Plan-a-rana-ding-dong

 

It’s Monday. You know what that means, a plan to tackle the next 5 days. A plan to keep my ass in check. A plan that I am relaying to you so that you will give me a swift kick in the butt if I happen to tweet that I an lounging around in a hammock being fed chocolates by Greek God replicas. I’m helping you, help me. After all, that’s what’s important here. Me. :)   

Meal Plan!

Monday – Crock Pot Ratatouille with Parmesan Toast

Tuesday – Corn & Basil Cakes with a side dish of veg

Wednesday – Jerk Fish Tacos with Peach & Mango Rice (way easier than it sounds, I’ll show you the way)

Thursday – Crock Pot Chicken with Rice & Peas (a WW recipe I can’t link for some reason? Don’t worry, I will still share it, if it’s any good)

Friday – Surely there will be leftover food and I will eat it.

Work Out Plan!

Monday – 30 Minute Run (Boo-yah already done! My legs felt like lead, and the whole run was hard, but I did it.)

Tuesday – Weights or DVD

Wednesday – Rest

Thursday – 5 Mile Run (I am 1/2 Marathon training, let’s not forget!)

Friday – Yoga

Saturday – 30 Minute Run

Sunday – Rest

If I happen to get a little golf in there too…BONUS!

So there it is people. That is this week’s plan. I am going to do my best to stick to it. Because if you know you are doing your best, there is no need for excuses.

This post, like my run this morning, is brought to you by one my favorites:  Joan Jett and The Blackhearts.

May Motivation

 

Can you believe this week will deliver us the 1st of May? I can’t believe how quickly this year is flying by. The past week I was very lazy, flailing around, not really working out. So I decided that I would change all that with a May Motivation Work Out Schedule:

I am one of those people that tend to do better with a To Do list, or something to mark off. My training schedules for races hang on my fridge and as I complete each day I make a little note (minutes/mile, etc) and knowing that I get to do that everyday somehow makes me do it. I’m a little OCD. Not going to lie about it. Just because I’m not training for a race, doesn’t mean I can’t have a training schedule, because starting June 27th I will begin training for the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon with I have now officially registered for. I don’t want to get out of shape in the mean time. Alt Cardio means at least 20 minutes of cardio activity that is not running, I can walk, bike or use the elliptical.

Usually I have a rest day on Saturdays, but I’m not off on Saturdays, so I might as well get up early and work out since I’m getting up for work anyway. Sundays, I don’t have to work, so I can truly just enjoy a Rest day. I scheduled my “long runs” for Thursdays because that’s my other day off and just seemed more practical to me based upon my summer work schedule. If anyone wants to use my schedule, feel free! I can even email you the file if you want to change it, print it and hang it on your fridge! :)

ACE Fitness posted an interesting article about setting goals on Twitter the other day, I wanted to share this information about goal setting with you:

One proven way to set effective goals is using the SMART goal method. This method will allow you to take those vague ideas and transform them into reality.

SPECIFIC: The goals must specifically state what is to be accomplished. They must be easily understood and should not be ambiguous or subject to interpretation. For example, rather than stating you would like to improve your fitness level, set a specific goal to be able to run a mile in 12 minutes.

MEASURABLE: The goals must be measureable so that there is no doubt about whether you achieved them. Measurable goals also allow you to evaluate your progress. Goals can be measured objectively or subjectively (i.e., how you feel and look), or both. For example, you could measure your percent body fat and body weight, but also monitor how your pants fit.

ATTAINABLE: The goals must be attainable—not too difficult or too easy. Easy goals do not motivate, and overly difficult ones may frustrate you and lead to a perception of failure.

RELEVANT: The goals must be relevant or pertinent to your particular interests, needs and abilities. For example, when preparing for a 5K walk, running quarter-mile sprints would not be the best approach

TIME-BOUND: The goals must be time-bound by specific deadlines for completion. Timelines can be both short-term and long-term and should help you stay focused and on track.

*Courtesy of ACEfitness.org

I think these are great things to remember when we set goals. As I read on OhSheGlows’s blog the other day:

 “If you only do what you know you can do- you never do very much.” Tom Krause

Setting goals will help us do the things we don’t think we can do. What are you current goals?

I have one quick food idea to share from the weekend. I wanted a quick pasta dish on Saturday after work and grocery shopping, so I threw together a quick Mediterranean Pasta. It had the following items:

• Whole Wheat Pasta (1 serving cooked)
• 6 large olives chopped (I used kalamta and green)
• 2 Tbsp chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped spinach
• 1 roasted Roma tomato chopped
• 1 artichoke heart marinated in light Italian Dressing* chopped
• Some Greek Seasoning blend
• 2 Tbsp Reduced Fat Feta Cheese

Toss together and serve. It was fully of healthy oils and tasted amazing. It only took about 15 minutes to throw together too!

*I buy canned Artichoke hearts in water and when I get them home, I transfer them into a jar with 1/3 cup Fat Free Italian Dressing. They are cheaper that way, and I know what is in the marinade.

My husband and I have enjoyed a lazy weekend around the house. I even managed to fit a craft project in! Now it’s time to kick my ass in gear for the week, I’m off to the gym.

Happy Monday? :/ That doesn’t really work, does it?

Tomorrow is the big day

 

Weigh-in

This week’s weight – 159.9lbs, –.9lbs. The 150s! I know it’s barely the 150s, but it’s the 150s! This puts me .3 from my first big goal of 50lbs lost. So close! This week’s weight loss puts me at my 5% loss goal since officially starting Weight Watchers Online in January.

Running

Yesterday morning, I had a good run. I was fast…well, for me.

 

Tomorrow is the Lighthouse 10k. My first 10k race. I’m excited and nervous. I’m as ready as I’m going to be. I’m just going to go out there, run and have fun. I have no PR to break, no goal for finish time. My only goal is to finish. My Mom is coming to visit for the weekend and to be my cheerleader! It will be so awesome to have her there at the end waiting for me. We are very close.

Cooking

TJ over at TJ’s Test Kitchen, who I adore, made this fantastic looking Butternut Squash Flatbread. So guess what I did? I changed it a little and made Butternut Squash Pita Pizzas!

Ingredients

1 cup cooked cubed butternut squash, in small cubes  
2  Whole Wheat Pitas
2 Tbsp red onion, sliced  
1 garlic clove, finely diced   
3 Tbsp fat-free ricotta cheese  
2 Tbsp Kraft Reduced fat Italian style shredded cheese blend  
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese  

Instructions

Toast pita loaves in a 400 degree oven until just crispy.

Mix ricotta and garlic, smear onto pita loaves. Top with cooked squash and onion, pressing lightly down into the ricotta. Top with 1 tbsp each of italian cheese blend and bake until cheese melts. Top with 1 tbsp each of Parmesan cheese and serve.

The changes I made: I skipped the olive oil, used fat free ricotta in it’s place and I used pita bread instead of traditional pizza crust. I got the points value down to 4 points per pita! I’m sure TJ’s pizza is AMAZING though. I just don’t need that many leftovers of it, so I chose the pita bread. I had a side of steamed “Baby boom-boom cabbage” on the side. If you don’t know why I’m calling brussels sprouts “baby boom-boom cabbage”, which I intend to do from now on, please go visit Jack Sh*t, Gettin’ Fit, which you should be doing daily anyway.

Wrap it up Tonyne….

I hope to post a race recap on Saturday at some point. Wish me luck! I’m still looking for a few more songs to round out my playlist…anyone got any suggestions to keep me moving? So far I have gotten such suggestions as Rod Stewart “Do ya think I’m sexy”, Salt –n- Peppa “Push It” and Michael Jackason “Beat It”. They are all going on the playlist. Give me what ya got! :)

Happy Friday!

It’s all Greek to me!

 

Let’s start with my run yesterday morning. It was GREAT.

It was just the confidence boost I needed for Saturday. It was one of those runs that let me going “Who is this person?”! However, my knee started to feel a little wonky when I finished and did for about 2 hours. It passed and it’s not bothering me now, but I may take it easy on it until Saturday just in case. Going to play it by ear. I skipped weights this morning just to be safe.

Speaking of training, kinda, I read this awesome article yesterday about 10 Steps to extend your running life. It’s good for any level of runner from beginner to advanced. It’s full of great tips for avoiding injury and enjoying running. Click Here for the full article. Some of the steps I currently practice, I have good shoes, I listen to my body and all that good stuff, but like with any hobby or activity, you need to learn about it. Stay fresh on current advice, etc. So, I urge any of you runners/joggers out there to READ THIS ARTICLE! Go do it, I’ll wait…

 

I think it’s probably good advice for anyone, even those who don’t run or jog. Ok, enough already, I know, I know. But with only 3 days left until my 10k I’m sort of running focused.

Dinner last night was very Greek inspired. It started with Feta & Spinach Stuffed Chicken breasts, I added whole wheat couscous (with olives & artichoke) and some brussels sprouts (surely they have those in Greece, right?).

Feta & Spinach Stuffed Chicken (4 points)

1/2 tsp olive oil, divided   

1/2 small onion(s), chopped   

5oz spinach, fresh

1 tsp lemon juice   

2 Tbsp feta cheese, crumbled   

1 tsp table salt, divided   

1/2 tsp black pepper, divided   

2 four ounce uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast

Instructions

In a large nonstick skillet heat oil; sauté onion until golden, 5 minutes.
Wilt spinach (steam spinach or heat damp spinach over medium heat in nonstick pan); stir in zest, feta, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.
Divide spinach mixture between cutlets. Roll up and secure with toothpicks. Sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper.
In same skillet, heat remaining oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken, turning occasionally, until golden brown and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove toothpicks.

For the couscous, I just made it as directed, added some chopped kalamata olives, 2 tbsp plain fat free greek yogurt and 1 marinated artichoke heart chopped. For the sprouts, I steamed them then made a sauce out of Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, salt and pepper and stirred the sprouts in it. Easy, fairly quick and something I could easily serve to company. Those are the best meals!

And in case you missed this important piece of news yesterday, the cast of  Jersey Shore was caught working out in Miami. JWow was in a TUBE TOP. Who jump ropes in a Tube Top? JWOW! That’s who! Sorry, I could pass it up…I can’t turn away from Jersey Shore. It’s my super trashy TV guilty pleasure. You can find all the pictures at FitSugar.com.

So now you now you know my trashy TV guilty pleasure. What’s yours?

7 miles

It's 5:40am and I am awake! I am bound and determined to get reacquainted with this hour of the day. Would I rather be sleeping? Absolutely. However I am proud that I am awake. With my work schedule really becoming something rather hectic for the next few months, I worry that the blog will suffer. So, I'm going to try to start writing early in the morning that way it's done and posted before the mad dash begins. So, getting up at 5:15am not only gives me time for a work out it gives me a little time to blog!

As for my workout this morning, I am going to do AM Yoga with Rodney Yee. I have had this DVD forever, but I love it. He has a very soothing voice.

I chose Yoga this morning because I am a little stiff from my 7 mile run yesterday. That's right, my 7 mile run.



That is my farthest distance yet. I am proud of myself for completing the run, however it was far from my best run. I was very sluggish and slow due to the fact I didn't get enough sleep, I had a bit too much drink the night before and I didn't eat appropriately the day before either. It was ROUGH. The Lighthouse 10k is in 2 weeks, this chick will be doing some clean living until after that. I can't put my body through another run like that. I felt like I was hitting the wall for the entire run. But, I did finish it! I wanted to quit so many times, but I didn't. I finished.

So, it's Monday morning and 2 of my goals have been completed. I completed my 7 mile run (finally) and I am awake before 6am. Go me! Let's put the Easter Candy away and keep the pendulum swinging in the right direction for awhile!

We are having a heat wave here in NC. It's supposed to be 80 degrees today! It would be the perfect day to sit on the beach or by the pool! How's the weather where you are?

And we're back!

Monday arrived as quickly as usual and here we are again. I hope you all had fantastic weekends. Mine was very laid back, but very great. Saturday we took our niece to the movies to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D. While waiting, we had some fun with our 3D glasses.

And before you even ask, yes I ate popcorn with butter and yes I shared a regular Coke with the husband. I enjoyed it, I planned appropriately points wise and I moved along. It's all about balance, remember?

After the movie we went grocery shopping and I loaded up on fresh produce! That whole, 2 weeks without a trip to the grocery store left me craving fresh fruit and veggies with a vengeance. I have eaten 3 monster size salads since Saturday night and I have one packed for lunch! When I post my meal plan in a few minutes, you'll see the veggie craving there as well.

On Sunday I had a 6 mile run scheduled. It was really windy here, so I chose to do the run on the treadmill. The dehumidifier in my amenity center is broken (there is an indoor pool in there) and it was like running in a sauna, but I opened the windows and had a nice breeze flowing through. It turned out to be a pretty good run!



So much to say today!! Can ya'll still hang with me for a bit?



I would like to send out a HUGE congratulations to Nicole over at ...Let Them Eat Lettuce... today for competing in her first 5k on Sunday! And she did it on near her birthday! So congratulations and Happy early Birthday!!



Meal Plan for the week!

Meatless Monday - Roasted Vegetable Fajitas with Mexican rice
Tuesday - Chicken Stroganoff type dish using greek yogurt that I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to make yet.
Wednesday - Black Bean Cakes with Avocado Butter
Thursday - Grilled Vegetable Pita Pizzas
Friday - Crunchy Talapia Filet with a salad

See, I told you you would see a lot of veggies. That's 3 meatless meals!

Wow, if you managed to stay with me through all of this, I am IMPRESSED!

Tell me this...is there anything you'd like to see more of here on Unlikely Success Story? I know I write this mostly for me, but I would like to keep you somewhat interested.

What can I do to keep you reading?

Hi 5:15am. Nice to meet you.

Those who know me well know I love sleep. I love sleep so much I could marry it. I love to flip my pillow to the cool side, sigh contentedly as I drift back to sleep after the alarm goes off and I've hit snooze for the 3rd time.

However, when it comes to my morning runs this often leads to me being pressed for time, rushing out the door and not properly warming up or stretching. On Sundays I wake up at least 1 hour before I want to begin my run. I eat some toast and jam, drink a cup of coffee and really wake up before I head out for my run. I decided to apply this to a week day run, that meant waking up at...

5:15am

Wow. The only time I get up before 6am is if travel is involved. This morning I only hit snooze once at 5am and then got out of bed at 5:15. My coffee was brewing, I made some toast and I sat down and watched the news. I caught up on some blog reading, played around on facebook. Then, after I finished my toast, I cleaned up the house a little, I was full of energy and it was 6:15, time to run. It was raining, so I headed to the gym and...



pounded out an AWESOME run! I felt better, ran harder, had enough time to warm up...it was as good as my Sunday runs. I can't wait to see what happens to me this afternoon and this evening...will I crash? I guess I'll have to wait and see, but if it means running well and feeling good, I think 5:15am and I might just become friends.

I don't know if you noticed a new edition to the side of my blog right over there --> but I've jumped on the FormSpring wagon. Feel free to ask me anything either by using the box provided or clicking here. I'm not at all interesting though...you've been warned. :)

Last night's dinner of crockpot BBQ chicken was tasty, but not really worth the calories, so I'm not sharing it. I'm looking forward to modifying tonight's dinner. It's a recipe I found for Lentil & Sausage Soup. I tend to like my lentil soup more stew like than soup like but I love the idea of putting pasta in it. I'm also going to use Smoked Turkey Sausage as well. Yummy! We'll see what it becomes. I still haven't had to break down and go to the grocery store. I haven't been in almost 2 weeks! Yay for pantry items! I really miss fresh fruit and produce though, I'm officially (aside from some carrots) out.

Ok, I need a new run mix so I want to know...What is your "Get Pumped" song?

Right now, what's been working for me is Korn - Freak on a Leash

Everyone has one...a song that comes on and you can't help but feel amped up and ready to go. No matter how silly...I want to know! Please share! :)

Manic Monday!

I'm pretty sure that whenever you take a vacation day from work, those who are left in the office find extra work for you to do upon your return to punish you. At least that's what it feels like this morning. My office is a zoo. So, this will be quick.

My trip to Greensboro was wonderful, as always! I packed healthy road trip snacks. Thank you guys so much for the advice! You had some great ideas!



100 Calorie popcorn, Diet Snapple Peach Tea, a plum and 2 mini Cadbury Eggs. It was perfect! I ate everything but the plum during the drive.

Friday morning I woke up wanting to run. Since I skipped my Thursday run, I figured why not! So I put on my shoes and started out with no real plan. I had a great run and stopped at one of my favorite spots.



Friday night we went out and had a GREAT time. I ate too much and drank too much but if walking from bar to bar and dancing my butt off burns calories, I probably did pretty well. Here's a group shot!



Saturday was my rest day and I rested. I got my hair cut, spend some time with my family. We cooked dinner at home and watched DVDs.

Sunday was my 5 mile training run. I didn't want to get out the door, but I'm really glad I did. The weather (for both of my runs actually) was BEAUTIFUL. Here are the stats:



Like my other long runs, the 2nd time doing the distance is a little easier than the first. Greensboro has a lot of hills and I'm used to running at the beach with no hills. So that presented a nice challenge, although I was cursing the hills most of the time. After my run I hung out with my family for awhile before beginning my drive back. My snacks included a 100 Calorie Oatmeal Pie and a Diet Pepsi.

Now I'm back at work and it's crazy. I haven't even begun to think of a meal plan for the week, I'll probably work on that tonight. Tonight is Meatless Monday dinner and I'm torn as to what to make. I know it will involve some or a combination of the following:

Butternut Squash
Spinach
Pasta
Soy Crumbles
Frozen Mixed Vegetables

That's what I got in the fridge...who has some ideas?

Do you find it hard to remain true to your healthy lifestyle when around your family?

It's so hard for me. I am really proud of myself for running, usually I just go completely off the wagon.

Welcome back to Monday!

Monday with a Bullet

I wish the weeks were only 2 days long and the weekends were 5 days long. I personally think I would be more productive in the 2 days than I am in 5. I'm just saying. :)

Weekend catch-ups!

My "Holy Crap" Saturday continued when the husband agreed to go bowling with me on Saturday night. My husband is a REALLY good bowler and has bowled most of his life. He "retired" last year and is taking the year off from bowling. When we first started dating we bowled together all the time. I've never been good. He usually spends most of our games bowling with his left hand (he's right handed) or throwing trick shots. We truly just play for fun. Well, he gave me a few pointers Saturday night...I ended up breaking 100 for the first time ever! I also beat Jeff...of course, he wasn't really bowling very seriously.



He may kill me for posting that, but oh well. :)

We met some friends out for drinks after bowling. I was very proud of myself. I kept in mind the fact that I had a 5 mile run on Sunday morning and only had a couple beers. I woke up Sunday morning feeling great, but a little tired. I had a bagel thin with some sugar free strawberry preserves, had some coffee and about an hour and a half later headed out the door for my run.



That is the longest I've ever ran outside. I ran around my neighborhood and had to run a 2nd loop. I hate repeating runs, they are so boring. Half of this run was done "against the wind" and every time I say that (or type it) I start singing that damn song. It was a tough run, with some wind gusts up to 15mph, but I'm glad I did it. I'm just praying for no real winds on the day of my 10k.

It's the first day of the March and I have so much going on this month.

March 5-7th - A trip to Greensboro to see the Family
March 13-14 - My last official weekend off for the season, my days off will switch back to Sundays and Thursdays - Boo.
March 26th-28th - My Girls Weekend trip to Savannah to celebrate...
March 31st - My 30th Birthday

There is something else special that is going to happen in March, but I can't tell you what it is right now. You're just going to have to wait and see.

I hope you all had wonderful weekends!

What are you looking forward to this month?

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?

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! :)

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!! :)

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? :)

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?

I love a rainy day.

It's a very rainy, gray day here in coastal North Carolina. I love a good rainy day though. I think the rainy days make the sunny days seem brighter.

Last night I made a very yummy dinner! Since I finished up my Meatless Monday meal for lunch (I made it on Sunday this week) I wanted something quick and easy for dinner. I had some cooked chicken in the freezer from last week, so I decided to utilize it for a recipe I got in an Eat Better America email. If you don't get these, you should really sign up for them. They are full of really great "healthified" recipes!

Mexican Kiwi Tostadas is the recipe I chose and of course, changed it up a bit.



Ingredients

3 item(s) Mission White corn tortillas
2 medium kiwifruit
1 tsp McCormick Ground cumin
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp table salt
1/4 cup(s) fat-free sour cream
2 Tbsp Ortega Picante sauce, medium
1 oz Sargento Reduced fat mexican blended shredded cheese
5 1/2 oz cooked chicken breast
1 cup(s) spinach, chopped

Instructions

1. In a bowl combine cumin, crushed red pepper and salt. Sprinkle on chopped chicken breast.
2. Coat corn tortillas with nonstick cooking spray and place in oven at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes turning once, until crisp.
3. In a small bowl combine sour cream and 2 Tbsp Picante sauce. Spread mixture onto warm tortillas. Top with spinach, kiwi, chicken and cheese, top with a spoonful of additional picante if desired.

What resulted was a wonderful combination of flavors! This will be a keeper for sure! I enjoyed mine with a Woodchuck Draft Cider. It's made in Vermont...just like me! :)



This morning, I had a great run! For my training, I was to run for 25-30 minutes. I ran 30.



Followed by a Blueberry, Banana & Spinach smoothie! I'm trying to get into this whole Green Monster Movement because the benefits are amazing. I have to say, I didn't even taste the spinach! It tasted like a Blueberry, Banana and Vanilla Soy smoothie. I'm not completely doing the green smoothie thing, but...baby steps.

Finally, I want to share Weight Watcher's Tip of the Week, I found it very applicable to myself and I think you will too.

"Take each disappointment that comes your way as feedback. Learn from each experience, revamp as necessary and move onto a better frame of mind."

Have you learned anything recently from your experiences?

With that, Happy Tuesday!

Have 30 Day Shred, will travel.

I woke up this morning, fought the sleep monster with my crazy awesome ninja skills and went for a run...on the treadmill because it was cold. I came home, hooked up the Ipod, and damn if the stupid Itunes didn't eat my run. It took my run and then refused to pass it onto the Nike+ website, so I can't get you a pretty picture. I can only give you what Itunes can, a boring screen shot.



This run didn't feel as good as the last one, I felt winded and like I was struggling a little, but I didn't sleep well last night so I'm pretty sure that's why. I made it to work this morning without any speeding citations, but again was running late. I really need to get back into the groove of this morning work out routine.

I have solved the bad weather travel dilemma by deciding to take tomorrow as a vacation day and leaving for Greensboro tonight! Here is the latest forecast!



I will get in before the weather, be able to enjoy a little snow and should be able to get back on Sunday without any problems! As an added bonus, I will get more time with my family! I know this may not seem like much to those of you who get snow a lot, but for us down here in the South, this is a major event. Plus the high possibility of ice accumulation is a scary reality.

I have my 30 Day Shred DVD packed up for Friday morning and I packed all my cold weather running gear from the OIB Run for Food for my 2 mile run on Sunday before we head back. Hopefully there's not too much ice on the sidewalks. My Mom's birthday is Tuesday, my sister is in town and I'm expecting a weekend full of fun. My friend Kelly is coming with me too! I'm going to try and track my food and make healthy choices but I'm not going to be too hard on myself. It's all about balance and I tend to have a harder time of that around my family. Thankfully they do live 3.5 hours away. (Just kidding...sort of.)

I may try to get a blog entry in over the next couple days, but if I don't I hope you all have fantastic weekends! Is anyone doing exciting?