fanny pack

Well, now that I have Lindsay's attention...

Hey everyone!

Let's just skip the uncomfortable discussion about where I have been and how sorry I am that I have been MIA. To be brief, my super awesome, easy job where I could play all day has sadly come to an end and I am forced to actually work for my money. I know... tragic.

After many conversations with my uber-supportive husband about maybe putting the blog away for now, he has encouraged me to just post when I can. We can all agree that it has helped me tremendously with sticking to my goals and you can be rest assured that I am still photographing my food and runs, even when I can't post about them. I guess just the thought of posting them, keeps me going.

So, let's just jump right in, shall we?

This morning I got up super early to be able to attend a staff meeting at the hospital. I work so infrequently there, I usually never make it to the meetings, but today I was already up and figured I would go. They gave me a super sweet new mug too, so it was definitely worth the trip.

I wore my running clothes so I could easily go for a run after the meeting. I went to one of my favorite trails, that is really close to the hospital and did 3 miles, which was a good run considering I haven't ran in about a week. I did get to use my new running belt that I purchased from TJ Maxx last week... aka... my running fanny pack, which was pretty awesome.

Super nerdy photo, and please don't mind my gross sweaty underarms... but instead, keep your eyes on the belt. You try taking a self photo of your mid-section... it isn't easy.

I love that this belt has a pocket that can hold my phone, my car key, and any other items that I may need during my run. I can tell that for longer runs, I will be so glad I can store my fuel and some chap stick in there as well. It also has a water bottle that goes with it, which fits into a carriage on the front of the belt. For my shorter runs, I won't need that, so I do wish there was a way to remove the carriage all together.  But, there isn't and the belt was only $12 so I will deal.

There is also a small ID pocket where you can write your name and any medical alerts that you may have. That way, if I am ever found face down after a run, they will know who I am and that I am allergic to penicillin. Good stuff. :)

What I don't love about this belt, besides the non-removable water carriage, is that it rides up throughout my entire run. Mike used this belt last week on his 20 mile run... yeah, we will get to that in a second... and he thought the belt was the bees knees. He raved about it non-stop. I think that for guys, their hips are smaller than their mid-section, which helps to keep the belt at their waist. Since I have a smaller mid-section than my hips, the belt rides up constantly. Definitely something I can deal with for $12, but I wanted give you my full review.

I had been wanting something like this for a while, so I am glad to finally have one. Plus, I am happy I didn't spend very much on it. It is a great thing to have, but since these things are normally in the $30 range, I would have been disappointed if I had spent that much.

Breakfast this morning was a return of an old favorite.... overnight oats, eaten COLD!

Nothing beats a cold bowl of oats after a sweaty run. All that fruit in there... all from my produce delivery box, which, by the way, is 10 times better in the spring and summer than in the winter. The fresh fruit is amazing!

This mornings oats were a combination of fresh, chopped peaches, fresh blueberries, fresh blackberries, old fashioned oats, chocolate protein powder, and skim milk. DELISH!

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Last night's dinner was stolen from another blog that I read. It is pretty rare that you open a food blog and the recipe that is featured that day includes ingredients that you already have on hand. Especially when the recipe includes peaches and blueberries.... who has that on hand? When I went to How Sweet's post yesterday, I knew what we were having for dinner.

Her photos are out of this world, but here is my rendition of her Sweet and Spicy Glazed Chicken, Corn and Avocado Tostadas, with Blueberry Peach Salsa. The only changes we made were adding black beans and using whole wheat flour tortillas, making them more into tacos than tostadas.

Then everything fell out of my first taco, so I piled the leftover toppings onto the 2nd tortilla, creating a monster pile.

I am getting full just looking at these photos. This recipe is for sure going to become a part of the rotation at our house. They were so awesome. Next time, I will take the time to make them into tostadas instead of tacos, since I think they would have been really good on a crispy tortilla.

I have to hand it to Mike, he assembled this entire meal, while talking to me on the phone giving him the instructions. He got home before I did yesterday, so he put everything together and it was ready to eat when I walked in the door.... love that guy.

Speaking of that guy.... um... when did my husband become a runner??? He ran 20 miles while I was in Vegas last weekend. I am beyond impressed with his dedication. He is weighing in at about as much as I did when I started this blog, a short 9 months ago... Way to go, babe! I am so proud of you!

Oh yeah... I also went to Vegas last weekend... so much to catch you up on!

Have a great weekend!

a cookie for breakfast and dessert for lunch

How gorgeous was it yesterday?

I decided to spend my 30 minute lunch break along the walking trail that my office park has. It is exactly 1 mile long and takes just 15 minutes or so to complete, so it is a nice way to break up the day.  I love the walking trail where I work. In the spring and fall, I usually spend my lunch breaks walking around, enjoying the scenery.

Work has been pretty busy lately, so it was nice to take a break, listen to some music, and enjoy the weather. I also got to break in my new TOMS!

I went with the slate gray and I love them. They are already pretty broken in and I have only worn them once. I am, however, so glad I went with a smaller size. I started out with a 6.5, but ended up returning them for a 6 since I was afraid they would stretch out to being too big. The only bad thing about them is that they make my feet look so small. I have really small feet for my height and size, but these just make them seem like nubs. Oh well, that is one thing I can't change!

My lunch yesterday, tasted like dessert. I am pretty sure my sister makes my niece and nephew something similar, which is fantastic, but I used a whole wheat wrap, added some natural peanut butter, sliced bananas and sliced apples. It was delicious.

I finished off the apple and banana in some leftover peanut butter and had a greek yogurt on the side. Such a great lunch. :)

When we got home from work last night, there were not 1, but 2 boxes waiting on my doorstep. I love packages!

My new tennis shoes had finally arrived!

They are exactly what I was hoping for. Lightweight, perfect fit, and super cute. I didn't have a whole lot of time before we had to leave for Ash Wednesday service at church, so I could only take them out for a quick spin. I did a short, 15 minute jog around the neighborhood, to make sure I liked the fit of my shoes. It was a nice run and I definitely love my new shoes.

Those legs? All natural color, baby! haha

The weather was perfect for an outdoor run, I only wish I could have gone a little longer. The sky was really pretty too, so I snapped a quick picture before it got too dark.

Mike made me an egg sandwich for dinner before we scooted out the door. Fried egg, pepper jack cheese and tomato on toast. Yuumm!

We got home a little after 8 from church, and I felt a little hungry. I had a feeling I would with such a small dinner, so I made a rather odd snack. It tasted amazing though, so I have no shame in sharing. Whole wheat tortilla, a little shredded cheddar, a little goat cheese, heated in the microwave, and then topped with salsa and hot sauce.

Mike was giving me weird looks for this combination, but I think he was just jealous. ;) Really, he has an aversion to goat cheese... I can not understand why. It is the most amazing cheese on earth, in my opinion.

Before heading off to bed last night, I made a breakfast cookie. The other box that came yesterday was an order from OpenSky. If you are not familiar, it is a shopping website where you follow certain people and they endorse their favorite products, which you can then purchase those products at a reduced cost, depending on the deal of the day. You fill out the things you are interested in, choose some celebs or experts to follow, and they send you opportunities to purchase products they love.

I have been looking for a protein powder that I could use in smoothies and energy balls to up my levels a bit. I am trying to avoid a lot of soy based protein, since it is a little over processed and can potentially cause some health issues that I am not very interested in. Soy products are pretty hard to avoid since they are in almost EVERYTHING so if I can avoid it in any way, I try to do so. Especially in a supplement powder that I can control.

Anyway, one of my favorite bloggers - The Fitnessista - is a big fan of Sun Warrior Protein Powder. I have looked at this vegan, non soy-based, powder before, but with a price tag of almost $50, it wasn't happening. Here is where OpenSky made it's debut.

Since I follow Gina on OpenSky, she had a deal on Sunday that offered Sun Warrior in chocolate or vanilla for only $35. Still, $35 was a little more than I had planned on spending, but I opened the e-mail anyway and found that OpenSky had given me a $12 credit in my account. They randomly do that. They will send an e-mail saying "you have $10 in your credits to use before x date." I haven't really found anything that I absolutely need, but this was a great deal. I couldn't pass it up. (Although, I am secretly hoping that I hate this stuff so that I don't want to ever buy it at full price.)

Gina has a bunch of recipes on her blog, but one that I have always been interested in trying is the Breakfast Cookie.  I gave it a try last night so that I could have it on my way to the gym this morning.

I couldn't even taste the powder, except that it is chocolate and my cookie tasted chocolatey. There was no chalky flavor and the stevia that is used in the powder did not leave me with a nasty aftertaste like it normally does. I will have to try it in a smoothie to be sure, but so far, it tastes pretty great.

The cookie was really good but a tad dry. Gina recommends adding in toppings such as bananas, pumpkin, etc., but I only had 1 banana on hand and wanted to have it for my lunch today. So, my cookie was oats, chocolate protein powder, unsweetened chocolate almond milk, cinnamon, and unsweetened coconut. Next time I will have to add bananas or something to make it a little less dry, but overall, I really liked it. It tasted a lot like a no-bake cookie, which I am a huge fan of.

Gym Time

I headed to the gym much earlier this morning and spent a full hour doing some weight training. I did a full chest work out (flat bench press, incline bench press, decline bench press, dips, and skull crushers) and then decided to go ahead and get my leg work out in for the week. I did squats, lunges, butt extensions, calf raises, and leg presses. I felt pretty worked by the time I left.

Tomorrow is FRIDAY! Oh gosh, I couldn't be more excited. This is the first Friday in months that Mike and I have no plans. I am so excited to get home, get into my pjs and relax on the couch, without having to make lunches, pack my gym bag, etc, etc... It will be glorious. Next week, we only have a 2 day work week and then we are heading to by God, West Virginia for 4 days full of skiing and playing! Can.not.wait!

Have a good Thursday everyone!

Yesterday's Stats
Calories (-) 172
Sodium (+) 71
Protein (+) 21 (!!)