Sneak Preview

Sorry to keep everyone hanging with such a downer of a last post. Thanks for all the support and encouragement. I DID feel better the next day and had a wonderful weekend. Luckily, I uploaded my photos before my iPhone went iDead. I'm hoping someone will be able to fix it or I will be in iTrouble. Ok, I'll quit with the cheesiness and explain what happened. Tomorrow. I gotta make the 8ish hour drive back home today. But for here's a quick peek of what's to come!

I'll tell the whole story soon! Happy Monday!

I Am Feeling Fat

Ok, really. I know I'm not. You've seen pictures of me so you know that's not the case. It makes me sound vain, shallow and kind of pathetic. I know I should be grateful for my body. I know that my struggle to lose a couple unwanted pounds pales in comparison to someone needing to lose 50, 100 or 150 lbs. Told you I was vain and shallow. Just for today. I'll return to myself tomorrow.

I don't even really feel fat. Until I get dressed in the morning. Even then it's more depressing and surprising than thinking clearly my pants have just shrunk. You see, when you're 5'4", there isn't a whole lot of space for 5 lbs to go. In my case, it goes to my hips. Which means my pants still fit fine at the waist, but the hips just sit there stubbornly and laugh at me. And today is just one of those days where my hips laughed a little too much at me and it brought me down to where I am now. I've been running, weight lifting, pilateing, walking and nothing will budge.

So I guess I'm just a little frustrated. I talked to my best friend Audrey about it tonight. She used to be a trainer and is always really encouraging. She said well, increase your intensity, or your time, and be more careful about what you eat. I know all THAT. It's just that I hate denying myself. I hate counting calories, avoiding sugar, eating salads to excess, and considering doing two Body Pump classes in one day. (Don't worry, I won't actually try to do that. I am so dead sore from the one class yesterday). I hate the feeling of not being able to cook anything "fun" for dinner because I'm on a "diet". I'm really good at maintaing. Not so much at losing.

I know I probably didn't need to eat two eggs and that bowl of cereal after dinner last night. Probably didn't need 5 extra handfuls of pretzels before dinner last night. Probably could have had strawberries with yogurt instead of with ice cream and two flavors of syrup. Food and I aren't exactly friends at the moment. Probably shouldn't have spent the majority of my week laying on the couch mindlessly watching tv. :( To be honest, I feel a little unmotivated. Unless I'm in a class or with a friend, I don't seem to want to push myself. I'd rather give up before I try. Sit and feel sorry for poor little me.

Attempting to pull on my pants (my shirts and I are still getting along), I think how did I get here? When did this happen? I know I'm exaggerating a little. I can't help a little melodrama, it's the PMS talking. I'm going to go walk Hunter and think about it all.

Best Things About Summer

Well, now that it's mid June and the temperatures have FINALLY decided to dip above 70 it actually feels like summer. I guess yesterday was the official first day of summer but it's about time. I actually even got up at 9 this morning.

This happened yesterday but it was so worthy of sharing. Sweetart. That's pink lemonade and grape flavor. It was the best snow cone of my life! No lie. I didn't catch a picture but I think I'll go get another one today.

And I made a yummy personal pizza.

Toppings were tomato sauce, spinach, mushrooms, chicken, marinated artichoke hearts and fresh mozzarella.

Despite falling asleep at 2am, I got up at 5am and went to Body Pump at 6 am. (it continues to shock me the number of people in the gym that early...) It. Was. Awesome. I mean I do some weight training on my own, but it's always good to have a total (very nice and encouraging) stranger push you to your limit now and then. And push she did. Everything is sore (in a good way) today. Especially my butt. Just in case you wondered. :)

Hunter looks as tired as I felt afterward:

Then I took a 3 mile walk with my friend Audrey and my doggie Hunter. Sorry, no photograph of my sweaty, red face. It was getting hot and Hunter acted like he was going to die. (He's kind of pampered anyways) He looked pretty happy after though.

Had a snack of Dave's Killer Spelt bread. This label is so funny.

You can't see it but it says say no to bread on drugs!

Planted some Zinias. Aren't they pretty?

Oooo, and look what bloomed!

Ate one of the Scott's Loaded Granola Bars

They have a really pure flavor so you can really taste the flavors of the oats, sunflower seeds, berries, pistachios, and flaxseeds to name just a few of the ingredients!

Broke all previous beliefs and tried "the belt thing". Got these two for about $26!

The pictures aren't the greatest, so I'll try to get a picture wearing it this weekend.

Ate some mushroom angolotti with alfredo sauce.

Today I need to plant these:

Cosmos

Penstemon

And think about mowing the lawn. Nhhhh.

Oh, this weekend I'm taking a road trip with Audrey to Oregon! We're going to visit my parents who live in Keizer (45 min North of Salem and 1 hour South of Portland). So I promise I'll have lots to tell when I get back. Maybe I'll even dig out my real camera instead of taking pictures with my iPhone. Maybe.

Have a fabulous Thursday everyone!

Busy Weekend and Lazy Monday

Now that I'm not working, my body seems to have found a comfortable schedule of falling asleep at 2am and waking up at 11am. This really has to stop. I sure am enjoying it while it lasts though. I'm sure a Body Pump class at 6 am would cure me. :)

Saturday afternoon (when I'd been up for exactly 2 hours) I met up with Sara at the farmer's market downtown. I hadn't been in YEARS and didn't quite know where to begin. There were so many stands of fresh produce, jewelry, even one stand that had these pretty serving spoons. I might have to go back and get one for my mom. I only brought a small amount of cash so that I wouldn't overspend.

First I bought some kale:

I love greens!

Collard greens are my favorite (thanks to my family in Alabama and yes I also like black eyed peas). I knew that dark leafy greens were a good source of iron so I wondered what the other health benefits were. According to Wikipedia, it is also a good source of vitamin C, vitamin K, and Caroteniods (which provide Vitamin A). Usually, I steam them and add a little red wine vinegar but I'm going to try a new recipe so stay tuned.

Next up:

Blue cheese dressing to DIE for!

It's made by a company called Boise Bleu and there is nothing like it. I could probably drink the whole jar. Instead I politely gobbled up a handful of carrots dipped in it.

Lastly, some locally made granola bars. I just love local businesses.

Scott's Loaded Granola Bars

Triple Berry, Pistachio Cherry, Blackberry Lime

Then we went to the Co-op and had a lovely lunch outside.

I got the chicken salad sandwich with lettuce, red onion, sprouts and tomato. They make the best sandwiches.

I did some shopping at the Co-op and headed home.

PB Puffins, coconut flour, spelt bread, white chocolate syrup, Amy's stuffed pasta shells and agave. I'm a sugar fiend, I know.

At home, I immediately tested out the white chocolate syrup with strawberries.

Num. Num. The syrup is not thick and heavy so it wasn't overpowering at all. Just the perfect touch of sweetness.

I also bought some flowers to spruce up our house.

These go inside:

Aren't orchids gorgeous?

These go in the front yard:

Still have to plant these babies!

These were already in the front yard but I thought they were pretty:

Does anyone know what they are? I'd like to go get some more for the back yard.

These did go in the back yard:

I skipped pilates today (gasp!) but I did mow the lawn which is just as good. It's nice to be outside. I need a hammock so I can take an afternoon nap out there. :) Horray for summer days!

How did you spend your weekend?

What are some of your favorite local products?

A little of this, a little of that!

This is a bit of a long one, so get comfy!

Recently, I've seen several blogs about Trader Joe's egg white salad. Wow, that sounds great! Let me drive over to the nearest Trader Joe's to pick that up-- oh wait. There isn't one near me. :'(

So I struck out on my own to google such a recipe. This One was my main inspiration. I read through the ingredient lists of some and then examined what was available in my fridge. I combined finely chopped celery, cucumber, chives, egg whites from 12 boiled eggs, squirt of Miracle Whip, two heaping spoonfuls of Greek yogurt, salt, freshly ground pepper, onion powder and after much hesitation, a small dollop of dijon mustard (not pictured).

Then I took a potato masher and mixed/mashed the eggs and everything. Then I thought to myself: something is missing still. Then it hit me what my friend Sara says: "Everything is better with Laughing Cow" Why yes, Sara, everything IS better with Laughing Cow! I mashed in two wedges of the garlic and herb flavor.

Not going to lie here, when I mixed it all together, I looked at and thought, what have I done? I was NOT sure about how this would taste. You can't learn unless you try though, right?

So I gathered up what was left of my pride, toasted a piece of bread, added some spinach and put together the sandwich.

It was GOOD! I credit the onion powder, slight hint of dijon and of course Laughing Cow.

Breakfast the next morning was pretty red and white waffles:

Whole wheat waffles with a smear of Brummel and Brown butter, tons of sliced strawberries and a little bit of Tru Whip. I am more of a savory breakfast person, so I also had some scrambled egg whites.

I'm so classy, I wiped my strawberry hands on my t-shirt...

That night, I had a dear friend of mine over for dinner. I went for simple but delicious!

Oven Roasted Yukon Golds

Green Salad

Romaine, spinach, shredded carrot, cucumber, orange bell pepper, tomato, romano, parmesan and asiago cheese blend and freshly ground pepper.

Broiled Chicken Thighs

They're better on the BBQ, but ours isn't set up yet, and the broiler is SO underrated!

This is the simplest, most delicious marinade I know of. When my brother and I were little we were allergic to citrus fruit, peanuts, chocolate and tomatoes. We were lucky to outgrow them, but since we were allergic to tomatoes, most BBQ sauce was out of the picture. So this is how we ate "BBQ" chicken.

Soy Marinade

1/4 c. lower sodium soy sauce

2 tbs canola oil

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

I usually just mix them right in the mixing cup with a whisk or fork and then pour them over my chicken in a dish. Marinate for 15 to 30 min then cook up! I can't stress how good this is and it's so simple you MUST try it!

Afterwards, we went to see Battle of the Titans. I loved it! We stopped by the Cheesecake factory on the way home for dessert.

Red velvet and cheesecake, rich but delicious. Here's what they boxed up, I made though maybe a third of it. It took me three sittings to finish it. I could have gobbled up the left overs the next day, but I really wanted to savor and enjoy it.

I had leftovers for lunch the next day only I added some kalamata olives and artichoke hearts to my salad.

That night Sara came over and we watched Twilight. Can you believe she hadn't seen it? We both had been wanting to try banana soft serve that we'd read about on so many blogs, but our bananas weren't quite frozen enough. It still turned out to be a tasty treat.

I added fresh strawberries, Tru Whip and Caramel syrup to mine.

In case you haven't noticed I LOVE strawberries. They are my very favorite fruit. I buy huge flats at a time from CostCo and devour them by themselves, with Tru Whip, a little white chocolate syrup, in smoothies, or on waffles. Mmmm...

Tomorrow I'm off to browse the farmer's market, shop at the Co-op and do some yardwork!

What is your favorite summer fruit?

What combination do you like in smoothies? I stick to strawberry banana. Sometimes if I'm feeling adventurous, I also add a splash of OJ.

What are your weekend plans?

Amy's Anyone?

Firstly, thank you for your comments! Being new at this, I gasp and do a happy dance when I notice that people have commented on my posts. Because that means someone is actually reading them. THANK YOU!! :)

What I love about Amy's is they use mostly organic ingredients, don't have a long ingredient list full of things I can't pronounce, no bioengineered ingredients, no MSG and rBST free milk product.

Amy's Vegetable Lasagna

I saw a post today on Can You Stay For Dinner about a vegetable lasagna, so while I was picking up a few groceries, I snagged this.

Why can't it ever look as good as the picture on the box? Oh well.

Normally, I don't include ingredient lists but this one is worth a look:

Well, it TASTED yummy. :) Spinach and zucchini are two of my favorite green vegetables and I could barely wait for it to cool down before I dug in. Two thumbs up. I will definitely be picking this up again for a quick meal.

Amy's Black Bean Vegetable Soup

I'm not sure what I was expecting this to be, but it wasn't what I expected. Maybe I thought it would have a bit more of a kick. It kind of reminded me of glorified mashed black beans with corn and carrots. I'd still give it one thumb up, but it was a little bland.

Do you like Amy's products? If so, what is your favorite? What is your favorite go-to quick meal?

All Play, No Work!

This was my first week of freedom! So I made a goal this week, but I didn't tell anyone. Well, I probably mentioned it to my Honey, and maybe my fab new gym buddy.

I'd gotten really out of the habit of exercising, so I'm trying to get back into a routine! It seems if I can get into the gym Monday, I'm set the rest of the week.

Monday- Hour of pilates class with Whitney at the gym. This lady doesn't mess around and I love ever minute of it! Even if I feel like I'm going to die 15 minutes in. :)

Tuesday- Went for a 1.5 mile run on the track with my doggie, Hunter. Not super long, but I did a faster pace since I wasn't doing a long run. My Nike+ said I set a new record for myself for the fastest km yet! Alright!

Wednesday- Let me make this clear: I am. Not. In ANY way. A morning person. That said, I got up SUPER early at 5:30 (AM) and went to a weight training class called Body Pump with Laura my new gym buddy. It was great! I was glad I got myself up and to had my workout done for the day. And I'm pretty sure that my biceps are bigger. Almost positive!

Thursday- Allergy attack!! Ugh. I stayed on the couch blowing my nose all day. No fun.

Friday- Still a little sniffly. Took a nice long walk with Hunter.

Saturday- I planned to go to the gym for a nice sweat session, but then I got a call to go ride my dirt bike! For the record, riding a dirt bike is a LOT more exercise than it looks. Those bikes are HEAVY. It's physically and mentally EXHAUSTING. There's so much to think about it, and when I get into a rough patch, I have to talk myself through it and remain calm, even if I'm freaked about wrecking. It was still a short ride, and I didn't have any major spills like the last time I rode. I thought that I was going to have a big crash, but I managed to slow down, hang on, and make it through some rough terrain! :D

After biking, I looked out my back window to see that my lawn was growing taller by the hour. Two hours of weeding, picking up doggie poo and mowing later, I had definitely gotten my exercise for the day.

Sunday- Since for me, Sunday is a day of rest, I don't do any workouts, but walking is perfectly acceptable! So I took a nice little walk just under 2 miles.

So I'm super proud of myself for having a great week!

What fitness goals will you set for yourself this week/month? What's your alternate form of exercise (a.ka. mowing the lawn, yardwork, etc.)?