My Trip to San Fran!

I had a ton of fun on my way to San Fransisco, in San Fransisco and back from San Fransisco! We left on Saturday morning around 530am. A little behind schedule, but no big deal really. Here we are on the way to San Fran.


Along the way we came upon this place called Casa De Fruta. It was a great little tourist area with a ton of local fruit, home made pies, home made olive oil infused with a ton of different things, etc. It was a good time. Pictured below you can see me on the Pacheco Express that was sitting out there, mostly for the kids. Hahah.
We saw some Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs figurines and Mike sat by them, to make my trip. hahah.
Mike really wanted pie, so we got some Cherry pie (my favorite!). We brought it to Mike's parents who also seemed to like it.
On Sunday we were headed to the wine yards in Sonoma Valley and along the way we stopped by the Golden Gate bridge viewing center. It was absolutely gorgeous, although much colder than I thought it would be. Oops.

We were also able to see a protest against the Olympics in China . It was really exciting to be there during that time. I just heard a story all about it the day before on NPR, and was really excited to be able to witness the protest. This is what we got to look at throughout the Sonoma Valley area. It was soo gorgeous, it was almost unbelievable.

We stopped at the Blackstone Winery first and had a few tastes of their wine. Here you can see Dean (Mike's dad) and Diva (Mike's mom, pronounced Giva) and the pups. Dean was the DD, but did get a few sips in.
Here is one of my tastes of their wine. Quite delicious. I also learned quite a bit about wine tasting here, which helped me from embarrassing myself at the other ones we visited. haha.
Here is Mike with some wine he was trying. I think he liked the Cabernet the best. Mmm.
Mike and I tried on some "driving hats" in the gift store. We always talk about getting cool hats for road trips, but then we end up being too poor to buy them. Hahaha. He does look good in the hat though ;-)

Here I am with my driving hat :-) Can I pass for a cow girl?Here is another wine yard we went to. They had my absolute favorite wine there, the Muskat. mmm. It tasted like peaches and apricots. Mmmm.
You can see us here after we shared 8 types of wine. Mmmm.


On the way back from San Fran, Mike picked me some daisies while I went into the gas station. He is such a sweetie. I love flowers.

During the trip we also ate at some pretty amazing places, and walked the dogs a lot. The dogs did a LOT all weekend, waaaaaaaaaaaay more than they are used to, and will be sleeping all day tomorrow, I am SURE. It was a lot of fun overall, and I am glad I went. I always have fun with the boyfriend's parents, which is hard for a lot to say. I am very grateful that I was able to have so much fun.

Now it is past my bed time. I will probably write more tomorrow about the weekend.

Return to Running: Mission Accomplished.

Yesterday, after work, I went on a run at the Huntington Beach Central Park again! Last time I was there I did 3 laps around the whole thing, totally about 4.5 miles, but this time I only made it around twice, which is still about 3 miles. I could be off a bit on the mileage, but either way, awesome.

My goal was only to do around 30 minutes, because I didn't want to push my hip too far too fast again like I did at Back Bay a few weeks ago. It took me 31 minutes and some seconds. That is a 10:33 minute mile. I know that is incredibly slow to most of you, but to me that is faster than I thought it was! hahaha.

When I did the 4.5 miles I completed it in 47 minutes, which means an average of 10:44 minute miles. So apparently I got a little faster, or just ran less so I could keep up the momentum a bit. hhaha. Who knows.

I wanted to do the exercise course, but I also wanted to get home and EAT because I was starving. So I just walked for about 10 minutes instead and went home. Fine with me ;-)

I have to admit my lungs weren't as happy as usual, but that is to be expected when your flu turned into a chest congestion thing a few days before. But I never felt a need to stop, or have a moment of desperation, so I do not feel I pushed it too hard or anything. In fact, afterwards I felt great. The run was not my best feeling run, but it did the job.

Tonight I am supposed to go to my friend Teddy's house to have guiness cupcakes and guiness floats. I am going to make a point to not eat too bad today so I can enjoy them. Haha. I won't be doing much drinking though, because I have to drive home from her place and leave for San Fran in the morning the next day.

I still need to pack for San Fran, but it is just a few day trip so I probably don't need to pack much. I need to be careful to keep the portions down this weekend, but I will definitely be trying some new food. Mmmm. I really can't wait for this trip. Also Mike is still sick, but doesn't seem as miserable as he was a few days ago. He thinks he will be fine for the trip. I hope so!!

Now onto getting through the day!

Planned Food for Today
B: Starbucks doubleshot, Oatmeal (trail mix, banana, flax seed, hemp seed)
L: Pasta Cabonera (amazing!)
S: Zbar
D: Something smal, then guiness cupcakes and guiness floats.

Planned Workout
NONE! Today is official rest day.

A New Twist on My Tag :-)

I got tagged by Robin to do a 6 word memoir, but I already did one the other day and didn't want to bore you with the same thing again so I am doing a memoir of the 6 foods that sum up my life. I hope this works out as well as planned.

1) Cayenne Pepper- Not technically a food item, but I eat it so much that it could definitely be considered a food item for me. I have to say I add this to almost anything that does not involve chocolate. Even though I did try a mocha with it in there once. Mike is convinced I would eat it with anything, and he is pretty much right.

2) Cheese- This is the only reason I could never be vegan, even if I really wanted to. I could easily be vegetarian again, although is it really vegetarian if you eat cheese all the time that is made with baby cow stomach? Although... maybe if I eat the cheese from Trader Joe's that has no affiliation with baby cow stomach (or intestines, not really sure, just know baby cow is involved. I have to say I love cheese more than any other food, even more than peanut butter. I top it on my pasta, my quesadillas, my burritos, etc. Mexican food is my favorite food of all time, and you really can't eat it without cheese, unless you want to commit blasphemy.

3) Pasta- In college, I ate pasta almost every single night for about 2 years. It was easy to make, cheap to make, and delicious. I have to say I used to eat it with lots of cheese and cayenne pepper. Hahah. Now I make it with more fresh ingredients and healthier, but still, it is a staple in my diet. Perhaps why I weigh more than I like? hahah.

4) Peanut butter- Life without pb sandwiches is not a life I want to live. I use peanut butter on my sandwiches, my fruit, and can even eat it out of the jar if I am really desperate. hahah. I just recently discovered that I can freshly grind my own peanut butter at whole foods and am now obsessed. It tastes so much healthier and delicious. Mmmm.

5) Beans- You can't have my style Mexican food without beans. It is blasphemy as well. I hate ground beef, so when there is ground beef addition to anything I always replace it with beans. My tacos at home are bean tacos, my quesadillas get beans on them often, and the burritos I make all the time are made with beans. Why have meat when you have can have beans instead is what I say! And really, I am not vegetarian (anymore) and am not claiming to be, but I do love to make as many meat substitutes that I can (or am willing to make).

6) Strawberries- my favorite fruit of all time. I can eat a basket of these in one sitting. I want to eat an entire basket of these every day but cannot afford it. The bigger they are, the redder they are, the better they are is what I say ;-)

So there it is my 6 word food memoir: Cayenne Pepper. Cheese. Pasta. Peanut Butter. Beans. Strawberries.

Anyone else want to do this tag? I LOVE doing these kinds of things, but know that others hate it and I don't want to annoy any of my readers. If you do do it, let me know, I would love to read it!

Recovery Accomplished

Last night I made it to my step aerobics class at 24 hour fitness. My lungs actually survived the entire thing! It was a bit harder than usual, but that could be because I actually figured out one of the moves I just could not ever get instead of just staring at everyone else in confusion do it for 5 minutes. hahaha. Lordy that class is intense. I think in a class or two I might move to 2 steps, and if it gets too hard I can always remove a step so no biggie, right? I am just psyched though that my lungs survived and that I only coughed once during the whole thing! Woo hoo!

The serotin is still high because I am still super psyched to go back to running today! Woo hoo! I am going to go to the park near my place, and run for 30 minutes and then do the exercise course. Maybe... even if I am feeling extra good... the ab workout there (note: ab workouts are my least favorite thing to do).

I am so glad I eat flax seed every morning in my oatmeal now. I swear no cramps for the second month in a row, and most of the PMS symptoms are gone. I haven't been moody, and my cravings haven't been too intense really. Not that I didn't eat 2 cookies yesterday, but the point is I didn't eat 5 cookies yesterday... or more. hah. So if anyone has cramps, give it a try. You can add flax seed to so many different things and not even really taste it, although I do love the extra flavor it adds to my oatmeal. Mmmmmmmmm. So enough of that endorsement, it just makes me so happy to be cramp free from eating healthier! Woo hoo!!

After the workout last night Teddy came over and we watched more qaurterlife (best show ever, watch it on nbc.com) and America's Next Top Model. Such a ridiculous show, but fun at the same time. I like to laugh AT IT really. I am a communication major and sociology minor so looking at the show, and dissecting everything they say and do is a lot of fun for me because it is so easy to dissect the ridiculousness of the show. haha.

I am looking forward to the San Fran trip soo much. Mike is still sick though, so I am hoping he gets better soon so we CAN actually go. If he has it like I did, he should be fine by Friday night. Crossing my fingers!!

I want to take a run in the town Mike's parents live in (a smaller city below San Fran). It is such a cute little town, and I think it would be a lot of fun to explore it that way. I know for sure that we will be going on a ton of walks. The pups are coming along and there is this great park literally a block away from Mike's parent's place that we go on walks at. I hope these thoughts make the day go by faster, not slower. haha.

New LOST on tonight! I prob won't watch it until tomorrow, but I want to watch it tonight!

Alright, I am heading out now. Got things to do, people to see (or however that phrase goes, haha).

Planned Food for Today
B: Oatmeal (trail mix, banana, hemp seed, flax seed), Starbucks doubleshot
L: Pita pocket w/ pepperjack, mustard, ham
S: Orange, tapioca or zbar
D: Pasta Cabonera

Planned Workout
30 minute run, and 30 minute walk with circuit training

Puppy Warmers

I have two pups, and one of them is on each side of me. I do not even need a blanket this morning, they are warming me up. Hahaha.

This is Ender


This is Emily


In other news, I had the best bowl of oatmeal ever. Mike decided our trail mix concoction did not have enough chocolate in it, so he wanted to add peanut butter m&ms to it. In my PMS state I said that sounds like a great idea. So when I ate my oatmeal this morning with the added peanut butter m&ms I was in pure heaven. I know, I know, bad for me, blah, whatever. It is obviously not happening with the next batch of trail mix, although I am already sure I will miss it. I already miss it NOW and I just finished it. Hahaha.

Last night I went on a walk with the pups and Mike. It was probably about 45 minutes of walking, and having the dogs sniff all the squirrel holes, etc. They are psycho for the burrows. I am not even joking. Anyway... the good news is that I could breathe fine on every part but going uphill in this one part. Woo hoo. I think I can try out my Step Class tonight. It is a pretty intense class so I might be going back into it too fast, but I really really miss this class. I can always quit halfway through it anyway. That is what I am telling myself anyway. I think honestly I would suck it up unless I was truly dying.

Oh also last night I packed an awesome lunch. A pita pocket filled with deli ham, pepperjack cheese and some mustard. Added some baked lays to it, for some crunch, and because we have one serving left from the party a few weeks ago and I wanted to get it off the counter. haha. It reminds me how much I love chips. haha. I also packed my oatmeal, and some fruit, and a zbar. Turns out though that I work from home today, so I packed a lunch for nothing. hahahaha. I will still be eating its contents today, just unnecessary packing.

Thanks for all your comments on meal planning yesterday. Gave me some good ideas. I love comments, you have no idea. and yes, I am a nerd.

So if I survive the Step Class tonight, I am going to go on a run on Thursday. Just a short one, and a leisurely one, rather a slow jog. haha. I appreciate my health a lot now, and just want to get out there and workout. I have missed it a lot. I had no idea I would. Last year if I got sick I would stop working out, and then never go back for months. Now I crave it even as I am hacking up my lungs. Luckily now the lung hacking only happens in the morning. heh.

Alright, need to get some work done.

Planned Food for Today
B: Oatmeal (with trail mix, banana, hemp seed), Starbucks doubleshot
L: Pita Pocket (with ham, pepperjack, mustard)
S: Zbar
D: No idea, but if Teddy comes over tonight it is supposed to be real cooking...

Planned Workout
Step Aerobics class

I Love Oatmeal

Mmmmmmmmm Oatmeal with hemp seed, banana, flax seed and trail mix. Mmmmmmmmmm. Not only is it delicous but it is the meal that is causing me NOT to have ridiculously intense cramps today. Wooo hooo. I definitely appreciate the flax seed. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Yesterday was a great eating day, and overall a pretty good day. It is amazing how much more you appreciate your health after being sick. Not that I am completely better, but I am about 90% better! Woo hoo!

This is what I ate yesterday (I forgot to post the plan):
B: Oatmeal & Starbucks Doubleshot
L: Tomato Turkey Meatball Soup (didn't even finish it, I stopped when I was full!!)
S: Orange, Cliff Zbar honey graham (amazing!)
D: Pita Pocket stuffed with lettuce, feta cheese, low fat yogurt, bell peppers, onions and tomatoes. And 6 M&M's.

I also worked out yesterday for my first time in a week! I dod about 30 push ups (10 incline), and all kinds of other upper body work for about 30 minutes. I felt great afterwards. I think that is a great way to get back into working out. It was like giving a rehab workout to my lungs. hahah. Not too much work, but more work than sitting on my tush.

Today I plan on going on a long walk at the park with Mike and the pups. Should be a good time.

Oh also yesterday I decided to create a list on the fridge of not only dinner ideas but lunch ideas. All of these ideas can be made with items I have in the fridge. So now I can just start making them instead of staring at the fridge blankly. hahah. I think it is a great compromise to meal planning, because although I do have a plan, it is not as strict as it could be.

Do any of you meal plan? When you shop for groceries do you already know what you are buying when you get there? Do you have meal ideas in mind? Do you just buy what looks good?

Today's Planned Food:
B: Starbucks double shot, Oatmeal (w/ banana, flax seed, hemp seed, trail mix)
S: Orange
L: Potato Corn Cake (whole foods pre-made) with pinto beans flavored with cayenne pepper like spices and cilantro
S: Orange & Zbar
D: Pasta Cabaonera (sp?)

Workout Plan:
Long walk with the pups

You Can Do it if you Try

This is the name of the shirt with the image featured here, from threadless.com. I think it is quite a hilarious satirical statement.

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

For a morning with the longest lasting flu ever (for me) I am feeling pretty good. I am coughing but it is productive, so its cool with me. Plus the boss will know for sure that I really was sick when I called in the day after St Patty's day. My eyes are also red, but whatever, that should pass too.

My weekend was great though. Mike and I basically did nothing all weekend. Friday we stayed in and watched basketball, Saturday we went shopping and then watched more basketball, and then Sunday we watched movies, did laundry and played monopoly because we were bored of wasting our minds away on television all day. haha. We wanted to grow back some brain cells somehow. haha.

I have an opportunity to go to San Fransisco this coming weekend. I just need to get Monday off. I work at a small company (only about 25 people or so) so HR does not exist and I am not sure how many days I have to take off, or whatever. But going to San Fran would be great, because I might not have the option to just DRIVE to San Fran in a few months. Mike's parents live out there, and Mike starts Spring Break on Friday, so it could be a good time. I will be emailing my boss soon, but am always nervous about it. I guess the worst that can be said is no, right? right........

I think I might go for a walk at lunch tomorrow, but today I am not ready. I am going to have to ease back into exercising again, especially since my lungs are filled with grossness right now. I am sure I will get back to where I was in a few weeks. I am not upset about having to get my endurance back up, because really, that is just how life works sometimes. Sometimes life IS two steps forward one step back. And really, it just means I get to enjoy the good moments of all my steps all over again.

So when do you decide you are good enough to workout again?

Tagged!

I was tagged by For the Love of Oats. I am supposed to sum up my life in 6 words. I heard about some project on NPR where this group had a bunch of people do it, and then it was published in a book. Sounded pretty awesome, so I luckily I have already thought about this. I have to say my favorite phrase that sums up my life is "It is the choices we choose" which is also my tattoo... although shortened... as "The Choices We Choose". Basically it reminds me that if I am unhappy I need to make the choices to fix it. I am in control of my life, I only have one life to live, so do what I can to make it the best. I do not believe in staying in situations that you despise just because you feel you "have to". I am not going to waste this life, so I am going to make sure I enjoy what I am doing.

Now I am going to tag a few of you, Sarah, Eurydice, Randi, P.O.M. and Katieo.

Have a great Monday!

Happy Easter!

So far, I am feeling MUCH better. Not perfect, not able to work out, or do too many things but maybe I can go a day without medication! Or maybe only one dose! Wow. haha. Yesterday I only took 2 doses of medicine. That was incredible for me! haha. Only problem now is that I think Mike has it. He started feeling sick last night, and it turned into aches, and a fever, etc. Eeek!! I wish my sickness upon no one, so I hope he just has a super strong immune system or something.

I ended up going to Trader Joe's yesterday. I got some good stuff. Not sure I will remember all of it, but this is what I got that I remember.

Trader Joe's List This Week:
Pear Bleu Cheese Pizza
Tomatoes
Onions
Salad
Pita Bread
Trail Mix
Hansen's Pomegranate Diet Soda (for the throat I promise)
Vitamin C
Sweet Potato fries
Naked Juice like Smoothie things
Z bars (chocolate chip cookie! mmm)


I then went to Whole Foods with Teddy to pick up a few things you can only get at Whole Foods. Or at least things that I like only from Whole Foods.

Whole Foods list this week:
Almond Peanut butter (ground it there!)
Honey Graham Z Bar
Mixx protein drink
Frozen Pad Thai dinner
Potato Corn Cake
Sweet Potato Cakes
Applesauce

I canNOT wait to try the almond butter. I only got a little because it was sorta expensive.

Today for Easter Mike and I are probably not doing much to celebrate. Mike will probably not even want to eat today, if he feels anything like I did my first sick day. I have plans to do some laundry, but that is about it. We will prob just watch movies all day. Works for me :-)

I hope you all have a fantastic Easter, or if you don't celebrate, have a great Sunday! :-)

Saturday :-)

I am sooo glad it is Saturday and I can be semi sick at home without a care :-)

Last night I was really annoyed my throat was STILL killing me and requiring me to take medication. So I thought about Tigerlilly's suggestion made in my comments earlier this week and it reminded me to take out my Holistic Healing book I have. For some reason I forgot about it. And it suggested making hot water with honey, lime juice and red pepper. Sounds gross right? But supposedly everyone who tried it, their throat felt better the next day. So......... I gave it a try, because really, why not? I had all the ingredients in the house and it sounded MUCH better than the vinegar and lemon mix.

So made the concoction, and started to drink it. Mike walked in and asked what I was drinking. I said you will think it is disgusting I am not telling. He said come on! And I said it was some tip for sore throats from my holistic book. He said oh is it honey and lime, my mom used to make that for me. I was shocked, not because his mom is great at taking care of him, but that it was so similar to my concoction that it must not be that crazy to try it.

I drank the drink, it was not terrible. I actually liked it. The red pepper made my throat burn in a good way, which I loved it. The honey made it sweet and the lime made it tart. Good mix.

So the results, last night I was not dying as much as usual. I could actually drink water in the middle of the night without dying. Woo hoo! So either it worked or I am getting better. My throat still hurts a bit today but I already had another concoction this morning and will drink it a few more times today probably. Awesome.

Oh on a downside, I definitely have a pink eye, and according to webmd, antibiotics would not help the kind I most likely have. Sooooo apparently I just have to wait it out, looking like a red eyed crusty mouse for a few days. AWESOME.

But at least overall I am on the road to recovery. Sweet!

Can I Get Good Friday Off Too?

So not sure if you can believe this (I can't) but I took nyquil last night and it didn't work. I kept waking up every few hours wanting water, but my throat hurt too much to actually swallow it. It would basically not allow me to swallow it really, although I could wet my mouth with the water.... and then spit it out...

I am feeling much better today compared to yesterday, although my throat is still killing me, and I still feel like I have to take medication. I HATE taking medication because it completely screws up my stomach, but I am unable to function without it, so I suppose I have to. My tummy will hate me next week, but I suppose it will anyway because it is girl time next week.

At least my head right now is more clear than yesterday and I am not achey! That means I am on the right path right?

It has been weird though because I have had to eat breakfast a lot later than usual. My throat hurts the most in the morning (all the drainage at night) and it doesn't feel good enough to eat anything until 8am ish. Hopefully it starts feeling better soon though because I am getting hungry. :-)

I have not been AS bad as usual with my food choices while being sick, but that doesn't say much I suppose. I felt good enough last night to cook stir fry with tofu. Yum. I have leftovers from that, for 2 more meals. I plan to have that for lunch today instead of gross fast food like yesterday. I wonder if I crave that crap because it is the only thing that tastes like anything during a cold/flu because the massive amounts of salt in it. Either way, I am over it. Gross. Also did not eat my fries yesterday (well I had like 5) which is really cool for me. Normally I would be like well I havent had fries in like a month or so so why not eat all of them? But I didn't use that logic. That logic is why I am where I am.

I am planning to relax all weekend. I want to go to whole foods and trader joe's, but other than that I am just going to kick back. Perhaps if I am feeling alright I am going to take the dogs to the park one or both days of the weekend.

I wish I got today off like a lot of people in the blog world for Good Friday. Apparently my company is not very religious, although I suppose that is no surprise really.

What are your plans this weekend?

Planned Food
B: Naked Juice, Oatmeal, Starbucks Doubleshot
L: Vegetable and Tofu Stir Fry
D: No idea

Happy First Day of Spring!

I would love to pretend I am better today but I am definitely not. Oh well.

I actually came to work today though, despite the fact that I felt like death this morning. My boss asked me how I was feeling, and I said HORRIBLE and then proceeded to cough (not on purpose).

So I realized that this weekend is Easter, and I am supposed to go to my mom's on Easter. My mom lives in Lake Arrowhead, at about 6k elevation. Driving up there kills me on a healthy day, if I drive up with all the pressure and sickness I have in my head this week I will be sick for at least a week more. I told my mom this, and she actually understood. I might not get to go up there this weekend. Boo. I like to spend holiday's with her, but driving up in elevation would be the worst idea on the planet right now for me. BOOOOOOOO.

I saw a 3D sonogram of my brother's soon to be daughter (or is she already his daughter, i dont know these things). It is so real now. I was an Aunt for 4 days last year, but my nephew passed away. This time I am supposed to be an Aunt to a niece. How cute :-) I can't wait to meet her. She already looks adorable :-)

I am getting antsy and WANT to workout, but then realize a second later I would DIE if I worked out. I also want to go back to being able to eat without wanting to die at the thought of swallowing real food. I suppose that will be my first path at recovery.

Also everyone, Happy First Day of Spring. Woo hoo! I love this season, almost as much as SUMMER! Good times will be rolling soon! :-)

What Do You Eat When You Are Sick?

I finally made it to the store to pick up some of my essential sick foods. I had enough medication in my system to make me think I feel okay. Reminds me to take some more pretty soon...

This is what I eat when I am sick with flu like symptoms (not stomach flu though...)

*Naked Juice type drinks (echinacia and vitamin c fruit drinks)
*Saltine Crackers
*Carbonated beverages (hansen's diet soda)
*tapioca
*top ramen (complete crap I know, but its easy to make and I make mine super spicy to make the crap drain from my sinus')

I also tend to crave carl's jr when I am sick. WEIRD.

I crave chicken noodle soup, but being allergic to chicken (and only knowing it since I was 17) really prevents me from eating it. heh.

My stomach is still having spasms of pain, mostly from the medication I am taking. I swear my stomach is anti all medication. Drinking the juice is hurting me more, but to combat that and still drink my vitamins I am eating a crap load of saltine crackers to soak up the acid. haha.

I am also drinking tea off and on. Yesterday I drank a TON of water, but today it hurts to drink anything, so its not as much. But I am trying, I swear :-)

What I had so far today:
B: half a serving of oatmeal, tea
S: Almost a whole pack of Saltine crackers, Naked Juice thing

Tomorrow I actually have to go to work. I am not looking forward to NOT working in my bed. Oh well, I do it everyday usually, I suppose I can suck it up right? haha.

Good thing my pups are being amazing these past two days. All they are doing is napping right next to me. They aren't even going crazy barking at strangers walking by. It is amazing. I think they realize I am sick and are being good. I love it. They make me happy, and I bet they will help me recover faster than most people. At night too they just cuddle next to me, when they normally sleep on the floor or something. Adorable.

Alright I am heading out. Going to get some work done, and then making some craptastic top ramen. haha.

Blah Again

So I am still sick. I woke up feeling better, for the firs 5 minutes or so. The aches are gone, but my stomach HURTS (like burning spasms of pain) and my throat is killing me and my head still hurts. Oh well.

Thanks for being so sweet in the comments. It really made me smile yesterday.

I am supposed to work from home today anyway, thankfully.

I hope your days are better! If you are not sick, appreciate every second of your health today :-)

Blah

I went to bed feeling sick last night, an hour or so later my throat was killing me, my head was aching and I felt like complete poo. I woke up this morning determined to go to work, because I never take sick days. Also I thought they might think I was just hungover since yesterday was St. Patty's day. Unfortunately I would MUCH rather have a hangover right now.

I drove about 25 miles today and turned around. I could barely hack driving so I decided I probably couldn't hack the workplace. I am achey, and freezing and bright light is hurting me and the thought of food makes me want to puke. I drank my starbucks doubleshot today on my way to work and almost did puke. Puking at work is no fun, which is also a reason why I am here now in bed.

I am attempting to do some work from home today, but am not sure how much I can hack.

I am against people coming into work this sick because 1) they don't get work done anyway for the most part and 2) they get everyone else sick, and their kids sick, etc. So many people at my work have babies at home too (like under 1 year) that it would be mean to pass on this sickness. That is my belief at least.

I am going to try to get some work done but not sure how much I can hack.

Oh at the doctors appointment yesterday I got a free prescription of the medicine I wanted, but when I took it is when I started to feel sick. Not sure it is connected, but eh.

I need tea.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The stomach is still iffy and the hip is still in pain. Is this my first runner's injury? Not sure. I forgot to take advil last night so that probably was bad. But I took some this morning so hopefully that will help. I also stretched it this morning. But I am still limping at work, but pretending like I am not. haha.

I wish I knew how many miles I ran yesterday. I ran straight for 45 minutes though, so at least I am sure it was prob 3.75 miles (that would be an average of 12 minute mile, which is probably possible for me. I am a slow runner, more about endurance than speed.

Oh also this morning while eating my oatmeal, the plastic spoon broke in my oatmeal. I guess I didn't mix one part and it got hard. hahah. But I continued to eat with my broken spoon until it was gone. That oatmeal is just too good! haha :-)

I am pretty sure working out is NOT happening today. I am not even sure I can take my pups on a walk like I said I would today. Oh well. I am going to the doctors today though! I have to! So much junk going down the throat, it is GROSS.

Oh also our sink cleared up last night. I had poured in some vinegar and some bleach around 1pm, and then when Mike turned the garbage disposal on in one last attempt to fix the sink, it all went down! Woo hoo! Now I just have to cancel the maintenance guy from coming.

I am hoping the stomach gets less moody. Not sure what is going on, but oh well. I will just drink lots of water.

I haven't met my goal of 300 minutes of exercise a week for the past 2 weeks. I am not sure I can meet it this week either with my hip hurting and whatnot. I hope I can get it together!

Oh also I forgot to wear green today. OOPS.

Depsite the injury and the moody stomach, I am in good spirits. I got sleep last night, and am looking forward to more tonight! haha.

Have I Become a Broken Record? Geesh.

So I went on my run today. And although it was gorgeous and I was feeling great for 28 minutes of it, and finished the 45 minutes goal I wanted to, it was still not the best run. My hip started to hurt at the 28th minute. Supposedly the shoes are supposed to help with this, but I can't completely blame the shoes because I didn't really stretch my IT band before the run like I probably should have. I stopped for about 30 seconds and stretched the IT band. It helped for the next 10 minutes. At 34 I started to count down the minutes while looking at the stopwatch every 30 seconds or so. Haha. My lungs were fine, but my hip was hurting. It wasn't too bad until 44:30, which is when I knew if I continued longer I would be limping. I continued on, because hello, it is only 30 seconds! So I finished it, and then walked to a place where I could give it a good stretch. Usually it loosens up after a few minutes but it kind of hurts right now, about an hour later. Oh well. I will just stretch more soon and perhaps take some advil.

Also I just finished making dinner, some nice bean and cheese burritos, but started to feel nauseous. Conveniently, (for me at least), Mike is on the phone with his brother, so I am not going to put the finishing touches on dinner until he is done with the conversation. Hopefully by then this feeling will pass.

I am guessing it is from not eating the best this weekend, and drinking waaay more than usual, and definitely more than I should.

Oh but I did run for 45 minutes straight (and up and down a lot of hills!!) and when I saw pictures of me from the party the other night I did not cringe. I thought wow, I actually dont think I look chubby in those. Woo hoo! This is even better because before the party I was feeling terrible about how I looked for some reason. Hormones? haha. Who knows.

Also last night during the St Patty's day celebration I ended up eating a TON of cut up celery, snap peas and carrots to avoid eating all of the peanut butter pretzels and chips. hahah. It worked pretty well, for the most part. My stomach is not used to all those veggies though, and unfortunately my sink isn't either. It is clogged from the celery I tried to dispose of in the garbage disposal. OOPS. The maintenance guy came to our place to fix it the minute we decided to leave today (after waiting about 6 hours!). I guess they will come by tomorrow. Hopefully I can do that and fit in my doctors appointment tomorrow! If not I can go on Wednesday without a problem.

Also the lungs feel so much better when I run than when I am sitting all day. I am not going to stop working out again because the lungs are bothering me during the day. I think it just makes the grossness going down my throat thinner or something, hence a better passageway for breathing. haha.

Alright I am going to give this stomach thing a few more minutes and then eating, or at least trying. :-)

Shopping Day!

So I have to say last night did not turn out as expected. It started out with Mike and I getting CPK for dinner. I got the half order of the BBQ chopped salad (with turkey instead of chicken) and ate it all. It is soo good and all good ingredients.

We then had plans to go to Mike's friends going away party at some swanky bar. I ended up drinking waaay more than I have in years, but did have a TON of fun. I actually danced for awhile that night, so that burns off some of the calories from the alcohol right? haha. I didn't get home until 245am (ish).

I had to wake up at 8 to go to farmers market with Teddy and Mike. I did not technically have a hang over or anything, but was starving when I woke up and only could eat salty foods. We ended up getting a breakfast burrito (eggs w/ potato for me) which was not the healthiest choice but I have eaten small all day to compensate for it.

I had a lot of fun at Farmers Market again. This was Mike's first time going with us. We got to try a ton of free samples (of fruit!) and even a tiny piece of heavenly cake.

Farmer's Market Grocery List:
Honey Oranges
Blood Oranges
Cilantro
A cute tiny cake thing
Snap peas
Pecans

I then went to Trader Joe's. I got a lot of good stuff and Mike got stuff to make a St. Patty's day meal tonight. We are all going to hang out, eat Irish food, drink Irish beer and watch Boondock Saints. I am not going to drink much tonight though because I want to go on a long run tomorrow. I also prob will not eat the Irish food because Corned Beef sounds gross to me. I might try it just so I can say I tried it, but eh. Sounds really salty.

Trader Joe's Shopping List:
Steamed Veggies
Trail mix
Oatmeal
Cornbread
Tomato sauce
Tofu

I also had to go to the grocery store for some other essentials that I either forgot from Trader Joe's or couldn't get from there.

Grocery store list:
Water
Parmesan cheese (fresh)
Baked lays (for tonight)
Celery
Parsley
Bananas
Bacon (will use small bits for a meal this week)
Honey
Hamburger buns
Morningstar Chik'n patties
2% sharp cheese
Starbucks doubleshot (yes weakness)

Overall I spent $80, which is more than I wanted to, but oh well.

Tomorrow my plan is to go to Back Bay and run for 45 minutes straight, hopefully not up and down all those crazy hills like last night. haha.

Alright I need to clean up around the house before the friends and such come over. Have a great Saturday night!

Longest Day of the Week ;-)

I think Friday's are the longest day of the week because you are sooooo close to the weekend yet so far at the same time. But I love Friday's anyway. They are exciting.

For the last couple of weeks, and randomly at other points in the last few years, I get this feeling like I can't breathe. My chest tightens up, and I just have to keep taking in deep breaths or else I feel like I am suffocating. Yesterday it was pretty bad. Either from all the deep breaths I was taking or the lack of oxygen, I started to get really light headed and could not concentrate at all at work. Once I start having breathing problems I start to panic about not being able to breathe at all, etc. So that makes it worse. No fun.

Needless to say I did not go on a run yesterday because I feared this would happen while running. It generally happens only when I am sitting down though, and gets better with exercise, but I wanted to be safe because yesterday was one of the worst times.

I am pretty sure this is from allergies. I have had intense allergies my whole life, even had to get allergy shots when i was a kid. I called my doctor at lunch to see if it was possible to get a prescription for some prescription strength allergy medication I used to be on (that actually worked!!). Since she had never prescribed it herself I had to come in. BOOO. They are only open until 430pm, so there was no chance I was getting there.

I live 38 miles from work, so going to the doctors usually means a work at home day. But yesterday was super drama at work because our website kept going down, etc. I am in the web department so I am sure that it is important that I am there. But I guess it is also important that I can breathe while I am there. Breathing is pretty necessary right? ;-)

My doctor has a walk-in policy there, and are open on Saturday. Hopefully I can make it in. If not, I am going to go on Monday I think. The breathing thing freaks me out.

My breathing right now is fine, it usually hits me in the afternoon though. Hopefully it is just allergies and not some anxiety disorder or something. But I was diagnosed with mild asthma as a child, so maybe it is just coming back. Who knows.

I plan on going on a walk after work today with the pups. And Saturday and Sunday going on a run. I have been looking forward to that a lot!

Last night I made a pseudo baked ziti (w/ penne instead of ziti, and no ricotta). It was delish. I only ate a little bit of it though, like I said I would, to continue on my small dinner trend. The only problem with this plan is that when I woke up this morning I was starved! I normally eat while I am at work (about an hour and 15 minutes after I wake up) and am not hungry until I get there. But today I was starving the second I woke up. I am not going to give up on the smaller dinner plan though just because of one morning.

Oh also, Mike ended up not going to his friend's house last night so I really didn't even have to feel guilty for not going! Woo hoo! Mike was really burnt out from almost being done with midterms and just needed to relax. There was a basketball game on last night that we both wanted to watch so we did that.

Later in the night Mike said he wanted ice cream really badly. SO I told him I would go with him. Normally this means I would buy ice cream as well, or convince him to buy a kind that I also like. But I didn't. I encouraged him to buy ice cream I wasn't very interested in, and ended up only buying decongestant and Tupperware from the store! Woo hoo!

Oh also I have several meals packed to go in my freezer after last night's cooking spree. Woo hoo! Does anyone have tips on how to keep your food good while it is frozen? Any special method to reheat it. I made a lot of pasta mixes last night for lunches next week, if that helps in your advice.

Anyone have good plans for the weekend?

Mine are:
Friday: Walk at the park, Go out to eat with Mike and a few of his friends

Saturday: Farmers market, trader joe's, run at back bay

Sunday:
Sunday: run, taxes

Have a great weekend!!

Planned Food for Today:
B: Trader Joe's triple espresso, Oatmeal (banana, trail mix, flax seed)
L: Pseudo baked ziti
S: Kashi bar
D: No idea....

Planned workout
walk at the park with the pups, and a walk at lunch hopefully!

Over the Hump

Last night's Step class was a lot of fun. I felt like dying in the last few minutes, but overall it is great. I am still in the 1 step club, but whatever. If anyone else has taken this class, how long did it take you to get to the second step? I have only gone to the class 3 times so I realize taking the plunge with the 2nd step is a bad idea as of right now. Just wondering how long it will take to get better.

I am hoping I do not get as sore as usual from the class. If I am not I am going to go on a run at the park today. If I am sore I might just rest it at home.

My boyfriend's friend is having a going away party tonight, and he wants me to go. But it is an hour or so away and I know we won't get home until after 11, and I wake up at 515am to leave the house by 545am. So I do not want to go. I might skip it even though the boyfriend really wants me to go. I did not get sleep last night so 2 nights in a row means Crazy Cara. I was already super whiny last night. Who knows what will happen with 2 nights of 6 hours or less of sleep. Geesh! heh :-)

I had a smaller dinner last night, at least smaller than usual, and I wasn't even hungry afterwards. Woo hoo! I had a half bowl of roasted red pepper and tomato soup (trader joe's) with sprinkled parmesan, and a tiny grilled cheese sandwich.

I think I will be able to jump on the smaller meal wagon permanently pretty soon. It only makes sense to make dinner your smallest meal. It is just hard because dinner meals are the ones I spend the longest time on, so I want to enjoy it more. Oh and portions have always been bigger so that is what I am used to. But this is a complete lifestyle change so I might as well change this as well. :-)

I hope you all have a great Thursday!

Planned Food for Today:
B: Starbucks iced coffee, Oatmeal (banana, flax seed, trail mix)
L: PB&J and a kashi bar
S: Not sure, but will probably need something
D: Penne w/ tomato sauce and bits of sausage

Planned Workout
Run at the park (unless I get super sore from the workout yesterday)

As Hardcore as Possible?

So yesterday wasn't as HARDCORE as I wanted, but that is because I was in PAIN from the workout the day before. Hahah.

I did go on my walk at work. It is halfway uphill, and leg cramping potential uphill at that. The walk lasted an hour and was great, aside from the stupid dude in the lifted truck that honked at me right as he got right near me so that my ears felt like exploding. I hate when guys do that when I am exercising outside. Why do they think it is cool to honk at you? LAME. Go back to being a caveman because that is how you are acting is what I like to say....

As the work day continued my legs got more and more sore. I swear the Cindy Crawford workout is a KILLER, even after doing it 5 times or so! I highly recommend it for people who feel that they aren't getting enough out of their dvd workout.

When I got home I decided a run was out of the question if I wanted to go to my Step class the next day (which I DO!). So I ended up just going on a walk with the pups and Mike at the park for about an hour. I was going to attempt to do pull ups, but at one of them I jammed my finger at so I quit the rest of the time. This pull up bar is up really high and I have to jump to reach it. I do not think I will use that one again because this is the second time I jammed my finger. And now it hurts to use it even typing. Pretty pathetic huh? haha.

After dinner Mike and made dinner. I wanted to eat a smaller meal for dinner, and I kind of did. I did get the portion smaller than what I have been eating but prob not as low as it should be. But I guess it is good, so that I can start to get used to it slowly. We had gnochhi with tiny bits of sausage (i know BAD!) and sauteed bell peppers and onions. I mixed it together and it was fabulous. Too bad the worst for you meal was my favorite of the week. Hahha. Although I definitely did LOVE my home made tomato sauce. Hmm....

Today I am working from home. I should get a lot done today without the annoying printer beeping at me to add paper, even though I don't use the printer AT ALL. Oh also I do not hear people calling women "hon" and "sweetie" all day in a very demeaning voice. And I am not being super feminist, he talks to them like children, regardless of the pet names.

Anyway, step class is tonight. I have a feeling I will be dead tomorrow. Either way I am going to kick ass a lot at the class tonight and will kick ass this weekend at running. I can't wait!

Planned Food for the Day
B: Oatmeal (w/ banana, flax seed, trail mix), starbucks doubleshot
L: Not sure yet....
S: Kashi Bar
D: spaghetti squash w/ something (not sure yet)

Planned Workout for the Day
Step class.

Tuesday

So today I jumped on the scale and was not happy with the results. So.... I decided to not get upset about it, but do something about it. I am going to go on a walk at lunch, about 4 miles (2 of them uphill), and also go on a run today after work. I don't want to ruin my endurance for the run, but today can officially be my hardcore day. Maybe every tuesday from here on out! hahaha. I need more of them, according to my scale. Hahhaa.

I also think that I might start eating smaller dinners and make my breakfast and lunch about the same. I do not want a small lunch because then my workout would suck. But I could deal with a smaller dinner. I really don't need as much energy to read blogs and sleep through the night. Hahha. This might be a new addition to my new lifestyle that will help me actually lose some of the lbs. :-) I think I am ready for that as a new challenge and more running!

I am beyond excited about running now. It is ridiculous. I look forward to it. Last night when I couldn't fall asleep when I wanted to I started to imagine my amazing run at the park. I visualized the entire thing, the great feeling I had while running it, and then suddenly was able to release all the stress that was keeping me from sleep. Awesome, right? haha.

Last night I ended up doing the Cindy Crawford DVD workout as planned. But I switched it up a bit. I did 45 minutes of it, and then decided I was too hungry to finish, and Mike was begging for dinner. Not that he doesn't know how to make it, but because I said I wanted to. So I paused the DVD and got started on dinner. After dinner I actually finished it all. I feel slightly sore, but nothing like before. I hope it doesn't get worse throughout the day, because today is my hardcore day :-)

Oh and the dinner last night was pretty fantastic. perhaps not as low cal as I would prefer, but it was tasty and all "real food". I sauteed some onions, fresh cilantro, and some baby garlic and then Mike added bite size bits of flank steak. We cooked that all on the stove together. At the end I added cut up tomato's and some cut up avocado. Once that was all done cooking I put it in a home made like tortilla from Trader Joe's (really home made from some local place they use) with a tiny bit of 2% sharp cheddar. it was great! Not as salty as I would prefer, but that is probably good that way.

I have one taco for lunch today (I had two last night which should have been ONE) and a little bit of tortilla chips (which I might not eat now that I am trying to be hardcore).

Planned Workouts This Week:
Monday: Cindy Crawford DVD: 1 Hour (DONE!)
Tuesday: Lunch walk, Run at park w/ pull ups, etc (2.5 hours)
Wednesday: Step Class (60 minutes)
Thursday: Run at the park (60 minutes)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Run at Back Bay
Sunday: Run at Back Bay

(If I get all this done and do not lose a lb I will be annoyed, but then again I know I will be healthy and closer to my current fitness goal!)

Planned Food for Today:
B: Starbucks doubleshot, Oatmeal (w/ banana, flax seed, trail mix)
L: Steak taco
S: Zbar
D: Gnocchi

Welcome to Monday

So far I have not really been affected (physically) from the whole "spring forward" deal. I slept in yesterday until 830 am (normally I wake up around 7-730am on weekends) so it was pretty much on target. I also went to bed early last night around 945pm. Or rather almost on-time.

I had a killer sinus headache last night. I also had one the night before, but last night's was awful. I went to bed but was woken up around 1130, so I got up to go the bathroom. Just standing up almost made me fall back down because the pain was so intense. BOO. I think it is just allergies, but bleh. The headache is gone right now, but I can feel it can come back and anytime. It is teasing me right now. I still feel pressure, just not headache yet. I will probably drink a ton of hot tea to combat this. It usually works to relieve the pressure.

My oatmeal this morning though, not so good. I think the banana I added wasn't ripe enough to make the oatmeal sweet. Oh well. My tummy is still happy that it is full.

Today there will be no gym, but there will be workout from home. Woo hoo! I want to go out running right now, or after work, but I need to go home first so I can take the pups to the bathroom, etc. They will be home alone for 8+ hours. Booo. I think I will do the workout from home though, because it forces me to do weights, etc. I have been pretty light on the weights recently, except for pull ups, etc.

Alright, got to go catch up on Monday madness.

Planned Food for Today
B: Oatmeal (flax seed/banana/trail mix), Starbucks doublehsot
L: Stir fry w/ tofu
S: Kashi bar
D: Street tacos (I am making them with sauteed onions, tomato's, red pepper, and some flank steak and avocado. Mmmmmmmmmm.)

Planned Workout
Cindy Crawford - The Next Challenge (1 hour)

Spaghetti Squash

Today I made some tasty Spaghetti Squash with a home made tomato sauce.



I halved the squash, took out the seeds and other gunk, then added some olive oil and some basil to each half. I microwaved a half at a time, probably for a total of 10 minutes or so (my microwave is not very powerful). Once it was done I took out the "spaghetti" by using a fork to tear it apart. It was a lot of fun!! I then added some sea salt to the mix.

While I was waiting for my spaghetti squash to cook I made some home made spaghetti sauce. I diced some tomatoes, onions, baby garlic and added in some basil, cilantro and red pepper. I sauteed this all together and it ended up being amazing in my book. I got the cilantro tip from one of the My So Called Life episodes. Hahaha. I have been watching a lot of that! hahah. It is great.

Anyway, I topped the spaghetti squash with the sauce and toasted up some fresh sourdough bread with the smart balance light butter (or fake butter, whatever). I also added some fresh parmesan. Mmmm. It was great. Mike even said he would eat it again, although probably not something in a regular rotation.

I have a lot of leftovers. I think I may add some of my roasted red pepper and tomato soup from Trader Joe's to one of the leftover containers, and maybe cinnamon and sugar to the other. Mmmm.

I also got some laundry done today, a TON of dishes, and got started on my taxes. I am trying to do them on my own, but it confuses me. I am afraid to get audited, so I am not sure what I am going to do. Either way I should get some sort of refund. Ehhh.

Alright, have a great Sunday night!

Back Bay Run

Teddy and I made it to Back Bay for our run this morning around 10 or 1030 ish. It was pretty hot outside. I was wearing some shorts, a tank top, a sports bra and my new shoes! It was a gorgeous day and the flowers were blooming and there was even a nature preservation thing going on. Neither of us have run on this trail so it was funny when we had no idea where to go. We started out on one path and found out it ended in like .01 miles, then started on another one that led to an outlook point, where the path ended. A few other times we went the wrong way and had to head back, but overall it was awesome. My goal was to do 45 minutes, but it was super hot and there were a TON of hills we ran up and we were dead. It was fine though finishing that early, because those hills were intense. I do not feel guilt. Nor do I ever really....

The best part about the run, aside from the gorgeous view of the bay and flowers, was that my hips never hurt! Woo hoo! Apparently the shoes are doing something for me! Woo hoo!!! I am so excited about it. Lets see what happens on the longer runs, but at least I don't die in 30 minutes, like I would with my old shoes! Woo hoo!

I did measurements again, but am weirded out by them. Some of them it shows iIlost inches, some I gained. I am not sure if I just sucked in on certain ones last time or was measuring wrong. Oh well. I don't care, I am feeling great, and am much more healthy, which is all that counts to me.

After I came home from the run, with a few necessities from the store (water, flank steak, onions, kashi bars, etc) I mentioned to Mike that I spend a lot on money this week and he should take me out two nights a week instead to compensate for the costs. Then he said that is going out too much, I don't want to go somewhere else when you make such good food. Awww. That was the greatest compliment I have gotten about how I cook. :-)

And I think I prefer a lot of the stuff we make here over restaurant food right now. On Friday nothing even sounded good to get. We ended up going to a Mexican food place, which was pretty eh. I could have made a better burrito for sure! haha.

Alright I need to head out and do some taxes. Awesome!

I Love Saturday's!

Thanks to Ender, and the fact that I went to bed at 1030pm last night (yes I know, I am a loser) I woke up at 7am. It worked out fine for me though because it led to a productive day.

At around 9 I headed to Teddy's to go to the UCI farmer's market. It was spectacular, much better than the Long Beach one. Here is what I got:

• Spaghetti squash
• Organic Strawberries 3 pack
  
• Bosch Pear
• Cilantro
• Haberno salsa (ridiculously, yet orgasmically, hot)
• Baby Garlic (looks like green onions)
• 5 mini Avocado's
• 3 Tomatoes

All of this equaled about $20

Then, conveniently, a Trader Joe's was right next to the farmer's market. Here is what I got from there:

• Stir fry mix (water chestnuts, baby corn, snap peas, bell peppers, onions, etc)
• Stir fry sauce (tastes great, not like gross soy sauce, even if it is soy sauce based)
• firm tofu
• $1 coffee gift pack (originally $10)
• frozen stir fry bell peppers (good with spaghetti squash, or so I hear!)
• Iced tea (a gallon or so)
• Freshly made tortilla's

All of this equaled about $20

That is all I am going to shop this weekend for food because I bought a pair of running shoes today! Woo hoo!!!!!!!

I went to Road Runner Sports in Costa Mesa today and got fit for a pair of shoes. They did the whole treadmill test, etc. It was really in depth and a lot more technical than I thought it would be. They also have a 60 day guarantee so that if the shoes end up not working out, I can just exchange them. Also in the last few days I have come to the conclusion that I am going to try to prepare for a half marathon, or at least build up to the amount of miles there are in a half marathon and run them on my own. So I definitely needed some good shoes for it! The guy helping us was encouraging about it as well.

Turns out my gait is pretty normal, my arch is medium to high, and if anything I pronate a little bit in. Mike went with me and turns out he superpronates, which I guess is pretty rare. He had to get a specific type of shoe for that. I was told to get a neutral shoe, and tried them on. After I found the one I liked I did the test on the treadmill with them on and it showed that my gait significantly improved. Woo hoo!

The shoes I got are the Mizuno's wave rider 11. Woo hoo!!!

I am going to test them out tomorrow. I am going for a run in the Newport Back Bay. My friend lives RIGHT next to it, and we drove by it today and it is GORGEOUS. I am am literally drooling to run it! hahaha. Teddy is going with me tomorrow, so it should be a good time. I am not sure how to measure how far I run, but I am aiming to run for at least 45 minutes straight, which is what I did last time (well actually 47 minutes).

Oh also today I made tofu for my first time EVER! I have always been intimidated by it, but I keep hearing it really isn't that hard to make. On my first attempt I accidentally crushed one block of it, and it ended up completely collapsing and turning to grossness when I tried to drain the water out of it. I had another block though, so I was given a second chance! hahaha. I ended up draining it successfully and then cutting it up into small pieces and sauteeing it in some canola oil. Mmmmmmmmmmm. Delicious!!

I decided to make my stir fry tonight as well, so i added the tofu to it. The sauce was great and did not taste anything like soy sauce (which turns my stomach just thinking about it... blehk!!). The veggies were super crisp and amazing as well. I used white rice, but only because brown rice leaves me sick for DAYS. I also have leftovers for tomorrow. Woo hoo!!!

I ended up not working out today but I think my muscle's needed it, so I do not feel guilty. I also ate pretty well overall today, so I am happy.

I am looking forward to attempting to make Spaghetti Squash tomorrow, and pseudo street taco's Tuesday! Mmm!!

I need to start posting pictures of my meals. Also I haven't measured yet this month, but mostly because I have been bloated all month so far from the healthy food. hahaha. I will probably do it tomorrow. Eh. We shall see.

I hope your Saturday has gone well.

Tomorrow consists of my run and taxes! Woo hoo!!!

Have a good one!

Ouch

So I am still super sore from my class on Wednesday. The kind of sore where you don't want to stand up to even go the bathroom because you know the pain you have to face. hahah.

My friend asked me why am I always so sore if I always work out. Shouldnt my muscles be strong enough to withstand this yet?

My answer was automatically, if you keep pushing yourself more each time you should be sore.

But is this really true? How long am I supposed to be sore? The Step class used a lot of different muscles in my legs, my longer runs are exhausting my muscles more. I get that. But should the pain be this intense? I am not a newbie to exercise by any means. Geesh.

After work last night I went to the gym, even though I really didn't want to. I figured that by working out I would at least stretch my sore muscles. That ended up being a terrible idea though. After 15 minutes on the ET I was DYING. But I pushed myself to complete 45 minutes. I got off and I was just in a daze. I was too hungry and too tired to function. I literally felt like I was moving in slow motion. haha.

I was trying to figure out why the workout sucked so bad. I had eaten a decent amount during the day so far (oatmeal, a can of bean & bacon soup, kashi bar, fruit) and I also had a ton of water. The only thing holding me back was my lack of sleep the night before. Maybe that was it? Maybe it was that on top of my body already trying to recover from my last work out? Who knows. I am just as sore, if not sorer than I was last evening, so I am definitely taking a break today!

Last night I was whiny all night. The boyfriend is great about it, he knows I get this way sometimes and he just plays along. I was literally walking around the house like a 2 year old who needed a nap. It was great. I went to bed by 9:15, which was great. I got a great amount of sleep! I am hoping today goes much better.

Onto another subject, SHOES. What kind of shoes do you wear when working out or running? I am planning on buying some running shoes this weekend, and two places have recommended the mizuno's for my feet. They are almost $100 though, so they better be good!!! I even tried to find some online for cheaper but failed. I could find some maybe $10 cheaper, but then I would have to pay for shipping so it would defeat the purpose. I guess $100 is worth it though, because than I can run pain free which would be quite liberating.

Have a great weekend!

Weekend Plans
F: Dinner with Mike
Sat: Run, Taxes
Sun: Run, Taxes, grocery shop

Planned Food
B: Starbucks Iced Coffee, Oatmeal (banana/flax seed/trail mix)
L: Spicy Mac n Cheese
S: Kashi bar, pomello
D: No idea

Planned Workout
NONE. Resting today.

No Sleep Till Friday....

Even though I only got about 5.5 hours of sleep last night I am pretty awake. It could be the caffeine, or the endorphins still kicking after last night's workout. I am pretty sure I will crash in a few hours. Haha. That is how it usually works for me. Oh well.

The reason I got no sleep last night was because it was girl's night and there was a lot of talk going on last night about politics and of course work.

Last night I went to my meeting which went well. I was even able to make it to my Step class. Woo hoo! I met up with my friend Andrea and we did the class. She was tempted to do add the 2nd step but she did not. I was not tempted at all because I remembered how sore I was after one. Hahha. The class was great, and I got a hang of the moves a lot better this time around. I hope to go back next week. So much fun.

I feel so silly in the classes because all of it is just silly looking, but it kicks my butt and is fun.

I made my faux falafel again last night for my friend. She seemed to like it. I liked having it again. Mmmm.

Tonight I have no idea what I will be cooking but I have been craving mac and cheese like CRAZY. Mike doesn't really like it very much, or at least not the way I like it. So I might have to just make it for tomorrow's lunch.

I try to make my lunch so delicious that going out would not be worth it. And it has been working pretty well recently for me. No place around here is healthy aside from this pretty expensive cafe and subway (which I am kind of sick of). So instead of paying an arm and a leg for a sandwich at the cafe I get to eat my fantastic lunches. Today it is just soup, but its my favorite soup. And it is FREEZING in the office here, so it makes me warm and happy. So does my oatmeal I eat every morning. It curbs the frigid air and my appetite for HOURS.

I need ideas for dinner next week. Anyone have any? Chicken is not an option (allergic), and anything from the sea disgusts me. My plan this weekend is to go to the farmers market again and then head over to whole foods.

Alright, I am heading out. Lots to do today (like always).

Planned Food:
B: Starbucks Iced Coffe (only 100 cal!), Oatmeal (banana/trail mix/flax seed)
L: Bean w/ Bacon soup
S: kashi bar, grapefruit
D: no idea...

Planned Workout:
Either gym or walk at lunch or run at park

Pretending I am not tired

So I have a meeting to attend today at 330, so I started work early today so I can get to it on time. It is my work from home day, so it makes it a lot easier. I got enough sleep last night but I am still tired. Mike is studying on another couch in the same room and he keeps taking naps. It is killing me! hahah. I told him to pretend he wasn't tired and maybe it would work, that is what I am TRYING to do, but it is hard when someone is napping nearby.

Last night my tummy wasn't feeling the greatest. Not sure if it was from me actually eating healthy all week, and my stomach not being used to it, or what. Who knows. Either way I ended up just going on a walk at the park with the pups and Mike. We walked about 1.5 miles and I did 15 pull ups, the monkey bars twice, and 15 tricep dips. I planned to go on the elliptical when I got home, but the tummy was just not having it.

I AM going to workout tonight. My friend Andrea and I are going to do that step class tonight, if the meeting gets over in time. We shall see. I hope so, because I really want to do it.

I have a long day ahead of me work wise. I created a ton of projects for myself, all overwhelming, yet do-able if I am not told to do other things in the middle of them. Isn't that how it always works? Hah.

Oh yeah I made some faux falafel pita wraps last night. They were great. It was made with Dr. Praeger's California vegetarian burgers, pita bread, some fage greek yogurt, some Mama Testa's salsa and some lettuce. Mike and I both loved it! Mmmm goodness. I might make it for Teddy tonight for our girls night.

Alright, have a good one everyone!

Planned Food for Today
B: Starbucks Iced Coffee (only 100 calories!), Oatmea (banana's, flax seed, trail mix)
L: Leftover Tomato Meatball soup
D: Faux Falafel pita wrap

Planned Workout
Step class if time permits

Quinoa is Tasty

Last night I ended up not working out. Not because I didn't want to, but because my legs didn't want me to. I am going to jump back into exercise today, although I will probably just walk on the treadmill or something at the gym. I had no idea how sore I would get from running for 47 minutes straight. I thought I was prepared, but I suppose not. Hah.

I did however make my quinoa meal last night. It was delicious. Mike said he liked it and that it was perfect for the night. He described it as not too strong in taste, but perfect for his palate for the evening.

When making this I looked at other recipes and incorporated several into this one.

Ingredients in Cara's Southwest Quinoa
Quinoa
Sauted garlic, onions, tomatoes, corn
Dash of some red pepper type spices'
Pork pieces (I cooked a pork chop and cut it up into tiny pieces)
Avocado placed on top.

I think I may mess around with this recipe a bit and experiment with other ingredients, but for my first time with Quinoa, it was pretty good. I will be eating leftovers for lunch. Mmmm.

I had more time yesterday evening because I did not workout. I took advantage of the time by finding new music. I subscribed to the KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic podcast. I hear about it on my radio station in the morning but am always working while it is on. They basically get a band together and let them play in the station for us, and then interview the band in between songs, etc. You can watch it on video or just listen to it.

I listened to Meiko (which is GREAT, so great I actually bought the album) and I watched Cat Power. It was was fantastic. I love technology and good music ideas. I have really enjoyed working out to slower music, and definitely working to slower music. It calms my anxiety down and makes me have a better perspective on life, for now at least. :-) Maybe I am just getting old. Hahah.

My work playlist today:
Cat Power - Jukebox
Feist
Meiko
Raveonettes
Ben Folds

I have a lot of work to do today. I have a lot of things going on right now here and in other areas in my life so this calm music is great for me today.

Alright, on with my day. Have a fantastic day today!

Planned Meals for the Day
B: Starbucks doubleshot, Oatmeal (hemp seed/flax seed/trail mix/banana)
L: Leftover Quinoa
S: Strawberries
D: Pseudo Falafel pita wrap

Planned Workout
an hour of cardio, and some upper body weights

Goodness

I wrote a decent entry this morning, but I never posted it and then deleted it from the computer. hahha. I can only laugh when this happens because it figures, just like last nights meal. hah.

So I am sore from the run last night. My hips still sort of hurt. I took a generic advil last night, not because I was dying in pain, but because I had hoped it might help it recover better while I slept.

I hope I can get in an hour of cardio today without dying. Not because of the hips, but because I am SORE. hahah.

I think Mike and I are going to get properly fitted for shoes next weekend from a place that POM suggested. I want it to help with the hip pain and Mike needs help with the knee pain. Yes we are under 25 and experiencing joint problems. Insert old people jokes here.

I got about 8 hours of sleep last night, so I should be feeling good today. I also packed a tasty lunch. mmmm.

Alright off to work I go.

Planned Food
B: Starbucks Doubleshot, Oatmeal (banana/hemp seed/flax seed/trail mix)
L: Bleu Cheese & Pear pizza w/ kashi bar (400 calories)
S: Blood Orange, Half grapefruit
D: Quinoa w/ avocado, tomatoes, corn, garlic

Planned Workout:
An hour of something

Figures

In my attempt to cook a healthy "real" meal today, one I actually spent more than 10 minutes on, I ruined half of it by spilling it on the floor, spraying home made spaghetti sauce ALL over the kitchen and breaking the dogs water bowl. It was pretty much awesome, or rather the opposite of awesome. Mike helped with the clean up and is perfect for making me realize it is not the end of the world, and something that can easily be fixed. I also burnt my finger. Boo. It hasn't blistered up yet but it hurt pretty bad. I will not let this goof up ruin my attempt to eating healthier.

The meal itself ended up pretty good aside from the screw up. Turns out I CAN make good spaghetti sauce from scratch.

I made brussel sprouts tonight for my first time. I had NEVER tried them and I hear a lot of people rave about them, and then my mother HATE on them. haha. I cooked them in the microwave for 90 seconds, then sauted them on a pan with olive oil and parmesan. They were alright, but I am not sure I will eat them again. I definitely prefer other green vegetables over them. Mike also was not very much a fan. I told him we had to eat t em because they are good for us, so we covered them in spaghetti sauce, etc. I finished mine, but eh.

I also had some wine tonight, which definitely has made my night much better. Also the endorphins are still kicking right now so I still feel like I can get everything done and still relax. Aww. Good weekend.

How was yours?

Planned Meals:
Sunday: Eggplant Parmasan
Monday: Quinoa w/ avocado, tomatoes, corn, garlic
Tuesday: pork chop w/ fingerling potatoes and garlic & broccoli
Wednesday: On my own, probably something simple like a sandwich
Thursday: Pseudo Fallafel w/ pita and 2% fage greek yogurt
Friday: Probably go out.

3.6 FREAKING Miles! Woo hoo!!

So this afternoon the sky was blue, the sun was warm and I felt good. I decided it was definitely time for a run. I went to the Huntington Beach Central Park again, and ended up running approximately 3.6 miles. And when I say running, I really mean jogging, and I do not mean walking. I can't believe I did it! After the run I walked around the park again and did the monkey bars twice, 3 sets of 5 on the tricep dip thing, 12 pull ups at one station and 3 more at another. It took a total of on hour and 13 minutes. My hips feel broken, but my lungs feel happy and so does my heart. I feel ready to conquer the world. Is this the endorphins still in me? haha.

The weekend so far has also been great. On Friday night I spent the night hanging out with myself in my jammies, watching the Amati Sisters and eating some tasty Tomato Meatball soup. Mike came back around 9ish and we watched Lost. Can I say AMAZING?

On Saturday I was set for my road trip to San Diego with my friends Teddy and Crystal. Our plan was to see my friend's art show and of course eat at the best Mexican restaurant we have both ever tried. San Diego is only 100 miles or less from where we live. Not too bad. So the trip went pretty quick. When we go to Mama Testa's we were all starving. We loaded up on a ton of salsa (they have a HUGE salsa bar) and some chips. I also got a Horchata (the best one I have ever tasted was from there) and drank about 2 glasses of that in about 15 minutes. I usually do not drink my calories, so this was crazy for me. And my body thought so too, because within the next 30 minutes I either had a panic attack or a stomach attack. I almost upchucked in the salsa bar. I ended up not doing that at all, but I was breaking out in a cold sweat, not seeing straight, and wanting to puke. It was pretty awful, especially when there was a mom and her daughter in the bathroom taking FOREVER in the one person bathroom while I really needed to go in it, emergency style. Thankfully after about 10 minutes of thinking I was going to pass out and die it passed. I took some stomach medication and felt better. Not sure if it was the Horchata or not, but last time I came to this place I also had almost similar reactions. I guarantee it was not the salsa or chips too. Anyone know if Horchata is made with Brown Rice because I am pretty allergic to that.... maybe it was.... who knows.

Anyway..... after that we went to the Art Show and then headed back to my place to play games and watch Darjeeling Limited. We barely did both of those, and crashed out pretty early. hahah.

This morning we went to the Farmers Market in Long Beach. My friend Teddy knows a TON about food, so she was teaching me about things. She thinks I am basically ridiculous for thinking that using fresh garlic in meals is fancy for my meals, but I told her I had to learn sometime so she might as well teach me now. You have to start somewhere right? I think so. And I think I am doing pretty good at it so far. :-) I also went to Trader Joe's to get a few necessities, and will have to head to the regular grocery for my caffeine addiction, starbucks doubleshot, one bad thing I refuse to give up.

Things Procured from My Farmers Market Trip:
3-pack of strawberries (grown in the same city I live in!!)
1 Pomello
2 Blood Oranges
Fresh Basil
Brussel Sprouts (never tried this before, but will be trying it tonight!!)
Pee Wee Fingerling Potatoes

Things Procured from My Trader Joe's Trip:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
French Bread (for the Trader Joe's French Onion soup I made today which was spectacular)
Trail Mix
Blue Cheese & Pear Pizza (amazing, I tried a sample)
American Griller Garden Burgers (forgot real name)
2% Greek Yogurt
Pita Bread
Garlic
Quinoa (will try this for my first time this week)
Oatmeal
Banana's

I will be planning my meals for the week soon. Expect an update on this. I need ideas for Quinoa, anyone have any?

I need a post workout snack now, or I will be grump soon. heh.