No Stress Here

It’s the weekend before Christmas.

That means less than 7 DAYS, people!

Normally, I’m freakin’ a little at this point. Somehow, this weekend doesn’t seem as bad as I thought.

Maybe it was the fact that I hit Target/Trader Joe’s early yesterday in order to avoid the bad crowds. There were still crowds, but it didn’t seem that busy.

Then again, I went sans makeup/shower/good hygiene in general. It’s possible men and small children hid as I strolled past.

Because I chose to break up the Target shopping and the last shopping trip to Michigan Avenue into two different days, it was noon and I had a good chunk of time on my hands. What’s a girl to do?

She runs. She runs 5 solid miles. She notices a hottie jump on the treadmill next to her. And she congratulates herself because that extra swipe of deodorant was a good choice… How you doin’?

Anyway…

Often, when I decide to stay low key for the weekend, I try to make smart decisions in the kitchen.Yay green!

And yes, that’s ranch dressing. The regular kind. My friend Mary and I discussed this once and both totally agree- the extra calories are ok as long as you’ve bringing in all the veggies with it. A massive plate of solely vegetables with some fat in the dressing is better to eat than no vegetables at all. Just don’t drown them. Holla’.

Besides, fat-free/lite ranch is really gross. And that doesn’t make anyone happy.

Another thing that does make me happy?Cookies. Duh.

During the 3rd Blogger Sweet Swap, Jessica from The Process of Healing and I were partnered together! I sent her some Chubby Hubby Cookie Bars last week, and this arrived at my door yesterday afternoon!

She chose to make a few things from How Sweet It Is- cake batter bark and browned butter chocolate chip/brownie cookies.Fabulous.

My roommate and I took down over half of the bark within an hour of opening the package. Truth.

Chocolate reduces levels of stress hormones. It’s absolutely necessary you fit it into your healthy diet over the holiday season. It’s medically proven. Google it.

Speaking of roommates, mine made buffalo ranch chicken last night.A way to reduce stress? When she asks if you want some of it, you say “why yes, yes I would love to not make my own dinner and eat this amazing food instead…”

Buffalo chicken is easily in my top 10. I’m a sucker for that hot sauce.I’m also a sucker for 312. I heart you, Goose Island. Even if you did sell your soul to Anheuser Busch. But that’s a bone to pick at another time…

We decided to hole ourselves up for a relaxing evening of movies. The Change Up, 30 Minutes or Less and The Wizard of Oz. Clearly we just couldn’t decide what kind of genre we wanted to go with. I guess variety is the spice of life.

And here I am now. Well-rested and relaxed. Not normal for a Sunday morning (reference last weekend’s silly foolery).

Off to the gym I go before tackling the last few things on my holiday shopping list. Hopefully with plenty of the Sunday afternoon to spare by the time I’m done.

And that, my friends, is how you have a relatively sane weekend before Christmas.

Puppies and Candy- The Doctor’s Orders

HAPPY FRIDAY.

Yes. I will YELL that.

It was a long week, kids. Long.

Let’s not do that again.

Instead, let’s focus on happy things.

Like how the weekend has arrived and sleeping in will be a priority. Even if “sleeping in” for me is maybe 8:30. To each their own.

Or how it’s Halloween weekend and I’m all excited and giggly about how much fun it’ll be to dress up once again with all the girls…

Or let’s talk about how therapeutic it was to see these two familiar faces once again:

Doggies! For those of you who have been around for a while (like a year and a half or so- omg how long have we known each other now?!?!), you may remember Princess and Hazel. I’m friends with their owner, Jaime, who seems to think I’m responsible enough to watch over them on occasion when she’s out of town. She didn’t request another two-week dogsitting gig from me, but I was  happy to drive by her place to feed and walk them last night.

Rarely do I get such animated excitement when I walk through the door. They were over the moon.

This could be because they had not seen another human being all day, but I like to think it’s because they miss me specifically.

After taking Princess and Hazel outside to play a bit and do their biz, we all came in out of the rain and ate.

They had their dog food. And I had this:Yes, I raided their Halloween candy. And maybe this means they’ll run low on Halloween and the children will be sad and I ruined it all.

But it was sitting there. What else was I supposed to do?

Exactly. You would have taken more than one piece, too.

However…

Delicious chocolate and crispies in perfect harmony (hey Nestle Crunch, I’m looking at you), as fantastic as it is, does not a healthy dinner make. BAM. That totally cancels out the candy craze, right? Right.

After getting home from checking up on the pups and whatnot, there was no time to do anything but inhale the salad and watch the Cardinals vs. the Rangers in Game 6 of the World Series.

You know, no big deal, just a game they’re calling absolutely historic… Whatev.

11 innings of back and forth play. It was ridiculous. And I was a glass case of emotion.

A tired glass case of emotion. But still… Totally worth it.

So what is one more happy thing for the weekend?

In approximately 11 hours, I will be chillaxin’ on my couch and completely focused on the screen in front of me. GO CARDINALS!!!!!

Have a great weekend, kids!

Slow Progressions

One of the things my male friend said to me over the weekend was, “it scares me how much energy you have when it comes to staying out late and drinking with friends.”

Um.

Well I have this little secret.

I’m not like that all the time.

In all actuality, I’m quite tame. And boring. So what probably happens is that the energy builds up and BAM- dance party until 1:00 in the morning.

On most days, there is a set standard routine in these parts.

Get up way too early. Work. Lunch. More work. Complain about rush hour traffic. Workout. Eat food. Bed.

It’s really quite simple.

Sort of like the majority of my meals throughout the week. After a weekend of eating out, fried food, and over-the-top indulgent activities, it’s sometimes good to remind myself (and my stomach) that I am, in all actuality, one who does eat a healthy, veggie-ridden salad from time to time.Spinach with olives, mushrooms, broccoli, chickpeas, sunflower seeds and feta. Random combination, but do you expect any less from me?

The favorite joke in the office with some of my coworkers is “so Amy, what’s for lunch today?”

Same thing I have every day. Punk. And yes, it fills me up. I also had a big breakfast. Not going to starve. Promise.

The salad yesterday was complimented beforehand with a nice lil’ piece of German chocolate cake I found in the break room. At 9:00 in the morning.

Its a slow progression when it comes to reintroducing the health back into my week.

Same goes for working out. I have plans to run quite a  bit today, so I chose to visit my new gym last night and just go crazy playing on all the equipment. Pretty sure the trainers there now thing I have ADD.

To be fair, it’s possible they’re right. I’ve never been tested. And some think-

…oooohhhhh something shiiiiinnnnyyyyy…..

Sorry. Where was I?

Ah- the workout. 15 on the stairmill. 1.5-mile run and 10 minute walking cooldown right before a solid 22 minutes on the elliptical. Yes, 22. It felt like a good number to end with. Approximately an hour of cardio. I felt the Bud Light (and German chocolate cake- ahem) coming through my pores.

That’s disgusting.

But sorta true at the same time. So I stand by it.

To sum it all up, when I have a weekend that totally throws everything off, I more than welcome my boring cardio and eats. Because the energy is gone, I’m exhausted, and I just need to feel the normalcy set in a bit.

Until Friday rolls around. And then it’s once again time to-

oooohhhhh… something spaaaarrrrrkkklllyyyy…

100 Words Saturday- That Feeling

Do you ever get that feeling you forgot something?

It just pops into your head?

I did while running my 3.5 miles on the trail by my old place before cleaning and turning in the keys.

Did I unplug the coffee maker? The coffee maker without an automatic shut-off? While my roommate’s out of town?

Surely…

Did I?

UGH.

I still had to pick up my bridesmaid dress.

45 minutes of cleaning before picking up the dress- decided to finish the rest later. I’m not burning down my new house…

Rush home…

It’s unplugged.Some things never change.

(Sort of like my salad habit.)

What did I forget this time?

Whoopsies on the details of my workout yesterday- thanks to the kids that caught it! 2.8 hours and 2.8 miles are quite different things (to be clear, I meant miles). Just checkin’ to make sure ya’ll are readin’. 

I am 95% sure that I will never run 2.8 hours straight. Ever.

You know what? Let’s just go ahead and say I am 100% sure. I enjoy my occasional half marathon. I really do. But training for or running anything beyond that? I’d just be hateful. The entire time. So uh… no. You’re welcome. Trust me.

Besides, my body tends to break itself in protest whenever I start nearing 18-20ish miles per week. Fact.

Anyhoo….

Sometimes I frustrate myself. The main reason why I went grocery shopping on Monday was to buy salad mix. At the beginning of the week is when I usually buy it to get through my lunch salads for the week. It’s just sort of habit at this point. Don’t even have to think twice about it. I like it this way.

So I went like I normally do. Picking up the normal things. Including stuff to put in my salad. And wouldn’t you know it? I forgot the stupid spinach.Hence the reason why today my salad most likely has more cauliflower involved than anything else.

This happens often- I’m really good at having one main thing I need to get and then come home with everything but the thing I made the trip for in the first place. That or I’ll forget to pack something essential when going somewhere. Like salad dressing to go with my salad. I’ll pack 3 bras and no panties. Or toothpaste after making a point of leaving a note to pack my toothbrush (wouldn’t you think they’d go hand in hand?). Annoying.

Some of that bleach I used to dye my hair blonde with back in the day must have seeped into my brain. Sigh…

*Not making fun of blondes. Rather, discussing the harmful chemicals I would have dumped into my hair every 3 or 4 months for years. Who’s the dumb one now?

But back to my food (off topic again? oops). I’ve also got a growing and unnatural obsession with black olives as of late. They’re pretty much amazing. And sort of like mushrooms, they can be put into pretty much anything. Who knew?

At least we know this chick is not having issues getting adequate amounts of good fats and vitamin E this way. 

I had to google black olives to know that. And justify the way I’m plowing through them.

Gotta go- I’m doing another lunch time run (supposedly) and if I’m not careful, I’ll most likely forget to pack something needed for that, too.

Because I’m good at that.

Who Am I?

Are things really back to normal now? Please say yes- I thrive on routine during the work week.

Well, everything except that I’m still yet to unpack from my trip last weekend, but we’re calling it a minor detail. Unpacking is the worst. And my theory is that if I ignore it long enough, it’ll do it itself. (TWSS)

Other than that, things are good. My refrigerator is stocked. The sleeping routine is pretty much back to normal. And I even worked out last night for the first time in a week.

Yes, an entire week. Who am I?

I’m getting the shakes just thinking about it. Yikes.

The first day back was supposed to be yesterday- a friend of mine and I were going to start running during lunch. However, all this tornadic weather has given us nothing but dark and stormy lunchtimes. Of course that would happen.

We’re going to try again today. So far, it’s looking clear but chilly. Crossing fingers.

Until then, I found other ways to get my cardio in. Like the workout room that I’ll only have access to for another 2 weeks before moving.

I’m almost going to miss the elliptical.

Shhh… let’s pretend that wasn’t said out loud. 

22 minutes on the elliptical, 10 on the stairs and some solid ab work. Even planks. And I never like doing planks. Who am I???

It was shorter than normal, but for a girl who’s being feeling a little lackluster as of late, it was a nice reintroduction of cardio that didn’t include lifting champagne bottles and shaking my rump.

Other than lack of sleep, part of the reason I was feeling so “blah” this week is my body’s reaction to everything I consumed. I wasn’t kidding when I commented that my body was rejecting all the McD’s breakfast choices. And alcohol. And greasy lunches. And large dinners.

How reckless of me. Other than guacamole, not a green thing entered my body that entire weekend. Who am I? At the airport before I left Vegas, I walked up and down the terminal until I finally decided to kick it CPK style. Mostly because I could sit and be left alone for an hour. Secondly, because it was one of the few places offering salad that hadn’t been wilting in a cooler for hours, being picked up and put back down by a million people.Yeah- not the healthiest option, but really- show me more than 2 things on the California Pizza Kitchen that are remotely healthy and you win a prize.

I’m waiting…

Anyhoo, there were four salad options. This was the most appealing. Blame the BBQ. 

I’ve since been pretty much on a salad detox. And not so much CPK style, but more “every other random vegetable Amy has in the refrigerator”. Nothing else really sounds good at the moment.

It’ll probably only last another day or so (oh hey Memorial Day weekend/kick-off of grilling season). But we’ll just take advantage of it while we can.

I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend! Tonight is one of rest and red box- I have many many plans. That include hanging out with Megan, house parties and Cubs games.

Now if only this Chicago weather would get in line and stop being so ridiculous. I’d like a tan at some point this summer. Please?

Summer On My Mind

The forecast says we’ll finally be up in the 70′s next week.

I say it’s about time.

Sure, 70 degrees isn’t your average summer weather, but we’ll take it.

This girl needs a tan. She needs her summer dresses. And she needs her BBQ.

It’s very simple.

At my current residence, we’re not allowed to have grills on our decks. How un-American, right? Hopefully the rules change as soon as I move (we’re closing in on less than a month!). Until then I pseudo-grill in my kitchen.

BBQ sauce is a staple in my place. Currently, there are four different varieties in my refrigerator and pantry. I love it. Plus, it’s one of those items I always see in the store and think, “ok, do I need to restock on this?”

The right answer is usually “no”. But I’m never right on answering that question.

That’s also the reason why I don’t have the full Friend’s DVD collection yet. It’s ridiculous how many times I’ve bought and returned because I keep forgetting which seasons I don’t have yet. There are 2 left… I’m so close.

I know you care.

FOCUS, AMY!

BBQ sauce… yes, that’s right. As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received an offer to try some BBQ sauce and give it a review. Who am I to decline?KC Masterpiece- just like what my dad uses. And it’s my brother’s condiment of choice. Sweet. We’re in good company, then.

I tried it out several different ways since receiving it. BBQ turkey sandwich from last week?Check. BBQ ranch dressing for my salad this week?

Check!(Just add it as a 1:3 ratio to your ranch dressing of choice. And maybe throw in some paprika or red chili pepper flakes for kicks.)

Use it as a marinade for chicken.And throw it in a wrap with spinach and mushrooms.Just like ranch, I’ll try it with almost anything once.So what did I think of KC Masterpiece’s new Southwestern Style sauce?

The flavor was there. And it worked awesome as a marinade- which is what I’ll most likely use the rest of it for.

But just as regular sauce? It was much more runny than I’m used to. This heightens the chances of spillage. And since odds are never in my favor when it comes to making messes, this is no good.

All in all, it’s ok, but if I were to spring for the KC Masterpiece, I’m getting the original. Hands down.

Regarding yesterday’s post…

A couple peeps asked me about more specifics on the whole mini-meal thing I did back in the day and why it didn’t work for me.

First off, I do understand and like what it’s trying to do for people. I’ve never been one to skip breakfast or only eat once a day (are you crazy?!?!). I like food. The idea of getting to eat more often throughout the day was appealing. Time to eat… again??? Weeeeee!

BUT, I was raised on three square meals a day. I find comfort in that schedule. So after a month or so, I just gave up. Mentally, I couldn’t switch over. That was the problem. My body wasn’t so much hungry (not to get into calorie consumption, but I promise you, I never had days of consuming less than what I was supposed to), my head just wasn’t satisfied yet.

Not to mention, I was constantly thinking about the next time I could eat. Even watching the clock for it. And food was starting to get really boring. Which was sort of my fault- I was pretty uncreative when it came to making up new meals for myself that were within the necessary calorie range.

And whenever I went out for food/drinks, it threw off my entire schedule. Not cool.

Could I have done it better? Maybe. Do I want to try it again? Nah.

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone! Sadly, no tequila will be consumed in these parts, but Mon and I are planning a feast involving lots of salsa…

Then again, maybe no tequila is not a bad thing. We’re not the best of friends.

Have a good one!

Angry Motivation

Hellloooooo!

I’m feeling a bit more upbeat today. Yesterday was a long day of red box movies and dim lighting. After spending an entire Saturday hopping around Wrigleyville, it seems that is the best medication. Noted.

After a massive breakfast and lunch, it was time for some cleansing. Mostly because my refrigerator was starting to get full of things on the brink of expiration. And I’m really careful about using up food before it goes bad. Feeling wasteful is not my favorite feeling. So often salads become an “anything goes” ordeal.Salad detox. Give it a try on a day you’re feeling “blah”. A couple of these and you’ll be bouncing off the walls… weeeeee!

Well, maybe not THAT extreme, but it does help quite a bit. Almost like magic.

Almost.

I even recovered enough yesterday to get back into my early workout routine when this morning rolled around. With less than a week to go before my race, it’s time to get serious.

Well sort of. I said I’d be taking it easy, and the plan definitely tapers this week. It worked out well.

Good thing only 3 miles were on the schedule- it took an extra 15 minutes for me to actually get IN the workout room at my apartment complex being as how I didn’t realize the code numbers had changed again. This required me to walk all the way back home to try and find the email about it. Ugh.

But I persevered. And found that silly new code. And came out victorious?

3 miles done at an 8:43 pace. No major pushing. Leg seems like it’s holding up well. Stamina is fine. Whew.

Since we’re less than a week away from the St.  Louis Go! Half Marathon, it’s time to start thinking race prep. I need a new playlist.  And I sorta want to take a page from Angry Runner’s book. And run angry. Pretty sure Britney Spears isn’t going to cut it this time. So if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them. Seriously. Please tell me!

Enjoy your Monday!

First Baseball Weekend In Wrigleyville

Good afternoon.It was an extra-large-cup-o-coffee kind of morning.

I would imagine most people who participate in Opening weekend would agree.

Oh and do you see that awesome spot on my table? That happened last summer- don’t leave a bottle of sun tan lotion sit on your table for a day. Especially if you don’t realize the cap was open and it leaked… because it will eat the finish on the new table you just bought a few months earlier.

Anyway, on to more pressing issues.

Like who’s the smart one that schedules a Saturday baseball game at noon?

Really?If you were out in Wrigleyville, you may have seen me and some of my cohorts in action (even Megan joined in on the fun!). We were the group of delinquents eating nachos at The Stretch, hiding out at Murphy’s Bleachers, eating more nachos and dancing at Casey Moran’s or starting the dance party back at The Stretch.

We like nachos. And we like to dance.

Obviously.

So I’m quite tired today. May have been less tired had we not ran to catch a train and watched it pull away as we got through the doors. And then had to wait an hour for the next one…

We’re really good at that.

As you can see, I elected to spend the day in Wrigleyville and pass up my long run. Still feeling good after my little workout on Thursday night, so we’re going to do a little more running/cross-training today and tomorrow. Just not push it. And still take an extra day or two of rest. Annoying but necessary.

Luckily, as last week passed, I started to get much better at enjoying my sudden free time.

Which is easy to do in good company. On Friday, my good friend Annie and I decided to get together for a lazy night in with wine and a red box.And pizza… don’t forget the pizza…

She requested homemade pizza made by yours truly, and she took care of the salad.

Team work.

Anyway, it’s about time to get moving and try to enjoy the end of my weekend. Laters!

What I’ve Been Up To

I’m so glad some of you were interested in trying the scotcheroos!  Seriously- you will not be disappointed.

And a couple of you asked if you can substitute something for the corn syrup. Well… I’ve never tried it. But a google search let me in on the secret- yes, you can sub a combo of sugar and water. Not surprising…

Speaking of google searches, someone found my blog by google searching “is there an actual city called crazy town?”. Well Mr. Unknown, I do not know the answer to that. But if there is, I am definitely an interested party. I may be moving there sooner than later…

Anyway, the lack of my regular routine has also resulted in lack of regular posting. The non-routine thing has me all in a tizzy with all these sudden rest days. And a bit of a bad mood. Thanks, leg. I guess as much as I’d love to be, there will never be a day where I can truly consider myself “spontaneous”. Lame. 

What does this mean?  Well… I had a few moments where I sorta looked like this dude.

And then I cleaned. Thanks to a crazy roommate from back in the day, I don’t like having dishes in the sink. Like at all. If they start to build up (as in more than 2 bowls are sitting there), I get all anxious she’s going to storm through the door and yell at me.

Clearly I’m scarred for life. And like to think of myself as Cinderella.

Any good roommate stories? I’ll have to ponder a while to figure out my best one…

I also grocery shopped. And- ahem- stopped by the mall. Retail therapy… ya know?

My thought process is that if I eat all the groceries I bought…… maybe I’ll also enjoy my apparel purchases a little more? 

This made me happy, but soon I looked like that dude again.

So yeah. Not too much going on here.

And I can’t escape how I really feel… grrrr.

Don’t get me wrong- it’s nice to have some rest time. But I’d rather be getting myself ready for this silly little half marathon thing I’ve got going on in about 10 days. Actually enjoy the rest time- after the race. Instead of just sitting around restless and anxious now. Meh.

Because I’ve got limitations on being able to properly prepare, I’ve at least made some rules. Mostly to keep myself from getting any more sluggish than I already am at the moment. (Does anyone else notice when you’ve got way too much downtime that you just get more and more lazy? Or is that just me?)

No wine. Lots of veggies (um… duh?). And don’t forget the protein!The ice melted funny.

I put asparagus and broccoli with the eggs, so we’re just gonna say that’s what cancels out the cream cheese spread on the bread, mmmk?

Because I had the time, and didn’t want to stop the baking extravaganza with scotcheroos, there was also some more honey oat quick bread thrown together. With walnuts added in- a must do.

Like mentioned, there hasn’t been a lot of action on the workout front (other than random situps here and there, some pushups, swearing, maybe throwing a few things, etc etc). Tonight I will be hitting the gym to see what’s going on with the whole situation with that weird feeling I’ve got in the left leggie. As in, I’m going to hit the elliptical for a bit to get in some decent cardio while loosening up and then see how the treadmill goes.

It’s not a muscle thing. That I know. I also know it will take all of 20 seconds on the treadmill to figure where I stand on it (puns!).

Wish me luck.

Or give me some advice if you have it.

Either/or.