A New Twist

More often than not, I end up buying the same things at the grocery store.  They are my staples. They make me happy. And until they don’t, I’ll continue to buy them.

That’s just how I roll.

However, I do like to mix up how they end up on my plate. It at least makes me feel like I’m doing something different…

So say hello to veggie flatbread:The differences between this and pizza are minimal. But still exist.

For one, it’s a new shape. Woooaaaahhh… way outside the comfort zone!

Also, it includes broccoli and chickpeas but not cheese. And I don’t care what people say. You may even like it. But I just don’t really feel right putting broccoli/chickpeas on pizza. Or ever calling it pizza if it doesn’t include cheese.  So that’s why this definitely couldn’t be called pizza… right?

The crust was yet again the pizza dough crust made with beer that Holly created. I made a half recipe. It still gave me 3 good-sized flatbreads.  Plus, on a Tuesday (yuck!), I didn’t mind being able to finish the other half of the beer. ;)

And yes, for those of you who asked yesterday, a Tuesday is still a Tuesday. Even if you have Monday off.  It just may not be the most “extreme” of the yucky Tuesdays… Tuesday Light?

Either way, the drunken flatbread (oooh… maybe that’s a good name for it?) hit the spot after a long day. After Monday’s long run and 5 hours of running errands, I was less than enthusiastic about getting up early to hit the gym. But as usual, I would have just been upset with myself if I really had to trudge to the gym after getting home from work late. And I felt great after the workout.  21 minutes on the elliptical- had only planned to go to 20, but when I checked the time, I had already passed it (weird!).

Then 20 minutes on the stairs. I will have to say, after the Hustle Up the Hancock, I’ll be ready to give the stairs a rest. Or at least back off of them a little. 

That was yesterday’s workout. This morning’s workout? The 4 miles I was supposed to run? Um….

I didn’t sleep in or anything. Made it to the gym. Stepped on the treadmill. And thought, “woah, this really isn’t going to happen today.”

Have you had a moment like that recently?  Had I started running, it wouldn’t have gone for very long. So I walked- for 30 minutes (2 miles) and did some serious ab work for the rest of the time there. I haven’t focused solely on that area lately. And there was no reason to waste my time since I was already up.

So now I have this 4 miles to make up at some point. A new twist got thrown into my normal routine! Not sure if I’ll work them in when I get home?  Or maybe I’ll call this my “relaxed” day for the week and do it tomorrow morning (my actual rest day) instead? Decisions, decisions…

Off To St. Louis…

Whew.

It’s been a whirlwind of family, friends and food.  After yesterday being a long day of running around and visiting family, I pulled an old school move and invited some of the kids over the ‘rents’ house.Yes- this time even a baby was involved!   

M is a pretty awesome little kid.  And got even more awesome when she decided it was time to celebrate No Pants Saturday.

Who can blame her?  I don’t like pants much, either.

The last two mornings, I got smart and did my workout when everyone was sleeping.  Jillian Michaels and her dvd “No More Trouble Zones” were waiting for me under the tree this year, so I broke that one out first.

It’s a much longer dvd than The Shred.  Yikes.  But I loved it because I now have some new circuit training to add into my life.

She’s a fan of squats.  I am not.  But I feel like this is going to benefit me. 

Actually, I know it will- my butt is crazy sore.

Jillian wasn’t my only awesome gift.  My family really knows me way too well.You can never go wrong with baking or running gear.  Fact.

My aunt even said when I opened the bag with the mixing bowl, “well I saw on your blog that you had to use a pot to mix something in and figured I should help you out”.

Thanks RB. 

And yes, those were 8-pound weights.  No, I haven’t tried them with my dvds yet.  I’ve been talking big game.  But now that they’re actually in my possession, I’m a wee bit scared.

When putting my new Jillian dvd in to get started yesterday, I noticed the copy of P90X my brother had sitting there.

I’ve heard horror stories about how difficult it can be. Even my bro warned me about it.

Naturally, I wanted to dominate.

The abs section.  Or, what it’s so unassumingly called “Ab Ripper”.

15 minutes.  It was a solid workout.  People weren’t kidding.  I’m nervous as to how I’ll feel tomorrow.

Hurts so good… riiiight?  Yikes.

My last meal in Mid-MO was a mixture of new and leftover.Can’t beat soup and salad. 

And I told you that wasn’t the last of my overnight salad fixation.  If I only get it once or twice a year, I totally make it count…

Time to sneak in a cat nap before I head off to my next adventure on my Mid-MO Holiday Road Trip- St. Louis!

Are you done with the holiday travel?  Get anything good?  What are your general thoughts on pants? 

Enjoy your Sunday!

Just Five Minutes

 Good Morning!  And thank you so much for the song recommendations for my race!  I love them- so keep ‘em coming!

And thank goodness Tuesday is OVER… am I right?

Actually, this Tuesday wasn’t so bad (knock on wood).  I even made it out of bed at 5:15 for a morning workout. 

Had you seen me struggle to comprehend why the alarm was going off and then spend a considerable amount of time pondering another hour of sleep, you would have been impressed, too.

While walking to my apartment’s workout room, I noticed the heavy frost on my car.  Note to myself:  leave my place a couple minutes earlier to deal with this.

I didn’t.  And was reminded of how much of a time suck scraping your car can be- even if it’s just a frost. 

But let’s focus- back to the morning run.  Four miles happened.  I averaged at about 8:28.  All of my runs lately have hovered in the 8:20′s and low 8:30′s.  Hopefully this means a pace of 8:30ish can be kept for the 15k on Saturday.  I’m not holding my breath, but it’s a goal to have in the back of my head. 

I know it sounds like a forced workout.  But it’s really not (sort of).  I’ve got a rule I try to follow.  I always tell myself “just go for 5 minutes”.  If after 5 minutes I still don’t want to keep going, I’ll stop.  More often than not, I’ll keep going because I start to gain my momentum as I’m running/ellipticizing (is that a real word?). 

Don’t get me wrong- there are definitely times that I’ve gone and quit after 5.  Just stopped and said “well this totally isn’t going to happen today”.   But usually all that is required is a little kick in the butt to get started.

That’s my philosophy, anyways.  What do you do for workout motivation?

My friend Jaime over at Rabit Stew gave me a little blogger award over the weekend.

As the rules go, I need to tell you 7 random things you probably don’t already know.  Hmmm… am I that mysterious to even have that many secrets?

1. I get pretty bad anxiety when it comes to being on time.  I blame my dad on this one.  He’d give my brother and I a specific leave time.  20 minutes before said leave time, he’d have the car running and would be honking the horn.  I’m still learning how to not stress out over Chicago traffic for that very reason.

2. I grew up with cats, but after careful consideration, I think I’m more of a dog person.  Either way, I refuse to have a pet while still living on my own.  I’m still trying to learn how to take care of myself.  Or maybe when I’ve officially kept a plant alive for longer than a year, we’ll consider it.

3. I used to hate mexican food.  Hated it.  My friends loved this mexican restaurant in high school that we would always go to.  I’d end up getting a really basic taco and even then didn’t really like it.  Not sure what happened- my tastes expanded, an introduction to guacamole, learning to try new things, etc.  Whatever it was, I grew to LOVE mexican food.  And it now is one of my biggest food cravings.  As documented by last night’s nacho dinner:Lovely.

4. I hate discussing politics.  I do vote, but rarely will you find me in a heated debate.  So you can imagine my joy in the disappearance of political ads this week.

5. I can flare my nose really quickly. 

6. I played the clarinet when in middle school and was pretty good at it.  Then my friend Erica and I got kicked out of band.  Seriously- who gets kicked out of band???

7. When I was little, I used to LOVE Sesame Street.  Elmo, Bert, and Ernie were my homies.  Then, I remember watching one of the Big Bird movies.  Big Bird got lost and turned blue. That gave me nightmares and, ever since, I’ve been ridiculously creeped out by the show.  Come on- it’s a gigantic yellow bird that talks and hangs out with Count Dracula and monsters that live in the trash.  How do 4-year-olds not find that terrifying?

What was your favorite show growing up?  I really miss Doug.  I used to watch that on Saturday mornings all the time.  Does Nickelodeon even play it anymore??!?!

Don’t forget- you still have another day to enter my Adora Giveaway.  Seriously- it’s chocolate that’s good for you.  Get on it!

Better Now

Sorry guys.  I’ve been ranting a lot as of late.

But it seems I’m not the only one with traffic issues.  Seems that we all deal with some frustrations when it comes to such things.  Even when I still lived back in Mid-MO I was quick to get frustrated.  In high school, when driving from my hometown to my summer job, you have no idea how frustrating it was to get behind a dude on a tractor. 

Yeah, that really happens.  And I’m pretty sure my friends from home who read this can definitely back me on this one.

Anyways.  I’m chilled out.  I got home (we shall not discuss the traffic again after this point) and ran quickly to the gym.  I wanted to get my lounge on, and that was not happening until I worked up a little sweat first.  So I did.  Not with ease, though.  There was a birthday in the office- happy birthday, Jaime!!!  I had a really really big piece of this:(The pics are here two little lovely dogs that I absolutely adore and even doggysat for back in the Spring!)

I giggled a little as we sang because Jaime  doesn’t embarrass easily.  BUT, she does turn extremely red in the face when a break room full of guys start to sing to her.  Don’t worry Jaime- it happened to me, too. 

The cake was chocolate and buttercream and delicious.  It also gave me a bit of a sugar rush that didn’t help me out one bit mid-workout.  You can’t sustain energy with butter and sugar?  Really?  Huh.  Whew knew? 

Either way, I did 2 miles at an 8:35 pace and finished off with 20 minutes on the elliptical.  I had wanted to do The Shred, but took the intensity down a notch and did the resistance bands instead.  They’re still a really good workout for my arms.  Plus, the circuit I like to do ends with sets of planks.  And I love me some workouts that trim the tummy!

After congratulating myself for getting through a decent cross training session, I showered and started my wild and crazy night in.  Yes. Wild. 

My cravings recently have really headed the direction of comfort foods- but not one certain one in particular.  Last night, it was BBQ.  Aaaahhh!  Naked chicken!  Well- almost.  It’s covered with a bbq seasoning and frozen peppers from Trader Joe’s.  I’ve used the peppers before, and everyone else who tried them agreed- they’re handy to have for mixing in to something.  Because they don’t have that crisp that make them good on their own.

I also add mucho red chili pepper flakes.  Because it’s delicious that way.  No other reason.Ah much better.  Sassy lookin’ chicken.  Just because summer’s over, it doesn’t mean I’m retiring the sauce… A little cheddar and ranch go a long way. 

That’s life advice, folks.  You should write that down.

And who doesn’t have a Friday night dinner without a glass of wine?Beer may have been a better choice, but I wasn’t really feeling it.  Wine got it done.

I spent the rest of the night catching up on shows I had missed during the week thanks to OnDemand. 

Does anyone watch Community?  Drew Carey was a guest star.  But I spent the first minute or two trying to figure out if it was really him- he’s lost 70 pounds!  Seriously- he’s barely recognizable…

Clearly I haven’t been watching enough of The Price Is Right to notice.

Ok I’m off.  I’m pushing it with my free time this morning.  Gotta get a long run in before heading to a food and wine fest with Mon.  Not sure how long the “long run” is actually going to be. Somewhere between 6 and 8.  That’s the plan.  Wish me luck! 

Enjoy your Saturday!

Keeping Busy

Aaaahhh… sleep.  You’re just so illusive, aren’t you?

I’m catching up slowly.  A lot of yesterday was spent with some seriously droopy eyes.  Which was a bit annoying because I was extremely busy.

With what you ask (besides work of course)?

Well… I finished Love the One You’re With by Emily Griffin over lunch.  This was the first Emily Griffin book I’ve read (I hear she’s quite popular).  I really liked it.  Even though the main character entertains the idea of having an affair (tsk tsk), you really feel for her and the dilemna she’s faced with.  Oooohhhhhh… drama!  Anyone else have any thoughts to add on this one?

I also had cross training to get in.  Which proved to be difficult since I didn’t get done running errands and back to my place ready to work out  until 7:30.    I really hate going that late (because I didn’t get done until 8:45), but I wanted to go!  I don’t think it messed with me too bad last night (I was THAT tired), but sometimes working out that close to bed time will keep me from sleeping.  Oh how times have changed- I used to be the late night gym rat while I was still in college at Mizzou.  Often, my roommates and I wouldn’t even get to the gym until 9:30 or 10:00.  But to be fair, I didn’t go to bed until closer to 1:00 or 1:30 every night, either.  No wonder I refused to sign up for classes that started before 9:30 in the morning…

Does anyone ever work out that late?  Or late-ish?  Do you like it?  Do you find it affects your sleep?  Do you think I could ask any more questions right now?    I’m just curious in case I ever start doing longer training during the week…

I was also busy cleaning out some leftovers from the refrigerator:I guess you would call this bbq nachos?  I took some leftover chips, baked bbq chicken, corn, and mozzarella to make a mean post-workout meal.  Late night dining at it’s finest.  Clearly.

I’ve been revisiting the steel cut oats again.The trick really is to soak them overnight.  Like overnight oats.  But not eaten cold.  I can only do hot oatmeal.  So I have to warm them up and cook them for a few minutes.  Any other way just gives me the heebie jeebies.  *shudder*

Yes, I’m weird.

But I prefer to call it quirky.

Well, Tuesday is here and is going to start getting away from me if I don’t keep this short and get on it!  It’s another day that I need to be productive, so let’s hope it goes by quickly… 

Bikram Elliptical

Oh hey hump day- you got here quickly! 

Last night was quite the event.  I got to the gym and several peeps were already there sweating it out.  And I mean SWEATING it out.  The air conditioning wasn’t working.  I asked Mon if they already reported it.  She had, but the girl hadn’t done anything yet.

Well.  This looks like it’ll be a short cross training session.

Someone came in after a little while.  Apparently the filter in the AC had been ignored for, oh I dunno, what looked to be about 5 years.  Gross.  I watched as I poured buckets of sweat all over the elliptical.  “What if this thing shorts out while I’m on it?” I thought.  Finally, the air started flowing again.  Bu the damage was done.  I looked like I had jumped into the pool.  I guess that’s what I get for starting my workout in a sweat box… oops.

It did end up being a decent workout.  I just moved a little more slowly than usual.  At some point I just took my shirt off.  I figured I could use the few dry spots left on it as a towel if need be.  I’m not really sure if the people working in the clubhouse and giving tours to future residents appreciated this.  But then again I didn’t appreciate sweating like a pig as soon as I walked through the door.  Fair enough.

After drinking about 10 gallons of water and taking a seriously needed shower, I finally felt hydrated and sanitary enough to do my thing in the kitchen.  Because I’m a sucker for a sale (and I had a coupon on top of it all!), I stocked up on chicken to eat/freeze on my last trip to the grocery store.  So tonight I had some while it was still “fresh”.  It took forever for me to decide what to do with it.  And I still hadn’t really decided what to do with it when I was halfway through constructing my sandwich.  Damn commitment issues…

But this is what I came up with:Doesn’t it look like my sandwich has fangs???  Raaarrrrrr!!!! 

Sorry. I swear I’m 24…Money shot.

Anyways, it’s a chipotle chicken sandwich with a bit of melted mozzarella and orange peppers on top.  Squash and mushrooms on the side again.  Originally I was going to work them into the sandwich as well, but that may have just been excessive if we’re going to be completely honest about it… 

And wine.  We’ll just say it was necessary.  That is all.

Because I’m working late today, I decided to get up early again to do some shredding.  Good morning Jillian.  I appreciate you.  I appreciate you.  I appreciate you…

Sometimes at 5:45 in the morning (like today), I have to repeat it a few times in order to believe it.  All whining set aside, I really do like doing quick sessions in the morning.  It gets me going without that extra cup of coffee in the morning and gives me some more time in the evening.  I have no desire to do it everyday, but a couple times a week isn’t hurting anything. 

My 5-mile run tonight is being planned on the dreadmill.    Although the weather man has been completely wrong for the last 3 days about the rain, I can’t bank on it.  He swears today is the day it’s actually going to rain.  Well… ok… if you say so…

Have you been doing most of your workouts inside or outside these days?  I know it’s been rough for some of you kids up near the east coast with those 100-degree temps… ouch!

Um… I guess I should make it a point here to say drink some water and wear your sunscreen?  That’s my public service announcement of the day. 

Later, kiddos!

Avatar!

I’m glad you all enjoyed my love letter/intervention/tribute to nut butter.  When I made myself aware of measuring it out and only getting one serving of it, I realized how much I actually did eat it.  Even after I made dinner, I wasn’t hungry, but had the serious urge to go for another spoonful (I didn’t).

Instead, I dusted.  Exciting life I lead- I know.  Because that was my one cleaning-related thing I was doing last night.  I feel like I’m treating my cleaning habits like I would of those of a child.  “Just pick up 10 things before you get to have dessert, sweetie…”  Did any of you get that?  I think my mom tried it a few times.  But then she realized we’d just sneak dessert anyways if we got to 10 or not… Damn sweet tooth.

What was my satisfying dinner you ask?  I’ve had an avocado I’ve been patiently waiting to ripen, and tonight was the night (insert happy dance here when I got home and realized this).  I had a southwestern themed (one of my favorites!) wrap.Corn, black beans, avocado, and a bit of hot salsa to give it a kick.  Soooo good.  I considered adding cheese, but I didn’t even miss it.  Would have been a waste.  And it may have not even fit anyways.The wrap stayed together for about two bites before it exploded into a southwestern mess.  Eh.  I didn’t care.  I already got the bloggie shot. 

Another good thing?  My workout… I did 28 on the elliptical (at least it’s an even number- still no idea why I didn’t just stop at 25 or go to 30), a mile-and-a-half on the treadmill, and 15 on the stairmill.  Arm weights and abs in between the cardio.  Weight slammer came in near the end of my workout, but I made it out before he got too crazy with the weight machines.  Whew.

On the note of unusual gym characters, Mon messaged me with a good one.  It might even rival the guy that kisses his biceps!  She said that the two newbies to the weights area of the gym were there when she was on Monday night.  After each heavy set, one would grunt and yell “Avatar!!!’  What?

Can someone please explain this to me?  Avatar?  Really?

All in all, yesterday was a good day.  Can you believe it was even a Tuesday Suckday?  My world just got turned upside-down…

Today it stopped raining (yesterday was just gray and rainy) and I have four miles to do tonight.  Hopefully traffic won’t suck all the life out of me.  Did I mention that because of all the construction, my commute to and from are almost twice as long?  It’s fantastic.  I feel like I’m in gridlock every.single.day.  Whatever.  I keep reminding myself that getting angry won’t do a damn thing about it.  So I’m trying not to… trying being the operative word. 

Happy Hump Day!

Jaime’s Wedding Cake Finale

I’m on a baking hiatus.  For an undetermined amount of time.  Or at least until my heart beat returns back to normal levels when all the sugar gets out of my system. 

I was so busy with baking and other things, that I feel I’ve been behind for days on posting/reading.  My google reader is making me somewhat anxious, but I’m slowly reading through- I try not to miss anything!

Anyways, let’s go back to Friday night, shall we?  Mon was a godsend.  After a nice little sweat session in the workout room (seriously, poor air circulation and rainy weather creates severe humidity/stankness in the gym.  No bueno.  I started the white cake and had it in the oven by the time Mon came over.  She had volunteered to help.  I don’t think she knew what she was getting herself into.  I pretty much put her in charge of the cake bites.  Their working name was “balls”, so you can imagine how many balls jokes flew around my apartment that night.  Yes, we’re both turning 13 in July, in case you’re wondering.  Oh balls…

After the bites were done, I continued on with my work on the last tier of the cake.  Mon started doing dishes.  And just so you think I’m not a dictator in the kitchen, I told her to stop with the dishes and just sit and talk to me while I finish up, but she insisted.  I turn around and keep working.  I turn again, and she has my entire stovetop disassembled and is scrubbing the drip pans.  “MON!  What are you doing?!?!”  She’s sort of OCD when it comes to cleaning.  And believe it or not, enjoys it.  I told her to stop.  And, I kid you not, she said “don’t you dare take this away from me!  I’m loving this!”  I’m considering letting her attack my bathroom soon…

I ran out of powdered sugar around 11:00.  This was fine. Because I had been able to dirty ice almost everything and all that was left was the final icing and starting to decorate.  No probs.  Mon and I had a sweet buzz going on from the sugar and wine.  I highly recommend it.  Another friend from the complex/workout room came over as well.  He put in his two cents as he watched us work.  I told him to stop being sassy.  He asked if “sassy” was my way of saying stop being an asshole.  I said yes it was. 

My epic mistake came with staying up until after 3:00 that night.  Another friend of mine stopped by after he had been out celebrating a birthday.  We caught up, but my issue with not being able to sleep in definitely let me know how bad of an idea this really was.

 Because I still had to run.  And I did.  It was a slightly miserable run.  I was tired and bogged down.  Diet really does effect exercise.  And when your diet sucks for a few days, so does your exercise routine.  Not a lie.  Four miles in the schedule.  I had wanted to do five.  My body and I compromised at 4.25.  Eh.

The rest of Saturday was filled with finishing all the baking, getting ready, transporting, and then enjoying the wedding reception.  And because all of ya’ll asked- let’s look at some pictures.Cake bites!  Don’t they look cute???  I even showed Monica how to drizzle my balls with chocolate.  Yeah… Amy is 13.At some point on Friday night.  I was freaking out and not sure how I was going to fit everything.  We were going to take stuff to Mon’s house when we discovered my crisper.  Uh… yeah, totally forgot about it.  Clearly I never use it.  So all my food is jammed into the crisper at the moment.A little boo boo.  Turns out buttercream works as glue, too.  Shhh…Slowly coming together…Buckle up, kids!  This was by far the most stressful part of the week.  Not kidding.  A shell rolled off the top of one of the cakes and I heard it drop and I almost had a heart attack.  Grandmas were flipping me off as I took my time in the slow lane.  Turns were heart stopping.  I think I aged five years on that drive…

But I made it.  And was able to have it almost completely set up before Jaime and Scott got to the restaurant.  All together now….I am done.  And they loved it!  It was a real accomplishment.  And I was happy to do it.  Because Jaime and Scott have been so wonderful to me since I’ve moved up.  They really took me in and make me feel like family.  I love them both dearly and am so happy for them! Congrats guys! 

The reception was great.  It was held at Vines on Clark, right across the street from Wrigley Field (it was an away weekend for the Cubs).  It was a gorgeous day, and the reception was held in an area in a private part of the restaurant with a patio. 

It was an appetizer reception with some of their favorites from the restaurant.  Toasted ravioli, coconut shrimp, and build-your-own-nachos.  The toasted ravioli kind of made me want to pass out and go to my happy place.  It was stuffed with pepperjack cheese- which I had never had, but wow.  Now I’m ready for food detox…

I didn’t partake too much in the drinking.  Mostly because I was driving.  I was offered a place to stay, but I really just wanted to go home later that night and sleep in my own bed and just crash for as long as possible. 

Expect me to be lazy for the majority of the day.  I earned it.  :p

Who’s Going?

I’m talking about the Healthy Living Summit in Chicago this August… Registration is this Wednesday and I’m trying to decide if I want to go!  Supposedly the tickets go pretty fast- so I’ll have to be on the ball if I do.  My only concern is it comes at a time in the middle of my friend’s wedding festivities, attempts at a family vacay, and my half marathon.  So I’ll be busy busy busy- which is fine, I just don’t want to double book myself on accident!  Thoughts?  Did anyone go to the one last year?  Anyone else coming to this one?  Wanna hang out? 

Monday was pretty standard in many ways.  I did some more reading over lunch. Say good bye to the turkey sandwiches! I’m getting close to the end of We Thought You’d Be Prettier by Laurie Notaro.  I just never got into it like I thought I would.  *sigh*  But I feel like I’ve invested this much time, might as well finish it out.  Have you ever just not finished a book?  I’d be the one to stop reading a page or two before it got good… so knowing that, I always finish them.

Training got switched up.  Not like it’s that big of a deal, though.  After spending waaaaay too much time on weather.com, I decided to switch yesterday’s run with today’s cross training.  It’s supposed to be nicer, aka the sun will be out at some point.  So running on the trail will be much more enjoyable today.  Hopefully. 

Cross training isn’t as much fun as running, but it’s not bad.  It’s not so much what I’m doing, it’s where I’m doing it.  There was always a list of characters that used my workout room in my apartment complex.  But I feel they’ve slowly rotated out.  Maybe moved.  Either way, the old suspects have now been replaced with one silent guy who does some sort of interval training (which may or may not be comical to watch) and a few gym bunnies who more or less just pose at their designated machine to say they worked out for the day.  And then there’s me and Mon.  Looking like deadbeats next to them.  Sweaty… gross, 5-year-old tshirts… hair slicked back with a headband and sweat.  So far I haven’t minded the bunnies.  They won’t annoy me as much as weights guy does.  He’s a puffer for sure… and one to let the weights SLAM down.  In a smaller area, this is quite a disturbance.  Almost worthy of a good swift kick in the knee while he’s in the middle of a set.  Almost…

So here’s what I did- 23 minutes on the elliptical (why 23?  No clue.  It seemed like a nice random number.).  A mile-and-a-half on the treadmill.  And 14 minutes on the stairmill at an easy level (Again with the random number?).  With a few weights and crunches on the exercise ball inbetween. 

I wore my new shirt I just recently got in the mail from a giveaway Beth did along with the company Thriv.  I really love the shirt- it’s soooo soft.  And it’s 50% bamboo.  How neat is that?  It’s great to work out in- same feeling as the tech shirts, but a little softer with no uncomfortable twisting or anything when I was mid-run.  Love it!  Still looking a little SWEAT-TAY after I got home.  Yet I’m still rocking out to the tunes… Katy Perry’s new single “California Gurls” is my new repeat song.  Yes, I take new songs and ruin them for myself that way- even before the radio can do it for me.  Old habits die hard…

Oh and I’m really self-conscious about the ring I am wearing in the picture- don’t think I work out in jewelry.  I never do.  And sometimes have a hard time taking someone seriously if they go all blinged out.  (see “gym bunny” description above)  But I didn’t realize it was still on until I got there and I’ll be damned if I take that off and set it down only to lose it.  It used to be my aunt’s before she died of cancer when I was in high school.  It’s my fav piece of jewelry- which may or may not say alot because I don’t wear alot of it.  Hence the reason why I feel really weird working out with it on.  But I digress.

I was gonna do a southwestern wrap thing.  But then I realized I was out of black beans- what the?!?!  So I switched it up.  I broke out a can of tuna instead.  And threw in some cheeeeeeese!  I hesitate to call it a tuna “melt” because that just never sounds delicious.  But in all reality, that’s what it was.  And it looks so bland with some frozen sweet corn my mama sent home with me a while ago.Soooo bland looking, right?  But it wasn’t.  I broke out the seasoning.  It may have been seasoning for chicken- but I like to mess around like that.  I’m crazy.  Clearly.

Anyways…it’s Tuesday and we all know I’m not a fan of Tuesdays.  Let’s cross our fingers and get through it together… see ya! 

Blintz Bliss

So my friend Jon and I FINALLY were able to hit up a Polish place for lunch on Tuesday.  If you’re ever having a Tuesday Suckday (like I do regularly), may I suggest you take comfort food to a whole new level with a Polish buffet?I was completely overwhelmed.  Being as how this was my first real experience with all the Polish amazingness, I couldn’t pick and choose!  My favorites out of what I had was for sure the stuffed cabbage and the cheese blintz.  I picked up the stuffed cabbage off of recommendation.  I really didn’t think I’d like it, but tried it just for fun.  And then continued to eat the whole thing.  The cheese blintz, on the other hand, sucked me in as soon as I stumbled upon it because of the word “cheese” (obviously).  And it took self-control to keep from shoving it all in at once.  It was the perfect combo of sweet and savory.  Yummm….  The only thing I really only took a small bite of and discarded was the potato dumpling.  I think it was overcooked.  I was also a little disappointed that the sausage wasn’t as spicy as I predicted it would be.  Unfortunate… 

Of course my super awesome lunch led to a sluggish afternoon.  I’m used to the lighter lunches (aka salad).  I’m also still converting to tea instead of coffee and creamer, so the tea I had this afternoon didn’t quite give me the swift caffeine kick I’m used to.  Combine that with the dark and rainy day and I have no idea how I wasn’t sleeping under my desk.  I won’t question it, though.  Moving on…

Because of the weather, I resorted to gym for my training- which I had expected.  My horrible decision making skills made it hard for me to figure out if I wanted to do the scheduled two miles or cross train.  So I sort of met in the middle.  I did the elliptical, weights, and stairmill.  And an 8:20 mile added in on the treadmill for kicks.    I felt like a kid running around in the weight room, but I guess that was why it was kinda fun.

Tonight’s another three-mile run.  Again, the weather is less than desirable.  I’d rather not do it on the treadmill if I can avoid it.  Now that I’ve been running outside more, the bored-to-death point is hit by a mile-and-a-half.  Ugh.

Oh and for those of you who asked- my plan is a jumble of sorts.  Mostly based off of a Hal Higdon 12-week plan, but then a couple others mixed in.  Because, like I said, I’m horribly indecisive.

After the workout session last night, I was pretty hungry…A big two-egg spinach sammy with broccoli.

And I might have stuck a spoon in some White Chocolate Wonderful.  Multiple times.  Because clearly I have a peanut butter quota I have to fill on a daily basis.

Speaking of protein… I was fb chatting with a guy friend who expressed concerns (in a severely sarcastic tone of course) about my spans of meatless days that I have.  I said it’s not really on purpose.  I’m more of an accidental vegetarian on most days. I just don’t think about it.  He thinks I need more “old-fashioned protein” aka beef in my life.  But I think I get an adequate amount in my diet.  I mean, hello- egg sandwiches are a staple in my diet.  Even my oatmeal is pretty full of it after I’m done pimping it out…  If you’re not a big meat-eater, where do you get the majority of your protein from?  Do you think you get enough?  Or do you feel like meat is necessary?

And because I feel it very important to include serious and hot topics in the world today in my blog for discussion:This made me giggle.  In a sad, but kind of true sort of way.  Tough break, romaine.  But I still support you through the purchase of your other sister lettuce mixes.  Because I live dangerously like that.