A new look!

 

I revamped The Unlikely Success Story just a little bit today, I’m not sure I love it, but I like it better than what was. I’d love to know what YOU think. :)

I just got back from a pretty decent 3 mile run and some arm weight training. I love it when I can finish a run and be proud of it.

I have been toying with the idea of having a vegetarian day once a week. One day where I eat no meat at all. I do this about once every other week, but it’s never planned. This would be like “Meatless Monday”. The idea hit me last night when I made the Spaghetti Squash Cake Parmesan, which I have decided to rename SS Parm for short. I can try new vegetarian recipes, some I find, some I make up and then post the recipe here and write what I think about it. As a girl that almost panics when I see no meat on a plate, I figure if I think a vegetarian dish is good, it must be!

I think I’ll do it. It’s decided. 

Ok friends, that’s all I have for today. Tomorrow I’m going to The South’s Grandest Christmas Show at The Alabama Theater! A friend got us free passes and I am so excited! I can rarely get the husband to do things like this, so I’m going to cherish it. I’ll leave you with a video so you can be jealous…don’t hate. :) Happy Tuesday!

 

A quick and easy dinner!

 

I decided to give taking pictures of the stuff I’m cooking a try, so here we go…I’m also writing this on Windows Live Writer, so that’s 2 new things!

I made Spaghetti Squash Cake Parmesan.

It started with the recipe from Roni at GreenLiteBites.com for Spaghetti Squash Cakes

I made the recipe as she described, not going to repeat it for you, but here are some pictures:

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I did deviate from her recipe a little, I didn’t have any eggs so I used Egg Substitute and I like crushed red pepper flakes in mine, so I added them. My squash was a little over done, but it still worked out!

Then, I assembled everything in a lasagna type fashion. I used about 3/4 cup sauce, 1/3 cup shredded cheese and about 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese. I did a layer of sauce, then squash cake, sauce, then cheese. I repeated.

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I baked it in a 350 degree oven until bubbly, about 15 minutes while Chase and I waited impatiently.

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I served it with some broccoli and pasta, which I made because I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but it turned out fantastic. Tons of flavor and a quick, easy vegetarian dish!

Date night and cement.

Friday after work I had a Skype date with my best friend who recently moved to Florida. If you don't have Skype, you should get it! It makes video conferencing a breeze! Then I did laundry. I could probably manage to do laundry every day and there's only two of us! I'm not sure how that happens.

On Saturday, I worked and planned to go for my 2.5 mile training run after work. Well, the husband decides he wants to do "date night" and I'm never one to turn that down. My husband and I have alternate schedules most of the week so our time together is a bit limited. We went to a bar, had some beers and played Buzztime Trivia. It was so much fun...but, I had a cheeseburger and fries. I was starving, ill prepared and craving a cheeseburger, so I had one.

Later that night, some friends of ours asked us to come to another bar and see them. It had been so long since we've seen them, we went there too! I had 1 beer and switched to water. This is good for me, an entire night out and I only drank 4 beers. I swear I'm not an alcoholic, I just like beer. :) We got home around 12:30am and watched SNL before going to bed.

I woke up around 9am on Sunday and got ready to go to the gym. I noticed my head was stuffy but figured it would clear up during my run. I stretched, that felt good and I got on the treadmill, started running and it felt as if my entire body was encased in cement. I was supposed to run 2.5 miles and I barely made it to 1.9. It was a slow run too...



after the treadmill I went to the weights, figuring I would at least get some strength training done. I found I had the same problem, my entire body was just exhausted. I started feeling nauseous and knew it was time to go home. It just wasn't the work out I had wanted. I sat around with a scowl on my face for a good 30 minutes afterward. I have no idea what was wrong with me, I feel alright today and I'm hoping for a better work out tomorrow. I spent the rest of Sunday doing some Christmas stuff and watching really awful Lifetime Christmas movies.

If you made it through this post, give yourself a pat on the back because I'm pretty sure it was really boring. :)

Happy Monday!

Hey, I know that girl!

Did you guys see OperationBeautiful.com today? If so, you can say "I know that girl!" That's me, well, my back, and my Operation Beautiful note I wore on my first 5k. If you aren't familiar with Operation Beautiful, go spend some time there. You won't regret it.

I had 2 great runs since we last talked. I have been at training this week and with the holidays I just feel like I'm going, going, going non-stop and when I do stop, I drop on the couch. Thank goodness for my training runs, they get me in the gym as it's been really cold (well, cold for here) I have started mixing in some weight training again. I forgot how much I enjoy that.

I wanted to share my latest gym mix, this gets me through a 2.5 mile treadmill run and about 40 minutes of weights.


(I don't know why this is so tiny, but if you click on it, it gets a little bigger...sorry I don't have time to fix it today! :p)

It works great and kept me dancing in between the weight machines...luckily I had the gym to myself because no one needs to see that. :) The new Adam Lambert CD "For Your Entertainment" is AMAZING gym music!

Well, I'm stealing time from work to write this blog and with the conference I just attended I haven't been in here for 3 days and I'm writing this from under a pile of paperwork, kinda like this guy:



Happy Friday!

A good cause and good motivation.

On Saturday after my post I started thinking about how I was going to keep myself motivated and active during the holiday season. I mentioned how my jeans were already getting a little tighter from all of the holiday festivities, so how was I going to stop that? I'm not expecting to loose any weight during this month, but I would at least like to stop gaining. I'm realistic.



I looked on Active.com and found a 5k close to home that takes place on January 9th. It's the Ocean Isle Beach Bridge Run for Food and proceeds benefit a local food pantry.

It's good motivation to keep moving throughout the month of December because my training schedule keeps me running all month:



and it raises money for a cause that I am passionate about. The holiday season is about giving, I am giving to the food pantry and I am giving myself the gift of health. It's a win-win situation.

I am excited for this 5k. The Greensboro Gobbler, my first race, I was so nervous and didn't know what to expect. I feel like I will have more fun at this one because I know what to expect. It will be a tough run though because the course is over the scenic high-rise Odell Williamson Bridge to the mainland and back to the island..



I am up for the challenge though! I am so proud of myself for finding ways to make sure I stay motivated and active during the holidays. The old me would have just surrendered to the temptations and said "January, I'll get back on track in January." It's never too late to be good...for Santa or for you! :)

I raise my Monday Morning coffee to you, here's to a great week!