Mexican Vacay Recap - Chocolate and Pearls

Maybe that is what I should have named my blog... Chocolate and Pearls. Hmmm...

This will be a several post recap so that I am not blogging for the next 4 hours. :) I thought I would start my recap of Mexico at the beginning - Friday night. I already told you we had planned on coming home, making dinner, and drinking some wine.

Once we got home, it was around 7:30 pm. I started packing our suitcases while Mike started dinner. We had marinated our steaks all day, so all he had to do was get the sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts broiling. I noticed that Mike had set a card and a Godiva Chocolates bag out on the table and I was very excited to have some. :) We had agreed that Mexico was our gift to each other and that we would not be doing any other gifts. I had picked him up a card and I thought it was sweet that he had stopped to get one of my favorite treats, dark chocolate.

We opened our 12 year old bottle of Cabernet Savignon and it was delicious. The rest of our meal was also perfect. We had a great dinner and then decided to open our cards. At this point, I was ready to have some dessert, so I wanted to tear into that chocolate box.

When I opened the box, there was a small jewelry pouch inside. Mike had gotten me some pearl stud earrings. I was completely surprised.

They are so pretty. Sorry for the crap iPhone pictures, but they are perfect. They are the palest pink and I just love them. That guy, I tell ya, he is a keeper. :)

The next morning, we woke up at (gasp) 3:45 am to catch our 7 am flight. We drove to our friend's house since they live close to the airport and took a cab from there. Our flights were pretty uneventful and I caught a few short naps along the way. I woke up just as we were landing in Cancun and looked out the window to see this:

BEAUTIFUL! Look at how blue the water is!!

I was very nervous about arriving in Mexico. I know that Cancun is very touristy, but any kind of travel outside the country makes me nervous. I guess just watching too many news reports of tourists going missing has me on edge about travel. We actually got through immigration and customs quickly and before we knew it we were on our way to the resort.

The resort was a quick 20 minute drive from the airport and when we pulled up, I was overly impressed. We were handed cool towels and a glass of champagne as we entered the gorgeous lobby of our resort.

Once we checked in, we were told our room would be ready around 3, so we were free to get some lunch and enjoy the resort until then. This place was out of this world pretty. I can't even believe these photos were taken with my camera. They don't even look real!

The resort we stayed in was all inclusive, which means you eat and drink all you want the entire trip. I guess I got a little too excited because the next few hours consisted of a lot of drinking. Everywhere we went, the bartenders were pouring us shot after shot and drink after drink. By the time we got into our actual room, I was quite tipsy. Rookie move, Carolyn. rookie move.

Let's just say we will chalk Saturday night up to a big, fat, FAIL! I was passed out by 8:30pm and didn't take any pictures after taking some of our room. I know that Mike got room service that evening, and I know that I did eat some, but I really don't remember what I ate. Nor do I have pictures, so that is pretty boring. I was pretty disappointed in myself for getting so drunk on our first night in Mexico. I punished myself the next morning with a nice long run, so that made me feel a little better.

Below are a few pictures of our magnificent room. I will return on Monday with the rest of our vacation recap! Have a fabulous weekend everyone! I am off to pick up the most adorable pups in the world! I have missed them sooo much!!

I'm baaaaccckkkk!

What an amazing, beautiful, fun, and gorgeous place I just returned from. I don't have any pics yet, since we got home at 10pm last night, but I will try to get them on my computer tonight for a full re-cap coming soon. The place we stayed was beyond fancy and luxurious. Things that I don't really think describe Mike and I. haha.

You will be glad to know we exercised 2 of the days we were there and I am so proud of that. I did not stuff myself too much and tried to limit my sugar-y drinks, so I didn't return swollen. We laid on the pool beds, lounged in our lazy river, hung out with some newlyweds, attempted to snorkel, rode bikes, walked a ton, and ate some wonderful food. It was a fabulous trip.

I returned with lots of fun goodies for friends and family, NO SUNBURN (whoo hoo!), and a cold. Ugh. My boss told me that every time she travels to Mexico she returns with a head cold or sinus infection. Apparently the pollution in Mexico is one of the worst in the world and since they are so overpopulated, germs are pretty intense. I think it was a combination of people being sick in my office last week, changes in weather, and airplane/port travel. Those things usually get me pretty sick. Either way, I am just glad it happened on our last night and didn't ruin our trip.

I will hopefully return to my regular blogging ways tomorrow with a re-cap and back to my running/eating well schedule.

Have a wonderful Thursday! Only 1 more day til the weekend! Whoo Hoo!

La Buena Vida

Hey there! TGIF! I don't think there is anyone in the world that is happier to see this day than me. Well, maybe Mike is just as happy. I will be wrapping up at work shortly and then it is off to Toast for a tan. Once that is done, Mike and I will be heading home for a date night in. We will enjoy a lovely dinner of steaks, sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts. Pretty much our favorite dinner in the world. Also, we will be opening up this beauty...

Reynolds Family Winery 2000 Cabernet Savignon

Right after Mike proposed to me, we went to San Francisco for a mini-vacation. We took a day trip while we were there to Napa Valley and did a wine tour and tasting. We purchased this bottle of Cabernet from a small, family owned winery. At the time, it was a 10 year old bottle of wine and we had planned on opening it sometime that year. That was 2009. We keep putting off opening it since we wanted it to be for a very special occasion. Although we have had plenty of reasons to open it since 2009, we just haven't, so tonight is the night. We are going to celebrate our first year of marriage with a great meal and some great wine.

Us, at Reynolds Family Winery in 2009.  Simply gorgeous.

It will be a great way to unwind tonight before hitting the bed early for our 4 am wake up. Our flight to Mexico leaves at 7 am so we will need some rest tonight. I hope we can get all of our packing done! 

I can not believe it has already been a year since my wedding. It is so crazy how time flies. I have to say that this past year was one of the best years of my life. Planning for my wedding was lots of fun, but really, I just felt stressed all the time. Always worried about money and being pulled in a million directions. It was fun at times, but I much prefer married to any other facebook relationship status. :) Luckily, Mike makes it pretty easy.

Photo Courtesy of Lindsay

I regret to inform you all that I did not get a run in last night. I am pretty disappointed, but sometimes, life just gets a little busy. Waxing my eyebrows, painting my toenails, and doing our laundry were much higher on the priority list last night than going for a run. Plus, after we ate dinner and went to the grocery store (to get tonight's dinner), it was way too late and dark to go running. We have decided to do some activities and exercise while in Mexico to make up for it. I will be sure to take lots of pictures and share our adventures with you.

After work yesterday, we decided to go to dinner using a Groupon that I had purchased a while ago. We went to Spize Cafe in downtown Raleigh. It was relatively quick and so, very delicious.

Mike and I both had the red curry chicken with pumpkin and it was perfect. It was fresh and filling with just the right amount of spice to clear your sinuses and warm your insides. Sometimes, I really wish we lived downtown so we could enjoy more of these types of places more often.

Once we got home from our errands and dinner, I got to skype with two of my favorite people in the world. My niece and nephew. It was great talking to my sister and bro-in-law, but seeing these little faces just lights up my life. I miss them so much and wish we lived closer to them. :( They mean the world to me and I am so happy we live in a time where technology allows me to see their faces and hear their voices almost anytime I want.

Picture stolen from my big sister's blog.

I won't be blogging until next Thursday or Friday. Instead, I will by lying on the beach, sipping on tropical drinks, eating my heart out, and enjoying every second with my best friend in the whole wide world. Happy anniversary to us! If the next 60 years are anything like this past year, I will have lived one heck of a wonderful life. :)

Hasta Luego, Amigos!!!

I think it's working...

Hey! It is Thursday and I could not be more excited! Tomorrow is our last day of work before heading to Mexico for a few relaxing days. I. can't. wait!

I worked at the hospital last night, so my eats were quite boring. I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an energy ball. Lunch was the same quinoa with grilled chicken and breakfast was also the same pumpkin overnight oats... See... boring.

It has been just about 2 weeks since I started this blog and thought I would update you on my thoughts. My goal with this blog was to monitor my eating better and have a responsibility to my healthy goals. So far, it has totally worked.

Each day I find myself thinking about what I can blog about. When I want to come home and eat something crappy or not go on a run, I remember all of you. I remember that if I don't do what I am supposed to do, I will have to face all of you with the honest truth. That has been such an amazing motivator and I hope I can keep it up.

I have a lot of blog ideas and I can't wait to get them all out. There are so many topics that I want to cover here. Although I have plenty, I am not just talking about healthy topics. I also want to incorporate fashion, travel, and family. But first, I think I need to get a good handle on my healthy lifestyle before I open myself up to the big world of other topics.

While I run each night, I think about the things I want to discuss on this blog. The running and healthy topics that I have always wanted to research more about, but never found a good reason to. Now, I feel like I can share these thoughts with you. Share my research and really figure out the best possible way to feed and take care of my body. Hopefully, it will help others do the same.

I hope my posts haven't been too boring, and I would love feedback. So, let me know if I am on the right track or if the things I write about are boring or stupid. I will try to learn as much as possible about the things I post and hopefully will have a very open mind about the topics that are discussed.

Tomorrow's post should be a little more interesting since I have about 800 things to do tonight and am going to try to make myself get in a run as well. We shall see!!

Darkening Nights of Fall

Good Morning! I hope everyone is having a lovely one. I am just counting down the days until Saturday so I can leave for Mexico. I am ready for a break from work and one last warm week before diving head first into fall. My clothes are all set out, just waiting to be thrown in the suitcase.

My view as I was finishing up my run last night.

Fall is definitely here. The weather is so much cooler than it was even just a few days ago and the evenings are rapidly getting darker, earlier. I love that it is not as hot, but I am sure going to miss then longer days and later sunsets.



In the last few days, I have thought a lot about running safety. My neighborhood is quite large and there are always people out, walking their dogs or exercising. Plus, my entire run is in front of houses and there are no areas where I don't really feel safe. But, with the evening sun fading quicker, I wonder if I should be a little more prepared to protect myself or have some sort of identity with me in case something happens. I always think, 'Don't be that stupid girl who thinks nothing will ever happen to me.'

One thing that I have thought about doing is carrying a container of mace with me. My friends got me that hot pink key chain mace once for my birthday and I do carry that when I am leaving or entering the hospital late at night.

It really doesn't matter where I run, these thoughts go through my head. I try to see the good in everyone, but you never know what someone is capable of.  Since I didn't have Franklin with me last night, I brought along this guy for protection. :)

Another problem that I have heard others discuss is having something that will protect you from animals. Although most of the animals in my neighborhood are on a leash, last night I was scared to death by a dog who got out of his fence and came running along beside me. I had my headphones in and didn't hear him approach me. I screamed so loudly and my heart just about exploded.  Thankfully, he was a playful pup and was wagging his tail, but what if he was a viscous dog who tried to attack me? I just feel like these are things that I have to think about. Some people bring sticks on their walks, but I can not imagine running with a stick and I feel that it might be pretty dangerous to do so.

When it comes to running identity tags, I recently learned about RoadID bracelets. I am considering ordering one of these since I really have no identity when I run. I do not bring anything with me besides my dog.  He has a phone number on his collar, but I am pretty sure if I drop to the ground, Franklin will probably take off running. Maybe this would be a good Christmas gift to ask for (wink, wink). There are lots of other products out there to identify runners, but I thought this was a pretty good one to get. Plus, it is isn't too overpriced.

After our run last night, Mike and I decided to make some grilled chicken sandwiches and beer soaked french fries. I had first saw beer soaked french fries on one of my favorite foodie blogs, The Edible Perspective. I followed her recipe, except I used a little different beer and added some pumpkin puree to half of the fries. They turned out excellent. I am not really sure I could taste the beer or pumpkin, but they were great fries.

I added some mozzarella cheese, salt, pepper and hot sauce to my grilled chicken and Mike added some cheddar cheese, turkey pepperoni and BBQ sauce to his. We each had our chicken over a whole wheat sandwich thin with some fries on the side. It was an easy, yummy dinner.

On Monday night, I came home from my run and made a chickpea, vegetable stir fry with quinoa instead of rice. It was delicious and made a ton. So Mike and I have been enjoying that for lunch every day. Today, since we had some leftover grilled chicken, I mixed some of that in with my stir fry. It should give me a great protein boost and keep me full until after work.

Also on Monday, I ran a full 3.2 miles! YES! It was just another one of those days that I didn't feel tired or cramped, so I kept running. I drove the route yesterday and was very pleased to find out it was that much. Last night we cut our run to a little over 2 miles since it was already getting so dark and late.

I haven't gotten much weight training in this week since I am the early person at work and that means I would have to get up a full hour earlier than usual. I tried this morning, but it just wasn't happening. I am working at the hospital tonight, so I am sure tomorrow I will not get up either. I may just have to chalk this week up to a loss. But that is OK, at least I have gotten a good run in each day and will plan on getting back to the weights when we return from Mexico.

Have a fabulous day today!


Monday Stats:
Calories (-) 43
Sodium (+)148 (!!) 
Protein (-) 27 

Breakfast - Overnight Pumpkin Oats
Snack - Energy Ball
Lunch - TJ's Masala Veggie Burger on a sandwich thin and some frozen mango chunks
Dinner - Quinoa stir fry with frozen veggie blend and canned garbanzo beans
Snack - 2 Charmingly Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies from TJ's and 1 cup skim milk

Monday Work Out:
3.2 mile run (NO WALKING!!! Except up a very steep hill, but that kept my heart rate going, so oh well)


Tuesday Stats:
Calories (+) 8
Sodium (-) 40
Protein (-) 12


Breakfast - Overnight Pumpkin Oats
Lunch - Leftover Quinoa Stir Fry and 1 energy ball
Snack - Gala Apple
Dinner - Grilled Chicken Sandwich Thin with Beer Soaked French Fries

Tuesday Work Out:
+2 mile run

Pumpkin Obsessed and Wrecking My Health

Happy Monday everyone! Today, along with the rest of this week, is going to drag on since we are going on vacation on Saturday. Thankfully it is the beginning of the month so that means there is lots of work to be done to keep me busy. Hopefully that will make the time go by a little faster. :)

This past weekend was super busy.  On Friday night, I came home from work and made some dip to take with me to the football game on Saturday. I didn't try to make anything healthy since it was a tailgate and no one likes healthy food at a tailgate. My family makes Texas Caviar at almost every occasion so I knew it fed a lot of people. It made an enormous amount of dip. (That is not the recipe I use, there are many variations of this dip and I use one that my family has created. If you want my recipe, let me know.)

I also decided to make some energy balls. They are so delicious, and a great little snack if you need a boost. I made a double batch and now have plenty to get me through the week. They are so easy and you probably already have the ingredients.

Energy Balls (adapted from Smashed Peas & Carrots)

1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup of Nut Butter (any type, I used almond)
1/3 cup honey
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
Other mix ins would also work - dried fruit, nuts, puffed rice cereal, etc. 

Mix all ingredients and refrigerate for 30 min. Roll into small balls (about golf ball size) and store in refrigerator (because of the flaxseed). Grab and go! (I put these into a nutrition calculator and am getting about 300 calories for 1. That seems too high, but I would still watch how many you eat at a time. They are full of protein though!)

On Saturday I woke up still pretty sore from my leg work out on Thursday. I was having a hard time getting started on my run, but eventually got into a nice groove. Franklin and I actually ran even further than we had been running. I haven't calculated it exactly, but I think we added another .4 miles to our trek. I am so excited that we are running almost 3 miles every day.

When I got home from my run, I was starving. I had picked up a can of pumpkin puree on Friday night especially for my breakfast on Saturday morning. Pumpkin oatmeal was exactly what I had been wanting. I am so excited the weather is finally cool enough to go back to hot oats and nothing screams fall more than pumpkin.

After breakfast and some cleaning up, I got in the shower and got ready to go to the football game. This is where my weekend took a nose dive. Anytime I am eating healthy, I try to give myself a day of freedom to eat, drink and do, whatever I want. If I want to take the day off from exercise, I do. If I want to eat whatever I am in the mood for, I do... and I don't calorie count on those days so that I don't feel guilty and I can really enjoy my free day. Just for fun, I decided to log everything that I ate and drank on Saturday. It is astonishing how many calories I took in in one, single day.

I had picked up some pumpkin beer to take to the tailgate. I only got a 6-pack so that I would only drink that amount. I know 6 beers seems like a lot, but I normally drink 8-10 on a full day of tailgating. So I thought 6 would be a better idea. I guess pumpkin beer is much higher in calories, but I have been in such a pumpkin mood, I just didn't care. :)

The beer was delicious and so was the amazing spread of food that we had at the tailgate. There was pork BBQ, coleslaw, baked beans, mac n cheese, and green beans. Not to mention all the cookies and dips and chips also available. I only had a very small spoonful of each item, but the calories still amounted to way over my daily limit. At the end of the day, with all the food and drink logged, I was at 3,900 calories. Can you believe it?? I was even conscious of the calories and cut back my portions! Imagine what I have taken in at a tailgate where I drank twice as much and ate twice as much. It is such an eye opener how detrimental it is for my health when I engage in these types of activities. That doesn't mean that I will stop, but I am certainly going to make sure those times are fewer and further between each other. :)

Our football team played awful and we lost the game. We stayed with friends on Saturday night and spent the day with them on Sunday as well. My mom and her boyfriend met us on Sunday to take our puppies for the next 2 weeks. I am going to miss them so much but I am so glad that my mom is willing to keep them for us. Deluca has always loved going to stay with Grandma and Charles because they spoil him rotten! He gets a walk through the woods every morning, a ride in the car every morning, plus, endless amounts of chicken from Charles. He is always a few pounds heavier when he gets home and is usually kinda mad at us for bringing him back to his boring house. My mom and Charles also work much closer to their house than Mike and I do, so they stop in to take him outside throughout the day and are home much earlier than us. I am sure Franklin is going to have a blast there too.

I guess I will have to find my motivation elsewhere since I won't have Franklin this week. Maybe I will just stare at that 3900 calorie count from Saturday and that should get me moving...

Now, a question:  to work out while on vacation, or to not work out while on vacation.... hmmm. That is a tough one. I feel that I am a little early in my journey to take a week off. Plus, the resort we are going to is all inclusive, which means lots of yummy food and sugar filled drinks. I should probably make use of their amazing exercise facilities and take advantage of the warm weather with a run on the beach early one morning. But, I just want to relax and not think about working out. I could try to do some out of the ordinary exercises like kayaking or maybe Mike and I can rent some bikes. What would you do?

My Goals

This post is going to get kinda personal. I want to be 100% honest with this blog because if I am not honest, what is the point? I want to be held responsible and if I avoid certain topics then I won't be doing myself any favors.

Food has always been a main focus in my life. They say some people live to eat and others eat to live. I am definitely in the first category. I love restaurants and cooking, baking and pot lucks. I love the social aspect of eating and the pure joy that a wonderful meal provides. I am not an emotional eater, actually, when I am really emotional or stressed, I get sick to my stomach and food is the last thing I want. I do, however, eat when I am bored. I love snacks and ice cream and I haven't met many foods I don't like. To go along with all of this, I am not a consistent exerciser. I will start doing well on an exercise plan, only to let life and time get in the way.  It is because of these things that I need to get on track. I need a plan that I won't break and a "diet" that allows me the foods I love and the freedom to eat out and socially.

I can't really remember a time in my life that I didn't have some kind of relationship with food and exercise. Even in high school, when I was a scrawny, knots for knees, 110 lb, lanky girl, I exercised and dieted.  I would do the fad diets that were "cool" at the time and my girlfriends and I would all get together after school to do exercise videos. I don't think we actually worked out. We more socialized and danced around, girls just being girls. Plus, I was always involved in some type of school sport or activity that kept me pretty active and slim.

I went away to college and somehow, throughout endless nights of drinking beer and eating poorly, I maintained my figure. Certainly more than 110 lbs, but I was pretty happy with my weight of 120-130lbs. Even still, I can remember my roommates and I doing many variations of diets and I would run around my apartment complex or neighborhood to get some exercise. I wasn't very consistent or serious about my workouts so it is no surprise that after college was over, I began to gain weight.

The first few years out of college, I didn't gain much. I was not exercising very regularly or eating healthy so I guess I just expected my body to keep up. It was at that point when I had met Mike and we began dating seriously. We moved in together and since I had never lived with a boyfriend before, I thought that I should be making "man-type" meals. I was making casseroles and meatloaf, spaghetti and tacos almost weekly. I always found new recipes to try out and none of them were very healthy. Add that to our several nights a week eating out and the pounds definitely started to pack on.

Fast forward a few years later to when I got engaged. At that point, I was 174 lbs. I was disgusted with myself and very unhappy. I saw photos of the first few months of our engagement and knew I had to make a change.I set a goal to be 150 lbs at my wedding.


So, I hit the gym and started counting calories. I tried working out for about 3 months on my own, without any help. I lost probably 5 lbs in that 3 months which was not enough for me. Mike begged me to let him give me some pointers at the gym. We started getting up every morning and going to the gym by 6am. He is actually who taught me about weight training and how it actually burns more calories than cardio. Although I have always known that, I just didn't believe it. In a little over 4 months of working out with Mike and eating healthy, I lost 15 lbs.

Not only was the weight coming off, but I wasn't getting sick as often either. My clothes were looking great and I even had to go down a size. My arms were more toned and my belly was flatter. I still didn't have abs or big muscular legs, but I was feeling wonderful.

On the day of my wedding, exactly 1 year after I began my quest to lose weight, I was 148 lbs.  I am so happy with the way I looked on my wedding day and made a promise to myself that I would never, ever go back to the way I was. I remember that promise now because I have gained roughly 8-10 lbs since then. I feel myself softening and the numbers creeping back up on the scale. I know that if I do not get a hold of this now, I will spiral back out of control.

My new goals are going to be broken down into long term and short term. My long term goal, I would like to accomplish in 1 year, is to lose 25 lbs. My short term goal would be to lose 10 lbs by 2012. That gives me 3 months to get back to my happy, wedding weight. This is my new promise to myself. You all better keep me in check!

Check out the difference:

Me - the day after we got engaged.

Me - the day before I got married.  Photo courtesy of Lindsay :)