Chocolate Attack

Evening ladies and gents. :o) How was your Wednesday? Mine was nice and uneventful.

I decided to reschedule my morning run for the afternoon since I didn't get to sleep until late last night. The hubby climbed into bed in the middle of the night because he was having a difficult time sleeping on the couch. (Remember? He's been sleeping on the couch for the past few nights because of his back.) So that woke me up too. My body was telling me to sleep in a little longer than 5:30, so I did.

My day was jump started with a yummy toasted peanut butter and banana multigrain sandwich thin and a big glass of ice water. YUM-O! I sprinkled a little cinnamon on top too. Talk about a decadent breakfast!

Around 10:30am, I was ready for a snack, so I made myself a small plate of hummus, carrots and edamame salad. Edamame [eh-dah-MAH-meh] are young green soy beans in the pod, commonly eaten in Japan.

Lunch was left over Pork Au Poivre with a side of apples and grapes.

After lunch, I got this crazy craving for chocolate so I grabbed a mini Hershey's bar and combined it with a mini candy cane. It hit the spot!  (excuse the poor picture, as I took it with my cell phone. :o)

About 15 minutes later, my hankerin' was back! UGH.... so I grabbed a mini Toblerone bar. The chocolate was "dark" with specks of almond. Oh sooooooo good!

Once home, the DH met me at the door with a request for my homemade fried pickles. I wasn't "feeling" the fried pickles, but he's been cooped up inside all week with his back, so I wanted to do something nice for him. We ran down to the local sub shop and purchased a twp BIG kosher pickles from a barrel. I fried those babies up to a perfect golden brown while the hubs made a dipping sauce. I snacked on two fried pickle rounds and called it a night.

I got a late start of my evening run because I had my daddy and littlest brother over to help us eat the fried pickles.  We got to talking and enjoyed some good quality time together. :o) I wouldn't trade those times for anything!

Once I was all laced up and stretched, I hopped on the treadmill and (painfully) pumped out 5 minutes of walking, 1 mile run, 1/4 mile walk, 1 mile run and 1/4 miles walk. 400 calories burned and 2 3/4 miles later and I thought I was going to die! Ok, maybe that's a little extreme, but seriously... I'm contemplating repeating either this week's sessions or last week's. I'm unsure of whether my body is just becoming accustomed to the new physical activity or if I really need to slow it down. *sigh* I'm sure I'll be doing some research on this tomorrow.

I practically fell into the shower after I stretched.  Dinner was a little bowl of the Edamame Salad, which was quite satisfying. (If you live near a Publix, I would highly recommend picking this up. It's in the Deli department with the fresh salsas and hummus. - DO IT!)  ;-)

Well folks, It's past my bed time. I've got a busy day at work tomorrow, followed by a family New Years ham dinner and no work on Friday. Heck Yeah!

Pork Au Poivre

Happy Tuesday!!

Boy am I glad I made it through my first day back to work after 6 days off. It's always the first day that's so painful. haha.

Once I got Derek his medicine and all situated this morning, I was off to the office. Breakfast was a scrumptious toasted Arnold's Multigrain Sandwich Thin with peanut butter and banana on top. Yum-azing!

For lunch, I had the other half of my yummy club sandwich on wheat bread from yesterday's lunch. I paired it with a few plain potato chips, apples and grapes. All in all, lunch was quite filling and yummy!

I chose a few new (good-for-you) recipes to make this week for dinner. Tonight, I made the Pork Au Poivre which was again, yum-azing!!!! My DH and I both agreed that the meat was fantastic and the corn wasn't too shabby either. ;o)

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pounds pork tenderloin
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, coarsely ground or crushed
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
  
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• Salt
  

Directions

Slice tenderloin lengthwise, being careful not to cut through to other side. Split meat into 1 large, flat piece. Spread mustard over both sides of the meat and rub in the pepper, pressing gently so it adheres well. Cut meat crosswise into 4 even portions.

In large skillet, heat oil over medium flame. Put tenderloin in the pan and cook for about 10 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer registers 155 degrees F, turning once. Transfer meat to a plate and tent with foil to keep it warm. Add chicken broth and wine to pan and cook over medium-high heat, scraping up any bits that have stuck to the pan. Continue to cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until sauce is reduced to about a half cup. Pour sauce over meat, season with salt, and serve.

_______________________________________________________________

The corn turned out awesome! I cooked frozen corn on the stove top and seasoned it with sea salt, fresh ground black pepper and a little light agave nectar.  The combination is a keeper!

Leftovers are on the menu for lunch tomorrow for me at work and Derek while he's couch ridden with his bad back this week.

I'll be up bright and early for week 6/session 2 of the C25K training program. I'm scheduled to run this:

  Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:

• Jog 1 mile
• Walk 1/4 mile
• Jog 1 mile

 As I said in my last post, I'm getting a little intimidated with the program but am going to keep moving forward. I've made it 5 1/2 weeks and will not give up now. :o) BRING IT ON!!!

An Eventful Day Off

Whew! What a day...

Last night was going well when I had my best friend, Lindsey, over to give her a wedding planner I made for her along with a few wedding magazines. (Someone made me a custom planner when I was getting married, and it meant the world to me. I found that it contained only the info needed, unlike those crazy expensive and huge planners you buy in the store that you only use half of), so I wanted to pass along the idea.

....then it all went down hill when it was time for bed.

My dear husband pulled a muscle in his lower back last night while playing basketball. (He's getting old in his 22 years- tehe.) He needed my help getting into bed last night and by this morning, I couldn't get him out of it.  I called my (awesome) mother-in-law for an extra hand in getting him up and to an urgent care facility.  Together, we rolled him out of bed and with each of us under a shoulder, we got him to the car. It was extremely painful for him - I was sad to see him hurting so badly. :o(

To make an extremely long story, short, we were at the urgent care center for a little over two hours where they gave him a painkiller, a shot of Ativan and took x-rays to rule out broken bone(s).  During the x-rays, he passed out cold on the floor from all the meds. Poor guy. The conclusion was a badly pulled muscle and two prescriptions for Vicadin and Flexeril.

Once situtaed back in the car, which again, took an army to get there, we were headed home. We made a pit stop at a local sandwich shop where I ordered a club sandwich on wheat bread. It was Mmmm Mmm good! "Breakfast" was a measly granola bar that I shared with Derek while sitting in the exam room, so lunch was thoroughly enjoyed!

Once I got my DH all situated and "drugged", I made a quick run to the grocery store, as this was on my agenda for my last vacation day from work. The trip took far longer than expected, and I was exhausted by the time I made it home!

I put away groceries, started a load of laundry and tended to the DH, then jumped on the treadmill for week 6/session 1 of C25K. This session was planned for this morning, but was obviously pushed aside for more important things. I'll have to admit that I really got my butt kicked by today's session. :o( To be honest, I felt slightly discouraged but managed to make it all the way through and walked away with my chin high.  5 weeks left... I'm gonna stay strong.

After the crazy-hard session, I treated myself to a clay mask. :o)  Geez, I look exhausted in this picture.

Dinner was a baked sweet potato with turkey chili on top. I'm gonna have to say that I'll be making this concoction again. It was quite yummy (and healthy to boot)!

*yawn* I've gotta get the husband situated on the couch (it's more comfortable for him to sleep on the couch since he can be slightly elevated) and snuggle up in bed with my new "Fitness" magazine. :o) It's back to the grind tomorrow after 6 days off of work.

I'm dreaming of a healthy husband. :o)

C25K Week 5/Session 3

*drum roll please*

I ran two miles straight without walking today! YEAH!!! Woo hoo! I did it!

I have never been so in tune to baby steps than with this program. Instead of feeling embarrassed about my distance and how proud I am of accomplishing these (what may seem small to some) miles, I'm completely satisfied and glowing with excitement for how far I've come in 5 weeks. Not to mention, I started the C25K program during the week of Thanksgiving and am continuing to diligently work though all the holidays.

I've been dreading week 5/session 3 of the C25K training program for at least a week now because it was the longest run (without walking) to date. It seemed like such a drastic jump to go from 3/4 mile straight to 2 miles straight within two days. I convinced myself that the creator of the training program must know what he/she is doing since so many people have had success on this program, so I just went with it. Yesterday was supposed to be day three of week 5, but with Christmas and my lack of sleep from festivities, I rescheduled it for this morning.


With my anxiety looming, I stretched, ate a small spoonful of natural peanut butter, grabbed my water bottle and jumped on the treadmill.  I enjoyed every second of the 5 minute brisk warm up walk and then bumped my speed up to 5 mph for a two mile run with no walking. I ran one mile at 5 mph and then bumped down to 4 mph for 1/4 mile. The 1/4 mile at a slightly slower rate was exactly what I needed to make it through without walking. I was able to run the remaining 3/4 mile at 5 mph. :o) Sweet success!!

I don't think I've run even one mile straight through since the 6th or 7th grade, (about 10 years) so this was a huge accomplishment for me. I shouted out in joy when the screen read, "Distance: 2.0" YEAH!!!!!

This set me up for a nice day of (mostly) healthy choices. My tummy was begging for food after the run, so I heated up some left over french toast casserole. This was definitely not the healthiest choice for breakfast, but boy was it yummy! I must rid of the left overs in order to avoid over indulging for the rest of the weekend. Christmas Eve and Christmas was enough for all the goodies!

A few hours after my run, my DH and I took the boat out for a spin. We stopped by Derek's Mimi's house while on the river, where I rode 6.5 miles on her exercise bike. Woo! That felt good. :o)

For lunch, I had leftover turkey, peas and sweet potato casserole from dinner last night.  I had this a little late in the day and am still pretty full, so I'll probably just have a little snack this evening in lieu of dinner.

Christmas Happenings

Merry (late) Christmas!  What a joyous time of year.  :o) I actually look more forward to Christmas Eve rather than Christmas day because of the annual Christmas Eve service and family gatherings on Christmas Eve night.  You know the children's Christmas Eve program I have been working on for months? Well, I used to be IN the choir and not directing it.  What sweet, sweet memories I hold from over 15 years of Christmas Eve programs held at my church.

Here's a quick peek at the Christmas County Spelling Bee (This years play)

The children did a fantastic job and I've been told by several individuals that it was the best Christmas Eve program our church has ever had. I am so proud of the children and  all their hard work. *applause*

After the program, my dear husband and I had to split our family time by first attending a get-together with my side of the family and then a steak dinner with his side of the family.  This was our fourth Christmas together and fourth time making the rounds, so we're pretty used to it. Everything always falls into place and we get to see everyone. :o)

This is my niece, Lucy, and I after the program. (She got her two front teeth for Christmas) tehe!

We made it back home around 10:15pm, when Derek went right to bed while I stayed up to make the french toast casserole for Christmas Breakfast.  I went to bed around 12:30 because I got caught up in preparing the dish and surfing the web. I haven't stayed up that late in so long! At 5:30am, I got a text message from my momma that read, "They're up"(referring to my little brothers being up and ready to open gifts.) So I sprung up out of bed, grabbed my water bottle and a banana and walked next door to join in the festivities.  (Please excuse my lack of photos... my momma was the one with the camera this time, so I don't have any pics yet.)

When I got back home, I put the casserole in the oven, woke up my sleeping hubby and got ready for breakfast at the Kuda's.

 Look at the pretty little ribbons around the silverware. Too cute!

My MIL got me a little somethin' somethin' from Victoria's Secret. ;-)

 And some awesome boots!

With only 5 hours of sleep under my belt, I was a complete zomby until about 2:00 pm when I just couldn't take it any longer. I forced myself to take a two hour nap before Christmas dinner at by brother's house.  The nap did the trick, and I was quite refreshed for dinner. The festivities came to a close after the most delicious dinner at Steve and Erin's house and I slept like a baby all night. :o)

I hope you had a most delightful Christmas and soak up a little R&R over the long weekend. 

Stay tuned... I have to tell you about my accomplishment today in regards to the C25K training!

I Talk to Myself

Good Morning All! Guess what? I have the day off from work today, and tomorrow and the next day and the next day and..... well, I don't have to go back until next Tuesday. :o) Once the hubby was out the door this morning for work, I threw a pork butt in the crock pot and jumped on the treadmill.

During my run this morning, (which, by the way, was the most trying and difficult one thus far) I realized I talk to myself to push myself to my goal.  Haha. Aside from telling myself in my head, "You've got this, you can do it. Pain is temporary, quitting is forever, come on girl, you can do this!", I actually audibly exclaimed at the end of my run, "You did it, Jess! You did it! Yeah!!!"

I'll admit, it made me smile once I realized what I had done. But, hey, whatever gets me to the end, right?!

Lots of cookie baking and frosting are on the agenda today.  I've been baking large sugar cookies for the past two nights and will frost them today. I decided to individually bag each one in a clear cellophane bag and give them to family as part of our Christmas gift.  My littlest brother, Carson, it going to come over in a little bit so we can roll out some more sugar cookie dough, cut out some fun shapes, bake and frost them.  This way, he'll have a plate of nice cookies to bring to the family festivities over the next few days. :o)

Well folks, that's all I've got for now! After lots of cleaning, baking and frosting, I'll be on my way to the final dress rehearsal for the Christmas Eve program.

Remember to take some time for yourself over the next few days and remember what Christmas is really about... the Birth of Jesus Christ! ((HUGS)) and lots of love to you and your families!

Told ya so

irst, my apologies for disappearing on you. The coming week is going to be quite hectic as I prepare for the Christmas Eve program, so I'll be hit and miss on here. But believe me! I'll be running my little heart out to stay on schedule with the C25K training program. ;-) Which, by the way, Friday's run went well. It came easier to me than when I initially started the new regimen last Monday. We'll see what comes of this weeks sessions. *crosses fingers*

I mentioned on my last entry that I was going to see my dear Cousin Matt on Friday. Well, I did!  It was a fantastic visit with him and our dear friend, Ashley.  We had dinner at Thai Basil in Winter Springs where I ordered the chicken summer rolls. The food was fantastic! TCBY was on the agenda for dessert. Afterall, we were celebrating my Cousin Matt's visit.  ;-) I ordered a small eggnog frozen yogurt and I must say that it was amazing and worth every bite!! I love little treats like that.

Now without further ado...  I told you I'd post pictures of my new "do". :o)

*DRUM ROLL PLEASE*

 

I likey! ;-) This is by far the shortest I've ever gone (with maybe the exception of a cut I got as a wee little child- tehe)

Running and exercising is a breeze with this new style.... I just put on a headband and I'm off!

Well, I've got to get back to the grind.... I have 300 pizza rolls to bake for the Children's Choir by 11:00am and must package up the 30 homemade sugar cookies I frosted last night. I've also gotta pack myself a turkey wrap and some fruit,  so I have a healthy choice and can stay fueled during today's big rehearsal.

I hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend before Christmas! I'll report back sometime this week. :o)

I fibbed

I fibbed about posting pictures of my new "do". :o( I'm sorry!! You see, my *new* camera is lacking the USB wire to take the pictures from my camera to my computer. Maybe I'll dig out my old camera this weekend for a few pictures to hold ya over until the new USB wire comes in. :o)

Week 4/Session 3 is on the schedule for tomorrow morning. I'll be up nice and early to pound out a few miles.

I am so, so, so happy that tomorrow is Friday! Hopefully the work day will fly by and I can get to dinner with my Cousin Matt (visiting from California) sooner than later. I can not wait to see him! Eeeee!! ;-)

I'll report back with running results of tomorrows session and hopefully hair pics, real soon.

Happy Friday Eve!

It's gone

My hair that is... it's gone. ;-) I had it chopped off today and am sporting the shortest "do" I've ever had. My DH didn't freak either, which is always good. :o) He's so good to me!

I'm interested to see how "light" and nice it feels to run with my new "do" tomorrow morning. Woo hoo! I love change. :o) The big test will be when I style it myself. *crosses fingers* Lets hope that goes well.

Oh! Just to report back from my last post... I got a full night of sleep and woke up nice and refreshed for a workout at 5:30am. Tomorrow is a C25K day, so I'm gonna hit the sack real soon for another good nights rest.

Stay tuned, I'll be posting pictures of my new "do" tomorrow!!

Let the Butt Kicking Begin!

It's official, the C25K is beginning the butt kicking process.

I just completed Week 4/Session of C25K and am feeling great!  I wasn't feeling so great during the run, but am pumped now that I've completed it.  What an accomplishment!

Unfortunately, I stayed up way too late last night, so I decided to sleep in until 6:30am instead of 5:30am.  Since there is so much sickness going around, I want to do everything possible to boost my immunity, including getting enough sleep at night. Had I gotten up to run, I would have been cutting it close with enough sleep. To make up my morning run, I ran this evening. Usually, I try to avoid running in the evenings since it tends to keep me awake. However, I'm crawling into bed between 9:00 &; 9:30 which should give me ample time to doze off at a decent hour.

On another note, my eating habits are slowly but surely changing. My cravings for sugar and sweets have drastically reduced. Don't get me wrong! I have my moments where I have to have chocolate, or else. That's when I grab a little Hershey Kiss to satisfy that craving. It sure as heck beats devouring a whole snicker bar, right?! Satisfy that craving and move on with healthier choices throughout the day. This is definitely becoming the norm of my eating habits.  It's so neat to watch my cravings change through this journey to a healthier lifestyle.

Well that's all folks! I'm off to bed so I can get a full nights rest and wake up refreshed for a workout.

Change of Plans

This girl is whooped! I've been going to bed pretty late and my body is finally telling me to stop it. I was feeling a little run down yesterday, starting with a headache when I rolled out of bed. It felt like a sinus headache and possibly allergies, so I took a Zyrtec before going to bed last night.  (Note: Zyrtec makes me extremely sleepy and I usually sleep very hard if I take one at night.) My alarm was set for 5:30 this morning, to get up for Week 3/Session 2 of C25K.  I slept through the alarm and woke up at 6:45. UGH.... my morning run was out of the picture. I was completely bummed about missing my run this morning.  :-( 

To make up for the lack of physical activity for the day, I made a conscience effort to eat well. Breakfast was a banana with almond butter and a little granola. The office went to Macaroni Grill for lunch, where I chose grilled chicken skewers with veggies with a side salad. I only had one slice of the hot, yummy bread they put in front of me as an appetizer and a few very small slices of lemon pond cake for dessert.  Again, control is everything. I satisfied my craving while filling up on the healthier selections, making less "room" for the treats. I was full for the rest of the afternoon and didn't need/want a snack before dinner.

I had a feeling of discontent all day since missing my morning run, so I made a point to do Week 3/Session2 when I got home. The music was turned up and I walked away feeling completely pumped and accomplished! :o) YAY!!

Spaghetti was on the menu for dinner. (It's easy and I am lacking time/motivation for cooking big meals with the Christmas Eve program fast approaching.) After running, I lost my craving for it, so I made a big salad and topped it with a little spaghetti and a meatball. It was juuuust riiiiight!

I promised myself a full 8 hours of sleep this evening, so I'll be hitting the sack at 9:00pm.  I should be waking up around 5:30 to do a 20 minute DVD workout session.  Oh boy!  ;-P NIGHTY NIGHT!

C25K Week 3

I pressed that snooze button on my alarm about three too many times this morning. Instead of getting up at 5:15 when my alarm went off, I rolled out of bed at 6:15. OIY!  Even though I was an hour behind, I forced myself to complete Week 3/Session 1. I got through the session, ate my breakfast cookie that I had prepared the night before, hopped in the shower and was off to work. 

I must note that my breakfast cookie was amazing! :o) Mashed Banana was my "mix in" of choice and one of which I'll be using again.

For lunch, I had leftover white chicken chili with hummus and carrots on the side. All of which were quite filling. My tummy didn't even ask for an afternoon snack between lunch and dinner. Score! ;-)

My sweet husband came home and asked me out to TJ's Fish Shack for dinner. We had a fantastic time and wonderful food, as we always do when we go there.  I chose a fish platter with fruit instead of fries, with a side of cilantro sauce for dipping the fish in. The blackened Mahi Mahi was awesome!! My "treat" for the evening was the hot hush puppies dipped in honey. I seriously have a weakness for those little guys. I personally feel that it's ok to enjoy a treat (in moderation) here and there instead of depriving myself. This way, I'm less likely to over indulge and feel guilty about it.

I feel satisfied instead of stuffed, which is juuust right. :o)

I'll be doing my workout DVD in the morning. I'm hoping my body will soon adjust and not hurt for two days following each session.

Are you able to treat yourself in moderation or do you find it difficult to stop once you start?

All good things must come to an end...

My four day weekend is coming to an end.  Oh how I enjoyed the days off and oh how they are over too soon.

This long Birthday weekend came to a nice end with a lovely childrens choir practice that went very well.  I direct the childrens choir at my church and they have been preparing for the annual Christmas Eve program since September.  They blow me away each yeah with their talent!

I was given a few gifts tonight for my Birthday. Here is one of them from a little girl in the choir. It's a hand made clay nativity scene. (I didn't notice that the angel had fallen over, until I was looking at the pictures on my computer. I have since put her back in place.) ;-)

I will cherish these gifts forever.

This is a short post with little to do with fitness/health, but it's time for bed. (Thank goodness!) I'll be up bright and early for Week 3/Session 1 of C25K. The schedule changes and I have a feeling it's going to kick my booty. I shall put on my big girl pants, complete the session and report back to you tomorrow.

Who's ready for the work week? Haha.... riiiiiight!

Pain, Pain, Go Away!!!!!

It has been 36 hours since my workout yesterday, and I'm still unbelievably sore. *cries* Will someone please pass the cheese to go with my wine whine? Please. Thank you.

Lunch was yummies:  A Polaner raspberry fruit spread and almond butter sandwich on Ezekiel Bread with a side of fruit.  I highly recommend the fruit spread! It was full of yummy.  :o)

In my post from this afternoon, I mentioned a few things that Sultan and I could do on our rainy day off.  "We" chose to do two out of the six items on the list:

• Bake cookies for the Children's Choir (I promised them a treat at this Sunday's rehearsal)- CHECK!
  
• Do laundry (Can't seem to get that monster under control) - CHECK!

I chose to make these cuties for my cuties in choir.  :o) Rainbow swirl sugar cookies. A little labor intensive, but well worth it for the fun design! (Public service announcement: these are on the good-for-your-soul list, not the good-for-you list.)

I may or may not have had one of these cookies today. *blushes*

The cooler and rainy weather put me in the mood to make chili. I decided to make a white chicken chili which turned out awesome!  In an effort to stay with this weeks food goal of having fruits or veggies at each meal/snack, I dipped fresh cut zucchini in the chili and was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. Where has this concoction been all my life?! ;-)

What's your favorite cool weather food?? You know you have one!

Tell me in the comments section!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Ladies and Gents, I'm lacking motivation today. These Florida rain showers are killin' me! I know this weather is going to bring cooler air, which I'm good with, seeing how we're in December and I wore shorts the other day. BUT I'm desperate for some sunshine!! Ok, I'm done whining now. :o)

I have to tell you something. I hurt. I hurt real bad this morning. It hurt to get out of bed. It hurt to bend down to put Sultans leash on him. It hurt to sit on the couch and it hurt to pick up an ice cube off the kitchen floor that I dropped. Yesterday's morning workout has kicked my booty.

Through the pain this morning, I stretched and ran my C25K Week 2/Session 3. I thought I was crazy while doing it, but feel very accomplished now that it's done.  :o) YAY for "sticking to it"!

After the morning run, I whipped up an amazingly delicious smoothie that consisted of 1 whole banana, 1 tsp almond butter,  1 scoop of chocolate protein powder,  almond milk and crushed ice. YUM-O! This is definitely one of my new favorite combinations.

Sultan and I are lounging around the house today. "We" could technically be doing a number of things on this day off of work, but we're just not feelin' it yet. Here are some of our options:

• Clean the house (a lot) ;-)
• Bake cookies for the Children's Choir (I promised them a treat at this Sunday's rehearsal)
• Bake cookies for Christmas (Don't worry... I plan on freezing them. No stale cookies here my friends!)
• Put up the Christmas tree (while preparing hot tea or some other appropriate festive beverage)
• Get my nails did (Yes, I just said, "get my nails 'did'" )
• Do laundry (Can't seem to get that monster under control)

Have you ever been painfully sore after a good workout? Tell me I'll soon be able to get off the couch without pain! ;-)

The Many Adventures of this Birthday Girl

This Birthday Girl is whooped!  Whew. What a day!

I am quite blessed to have an employer that gives birthday's off with pay. :o) WOO! That alone is reason to have the day start well. I rolled out my exercise mat and broke out the weights for a workout DVD this morning. The workout was so intense (and my muscles and body aren't used to such work) that my legs were shaking during and after the session.  Even climbing the stairs to put Sultan in his crate this morning, was a task.

Food was "calling" after the workout, so I showered and went out to breakfast with my mommy and daddy. :o) (They're the best!) I chose Cracker Barrel since I hadn't been in so long and figured since they have such a large menu, there would be a decent choice of good-for-you food.  I'm glad I chose this, because I had quite the yummy good-for-me breakfast! Cranberry Juice and Water were my beverages of choice. I know, I know, I'm livin' on the wild side! hehe 

Fresh Fruit n' Yogurt Breakfast
Low-fat yogurt with honey oat and almond granola. Served with a cranberry-orange muffin with bits of pecan, fresh pineapple chunks, orange slices, a Gala apple, two eggbeaters, and turkey sausage patties.

I didn't eat much of the muffin, but the few bites I had were awesome!

(The poor quality breakfast pictures are from my cell phone. I guess I can't expect much coming from a cell phone.) ;-)

Breakfast was fantastic and I loved the time with my parents. :o) Upon arriving home, I let Sultan out of his crate and ran outside with him for a little bit. After a while, I went inside to get some stuff done and left him outside to play and run off some energy. I always leave the door cracked open so he can come in whenever he's done. About 15 minutes passed and I hadn't heard him bark for a good 5 minutes so I went outside to call him in. He didn't answer or come running. I made a couple laps around the yard with still no sight of Sultan. Here is where the fear set in. I called my parents over (they live two houses down) for help in the search. We called his name, searched the yard, the neighbors yard, the road across the street with still no sign of him. I had a complete breakdown and started shaking, crying, having the urge to throw up (I know, TMI, but he's our baby and I couldn't imagine losing him) and fell to the ground. I picked myself up, threw on my boots and started trecking the the woods, fearing he had been bit and was laying helpless. Still nothing. At this point, both my parents, my little brother, my Mimi, Mother in law and Mimi Jane were driving up and down the road and walking to every local yard and through brush. I finally called the husband and he left work to help search and to calm me down. Thirty minutes passed from the beginning of the search, when a car slammed on their brakes and honked their horn, about a quarter mile down the road. We all ran in fear of him being hit but they hit their brakes because they saw him run across the street. My dear MIL (Mother in Law) spotted Sultan, screamed and we all ran (see? we ran. lots of us ran today. ;-)for him. HE WAS SAFE!!!! His tail was wagging and was un harmed. That little daschund nose of his must have gotten the best of him and he went off on a trail to "hunt" for who knows what. My dad found where he had escaped and we'll be repairing it very soon. 

Sorry about the long post, but I had to get that off my chest. Here we are, after the great search and recovery... momma (me) is all sweaty and absolutely exhausted but relieved beyond words that my puppy mut is safe!

Needless to say, my day was pretty much shot after that. So I vegged out on the couch, fell asleep for about thirty minutes, recharging for dinner at The Willow Tree tonight. 

My appetite was slim for lunch as well, so I made myself a little plate of homemade hummus with some veggies and a few pieces of fruit. It was yummy and just enough to hold me over until dinner tonight.

The Willow Tree in Sanford offers amazing authentic German cuisine, which never lets my taste buds down. This evening, I had the Jegar Schnitzel (sp?) with fresh veggies and a side of German potato salad. All of which was quite amazing! My birthday beverage of choice was a Gummitini. :o) It even had cute little gummy bears as a garnish. YUM-O!!

The grand finale!

C25K will be on the schedule for tomorrow morning. Week 2/Session 3 - Here I come!! ;-)

Outrageously Delicious Mahi Mahi

Success! I made a good tasting,  good-for-you dish this evening. The hubby even loved it! *bonus*

Outrageously Delicious Mahi Mahi

Pan-roasted Mahi Mahi with Avocado and Tomato Salsa
courtesy of www.whatwereeating.com

• 2 pieces of fresh mahi mahi

• herb oil (recipe follows)

• 2 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled or chopped (ok, ok..... so this isn't the most healthy ingredient. BUT it lended so much flavor and was such a small amount. :o) Listen to me make excuses! haha. You could always make the dish without it. I suppose. ;-)
  

• 1 ripe avocado, diced

• 1 large ripe tomato, seeded then diced

• 1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

• juice from 1/2 large lime

• kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Make the salsa: In a bowl, add the avocado, tomato, cilantro, bacon, and lime juice. Mix thoroughly. Taste, then season with salt and pepper as necessary. Refrigerate the salsa while cooking the fish. 

Preheat an oven-safe pan over high heat. Add 3 tbsp of herb and garlic infused oil to the pan. While the oil is heating, season both sides of the fish liberally with salt and pepper. 

Once the oil has just barely begun to smoke, place the fish in the pan flesh-side down. Cook over high heat for about 2 minutes or until the flesh has caramelized nicely and has released from the pan. 

Flip the fish and cook over high for another 1 minutes. Baste the fish with the herb oil using the oil pooling in the bottom of the pan or adding more if there isn't enough in the pan. 

After a minute, place the pan into the 350 degree oven and bake the fish for another 4 minutes, until the mahi mahi is just cooked through and still utterly moist and delicious. (If you're having a hard time flipping the fish and the fish is sticking to the bottom of the pan, the fish is not ready to be turn. This is the case when searing all meats - when the flesh releases naturally they are ready to be turned.) cook times may vary due to the thickness of the fillets. 

Remove the fish from the oven and serve with the avocado salsa. Garnish the dish with a drizzle of infused oil.

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Garlic and Herb Infused Olive Oil

• 1/2 cup good quality olive oil

• 2 twigs of rosemary (or dried flakes from your spice cabinet)
  

• 4 sprigs of thyme (or dried flakes from your spice cabinet)

• 2 sage leaves (or dried flakes from your spice cabinet)

• 4 sprigs of fresh oregano or marjaram (or dried flakes from your spice cabinet)

• 2 cloves of garlic, smashed and roughly chopped

• pinch of kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

Put the olive oil into a pan over low heat. Add the rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper to the pan. Stir the herbs into the oil then allow the pan to cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. After the herbs have had a chance to infuse their flavors into the oil, strain the herbs and garlic out of the oil. This oil makes a great garnish or a dip for come yummy crusty bread. Enjoy!

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This dish was absolutely delicious! Moist with a nice, bold flavor from the fresh salsa and herb infused olive oil. Surprisingly enough, it was fairly simple dish to prepare and well worth the effort.  I highly recommend the recipe and hope that someone (anyone? Oh, come on! Why not YOU?!) will try it and report back here with rave reviews!

*C25K update*
Week 2/Session 2 went well. My alarm went off at 5:15 am when I popped out of bed, slipped into my running shorts, put on an extra layer up top for support ;-) and laced up my trusty running shoes. I grabbed my water bottle from the fridge, did some stretches and made my way upstairs to start the training.

Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

It's still coming fairly easy to me, so I'm embracing that while it lasts. I'm sure the heat's gonna get cranked up soon and I'll be begging for mercy. ;-)

What's your favorite good tasting, good-for-you recipe? Do share!!

Tell me in the comments section!

Cookie for Breakfast

I woke up to a yummy breakfast cookie this morning.

My cookie consisted of oats, almond butter, chocolate protein powder, soy milk, granola with cranberries, agave nectar and cinnamon. I'll have to admit that it not only tasted good but it also kept me full and satisfied for hours! Now that's what I call a good breakfast. ;-) Try it!

Week 2/Session 2 of C25K is tomorrow morning, so I'm going to get plenty of rest and crawl into bed sooner than later.

Everyone around me seems to be sick and I'm going to make the best effort to not end up that way myself.  Plenty of rest (more than I've been getting lately), vitamins, healthy food choices and exercise should all aid in my efforts.

What's the average amount of hours you sleep each night?

A Case of the Monday's

The morning started out well with week 2/session 1 of the C25K (5k training program) and a yummy protein smoothie. Then the day pretty much went down hill from there. :-(
I dropped my 5 day old cell phone in the water and now it's acting weird.... bleh. Not happy.

For lunch, the office ordered in Chili's. I got the Southwest Cobb salad of which I forgot to specify grilled chicken instead of fried.  I ended up scraping the breading off most of the chicken and added it to my salad that way. Ugh...

Grocery shopping was uneventful but at least I'm stocked up with lots of good-for-me goodies! my DH (dear husband) ate left over pizza for dinner by the time I got home, so I threw together a salad for myself.  The salad consisted of mixed greens, tomatoes, fresh roasted zucchini and a homemade balsamic dressing. I'll admit that I'm not real big on salads. Well, I guess I'm not big on them when made at home. I prefer one from a restaurant that's full of goodies! Basically what mine lacked this evening.... LOL

Eh, it wasn't terrible but it wasn't great.

After dinner, I chopped veggies and whipped up some homemade hummus so that I don't have an excuse that the healthy items aren't convenient, later in the week.  While the kitchen was disassembled, I went ahead and prepared my breakfast for tomorrow morning as well. I made this Breakfast "cookie" and will taste test it in the morning.

Lets hope Tuesday is better than Monday. After all, I only have two days left of the work week since I get Thursday and Friday off for my birthday!! That right there is reason enough to make tomorrow better than today. :o) One step closer to sweet freedom!

Are you a "salad person"?

Tell me in the comments section!

I never really thought about it until today and hate to admit that I'll have to find other methods of including veggies into my daily routine.  Oh well, bring on another challenge. :o)

Bottom of the Barrel

We're scraping the bottom of the barrel for food in our household today.

I was somehow able to scrape together some frozen strawberries, blueberries, ice, soy milk, chunky peanut butter and chocolate protein powder to make a smoothie this morning. Thank goodness I thought to whip this up before walking out the door to Lucy's birthday party, as it held me over and kept me from over indulging in the goodies!

Grocery shopping has been pushed aside for far too long so we had to order a pizza for dinner.  I was given little time to make the healthiest order from Pizza Hut (I know you're laughing , but I think I made a decent choice) and chose a thin crust pizza with light cheese, chopped tomatoes and grilled chicken. You gotta give me some points for creativity on that one! ;-)

Thanksgiving leftovers served us well over the past few days but that has come to an end.  Before I make the trek to the grocery store (remember....I live in the sticks and the closest grocery store is 25 minutes away) I like to make a grocery list to make the most of the trip. For some reason, the task of preparing a grocery list and planning out meals, stresses the heck out of me! I tend to over think the whole thing and give up in frustration.

I've taken a few deep breaths and several breaks from making this weeks list and finally have it completed.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all planned out, this way I'll have plenty of healthy options in the house instead of having to scrounge up whatever I can find! Speaking from experience, planning is everything when eating good-for-you food. 

My food goal this week: Include a fruit or veggie at every snack and meal. - Two to three snacks/per day  and three meals/per day.

In addition, I'm going to try some new good-for-you recipes that are (hopefully) going to be full of flavor and requests for seconds by the hubby! ;-)

I'll report back with results (and maybe even a recipe if all goes well) at the end of the week.

Do YOU plan out your meals and make a list before hitting the grocery store, or do you wing it? Tell me in the 'comments' section!

A Turkey Coma

Raise your hand if you were in a turkey coma today. Yep, just as I thought. I KNEW I wasn't the only one. It's a good thing most of us had the day off to recover from the festivities of Thanksgiving.

My family and close friends know that I'm not one to sit around, watch TV, take a nap, etc. Not that there's anything wrong with any of these tasks; I've just never enjoyed partaking in any of them. ;-P I always have something "better" to do and would rather keep "busy".  With this being said, today was quite the opposite, as I chose to partake in a day of rest... for the most part. Since Derek is sick, the couch and TV were our good friends today.  At one point, I made an effort to somewhat organize one of the upstairs bedrooms and attempted to move the treadmill to the other side of the room. I don't even think I was able to move it an inch before I gave up. I'll have to wait for my man to feel better so he can handle it. 

Around 3:30, I decided to get to work on my niece's cookies for her 1st birthday party.  They are going to be individually packed and handed out as party favors.  Aren't they adorable?!

I have a confession to make. Brace yourself. I taste tested. A lot. A lot of taste testing was done. OIY!

Needless to say, this day of a turkey coma must come to an end and I must pick myself up, dust off the sugar dust and move forward with my good-for-me goals. Who's with me?

My dad and I have planned to go for a nice walk tomorrow, to get some fresh air and make a good-for-us difference.

What are you doing this weekend to "recover" from the festivities?

Today is for counting blessings, not calories! ;o)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without the famous Kuda Pumpkin Cheesecake, so I slaved worked in the kitchen last night, until midnight to get that baby done. I even set my alarm for 2:00 am to get up and put the cake in the fridge after it cooled for two hours. (Now that's what I call a crazy woman dedication!) Here she is in all her glory. ;-)

In case you were wondering, this very special cake is unique in that it has zero calories, no trans fat and is actually very healthy for you. NOT! But that's what the holidays are for, right? Pace yourself the days leading up to the big day and actually enjoy (in moderation) instead of depriving yourself.  That's my philosophy anyways. ;o)

As I mentioned in my first post, I have a healthy and able body of which I am very thankful for. We (or at least I do) tend to take such things for granted and forget to care for this blessing through nutrition and exercise. Thank you, Lord, for my health.

I'm thankful this Thanksgiving for...

• the gift of life that my father was given through a kidney transplant just two months ago. 
• my marriage and knight in shining armor who continually sweeps me off my feet
• my family. Each and every one of them
• the example my parents have set for their children through their marriage over the past 25 years
  
• my husband's job and mine
• the roof over my head
• the food in our kitchen
• our troops who risk their lives each and every day for our freedom

What are YOU thankful for today?

Leave a comment of at least one thing you're thankful for.

First Things First

Set a goal! I'm setting a goal that's not quite as intimidating as a whole marathon.... I learned my lesson on that.

GOAL: Run a 5k

I've decided to follow the 9 week training program, Couch to 5k.  I started the training four days ago on Sunday the 22nd, so I should complete the program the week of January 11, 2010 if all goes as planned. This is of course pending no sickness or unforeseen circumstances that would hinder my three times a week training.

The next step is to choose an actual 5k to run. My search for this 5k will begin soon with hopefully a decision by Christmas.  I'm aiming for a Spring run, when the weather begins to warm up.

I plan to generally train on Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's in the morning before work. This week, I changed up the schedule because of Thanksgiving.  As long as I commit to three days a week, I think I'll be on my way to forming a habit, making exercise come easier and more natural - one of my ultimate goals.

The first week of training went like this:
Sunday - Week One, Session One
Tuesday - Week One, Session Two (After run munchies: Fresh oatmeal with agave nectar, cinnamon and peanut butter for breakfast)
Wednesday - Week One, Session Three (After run munchies: One egg with red bell pepper and freshly grated cheddar cheese) Mmmmm protein! ;-P

Much to my surprise, the training this week came quite easily to me. I'm hoping this is going to remain true throughout the process. ;-) Hey! A girl can dream, can't she?!

Why dontcha (don't ya) just run!

I have every intention of making healthful decisions TODAY that will forever effect me TOMORROW.

This life statement sounds so good, but putting those words into action is where the difficulty comes in. That my friends, is the very reason I created this blog. It's a place to track my progress and encourage me to make the right decisions each day in regards to food and fitness.

For the past twelve months, I have made several promises to myself regarding the sport of running. My interest in running was peaked when a friend of mine was training for the Chicago Marathon last year. I went on a few runs with her and really, thoroughly enjoyed it but was discouraged by many things of which I'll cover in future posts.

The Disney Marathon in January 2010 was first on the agenda. I was "ready" to begin my training for this marathon, with little to no past experience in running long distances. This run was going to be for my dad, as I was going to raise money and awareness for the PKD foundation; the organization that represents the kidney disease my grandfather, father, brother and aunts have all been plagued with. The fund and awareness raising was going to be particularly for my dad since he was in the process of getting on the transplant list for a new kidney. More on that later.

Needless to say, my imagination got ahead of me and reality soon sank in when I realized just how long a marathon is and how much dedication it takes to train. The monster thought of a marathon squashed my ambitions and I quit before I even started.

Quitting the marathon training before it even started didn't take away the fact that I wanted to run. I would long to have a treadmill at home so I could run whenever I pleased. A treadmill would fix my dilemma. I could hop on there whenever I pleased. It would fix my inability to just lace up and run out the front door since I live in the sticks (country) and not in a neighborhood fit for running. Right?

WRONG! That treadmill has sat upstairs for a good two months, only being used about 10 times. What excuse do I have now? I don't have children yet, I work "normal" hours from 8 to 5 Monday through Friday and have a perfectly able and healthy body. That's right... there are none.

I've decided that if I can't "figure it out" now, before children and before life gets any crazier (which it will, I'm sure it will, it's inevitable) then I'll never figure it out. That may be a harsh and close minded statement, but I really think that it's only going to get harder from here; so why not (why dontcha) start today?