over the hump

It’s been a very speedy week thus far!  It’s been nice to spend the past 2 nights with the hubby and enjoy some much-needed time together!  Work usually gets in the way of my subtle reminders of why I love him so much!

Who couldn’t love this silly man?!

Today was supposed to be spent overseeing a heating guy replace a part in our heater, but the owner of our condo finally wised up or the repair company is very persuasive.  Whatever the case, he decided to replace the entire, outdated unit!  Praise God!  The fixes will occur when all of the parts come in.

The other upside to that is that I could enjoy a morning in the gym!  I didn’t get there until 8 so it was more crowded thanI like it to be.  I started with 20 minutes on the elliptical, then hit Chest and Triceps:

 

Flat Bench DB Press	10 reps	15# DBs
	10 reps x 2	20# DBs
Bench Dips	12 reps x 3
Flat Bench DB flye	10 reps	10# DBs
	10 reps x 2	15# DBs
Skull Crushers	10 reps x 3	10# DBs
Cable Tricep Pressdown	10 reps x 3	40#
(strangely, on 1 machine I can only go up to 40#, while on another I can press 70#..odd)
Cable Crossovers	10 reps x 3	10# each arm

I finished with another 20 minutes on the elliptical, while constantly listening to my tummy rumble.  Envisioning a yummy batch of protein pancakes, I came home and made the best-looking (well, best-tasting too!) cakes EVER!  I think the key was only heating the pan on low heat. 

You can see that I had good intentions to make a crock-pot meal tonight, but a headache kept that from happening.  Instead, Steve suggested Chinese food.. another reason I love him so much!  He knows when I really don’t need to cook.  He ordered his usual pork lo mein.  For me?

Steamed mixed veggies with some stir-fried turkey tenderloin that I had on hand:

No sauce or rice.. just a sprinkle of garlic powder and a dash of low-sodium soy sauce.  Perfection.

In an effort to make it to the gym by 6:30 tomorrow, I must hit the hay now.  Night!

Heat returns!

Just as I was starting to become accustomed to temperatures of 30 degrees (not..), the weather has the nerve to warm up!  Squee!!

It’s been a GREAT Saturday.  I’ve spent nearly every moment of it with my hubby, minus the 1 1/2 hours in the gym this morning.  But I must rewind to Friday, so that I can insert this fabulous flashback:

Yep, that’s me in 2002 with my beautiful cousin, Madison.  Look at those tiny hands!  We ran into her with her mom (my cousin, Jen), Jen’s boyfriend, Ray, and their new son, Conner at breakfast last weekend.  I can’t believe how much she has grown up. 

Here she is as “Cake Face Maddy” in 2004 at my college graduation party:

I need to find some updated pictures, but when I saw her last weekend, I was just astonished at how quickly time has gone by!

In any case, the events of yesterday were pretty routine.  I didn’t have any desire to drive to the gym in the morning, so I did a Jillian Michaels Cardio workout on On Demand.  It was a kick-booty circuit routine with resistance training and quite a bit of plyometrics mixed in.  I admit, I thought it would be terrible, but it was not that bad. Despite her inability to work out to the tempo of the background music (something I didn’t realize was important until yesterday), it was a good burn.

I gobbled up a familiar breakfast after:

I “root for the cute”:

These breakfasts seem to hold me for a while, but I always scarf it down after my workout.  I am trying to work a bit harder on slowing down my eating and enjoying meals. 

Lunch was later and, again, another familiar sight before I went to work.

Herb-roasted turkey, spinach and Garlic Herb LC on a Sun-dried Tomato Flat Out with some clemmys and apple that wouldn’t fit in my work to-go bag.  Yum!

I also attempted my first batch of kale chips before work.  While they tasted good, some of the smaller pieces were a bit overdone while the larger pieces stayed a bit chewy.  Next time = even pieces!

Even the overdone pieces were pretty tasty.  I sprinkled it with salt and a little garlic powder (cuz that’s how I roll) before baking.

Today was much more relaxing and I was fully motivated to hit the gym!  Pre-workout snack was just the right size!

I repeated Janetha’s circuit workout from Wednesday and added a new circuit courtesy of Jillian Michaels.  Each circuit was repeated 3 times.

1. Hill climbers for 30 seconds
2. 180-degree jumps for 30 seconds
3. Jumping jacks for 30 seconds
4. Jump squats for 30 seconds
5. Scissor jumps for 30 seconds
6. Burpees for 30 seconds

The last circuit did it.  Stick a fork in me!  Time to head home for crepes with hubby (well, protein pancakes with blueberries for me!).  I was on a roll today!  I had so much energy after breakfast that I cleaned our condo from top to bottom.  I can’t even explain how happy it  makes me to be in a home that’s as clean as mine is!

Dinner came with a little help from TJ’s!  I used their marsala wine simmer sauce:

I used turkey cutlets instead of chicken, added another package of fresh, sliced baby bellas and about 3 Tbsp of chives.  This will be repeated post haste!  Steve & I both loved it!

I’m sitting here sipping a cup of excellent green tea that my lovely friend, Pam, gave me from India.  I had to purchase a tea diffuser to enjoy it (since I never have loose-leaf tea), but I’m so glad that I can now.  It’s easily one of the best cups of green tea I’ve had:

In fact, I think it’s time for 1 more cup..

Back, back, back it up.

Happy Flashback Friday.  In keeping with last week’s Christmas theme, I had to find another old Christmas picture.

The holidays, apparently, have always been exhausting.  My mom was putting on a good show,  huh?  Fast forward about 15 years..

I venture to say I was about 17 or 18 in this picture (judging only by mom’s hairstyle).  The activity got to Frisky too.  He crashed right along with us.  It will be unusual this year to not have Frisk with us, playing with his new catnip toy on Christmas morning, but he’ll be watching over everything from the tree..

Today has been extremely productive – and it’s only noon!  I woke up at 6:30 to hit the gym.  I made an AMAZING pre-workout snack.  I have fallen in love with Laughing Cow wedges and spread one on a light sun-dried tomato Flat Out Wrap.

Such a nice switch from the TLC Kashi bar I eat every morning.  I got in a good 20 minute run before hitting shoulders:

1. Lateral raise with 10# dumbells: 10 reps x 2
2. Front raise with 10# dumbells: 10 reps x 2
3. Lateral raise with 12# dumbells: 10 reps
4. Front raise with 12# dumbells: 10 reps
5. Upright row with 20# dumbells: 10 reps x 3
6. Bent over lateral raise with 10# dumbells: 10 reps x 3
7. Seated shoulder press with 15# dumbells: 10 reps x 3

Another 10 minutes on the elliptical and I was pooped!  Homeward bound to make a yummy apple protein pancake breakfast.

These apples were perfectly crisp with just a hint of tartness.  I love Gala’s!!  Now, off to make a batch of double chocolate biscotti for our Christmas cookie trays then it’s a night at work.  I wish I could bottle the energy that I currently feel and sell it!

14 days and counting..

Am I the only one who REALLY can’t believe Christmas is in 2 weeks?!  Where did this year go?  I suppose wedding planning/execution/job changes/moving/family emergencies/health issues made it go by so quickly… but more on those when I look back on 2009.

Other than my sinuses dealing with the ups and downs in temperature (70 one day, 40 the next), it’s been a great week for some of the following reasons:

1. Perhaps the most amazing reason – my parents!  Not having a full-time job since graduating and marrying in May has taken a HUGE toll on my finances.  My savings was depleted and I managed to rack my credit card up higher than ever before.  Thanks to my wonderfully generous parents, that is not a stress – at least for a while!  I still need to find that full-time gig, but I need not worry as much.
2. My very first “Flashback Friday” – inspired by Brie & Susan.  I think since this is my inaugural “Flashback Friday”, I’ll take it way back.. .. to my very first Christmas.  This was taken with my great Aunt Doris and great Uncle Albert at my Omah’s (mom’s mother) house.  Clearly, I was a very, very fat baby and spoiled rotten – especially by Uncle Albert.  He was more like a grandfather to me than an Uncle.
3. Amazing new food finds including some ginormous Gala apples and oranges and Light Flat Out Wraps, which made for an awesome dinner at work. And they’re high in fiber and protein.  Score!

 

4. The discovery of the awesomeness that is very early workouts!  I have been setting the alarm to get to the gym by 7am which is good for 2 reasons – the rest of my day is wide open and the gym is completely empty!  I don’t have to deal with smelly, obnoxious men in the weight room or with  having every piece of cardio equipment occupied.  That doesn’t happen until about 8:30 or 9. 

5. Delicious breakfasts to look forward to after my workouts

I am such a sucker for a good egg white pillow and some toast with melty Better N Peanut Butter.  I wish they were paying me for all of the word-of-mouth advertising that I am giving them.

Well, I’m off to try and complete some Christmas shopping!  Toodles!

Being Thankful

It’s been a very full and fulfilling 3 days!  A quick update on the possible family boom – it will still be just Steve & I.  I took the new kitty to the vet on Wednesday morning.  We found he was already neutered, did not have FelV or FIV and was a very healthy feline.  I went ahead and scheduled his declaw (as a precaution if he stayed with my parents and their other cat).  It turns out that he will be staying there.  They introduced him to Jack (the other furry guy already living in the house):

Jack loves the dryer!  In any case, my parents went ahead and introduced them.  Jack was a bit reluctant, but I hear he is acclimating very well.  So my parents have 2 cats again.  Steve & I have wanted to adopt to needy kittens at the same time, so we will hopefully be doing so in the next few weeks!

After the vet visit, I had to run to the store and pick up some last-minute Turkey Day ingredients.  I was in a hurry to finish before going to work and was clearly not paying attention to my surroundings.  I heard my name called and found my dear friend, Pam, who I have known for nearly 22 years standing in the produce section.  Since she now lives in Miami for work, it was completely unexpected and very exciting!   Here we are at my parents house eons ago:

I only had time for a brief catch-up before work, but she promised to swing by the gym on Thanksgiving to see me while I was working.  Feeling a little better about going to work, I headed home with my fabulous ingredients – lots of fruit for a giant fruit salad and stuff to make my homemade cranberry sauce to take to the in-laws:

And amazingness from the Harris Teeter salad bar for lunch:

Something about getting chicken or spinach for the exact same price per pound feels rewarding!  I don’t touch the HT salad bar dressings, though.  Other than oil & vinegar, they have yet to put something light or low-fat on the bar.  I bring it home and add about a Tbsp of Wishbone Bountifuls.  It’s full of veggie or fruit chunks.  So good!!

I also packed some goodies to get me through my 9 hour shift:

My snacks are sadly lacking in protein, but I usually more than make up for it in each meal. 

That brings us to Thanksgiving…

I worked the 8am-4pm shift at Bally.  I assume we were open for all of the people who want to burn the dinner off prior to eating it.  I got another pleasant surprise a few hours into my shift.  Pam came by, but she brought someone with her – her brother Aaron, who just returned from Iraq!  He lived in Alaska prior to his deployment so it had been years since I had seen him.  So thrilling! 

I had very limited time to throw together food and pack my camera, so all of our Thanksgiving festivities went digitally unrecorded.  Shame.  It was a spread to be proud of – turkey, whole wheat rolls, roasted sweet potatoes with apples, cranberry sauce, collard greens, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, ambrosia and fruit salads, cucumber and dill salad, and, of course, pumpkin pie.  I was good – I promise!  I love turkey and collards so much that I usually fill up on them before I have a chance to try anything else.  I am so thankful for all that I have been blessed with, including my amazing husband.  Oh yeah, I’m a lucky girl!

My parents

Also, my in-laws, copious amounts of wonderful, supportive friends, my health and home.  I am especially thankful for everyone after having gone through so much this summer – the loss of an aunt and uncle, a grandfather and a cat, who was more like a friend; my skin cancer diagnosis and the stress of unemployment.  There is NO way that I could have survived so much without the people who I love.  I am so blessed to have their love and presence in my life. 

I only pray that everyone finds the love and blessings that I have found.