midnight I'd guess, got up a few times and used the computer to try to make my eyes tired. This rarely happens to me anymore, and it is usually when DH is gone (which he wasn't last night). As a kid I had a lot of sleep issues, horrible insomnia all the way through high school. College wasn't an issue because I rarely went to bed before 3am, and was always exhausted when my head hit the pillow. Usually I don't have an issue with sleep now but when I do I get so frustrated, and it only makes it worse because I want to sleep so badly. Sometimes I think that I might try melatonin but I don't know if it is worth it since it's usually only when DH is gone.

So I got up this morning and thought I had a doctor's appointment in Seattle with my cardiologist. I had a couple of cups of coffee and a most delicious GM. It was ugly looking!

1 cup of nonfat cow's milk
1 scoop ON vanilla whey
4 cups of spinach
1TB almond butter
4 strawberries
1/4 cup of frozen blueberries
1/4 cup of frozen raspberries
1/2 frozen banana
1.5c of crushed ice

This one was a total winner!

My appointment ended up getting rescheduled because my cardiologist had an emergency patient. I already had the time scheduled off so I decided to just take the afternoon off. :)

Ate a slice of Rainier Organic Bakery cinnamon raisin toast with some almond butter for a pre-workout snack. This toast is tasty, mostly the same as Ezekial but was a lot cheaper at TJ's and is also a local bakery! SCORE!

I had an insane workout today and I freaking loved it. I used Gina's Summer Shape up Week 9.

Warmup: 2 miles @ 15:34. 5 minute cooldown

Assisted pull up 1x10 @ 30lbs assist. 1x10 @ 35lbs assist. 1x10 @ 54lbs assist focusing on negatives to really build my back.
Unilateral shoulder press 3x10 each side w/ 15lb db. Love these, and my shoulders feel so much better this week after a full week on the new mattress. Next week I'm going to bump back up to what I was lifting before.
Walk out push up 3x10 (I hate these...really, HATE...)
Cardio blast- mountain climbers (1 minute)
double-arm dumbbell raise 3x10 @ 20lb db
incline fly press-out combo (can do on the floor instead) 3x10 @ 15lb dbs on an incline bench
medicine ball pullover 3x10 w/ 15 lb medicine ball.

3x25 stability ball crunches

Cardio: 20 minutes on treadmill. Roughly 2.6 miles. 5 minute cooldown.

I threw some lunch together when I got home (was famished). Spinach salad with hummus, cucumber, and tomato. And a crack wrap (flat out, hummus, a little jalepeno cheese).

I LOVE LOVE LOVE these new Nike dri fit tank s I picked up, I hate wearing shirts with sleeves when I work out. These are cut perfect, are nice and long in length (helps a lot when doing pushups and such). Sports Authority near me had them on sale for $15.99 through 7/18 (normally $20.99). I might have to go pick up a few more in some other colors.

I'm looking forward to dinner tonight. Both Danica and Megan have made black bean burgers lately, so I'm going to make some tonight! Yum!

Whit is a fan of giving, so make sure to go enter her birthday giveaway. So much good stuff!

Quick Weekend check in

2009-07-12T17:12:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a quick one, this weekend has been so busy and I'm trying to clean the house. I thought I'd post really quick while a load of laundry finishes. :)

Yesterday I did my mile repeats (3 miles, plus one super slow mile cooldown). My legs wanted to give up, I ended up taking today off of all physical activity (sans cleaning). I screwed up my timing with the Garmin so my first lap around the track was a total wash time wise. Oh get this, I went to the local high school at like 6:15 yesterday morning to get this workout in since I knew the rest of the day would be busy.

There was a group of guys doing landscaping and no one else using the facilities. Since I have all these random irrational fears, I figured better safe than sorry. As I went to get in my car and leave they were mowing the field in that area so I'm walking with the key to my car (Volkswagen switchblade key) out thinking if they try to kidnap me I'll be all tough and stab them with my key. Yeah, I'm genius.

Went home, showered and got dressed and hit Starbucks with the hubby. I was so happy! They had the venti cold cups there, so I got one. These are so great (and BPA free), I find that I drink a lot more water when I have a straw. LOL. They had about ten there, of course after that we find out they are super hard to find, so we went back this morning to buy the rest and of course they were sold out. C'est la vie!

Quick run down of eats...

Friday dinner: Indian. DH and I split an order of lamb tikka masala and baigan burtha with some roti. We were stuffed but went for froyo. I got a small plain with coconut and white choco chips. DH got a kids size (lol) plain with peanut butter cup pieces. We both ate about three bites and got lids to take it home.

Saturday: pre-workout fuel was a Kashi honey almond flax bar. After workout recovery was a green monster with protein. Lunch was a grilled chicken sandwich and a small salad. Dinner was naughty...we went to the local bar and shared an order of boneless buffalo wings (extra hot) and a chicken fajita wrap.

Today: Worst...Green...Monster.... EVER. Seriously. It was so gross I plugged my nose to drink. Here's the combo to never do...

1 cup cow's milk
4 cups spinach
1/2c frozen blueberries
1/2c frozen raspberries
1/2 frozen banana
1TB almond butter

I think it was the blueberries and raspberries together, but it was freaking gross.

DH and I went to Sports Authority to get some gear, I found some Nike tanks for cheap! Then we did Pho for lunch since it's grey and gross today.

Ok, laundry done. Lates!

TGIF!

2009-07-10T12:44:00.000-07:00

Ahhh happy Friday all! I was looking out my office window this morning and saw the following:

Very low, I hope everything was okay with it though there is a park on the other side of the trees so maybe they were just putting it down there. We see a lot of balloons here in the summer, they are so pretty. :)

I had one of my most delicious Green Monsters this morning. I think it was the fresh spinach I bought last night...it was my regular PB cup but it just tasted perfect.

I had a boring snack a few hours later, oats sounded good. I made a bowl that consisted of: 1/2c of quick oats, 1/2 mashed banana, drizzle of unsweetened vanilla almond breeze. It was tasty, though boring looking. :)

After that I hit the gym for an early lunch. I did day 6 of Gina's Summer shape up. I had to make it fast so I did very little rest between sets.

Warmup: 1 mile @ 7:53. 3 minutes of gradual cooldown.

rope pressdown - 3x10 @ 50lbs
Cross chest dumbbell curl - 3x10 @ 17.5lb dumbbells (each arm)
Prestretch triceps extension - 3x10 @ 10lb dbs

Cardio blast: 8 minutes on treadmill variety hill program @ 7.0 mph. 3 minute cooldown.

Tricep pushups - 3x10 full push ups, not on the knees like in the vid.
Dumbbell hammer curl - 3x10 @ 15lb dbs.

Cardio: 13 minutes at around an 8 minute mile. 5 minute cooldown.

I was super hungry when I got home....I made another quesadilla with the crappy fake chicken (it smells really bad cooking, can you tell I am not a fan?)

And a delicious spinach salad with mushrooms, cucumber, tomatoes, and hummus.

And a unpictured bowl of red grapes that I'm eating right now.

I can't wait for the weekend! Though I have to get up early tomorrow morning to do mile repeats (ugh).

Friday Eve!

2009-07-09T20:33:00.000-07:00

Yay tomorrow is Friday! I'm excited because I get to go out to dinner with DH (we rarely get to eat together because he works two jobs Monday, Wednesday, Thursday...so I usually make dinner and he re-heats). Everything sounds good, top picks right now are Indian or Chipotle (hey random). Although a new Vietnamese restaurant just opened by our house that I want to try. But DH isn't as into Vietnamese food as I am, so I'll probably try it on my own and if it's good I'll make him go. :)

Afternoon snack was about 1/2c of 0% Fage (last of the tub) and the last of my strawberries. Sadness!

I also took a nap after work, I laid down with DH (before he left) and I fell asleep to the Food network. When he left for 2nd job I went to Costco for spinach (and grapes, mushrooms, Sabra's and more Flat outs...).

I came back and made dinner, I thought I had more Thai red curry sauce (TJ's) than I thought but nope...so our dinner wasn't overly saucy. I was also too hungry to wait for brown rice to cook, so I made quinoa instead. I love that it cooks up in 10 minutes, and honestly I think it keeps me full longer than brown rice (must be the protein).

I just had a little bit of Dreyer's light slow churned Neapolitan ice cream.

And I took a cute pic of Cooper because it's so easy. :)

Blah

2009-07-09T13:08:00.000-07:00

So I set the alarm to get up at 5:45 this morning to run before work....THAT didn't happen. I got up and re-set alarm for 6:30 and went back to bed with Cooper. Had the two cups of coffee like usual, and a PURPLE monster. I had to throw away a few cups of spinach because it went bad (I just bought it on Sunday...grrr). So I only had like 3 cups for my monster, and I forgot to put nut butter in. Doh.

Contents included:

1 scoop vanilla whey protein
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
4 sliced strawberries
1/2 frozen banana
3 cups of spinach
1/2c of frozen blueberries
1.5c of crushed ice

It definitely didn't have the sticking power without the fat from the nut butter. :( I really want to get some macadamia nut butter for smoothies, to try to replicate a white chocolate mac nut smoothie. How freakin good would THAT be?

I had a snack around 10:30 of a Kashi trail mix bar and some pistachios (to make up the fat I was missing).

I headed out for a run around 11:30 when my meetings were finished. I'm such a dumbass, I forgot to start my Garmin so I'm missing about a quarter of a mile of time/distance. :( I was really feeling my leg workout from yesterday, I felt exhausted, and wanted to quit...but I was on a loop that takes me far from home so quitting wasn't an option (muahahahaha).

I took a quick shower when I got back, and made some lunch. NOTHING sounded good today, but I was starving. I tried out the MorningStar grillers chicken burger (not the one that is breaded). It looks like it is new since I can't find it on their website. It's not super good, I put it in a flat out with some hummus, shredded pepper jack cheese, black beans, and corn like a dang quesadilla.

To be honest the breaded style "chicken" burger is leaps and bounds better, I don't think I'll buy these again. Fortunately the hummus hid most of the weird taste. I was so hungry I forgot to take a pic. :(

Off to finish the rest of my work day and go to Costco for more spinach.

Wednesday

2009-07-08T19:06:00.001-07:00

I'd like to say I was too busy to post today, but really just too lazy. I more or less eat the same stuff every day until dinner time, I'd like to say I mix it up but really I find stuff I like and eat it until I get tired of it. Fortunately since I started blogging I noticed that a lot of people are the same way. I think it is the convenience factor. Anyways...I started my day off with two cups of coffee and then made a sludge monster.

1 scoop of ON vanilla whey protein powder
1 cup of vanilla unsweetened Almond Breeze
4 sliced strawberries
4 cups of spinach (the spinach I bought at Costco is going bad FAST this week)
1/2c of frozen blueberries
1 TB almond butter
1/2 frozen banana
1.5c crushed ice

My morning snack was 1/2c 0% Fage, 6 sliced strawberries.

LUNCH, I was really craving sweet potato fries but we are out of sweet potatoes (cry). Fortunately I had bought a bag of organic red potatoes for DH so I sliced one of those up and baked it with some cayenne pepper. Pretty good, but still not a sweet potato. I also made a wrap today: 1 morningstar burger, hummus, spinach (gotta use it fast), 1/4 'cado, 1/4 tomato. I even grilled it today. Fancy pants!

Hopefully you all have noticed that the quality of my pictures is improving, I started to use my digital camera instead of my craptastic cell camera. Of course this also contributes to the laziness of my posts, see my desktop computer that I use most of the day has no reader for the memory card...so I'm posting now with my laptop since it has the little reader built in. Yeah, I'm lazy.

I grazed a bit for my afternoon snack, I had 6 cubes of fresh pineapple, a few TJ's chocolatey cats (whatever was left in the tub, like 6). Right as I left for the gym I had a Kashi trail mix bar (no pic).

Here is my workout today. I did Gina's summer shape up day 2.

Warmup: 1 mile @ 8:02 + 3 minutes cooldown.

split squats 1x10 @ 20lb dumbbells. 2x10 @ 15lb dbs.
Pilates side leg lift 1x30 each side
Pike up with the ball 3x10 - these are HARD
Seated calf raise 3x12 @ 100lbs

Cardio: Hill intervals
0-1:00 7.0mph 0.0 incline
1:00-2:00 7mph 3.0 incline
2:00 - 3:00 7.0mph 0.0 incline
3:00 - 4:00 7mph 4.0 incline
4:00 - 5:00 7.0mph 0.0 incline
5:00 - 6:00 6.5mph 6.0 incline
6:00 - 7:00 7.0mph 0.0 incline
7:00 - 8:00 7.0mph 6.0 incline
3 minute cooldown

leg extension 3x10 @ 75lbs (legs were TIIIRED after hills)
stability ball hamstring curl 3x12 (I love doing these, I hold for a few seconds at the top)
Weighted plie with calf raise 3x12 with a 30lb db

Cardio: 14 minutes on the elliptical at varying resistence (7-13) and varying crossramp (between 6-13). 5 minute cooldown and stretch.

After that I made dinner. I was totally wanting a big ol taco salad. I poached a few chix breasts early in the day so that all I had to do was shred and cook in seasonings at dinner time.

In my salad: 1 shredded chix breast, 2 cups of mixed greens, 1/2 tomato, handful of corn, a lot of salsa, a little plain yogurt, a little shredded pepper jack cheese, and 1/2 c of black beans...oh and a handful of riceworks sweet chili chips for a little crunch.

And with this I leave you with some random pics that I found on my camera!

Jada!

Cooper! This picture was actually on the local news, they have a morning "pet walk" forecast, and I submitted this picture for Apple Cup petwalk last year. I still have the clip saved on our DVR, such a proud kitty mommy.

And a pic from our last trip to Maui (February 2009), this is at the Ho'okipa Lookout on the North shore of Maui. This is a big windsurfing spot, though none where there the day we stopped in.

Aloha!

Multi-tasking....

2009-07-07T11:22:00.001-07:00

Ahh, I slept sooo good last night! New mattress (and all new pillows) for the win.

I got up and had my requisite two cups of coffee this morning (both with vanilla creamer). Then I felt like a Chocolate PB cup Green Monster this morning. In went the following

1 Scoop ON Chocolate whey protein powder
1 cup unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze
4 cups baby spinach
1 frozen banana
1 big TB Adam's crunchy peanut butter
1.5 cups of crushed ice

It was actually GREEN today!

I did some benchmarking tests for work and then dug into a pre-run snack around 9:30. A few cubes of pineapple and this:
My run today was just so-so, I didn't feel good about it and I don't know why. Times seem a little slow, but the first mile is mostly up hill (there's a slight descent only to climb another hill). I also kind of got lost (I went down a side road that wasn't marked DEAD END but was a dead end).
I did 100 crunches (standard and crossover).

Okay, I'm on a conference call so time to devote my full attention to this!

Once Upon a Mattress...

2009-07-06T19:19:00.000-07:00

Okay so it was a really odd musical, one I played in the band in high school...but I digress. Our new mattress was delivered today and I caught the tail end of DH's nap this afternoon. It is pretty amazing, I can't wait to sleep tonight!

Onto my eats for today, I made something somewhat new for dinner tonight and it came out pretty well.

Lunch:

Hugh Jass salad (baby spinach, 1/4 red bell pepper, 1/4 cucumber, tomato, 1 MorningStar tomato basil pizza burger, 1 TB Sabra's sun dried tomato hummus)
Crack Wrap (total Sarah lunch apparently) 1 FlatOut wrap, 1TB hummus, 1 slice 2% Swiss cheese

Afternoon snack was kinda all over the place because the guys came to deliver the mattress...1/2c pineapple, 1 serving of riceworks Sweet Chili "chips"

I got the idea of Turkey and Spinach meatballs from Jess' creation.

Estimated recipe, Serves 4

1 cup quinoa
1.25 lbs ground turkey breast
1 package of frozen, chopped spinach
1/4 cup of quick oats
1 jar marinara sauce of choice
2 zucchini, quartered and diced
1 red pepper, diced
1/4 sweet onion VERY fine dice
1 sweet onion, diced
7 mushrooms, sliced
10 spicy kalamata olives, diced

Thaw spinach according to directions, make sure to place the spinach in a CLEAN kitchen towel and wring all of the water out, you want it dry. Combine with turkey, oats, finely diced onion, and seasoning (I used crushed red pepper, oregano, poultry seasoning, and some black pepper). I was able to form 22 golf ball sized meatballs out of this.

Sautee zucchini, red pepper, onion, and mushrooms in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil (1 turn of pan). Set aside.

I put half the meatballs in my large skillet and browned them in two batches, I'm ADHD in the kitchen and get side tracked easily, so working in smaller groups is good so I don't burn them. Once the second set of balls (lol, I'm also 13) is browned put all of the veggies back in and the rest of the balls. Top with the marinara sauce of choice (I used a roasted tomato and garlic one). Simmer.

At this point I start the quinoa, I think the time it takes to cook a batch of quinoa is perfect to simmer the 'balls in the sauce and veggies. Since I wanted this to also feed us tomorrow night (Tuesdays are DH softball night) I only made quinoa to serve two (I'll make the quinoa for tomorrow night when it's time to eat). Place 1/2c quinoa in a pot with 1 cup of water (or broth), bring to boil and cover. It usually takes 10 minutes for my quinoa to be done (you know it's done when the liquid is done and the quinoa gets that 'ring' around the outside).

Place 1/2 quinoa on a plate, 5 meatballs and some sauce/veggies on top, and some of the olives. I also topped mine with shredded cheese, since there is very little fat in this meal I knew it needed some more.

And a Cooper & Jada pic to end the evening....I think it is funny that her tail is wrapped around his shoulders. Please ignore the ugly futon they are sleeping on...it needs to be burned.

Peace out!

Happy Monday

2009-07-06T07:42:00.000-07:00

Since our new mattress is being delivered this afternoon I got up with the hubby at 4:45 and went to the gym. I had to pry myself out of bed, but once I was done with my workout I was glad that I did. I had 1/2 a banana with a little bit of almond butter in between (like a sandwich).

Workout:

Warm up: 1 mile @ 7:59, 4 minute "cooldown"

Stability ball chest press 3x10 @ 30lb dumbbells
DB Deltoid lateral raises 3x10 @ 12.5lb dbs (keeping the weight down since I have shoulder pain)
High Row 3x10 @ 60lbs (I do mine with both arms)

Cardio blast: Intervals.
1 minute @ 6.5mph
1 minute @ 9.0 mph
multiply times 4
3 minute "cooldown"

Stability ball push up 3x10
Front DB raises 3x10 @ 12.5 (again keeping weight down grr)

Cardio:
2.25 miles @ 17 minutes

I came home and took a shower and immediately made a Sludge/poop/green monster.

I'm going to get through the rest of my Google reader and get some work done. Here is a cute pic of Cooper trying to keep cool over the weekend. I love to rub that tummy. :)

Fun Weekend!

2009-07-05T18:51:00.001-07:00

Well my eats weren't the best this weekend (way too much grazing), tonight's dinner was really good. We marinated a flank steak in some TJ's marinade, baked some sweet potato wedges, and grilled up some white corn on the cob. I've been out of spinach all weekend (went to Costco today though) so I cannot wait for a Green monster tomorrow morning.

I'm planning to go to the gym in the morning, which bums me because Gina won't have her plan for this week up yet so I'll improvise up a similar workout. I have to be home after work to have our new mattress delivered, which excites me so much. We've had this mattress for 11 years, no I am NOT joking...we're both having shoulder pains (DH way more than me) so I'm hoping this will help. We tried out a ton of mattresses until we found the perfect one in our price range. We even bought all new pillows today so I'm thinking tomorrow night might be my best sleep ever, so I can sacrifice a little sleep tonight. ;)

When we were at Costco today they had tennis rackets at a good price, DH wanted to teach me how to play tennis so he put one of the rackets in our cart. ;) We went up to the local high school to hit balls around this afternoon, next thing we knew it was an hour and a half later. I think this is excellent exercise for my active rest day from running. I didn't wear a heart rate monitor but I know I got it up there a few times. I definitely improved as the time went on, I think this is a good activity for DH and I.

I think I'm going to finish my dessert (bowl of ice cold pineapple) and watch the rest of Office Space with DH and go to sleep EARLY!

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-04T10:33:00.000-07:00

It's another hot one here in Seattle, already in the 80's. I got up pretty early (7am) and had a cup of java and some Kashi Go Lean cinnamon & honey oatmeal with a spoonful of TJ's almond butter. Let that settle for a bit and decided to hit the track and do mile repeats for the first time ever. I decided before I left that I would do 3 miles, it is a half mile to get to the track so I walked it (since it is straight up a hill mostly). For me about an 8:15-8:30 mile is comfy, although I drop about 15 seconds off my mile if there is a big hill. So after talking with the hubs (who used to be a very good distance runner) I decided I'd make sure to keep my laps under 2:00 for my first time doing repeats. I did pretty good, with the exception of one of my 1st quarter miles. Also, it was all in the sun as there is ZERO shade at this track so I had to rest in the sun too but I put a bunch of ice cubes in some water in my hand held and took off.

As you can see on the chart, my first half mile was the walk to the track. Each lap listed with 5 minutes is my rest. I did 3 mile repeats, and then cooled down with a very, very, very slow jog around the track twice, and then walked home. Any suggestions for me? I'm thinking I will do 3 mile repeats once a week through July, then in August bump up to 4 miles. Does this sound right? I really want to get faster.

After that I came home and uploaded my Garmin and had a light breakfast (I'm out of spinach, boo). I had 1/2c of 0% Fage, 1 crushed Kashi honey almond flax bar, and about 6 sliced strawberries. The hubs wanted to hit Starbucks so I went with him and had a grande light vanilla coffee frap. Yum.

Ok off to enjoy my day! We're going up to Brian and Debra's this afternoon to bbq, hopefully everyone likes the treats I made last night. I was sweating over a hot oven to make them, literally.

Happy 4th of July!!

It's Getting Hot in Here...

2009-07-03T21:30:00.000-07:00

Seriously, it is 76 freaking degrees IN my house right now. Down from 80 earlier. Thankfully we have a portable A/C unit for our bedroom because it is probably 10 degrees hotter up there. Yay for crappy insulation.

Today's eating was pretty sporadic. DH and I went to Sushi Zen for lunch, I adore their lunch bento boxes. For $7.95 you get salad, miso soup, and a bento that includes your choice of two items (I got salmon teriyaki and spicy tuna roll), 3 pieces of California roll, and the appetizer which is some scallop thing. Being the piglet I am I inhaled my whole bento (except for some of the rice that went with the 'yaki) and stole two pieces of spicy tuna roll from DH because he was full. Oink, Oink.

We wandered over to the mall because they have A/C, went to the Shane Co. to get my rings and earrings cleaned and inspected....I ended up getting DH a chain that he liked since he complained that I always get the jewelry. I'll try to take a pic tomorrow, it looks good on him. Wandered over to Old Navy to get some ~~wife beaters~~ tank tops for me, and grabbed a pair of the capris they had on special for $9 this week. They rock, I don't like capris that are more like cropped pants. These have ties so I can tie them off right below the knee, just like I like!

After that we went to TCBY, where I was super disappointed. They do not have coconut topping, wtf? Also their plain yogurt is not as good as this little local place (The Inside Scoop in Mill Creek for any locals that read this blog). I should have waited another 30 minutes because we went right by that place, bummer. We also went to Sleep Country to look at mattresses. I so wish we didn't have to buy a new one, but somehow this one made it 11 years and really needs to be replaced (my right shoulder has been bugging me for months now). They are having a GREAT deal through the weekend so I think we will go back and buy one...it's $250 cheaper than normal and includes free delivery and removal of the old one.

After that we came home, DH went to go help his brother move furniture. Now for the kicker, when I was 11 I was in love with The Babysitters Club books....I did not know until last night that they actually made a movie. It was on HBO at like 11:30 so I set the DVR to record....and I indulged myself in some BSC goodness while DH was gone. LOL. You can all laugh WITH me, instead of AT me.

DH got thai on the way home, I got the Spicy basil chicken and DH got the chicken pad see ew. We shared of course. :)

I baked a few treats for tomorrow...from Tina's recipe vault @ Carrots 'n Cake I made coconut macaroons and her peanuty butter bars. I of course taste tested each (as did DH), very good and super easy. I spent one hour from start to finish including baking time for BOTH batches of treats.

I think I'm going to go over to the high school near our house early tomorrow morning and run mile repeats, it's really a beautiful school with an amazing view of the Snohomish River valley. If I seriously thought I could be up at sunrise (not bloody likely), it is an amazing sight. Ok I'm off to watch some tv!

Holiday.....

2009-07-03T12:09:00.000-07:00

Okay first, there are some amazing giveaways again today!

Danica is giving away a big Amazing Greens gift pack!

Erica at I Run Because I Can is giving away a sweet looking duffel.

This is going to be quick because I want to get showered and enjoy my day!

I had a cup of coffee and a quick bowl of Kashi Go Lean honey cinnamon oatmeal w/ scoop of AB before heading to the gym.

Workout:

warmup: 10 minutes on treadmill, didn't keep track of mileage (crappy memory)

Did most of Gina's Summer Shape up workout.

Biceps and triceps

Dumbbell hammer curl 3x10 @ 17.5lbs
reverse plank (hold 30-45 seconds) 3 times for 45 seconds
standing triceps extension 3x10 @ 20lbs
Cardio- 8 minute sprints (1 min @ 6.5mph, 1 min @ 9.0mph. repeat 4 times)

Straight bar cable bicep curl 3x10 @ 40lbs
Dip machine w/ assist 2x10 @ 24lbs assist, 1x8 @ 12lbs assist (failure)
long arm crunch 3x15
Cardio- 2.5 miles in 20 minutes 5 minute cooldown

I came home and made a Grey sludge monster to get some quick protein into my body, I didn't put any almond butter in today since I had some in my oats.

Okay I'm off!!! Enjoy your holiday weekend. :)

Hooray for the Weekend!

2009-07-02T22:16:00.000-07:00

First and foremost there are some great giveaways going on right now!

Elizabeth over at Our Life Is Delicious is celebrating her first full month of blogging with a tea giveaway from Portsmouth Tea!

Justine @ The Confessions of a SAHM is giving away some breakfast foods along with AMAZING Coconut Buttah, I must get some of my own. :)

Low is giving away some amazing beauty products!

Otherwise a mostly uneventful night, I had an afternoon snack (1/2 0% Fage, 1/2 Kashi TLC Honey Almond Flax bar crushed, sliced strawberries, and a few PB Puffins).

After I finished work I did a quick grocery run, I decided on taco salad for dinner since I didn't feel like heating up the oven. I poached a couple of chicken breasts and shredded the cooked chicken. On top of some romaine with tomato, corn, jalapeno, black beans, and a little pepperjack cheese. Plus plain yogurt and some Tapatio.

I never did get that nap this afternoon, so I think I'll call it an early night. I have a gym trip on the agenda for tomorrow, but after that I have no idea what I'm going to do. I think some froyo is definitely in order. :)

Yawn

2009-07-02T14:09:00.000-07:00

It is so nice here in the Seattle area, and the forecast for the weekend is just as amazing. We rarely get nice weather for the 4th of July it seems so I'm super happy!

I got up a little early this morning because I had to be in Kirkland @ 7:30 when the lab opened for my blood work. I hit zero traffic and was out of there by 7:45. I ate another Luna Lemon Zest bar after they took my blood (Cullen?), Amanda @ Run To The Finish asked earlier what I thought of these bars. I love most anything lemon and these are no exception. They have the perfect lemony taste, and the texture is very light (almost reminds me of a rice krispy treat with a frosting). The macros aren't bad, but I don't think they are super great. Honestly, for 180 calories I'd like a little more than 9g of protein. However, I love the taste so I have them from time to time. :)

I was happy to be back home by a little after 8 and able to start my work day. I was also happy to have coffee finally (fasting = no coffee = grumpy Danielle). I made another Green Monster again today (same combo I've had all week) but I think I went a little lighter on the blueberries and it turned a greyish color. Whatevs, it still tasted good.

Around 11:30 I was feeling good despite them taking my blood so I thought I'd have a short run today, yeah my body said otherwise after one hill. Since I was already pretty far from home I just stuck it out, which may not have been my most brilliant move ever but the stats from my Garmin aren't nearly as bad as I thought they'd be.
I'm pretty tired now so I think I'm going to take a nap after work lol.

After my run I did a few planks.
2x 60 seconds regular plank
2x 60 seconds right-side plank
2x 60 seconds left-side plank

Then I had my usual lunch wrap, a handful of baby carrots, and 1 bunch of grapes. I just have to make it another 90 minutes at work and then it's three day weekend time! Woo hoo! I'm definitely going to take a quick nap when I'm done working, then I need to run to the store to get stuff to make some treats for the 4th of July BBQ we're going to at Brian and Debra's. :)

One more day...

2009-07-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

This afternoon was largely unproductive at work thanks to a meeting. I ate the last of the monster cantaloupe during my meeting (probably about 1/3 of a cup). Then grabbed another Lemon Zest Luna bar to eat on the drive to the gym. Here was my workout:

Warm-up: 1 mile @ 7:52 and then a gradual 4 minute cool down.

I did a variation of Gina's Summer Shape up.

Limb raises 3x15 (each side)
Walking lunges 3x10 (each side)
captain's chair leg raise 3x15

Cardio Burst: 8 minutes of interval hill work @ 7mph.
1:00 @ 1%
2:00 @ 3%
3:00 @ 1%
4:00 @ 4%
5:00 @ 1%
6:00 @ 5%
7:00 @ 1%
8:00 @ 6%

booty booster (slide 5) 3x15
Wall squat w/ stability ball 3x15
Plie squat w/ db 3x15 @ 35lb
single-leg stretch

Cardio: I decided to give my legs a little rest and did 20 minutes on the elliptical on the glute program. Alternated resistance between 7 and 12. Cooled down for 5 minutes.

Came home and made my current fave dinner...so good! Chicken & veggies in Marinara sauce over quinoa.

Cut up the following: 1 zucchini, 3/4 red bell pepper, 8 mushrooms, 1/2 Walla Walla sweet onion. Diced up the chicken breasts.

Sauteed the veggies in a little extra virgin olive oil (1 turn of the pan). Once they were to my liking I set them aside and cooked the diced chicken. When chicken is cooked through added the veggies back in and 1 cup of Classico fire roasted tomato and garlic marinara. Sprinkled a little crushed red pepper for some spice, cover and simmer.

In another pot I put 1/2c dry quinoa and 1 cup water. Bring to boil and then cover and simmer for another 12 minutes.

Mix the quinoa with the sauce and go to town. I ate a ton...and loved every minute of it. I don't know if the hubs will be able to eat all of his, as this is all a little over 2 servings imho.

Made sure to clean the kitchen up, anyone that knows my husband knows he's a neat freak, ESPECIALLY about the kitchen. He was a Chef for many years and hates a messy kitchen, so I always make sure to spray everything down really well with 409 and clean up. I also made sure to pack his lunch for tomorrow, and get the coffee set.

I just sat down and enjoyed a little Dreyer's Light Neapolitan ice cream (maybe 2/3 cup?). Now I'm cut off until after my blood work tomorrow. I hate fasting, but I have a Luna bar to take with me so I can eat ASAP after they are done. LOL.

Wednesday

2009-07-01T13:08:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning and felt a little tired, not sure why since I was at probably about 7.5 hours of sleep last night. Started off with a two cups of java with vanilla creamer, caught up on email (work and personal), and watched the news. Apparently there was an earthquake overnight, of course the local news beats the drum forever and finds every bored person that wants to talk to them on the news. That got old FAST. After I finished my coffee I made my Green Monster, which was a greyish color, I also screwed up the texture by blending the ice too long. I had spilled something on the floor and was trying to clean it up. Ooops. Into the GM went the following:

1 cup unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze
1 scoop of ON vanilla whey protein powder
1/2 frozen banana
1/2 c frozen blueberries
5 small strawberries
4 cups of baby spinach
1.5 c of crushed ice

I ended up helping my coworker with some benchmarking for installation of our new software package, going to finish that up this afternoon for some fun times.

Morning snack was: 1/2c of 0% Fage, 6 small sliced strawberries, crumbled Kashi TLC honey almond flax bar

For lunch I was craving sweet potato fries something fierce, so I quartered up a sweet potato, tossed it with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a little sea salt, and some chili powder. Put them on a baking sheet and baked for 25 minutes at 400 to be honest they were too mushy, I tried to put them under the broiler for a few minutes but they didn't crisp up. OH WELL, I still ate them with some ketchup.

I also had a salad of some baby spinach, 1/4 red pepper, 2 sliced mushrooms, and 2TB of Sabra's sundried tomato crack and a MorningStar tomato basil pizza burger.
Followed by a bowl of red seedless grapes (not pictured).

Trying to figure out a good pre-workout snack for later before my workout. I'm going to make it a good one because I'm not sure that I will run tomorrow. I have to get some blood work done first thing in the morning (and have to fast...joy). Sometimes my iron levels are super out of wack after that so I'll just see what my body feels like tomorrow. :) Maybe a big GM when I get home will pump me back up with iron.

I wish I could join Cooper in a nap....

Uneventful evening

2009-06-30T21:58:00.000-07:00

I was so busy this afternoon with work that I ended up working overtime before I knew it. Crazy day. I'm going to go all techno-geek for a second, the way our application is setup we have installations on both Windows and Unix. When I started really getting into computers in 1996 I was so into Unix and continued that through college. After I was laid off from a dotcom in 2001 I went into a few companies that ran strictly Windows. So my Unix skills are rusty...at best. Today I had to setup something on our Unix server. Theoretically this task takes me about 30 minutes on Windows, yeah it took me close to two hours on Unix. It really humbled me, but I figured it out on my own and hopefully next time it will only take me one hour (baby steps, I will track my horrible work stats like I track my runs).

Anyways, I didn't have time to shower after my lunch run (yuck) so I showered and got ready to leave the house for the hubs softball game and went to that to enjoy some time in the sun. I had a quick snack before we left of 1/2 cup of 0% Fage, 1/2 Kashi TLC trail mix bar crushed, 6 sliced strawberries.

When we got home I made a quick dinner since it was after 8pm. I made a quesadilla of two small, soft taco sized tortillas 1 shredded chix breast with taco seasoning, and some pepperjack cheese. I was lacking on the veggies but too lazy to really care tonight. Last week we bought this random big bottle of Mango Weizen. It is by the Trade Route Brewing Co of Seattle. I can't say the mango flavor is subtle as the website implies but it's weird, when I took a first sip I was almost grossed out but after a few seconds a pleasant after taste kicked in and I was like hmmm. Can't say I'd buy it again but it's fun to try new beers sometimes.

Ok I'm off to watch the new episode of Tori & Dean and cuddle with Cooper. Lates!

I love my Garmin

2009-06-30T14:04:00.001-07:00

Wow, just wow...where has this been all my life? Oh, I just didn't own one. LOL. Finally a post-run pic too, really unattractive but I wasn't aiming to turn heads. ;)

So what I love about the Garmin is it's honesty...I know what really happened on my run and can look for ways to improve (and track improvement!). So here are today's stats (the full picture hopefully will show it lol):

What interested me a lot was looking at elevations, I feel like I can't possibly find a flat route around here. I'd be curious to see the elevation shots off other people's.
Onto today's eats:

Two cups of java with vanilla creamer.

One poop monster (same as yesterday).

Morning snack (pre-run) 1 slice Ezekial Cinnamon raisin toast (I'm out, I had to eat the heel today) with 1 TB Almond butter and 1/2 c cantaloupe on the side.

Lunch: Usual wrap, bunch of grapes, handful of carrots.

If anyone else has a Garmin watch I'm curious to see the elevation stats from your runs, post 'em up!

One down, Three to go!

2009-06-29T20:30:00.000-07:00

Yay for short weeks! Most of my day was super uneventful and very routine. So I won't bore with the details LOL.

Lunch was a Flat out wrap, MorningStar tomato basil pizza burger, spinach, broccoli slaw, Sabra's sundried tomato hummus, 1/4 avocado, 1/2 tomato. Plus 1/2 c of cantaloupe, a couple of grapes, and a handful of baby carrots.

Afternoon snack = 1 slice Ezekial cinnamon raisin toast with 1TB TJ's raw almond butter. As soon as I ate the last bite of toast I left for the gym. My workout isn't exact because I have a crappy memory.

Workout (modified from Gina's Summer Shape up Challenge - to be honest I did the last day on Saturday and it had shoulders too and I'm still sore so I moved some of the exercises around).

Warmup: 1 mile @ 7:57, cooldown for 3 minutes.

Unilateral shoulder press : 3x10 with 15lb db's, my right shoulder is still tender on me so I can't lift as much as I'd like

Lat pulldowns : 3x10 @ 60lbs

Walk out push up : 3x10

Cardio blast- mountain climbers (1 minute)

double-arm dumbbell raise : 3x10 w/ 15lb db

incline fly press-out combo : 3x10 w/ 15lb db's (I love this exercise, I may have a new fave!)

medicine ball pullover 3x10 w/ 15lb medicine ball

Double crunch : 3x15

Cardio: I can't remember the exact splits. I ran for 27 minutes and probably did about 3.4 miles. I then did 5 minutes of cooldown and stretched out good.

Dinner = Thai red chicken curry. I cut up the following veggies, sauteed in 1tsp of sesame oil and then set aside. 1 zucchini, 1 red bell pepper, 4 mushrooms, 1/2 sweet onion. I then cut up 2 chicken breasts and sauteed those on the stove, once cooked through add the veggies in and 3/4c of TJ's Thai red curry sauce and a sprinkle of diced cilantro. I ate half of the veggies and chicken over 3/4c cooked brown rice. The rest is for the hubs to eat when he gets home. I swear there is rice hiding under it all.

After dinner snack was 1/2c of Dreyer's Neapolitan ice cream. I'm just sitting here playing some Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook and watching Sporscenter while I wait for the hubs to get home. There isn't anything on tv right now. :( Boo, I really watch way too much crappy tv.

The Poop Monster

2009-06-29T10:29:00.000-07:00

So I thought about getting up early before work to get a run in, well I quickly changed my tune when I saw that it was 46 degrees outside. Yeah, no thanks. I'm a baby. So I went back to bed and will do a gym strength workout this afternoon instead (tomorrow I will run outside at lunch since we have stuff going on in the evenings, I always look at my schedule for the week and then set my workout schedule so that it is set in stone for the most part).

I started off my day with two cups of java, in the first cup I tried some of the International Delights White Chocolate Macadamia Nu t creamer. I heard about it last week and knew I had to try it since white choc mac nut is my FAVORITE combo. The macros for the creamer aren't great but I don't use too much so it's fun to mix up with the vanilla creamer. I had my second cup with the vanilla creamer.

After that I moved onto a Green Monster, since I missed out yesterday I decided to make this one chock full of fun. Well it turned into more of a Poop monster...but it tasted AMAZING. Here is what went into the Poop Monster
1c Unsweetened Almond Breeze (original)
1 scoop ON vanilla whey protein powder
4 large strawberries
1/3c TJ's frozen blueberries
1/2 frozen banana
4 cups of spinach
1.5 cups of crushed ice

See, I love the flavor of blueberries and I know they are chock full of antioxidants but I hate, hate, hate the texture of raw blueberry. I do not know why but they make me gag. So I bought a bag of frozen ones yesterday at Trader Joe's. Perfect for smoothies!

I'm just munching on my morning snack right now while doing some work email.

1/2c Fage 0%
6 sliced strawberries
Half of a crumbled Kashi trail mix bar
5 PB puffins

It's a nice sunny day I'm stoked for dinner tonight, I'm making a Thai red chicken curry (one of my fave foods). I need to make sure the cilantro I have in the fridge is still good (doubtful) so I know if I need to swing into the grocery store on my way back from the gym after work.

Hope everyone is having a good Monday. :)

I Have a Love/Hate Relationship with Sundays

2009-06-28T19:17:00.000-07:00

So I have a love/hate relationship with Sundays, I love them because I love the relaxing feel of the day but I hate them because I know that I have to work the next day. Fortunately it is a short week with Friday off for the 4th.

Yesterday was pretty fun, I need to actually take pictures but I never remember my camera (and you already have evidence of how crappy my cell phone's camera is). Enjoyed a relaxing afternoon with the fam to celebrate the nephew's 7th birthday. Hopefully he had a good day and enjoys all of his gifts. I was pretty good on the eats, I shared half a cheeseburger with the hubs and ate a lot of veggies and fruit.

After that we went to a wedding of a former customer of the husband, it was a very interesting wedding. Backyard BBQ style, very laid back...with a Seahawks theme. I'm talking full on, people in jerseys and such. When Tim and I got married I knew I wanted to incorporate my love of the Huskies into our wedding but I really didn't want it to be super noticeable. I'm not a fan of yellow flowers and yellow isn't a Husky color...Gold is, so I went with Purple and light green. I really only went with green because I LOVE LOVE LOVE green cymbidium orchids. :) So other than that I really only had one other symbol of my love for my team and school....

Anyways, I hope they enjoyed their wedding because that is all that matters!

This morning the hubs went golfing with his friend, they had a 6am tee time. I slept for a super long time (for me, 9.5 hours) and got up around 7:30am. I knew my mom would be up so I called to see what she was up to (nothing, yay). So we made plans to meet for coffee around 9 to talk and so I could get my present from her.

In the meantime, I made a little breakfast. We were super thin on the groceries (no spinach :(). So I had 1/2 cup of 0% Fage with 3/4 cup of PB Puffins, and then a bowl of cantaloupe on the side. I watched a little of Kendra Wilkinson's new show (saved on the DVR) while I ate, she cracks me the eff up.

I met up with my mom at Starbucks and had an iced grande, non-fat, sugar free vanilla latte. For some reason I really hate that they call them 'skinny' lattes. I hate the word skinny for some reason. I really don't know why, just do. It's up there with the words 'moist' and 'panties' hate 'em all. After that I did the first two stops of the grocery round-robin. Trader Joe's was up first, then Costco. Met up with Tim back at home and snacked on some red grapes and watched old 90210 on the Soap Network. I also setup my new Garmin and have it ready for my run tomorrow, I'm so excited to use it!

After that we went to Azul for some lunch. I dug into the chips and salsa because I freaking love their salsa. I had chicken soft tacos (minus the sour cream) and the hubs had the chicken burrito. During lunch I put my cell phone on the table, where I conveniently left it when we left. Fortunately as we were going to the 3rd grocery stop (Safeway) I remembered so we ran back to get it. Doh! You'd think I'd learn my lesson, always forgetting the damn thing.

Came home and took a little nap, and just finished up dinner and the evening chores (cleaning kitchen, making coffee for the am, and making Tim's lunch).

Dinner consisted of a delicious choice top sirloin, broccoli, cauliflower, and a piece of fresh baked sourdough. YUM. In Tim's lunch I packed the following: turkey, avocado, tomato, and hummus on a flat out, cantaloupe, grapes, Kashi TLC trail mix bar, TJ's chocolatey cats cookies, banana, and a protein bar for his breakfast. Whew!

So I think we're going to watch the last 20 minutes of Superbad and relax some more (I have a Jada on my lap right now lol).

Today was another day off from working out, I tend to bounce between 1 rest day and 2 rest days a week. My quads were super sore (in a good way) this morning so I decided to rest again.

Fantastic workout

2009-06-27T11:16:00.000-07:00

I am so freaking happy with my workout this morning, I was going to do a variation of Gina's Summer Shape up but I forgot the workout at home.

I had a slice of Ezekial Cinnamon Raisin toast with 1TB TJ's Almond Butter and took off.

Warmup: 1 mile @ 7:47 2 minute cooldown

Pullups w/ assist: 2x10 @ 30lbs of assist, last set I did negatives which I love because you can just feel the burn. 1x10 @ 50lbs of assist.

DB concentration curls 3x10 (each side) @ 15lbs

DB pullovers 3x10 @ 20lbs

Cardio burst: 1 mile @ 6:59 3 minute cooldown

Back Extensions: 3x15 w/ 10lb weight

Cable curl : 3x10 w/ 50lbs

Bicycle crunches: 3x25

Cardio: Run 5k (3.1mi) @ 23:52 + 5 minute cooldown.

I feel fantastic now and am so happy with how I pushed myself.

Currently Eating: 1 Green Monster

1 scoop ON chocolate whey protein powder
1 cup unsweetened Almond Breeze
1 frozen banana
2 cups of spinach (out of it now, sadness)
1.5 TB Adam's crunchy PB

3/4 cup of Cantaloupe

DH had a sip of my GM and said, hmmm not bad at all. LOL, maybe I'll get him hooked.

Okay off to shower and get ready!! I was going to post Debra's time for the RNR Seattle half marathon but the site is down!

Song of the workout: Pitbull - I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) I pulled this up when I needed to push my pace, it always does the trick.

Rock n Roll!

2009-06-27T08:22:00.000-07:00

Just finishing a cup of coffee and about to jet to the gym but I wanted to make sure to wish my friend Debra good luck this morning in the Seattle Rock n Roll Half Marathon, you go girl! I wish I was there with you (grrrrrrrrr), NEXT YEAR!

The Way You Make Me Feel...

2009-06-26T22:00:00.000-07:00

Okay so the title of this thread really has nothing to do with the post, just paying homage to my fave Michael Jackson song while I watch the Dateline special.

Tonight was a really nice night, DH and I decided against renting a movie and went for ice cream/froyo and a walk instead. He got a massive banana split and I had a small plain froyo with toasted coconut and choco chips (both dark and white choco) it was soo good, but really I would have been ok with the kids size.

I had a snack around 3pm of 1/2 cup of 0% Fage, 3/4 cup of PB Puffins, and on the side 1/2c of Cantaloupe.

Dinner was DELICIOUS. We had some fresh wild Sockeye salmon, baked with a little cajun seasoning and garlic. On the side we had sauteed zucchini, summer squash, and Walla Walla Sweets. I had a plain sweet potato and DH had a red potato since he doesn't like sweet potatoes very much :(.

We went for an hour walk through some trails in a local community. After that we went and sat on the deck at a local Mexican restaurant and had a Corona Lite.

Tomorrow is a busy day! Going to hit the gym first thing in the morning, then a birthday party for our nephew (I cannot believe he is almost 7 already), and a wedding after that.

What fun plans does everyone have for the weekend?

Friday!!!

2009-06-26T12:15:00.001-07:00

So my energy is much better today, although Friday always gives me an extra bounce in my step. I think my body was craving protein and rest.

I think that it is better for my body to workout earlier in the day, so I'm going to try to start waking up earlier and getting some exercise in before I start work. Maybe not everyday, but a few days a week.

I took off at 10am for the gym this morning, here is the workout I did. From Gina's Summer Shape up week 3, I modified a bit:

Warmup:
1 mile at 7:50. 2:10 minute cooldown.
Front Squats w/ 15lb dumbbells. 3x12
Romanian deadlift w/ 25lb dumbbells. 3x10
Plie Squat w/ calf raise (I used a single 35lb db instead of a bar on a Smith machine). 3x12

Cardio burst (6 minutes @ 6.5mph start at 0% incline and increase incline .5 every 30 seconds, ending up at 6 on the incline). 2 minutes of cooldown.

Reverse lunge 3x10 each side w/ 15lb db's
Toe touch 3x15
Ball twist 3x20 w/ 10lb medicine ball

Cardio: 2 miles on treadmill 14:57. 5 minute cooldown

Food for the day!

Breakfast: GREEN MONSTER
1 scoop ON choco whey protein powder
1 cup plain unsweetened Almond Breeze
1 frozen banana
4 c of baby spinach
1+ TB of Adam's Crunchy pb (I was generous, love this stuff)
1.5 c crushed ice

Snack: I actually got busy and forgot to eat a snack (my GM kept me full) so I grabbed a lemon zest Luna bar to eat on the way to the gym. I wish these had a little more protein for as many calories as they have but they taste so good.

Lunch: I'm actually eating it as I type this.

Flat out wrap w/ MorningStar tomato basil pizza burger, broccoli slaw, baby spinach, 1/4 avocado, 1/2 tomato and some hummus

10 baby carrots
1 big bunch of grapes.

I can't wait for tonight, actually get some time with the hubby, we're going to make salmon for dinner and I dunno what else. Maybe go rent a movie. Any suggestions?

Slacker!

2009-06-25T19:48:00.000-07:00

I was just absolutely exhausted today, I figured my body was trying to tell me something so I ended up taking the day off. For my afternoon meals I decided to load up on protein, I think I was lacking a little protein in my diet early in the week and my body just hit a wall. I took an hour long nap after work with the hubby, kinda watching some of the Michael Jackson coverage. Total bummer, while I may think he pretty much went off the deep end, all things aside he was an amazing recording audience. Honestly, I love the Bad album, there are some good songs on that album!

I'm just sitting at home watching the NBA draft, hoping that my boy Jon Brockman gets drafted....and he just went at #38 to the Portland TrailBlazers, though it looks like his rights are getting traded to the Sacramento Kings. I guess either one is good, at least it isn't Oklahoma City.

Okay so I'm going to keep resting tonight and work hard tomorrow.

Food for the rest of the day:

Snack:
1 handful of baby spinach
1 MorningStar tomato basil pizza burger
1 tomato
1/4 red pepper
1TB hummus

Dinner was a little fun, I tried something new. Quinoa with marinara sauce. Here is what I did, this fed two.

1lb chicken breast tenders. Diced up and sauteed in a little olive oil and poultry seasoning. Set aside.

Then sauteed the following in just a touch more olive oil.
1/2 big zucchini
1/4 big Walla Walla sweet onion (yum)
10 mushrooms diced small
1/4 red pepper

When the veggies were soft, I added the chicken back in and then 1.5 cups of Classico fire roasted tomato and garlic sauce. Let that simmer while quinoa cooks.

Then I measured out 1/2 c of dry quinoa and 1 cup of water into a pot and brought it to a boil. Then cover the pot and simmer for 10 minutes or until quinoa has that ring around the edges.

Mixed it all together, at first I was like no way is this enough food for me. But the quinoa absorbed the sauce and fattened up and 2 hours later I still feel very satisfied, I also had a small slice of TJ's whole wheat sourdough bread but didn't eat the crust because it was a little hard.

Another note, I have been super thirsty all day. Yesterday I had enough water so this is kind of weird (I usually drink in excess of 100oz a day). For sure going to get at least 8.5-9 hours of sleep tonight, maybe I'm coming down with something and can fight it off before it hits.

Happy Feet!

2009-06-25T10:32:00.000-07:00

Ever since I started running pedicures seem even more AMAZING to me. It's a nice time to relax my often overworked feet and clean up all of my callouses. Yesterday's pedicure was perfect for some "me time" I really needed the nice foot massage she gave me. My feet are nice and smooth again and of course cute toes are a huge bonus.

After my pedicure I met my my friend Michelle for happy hour drinks and snacks. I enjoyed a pomegranate martini and a chicken quesadilla and we split an order of their calamari. I admit calamari is one of my favorite cheat foods, especially at the place we went! They fry jalapenos with their calamari. Soo good and soo worth it!

I mixed it up a bit with this morning's Green Monster. No pics because it looked basically the same (and back in the Coors Light football cup).

1 scoop ON Chocolate whey protein powder
1 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze
1 TB of Adam's Crunch Peanut Butter
1 frozen banana
4 cups of baby spinach
1.5 cups of crushed ice

Sooo good, tasted like a peanut butter cup!

We also bought a HUGE cantaloupe last night so I spent some time cutting that up and put it in the fridge to cool down. I love my cantaloupe super cold. I was bummed because the grocery store had strawberries but they were really over priced and they looked like ass. So no berries for my yogurt today. :(

My morning snack was 1/2 cup of Fage 0% and 1/2 cup of Peanut Butter puffins. Once the cantaloupe is cold I'll have some of that too!

Today's workout is after work and is some cardio and leg/ab work. I'll post up what my actual workout is later tonight.

Yesterday I spent a lot of time doing laundry, I don't know about y'all but between my husband and I we have enough laundry for a family of 4. I do laundry pretty much every other day with all my sweaty clothes. It's a good thing that laundry is my fave chore. So question for everyone, do you find that working out/running leads to a metric assload of laundry? I always wonder if it is just me being inefficient at laundry. LOL.

Booo

2009-06-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

Today has been mostly uneventful have gotten a lot of laundry done today in between meetings and while on conference calls. I went for a run earlier and was really disappointed in my time, mostly because the stupid trots came back. I did NOT have any dairy today, the only thing I can think of is whey protein might have caused it. I had to stop and walk a few times to keep everything in! I know TMI. So I did 4.3 miles in roughly 36 minutes (~8.22 mile pace). Which isn't that bad considering I stopped to walk, and the first mile is basically all hill. Does anyone else get the trots like I do? A few weeks ago I seriously almost had to duck into the woods... Any tips for dealing with them? It doesn't happen every time and previously my problem was dairy within an hour or so of a run.

I also did side planks, I did the right side hold for 30 seconds and then into an advanced side plank for 30 seconds (both arms straight and leg extended). Then flipped over and did the same on the left side...finished with 60 seconds of a regular plank. Repeated that twice before hopping in the shower! My arms are still shaking.

Anyways...on to a more pleasant topic. I am tired of not having a watch for my runs, my old watch went MIA. HOWEVER, I mentioned to my mom that I really wanted a Garmin training watch. Well Costco has them on sale right now so she ordered one for me as an early birthday gift, I cannot wait! I'll probably get it from her this weekend. Soooo, if you've been thinking about getting one and belong to Costco they have them for $149 SHIPPED. Killer deal.

Today's eats so far, no pics as I've been too lazy.

Breakfast: Green Monster
1 scoop ON Extreme Milk Chocolate whey protein powder
1 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze
1TB TJ's Raw almond butter
1 frozen banana
4 cups of baby spinach
1.5c crushed ice

Pre-Run snack:
1 slice Ezekial Cinnamon Raisin toast w/ 1TB almond butter
1 sliced Fuji apple

Lunch:
Wrap (Flat Out multi-grain w/ flax, Sabra's sundried tomato hummus, MorningStar pizza burger, spinach, broccoli slaw, tomato, avocado, red pepper)
1 bunch of red grapes

I'm going for a pedicure after work (yay) and to meet my friend Michelle for Happy Hour after that.

Back in the Saddle Again....

2009-06-23T21:07:00.000-07:00

So this afternoon was GREAT, I'd say my hamstrings are close to 90% now. I had a great workout and 4 hours later I still don't have any tightness in my hams. So today I did Day 2 of Gina's Summer Shape Up Week 3. My actual workout broke down as such:

Warmup: Run 6 minutes (approx .8 miles), 2 minute cooldown.
Dumbbell skull crusher on incline bench. 3x12 at 12.5lbs each
Push press standing. 3x12 @ 15lbs each
Pushups until failure (25 true pushups)
Cardio burst on treadmill. 45 seconds @ 6.5mph, 45 seconds at 8.5 mph x 2. 45 seconds @ 6.5mph, 45 seconds @ 9.0mph x2. 2 minute cooldown.

Elbows out extension on flat bench. 3x12 @ 12.5lbs dbs.
Cable crossover standing 3x12 @ 20lbs each side
Dumbbell frontal raise standing 3x12 @ 15lbs each side.
Cardio: Run on tread 2.26 miles in 18 minutes.
Cooldown for 5 minutes gradually decreasing speed.
Stretch my 'ish out real good (especially hams)
Crunches 3x12

After that I came home and took a shower and went with the hubby to his softball game. Now I'm just relaxing and trying to find something to watch on tv a bit. I'm looking forward to a run at lunch tomorrow, hopefully the weather holds.

So todays eats!

Lunch:

Wrap (Flat out wrap, MorningStar tomato basil pizza burger, 1tbsp Sabra's sundried tomato hummus (aka crack), broccoli slaw, baby spinach, red pepper, 1/4 avocado, 1/2 tomato).

Small amount of roasted potato leftover from the hubby (red potato, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, pepper) with a small amount of ketchup.

Bunch of red grapes.

Snack: Leftover tabbouleh salad (quinoa, tomato, cucumber, sauteed zucchini, mint, lemon juice, and cilantro - I followed KERF's recipe but accidentally put 1/4c of cilantro instead of 3/4c of spinach, it actually wasn't horrible lol). No pics of snack, I was on a conference call and just wanted to eat.

5 baby carrots dipped in ~~crack~~ hummus
Dinner:
Salad (romaine, tomato, red pepper, and more ~~crack~~ hummus instead of dressing). No pics of the salad sorry. :(
A serving of TJ's multi-grain roasted veggie lasagna. The lasagna was very good but could have used like 3x more veggies. It also took way longer than the package said to cook, so long in fact that I had to nuke it for 7 minutes (after being in the oven for 50) because we were running out of time before we had to leave for softball. No pics of it out of the oven, was in a hurry to eat.

So I'm off to veg in front of the tv for a bit, probably have a small serving of Dreyer's Light Neopolitan ice cream and maybe a few TJ's chocolate cat cookies.

Sunny Tuesday!

2009-06-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

So the sun was finally out this morning when I woke up, which is obviously a good thing! Too bad I am stuck inside working, I need to run to Cooper & Jada's vet at lunch and pickup some food for them so no lunch time run today. :(

Here's Jada enjoying the sun in my office today. Sorry for my crappy pics, my camera phone isn't so great but it's easier than using the digital camera (lazy for the win).

Today's eats so far...

Breakfast: Green Monster
1 scoop ON vanilla whey powder
1 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze
Strawberries
1/2 frozen banana
4 cups spinach
1tbsp almond butter

It was a light green monster lol

2 cups of coffee....I love the bottom of my cup, it makes me happy to see the heart so I happily drain my cup. I am obviously easily amused.

Snack:
Approx. 1/2 cup of Fage 0%
Raspberries
Strawberries

Make sure to head over to Hangry Pants, Heather and Mark are giving away some yummy looking Musselman’s Healthy Picks Apple Sauce to three lucky readers!

I've reached an all time low

2009-06-22T20:16:00.000-07:00

So I went out to Indian tonight with my lovely sister in laws Brenda and Monica. It was delicious! On my way home I remembered that the bananas I bought at Costco yesterday are still greener than the GM I had this morning. So I stopped by Safeway to pickup a few naners until mine turn a more pleasing shade of yellow. My total came to 85 cents...yes I just used my debit card to purchase 85 cents worth of bananas. All I could do is laugh...

Work was mostly uneventful today other than my review (which confirmed that I am in fact amazing...no really).

So here are my eats for the rest of the day. :)

Mid-morning snack: 1/2 cup of Fage 0% with a handful of raspberries and about 6 sliced strawberries.

Lunch: 1 flat out wrap (multi-grain with flax), 1 Morningstar Farms pizza burger (yummmm), 2tbsp Sabra's sundried tomato hummus, 1/4 avocado, 1/4 tomato, red pepper, broccoli slaw, and some baby spinach. 1 bunch of red grapes.

Afternoon snack: 1 Kashi chewy trail mix granola bar

Dinner: I didn't take pix sorry, I chickened out. I had the Baigan Bhartha with some whole wheat roti and a glass of Shiraz.

NOTE: If you haven't already you absolutely must visit Jenna and get a copy of her Easy Weeknight Dinner cookbook! I've already highlighted a few recipes I can't wait to make, plus ALL of the money goes to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! You can't go wrong!!!

Nope, no case of the Mondays here...

2009-06-22T08:24:00.000-07:00

So I am a very lucky person, I actually work virtually full time. What this means is that I rarely ever have to go into the office. So my schedule is quite flexible for food and workouts. Today however I have to go in for my mid-year performance evaluation (I am amazing, what else do they really need to know?).

So I made sure to get up early (5:30) this morning to get in a quick work out. I've been mixing up my shiz for the last month or so because I was in a horrible plateau so I've been doing Gina's Summer Shape-up workouts. Mondays are always just cardio. Today I mixed it up with a little HIIT training. My hamstring has been a major biotch since last week and I took it easy over the weekend. It felt better today but not perfect. So I made sure to spend about 15 minutes stretching out AFTER my workout this morning. Here is how my HIIT looked:

0:00 - 5:00 - Warmup. 6.5mph
5:00 - 6:00 - 5.5mph
6:00 - 7:00 - 8.0mph
7:00 - 8:00 - 5.5mph
8:00 -9:00 - 8.0 mph
9:00 - 10:00 - 5.5mph
10:00 - 11:00 - 8.0mph
11:00 - 12:00 - 5.5mph
12:00 - 13:00 - 8.0mph
13:00 - 14:00 - 5.0mph
14:00 - 14:45 - 9.0mph
14:45 - 15:45 - 5.0mph
15:45 - 16:30 - 9,0mph
16:30 - 17:30 - 5.0mph
17:30 - 18:15 - 9.0mph
18:15 - 19:15 - 5.0mph
19:15 - 20:00 - 9.0mph
20:00 - 21:00 - 5.0mph
21:00 - 21:30 -10.0mph
21:30 - 22:30 - 5.0mph
22:30 - 23:00 - 10.0mph
23:00 - 24:00 - 5.0mph
24:00 - 24:30 - 10mph
24:30 - 25:30 - 5.0mph
25:30 - 26:00 - 10mph
26:00 - 27:00 - 6.0mph
27:00 - 28:00 - 6.5mph
28:00 - 29:00 - 7.0mph
29:00 - 30:00 - 7.5mph
30:00 - 35:00 - cooldown!

Eats so far today:

Pre-workout: 1 slice Ezekial Cinnamon Raisin toast with 1tbsp Trader Joe's Almond Butter
Post - workout: GREEN MONSTER (picture klassy Coors Light cup).

1 scoop Optimum Nutrition French Vanilla Creme Whey Protein Powder
1 cup Unsweeted Vanilla Almond Breeze
1/2 frozen Banene
6 small Strawberries
1 tbsp TJ's Almond Butter
4 cups of Organic Baby Spinach
1.5 cups of crushed ice

I also had two cups of coffee....maybe some day I will cut out coffee. I figure I'm doing good now that I work from home I drink coffee here instead of Starbucks.

Let Me Introduce Myself...

2009-06-21T19:55:00.000-07:00

My name isn't Humpty...and it doesn't rhyme with Umpty. I'm Danielle, I'm 30 years old. I like cats, running, healthy and delicious eats, and cuddling with my husband. I do not like raw onions, rush hour traffic, and mean people.

Ok for real, I've been lurking in the blog world now for about a month. I've jumped on the Green Monster bandwagon. I'm klassy enough that I like to drink mine out of a Coors Light glass. Nothing screams nutrition like a frosty Green Monster in a football shaped beer glass. Puh-lease!

So I tried to come up with a cute name for this blog but all that came to mind was my love of running. Growing up, and in high school I despised running. I never thought I could do it. In 2002 I was diagnosed with high blood pressure, which honestly didn't come as a shock since everyone on my mother's side of the family has it. But I was carrying about 50 extra pounds at that point. I started walking every day, and eventually decided to try running. I was hooked... but I couldn't seem to shed more than 15lbs.

One day in 2006 I was lunching with a friend, I was working at a Seattle area fitness company at the time (a company that 'coined' the elliptical trainer so popular in gyms). It finally really hit home that my weight loss obstacles weren't fitness related but food related. My portions were too big mostly. I cut my food back and started really watching what I ate. My boyfriend of six years also proposed to me late that year so I had extra incentive to lose the lbs. I reached my goal weight in mid-2007.

We were married in November of 2007 on the island of Maui. Wow, it was amazing. I wouldn't have done it any other way. Here is a pic of me with my true loves! My husband, Tim, and the cake. Let me tell you, the Vanilla Macadamia Nut mousse filling was OUT OF THIS WORLD!

Over the last few years my fitness level has grown so far, I adore running and average around 25 miles a week. I also lift weights like it is my religion.

So without further adieu, let me introduce you to the other players!

Here is me, with my husband Tim, in January of 2009. He was the Best Man in his bff's wedding!

My most handsome boy kitty, Cooper (aka Cooper Pooper, Coop, Coop A Loop).

And last, but never least is Miss Jada.

So let's kick this off in style...I hope someone will actually read the 'ish I write! So let me know if you are out there (*crickets*)...

Question of the day (comments plz): Do you have any pets? What kind? Any fun facts about them?

For The Love of the Run

The Sweet Spot

Productive Sunday

Slacker!!!

Another day at the gym

Sunday run

Behind schedule!

Leg day!

It's amazing what a good run will do....

Happy Birthday to Me

Happy Rest Day

Quick Sunday post!

Saturday....

Happy Friday!

More Hotness

It's getting hot in here...

We're Jammin'

Lazy Sunday

Happy Saturday!

TGIF!

My laptop can suck it

Colossal Meltdown

Ingredients

Sauce

Directions

Cut the onion in half and slice into thin half rings. Line the bottom of the crock pot with the onions.

Trim the chicken breasts and place on top of the bed of onions.

Mix all of the sauce ingredients together and pour on top of the chicken covering completely.

Cook for 6 hours on low setting. The sauce thickens and turns into a dark rich brown during cooking. At the same time the onions dissolve into the sauce.

When the chicken is falling apart tender, take two forks and shred the chicken.

Super Busy!

Labor of Love

Enjoy the Silence!

Manic Monday!

Taking it Easy yo!

Friday's run stats

Friday Almuerzo

Happy Friday Eve!

I can't think of anything better...

Over the Hump

The Best Laid Plans...

Busy Worker Bee

Sleep!

Quick Weekend check in

TGIF!

Friday Eve!

Blah

Wednesday

Multi-tasking....

Once Upon a Mattress...

Happy Monday

Fun Weekend!

Happy 4th of July!

It's Getting Hot in Here...

Holiday.....

Hooray for the Weekend!

Yawn

One more day...

Wednesday

Uneventful evening

I love my Garmin

One down, Three to go!

The Poop Monster

I Have a Love/Hate Relationship with Sundays

Fantastic workout

Rock n Roll!

The Way You Make Me Feel...

Friday!!!

Slacker!

Happy Feet!

Booo

Back in the Saddle Again....

Sunny Tuesday!

I've reached an all time low

Nope, no case of the Mondays here...

Let Me Introduce Myself...