Rare Saturday Post

Ok, I know I don't normally post on Saturdays, but I'm having a "Holy Crap" moment.

My husband randomly said "Let's go to the thrift store". That alone was the shock of my day, he hates shopping, until I got to the store and found this really cute coat when I first walked in. I was bummed to see a "EXPRESS (already not usually my size) 7/8" on the label, but I wanted to try it on anyway thinking "One day, it might work". Well, guess what?



It totally fits. :) *happy dance*

A Friday Funny!

I want to start with one of my favorite jokes, it goes like this:

A guy was riding the elevator into work one morning and a lady got on and said "T.G.I.F.!" He looked at her and "S.H.I.T.!". A bit more determined she repeated "T.G.I.F.!", he replied again and said "S.H.I.T.!". She's a little angry now and says "T.G.I.F., you know, Thank Goodness it's Friday?". He looks at her and smiles when he says "S.H.I.T., Sorry Hun, it's Thursday."

I love that joke. :)



Well, it's Friday, this I know! I'm am so looking forward to the weekend! I don't have any real plans. Saturday I may take Chaser to the new dog park. Then the husband and I are planning to go out Saturday night, nothing major, just a few drinks, just us and then meet up with some friends later to celebrate a birthday. Then on Sunday I have a 5 mile run. The weather won't be nearly as warm as it was last weekend, but it will be sunny!

I know there's something I'm supposed to tell you guys on Fridays...it's slipping my mind though....

I have my meal plan ready for next week, here it is!

Monday - (Meatless Monday Meal) Spinach Lasagna Rolls
Tuesday - Oven Fried Chicken & Hungry-Girl's Butternut Squash Bake (the recipe link I can't seem to find now)
Wednesday - Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry
Thursday - Butternut Squash Orzo and Brussels Sprouts
Friday - BBQ Chicken in the Crockpot

Yummy! I'm looking forward to eating next week!

Man, I know something is slipping my mind...

I finished reading My Sister's Keeper last night and it was such a great book. I totally did not expect the ending. I haven't seen the movie yet, not sure I want to. I don't want to give it away, but if it's a great book and I recommend it!

Maybe I forgot to tell you my mini-goal for the next week.

Have only 1 snack after dinner. I have a problem of snacking several times after dinner. I know I'm a night-time snacker and I allot points for that. I want to limit myself to 1 snack after dinner.

I remember what I'm supposed to tell you know...I'm supposed to tell you to Have a great weekend!!!

Right?

Ok, ok, I remember! I weighed-in this morning at 162.7, -.3 lbs for the week. You were all right, the scale surprised me. I will take the .3 loss and be VERY happy about it. :)

Do you set mini-goals for each week? If so, what is your mini-goal for next week?

This feels more like me.

Happy Thursday Folks!

I feel more like me today. :)

Cracking jokes, smiling, laughing, talking...it feels good to be back.

I want to thank every single one of you that had encouraging words for me yesterday. You have no idea how much I needed to hear them and how much they helped me. I am so grateful for every one of you and you all helped to get me back to my good spirits.



Oh, my bad...was Rob Pattinson in there? Gosh, I'm sorry. I don't know how he found his way into my Thank You. So strange...

Last night I had a tasty dinner! I made a variation of the Weight Watcher's recipe for Italian Sausage and Pepper pasta.



I'm not going to retype the recipe because I didn't change it much and I don't want to take credit for it, all I did was add some chopped asparagus and chopped fresh spinach. It was very filling and very yummy! I have the leftovers for my lunch. Tonight I'm making Chicken Souvlaki Pitas!

I had a pretty good run this morning. It was on the treadmill. I am growing to hate the treadmill. I used to prefer it to running outside, but now it's just the opposite. I had good speed on the treadmill though and that I like. :)



Tomorrow is my official weigh-in and you know what, I don't care if I'm up. I over ate this week, big deal. I still worked out when I was supposed to, logged everything I ate, even the bad stuff and I made it through the week without killing anyone. I will reign in my eating, I always do. This will not be a set-back. I call that a huge success.

I made this JibJab video yesterday to make me smile. This is what the husband and I would look like if we were bobble head figure skaters. :)

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Ok, time to actually get some work done. I am so happy it's Thursday! So happy in fact I sang a cheesy song at the top of my lungs on the way to work. I sang "I wanna know what love is....I want you to show me!" You know the one. What's your favorite Monster Car Ballad? :)

Mobile Blogging

I've decided to test out Mobile Blogger and I figured no one would mind seeing a picture of Chaser while I figure out how this works!

So Hello, from my Crackberry!

For my real entry for today, please see Grumpy with a chance of Bitchy.

Grumpy with a chance of Bitchy.

I'm not having a good week.

I'm up +2.1 lbs since Friday. Probably due in large part to Monday's binge.

I've eaten every single one of my Flex Points for the week and some of my activity points.

I'm grumpy with a chance of bitchy.

Work is stressing me out.

Life is stressing me out.

I didn't want to talk about this here, but I promised to share my triumphs and my frustrations. Well, I'm pretty frustrated.

We all have bad weeks. I know this. How come it's easier to cheer someone on during their bad week than keep yourself motivated and in good spirits during your own?

Let me try to find some positives.

I worked out this morning...and it's Wednesday. I went to the gym and did the Elliptical for 30 minutes. Take that, husband that falls asleep on the couch and ruins my Wednesday morning work out who incidentally did NOT sleep on the couch last night.

Even though I have eaten like a crazy possessed person I have logged everything. So my poor choices can be viewed for years to come.

I have made the meals according to my meal plan this week, even if none of them have knocked my socks off. This is helping put a dent in Operation Freezer.

I am more than halfway through the book I started over the weekend, My Sister's Keeper.

I have coffee.

That's all I got for today. I am totally blaming TOM. That f*cking f*cker.

What do you do when you are having an off day or week? How do you get out of the funk when all your usual tricks fail?

Meatless Monday and a Letter

Let me start with Meatless Monday.

Bell Pepper & Tomato Soup

With my changes

1 tsp olive oil
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1/4 medium onion, diced
6 baby carrots, chopped
1/2 tbsp Italian Seasoning
1/4 tbsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
3/4 medium sweet red pepper, charred under the broiler and the skin peeled off*
3 3/4 oz fat free vegetable broth
5 oz canned crushed tomatoes
1 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp black pepper


Instructions
In a large pot, heat oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic, stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add onion and carrot. Cook until onion is tender, about 5 minutes.

Add Italian seasoning and Red Pepper Flakes, cook, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add peppers. Cook until begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Note: You do not need to cook peppers if they are charred and peeled.

Add broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Cover; simmer for 25 minutes. Stir in salt, pepper, half-and-half and sugar. Purée in small batches; briefly reheat, if needed. Yields 1 cup per serving. Makes 2 servings.

* Place peppers skin-side up on a foiled-lined baking sheet. Broil until blackened, about 15 minutes. Place in a zip-close plastic bag for 10 minutes. Remove charred peels with hands.

The grilled cheese, I just used Sandwich Thins and Reduced fat Provolone with a little Brumel and Brown.

It was...ok. I don't know if it's because I left the cream out (I only made it for 2 and it would have been like 1/4 of a Tbsp, why bother!) but it tasted almost more like a sauce. It would probably be really good on chicken or pasta! I am eating it today for lunch regardless though. It has great flavor just a weird consistency for me.

Next order of business. I would like to write a letter.

Dear TOM, Aunt Flo, and other aliases,

We have been together for a long time. I thought we had each other figured out. I know I'm getting up in my years, I'll be 30 next month after all, but is this really necessary? I know you're there, I don't need you to remind me with intense cramping and an insatiable need for junk food. I definitely didn't need you slowing me down on my run this morning, making my legs feel like lead and making me feel unrealistically exhausted even after I gave you 8 hours of peaceful sleep.

Regardless of your petty and immature ways to try and win my affection all the while reminding me that the biological clock is ticking (real smooth by the way), I still got up and ran this morning. That's right, 3 miles. They might not have been very fast miles, but I finished in 32 minutes and I will take that as a victory over you. After all, I couldn't let you win again after last night, the doughnuts, chex mix and M&Ms you convinced me to eat after dinner...now could I?

Now, let's get through the rest of the week without any more incidents and maybe I will let you have a cup of Sugar Free Chocolate Pudding...how's that sound?

Thanks for listening,

Tonyne's Uterus

Where did the weekend go?

This weekend just seemed to FLY by. Friday night I made my "leftover whatever" pizza, which turned into a Roasted Veggie Pizza. It was delightful! Then I settled in to watch the movie Food Inc.. I thought it was a very eye opening movie. I will be a little more selective of my food from here on out I think. It's good to be knowledgeable, but my food ignorance bubble was kind of blissful.

Saturday I went grocery shopping and that was it. Literally. I went grocery shopping and I came home, laid around the house all day with the husband who was feeling under the weather. At first I was kind of upset for wasting a beautiful day, but honestly it felt nice to just do absolutely nothing.

Sunday, I had a GREAT run!



I think me and the Asics GT-2110s have officially bonded. The weather was absolutely beautiful and I ran the island of Sunset Beach again. I am really beginning to enjoy my Sunday training runs a lot. Sometimes it's hard to get out the door, but once I do, I love it!

After my run I went to my friend Kelly's house for coffee, which turned into lunch, which turned into beers sitting out in the sun for the afternoon. It was a great, laid back time and perfect for the weather. I even demonstrated some yoga moves since I was feeling so Zen.



Would the pose had been more effective had I put the beer down? Maybe. Would it have been as funny? No.

I was doing GREAT on my points going into Sunday and had not dipped into my flex points once. Then, the beer started. I ended up using quite a few flex points by the time I ate dinner, but it was well worth it and I didn't go completely overboard.

All in all it was a great weekend, the husband is feeling a little bit better and now it's time to tackle another week!

Tonight for my Meatless Monday dinner, I am making Roasted Bell Pepper & Tomato Soup with a grilled cheese sandwich. Yummy! I'll be back tomorrow to share pictures!

How was your weekend?

French Un-Fried Potatoes!

First things first, weigh-in.

163lbs, -1 lb loss this week.

I will take it! At this point in my journey every pound feels like a huge victory. I've been stuck in the 163-168 yo-yo for months. I'm going to break out of it this time. I am 4lbs away from a true 50lb loss. I am going to make it there. Before my 30th birthday which is March 31st. You heard it here first folks. That's my goal.

Last night I didn't feel like Chinese Chicken. So I opted for a Boca Bruschetta Veggie Patty and some home made fries. Everyone has their own recipe for home fries, here is mine:

1 large baking potato cut into strips
Non-Stick Cooking Spray
1 Tbsp of Seasoning, whatever you like, I used Mrs.Dash Garlic and Herb tonight

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, lay fries in a single layer, spray with cooking spray, sprinkle with seasoning cook for 35-40 minutes until crisp, shaking tray every 10 minutes to make sure all sides brown. Easy, healthy, oven crisp fries.






Meals for next week!

Meatless Monday (on Monday!) - Roasted Bell Pepper Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese
Tuesday - Slow Cooked Pinto Chicken with Corn & Quinoa
Wednesday - Italian Sausage and Pepper Pasta
Thursday - Chicken Souvlaki Pitas
Friday - Greek Lemon Fish with Quinoa

As always, I may or may not follow the recipes exactly and I will share my favorite ones of the week!

I don't have any weekend plans to speak of. I'm looking forward to some relaxing. Tomorrow is my "Rest" day from training and I have another 4 mile training run on Sunday and I'm actually looking forward to it. I was nervous about my last 4 mile run, but now that I know I can do it, I hope to just run and enjoy this one.

As always, I probably won't be around much during the weekend unless I have something I just can't wait until Monday to share!

Are you guys doing anything fun this weekend? What are your plans? Happy Friday!

Be sure to sign up to win this awesome shirt that Syl is giving away! I did! :)

Lasagna Babies and New Shoes

Yesterday, my new running shoes arrived! I was more excited than a kid on Christmas morning! I got home, pulled them out of the box. They were so shiny and new. So white it looks like they're glowing on my feet. I quickly grabbed my Nike+ sensor pouch and placed it carefully on the new and sparkly Right Adidas GT-2110 and looked at it. It looked almost too white, too clean, too cushiony (it's a word). I looked at my old friends, my GT-2140s, the first official running shoes I ever bought. I went to Dicks Sporting Goods, had someone look at my feet, pick them out for me and I spent way too much on them. They saw me through my first time running 1 mile, my first 5k, my 2nd 5k and the first 1/3 of training for my first 10k. Together we have ran well over 300 miles. We have ran on pavement, treadmills, dirt and sand. We have ran in Calabash, Little River, Ocean Isle Beach, Sunset Beach and Greensboro.

I feel like I should have them bronzed or give them a Viking Burial at Sea complete with flaming boat. (Was that the Vikings?) Instead, I will retire them as runners and make them my everyday wear type kicks. You were good to me GT-2140s...thanks for the ride, but now the Nike+Ipod Sensor Pouch has been passed.



This morning me and the 2110s went for our first run. My knees automatically rejoiced at having a cushioned landing again. The sides of my feet need a little readjustment period, they were burning a little by mile 2. They'll get broken in quickly enough.



A little slow this morning...and I'm going to blame the rookie shoes. :)

Last night for dinner, I made Lasagna Babies! They are yummy! Here's the recipe!

Lasagna Babies (adapted from WW Mag Jan/Feb 2010)

1/2 cup diced eggplant

1 cup fresh spinach

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1/4 tsp salt (divided)

1 cup fat free Ricotta cheese

4 Tbsp grated Parmesan Cheese

1 tsp Italian Seasoning

1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

1 cup light pasta cause (I use Ragu tomato basil)

3 whole wheat lasagna noodles, halved

1. Boil lasagna noodles in salted water until just soft, drain.

2. While noodles boil, preheat oven to 375 degrees, spray 2 5” rectangle mini loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.

3. Mix spinach, eggplant and onion. Microwave for 2 minutes, stirring once until veggies are fork tender. Drain any water and sprinkle with 1/8 tsp salt.

4. Mix ricotta, 3 tbsp of Parmesan and Italian seasoning in a bowl. Mix pasta sauce, red pepper flakes and 1/8 of a teaspoon salt in a separate bowl. When noodles are ready, layer 2 tbsp sauce in the bottom of each pan, then 1/2 a noodle, then 1/2 the veggies, 1/2 a noodle, half of the ricotta mixture, 2 tbsp sauce, 1/2 a noodle then top with remaining sauce and 1/2 tbsp of Parmesan cheese each.

5. Cover each pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes until bubbling.

Per the magazine (and I made no changes the should affect points value) each Lasagna Baby is 7 points.

So based on the comments I got yesterday it seems a lot of us are Type A personality control freaks! I'm so glad I'm not alone! I think in the future I need to work on that a little bit.

Learn to live more in the moment...let me just add that to my To-Do list in the Panic Book...

Happy Thursday! :)

Wednesdays are a Battle

I always struggle on Wednesdays. My husband almost always falls asleep on the couch on Tuesday nights. I have no idea why, but he does. I always schedule a work out in my living room on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. If he's asleep in the living room, I obviously can't work out in there. So, when my alarm goes off at 6am and I realize he's not in the bed on Wednesday mornings I re-set the alarm for 7 and go back to sleep. This morning was of course, one of the same...add that to the fact I've slept poorly the past 2 nights and I slept until 7:30am, making my whole morning a rush.

This is wrong on so many level but here are a few reasons.

1. I have a laptop that plays DVDs and a huge bedroom. Problem solved.
2. I am in a significantly bad mood almost every Wednesday because I don't work out in the mornings, I know how to correct the situation, but I continue to do this same thing every Wednesday.
3. I end up working out after work on Wednesday, I much prefer morning work outs because it sets the tone for my entire day.

So, this throws my whole day off, makes me mad at the husband (for no good reason) and dampers my spirit.

Did I mention I'm a creature of habit? If my habit or routine is broken I get really grumpy. I even carry around a book with me that I call "The Panic Book" it's a day planner that has everything from my meals, work outs and blog ideas to reminding me to do laundry or take the trash out. I like to have a schedule, or I feel like I might forget something. I feel out of control and I do not like that feeling.

Wow. You guys just got a peek into my head...be careful, it's scary in here.

What I need to do now is take a deep breath.

*IN*

and

*OUT*

I know I will do a work out after work. I had a great Green Monster Smoothie this morning, have a healthy lunch, snack and healthy dinner planned. One rescheduled work out should not ruin my day.

Do you ever feel, during weight loss or trying to change your life in any way really, that routine is crucial? Do you get flustered when it's thrown off?

Quinoa Cheeses Up Real Nice Ya'll!

Good Morning World! I had a great run this morning and I'm filled with energy! I think it's due in large part to my new Zombieland Inspired Playlist. "The first rule of Zombieland: Cardio. When the zombie outbreak first hit, the first to go, for obvious reasons... were the fatties." If you haven't seen the movie, I recommend it...but only if you like cheesy movies.



My run stats:



My knees are a little sore, but not terrible. I'm almost thinking that 30 Day Shred is causing my knee pain. They almost seem to hurt worse on the days after I do 30DS. I will have to monitor that for a bit.

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and thus begins the first day of Lent. I speak like I know what I'm talking about, but I really don't. I'm not very religious per say. However, I like the idea of giving something up for 40 days. It's a practice in self control. I have no idea what I would give up...would I want to give up a food item? A behavior? I'm sure my husband would love for me to give up nagging! 40 Days is a long time and I have a girls weekend trip to Savannah in the mix, so I'd have to be careful not to sabotage myself. I think it's worth thinking about. I have until tomorrow to figure something out, if I'm actually going to do it. What would/are you give up for Lent?

I wanted to play with last night’s dinner a little bit. I had a bag of Gorton’s Frozen Grilled Shrimp in my freezer, some Quinoa, cheese and butter. I figured I could make a pretty good substitute for traditional Shrimp and Grits…a southern specialty. I found out, that Quinoa, well, it “cheeses up real nice ya’ll!”

I cooked the shrimp and quinoa per instructions, once Quinoa was finished I added 2 tbsp of the mexican cheese blend, 1 wedge of Laughing Cow, 1/2 tbsp minced garlic, 1 tbsp Brumel and Brown and mixed. I placed 1/2 of a cup (1 serving per box) on my plate and topped with 1/2 of the shrimp, squeezed a little lemon juice on top and Viola! Shrimp and Quinoa in a flash!

It’s very tasty and definitely comfort food. The Gorton’s Shrimp has a smokey taste that I don’t love…I will use plain frozen or fresh shrimp from now on. This was a quick meal and took about 20 minutes to make. I placed my asparagus on the baking sheet with my shrimp and they cooked up fine! You’ll see a lot of asparagus the next few days…it was on sale! :)

Don't forget to let me know what you would/are giving up for Lent. I'm really curious! Happy Tuesday! Let's make it a great day!! :)

Meatless Monday – Grilled Veggie Sandwich with Horseradish Mayo

 

My meatless Monday this week is restaurant worthy. Hold onto your meat loving pants.

Grilled Veggie Sandwich with Horseradish Mayo

1/2 a small loaf of ciabatta bread, cut into 4 slices, scoop some of the soft bread out to make room for the veggies

3 one inch slices of eggplant

1/2 of an orange pepper, sliced

1/4 of a red onion, I left mine in petals

10 stalks of asparagus

2 Tbsp Fat Free Zesty Italian Dressing

2 slices of reduced fat provolone cheese

2 Tbsp Miracle Whip

1 Tbsp prepared Horseradish

1. Marinate veggies in Italian dressing for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. When veggies are marinated, grill until slightly soft and warm.

3. While veggies are grilling, toast ciabatta bread slightly in oven at 400 degrees.

4. Layer veggies on top of 2 bread slices and place provolone cheese on top. Set other 2 slices aside. Place under broiler at 400 degrees until cheese melts. Mix together Miracle Whip and Horseradish in small bowl.

5. Remove sandwiches from oven and put 1 tbsp of the horseradish mayo on the bar slices of bread, then place them on top of the sandwiches and enjoy! I also added a little fresh spinach on mine as well!

It’s a great flavor combination, a little messy and VERY filling!

Weekend Update of Love

I hope you all had wonderful Valentine's Days! :) My husband surprised me by leaving a dozen roses on the kitchen counter for me to find when I got home from work on Friday. We don't see each other on Friday due to our work schedules, and he has never bought me real flowers (he did buy me beautiful handmade paper roses for our 1 year wedding anniversary) before so I cried like a baby. They are beautiful! If you look closely you can see a picture from our wedding day in the background...I noticed it when I was picking pictures for this entry! :)

Friday night, my friend Kelly came over and we booked hotel rooms for a Girls Weekend trip to Savannah, GA for my 30th (ugh) birthday next month! I am so excited. We are staying in the super lovely Inn at Ellis Square and planning a Haunted Pub Crawl for Saturday night. 38 days to go and I am so excited!

If you remember, on Friday I was talking about how we were rumored to get a very rare beach snow on Friday night. Well, we got 3 inches, which is VERY rare for this area and it was beautiful!




Chaser The Wonder Schnauzer wasn't really sure how felt about it.



Jeff and I went out grocery shopping and the roads were completely clear. It was the perfect snow, beautiful to look at, clear roads and it melted quickly!


Saturday evening Jeff and I decided to stay in and watch movies. I had it in my head that I was going to order pizza. I was going to eat as much pizza as I could stuff in my mouth and enjoy every bite. I took a few minutes and thought about it and decided that I would make a pita-pizza at home. This may not seem like a big deal to some, but to me, it was a huge victory. You know what? It tasted just as good as delivery and was so much better for me!





Sunday, I had a great 4 mile run! This is my longest outdoor run yet! I felt great, took a few walking breaks when I needed to and still averaged a pretty decent pace...for me at least!



After my run I decided it was finally time to buy some new running shoes. I love my current Asics GT-2140s, but they are causing me blisters now and the support is all but gone. I have well over 300 miles on them and it's time to replace them. I found a GREAT deal on Asics GT-2110s at Amazon.com. I got them in the White/Periwinkle. I can't wait until they get here! I never thought I'd be so excited about running shoes!

All in all, I had a fantastic weekend! I hope you did too!

How was your weekend? :)

Everybody's Working for the Weekend!

It's Friday AND they are calling for snow here at the beach! That makes it a crazy day in my world! I love snow, so I don't mind!


Let the mass chaos begin!

First things first, weigh in - 164 lbs. -2.2lbs this week. Recycled weight loss as I was down to 163.4 a few weeks ago. It is a loss though, so I will take it!

With Valentine's Day this weekend everyone at work is handing out candy! My husband has a severe nut allergy, so I avoid most chocolate and anything that might contain nuts on days that I will see him (my husband works nights, I work days most of the week) and the owner's of the company I work for and some coworkers know this. So they got me Conversation Hearts! Less caloric for me and safer for the husband. I promptly figured out the points valves and wrote them on the back of the packages, so I wouldn't mindlessly snack.



I did my meal planning last night and here is what we have so far!

Sunday - Roasted Veggie sandwich on Ciabatta bread with Sweet Potato Fries (this will count as my meatless Monday meal, I will eat the leftovers for lunch on Monday)

Monday - Shrimp and Quinoa, my take on Shrimp and grits

Tuesday - Chicken Sausage with Spinach in the crock pot over rice, a recipe from the current WW Magazine

Wednesday - Little Lasagnas, also a recipe from the current WW Magazine

Thursday - A Chinese application of chicken...not exactly sure what application yet.

Friday - A pizza made with leftover whatever from the week that would be good on pizza crust! :)

Since I started planning my meals out, my grocery list is much shorter, I have significantly less food waste and I never get tired of my leftovers because I only make 2 servings. One for dinner and one for lunch the next day. I know I've said this all before, but I am really shocked by the difference meal planning has made for me. As always, I'll share the best recipes! :)

Last night, my meal plan was for taco salad! I love taco salad! I made my own tortilla chips using the Mission Corn tortillas, I used ground turkey instead of beef and reduced fat cheese and fat free sour cream. I packed up the leftovers for lunch today. I like everything to stay divided until the last minute, so I package my salad and cheese in the bowl, put sour cream, salsa and meat in little snack baggies and lay on top of the salad in a large bowl. I use a recycled whipped cream bowl. I heat up the meat in the bag and then mix it together. Super easy and tastes fresh! I let my tortilla chips go a little too long...don't let them get this brown if you make them at home.



I hope you all have very wonderful weekends and very Happy Valentine's Days! I think the husband and I are going to stay in and watch a movie...no great shakes, but it will be nice to just have some quiet time together.

Anyone have any romantic Valentine's Day plans?

It’s officially official!

It’s officially official! I am registered for the Oak Island Lighthouse 10k, that I have already been training for! The race is on April 17th. It goes over the Oak Island bridge, another high rise style bridge and winds through Oak Island. I am excited for this race, not only because it’s my first 10k, but because two of my friends will be participating in the 5k!

Jen	Kelly

It’s Jen’s first 5k race and Kelly’s return to races! I am so proud of both of them and I know having them there will keep me motivated! How could I not have fun with these two around? And if I drop somewhere in the middle, two people will be at the end wondering where I am and will hopefully pick me up on their way home! :)

I ran this morning...don't lecture. My knees felt fine, it was mostly just the bending action that was causing me pain. They are a little tender since the run, but nothing major and I'm wearing flats today to be a little kinder to my legs in general...actually, I'm wearing my awesome furry boots that I got in Greensboro, remember them? Here's my run stats, not terrible...



It felt pretty good. My next scheduled run is a 4 mile training run on Sunday. I'm going to try it, but I will stop if I have any pain. Tomorrow is some more 30 Day Shred, I moved up to Level 2 on Monday. That DVD kicks my ass. Period.

I think that's it for today! I am making a big taco salad for dinner and I'm really excited about it!

What has been your favorite meal that you have had this week?

Way Back Wednesday

To start, I would like to take a moment today for Capt. Phil Harris of the Cornelia Marie. I love the show The Deadliest Catch, my husband and I watch it all the time. He died yesterday from complications of a stroke. He was 53 years old. So sad, he was young.


I'm writing this entry to "If you leave, don't leave now...I won't waste one single day..." you know the 80's song? When I was growing up a radio station would do "Way Back Wednesdays" on the radio and play only 80s music. I loved it! I don't know what I was reminded of that right now, but for some reason I was and I thought I'd share it with you!

Last night for dinner I had Crispy Italian Chicken with tomatoes and I tried something new.



At 1 point per serving, I was really excited to try this. It was...ok. Great in a pinch for a last minute side dish, but not something to write home about. I find the flavor sort of bland, the vegetables a little too soft and not very appealing to look at. I brought the leftovers for lunch today, so it wasn't inedible. Just not as great as I'd hoped.

My chicken turned out alright, you basically coat the chicken in a mixture of Panko breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese, cook it in a skillet for 3 minutes per side and then throw it in the oven at 450 degrees to finish off. Then, in the hot skillet you just let 1 cup of cherry tomatoes cook until they begin to pop. It was a pretty good dish, but again, nothing spectacular.



Meal planning is going really well for me though. I plan all my meals for the next week on Friday night (I know, I live a CRAZY life!) and make my grocery list. I reduce all recipes to 2 servings (since I cook only for myself) and then I have dinner and leftovers for lunch the next day. I'm not getting tired of anything and I'm saving a lot of money at the grocery store. I'm also succeeding in Battle Operation Freezer. I think this is a habit I will stick with. Tonight I'm making (for a 2nd time) Roni's Dried Herb and Yogurt Marinated Pork. I made it before and loved it!

What's your favorite 80s tune? If not the 80s, what's your favorite "Way Back" song?

Snap, Crackle, Pop, Ouch!

On Sunday I started to notice that my knees were hurting whenever I would stand up, sit down, squat down or go up and down stairs. Standing, sitting and walking felt fine, but the transition was painful. Yesterday, I woke up and did 30 Day Shred Level 2, pushed through the pain and then it was so painful that stairs almost brought me to tears. I spent a good chunk of last night like this



and practicing the RICE method. Rest, ice, compression, elevation. Today my knees feel significantly better, but just to be safe I decided to skip my run for today. I would rather miss one run than a week of runs because I pushed myself.

It's time for new shoes and I think that might be the culprit. I have well over 300 miles on my Asics. I think that a trip to the store for new shoes will be on the agenda for this coming weekend. Maybe that will help to alleviate some of the snap, crackle, popping my knees have been doing lately too!

For lunch today I brought the leftover Broccoli & Ginger Stir-Fry from Meatless Monday last night. It just wasn't my favorite Meatless Monday so far. Tonight I am making crispy Italian chicken with roasted tomatoes with a side of red potatoes and green beans. I'm way more excited about that! God I love food.

Speaking of food, I think I have perfected my favorite breakfast smoothie! Here it is:

Blueberry, Banana, Spinach Smoothie

1/2 frozen banana
1/4 cup frozen blueberries
3/4 cup fresh spinach leaves
1 cup Light Vanilla Soy Milk
1 scoop of Chocolate Whey Protein Powder (I use the Biggest Loser kind, 0 points per serving)
3 ice cubes

Place the first 4 ingredients in your blender carafe the night before and allow to sit in the fridge overnight. (This allows the banana and blueberries to thaw a little and makes the process in the morning much quicker!)

In the morning, add protein powder and ice cubes, blend until smooth.

It's fantastic and tastes like a chocolate banana blueberry chocolate milkshake! I have officially gotten hooked on smoothies. It also works great with frozen mixed berries.

I am really bummed not to be running today, but I know it's for the best. I don't have health insurance so a doctor visit will only be a last resort.

How do you deal with injuries or strange pain? When do you think it's time to call in the doctor?